Peninsula: From a supporting actor to the best actor in Chungmuro

Chapter 105 Kim Ji-won's Three Axes

2:10 in the morning.

The phone rang suddenly -

Kim Ji-won fumbled with her phone in a daze, squinting to see the caller ID:
"Ah! Krystal! Do you know what time it is—"

"Jiwon-unnie..."

Noticing that there was something wrong with her tone, Jin Zhiyuan's temper slowed down instantly:

"……What's wrong?"

"us……"

"in argument?"

silence.

Then there was a very soft "hmm".

Jin Zhiyuan rubbed his temples and turned on the bedside lamp:

"Hey, what's going on? You called me so late at night, weren't you just trying to keep me guessing?"

There was a rustling sound coming from the other end of the phone, as if Krystal was adjusting her posture.

“…I left him on the side of the road.”

"What!?"

Jin Zhiyuan sat up suddenly, all sleepiness gone. "Tell me from the beginning, what happened?"

Zheng Xiujing was silent for a while before she told the story again in a disjointed manner.

The parking lot after the radio show, Bae Suzy's seemingly unintentional word "family", the argument in the car, and how she kicked Kang Jae-hoon out of the car in anger.

"...So you just left him on the side of the road?"

"I was so angry..."

Zheng Xiujing explained aggrievedly:
"Then I went back to look for him, but... he was gone."

Kim Ji-won sighed from the other end of the phone:
"Where are you now?"

"Namsan Tower parking lot."

Jin Zhiyuan was stunned: "Why are you going there?"

"We had agreed to come."

Zheng Xiujing's voice lowered a few notes:
"but I……"

"Ashi——"

Jin Zhiyuan jumped out of bed and started to put on her clothes: "Send me the location."

The sound of Zheng Xiujing sniffing came from the other end of the phone:
"Unnie is coming over?"

"You're emotionally unstable right now. It's too dangerous to drive. I'll pick you up."

"But tomorrow you..."

"Send location."

Twenty-five minutes later.

When Kim Ji-won opened the passenger door, Krystal was curled up in the driver's seat biting her nails.

When she saw the person coming, her red and swollen eyes instantly filled with tears again:

"Ouni..."

"stop--"

Jin Zhiyuan pinched Zheng Xiujing's cheek and held back her tears:
"Don't cry!"

As she said that, she took out a wet wipe from her bag and handed it over.

Zheng Xiujing blew her nose with a sniffle:
"Jiwon-unnie, what should I do?"

"The best thing you should do now is to go into a cold war."

"what?"

Kim Ji-won looked confident:

"From now on, don't answer his calls or reply to his messages. Make that Pabu anxious."

"Will this..."

"Hear me out."

Jin Zhiyuan reached out and pinched her lips:
"The SBS Entertainment Awards will be on the 30th. What you need to do is—"

"First, wear the most stunning dress and the most exquisite makeup, but keep a polite smile on his face the whole time."

"Second, when you cue him on stage, use the most gentle tone and the most official words."

"Third, at the after-party after the awards ceremony, just find a few handsome guys to stand together and chat, and make sure you smile very happily."

Krystal blinked her watery eyes:
"Will this... really work?"

"Of course!"

"But……"

Zheng Xiujing bit her lower lip and stammered:
"What if he doesn't come to see me?"

"Don't worry, it's impossible. On the contrary, you must hold back and don't reply to his messages for the next few days."

"Ah."

Zheng Xiujing nodded, but her face soon fell again:
"Ouni... do you think he might actually like Lee Sung Kyung more?"

"Ok?"

Jin Zhiyuan blinked: "Why do you think so?"

"They've known each other for five years and still live together, and I'm just being unreasonable..."

"Prabhu."

Jin Zhiyuan suddenly pinched her cheek:
"If Lee Sung Kyung has any idea, will it be your turn to confess?"

Seeing that Zheng Xiujing was still struggling, Jin Zhiyuan sighed and took out the ultimate weapon——

She took out the video of their first kiss on the night of "King's Game" from the photo album.

Kim Ji-won zoomed in on the video where he was at a loss but kept stealing glances at Krystal Jung:

"Don't worry."

Zheng Xiujing lightly touched the screen with her fingertips, and suddenly remembered something:
"Ouni, and Bae Suzy..."

"Just a tool."

Jin Zhiyuan waved her hand and said, "Remember, all obstacles will eventually become just part of your play."

"Unnie, what are you talking about?"

Krystal's cheeks quickly turned pink with embarrassment.

"Be good, don't think too much."

Jin Zhiyuan rubbed her head:

"Merry Christmas, even though it's already passed."

Krystal Jung looked at the snowflakes falling outside the car window, said "hmm" softly, and held Kim Ji-won's hand tighter.
-
The next day.

Jiang Zaixun stared at the phone screen with a frown on his face.

The Kakao chat interface was still stuck on the last message he sent to Zheng Xiujing in the early morning -

[Kang Jae-hoon]: Are you home yet?

The "read" mark on the left side of the message was glaringly bright, but the reply field was always empty.

He subconsciously clicked on Zheng Xiujing's social account, and the latest update stopped yesterday afternoon -

A selfie taken in the studio with the caption "Working hard~".

The comment section was filled with compliments from fans.

Jiang Jae-hoon sighed, opened the address book and hesitated for a while, but finally dialed the number.

"Beep-beep-beep-"

After a long wait, the call went to voicemail.

