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

Chapter 46: Runway Relativity
A lavender yoga mat forms an island in the middle of the living room.

When Kang Jae-hoon pushed open the door, Lee Sung-kyung was doing a plank position.

"Want to eat?"

He shook the chilled watermelon in the plastic bag.

"Put it in a fresh-keeping layer."

"Oh."

Jiang Zaixun put the watermelon in the refrigerator, went back to the room, took out the plastic-wrapped invitation from the drawer, and rubbed it against the edge of the yoga mat:

"Bible, can I bring someone with me tomorrow?"

"Who?"

"Hyungsik, he said he wanted to watch the supermodel show."

"Family tickets can only admit one person."

Lee Sung Kyung remained motionless.

Jiang Zaixun held the ticket up to the ceiling light: "But there's no name on the ticket. Look at this..."

"If Park Hyung-sik wants to see a show, let him ask the brand himself. My invitation is not a sightseeing bus ticket."

"How about I put Hyungsik in the suitcase? He's lost weight lately..."

Li Jingcheng suddenly turned his head, and the sharp look in his eyes made him swallow the second half of his sentence.

A moment of silence.

"The Bible—"

Jiang Jae-hoon suddenly reached out and poked her tense waist.

Li Jingjing's arms, which were used to maintain balance, trembled instantly, and the whole person fell onto the yoga mat:

"Ah! Are you looking for death?"

"If you're going to be doing a show tomorrow, you should rest now."

"That's a really wide range of regulations."

"Overtraining can lead to rhabdomyolysis."

"Get off."

Instead, Jiang Zaixun sat cross-legged on the edge of the yoga mat and refused to leave:

"The Bible wouldn't want to pee blood on a catwalk, would it?"

"boom!"

Li Shengjing turned over and picked up the foam roller and swept it across.

Jiang Zaixun covered his arm that was hit:

"Murdering a family member is against the law!"

"Who acknowledged you as a family member?"

"It's written on the invitation!"

"That's for security check!"

Lee Sung Kyung picked up the foam roller again and swept across.

When Jiang Zaixun leaned back to avoid it, he accidentally hit the back of his head hard on the glass coffee table.

The muffled "bang" sound startled the air conditioner fan blades and made them shake.

"hiss--"

He instantly curled up like a shrimp and covered his head.

Li Jingjing was stunned, and quickly knelt down to pry open his palm, and examined his scalp under the light:
"Let me see."

As soon as his fingertips touched the hot swelling, Jiang Jae-hoon suddenly screamed "Ah".

"Just die of stupidity."

She rolled her eyes and stood up, took out an ice pack from the freezer, wrapped it in a towel, and pressed it hard on his swollen bump.

"The Bible."

"explain."

"Your mascara is smudged."

"I'm not wearing any makeup."

"Then why are there stars in your eyes? It's the Milky Way Limited Edition."

"It's your concussion hallucination."

Li Jingcheng suddenly pressed hard, as if kneading dough.

Jiang Zaixun gasped in pain:

"Hiss—be gentle... But if I suffer a concussion and lose my memory, will the Bible reintroduce itself?"

Li Shengjing's fingers holding the ice pack suddenly tightened.

The pulse under my fingertips suddenly beat twice faster, and the blue light of the fitness bracelet flashed rapidly on my wrist.

The clearly layered chicken breasts and instant rice balls in the refrigerator, the untorn "Toilet Seat Lid Warning" on the toilet lid, the card hidden in the dumbbell box on my birthday night - these fragments suddenly flashed before my eyes like a kaleidoscope.

"I'll send you straight to the morgue in 'Master's Sun' as a backdrop."

Lee Sung-kyung pulled the ice pack towel tightly, as if to strangle those inappropriate memories - such as the elephant beach pants he brought back from Thailand, which were now hanging on the balcony clothesline and swaying in the wind.

The moonlight quietly shifted half an inch.

When Lee Sung-kyung's fitness tracker lit up with a sleep reminder, Kang Jae-hoon's snoring mixed with the sweet smell of watermelon filled the entire living room.

It's half past seven in the morning.

Jiang Zaixun was awakened by the alarm on his mobile phone. The swelling on the back of his head had mostly subsided.

