Chapter 31: The Meeting (Part 2) (First Update Seeking Recommendation)

  Woke up with a stuffy nose in the middle of the night, wrote a chapter, and since I couldn't keep the draft to myself, I'll just post it ahead of schedule...

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  The director and screenwriter left, and the room that was still filled with hushed conversations suddenly fell silent. Everyone's eyes turned to the four seats at the top of the oval conference table, where the main actors were seated.

  The so-called meeting is actually to let all the actors get familiar with each other, but in fact, the focus is on the four main actors. They have the heaviest roles and the greatest impact on the crew's state. If they get along well, the crew will be harmonious, while others are just second- or third-tier small actors who have barely managed to compete for supporting roles and don't have the qualifications to stir up trouble in the crew.

  There are many actors present, but there aren't many who know each other well. At this moment, everyone stopped talking and waited to see what the four main actors had to say.

  An Jun-hyeok, as the second male lead, kept to his own place and wisely didn't speak up first. He just looked at So Ji-sub with his eyes - he was one of the most important people in the crew, aside from the director and screenwriter. Although there was also a Lim Su-jeong who ranked equally with him, in Korean society where some traditional bad habits still lingered, it seemed more suitable for men to take the lead in interpersonal relationships compared to women.

  They just waited for a while, but Soo Ji Hwan kept staring blankly at the desktop in front of him, not making a sound, and had long since wandered off somewhere.

  From the moment they met, An Junhe found that he was a bit absent-minded, his heart seemed to be filled with worries, but he didn't know what it was, and it actually made him completely not focus on this.

  After waiting for a while, seeing that he was still in a daze, An Junhe secretly sighed and stood up, bowed slightly, and apologetically said: "Everyone please wait a moment, I'll go out for a bit and come back soon."

  He said, with a apologetic smile to the crowd of people staring at him in surprise, quickly walked out the door. When he came back again, more than ten minutes had passed, and behind him followed many people, holding cups of hot coffee, hot tea, and many melon seeds snacks, distributing them to the crowd.

  "How...how can I possibly..."

  "Yes, it's too extravagant."

  Witnessing such a scene, the crowd who were still wondering what An Junhe went out to do, quickly got up and helped distribute things while saying some apologetic words.

  "It's only proper, I'm still a newcomer, and everyone here is my senior. As a junior, it's only right to show respect to my seniors. It's just that I've just started out and my finances are limited, so I could only buy some snacks, I hope my seniors won't look down on me."

  As always, polite and humble, but generous in his actions. He didn't just buy snacks because he couldn't afford it, but because there was no need to. Snacks only cost a little money, so even if the other main actors wanted to treat him in the future, they could still afford it. Otherwise, the expenses would be too great, and the other three people wouldn't be able to keep up with him, so how would they look at him?

  Are you intentionally trying to win people over and isolate us?

  Perhaps Su Zhihui, Lin Xiujing and Xu Zhiying are not narrow-minded people, but they don't know each other well, so it's always better to leave a margin.

  An Junhe's words, as soon as they came out, instantly made the atmosphere in the room lively. The people present were all old-timers in the entertainment industry, and although they wouldn't be bought off by some coffee, tea, and snacks, An Junhe, as the second male lead, was young and successful, yet he didn't put on airs, and was instead very polite to them, which undoubtedly made everyone feel more at ease. As they sipped their hot drinks and drove away the faint chill of the early morning, with some snacks in hand, it was like a tea party, and before long, whether or not they knew each other, people found topics that interested them and gathered together to chat.

  After distributing the items, Ahn Jun-hee chatted casually with the people who thanked him and then returned to his seat. The other three leads did not participate in their conversation, after all, they were of different status and would not lower themselves to accommodate others like Ahn Jun-hee, a newcomer.

  As soon as I sat down, a thank you came from next to me, Xu Zhiying's voice: "Thank you for the coffee."

  She held a cup of steaming coffee, nodded to him, and her cheeks were smoked with two lovely blushes.

  "Seniors don't need to be polite." An Junhe smiled, then found Lin Xiujing on the other side, who hadn't touched the tea in front of her, and asked softly: "Senior doesn't like tea? Want to drink my coffee instead, I haven't touched it yet."

  Said that and then want to change over.

  "No." Lin Xiujing hastily intercepted, slightly embarrassed and slightly bowed her head, saying softly: "It's just that I don't have the habit of drinking tea on an empty stomach, my intestines aren't very good..."

  "Oh, have you had breakfast yet, senior?"

