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

Chapter 145 The Threat of Mumu Yoona

The screen went completely dark.

The end credits of "Ode to My Father" scrolled slowly to the accompaniment of its long, melodious theme music.

The ceiling lights in the screening room lit up one by one.

The blinding white light instantly dispelled the last vestiges of joy and sorrow on the screen.

Yoona tilted her head slightly.

Those signature doe eyes were now wet.

Tiny, still-damp teardrops clung to her long, thick eyelashes.

Her eyes and nose were flushed with a distinct redness.

Yes.

Her original script—

It is by using this epic, tragic, and collectively empathetic space to provide a perfect cover for the quietly escalating "private interactions" between her and Kang Jae-hoon.

The heavier the plot, the more natural and seamless those moments of fingertips touching and palms clasping appear.

however.

Director Yoon Je-kyun, with his masterful cinematography and Hwang Jung-min's soul-stirring performance that transcends the screen, ruthlessly shattered her meticulously planned "leveraging" script.

When the camera focuses on the desperate, black-clad crowd at Xingnan Port;

Deok-soo was rescued from the collapsed mine by her fellow miners who had gone to Germany to work in the mines;

When the elderly De-soo stood in the television studio, watching her younger sister Mo-soon, whose hair was also white and who was almost unrecognizable due to the ravages of time, walk towards her step by step...

Yoona's carefully constructed emotional defenses collapsed instantly.

She forgot the plan.

Forgot to tease.

I forgot whose hand I was holding.

She was simply gripped by the grand historical tragedy and individual fate.

The character of Deok-soo embodies resilience, struggle, pain, and ultimate redemption throughout his life.

The attack caused them to be completely routed.

This is not a matter of the strength of empathy.

Rather, it was Hwang Jung-min's unparalleled performance that forcefully extracted the soul of the character and implanted it into the hearts of every viewer.

His brilliance.

His emotions.

It is as intense and dazzling as the sun.

Enough to devour everything else on the screen.

No one can steal his spotlight, and no one can distract the audience from his performance.

Where he stands.

That's the eye of the storm.

It is the absolute master of emotions.

……

Kang Jae-hoon, who was standing next to him, was also deeply engrossed in it.

The wet marks on his face were especially clear under the overhead light.

He subconsciously looked down and fumbled for a tissue in his left pocket.

same moment.

A rustling sound of searching could be heard from the side.

In the corner of my eye—

A fair and slender hand.

He was holding out a pack of portable tissues with cartoon designs.

It stopped right at his chest.

Kang Jae-hoon's hand, which was fumbling for a tissue, paused in his pocket.

He followed the hand that offered him the tissue.

He slowly raised his head.

My gaze first swept over the cute pack of tissues in Yoona's hand.

Then lift it up.

It struck those clear, moist eyes of a fawn, which had just been cleansed by tears.

The water glistens.

The red at the corner of her eye looked like it had been smudged with a thin layer of rouge.

The tear stains under her eyes were faintly visible under the light.

It possesses a delicate yet transparent beauty.

Their eyes met briefly.

At the same time, it moved slightly downwards.

Common point of view

It was a two-hour or so period of darkness, explosions, and heart-wrenching moments.

Their hands, clasped tightly together, were never separated.

Their fingers were intertwined.

The knuckles are tightly clasped together.

Their palms were pressed together perfectly.

……

At the same time, they both felt a little flustered and embarrassed because of their tightly clasped hands and being exposed to the bright lights.

The moment of trying to let go without leaving a trace—

On the big screen.

A bonus clip, meant to ease the mood, suddenly started playing.

The first shot.

It's that thrilling river rescue scene from "Ode to My Father"!

But not the close-up of Kang Jae-hoon exuding hormones in the trailer.

Instead, it's behind-the-scenes bloopers—

Down in the river.

Nam Jin, played by Kang Jae-hoon, reaches out to pull Hwang Jung-min out of the river.

I missed it the first time.

Water splashed everywhere.

Hwang Jung-min rolled his eyes.

the second time.

How skillful are your fingers!

Precisely...

It poked the ticklish spot under Hwang Jung-min's armpit.

Hwang Jung-min, who was holding his breath underwater, suddenly lost his composure and choked on a mouthful of water!
the third time.

Kang Jae-hoon did manage to get the person out of trouble.

But the buoyancy underwater and the deformation of his movements caused him to accidentally...