The sticky note on the refrigerator was gilded by the morning light. Li Shengjing's handwriting was as sharp as a knife:
【If you dare to be late, you will die. 】

Hwang Jung-min's custom-made suit hangs in its dust bag behind the door.

This is the suit he had custom-made when he won the Best Actor award at his first international film festival (the 15th Montreal Fantastic Film Festival) for his role in "The Unfair Trade".

The bathroom mirror was polished to a crystal clear shine, and the razor slid evenly along Jiang Jae-hoon's jawline.

The Dior perfume Lee Sung-kyung gave me was placed on the edge of the sink—the way she casually tossed it over seemed to still be in my mind: "Promotional gift."

"Three pumps, wrist, behind the ear."

He muttered to himself at the instructions as the mist of fragrance settled on his pulse, the base notes of cedar and amber being more subdued than expected.

The shoulders of the suit fit perfectly, except that the sleeves were a half-inch too short.

The Oxford shoes were polished so well that you could see your reflection in them, and the laces were tied in a standard European knot.

When the full-length mirror reflected his tall figure, Jiang Jae-hoon was dazed for a moment - Huang Zhengmin's battle robe actually revealed a youthful sharpness on him.

The spring and summer fashion weeks are held in Dongdaemun.

In the media area in front of the photo wall, cannon-like cameras were set up.

When Jiang Zaixun was staring at the entrance sign in a daze, someone suddenly patted his shoulder - Park Hyung-sik proudly shook his pass.

"How did you...?"

"Woo Bin did it for me."

Fashion Week is divided into showrooms and backstages.

The exhibition hall is open to everyone and mainly provides an opportunity for major brands to showcase new products. Most of the people who come here are buyers, brand managers, overseas purchasers, etc.

Admission is also simple, just apply online.

The inner field is the show venue, and the threshold is relatively high.

Ordinary audiences are generally not allowed to enter, and only those invited by brands can enter.

They are usually celebrities, KOLs, self-media bloggers, and brand managers.

As a well-known model, it is not difficult for Kim Woo Bin to help get a pass.

Park Hyung-sik looked around at Kang Jae-hoon's outfit:

"But, brother, you look like a consortium director here to inspect a merger and acquisition project."

"I borrowed it from the teacher."

“No wonder it smells like Chungmuro ​​old money.”

"What does it mean to smell like old money?"

"Brother, you don't even understand this and you still want to come to a fashion show?"

"..."

When the two walked into the show.

Jiang Zaixun suddenly understood the meaning of "the smell of old money" -

Ripped denim suits, male models wearing suits without underwear, and fashionistas wearing fishnet stockings as scarves...

His old-money-style suit made him look like a principal who had accidentally wandered into a nightclub, and even the reporters who passed by took a second look at him.

Seat 27, Row F, Family Area is located at the very end of the T-stage.

Park Hyung-sik smacked his lips at the narrow viewing angle and said, "I should have brought a telescope."

“Some of them are good to watch.”

Jiang Zaixun sat down calmly, and his elbow accidentally bumped into the arm of the man sitting next to him.

"Sorry." He sidled up to greet.

"It's ok."

The other party turned a page in the show brochure and said, "The seats here are really crowded."

As the number of people entering the venue gradually increases.

When Jiang Jae-hoon retracted his legs and moved sideways to make room for the fifth time, he finally saw the profile of the man sitting next to him.

"Lee Jong Suk, senior?" he asked hesitantly.

Lee Jong Suk turned his head from the manual, a polite smile on his face:
"Yes, it's me."

13 was a soaring year for Lee Jong Suk's career.

With his first leading role in "I Hear Your Voice", he was promoted from a "newcomer actor" to a "first-line male star".

The movie "The Face Reader" which is now showing in theaters has made his popularity soar.

"Hello, senior, I'm rookie actor Kang Jae-hoon."

Lee Jong Suk is no stranger to this name.

It wasn't through his works or Hwang Jung-min's relationship, but I heard it several times from Lee Sung-kyung's daily complaints.

Before Jiang Zaixun finished speaking, a half-surprised face appeared beside him:
"Jong Suk-hyung?"

Lee Jong Suk looked over Kang Jae Hoon and asked, "Hyung Sik?" "Oh my god, it's really hyung!"

Park Hyung-sik met him last year.

