Romeo and Juliet.
The story that has inspired the most homages among classic romances.
To summarize the story: two lovers from rival families fall in love. Things get tangled, and Juliet plans to fake her death with a potion to run away with Romeo.
However, Romeo, unaware of this, commits suicide in front of the ‘dead’ Juliet. Seeing this, Juliet also takes her own life. The two families, shocked, reconcile. Tragic for the lead characters, but a comedic ending for the families.
“How unfortunate for a specialist in faking death.”
Faking death requires meticulous planning.
If you’re going to fake it, you should start with some build-up and set multiple safety measures. It ended in tragedy because it was done half-heartedly.
Well, considering Romeo and Juliet were both teenagers, maybe a clumsy plan was inevitable.
“Though the final tragedy led to the story of the matchmaker.”
It’s a sad tale for an expert in faking death, but I chose this story for its final ending.
Even someone who knows nothing about the story is familiar with the ending, making it a well-known comedy.
As long as the final tragedy is preserved, it doesn’t matter what story you fill in, and you can minimize the characters while still performing it.
It’s truly an optimal tale for local matchmakers to share.
“Ro! Mio! Ro! Mio! Still not satisfied?”
With a booming voice, I signaled the start of the story by calling out the protagonist Ro Mio’s name twice.
Right after starting, I introduced Romeo’s friend for a simple setting explanation.
“I have to practice martial arts every day. Why drag me to a party?”
“It’s not just any party. It’s a rare occasion where men and women can dance and have fun once a year. What’s with the complaints?”
“Aren’t those from the Ro family’s sworn enemy coming too?”
“It’s a banquet! No matter how much of a sworn enemy they are, would they draw swords at a party?”
I acted like a kind friend, soothing my sulky companion.
“Whenever those lines come out, they always draw swords.”
“Is it a story about two families fighting?”
“Martial arts stories seem too brutal.”
As the audience, provided with the story’s basic info, began whispering concerns about the plot, it felt like a good immersion for the start.
“Even the most beautiful maiden in Joseon, Miss Ju, will be here. Let’s at least catch a glimpse of her face.”
“No interest… Really, is she that beautiful?”
I quickly lowered my fan and tiptoed, peeking around.
“Haha! I thought you were sincere, but you’re just another teenage boy.”
“By the way, does that matchmaker do female roles too?”
Huh? Yes, well. During the Hamurin Prince, I played the wicked stepmother well. But this time is different.
I quickly jumped down from the stage.
“Hey! Don’t you dare come down already!”
“Look! I didn’t even start the story, and here you are, trying to use the Donation Technique!”
Just wait a bit.
I went to where the female audience was gathered and, finding a beautiful Miss Ju, approached her.
“Are you possibly Miss Ju?”
“Excuse me?”
Startled, the lady opened her mouth and tilted her head.
“Such beauty! Are you the Miss Ju I’ve heard tales of?”
“Um, that is…”
Oh no. I messed up. Next person.
“Is it not you? Then are you Miss Ju?”
I quickly shifted my attention to the next woman.
“Yes! I’m Miss Ju!”
A keen-eyed woman smiled playfully, volunteering herself.
“May I know the name of your beautiful self?”
“Hehe, of course! It’s So-so!”
“Ju So-so! What a wonderfully beautiful name.”
It’s a name that fits anywhere, after all.
Dressed in expensive attire with no wrinkles in sight, she looks like a lively character who hasn’t suffered.
Thanks to her, I’m sure this unexpected situation will be amusing.
I thanked her and returned to the stage without taking a single penny. Then I briefly pretended to dance and shouted to the audience.
“Ah! We have fallen in love!”
Romeo, in love, kneeled in despair.
“What’s wrong with falling in love?”
“Why are you like this?”
After leading the audience to wonder why Romeo was in despair, I kneeled dramatically.
“Miss So-so is the daughter of our family’s sworn enemy! We are in a love that cannot be fulfilled!!!”
“Oh my! A love that cannot be fulfilled!”
“It seems the handsome couple is in forbidden love.”
Indeed, forbidden love is a cheat code. I could see the female audience adjusting their postures, getting more immersed.
“Ah! I can’t forget the beauty of Lady Ju! That beautiful visage! Was she perhaps a celestial fairy who danced down from the heavens?”
I gazed up at the sky, pretending to imagine the fairy with a blissful expression.
“Hey, that handsome matchmaker seems to be smitten with you.”
“Hehe.”
“That’s nice. It’s just acting anyway.”
After explaining the feud between the Ju and Ro families to the audience, I began to actively praise Ju So-so.
The more I praised her, the more So-so’s shoulders shook with joy, prompting envy from nearby women.
Romeo, in agony, confessed his undying love to the audience after much deliberation.
“Ah! I must secretly invade the Ju family to see her beautiful face!”
I started descending from the stage again, this time holding a begging bowl.
“Looks like I’m coming to you again!”
The crowd parted for Miss So-so. I boldly approached her but paused before shouting loudly in front of everyone.
“Ah! I can’t remember the name of the beautiful Miss Ju! Numerous rooms have the names of so many maidens written on them, yet which room is it!!!”
“It’s hereeee!!”
Miss Ju waved her hand, indicating her spot.
“I know. But I’m not going to go.”
“Oh! That maiden was Miss Ju? I can’t recall!”
I tilted my head down, subtly lifting the begging bowl.
“Give me money.”
If you still want to play the heroine.
“Ha! For love, money cannot buy!”
The original Miss Ju crossed her arms, trying to ignore me. Okay, that’s how you want to play it.
“Ah! Was that maiden not the real Miss Ju? Then who was it!”
