Cha Jung-won showcased her hidden variety show talents.
On the July 13 episode of SBS's "Ah Ni Geun De Jin Jja" (hereinafter "A Geun Jin"), actor Cha Jung-won visited Suji's boarding house.
Introduced as a "wannabe star" for those in their 20s and 30s, Cha was asked by Lee Su-ji about recent good news, leading to a mention of her relationship with actor Ha Jung-woo.
While Cha shyly expressed her gratitude, Lee Sang-min asked, "Is your boyfriend doing well?" This caused Cha to stumble over her words, her face turning red.
Lee Sang-min then brought up Ha Jung-woo's recent launch of his own wine brand, asking, "Does he own a winery, or does he just have the wine?" Cha replied, "He just has the wine. It is for the winery," drawing attention.
Cha impressed everyone with unexpected sides of herself throughout the day. She mimicked Joo Hyun-young's "Reporter Joo" character, Lee Su-ji's daycare teacher persona, and Lee Sang-min's rapping. She even surprised everyone by adding harmonies to Joo Hyun-young's singing.
Acknowledging her efforts, Lee Su-ji asked, "Why are you working this hard?" Cha drew laughter by replying, "I just suddenly wanted to do a duet while Hyun-young was singing."
Ivy, who has been friends with Cha for 10 years, added, "She is originally a cute and lovely person, but she never had the chance to show this side of herself," drawing interest.
Known for her "cold city woman" image, Cha explained why she had inadvertently hidden her true self, saying, "People expected me to be quiet and calm, so I stayed quiet to live up to those expectations."
Lee Sang-min then asked, "Will your boyfriend be okay seeing this side of you?" Cha showed late concern, saying, "He has never seen me like this, so he might be surprised." Nevertheless, she continued to impress, even performing the dance to Ivy's "Sonata of Temptation," which earned her enthusiastic applause.
Cha also drew attention by revealing that she has been friends with singer and actor Jung Yong-hwa since their first year of high school.
She recalled Jung's past lack of interest in the entertainment industry, saying, "At first, Yong-hwa wasn't interested in show business, but I really wanted to be in it. I told him we should go to an acting academy in Seomyeon, Busan together, but he said, 'What kind of celebrity? Let's just study hard and become English teachers.'"
Cha continued, "Sometimes, people from large agencies would come down to Busan and wait in front of our school. I would wait every day hoping they would notice me because I heard someone was coming from Seoul. But no one ever did." She shared that she had dreamed of being street-cast but failed.
"Then one day, I couldn't reach Yong-hwa. We went to different schools, but a friend at his school told me that someone from Seoul had come and taken Yong-hwa away. Hearing that, I thought, 'This guy, he said he wouldn't do it, and now he's running off to Seoul by himself,'" she said. "I called him immediately, and he said, 'Ah, I'm sorry.' When I asked him to explain, he said that agency staff had persuaded him, and after hearing them out, he wanted to do it so badly that he became a trainee and moved to Seoul."
Cha drew laughter by confessing her honest feelings: "At the time, I was more sad that the agency people didn't come to my school than I was betrayed by Yong-hwa."
She added that watching Jung debut later was a turning point. "I thought, 'Wow, what is that?' I felt happy for him, and he looked cool. And a burning feeling rose up in my heart," she said, noting that her friend's debut served as motivation for her.
Meanwhile, the end of the episode teased appearances by U-Know Yunho, Sunmi, and Jonathan at Suji's boarding house, raising expectations for the next broadcast.
(SBS Entertainment News Editor Kim Hyo-jung)
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