Peninsula: The Best Actor Starts from an Idol Battleground

Chapter 92 Fighting on the surface, kissing behind the scenes

The controversy sparked by the announcement of the Grand Bell Awards nominations on the evening of October 21 has not subsided overnight.

On the contrary, by the next day, the matter had evolved from a simple nomination controversy into a comprehensive questioning of the Grand Bell Awards' judging standards and credibility.

The night before, when Li Zhixing and the others saw the list at the restaurant, the first thing Lin Yoona noticed was that Ha Ji-won was not nominated for Best Actress.

In fact, the online reactions have largely focused on this point.

That year, both of Ha Ji-won's films were huge hits.

In the eyes of many media outlets and film critics, Ha Ji-won was originally one of the strongest contenders for Best Actress this year.

But ironically, this actress didn't even make it onto the Best Actress nomination list.

If it were just Ha Ji-won who was not selected, people might think it was due to a difference in the judges' preferences.

The problem is that "Sky and Ocean," starring Jang Nara, has been nominated for four awards—Best Film, Best Actress, Best New Actress, and Best Music—even before its official release.

On one hand, Ha Ji-won, who has starred in two hit films, didn't even receive a Best Actress nomination; on the other hand, a film that audiences haven't even officially seen has already received multiple important nominations. With such a contrast, it's no wonder that public opinion is divided.

In particular, the fact that Jang Nara's father, Joo Ho-sung, revealed at a media screening two days before the official announcement of the nominations that "Sky and Ocean" had received four nominations directly embroiled the matter in controversy over lobbying and premature information leaks.

The controversy doesn't stop there.

"Thirst," directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Song Kang-ho, which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, was also not nominated for any of the major awards.

In the end, the film only received nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Lighting.

This is unacceptable to many movie fans and industry insiders.

After all, while the Grand Bell Awards claim to encourage overlooked art films, "Thirst," which has already gained recognition at international film festivals, has been excluded from the main awards.

Such inconsistent standards are naturally hard to believe.

As for Li Zhixing not being nominated for Best New Actor, there were naturally people online who spoke up for him.

After all, the box office performance of "Haeundae" speaks for itself, and his portrayal of a lifeguard at sea did indeed leave a deep impression on many viewers.

However, compared to Ha Ji-won's failure to be selected, "Sky and Ocean" being nominated before its release, the leaked nomination information, and "Thirst,"...

With no chance of winning major awards, this controversy surrounding him is really not worth mentioning.

Moreover, he was ultimately just a supporting actor in "Haeundae," and his role wasn't that significant.

Therefore, his failure to be selected did not cause much of a stir online.

The Grand Bell Awards themselves were truly thrust into the spotlight.

Faced with growing doubts, the Grand Bell Awards quickly responded.

Regarding Ha Ji-won's failure to win Best Actress, the Grand Bell Awards explained that the judges evaluated the actresses based on their roles in their works, not on the actresses themselves.

Ha Ji-won was nominated for Best Actress for two roles, "Haeundae" and "My Love By My Side". The judges' votes were split between the two roles, which ultimately prevented her from making the top five.

Regarding the fact that "Sky and Ocean" has been nominated for multiple awards even before its official release, the Grand Bell Awards stated that the film was completed within the stipulated time and passed the review process, thus meeting the competition criteria.

Even though it has not been officially released, it does not violate the relevant regulations of the Grand Bell Awards.

However, this absurd explanation clearly failed to convince the public.

Ha Ji-won was so outstanding in both of her works that she was split up so much that she didn't even get a nomination.

When it comes to "Sky and Sea," all that's left is "meets the competition rules."

But when it comes to "Thirst," the argument that it encourages art films is untenable.

These statements, taken individually, might be somewhat plausible.

But putting them together only makes people feel that the judging criteria of the Grand Bell Awards are incredibly chaotic.

The controversy surrounding the Grand Bell Awards is clearly not something that can be easily quelled with just a few official responses.

Li Zhixing still can't figure out how Zhi'en and Lin Yoona got together.

Yesterday, Ji-eun went to the Chinese restaurant to find him. When she first saw Im Yoon-ah, she was still aggressively questioning her about why she was wearing her clothes.

As a result, Lim Yoona stepped forward, grabbed her hand as if she didn't care about Ji-eun's attitude at all, and whispered a few words in her ear.

Ji-eun initially wanted to pull her hand back, but upon hearing what followed, she slowly stopped.

She paused for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Really?"

Yoona nodded.

Ji-eun remained silent for a moment.

Then, the anger on her face gradually faded.

In the end, Ji-eun didn't ask any more questions about the clothes. Instead, she let Yoona put her arm around her shoulder, and at first glance, they really looked like good sisters.

Later, Yoona introduced her to her older sister Yoonjin, and Ji-eun greeted her politely, her attitude being much closer than Lee Ji-hyung had expected.

Li Zhixing was completely bewildered.

He watched as the three of them chatted animatedly, while he was left standing to the side.

