Choo Young Woo and Kim So Hyun have said goodbye to ENA's Between Steps, the final work of the late director Ahn Pan Seok. The Monday-Tuesday drama ended on November 10 with a series-high 3.5% (Nielsen Korea, nationwide paid households), up from 1.8% for its premiere, as kisskh reported in our finale ratings story.
(Photo: ENA)
Between Steps, written by Min Hyo Jeong, follows Park Min Jae (Choo Young Woo), a robotics PhD student and former high school swimmer who lost a leg to illness, and Lim Yoo Jin (Kim So Hyun), a master's student who finds a new path after losing her way. The two meet in a robotics lab and fall in love. Director Ahn Pan Seok died in August after a brain hemorrhage, which made the series his last work.
Choo Young Woo: "A time of learning and growth"
"Starting a project always brings excitement and worry, but because I thought so much while meeting and understanding Min Jae, I feel especially bittersweet this time," Choo Young Woo said. "Just as Min Jae grows in the story, it was a time of learning and growth for me too, and it made me think again about people's hearts and relationships. I thank the best director and writer, all the staff and actors, and the viewers who watched until the end."
He described Min Jae as someone with far more feelings and thoughts inside than he shows. "He looks strong, but he's fearful and clumsy at expressing love and emotion," he said. "It was important that viewers could feel there is a reason and sincerity behind everything he does." His favorite moments include the bus scene at the end of episode 1 and a scene in episode 9 that he felt captured the color of Ahn Pan Seok's work.
He added that the role changed how he approaches acting. "Before, I first thought about how to express an emotion. This time I thought more about how that emotion comes to be," he said. "I learned that a character's feelings can come across without many lines or big actions. The more familiar an emotion feels, like love, the more carefully you have to look at it." He closed with a wish for viewers: "I hope this drama stays in your hearts as a warm memory, and that even if you're a little clumsy, you all find a happy love."
(Photo: ENA)
Kim So Hyun: "I'll keep the director's words in my heart"
Kim So Hyun shared her thoughts through her agency, Peach Company. "Playing Yoo Jin, I learned and realized so much," she said. "I will never forget each word the late director Ahn Pan Seok told me, and I'll keep them in my heart as I walk my path as an actor."
"I felt how hard it is to fully embrace both a character's flaws and her loveliness, but I also found a different kind of joy and learning in that process," she continued. "Love for family, love for a partner and love for yourself can't always flow calmly, but I hope you find the essence of love in it and love and express yourselves without regrets. Thank you to all the viewers and fans who loved Between Steps."
Kim So Hyun will next appear in the film Modup and the drama White Scandal.
Kim Min Seok remembers the director
Kim Min Seok, who played Yoo Jin's older brother Lim Yoo Sung, a mechanic at the family's auto shop, shared six photos of himself with Ahn Pan Seok from the set. "I've rarely thought I was glad I took photos, but I'm really relieved I did. While watching the broadcast these past weeks, I missed you so much," he wrote. "You sometimes scolded me on set, but you always treated me, so lacking, with affection, and I was so grateful." He promised to become a better person and actor, and to read lots of literature, signing the message as his character, Yoo Sung.
Co-stars Lee Chang Hoon, Seo Jung Yeon, Lee Kyu Sung and Jang In Sub also shared farewell messages, with Lee Chang Hoon saying he will treasure the time he spent with the late director.
Did you watch Between Steps to the end? Let us know in the comments!
