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

Chapter 66: The Fateful Crossroads on the 24th

Director Fu Shengzhe watched the monitor playback and suddenly said to the assistant director:
"In which episode did Editor Jin add the kissing scene for them?"

The assistant director quickly flipped through the show schedule:

"Episode 10, first kiss on the rooftop."

"It's too late. It should be the eight-episode rule."

"But the kissing scene according to the eight-episode rule has already been assigned to Kim Tan and Cha Eun Sang..."

The assistant director handed over the show schedule.

Fu Shengzhe glanced at it and said, "Let's wait until the ratings come out next week before we have a meeting to make adjustments."

……

After work on the set.

Jiang Zaixun was standing on the roadside waiting for the nanny car when his phone suddenly vibrated.

[Krystal Jung]: Don't forget your vocal practice! See you at my company's main entrance at 9 o'clock.

As soon as he finished replying, Jin Dayuan's nanny car braked suddenly and stopped in front of him.

"The number of screens for Despicable Me 2 has been cut from 450 to 50."

"what?"

Jiang Zaixun, who was fastening his seat belt, paused:
"What?"

"Frozen had 150 million viewers in its first week. Good numbers will naturally attract more resources."

"Disney's dominance is too strong..."

Jin Dayuan was amazed:
"Maybe in two years you'll be able to dub a Disney blockbuster."

"hope so."

"Despicable Me 2" is not Universal Pictures' top IP.

Currently, the total number of viewers for the Korean version is just over 100 million.

It is clearly not competitive enough compared to Disney's high-quality animations.

The red light came on, and Jin Dayuan glanced at the rearview mirror:

"Would you like to go home directly today?"

"I'm going to SM Entertainment."

"Why are you going there?"

"The crew asked me and Soo-jung to sing the OST, and she gave me vocal lessons."

"Krystal Jung teaches personally?"

Jin Dayuan's steering wheel almost slipped: "She's okay at dancing, but is her vocal level good enough?"

Jiang Zaixun immediately refuted:
"I'm ACE!"

"Oh, you're protecting me now?"

Jiang Zaixun's momentum instantly weakened:
“Just stating the facts.”

Jin Dayuan sneered:
"But you're right. It's more than enough to teach a tone-deaf person like you who can't sing two notes in three sentences."

"..."

The SM company building looks like a glass castle at night, and the LED screen on the exterior wall is playing the MV of "First Wisdom Teeth".

Jiang Zaixun was standing downstairs holding a paper bag filled with banana milk and strawberry daifuku, looking up at Zheng Xiujing's figure on the screen——

The long burgundy hair was thrown over the shoulders, revealing cold and beautiful eyebrows. The neat kick brought up a gust of air, and the faintly visible 11-shaped abdominal muscles at the waist danced in the light and shadow.

She is completely different from the blushing girl on the set in my memory.

"Cough-cough-"

A low cough sounded past my ears.

"Are you fascinated by it?"

He turned his head and saw Krystal Jung standing beside him without him noticing.

His cap was pulled down low and the ends of his hair were still wet, obviously he had just taken a shower.

The hoodie wrapped around her slender figure made her look like a college student who had sneaked out to play, without any of the cool aura she had in the MV.

Jiang Zaixun handed over the banana milk:

"So you're usually like this on stage..."

"So what?"

“Sparkling.”

Zheng Xiujing took the banana milk, rubbed the bottle with her fingertips, and unconsciously raised a small arc at the corner of her mouth:

"Being on stage is a job requirement. Normally, I wouldn't be so exaggerated."

"You're just as beautiful as usual."

This sentence made Zheng Xiujing's heart blossom. She lowered her head, biting the straw, and said incoherently:

"move."

She swiped her card and pushed open the glass door, followed closely by Jiang Jae-hoon.

The corridors are lined with posters of idols from past dynasties, LED light strips illuminate the white floor tiles like ice, and the air is filled with the faint smell of disinfectant mixed with the aftertaste of perfume.

The elevator dinged and stopped at the practice room floor.