In the end, Ji-eun waved at him dismissively.

"Oppa, aren't you leaving yet?"

"Go home and watch TV with your grandma."

"I'll go back after I finish talking with Yoona unnie."

Having inexplicably become an eyesore, Li Zhixing could only leave completely bewildered.

What did Yoona say to IU that made her attitude change so quickly?

How could the two of them have gone from enemies to allies in just a few words?

He clearly remembered that Ji-eun had never been a big fan of Im Yoon-ah before.

In the evening, Lee Ji-haeng went to the MBC Broadcasting Center in Yeouido to pick up Lee Ji-eun, who had just finished participating in a radio program as a regular guest.

After picking up the person, the two went to the Zheng family together.

Although Zheng Ma liked Zhi En very much and often asked Li Zhixing to take her over to play, Zhi En didn't go very often. She was basically only taken over by Li Zhixing to visit during holidays.

Especially after her debut, her schedule became more demanding, so she went even less often.

But for some reason, this time Ji-eun actually offered to go with Lee Ji-hsing.

When they arrived at the Zheng family home, Zheng's mother was as warm and welcoming as ever.

She brought Zhi'en snacks and juice, then pulled her aside to ask her all sorts of questions, and complained about why Li Zhixing didn't bring people over more often.

After leaving Ji-eun in the living room to talk with Zheng's mother and father, Li Zhixing went to the open kitchen on the other side.

Jessica and Krystal were sitting there chatting.

Although it was called a chat, it was mostly Jessica giving instructions, while Krystal just nodded perfunctorily.

Her attention was completely focused on the mobile game.

Seeing Lee Ji-hyung sit down next to her, Soo-jung complained softly, "Why did Oppa bring that annoying Lee Ji-eun along?"

Sika kicked her from below.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Li Zhixing smiled mischievously: "Zhi'en said she misses you."

Soojung seemed to have heard something absurd.

"she?"

"ha."

"Lee Ji-eun called me a brat this afternoon."

As she spoke, she handed over her phone, showing Li Zhixing and Xika the text message interface.

After reading it, the two of them were speechless.

The two children actually stood around each other, calling each other "annoying brat" and "brat," and exchanged dozens of insults.

Sika said helplessly, "Aren't you two childish?"

Li Zhixing took the phone and scrolled up.

He then glared at Soojung.

"Was it wrong to scold you? What are you bragging about to Zhi'en?"

Jessica leaned over to take a look and discovered that it was Krystal who sent the text message to IU first.

In the text message, Krystal boasted that her group would be attending MBC's Dream Forest celebration party the next day, an event to celebrate the opening of Seoul Dream Forest.

Ji-eun was not invited to this party.

Sika glared at her younger sister.

Then, she exchanged another glance with Li Zhixing.

The two of them tacitly pinched Soo-jung's cheeks from the left and right.

Soojung cried out in pain.

"Unnie, Oppa, let go, let go."

"If you keep pinching me, I'll get as fat as Lee Ji-eun."

Soojung's cries of pain quickly reached the living room.

Ji-eun glanced back, her eyes suddenly filled with a sense of relief.

Zheng Ma could tell that Zhi En's mind was no longer on this, so she smiled and patted her.

"Go and play with them!"

After Ji-eun politely bowed to Mr. and Mrs. Zheng, she rushed towards the kitchen.

"Count me in, count me in."

As a result, Krystal was not only pinched by several people in turn, but was also forced to cut fruit for everyone.

Jessica pulled Ji-eun to her side, brushed aside her perpetually unchanging bowl-cut bangs, and sighed.

"Ji-eun, have your company design a proper look for you."

"Why is it always like this?"

"Even wispy bangs would be nice."

Hearing her say that, Ji-eun was also a little frustrated.

She was actually tired of this look a long time ago.

"But the company said that this look suits my face shape better and also fits the current cute style and concept."

Jessica shook her head, clearly disagreeing with Ji-eun's taste.

After thinking for a moment, she asked again, "Is your next album coming out soon?"

What kind of schedule have you been working on lately?

Ji-eun nodded.

"The album will probably be released next month."

"I've had fewer schedules lately, and the hype I got from Oppa has mostly died down."

C

"I can only do radio shows in the evenings."

"Unnie, I'm practically a radio personality now."

As she spoke, she pouted pitifully.

Jessica smiled and comforted her, "The hype generated by scandals can't last. In the end, it's the work that matters."

"Our radio schedule is actually quite good; we often appear on radio shows during our music promotions."

Li Zhixing nodded in agreement.

"Didn't you do very well on the radio show?"

"Taeyeon just messaged me praising you."

"Um?"

Jessica, Ji-eun, and Soo-jung, who had just brought the fruit to the table, all looked at Lee Ji-hyung.

Krystal asked疑惑地问道, "Is Lee Ji-eun going to Taeyeon sunbaenim's kissing radio show tonight?"

Ji-eun pouted and said unhappily, "I don't need her to praise me."