He grabbed near the area that couldn't be described...

Hwang Jung-min's eyes widened instantly!

next second.

"Crack!" A sound!
Huang Zhengmin didn't care about the water splashing all over his face.

Enraged, he kicked Kang Jae-hoon.

He kicked and roared:

"Where are you going to grab me, you brat?!"

……

The theater erupted in laughter!
The tension that had been building for two hours was completely shattered by this unexpected and hilarious anecdote.

Lim Yoona watched the scene on the screen where Hwang Jung-min chased after and kicked Kang Jae-hoon, who was desperately dodging.

Then, turn your head to look at Kang Jae-hoon, who is currently feeling embarrassed because of the behind-the-scenes footage.

The stark contrast made her unable to hold back any longer!

"Pfft——!"

A short but exceptionally clear laugh escaped from her lips.

Kang Jae-hoon was scratching his toes on the ground because of that embarrassing past.

Her smile...

He suddenly turned his head.

Her eyes were just filled with tears.

At this moment, however, his laughter was filled with a nasal tone, sparkling like shattered diamonds.

The curve of her lips was sweet and soft.

It was after being overwhelmed by immense grief.

The innocent and silly beauty that instantly heals you is the beauty of being completely unguarded.

Kang Jae-hoon's gaze fell directly on that smile.

It felt as if my brain had been put on pause by some gentle yet irresistible force.

He's seen so many beautiful faces of Lim Yoona—

The exquisite and perfect makeup and dance under the spotlight on stage.

A flawless smile amidst the flashing lights on the red carpet.

A gentle and graceful profile in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in Cheongdam-dong.

Even the gentle sharpness with which she calmly deflected Kim Ji-won's probing on the set of "A Good Day".

however.

The Yoona in front of me—

Vulnerability and vitality, dishevelment and brilliance.

Strangely, it blended into a breathtakingly vivid reality on her face.

This unadorned, story-driven, authentic beauty is more captivating than any meticulously crafted light on a stage…

It is lethal.

Yoona clearly noticed his momentary lapse in concentration.

The lingering smile in her eyes shone even brighter.

"Let's go~"

The voice was light and cheerful, with a soft, nasal tone at the end.

Get up.

She naturally pulled him up to stand up as well.

The hands, which had been tightly clasped throughout the entire movie, finally parted. The lingering sweat and coolness seemed to cling to their fingertips.

……

The white sports car smoothly merged into the quiet traffic.

The dashboard emitted a faint blue light.

The car's heater was on full blast.

The air vents dispersed the thin layer of water vapor that had condensed on the car windows.

"call……"

Yoona let out a soft breath, leaning back in the passenger seat with a relaxed posture. "So tired..." Then, as if remembering something, she tilted her head and asked, "Are you hungry? But it's so late, even the shops are..."

"Don't bother."

Kang Jae-hoon focused intently on the road ahead, lightly tapping the brakes to let a late-night container truck pass.
"It's late, you should go back and rest."

"Okay." Yoona didn't insist any further.

The car fell silent for a moment.

The only sounds were the low rumble of the engine and the somber jazz music playing from the audio system.

……

The navigation suddenly indicated that we were about to arrive at our destination.

In front.

The familiar and imposing figure of the apartment building where Lin Yoona lives can be vaguely seen in the night.

The vehicle headed towards the entrance to the apartment's underground parking garage.

"Hey!"

Im Yoona suddenly called out softly.

Kang Jae-hoon immediately applied the brakes lightly.

The car came to a steady stop a few dozen meters from the apartment entrance, beside a dark road shaded by trees.

"what happened?"

"That's fine, you can drive the car back and use it."

"Another business trip?"

Kang Jae-hoon asked instinctively.

"Ah."

Lim Yoona nodded gently:
"Over in China... a production team for a period drama submitted a script for auditions. The team thinks the script is pretty good, and the character setting is quite challenging. I'll probably have to fly over in a couple of days to meet the director and production team."

"China..."

Immediately in Jiang Zaixun's mind came images of the murky mist of the Huangpu River, the towering steel forest of the Bund, and the unique urban atmosphere that never ceased, a blend of everyday life and modern hustle and bustle.

"there……"

Kang Jae-hoon carefully chose his words, his tone carrying a touch of the wisdom of someone who had been through it all:
You'd better be careful.

"What are you careful about?"