As soon as the door opened, several female trainees happened to pass by. When they saw Krystal Jung, they immediately stood in a row against the wall and bowed. Their uniform greetings echoed in the corridor.

"Hello, senior!"

Krystal nodded slightly without stopping.

Jiang Zaixun's eyes swept across one of the cold faces——

The girl had her hair tied in a ponytail and her face was as clean as fresh snow, but her eyes suddenly widened when her eyes met his.

"Porcelain spirit?"

"Uncle?"

Zheng Xiujing suddenly stopped and glanced back and forth between the two of them:
"Do you know?"

"what……"

Jiang Zaixun scratched his head and explained: "I accidentally stained Lin Yuner's coat before, and I happened to meet this person..."

"Bae Joohyun."

The girl added softly.

"Yes, there was a misunderstanding at that time."

Pei Zhuxuan pursed her lips and smiled: "Senior has a good memory."

However, Zheng Xiujing's small ears automatically filtered out irrelevant plots and only accurately captured the key words -

Lim Yoona.

It’s so haunting!

Thinking of this, she pursed her lips into a straight line and turned away:
"Let's go, practice room time is limited."

"Ah, wait!"

Jiang Zaixun quickly followed, took two steps and then turned back, took out a box of banana milk and strawberry daifuku from the paper bag and stuffed it into Pei Zhuxuan's pocket:
"Thanks for last time."

Krystal stood at the corner of the corridor, watching the scene with her arms folded, tapping the ground with her toes impatiently.

Pei Zhuxuan held the snack with a confused look on her face. It was not until the two disappeared around the corner that she heard her companion scream softly:

"It's Yoon Chanyoung from 'The Heirs'! Are he and Krystal sunbaenim dating?"

……

When Jiang Zaixun jogged over to catch up, Zheng Xiujing asked coldly:
"Are you good at taking care of others?"

"It's just convenient..."

Jiang Zaixun smiled innocently: "Trainees are all very hard-working."

"So you and Yoona-unnie are close enough that you can borrow her coat at will?"

"……what?"

Jiang Zaixun belatedly sensed a hint of danger, and his desire to survive suddenly took over:
"It was an accident! My crotch was torn."

"arrive."

Zheng Xiujing opened the door of the practice room, and the corners of her mouth rose slightly in the shadows——

It turns out that even a wooden man would be anxious to explain.

"First, test your range. Start with middle C and sing with me—"

Krystal Jung sat in front of the piano, her fingertips moving across the keys to play a series of scales.

Jiang Zaixun stood beside the upright piano, his hands pressed against his trouser seams, standing straight like a primary school student being called by his teacher:

"what--"

As soon as it reaches E4, it breaks into bubbling sound.

"puff--"

Zheng Xiujing quickly covered her mouth:
"So there are things that Teacher Jiang isn't good at?"

Just as Jiang Zaixun was about to refute, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Boom boom boom——"

Kim Taeyeon leaned halfway in:
"Crystal, what are you doing...eh? Lady brother?"

Rich lady brother?
The moment this playful nickname pierced her eardrum like a thorn, the smile on Krystal's lips suddenly disappeared, and her fingers pressed hard on the piano keys, producing a discordant note.

"Hello, Taeyeon-sempai."

Jiang Zaixun greeted with a silly smile: "Are you recording?"

Kim Taeyeon smiled and replied:

"Yeah, we're recording our third Japanese album. What are you guys doing?"

"Special OST training for the crew."

Krystal Jung answered first: "Since Taeyeon is preparing for an album, she must be very busy, right?"

The order to expel the guests was both subtle and sharp.

"..."

Kim Taeyeon finally realized what was happening and raised her eyebrows, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two of them:
"Okay, I won't disturb you..."

She took a half step back tactfully.

The moment the door closed.

Zheng Xiujing stepped on the sustain pedal hard, and the piano vibrated like a roar:

"Sing again from La!"

The lingering sound of the piano vibrated in the air.

Jiang Zaixun stared at Zheng Xiujing's tense profile and suddenly asked:
"Do you hate Taeyeon sunbae?"

