Cast of Twinkling Watermelon cried and almost smashed guitar after having to learn music instruments and sign language for series

Learning new things on the job can be hard. This actor almost smashed his guitar.

In an interview with AsiaOne, the cast of the ongoing fantasy coming-of-age K-drama Twinkling Watermelon shared their individual struggles in preparing for their roles.

The story follows Eun-gyeol (played by Ryeoun), a musically gifted high school student with hearing-impaired parents who spends his nights as a guitarist in a band.

He later visits a mysterious music instrument store and travels back in time to the year 1995, forming a band named Watermelon Sugar with other students there.

While Ryeoun plays a talented guitarist in the drama, in real life, he struggled learning the instrument.

"I needed to do well but it really wasn't easy. I was often disappointed in myself during practice and I almost smashed a guitar once," the 25-year-old, who was also in the 2020 K-drama 18 Again, recalled.

Additionally, he needed to juggle learning sign language and the guitar, which made acting tougher: "If I don't pay attention to the sign language component, the acting wouldn't work out, but if I focus too much on the acting, I start to get the sign language component wrong. That was challenging for me."

Seol In-ah, who plays the cello goddess Choi Se-kyung, shared similar frustrations when learning the instrument.

"I thought the cello would be easier for me since I play the guitar, not that I'm good at it. But it took a lot out of me while I was learning to play the cello… Whenever I touched my instrument, I saw my limitations and I found myself in tears because I couldn't play it well," the 27-year-old, who received some fame in the 2022 K-drama Business Proposal, explained.

However she added that while getting the hang of the instrument was difficult, it was a fun and good experience.

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When we asked the cast about some unexpected hobbies they have in real life, In-ah joked that "it's a secret".

"I am part of other television programmes where I share a lot about myself but one thing that I didn't share was my love for puzzles," she laughed, surprising the cast.

"Really? I didn't know about that," remarked Shin Eun-soo, 20, who plays the hearing-impaired Yoon Chung-ah.

"Everyone, this is a real secret of mine. Please don't go around writing too many articles about it," joked In-ah.

Ryeoun revealed that he and co-star Choi Hyun-wook enjoy taking lower body baths.

"It has been a habit of mine since I was young and so I have been spreading this habit around. It's like a hobby that isn't actually a hobby but I'll feel uneasy if I were to miss a day of it," added Hyun-wook, 21.

Twinkling Watermelon is now streaming on Viu with new episodes out every Monday and Tuesday.

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com

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