Lim Yoona gently unbuckled her seatbelt and turned her head in confusion upon hearing Kang Jae-hoon's words.

"Be careful... come back and you'll turn into Mumu Yoona."

"Mumu Yoona?"

Im Yoona didn't react for a moment.

It wasn't until he gestured that I realized what "Mumu Yoona" meant—

Gain weight!

Her eyes widened immediately:

"ah!"

She gave a disgruntled, reproachful sound:
"Then I'll order you the same thing before I eat it. That way... hehe, we'll get fat together!"

A brief burst of laughter filled the car.

Kang Jae-hoon smiled as well, then remembered another crucial question:
How's your Chinese practice going?

"Not so good, Chinese is quite difficult. Harder to pronounce than I imagined." She tilted her head, seemingly trying to recall those few awkward syllables, "Roast—duck—?"

The ending note was drawn out strangely.

Kang Jae-hoon nodded with deep feeling:

"Yes, just the tone of voice alone is enough to practice for a while."

"Oh, I almost forgot something important!"

Im Yoona suddenly turned her head as if she had just remembered something and said:

When will "Good Days" be released online?

The air fell silent for a moment.

The only sound was a faint hum from the heating system.

Kang Jae-hoon's gaze fell on the shadows of the trees outside the window, which were swaying gently in the wind.

The voice was a few decibels lower than before:

"……yesterday."

"Huh?" Yoona didn't hear clearly.

Kang Jae-hoon took a deep breath of the warm air, which carried the scent of peaches from the car, and repeated:

"It went live yesterday. On LINE TV."

"yesterday?!"

Yoona's eyes showed genuine surprise.

No press conference was produced?
No press releases bombarding the public?

There was no... sound?
This was almost the quietest launch she had ever seen in her career!
Kang Jae-hoon could sense the question in her gaze.

He twitched the corner of his mouth.

That curve carried a hint of helplessness.

"The production company scraped together every penny to make this, and the publicity budget was practically zero. The TV stations didn't rate it highly, feeling there were fundamental structural flaws, and even the production launch event was canceled. In the end..."

"...the copyright was sold to LINE TV in a low-priced package."

Just a few words.

An understatement.

However, it outlines the entire path a drama took to be completely relegated to obscurity.

After listening, Lim Yoon-a...

There were no words of regret.

There was no deliberate attempt to comfort her.

He simply leaned out of the cramped carriage and reached out his hand—

They carried the barely perceptible warmth of sweat left from their handshake in the movie theater.

He gently rubbed Kang Jae-hoon's head a few times.

This familiar gesture was like a tiny key, unexpectedly unlocking the floodgates of his memory—

At that time, filming for "Good Days" had just begun.

The sea breeze is salty and astringent, the setting sun is like melting gold.

It was also a sudden, unexpected head pat.

And at this moment...

It seems that a closed loop has been completed?

"...Then I'm leaving?"

"and many more."

Kang Jae-hoon seemed to have just come to his senses.

The moment Lim Yoona reached out and touched the doorknob.

He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt.

The movements were a bit rushed.

Push door.

get off.

He quickly walked around the rounded and full front of the car.

Under Yoona's slightly surprised gaze.

She opened the passenger door on her side.

Bow slightly.

He reached out and placed his hand lightly on the top of the car door frame.

"Well?"

Lin Yoona watched his series of smooth movements.

His eyes instantly curved into little crescent moons:

"Oh my, why are you being so gentlemanly?"

There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

But more often it's the small satisfaction of being pleased.

Kang Jae-hoon did not reply.

He tilted his head slightly to avoid her overly direct gaze.

Lim Yoona smiled, pursing her lips.

I stopped teasing him.

Step out of the car.

Stand in front of him.

"Then I'll go back?"

"go to bed early."

"Kang Jae-hoon said in a low voice."

"You too."

Yoona waved, her smile warm:

"Good night~"

"Good night."

She turned and took the last few steps toward the apartment lobby.

The corner of the mouth...

In the instant he turned away from Kang Jae-hoon's gaze.

It bent upwards uncontrollably.

That curved arc.

Like a full crescent moon.

It clearly expresses the owner's joyful mood at this moment.

Even their steps had an unnaturally light rhythm.

Where is there even a trace of the heaviness she felt when she complained about being "so tired" in the car and when she heard the news about "Good Days"?
(End of this chapter)