Chapter 27: The Trial of the Mirror (Part 2) (First Update)

  First update, seeking recommendations and collections~

  Also, thank you for the reward from Xie'e no Hua classmate and thank you for the update vote from yesidodo classmate.

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  Looking at the script in his hand, a scene description and voiceover were circled with a red pen. It was a segment where the male lead, Che Wuhe, ate noodles cooked by his mother in the final episode.

  Mom, in the next life, I will also be born as your son...

  By then, I will definitely become a lovely and kind son of mom!

  I love you... mom...

  I think of you every moment of my life

  Mom, thank you for giving birth to me!

  ……

  He silently read the lines, picked up a nonexistent bowl and ate with big mouthfuls, imagining the steaming hot air behind him, his gradually reddening eyes strongly suppressing the desire to reveal all the truth, quietly enjoying the last tenderness she had never given him.

  He performed like this, and for some reason, he suddenly thought of a long time ago when he, Zhishu, and his mother lived in the old house. His father's death had plunged the whole family into difficulties, and at that time they had not yet moved to Haeyundae, the old house which had been neglected for years could no longer withstand the wind and rain, just like this family, without a pillar, only women and children facing all the mysteries and dangers in the turbulent society.

  At a young age, he watched as his mother's face grew thinner and her temples turned white. He had once wished that he could grow up quickly, take care of Ji-soo, and take over the burden from his mother so she wouldn't have to sigh every night in front of him and his siblings by the candlelight, and wipe away her worried expression and wrinkles.

  These memories, time has passed too long, now thinking back, it's like a old black and white photo, with a yellowish hue, as if all the superficialities have been washed away, but the wishes that he accumulated bit by bit in there, have never faded half a bit, only... those wishes have not yet come true. After a certain time of fragmentation, my mind was filled with a coffin, among countless chaotic scenes, high above is her photo, smiling.

  The thread of thought was suddenly shattered in the pain brought by this memory.

  A line of tears flowed down.

  An Junhe suddenly woke up, hastily stopped the performance, wiped away the tears on his cheek, and apologized: "Sorry, I lost control of my emotions..." His voice was hoarse, a remnant of holding back heartache.

  Across from him, Li Hengmin, Li Qingxi, and even Quan Baogen stared at him in a daze. He had been lost in thought just before, unaware that the sorrow he had inadvertently revealed, mixed with his performance, had brought such astonishment to several people.

  That is the brilliance of life experience and role integration, the scene in the script, at that moment, became real, there was no An Junhe, only Che Wuhe, who was abandoned since childhood, struggling to grow up, finally put down his hatred before death, eating his mother's noodles, but can only express nostalgia, reluctance and pain in his heart.

  The three of them looked at each other in dismay, and this performance, although it was cut short by An Junhe and lost some of its flavor, was enough to change the three people's evaluation of his acting skills, especially Li Hengmin, whose previous disdain and scorn were replaced by a mixture of surprise and embarrassment.

  He was stunned for a moment, then withdrew his gaze and looked at Li Qingxi who was still in a daze beside him. "Very impressive... you go back first, come again tomorrow."

  The words confirmed Ahn Jun-hee's performance, but didn't mention the male lead's situation. This response was a bit disappointing for Ahn Jun-hee, he didn't show it, just responded with a "yes" and asked: "Director, about recording the theme song..."?

  "You'll be joining the drama crew anyway, so there's no need to rush with the recording."

  "Yes! Director Li, Screenwriter Li, goodbye!"

  Dae-an Jun-hyeok and Gwon Bo-geun bid farewell and left. Lee Hyeong-min let out a deep sigh and sat heavily in his chair.

  Lee Kyung-hee, who was standing next to him, let out a sigh and her eyes, which had been looking distant, cleared up. "Is he gone? Ah, it's been a long time since I've seen a newcomer with such acting skills. Just now, I was almost moved to tears by his performance." She looked at Lee Hyung-min, hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What do you think about choosing him?"

  "It's no good." Li Hengmin sighed, "He doesn't have enough experience, he didn't have any previous works, the TV station won't agree to it."

  Li Qingxi was somewhat unwilling and stubbornly continued to ask: "Even if I co-sign with you, it's still not possible?"

  She was really infected by Ahn Jun-hee's performance, the more she watched, the more she felt he was Cha Moo-hyuk - except for being a bit young, but that could be made up with makeup. The casting work had been going on for many days, and she had also come into contact with many actors who came to audition for Cha Moo-hyuk, but only Ahn Jun-hee today made her most satisfied. Perhaps there were subjective factors mixed in, but she was the screenwriter, the story came from her hands, and it was originally based on subjectivity to choose people, no one could say otherwise.

  Li Hengmin sighed, "It's really not going to work... The TV station attaches great importance to this play, no matter how well he performs, it won't make the higher-ups feel at ease... Alas, if only he had some works, even if he was just a second or third-tier actor, with this performance, we could have pushed him to the leading role, unfortunately..."