"..."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Zaixun opened Kakao and sent another message:
[Kang Jae-hoon]: Sorry, can we talk?

After the message is sent, "Type in progress" will be displayed above the chat box immediately.

But it soon reverted back to Krystal's ID. (I saw it...)
(But don’t want to go back?)

Jiang Zaixun rubbed his temples and suddenly realized——

This was the first cold war they had experienced since they started dating.

In the next few days, Jiang Zaixun's condition was visibly worse.

——Being distracted while reading the script;
——Staring blankly at the camera during a yogurt commercial;

——Even when practicing pole dancing at home, I made frequent mistakes.

"Snapped!"

Lee Sung-kyung turned off the music and frowned as he watched Kang Jae-hoon sliding down the pole again:

"What's going on with you lately?"

"what?"

Jiang Zaixun wiped the sweat off his face:
"No, nothing..."

"lie."

Lee Sung-kyung folded his arms:
"I've been absent-minded since Christmas Eve."

(Is it that obvious?)
Jiang Zaixun looked down at the floor and suddenly asked:
"Bible, do you think... am I suitable for a relationship?"

"you?"

Li Jingjing paused for a moment and asked, "Why do you ask this?"

"Just... curious."

"Not suitable."

Lee Sung-kyung's answer was straightforward:

"You can't even take care of yourself."

She turned and walked towards the kitchen, and her voice drifted over:
"We're having bibimbap tomorrow morning. Do you want some hot sauce?"

"……want."

(really……)
(Even the Bible says so.)
He took out his phone and opened the chat interface with Zheng Xiujing for the Nth time——

The last message he sent was still "I'm sorry".

(Tomorrow is the Entertainment Awards...)
(What should I say after we meet?)

(well……)
December 30th.

On the day of the SBS Entertainment Awards.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Kang Jae-hoon was dug out of bed by Kim Dae-won and stuffed into the nanny car.

"Today's schedule is quite full."

Jin Dayuan looked through the process chart with a toothpick in his mouth:
"First, I'll go to the beauty salon to get my hair done. Then I'll rehearse at 2pm. Then I'll do the red carpet at 7pm. Then the official awards ceremony will be at 9pm..."

Jiang Zaixun, with his messy hair, stared blankly at the street scene passing by outside the window.

The lighting in the beauty salon is very soft.

The stylist sister was cutting his hair and jokingly said:

"Have you not had enough rest recently? You have dark circles under your eyes."

"Well... a little."

Jiang Zaixun stared at his haggard face in the mirror and suddenly asked:
"Can you cover it?"

"Don't worry~"

The stylist smiled and took out the concealer:
"We are professionals."

Two hours later.

Jiang Zaixun stood in front of the full-length mirror and could hardly recognize himself——

The man in the mirror had clear outlines.

The black suit outlines his straight shoulders.

The bow tie fits perfectly below the Adam's apple.

The stylist deliberately combed the bangs up to reveal the full forehead and clear brow bones.

But his eyes still looked a little tired, like a lake covered with a layer of mist.

"Wow~"

The stylist took two steps back and looked at her work with satisfaction:
"This suits you so well!"

Jiang Zaixun forced a smile, but in the mirror he met Jin Dayuan's eyes as he pushed the door open.

"not bad!"

Jin Dayuan looked him up and down, shaking the toothpick at the corner of his mouth:

"It will definitely be on the hot search list tonight."

7 pm.

PRISM TOWER in Mapo District.

Fans on both sides of the red carpet screamed one after another.

The flashes formed a silvery-white ocean.

Jiang Zaixun stood in the waiting area, constantly adjusting the position of his bow tie.

"nervous?"

Jin Dayuan asked while holding a toothpick in his mouth.

"Kind of."

Jiang Zaixun took a deep breath:

"My first time walking the red carpet..."

"Relax, you've seen big scenes before, let alone this small one."

Jiang Zaixun took a deep breath and stepped onto the red carpet.

The flash lights suddenly poured down like a rainstorm, making him squint subconsciously.

The red carpet of the SBS Entertainment Awards was much simpler than expected——

There was no luxurious long carpet like at the film festival, only a passage of about 20 meters, with simple fences on both sides separating the fan area.

The host desk is just a simple standing microphone.

The background board has the "SBS Entertainment Awards" logo printed on it.

"Jiang Jaehoon! Look over here!"

"Chan-young! Here!"

"..."

The fans' screams rang out one after another.

Jiang Zaixun maintained a decent smile and waved to both sides from time to time.

"Jiang Jaehoonxi!"

The host enthusiastically handed over the microphone:

"How do you feel about participating in the entertainment awards for the first time?"

"It's an honour."

Jiang Zaixun bowed slightly and said, "Thank you for the invitation from SBS TV station."

"Recently, the ratings for 'Jae-hoon's Moonlight Chasing the Wind' have exceeded 13%. What are your thoughts on this?"

"First of all, I would like to thank the audience for their love..."

Jiang Zaixun answered the formulaic questions fluently, but his eyes kept glancing towards the red carpet entrance.

(Is she here?)

(What color dress will you wear?)
“…Looking forward to tonight’s awards ceremony.”

After finishing the brief interview, Kang Jae-hoon bowed politely and turned to walk towards the inner passage.

at this time--

Suddenly, an even louder burst of screams erupted at the red carpet entrance.

“Yoona!!!”

(End of this chapter)