At that time, Lee Jong Suk was still hosting "Inkigayo", and although the ZE:ZE group was not well-known, they still wanted to promote their songs.

However, the relationship only remained at the level of acquaintance.

Lee Jong Suk smiled at Park Hyung Sik with his signature brackets:

"What is Hyungsik doing lately?"

"I'm filming the new drama 'The Heirs' written by Kim Eun-sook."

As he said that, he patted Jiang Zaixun on the shoulder:

"Jaehoon hyung is also in this drama."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhongshuo fixed his gaze on Jiang Zaixun's cheekbone——

The chestnut short hair creates a subtle color contrast with the natural thick black eyebrows.

The bridge of the nose is an uncarved, natural bone structure.

His face had a cold, pale texture, but the cuffs of his suit were so short that they revealed his wheat-colored wrists with protruding wrist bones.

This appearance is very different from the "ordinary" described by Lee Sung-kyung, and is a bit wilder than Hyun Bin during the "Secret Garden" period.

"A new project by screenwriter Kim Eun-sook?"

He naturally took over the topic: "Good opportunity, come on."

Li Zhongshuo's encouragement was in the tone of a standard senior, but it was not perfunctory at all.

He first came into the public eye with his 2-minute gay role in Kim Eun-sook's hit drama "Secret Garden."

The sudden shutdown of the T-stage lights interrupted the three people's desire to continue their conversation.

The fluorescent words "SEOUL FASHION WEEK SS14" appeared on the electronic screen.

Industrial rock mixed with electronic sounds exploded.

The sound of electricity pierced the darkness, the laser beams on both sides of the T-stage intertwined to form a dome, and the first row of flash lights flashed wildly - the model who opened the show appeared to the beat of the drums.

Lee Sung-kyung was the seventh to appear.

The rhinestone tassels on the brim of the blue beaded hat swayed gently with her cat steps, and the white lace cuffs swept across the ink-splashed prints on the black skirt. Her arrogant expression was exactly the same as when Kang Jae-hoon was caught eating the pudding in her refrigerator.

When the fixed pose is frozen.

She should have locked onto the camera, but she unconsciously glanced towards the last row of the family area.

In the dim outline of the family seats, the toes of some unfashionable old-fashioned suit were shaking to the beat.

The muscles at the corners of Lee Sung-kyung's lips twitched for 0.3 seconds, and he bit his cheek with his teeth to suppress his instinctive smile.

However, no one at the scene noticed the flaw when she looked back—

Like a glacier that cracks open due to the spring flood, it is quickly frozen back to its original shape by professional ethics.

"Brother, was that model Lee Sung Kyung?"

Park Hyung-sik elbowed Kang Jae-hoon in the ribs: "You look completely different from the photos in your phone album!"

Jiang Zaixun's mouth instantly stretched to his ears:

"Cool, huh?"

"That head shake during the fixed point—ka!"

Park Hyung-sik imitated Lee Sung-kyung's chin-raising gesture: "His eyes are like saying 'Everyone here is garbage', perfect!"

"The Bible was originally the winner of a modeling contest."

"My expression now is like my daughter got into SKY."

Park Hyung-sik elbowed him again and teased:

"The corners of his mouth are almost hanging down to his cheekbones!"

(Note: SKY = Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University, three of South Korea's top universities. Their status in China is roughly equivalent to that of Tsinghua University and Peking University in China.)
"Have it?"

Jiang Zaixun rubbed his face and said, "Watch the show, watch the show."

When Lee Sung-kyung returned to the stage after changing into her second look, Kang Jae-hoon's back was straighter than Park Hyung-sik's shoulder pads.

Park Hyung-sik stole a glance at his glowing pupils, with only one thought in his mind.

——Krystal Jung·Dangerous.

When Lee Sung-kyung's second outfit show returned to the curtain.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kang Jae-hoon saw Lee Jong-suk holding his locked phone upside down on his lap.

At first he didn't care.

Until Lee Sung-kyung came on stage wearing the third outfit - the senior who was concentrating on adjusting the camera on his mobile phone was moving the viewfinder precisely according to Lee Sung-kyung's steps.

Only then did Jiang Jae-hoon realize something was wrong.

"Senior, are you a fan of Lee Sung Kyung?" I realized how rash the words were when they came out of my mouth.

