Lord Of Dying Smoke - Chapter 232



Only Noblemtl

The King of Death Smoke Episode 232

The Last Masterpiece and the Final Choice (5)

“… … .”

“… … .”

When a person becomes extremely ugly, their sense of reason eventually returns.

Aislinn and Penelope awkwardly avoided eye contact backstage.

One of them was awkwardly rubbing the back of his hand while the other was fiddling with his earlobe, looking like eleven-year-olds who had just had a fight.

“That… Aishi?”

“huh.”

“Oh, it’s nothing… .”

I might have been eight years old.

The staff was already running around finishing up the work. The atmosphere was hectic.

In the midst of all this, the atmosphere became even more awkward as we were stuck together with nowhere to stand.

How much time has passed like that?

It was Aislin who finally opened her mouth.

“Min, that guy, did you notice?”

“If you say so, then you should doubt whether it has eyes.”

“huh….”

Perhaps because they were both actors, even though they were rotten, they didn’t lose their minds even though they were fighting with their eyes turned around.

No, maybe it was an instinctive judgment that it was okay to grab someone by the collar and fight within the category of acting.

That was fortunate. The audience cheered without even noticing.

However, that was only a conclusion… .

“Oh, really! This is a mess!”

Penelope shivered and stamped her feet.

“I’ve been acting for years and I can’t do something like this on stage! I wouldn’t do something like this in a kindergarten play!”

“Because it’s improvisation. Especially since your acting style is emotionally focused, you probably didn’t have much control. In fact, playback theater often has similar problems. No matter how experienced an actor is, if you follow the emotional line─”

“Those actors wouldn’t have fought like we did, screaming and yelling! And what are you trying to analyze as if you were the one who got stabbed first!”

“I’m already reflecting on it.”

“Oh, really?”

The two stared at each other’s noses for a moment.

But within seconds, the push-pull air was gone.

After all that bullshit on stage, you’re doing this again? Penelope covered her face with her hands.

How could I possibly look at Kang Min’s face like this? After I rolled up my sleeves and decided to do something, I felt like I was only causing trouble…

“And then it’s ridiculous to say you have no feelings at all.”

“Please. Stop scratching, Acey. No more.”

“It’s true. There is a limit to how much you can do without looking.”

“Hey, come on!”

“You might be better than me.”

“……what?”

Silence lingered.

This time it was a stillness with a slightly different meaning.

Penelope blinked and made eye contact with her opponent for the first time since leaving the stage.

His own surprised face was faintly reflected in his calm eyes.

“You’re right. It’s pathetic that I haven’t even confessed for two years. Perhaps, it’s abnormal.”

“…I didn’t say anything like that.”

“Maybe so. But it’s true.”

Recently, Aislinn has been looking back on where her love affair began.

The beginning was, yes, the death of his only blood relative. The younger brother, busy with his own work, had no idea what his older brother was doing or what was chasing him.

It was terrible.

I felt nauseous.

I wanted to deny myself.

And then, during that time, I heard a rumor about a person who was the complete opposite of me.

If you think about it, that was it.

“Oh my god, what’s wrong with that?”

Penelope got angry as if they had never fought before.

“Look, Sister, more than half of the people in this world get married just because the other person is handsome! What’s the point of starting?”

“On the other hand, you fell in love with that person after getting to know him inside and out.”

“So I don’t really─”

“Please. Let’s not lie, Penny. We’re friends.”

“… … .”

Penelope said nothing.

It was something I couldn’t help but notice from the one word said during the argument a week ago.

-What are you with that person?

That one word immediately exposed the contradiction in Penelope’s recent behavior.

Aislin smiled bitterly, as if she had known this would happen.

* * *

“I was just thinking. I thought you might be better than me.”

“So what the hell are you talking about!”

“Because I’m twisted.”

Aislinn hated Penelope.

Although we were friends, and I liked him, and I considered him family, somewhere deep in my heart, I had that thought.

That was probably a feeling that had been nagging at me ever since the little freckled girl crumpled up her report card and hid it.

I can’t beat my friend at anything.

The family knew.

I knew the ability too.

But, it was hard to even match the acting with that person.

Maybe that’s why he couldn’t control his anger.

“Please, that’s stupid, Acey! He doesn’t care about that! He’s not only bold, he’s a little crazy!”

“Maybe so. But this is my problem.”

“… … .”

“So I beg you, Penny, stop doing that stage thing earlier. That was much more horrifying to me.”

“…okay.”

There was no further conversation.

The two of them lowered their heads and pondered their emotions.

Applause and cheers erupted from the stage beyond the wall. It seemed that Kang Min had finished well alone. The staff could be heard trying to control the crowd by calming down the audience who were shouting for more.

Penelope and Aislin sighed softly and straightened their posture.

When Kang Min returned, he had to put everything aside and apologize sincerely as an actor first.

“Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Kang!”

“It was great!”

“This will be a stage that will be mentioned again and again in the future!”

It took some time for Kang Min to arrive. He entered the waiting room, shaking hands with each of the cheering staff members and expressing his gratitude.

The two immediately lowered their heads before their eyes could even meet.

“Oh, you guys are here. Really─”

“sorry.”

“I’m truly sorry. I will accept any criticism.”

“… … ?”

Kang Min was silent for a moment.

Penelope thought that the slightly disturbing breathing sound was probably due to seeing the rare Korean-style apology in America, where bowing the head was rare.

In fact, I didn’t even know if I should kneel.