The fingers on the keys paused.

"No."

Krystal immediately denied it: "I just think practice time is precious."

"So you just..." "You like the nickname 'Lady Brother'?"

Krystal suddenly interrupted Kang Jae-hoon and turned to look him straight in the eyes.

Jiang Zaixun was stunned by the question:
“It’s just a name.”

Zheng Xiujing's fingertips pressed a note on the piano keys:
"You're a disciple of Hwang Jung-min and a Chungmuro ​​reserve actor. Why do you deserve to be labeled a cross-dresser?"

Jiang Jae-hoon was stunned.

He had never thought about this question -

Variety show effects, topic popularity, and audience memory points, aren’t these what artists should cooperate with?
But the way Krystal Jung was being serious at this moment made his heart suddenly feel soft and sink.

"understood."

Jiang Zaixun suddenly reached out and rubbed her hair:

"If anyone calls me that again, I'll tell them..."

Zheng Xiujing raised her face, and her hair slipped through his fingers:
"say what?"

"Speaking of us, Bona will be angry."

"..."

Zheng Xiujing's cheeks flushed suddenly, and she almost jumped up from the piano bench when she slapped his hand away:
"Who, who's your Baona? Now it's singing lesson!"

She turned around in a panic, her fingers randomly pressing a series of discordant notes on the piano keys, trying to cover up her rapid heartbeat.

“Keep practicing!”

Krystal Jung fiercely ordered, "No off-key singing this time!"

"Inside~"

Jiang Jae-hoon stood up straight, like a straight poplar tree.

Zheng Xiujing secretly glanced at him from the reflection of the piano surface——

Her serious profile looked particularly beautiful in the warm light, her Adam's apple rolled up and down with the scale, and she hummed along with her melody clumsily but with great effort.

Outside the glass door.

Kim Taeyeon, who overheard a few words of the conversation in the room, shook her head and walked away.

Children nowadays
She took out her phone and sent a Kakao message to Lin Yuner:

[It seems your stray cat is being targeted by a tiger cub]

Kim Taeyeon had just taken a few steps when her phone vibrated.

Caller ID: [Yoona]

She picked up the phone, and Lin Yuner's smiling voice came from the receiver:
"Ouni, what's with the stray cat Tiger?"

Kim Taeyeon curled her lips:

"Your Kang Jae-hoon is currently receiving vocal training from Crystal in the company's practice room."

"?"

"I just called out 'Brother Lady' and Crystal almost pinned me to the wall with her eyes."

“…If someone asks me ‘Where are your eyebrows?’ I’ll glare at them too.”

".ah!"

Kim Taeyeon instantly got furious.

"Just kidding~"

Lin Yuner's voice was as gentle as melted honey: "Why are they practicing vocal music?"

"It's said that they are doing special OST training for the crew."

Kim Taeyeon looked back at the tightly closed door of the practice room. She could still faintly hear Kang Jae-hoon's off-tune singing and Krystal's amused corrections coming from inside.

"The atmosphere...it's so pink it looks like bubbles are coming out."

Suddenly, the director's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Yun'erxi! Get ready for filming!"

"right away!"

Lin Yuner responded, and her speech speed suddenly increased:
"Taeyeon-unnie, this situation should be told to Jessica-unnie."

"Mo? Jessica?"

"Remember to use the tone of 'your Crystal was bullied'."

Before the call ended, Kim Taeyeon could still hear Lin Yuner's gentle voice apologizing to the crew:

"Sorry, I'll be right away"

Kim Taeyeon stared at the black screen and suddenly laughed out loud:

"This girl"

She turned and walked towards the elevator, her fingertips sliding across the Kakao contact list, finally stopping at the dialog box of [Jessica].

[Your Crystal is being pestered by the male actors from the "The Heirs" crew to teach her vocal music.]

[Now the two of them are alone in the practice room]

[The man even touched her head and said, "Our Soojung!"]

As soon as the send button is pressed, the dialog box immediately displays [The other party is typing...]

Three seconds later——

[Jessica Jung]: Location. Now.