"Seniors from the same company."

"Her agency is Y+."

"It's now called the YG Model Department."

"The Bible doesn't mention that."

"Who are you?" Lee Jong Suk asked knowingly.

"Her roommate."

"Maybe you think it's unimportant?"

Lee Jong Suk slowly put away his phone, his smiling eyes curved into a crescent moon in the dark:

"The Bible is very special. It is a kind soul that holds an umbrella for stray cats on a rainstorm, and its smile is as warm as the early spring sun."

The mineral water bottle made a crisp sound in Jiang Zaixun's palm, unable to bear the weight.
"Senior, your observations are really detailed."

“Actors always have to capture the details of life.”

"But the Bible is afraid of cats and won't... on rainy days..."

"People always change, don't they?"

Park Hyung-sik smelled the tension in the conversation between the two, and turned around to see the man who played the gentle academic master in "The Heirs" currently using his knuckles to grind dense cracks on a mineral water bottle.

The conversation between the two ended at the end of the first show.

When the lights of the show dimmed, Lee Jong Suk stood up and adjusted the hem of his clothes:

"I'm going backstage to deliver flowers. Do you two want to take a message?"

"Need not."

"Praise the Bible for me! That typhoon is amazing!" Park Hyung-sik raised his hand.

When Lee Jong Suk left the table with a bouquet of flowers, Kang Jae Hoon's Adam's apple rolled unconsciously. He stared at the edge of the catwalk, and suddenly felt that the look Lee Sung Kyung glanced at the family seats when she turned around was like an ice pick - piercing that worthless possessive desire.

"Where are you going, brother?"

Park Hyung-sik looked up at Kang Jae-hoon who suddenly stood up.

"Go back to the crew."

"Your role isn't on the schedule today?"

"It was added temporarily."

“I didn’t see the group chat…”

Park Hyung-sik glanced at the other person's clenched fist with veins bulging, and suddenly fell silent.

The smell of perfume and hairspray wafted through the air backstage at Fashion Week.

When Lee Sung-kyung was chatting with her colleagues, Lee Jong-suk's bouquet had already blocked the crack in the door.

"Congratulations on your debut, the typhoon is very stable."

Lee Sung-kyung took the lily bouquet and sniffed it:

"Thank you."

"Your roommate just interrogated me as a love rival."

"What were you talking about?"

"I said we were dating—"

Lee Sung Kyung's eyes widened, and she threw the bouquet at him: "Lee Jong Suk!"

"What are you panicking about?" He smiled and dodged the bouquet. "Didn't you say it was just a roommate?"

"Axi..."

Before she finished her words, Lee Sung-kyung's high heels had already stepped over the petals on the ground and rushed towards the corridor.

The security team leader was arguing with his colleague when he was suddenly tapped on the shoulder:

"Where's the person in seat 27, row F, family seats?"

"The man dressed like he's here to inspect the taxes?"

The security team leader pointed to the fire escape and said, "I've been walking there for five minutes, and I spent a long time using the signature wall as a mirror."

The ten-centimeter stiletto heels made a crisp sound like a machine gun on the steps.

The moment the fire door slammed into the wall, Lee Sung-kyung only had time to catch a glimpse of the tip of an Oxford shoe flashing through the revolving door.

She quickly rushed forward and grabbed the back of a figure in a black suit:
"Kang Jae-hoon!"

The man turned his head blankly.

"…Sorry for the wrong person."

Lee Sung-kyung took two steps back.

"Kang Jae-hoon!"

The heat wave was overwhelming outside the Dongdaemun Stadium.

After catching the wrong target for the third time, she finally collapsed on the metal bench, clattering her high heels:

"I must have been crazy to chase him out!"

"Miss."

The coffee shop clerk peeked out the window: "Would you like an iced drink?"

"Give me the bitterest iced Americano!"

She reached for the secret pocket of her leather jacket and was surprised to find that her cell phone was still in the background.

When I turned back to the venue, my eyes inadvertently swept across the revolving door——

Kang Jae-hoon was stopped in his tracks by Jessica Jung's pointed high heels. The icy beauty, with her arms folded and her head tilted back, looked like a prosecutor interrogating a tax evader.

(End of this chapter)