Forged of “Soundtrack #2”—PHOTOS COURTESY OF DISNEY+
The beautiful Keum Sae-rok and the dashing Steve Sang-hyun Noh might have already received acclaim for his or her appearing chops—she for “Youth of Might” and “The Fiery Priest,” he for “Pachinko” and “Curtain Name”—however they haven’t performed the principle leads of their respective tasks till the Okay drama collection, “Soundtrack #2,” got here alongside.
Within the six-part Disney+ present, which started streaming final Wednesday (with two new episodes each week), ex-sweethearts Do Hyeonseo (Sae-rok) and Ji Suho (Sang-hyun) are reconnected 4 years after they determined to finish their six-year relationship.
Upon his physician’s orders, the overworked Suho, now the CEO of his firm, should rent a piano tutor as a part of his month-long restoration. However Suho solely finally ends up revisiting the most important heartbreak of his life when he begins his remedy and surprisingly comes face-to-face with the piano trainer his good friend unwittingly employed for him—the cash-strapped however persistently cussed Hyeonseo.
Finishing this story’s romantic roundelay is gifted musician Okay (Sohn Jeong-hyuk aka singer/songwriter Demian, in his appearing debut), whose presence in Hyeonseo and Suho’s lives additional complicates the couple’s renewed “entanglement.”
“Viewers will discover Hyeonseo’s dilemma very relatable,” famous Sae-rok on the press con final Wednesday. “She’s all the time dreamed of turning into knowledgeable pianist, however she’s struggling [financially], so she offers up her dream simply to make ends meet.
“She’s very grounded and sensible about her choices in life. Regardless of the challenges, she tries so onerous to maintain herself afloat—and I wished to correctly convey her ideas about her desires and the way she offers with actuality.
“However the preparation to make Hyeonseo convincing was very tough as a result of it was my first time ever to really play the piano. Fortunately, I had the perfect tutor [to help get me up to speed with what I was supposed to do]. I bought an digital piano to follow at house, and I attempted my hardest to drag it off regardless of my restricted time to organize.
“For piano taking part in, what’s actually essential is your posture and the way in which you place your fingers on the piano … as a result of it exhibits whether or not you’ll be able to actually play or not. However, director Kim is definitely an amazing piano participant, so she wouldn’t eat [during breaks] and play the piano as a substitute.
“So I might all the time observe and watch her do it. And each time she would give me a praise me and say, ‘Your shoulders look extra relaxed at present,’ I knew I used to be heading in the right direction. She might inform.”
Scene from “Soundtrack #2”
The window to the soul
As for Sang-hyun, he stated that he used his eyes loads to do his delicate character justice.
He defined, “Suho feels plenty of totally different feelings, particularly when he immediately finds himself reconnecting together with his ex-girlfriend. There are butterflies in his abdomen and he feels his coronary heart fluttering. I attempted to indicate all of that via my gaze.
“This venture exhibits totally different aspects and a brand new facet of me as an actor. The roles in my previews works have been fairly totally different as a result of, regardless of what he needed to undergo, Suho is simply extra playful and enjoyable.
“He’s additionally a really jealous particular person. As you’ll be able to see, he’s very expressive of his feelings—he can’t actually cover his emotions even when he wished to. And that makes him an endearing character much more.”
Didn’t he discover it formidable to play the lead character this time round?
“I did really feel a little bit of stress as a result of it is a new problem for me, particularly with regards to bringing the character to life,” Sang-hyun acknowledged. “However now we have these fantastic administrators and a high quality forged, so I knew that if I might take it step-by-step and work very onerous, I might pull it off. I used to be very excited to be a part of this present.”
Admittedly, Jeong-hyuck was very nervous on the prospect of diving deep into appearing together with his extra seasoned and established costars. However music was a crutch that basically helped him even the taking part in subject and join together with his position immediately.
“Music is one thing that I’m actually used to doing,” Jeong-hyuck stated with a nervous smile. “Earlier than becoming a member of ‘Soundtrack #2’ final 12 months, I used to be getting ready for an album that I couldn’t launch. So I wasn’t having a good relationship with music on the time (laughs). However engaged on this collection made me love music much more.”
“Okay may be very clear and simple as a result of he’s naive. So, he doesn’t overthink issues in any respect—and I believe that explains his appeal.”
Scene from “Soundtrack #2”
Debut
However the actor identified, “That is my appearing debut, so there have been many moments on set after I felt I wasn’t doing nice. However our administrators, Kim Hee-won (‘Little Girls,’ “Vincenzo,’ ‘Soundtrack #1’) and Choi Jung-kyu (‘The Satan Decide’), would all the time reassure me that I used to be doing alright.
“And I’m eternally grateful to Sae-rok and Sang-hyun as a result of I might see them cheer for me. They have been a lot busier than I used to be on the set, however they all the time tried to root for me. So thanks [for the vote of confidence].”
Requested to touch upon Sae-rok’s piano taking part in, Jeong-hyuck quipped, beaming, “She could possibly be a session pianist in my live shows! Significantly, I’m not a guitar participant myself, and I additionally needed to study to play the guitar for this collection. So we didn’t actually have a lot time to evaluate one another’s taking part in abilities as a result of we have been each working actually onerous to deal with the work at hand.
“For a couple of month, we actually labored onerous to drag it off. And it sounded high quality after we have been taking part in collectively. As they are saying, follow makes good.”
Jeong-hyuck’s presence made the worldwide press con extraspecial as a result of in between the presentation and Q&As, he was coaxed to sing and accompany himself on the piano to carry out “The Couple,” a dreamy ballad that he particularly wrote for the present!
Jeong-hyuck’s impromptu efficiency wasn’t the one “charming” shock on the press con. After a behind-the-scenes clip was proven, you possibly can see the classically good-looking Sang-hyun wiping tears in his eyes, visibly moved by the feel-good reminiscences of the shoot that wrapped up simply six months in the past. “I don’t simply cry … ,” he intimated.
Scene from “Soundtrack #2”
A brand new take
To deal with a query asking in regards to the seemingly “been there, performed that” premise of her newest rom-com, director Kim stated, “You’ve in all probability seen plenty of one of these love triangle. However as a substitute of attempting to do one thing new, what I wished to work on, along with director Choi, was to return to the classics as a result of I wished to imbue our story with the essence of affection, captured superbly by these basic romances.
“I wished to deal with [telling the story well] and, as you’ve additionally seen from the spotlight clip, our major theme revolves round music. We wished to be sure that the music and the story would complement one another and circulation properly collectively.
Your subscription couldn’t be saved. Please attempt once more.
Your subscription has been profitable.
“Sure, it’s a well-recognized story. However it’s boosted by good performances from an thrilling forged. So whereas it could appear acquainted, it’s however a brand new dish for everybody who likes a very good story.”