I sighed dramatically while making eye contact with other women, pacing around.
“Here!”
Suddenly, a quick-witted female audience member tossed some money!
“No!!! Could it be you, Miss Ju?”
I approached her slowly, pretending to be shocked.
At a speed slow enough for others to throw more money.
“Ah! I’ll do it! Here!”
Another lady quickly understood the situation and tossed in more than what had already been thrown.
“Ah! She’s just another maiden. You are now my Miss Ju!”
“Take this too!”
“Ah! Indeed, that maiden is my Miss Ju!”
“I want to be Miss Ju!”
“I’ll do it!”
“You, you just dancen’ with me! Here’s 2 silver!”
“So-so! Are you crazy? Why throw 2 silver at a matchmaker?”
Eventually, the original Miss Ju, witnessing the spectacle, generously threw in 2 silver to settle the chaos.
Yeah. This is it.
This time, the Donation Technique I’m using involves naming the main character.
If I go to a well-dressed audience member and use this technique, I’ll likely receive generous support. I had planned it that way, and to my surprise, the reaction was great.
I mean, being the main female character of the story with just a few coins sounds quite attractive.
I climbed back up on stage, acting as the two lovers whispering sweet nothings.
“Ah! Romeo! Why must you be Romeo!”
Lady Ju, distressed that her beloved comes from an enemy family.
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet! Just as you are you, I am just I!”
Romeo expresses that regardless of their families, they are in love.
“If only you vow that you are my love! I shall no longer be a member of the Ju family. I’ll abandon everything and become yours, So-so!”
Again, I covered my face with the fan and pretended to deliver a longing love confession towards Romeo, who was beyond the window, just out of reach.
“Oh wow, how romantic.”
“Even from enemy families, such passionate love can bloom!”
“Look at those two! After all, Dad has raised you well; can you really fall for a stranger?!”
“Hey you! Don’t forget! I was asked to marry the person my father chose, and you’re going to propose after crying in the street!”
“No, it’s different! That was that, and this is this!”
“A man should have the courage to sneak in like that! When I’m set to marry, I shouldn’t be allowed to cry loudly on the street.”
“No… honey. We agreed not to talk about that.”
Seems like there are some past marriage tales there.
The destined lovers plan to go to a temple and hold a secret wedding ceremony with the abbot.
But a problem must arise here. A big problem!
“Ah! Oh heavens! I wish to adorn my beloved with beautiful gifts and clothes!”
I cried out in lamentation towards the sky, portraying a lovesick young man.
“You have plenty of money at home!”
Someone seemed to sense the awkwardness and quickly called me out. No, that’s not my money; it belongs to the Ro family.
“Ah! Oh heavens! We will leave behind the Ro and Ju families! I can’t beg my parents as a disobedient child!”
With that, I hurriedly went down from the stage, holding the begging bowl.
“Oh heavens! Be our witness today at this secret wedding! Bestow your blessings upon the lovestruck couple!!!”
Guests! We’ve arrived at the wedding venue! Hurry up and give your blessings!
“Here, take this! What a first to see the matchmaker get blessings through money.”
“His Donation Technique is brilliant! Here’s for you!”
“So-so! Be happy! Here’s your gift!”
“I’m not getting married! I’ll give you something too!”
Could it be that the female audience was getting immersed, or did the lively atmosphere kick in? Female audience members eagerly began throwing their blessings, and soon, the begging bowl began to fill with coins.
At this rate, I’d want to tell them to at least share some noodles before they leave.
———–
The performance was successfully completed.
“Thanks to the tragic deaths of the two lovers, the Ju and Ro families are finally reconciled and will achieve peace!”
The two families, reconciling due to the tragic suicides of their young ones, while some audience members dab at their tears with their sleeves.
“Sob, it’s just… so sad!”
“Why did they have to die? They could’ve just loved each other!”
It was my first performance, but thanks to my training in martial arts, I was not exhausted and managed to act well to the end.
“Really nice!”
“I’ll come again next time!”
“Truly, the Joseon matchmaker tells good tales!”
“I’m too sad to stand. Can you help me?”
“Romeo should just abandon So-so and remarry.”
“So-so, I felt so sorry for you.”
“Yeah, I felt bad too.”
“Did you cry, So-so? You seemed really immersed. Next time, I should be the lady.”
“Next time, I’ll definitely be the lead!”
Unlike during the Hamurin Prince, perhaps due to focusing more on romance than a cataclysmic ending, the responses from the female audience were much more passionate.
To have been this successful means I won’t have to worry about new stories for a while.
Looking at the money in the bowl, I struck it big this time.
Should I head off and treat So-hee to her favorite food?
“Are you the famous Joseon matchmaker from Chilgok County?”
As I descended from the stage, waiting for So-hee, a young man, looking barely legal, approached me.
“Yes, that’s me. Who might you be?”
Who is he?
Noticing his broad shoulders and subtle movements, I could tell he was a martial artist from the Martial Arts World.
He’s handsomely built and dressed in fine clothes.
From his demeanor and speaking style, he doesn’t seem to be one of those troublemaking Black Knife types.
I didn’t see anyone like him among the Sword and Spear Sect guys last time I checked, making it difficult to discern his true identity.
I quickly looked for So-hee.
It seems like whenever someone talks to me after a performance, something bad happens.
Fortunately, So-hee was standing behind him, hidden. Perhaps she’s learned to be cautious from experience.
Not knowing what kind of fate awaits him if he came with ill intentions, he unexpectedly spoke.
“I come from the Seong Family in Daeheung County! I have come to invite you to the birthday celebration of the Seong Family head!”
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