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

Chapter 8 Curtain Call Time Difference
"Excuse me, how many scenes are left in Lady Macduff's play?"

In the darkness, Li Jingjing lowered his voice and asked the person sitting next to him.

"That was her exit scene. Now it's just Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth going crazy."

Lee Sung-kyung looked down at her phone: 20:32.

At least I got to see his final performance, so it wasn't a wasted trip.

……

The taxi's taillights turned into red dots in the rain.

The driver chewed some quit-smoking gum and looked in the rearview mirror: "How come you came out ten minutes after going in?"

"finish watching."

"Wow, even Shakespeare would give you a thumbs up."

Lee Sung-kyung threw his soaked baseball cap to the back seat:
"We have a flight at 22:30. Please drive faster."

As the car passed a puddle, she sneezed and fell into the front seat.

The driver caught a glimpse of her red nose and silently turned up the heat.

Inside the Sunrise Theater.

On the stage, when Macbeth was stabbed to death by Macduff, the two-hour play "Macbeth" came to an end.

Applause spread from the seats to the dome, and all the actors came on stage to take their bows.

The belt was so tight that Jiang Zaixun's eyes went dark as he bowed.

When he stood up, his eyes swept across the family seats - the two empty seats were like gaps in his teeth.

Didn't he come after all?
A sense of loss inexplicably surged into his heart.

Huang Zaiyu grabbed his sleeve, looked up and asked, "Mother, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm acting out the brokenness of a lady."

"what is that?"

"You'll understand when you grow up."

When Jiang Zaixun turned around while rubbing the child's head, he caught a glimpse of Jin Dayuan in the third row making a "phone call" gesture frantically.

——The bank clerk had long disappeared.

Backstage.

Just as Jiang Zaixun took off the corset that had left red marks on it, Jin Meihui knocked on the door:
"Xiaoxun, go accept an interview with SBS TV station."

"I?"

Jiang Jae-hoon pointed at himself in surprise.

Post-performance interviews should be conducted by the leading actor or director, and it would never be the turn of a minor supporting actor like him.

"This is a question a reporter might ask. Please memorize the standard answer."

"Uh, okay!"

If Jiang Zaixun doesn't understand this obvious promotion, then there's no point in being in this business.

He quickly took the notebook and began to recite quickly.

"..."

"Jiang Jaehoonxi, please look at the camera!"

The SBS reporter put the microphone just below his collarbone, and Kang Jae-hoon subconsciously raised the microphone fifteen degrees.

——This is the “little secret to a better-looking face” that Lee Sung-kyung told him.

"How did you overcome the psychological barrier of playing a female role?"

"The beauty of art can transcend gender boundaries. The moment I put on the costume, gender is just a shell. The character's struggle, love and vulnerability are universal."

Kang Jae-hoon's perfect answer made the reporter who asked the question raise an eyebrow slightly.

The director immediately added a line of red characters on the inscription card: [Dig deeper! Don't let him memorize the script!]

The reporter decisively switched to the preset gossip question and asked:

"Some viewers commented on the official website that your version of Lady Macduff 'looks like Hyun Bin in a skirt in 'Secret Garden'. What do you think?"

"Uh"

Sure enough, when the content went beyond the standard Q&A, Jiang Zaixun was stuck for a moment and his eyes unconsciously glanced at Jin Meihui.

After receiving sufficient prompts, Jiang Zaixun finally spoke:

"It's an honor to be compared with Hyun Bin. Of course, there's still a long way to go for me, both in terms of acting and appearance."

The reporter noticed that the real-time interactive area had over 10,000 views and continued to ask:
"Many viewers left messages during the live broadcast, curious about what kind of roles you would like to try in the future?"

"I'm not picky about any role, even the narration of an animal documentary is fine—"

"cough!"

Kim Mi-hye coughed off-camera.

He immediately straightened his back and added:
"Of course, I'll obey the company's arrangements."

"..."

Inside Incheon Airport.

Lee Sung-kyung pulled the blanket over her shoulders, and the light from her cell phone screen made her eyelashes tremble.