  Unfortunately, he didn't continue speaking, after all it was still a matter of seniority and experience.

  Li Qingxi let out a dissatisfied hum and didn't say anything else.

  ……

  "Alas, Junhe, if only you had experience."

  After leaving the house, the two were ready to leave. After squeezing through the crowded queue of onlookers, they looked back at the still bustling corridor and the meeting room with the tightly closed door in the corner. Quan Baogen suddenly sighed and said.

  An Junhe's performance brought him great surprise, but after the surprise, it was full of regret.

  Although he is a bit impatient, he's not stupid. During Jun-hyuk's performance, he saw the expressions of the director and screenwriter, their eyes showing surprise and admiration, just like his previous performances. However, he also knew that it was impossible for Jun-hyuk to get this role, unless a miracle happened. In this country where everything is about seniority, getting the TV station's top executives to agree on having a newcomer play the lead in their anniversary drama would be harder than climbing to heaven.

  This kind of thing can't be solved by PR, so he thinks it's a pity. He obviously has the ability, but can't sit in the position he deserves. There's nothing more frustrating than this in the world.

  "It's okay, Uncle Bao Gen, anyway, the second male lead is confirmed."

  An Junhe, who had long guessed the outcome, comforted him with a smile.

  Quan Baogen couldn't let it go and kept grumbling about this country's abhorrent system.

  An Junhe shook his head, to be honest, he was a little disappointed, but this challenge was just a one in ten thousand chance, and the reality is that miracles don't happen, he had mentally prepared himself for it, so he didn't feel too much loss, and quickly adjusted his mindset.

  At least, the most basic goal has been achieved, singing the theme song and getting the role, it was worth all the previous planning.

  Out of the office area, Quan Baogen finally broke free from his regretful state and called Jin Xun, who had not yet arrived, to drive the car to the gate to meet up and head back to the company. Although he was still unhappy about not getting the lead role, getting the second male lead was enough for Quan Baogen to feel proud of himself.

  On the way, he turned to An Jun with a flying color and said: "There are a few bastards who always mock me behind my back. This time I must slap them in the face."

  A group of petty people who have achieved their goals.

  Outside, the sky had already started raining, with threads of raindrops piercing through the mist rising from the river, falling onto the ground. Although small, they were dense and in just a moment, everything within sight was soaked through, transparent and grayish. The cool wind carried icy rainwater blowing over, dispersing the sweltering heat of summer, as if autumn had arrived, and suddenly a desolate feeling emerged.

  Outside the hall, people coming to audition were endless, on the high stairs, people came and went, full of expectation to enter, but when they came out, they became all kinds of expressions, joy, disappointment, anger, and so on. An Junhe, who brushed shoulders with them, felt like a bystander, calmly taking in their expressions without any ripples in his heart.

  Until a group of six people clustered together, walking towards him, with faint voices reaching his ears.

  "Uncle, I'm really troubling you this time. After things are settled, let's find a sunny day and invite my dad to join us, and I'll accompany the two elders to play golf and exercise."

  The speaker was a young man with a fairly handsome appearance, and the four people next to him were obviously his assistants or something similar, surrounding him and another stout middle-aged man with a round head.

  Hearing his words, the middle-aged man laughed and said: "Good good good, it's indeed been a long time since I went out to play with your dad... Jinghao, this role was hard-won from the Taiwan side, you must work hard, got it? Once you enter this circle, don't let your dad worry about you like before..."

  The young man nodded and spoke, passing by An Junhe's side. An assistant who was following the young man took a step to the side to help him avoid the rain, but accidentally bumped into An Junhe, who didn't have time to dodge.

  An Junhe was physically strong, but stumbled and the assistant fell to the ground. This sudden change made several others noisy, one of whom, without an umbrella, pushed An Junhe and scolded: "Damn it, you're blind when walking!"

  An Junhe's eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing in his pupils, and he didn't say another word. He just glanced at the man, pulled Quan Baogen who was about to argue with him, turned around and left.

  This disdainful attitude obviously enraged the man, who was about to chase after him when a young man behind shouted: "What are you doing? Are you here to cause trouble? Come back!"

  An Junhe, who had taken a few steps back, turned around and the young man also happened to look over. The two of them exchanged a glance, and the young man's face looked unpleasant as he let out a cold snort, his lips moving silently, probably muttering a curse under his breath.

  "Lazy to reason with this kind of person, Ahn Jun-he didn't look back again. Gwon Bo-geun, who was pulled by him, grumbled in discontent: "These people without quality, they bumped into us and yet blamed others. If you hadn't held me back, I would have scolded him until his face turned upside down. Ahn Jun-he, your temper is too good, towards this kind of person, you shouldn't be so lenient."

  "Hehe..."

  An Junhe smiled, was his temper too good?

  In his dream world, those who dared to scold him had long since disappeared. Now it's just a different mindset, too lazy to bother!

  ;