Chapter 28: Birthday (Part 2)

  Rushed to finish bathing, changed clothes in the cubicle, and when I walked out of the bathroom, I saw that everyone who came from outside was a familiar face, Yoon-ah, Soo-young, Soo-jin, Yu-ri, Soo-young, and also Soo-young's friend Lee Yeon-hee.

  The small dormitory was packed with a group of vibrant young girls, and the beautiful faces that filled her vision made even Taeyeon feel momentarily stunned, as if she were surrounded by a bouquet of flowers, with the sweet scent lingering in her nostrils.

  The girls gathered together, of course, couldn't be quiet, especially Yoon-ah and Soo-young who loved to fool around. When Taeyeon came out, the two had already taken off their shoes and were sitting cross-legged on her bed, looking at Stephanie with curious and scrutinizing eyes, seemingly bewildered by the sudden appearance of many strangers.

  "Are you a junior who just arrived recently?"

  After sizing him up for a moment, Xiuying, with her arms crossed and stroking her chin, asked like this.

  "Wh-what? Is... is it me you're talking about? P-please, speak slowly, my Korean isn't good..."

  "Wow..." Yun'er opened her mouth wide and secretly nudged Xiuying with her elbow, "Sister, it's really a foreigner!"

  "Hmm!" Xiuying nodded seriously, her face stern as she asked the girl opposite her, "Since you're our junior, why didn't you greet us seniors when we came in?" As she spoke, she winked at Xiuyan, "Xiuyan, translate for her."

  Seo Yoon-ah, who was listlessly slouching her shoulders with a weak and helpless look on her face, rolled her eyes in response.

  This is one of Xiuying's hobbies, every time there are new employees in the company, she will scare them. In the past, Youli also suffered, being bullied by Xiuying for a year as a senior, otherwise Youli would not be arguing with Xiuying everywhere now.

  However, although secretly disapproving, Soo-young still faithfully translated what was said.

  A girl named Stephanie listened, aghast in response. Apparently having grown up in the US since she was young and just returned not long ago, she is still in the process of learning Korean and has not even participated in formal training. She had no concept of this strict class hierarchy in Korea.

  Before she could react, Yun'er, who always sought to stir up trouble, also chimed in: "Not only should you ask how they're doing, but also offer to pour water for your seniors. Why aren't you pouring?"

  "Right, right, and we have to give our seniors water to wash their faces. Ah, I suddenly feel like my face is so dry!" Yuli, who had also suffered before, showed no sympathy at all, and followed along with the jeering and shouting. Suyeon faithfully translated all these words, her tone as calm and indifferent as ever.

  This obviously made the girl even more flustered, her eyes staring at the girls in front of her with a frightened expression, the characteristic moon eyes had long since disappeared, and her eyes were misty, stuttering to explain: "I... I..." Just getting more anxious and tongue-tied, both flustered and wronged, her face was red with suffocation.

  Xiu Ying seemed to think that this tone was still not enough and continued with a straight face: "How about it, do you look down on your seniors?"

  "Wow, she actually looks down on her seniors!" Yun'er exclaimed loudly.

  "...You're so infuriating, you're done for! I'm telling you!" Yuri rolled up her sleeves, looking like she was ready to fight at any moment.

  Li Yexi was smiling and watching them play tricks on each other, but in the room only Xiaoxian had a soft heart and wanted to do something, but unfortunately there were obstacles in communication that made it impossible to communicate, so she could only sit on the small stool and sulk.

  Taeyeon wiped her wet hair, looking at the sudden change in just a few minutes, and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. At this moment, Stephanie, who had been under constant attack, finally saw Taeyeon, the only familiar face, amidst all the "malice". For some reason, the tears that had been welling up in her eyes suddenly burst forth, and she let out a loud wail...

  ……

  "Sorry to trouble you both, Shi Ge and Hu Dong Ge."

  After nearly five hours of recording, Ahn Jun-hee politely thanked the staff and guests on site before approaching Jang Hu-dong and Liu Zai-shi with an apologetic expression. In the previous recording, the two had created many scenes for him, causing Cao Cheng-mo, who was also supposed to be the main character of this episode, to be somewhat neglected. Unfortunately, he was still a newcomer to variety shows, and although he had managed to get many shots, he had also wasted a lot of them. Even though it was still early days before editing, he could already feel that his performance would not be very impressive when the show aired, which made him feel guilty for the two men's efforts.

  However, the two of them didn't mind it much. Patting An Junhe's shoulder, Liu Zaishi smiled and said: "Nobody is born knowing how to do things, you're doing well if you can let go."

  "Yeah, variety shows are like that, as long as you can let loose, what's left is just experience, appear on more shows and you'll become a seasoned pro one day, haha!" Jiang Hudu laughed heartily.

  "I'm not an old slicker." Liu shrugged his shoulders, "Just speak for yourself, don't drag me in."

  "Wow, you're really not willing to take a loss at all!"

  An Junhe interjected with a smile: "If Shi Ge was willing to suffer a loss, his figure wouldn't be like that either."

  Jiang Hudu: "………"

  Three people chatted and laughed as they returned to the main waiting room, each collecting their belongings. As previously agreed, the three called up Kim Jong-kook and went out for a meal together. In Korea, ordinary friendships are often cultivated through eating and drinking, which is largely a tradition that has been passed down from Chinese culture throughout East Asia, even in modern times.

  However, with Kim Jong Kook's new album release date approaching, he is busy every day and wishes he could use one minute as two minutes. There isn't much time to relax. Since they couldn't meet up with this mediator, the dinner gathering became a verbal agreement, and the three of them only just met in person. In reality, relationships take time to develop, unlike on TV where everyone becomes close like family after meeting once. A good first impression is just the foundation, and it takes some time to turn that into friendship.

  It was Choi Yoo-jin who, taking advantage of the opportunity to bid farewell to Ahn Jun-ho, smiled and asked him: "Do you have time? Let's go out for a drink later?"

  Following her were Cai Yan and Liu Min.

  Looking at her slightly awkward smile, as well as Cai Yan and Liu Min behind her, An Junhe, who was about to subconsciously refuse, thought for a moment, understood something, nodded: "Just drinking is too damaging to the stomach, how about this, I'll treat you guys, let's go eat barbecue."

  Hearing his words, Cui Ruzhen suddenly showed some gratitude in her smile and shyly pursed her lips: "I'll pay for it, how can I let you spend money..."

  "Don't be so polite, just consider it a thank you for teaching me how to do the show." An Junhe smiled slightly, and for him, Cui Ruzhen, with whom he had collaborated before, still had some emotional connection, and he was not stingy in giving her convenience and maintenance.

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  This chapter was written at the beginning of the year, and a few days ago I wanted to modify it, but I found that after not writing for a period of time, my skills had become rusty, and many familiar plot arrangements had been somewhat forgotten. I had no choice but to put it aside and post it as is. The word count is a bit short, and over the next few days, updates will probably be one chapter per day. I need to warm up my writing skills and recall the plot again.

  The following is appreciation:

  Throughout February, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to "Bone Ash" for his persistent support. After reading your message, I realized that you had been rewarding me for a month without my presence, which must have been disappointing for you. However, now that I'm back, I also hope you can come back!

  Then thank you to the six classmates, nevernight, He Yu Xiang Tian, Bei Feng Qian Qi, Luo Ye Tian, bsszds and Yue Ye Qing Chen, who supported me with rewards at the first time I came back. I have no way to repay you, I just hope that I can recover my state as soon as possible, and present stories worthy of your support to you and more silent supporters!

  Thank you...