……

Eleven o'clock that night.

The piano music in the practice room suddenly stopped, and Zheng Xiujing closed the piano cover:
"That's it for today."

Jiang Jae-hoon rubbed his throat:

"Mr. Crystal, have I made progress?"

"From the car accident scene to..."

Krystal tilted her head and thought for a moment: "A minor rear-end collision?"

Jiang Jae-hoon: “…”

The moment Zheng Xiujing opened the door handle of the practice room, the cold wind from the corridor blew towards her with the scent of perfume——

Jessica Jung leaned against the wall with her arms folded, tapping her elbows impatiently with her fingertips.

“Unnie?!”

Zheng Xiujing's voice suddenly rose, and she subconsciously used her body to block the crack in the door:
"How did you come?"

"Passing by."

Jessica Jung's gaze passed over her sister's shoulder and locked onto Kang Jae-hoon who was packing up the sheet music.

"I heard someone needs vocal guidance?"

Jiang Zaixun stood there in a daze, holding the banana milk paper bag: "Good evening, Jessica."

"Humph."

Zheng Xiuyan snorted coldly and opened her red lips slightly: "Jiang..."

Zheng Xiujing suddenly took a step forward, put her arms around her sister's waist and forced her to change direction:

"Let's go home!"

"Ah! Little Crystal, let me go!"

Jessica Jung's high heels scraped the floor with a sharp sound, and her sister dragged her towards the elevator with the strength of a wrestler:

"I haven't finished talking yet!"

"We'll talk about it next time!"

"Next time? And next time!??"

Jessica Jung's scream echoed in the corridor, causing several trainees to look out in fear.

"Ah! Put me down!!!"

Kang Jae-hoon stood there holding the wrapper of the strawberry daifuku that Krystal had left over, watching her half-drag and half-pull her sister into the elevator.

At the last second before the elevator door closed, seeing that there was no hope of escaping, Jessica Jung made a gesture of wiping her neck towards Jiang Jaehoon, and her mouth shape was clearly:

"You are dead."

"..."

The corridor returned to silence.

He took out his phone, hesitated for a moment, and then sent a Kakao message:

[Thank you for today's vocal lesson. Be careful when you get home.]

Five minutes later, Jiang Jae-hoon's phone vibrated.

[Krystal Jung]: I have a birthday party on the 24th. Are you free to come?
"number 24?"

He checked the calendar on his phone - it was the broadcast date of episode 06 of "The Heirs".

[Kang Jae-hoon]: It’s okay if there are no accidents.

As soon as the message was sent, the other party replied immediately:

[Krystal Jung]: No gifts allowed! Just show up!

Then he added:

[Krystal Jung]: ...Also, don't take my sister's words to heart.

……

When Jiang Zaixun was standing at the entrance of SM company waiting for the bus, his phone suddenly vibrated.

[Lee Sung-kyung]: Returned to Seoul from Tokyo on the 24th.

These few short words made him stare at the screen for a few seconds.

24 number.

Krystal Jung's birthday party.

Lee Sung Kyung's return date.

The night wind blew fallen leaves past his feet, and Jiang Zaixun looked up at the lights of the SM building.

The window of one of the practice rooms was still lit. I wondered if that porcelain master I had met twice was sweating for his debut.

——What should I do?
Say "I'll pick you up at the airport"?
But Krystal's parties are mostly at night.

Saying “I might not be able to go to the birthday party”?
But Lee Sung-kyung didn't ask about his schedule.

While he was hesitating, the nanny car slowly stopped in front of him.

Jin Dayuan rolled down the window:
"What are you daydreaming about? Get in the car!"

"..."

The night view of Seoul outside the car window quickly receded, and neon signs left long streaks of light on the glass.

Jiang Zaixun looked at his reflection——

On the left is the music sheet that Krystal Jung handed him, and on the right is the text message from Lee Sung Kyung.

He suddenly remembered what Huang Zhengmin said:

“The most difficult thing for an actor is not the role, but the life outside of the play.”

Today is still 2 in 1~


(End of this chapter)