In the live broadcast, Jiang Zaixun was bowing 90 degrees to the camera:
"Narration for animal documentaries is also possible—"

"Pfft." She quickly covered her mouth and swiped her thumb across the comment section:

【So cute! 】

[This guy really doesn't pick and choose his work.]

"Bible, have some ginger tea." The assistant agent handed over a paper cup.

She shook her head, pulled the blanket up to her nose, and asked in a muffled voice:

"Has the theme for Paris Illustrated been decided?"

"deal."

The assistant suddenly pointed at the screen and said, "Isn't this your roommate?"

"Unfamiliar."

The Legal Affairs Commissioner suddenly interrupted:

"The contract doesn't forbid artists from having friends."

"It's just a roommate relationship."

The legal affairs officer wanted to say something, but Lee Sung-kyung had already crossed out the live broadcast page.

Before exiting, her fingertips hovered over the screenshot button for half a second, and finally locked the screen and stuffed it into her backpack.

Outside the window, rain whipped against the wings.

Lee Sung-kyung fell into a deep sleep amid the roar of takeoff.

Her palm was still holding the crumpled corner of the boarding pass, like the lips of someone who wanted to say something but stopped.

……

The next morning.

As soon as Jiang Zaixun stepped into SEM Company, a stack of newspapers was pushed in by the front desk.

"Zai Xunxi, congratulations!"

He took the newspaper - the Seoul Daily's entertainment section had a striking headline:

Is a rookie actor making his mark in cross-dressing? "Macbeth" newcomer Kang Jae-hoon sparks heated discussion.

The accompanying picture is his farewell photo wearing a wig and women's clothing, with the stage lights forming teardrop-shaped highlights on the lace neckline.

Jiang Jae-hoon stared at the report in the lower right corner of the page - the news about himself, a supporting actor, actually took up a quarter of the page.

It seems the premiere of Macbeth was even more popular than expected.

He took out his phone, pointed it at the newspaper, and snapped a picture. He then opened Kakao Talk and pinned the contact:
[I made the headlines in the entertainment section!]

The cursor hovered over the send key for two seconds before pressing it.

"Zai Xunxi!"

"Ok?"

Jiang Zaixun looked up and saw the receptionist tapping the desk with her ballpoint pen: "The president is looking for you."

"coming!"

He put his hot cell phone in his pocket and walked towards Jin Meihui's office with the newspaper.

The moment I pushed the door open, Huang Zaiyu's crying childish voice reached my eardrums:

"I'm never acting again! They all call me the Snot Bubble Prince!"

The child was lying on the carpet and acting like a spoiled brat, while Kim Mi-hye was leaning against the floor-to-ceiling window with her arms folded.

The attention brought by the successful premiere of "Macbeth" is undoubtedly huge.

As the son of actor Hwang Jung-min, Hwang Jae-woo made his first public appearance.

Even if the media only interviews him about his daily interactions with his father, it can become a hot topic.

But the media focused on his performance on stage - cracked voice and snot bubbles.

The child was already thin-skinned, and when he was teased by people in the company, he immediately became embarrassed.

This is what Jiang Jae-hoon saw when he came in.

He scratched his head, sorted out his thoughts, walked over to Huang Zaiyu and squatted down:
"The media are all idiots. They don't understand that snot bubbles are proof of acting talent."

"Liar!"

Jiang Zaixun took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the tears from his face:

"You saved the day yesterday when you cried your eyes out. The director praised your talent for improvisation."

"I do not believe!"

"When your dad was filming the crying scene in 'International Market,' his snot bubbles were three times bigger than yours."

"Really?"

"The director deliberately gave it a close-up shot. If you don't believe me, ask your mom."

Huang Zaiyu stared at Jiang Zaixun for a while, and suddenly said:
"Then I'm going to train my snot bubbles into a killer move!"

"Talking without practice is just empty talk." Jiang Jae-hoon waved the rehearsal room door card. "Let's go practice more now?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Zaiyu climbed out from the stall, grabbed Jiang Zaixun's fingers and rushed out.

Jiang Zaixun stumbled out his cell phone - the screenshot of the news sent to Li Shengjing still showed as unread.

(End of this chapter)