For someone who caused an accident on such a stage and was left to fend for themselves, that was more than enough.

‘Really, how did it end up like this…?’

From today onwards, things will get worse between you and your old friend.

Even if Penelope were to be honest, or even if she were to maintain her current position, Aislin would have a hard time enduring it. Penelope herself would feel guilty. It was inevitable that it would happen that way.

Without even a way to stop it.

‘Really, how did it happen… .’

But now I couldn’t pick it up and put it away.

Like spilled water, it was impossible to patch up what had already been split, no matter what methods were used.

Penelope was overcome by a deep fatigue… .

“Um, me.”

But what,

As always, Kang Min was a character who broke the impossible without any hesitation.

…as always, in a very groundbreaking way.

“What on earth are you apologizing for?”

“?”

“…?”

The two actors raised their heads. Kang Min was stroking his chin with an expression that said he had no idea what was going on.

The two blinked blankly.

“What, what is it?”

“Well, uh, because we fought…?”

“Oh, that scene! It was really good! It was so immersive!”

Kangmin smiled and clapped his hands.

“How could you think of such a thing! I’m really surprised! If you had told me in advance, I would have at least added some excitement!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“Well, I don’t know what mistake you made, but it was so bad I couldn’t even tell! Don’t worry about it! You really set the mood perfectly!”

“… … .”

“… … .”

no,

that,

‘what?’

The two actresses’ mouths fell open in amazement as they watched Kang Min laughing heartily.

You don’t know?

No, but you still don’t know that?

Does that make sense?

“Oh, actually, I was a little surprised at first. Even to me, it looked like they were really fighting. But if you think about it, why would the two of you fight on stage!”

“… … .”

“It’s embarrassing, but it was only then that I realized that you two had planned it. Your acting was truly amazing! As expected, you are old friends!”

“… … .”

Kangmin laughed like an American, saying HAHAHA.

Penelope and Aislin were silent like Koreans.

Whether or not, Kangmin’s heart was swelling.

That’s no wonder, he had heard the good news during the intermission just 15 minutes ago.

‘The stage ended successfully! Now we can say that the special is on the right track!’

‘And that’s not all! Just now, I received a call from CEO Jaylan informing me that my Rhino Planet proposal was finally approved! With a whopping 52% approval!’

‘Nothing can stop me now! This is the era of the King of Death Smoke!’

Kangmin was very happy.

I was so happy that I could swing my fist.

He happily took the hands of the two actresses and straightened their backs.

“Well, let’s talk about reflection later! I heard that CEO Jaylen has prepared a huge party! Don’t we deserve to enjoy it, haha!”

“Excuse me, sir. I have someone to meet you.”

“Oh, who is it!”

“That’s Seo Bom. He came with a very determined expression on his face to tell me something….”

“That’s perfect, haha! The more people, the better!”

Kang Min ran away in a flash.

Seo Bom, who was about to hand over an invitation to her one-act play with a very determined expression, was captured by Kang Min, who was laughing heartily, and was carried to the party venue.

Her familiar, yet liberated expression testified to her many experiences and failures… .

“… … .”

“… … .”

The two friends stared at each other blankly.

“… Ace.”

“……huh.”

And then they immediately held hands and made up.

The two of them finally realized that there was something they had to overcome before they could continue to fight and argue with each other.

Who would give in to ‘that’ and fight over it? It was like the chick was strong before it hatched, and the kimchi stew was drunk before the rice cake was given.

Aislin realized for the first time why Seobom had ignored her without any reaction when he saw her.

Perhaps, it would have been absurd.

“Let’s go, Penny.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’ll think about it later.”

The friendship that was about to fall apart was reunited and eventually refined into Damascus steel.

It was a miracle.

It was such a miracle that even the Apostle Bartholomew hesitated for a long time before admitting, “Well, maybe…?”

But the objects of the miracle did not look very happy.

“Ace.”

“huh.”

“Is it a bad thing if I want to get beat up?”

“… I don’t think so.”

The two headed to the party venue with their mouths shut and a gloomy look on their faces.

* * *

At the same time, outside the theater, the effects of the famous detective’s death echo were in full effect.

A reporter in the audience realized that the person being dragged out while screaming was director Hopper Dusk.

He quickly sounded out the editor.

-Director Hopper Dusk caused a commotion in the theater. I think we should break this to you.

-I already reported it to another guy. Was there anything else unusual?

– Hey, Penelope Olsen and Aislinn Lewis put on an amazing show on stage, but I was a bit nervous about that.

-What sound?

-I think the two of you really fought.

-hmm….

The editor thought about it for a moment.

I don’t trust the current Dusk director. But the editor knows how great a person Hopper Dusk once was.

He hesitated for a moment and then ordered.

-I’ll assign someone else to do it. If it’s true, it’ll be a jackpot.

-All right.

After the show, professional paparazzi, commissioned by the editor, quietly followed the staff.

I walked as quietly as possible, scanning the surroundings with eagle eyes.

And then I found out. There was Aislinn Lewis and Penelope Olsen.

The paparazzi’s eyes became sharp.

His fingers danced over the phone.

-… Editor-in-Chief.

-Did you find it?

-The two are holding hands.

-what?

-They are holding hands and whispering in each other’s ears. What kind of person said those two were fighting?

-… … .

The editor hung up the phone.

After seeing the photo that had been sent, he opened the window and looked up at the sky with a bitter look.

Hopper Dusk,

“He really was a smart gentleman… .”