Sika glared at Li Zhixing.

"Oh, why are you secretly contacting Taeyeon again?"

Li Zhixing was immediately displeased.

"What do you mean by 'secretly'? Isn't this just occasional contact between friends?"

"Besides, you said it didn't matter to you, so why are you meddling now?"

Sika was starting to regret it.

I shouldn't have been so moved back then, saying I didn't care that he kept in touch with the members.

Now I want to back out, but I can't bring myself to say it anymore.

"snort.

"

Jessica secretly kicked him under the table.

Then, she noticed that Ji-eun's complexion wasn't good, and she couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Ji-eun, what kind of conflict do you have with Taeyeon?"

Why that expression?

Upon hearing this, Ji-eun first shook her head.

Then his expression became somewhat awkward.

To be fair, Kim Tae-yeon was indeed very kind to her when she participated in Tae-yeon's Kiss Radio.

Before the show started, as soon as she arrived, Taeyeon prepared a lot of snacks for her and carefully explained the process and things she needed to pay attention to.

After the show started, Taeyeon always mentioned her, frequently read comments related to her, and even gave her the opportunity to sing several songs on the show.

At the end, Taeyeon took many photos with her, all of which were posted on the official website of Kissing Radio.

It can be said that within the scope of what Taeyeon could do, she had done her best to provide Ji-eun with as much care and exposure as possible.

Zhi En was actually very grateful.

Even manager Bae Jong-han found it strange that his artist had become so close to Taeyeon, taking care of her almost excessively.

But she was just very awkward.

Especially after thinking about it more carefully, Taeyeon's attitude towards her and the things she did for her seemed like a sister-in-law taking care of her sister-in-law.

This is Kim Tae-yeon, who is not even as tall as her.

Kim Tae-yeon, who even needs to stand on a stool to kiss.

Why would you have such ill intentions towards Oppa?

Seeing Zhi'en's expression shifting between awkwardness and displeasure, Li Zhixing teased, "Zhi'en, is it still because of that OST?"

Ji-eun rolled her eyes at her oppa.

What do you take her for?

It's just an ordinary OST that topped the daily charts, weekly charts, download charts, and ringtone charts, and it's from a 200 billion-view hit TV series.

Does she care?

When Lee Ji-hsing mentioned the OST he wrote for Taeyeon, Jessica felt inexplicably wronged.

Although this song is indeed suitable for Taeyeon, and she interpreted it perfectly.

However, she was still very unhappy.

"Hey, Li Zhixing, when are you going to write a song for me?"

Li Zhixing gave her a strange look, then snorted coldly.

"What kind of class do you think you are, to dare sing a song I wrote?"

Sika immediately lost her temper.

"Hey, Li Zhixing!"

"Are you looking for death?"

Watching Jessica scream and chase after Lee Ji-hsing with a fruit fork, Ji-eun and Soo-jung sighed in unison, clearly used to it by now.

Afterwards, Krystal's attention returned to the racing game.

This is a game that comes pre-installed on the new Chocolate phone.

She's gotten quite addicted to playing these past couple of days.

Ji-eun leaned over for a peek and found it quite interesting.

So he took out his new Chocolate phone and started playing with it.

This was given to her by Li Zhixing.

After Li Zhixing deliberately took two hits from Jessica, Jessica cooperated and calmed down.

Watching the two children shouting and competing, Li Zhixing wanted to join them in playing.

Jessica grabbed him.

"Come with me, I have something to tell you."

"What's wrong? Can't we say it here?"

"It's noisy!"

Li Zhixing looked impatient, but Jessica still dragged him away.

Ji-eun looked up and saw that her oppa had been pulled into the bedroom by Jessica unnie.

Especially when he saw that Xikala lived in the hand of Li Zhixing.

Ji-eun's eyes immediately became wary.

She immediately remembered a sentence her grandmother had casually mentioned that day.

Aren't Zhixing and Xika dating?

She was a little at a loss.

Could Grandma really have been right?

These two wouldn't be fighting and arguing on the surface, but secretly kissing behind each other's backs, would they?

Lee Ji-eun quickly nudged Soo-jung.

"Hey, hey, oppa and your unnie went into the bedroom."

Krystal, engrossed in her game, said impatiently, "Fine, let's go in. Didn't unnie say she had something to say?"

"What's the matter that you need to talk to me in the bedroom?"

Aren't you worried at all?

Soojung gave her a strange look.

"What are you worried about?"

"Are you worried that their fight will go too far?"

"Don't worry, even if unnie cries after being hit, oppa will comfort her."

"Oppa is best at lying—no, I mean, coaxing people."

"Hey, you rascal!"

"no."

I have to go and listen to it.

Just as she was about to get up, Krystal pulled her back down.

"What are you listening to? Oppa's room is soundproofed. Even if they were having a concert inside, no one outside could hear them."

"Ignore them, keep playing."

"Oh, Krystal Jung, you're such a silly child!"

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