  "Hmm, came too early......" This woman, who looked like a next-door little sister at first glance but was actually 7 years older than Ahn Jun-hee, blushed and pursed her lips, with the loose end of her bun slightly curled and swaying by her cheek, making her look even more gentle and delicate.

  As she said that, An Junhe suddenly remembered that the staff member who had received them had said they were all early, so he glanced at his watch and found it was still early. After thinking for a moment, he suggested: "Not eating breakfast is not good for your body, let's find a cafe, I'll invite you seniors to have something to fill your stomach."

  The words had just fallen, and before Lin Xiujing could speak, a male voice cut in, "Let me treat you instead!"

  It's Soo Ji Hwan, who seems to have come back to his senses, looking around the room and understanding something, with a bitter smile on his face, he let out a sigh towards Ahn Joon Hee: "Sorry, today all of these should have been my treat, but... I ended up troubling you instead."

  "You're too kind, it's what I should do." An Junhe said hastily.

  "Don't always use honorifics, we're not singers, there's no need for so many rules." Su Zhihui chuckled and smiled warmly, with a rather casual demeanor.

  "Yes!"

  Although he said so, An Junhe couldn't really speak in plain language, otherwise it would be a trouble if overheard by outsiders who didn't know the situation. So although he verbally agreed, his attitude hadn't actually changed.

  Su Zhihui let out a sigh, and also understood him, didn't entangle this topic anymore, stood up and said: "Let's go, as An Junhe just proposed, find a place, I'll treat you to some snacks or something, we can talk about lunch later."

  Lin Xiujing and Xu Zhiying wanted to refuse, but just as they started shaking their heads, a faint rumbling sound came from their stomachs, instantly making them blush.

  "Listen, my stomach is protesting." Su Zhihui burst out laughing, "Don't be so proud, or you'll end up suffering yourself. We still have several months of cooperation ahead of us!"

  An Junhe also smiled and persuaded: "Yes, two seniors, go ahead, just take this opportunity for everyone to get familiar with each other."

  It got to the point where refusing would be inappropriate, so the two of them thought about it and finally nodded in agreement. The four of them then bid farewell to the actors who had already started chatting with each other inside, and those actors also knew that the main cast must find a quiet environment on their own to get along smoothly, so no one was dissatisfied.

  Four people, including the agent, left the building and got into So Ji-sub's van. After driving around for a while, they found a nearby coffee shop. Ahn Joon-young and Seo Ji-young went in first, while So Ji-sub and Lim Soo-jung needed to touch up their makeup. The two of them were still basking in the popularity of their recent TV drama and movie, respectively, and didn't dare appear in public without a bit of makeup.

  It's better for An Junhe and them, a newcomer and one who just started to make a comeback, if they are put in front of others, nobody will recognize them, so there won't be that much trouble.

  Walked into the coffee shop and randomly found a seat, ordered four cups of coffee and pastries, while waiting for the other two people, An Junhe and Xu Zhiying started chatting.

  "I actually knew it was you." Xu Zhiying looked at An Junhe, the smile on her lips bright and cheerful. Perhaps she had become more familiar with him now, as she spoke without a hint of the shyness she had shown earlier when she was late, "The theme song is sung by you, right? The song sounds great, I heard it's also written and composed by yourself, so talented!"

  An Junhe was taken aback, he didn't think that she already knew about him singing the theme song. Because it wasn't time to release the song yet, the crew hadn't announced this news, even among the staff who knew weren't many, let alone these actors.

  But thinking of her background, it's understandable.

  To facilitate Ahn Jun-hee and other main actors to get along well, Kwon Bo-geun had collected their information. According to those materials, this girl named Yoo Ji-young, since her debut in '98, has not achieved anything significant. At first, she joined a mixed vocal group called "Sharp", and was lukewarm until 2002, when she left the group and started flying solo, but afterwards there were no personal works released, basically in a state of semi-retirement, until this year when she joined the cast of "Sorry, I Love You" to prepare for her comeback.

  But if you underestimate her because of this, then that's a mistake. Her background is quite deep; her grandfather was once an important figure in politics and her father is also a well-known businessman, with a prominent family history.

  An Junhe had never thought much about her family background, and now that he did, it didn't stir up any ripples in his heart. When facing her, he should be the same as before, neither fawning due to her illustrious status nor pretending to be distant and aloof.

  It was actually Joo Ji-hyun, who didn't know if it was because of his polite behavior earlier that left a good impression on her, or if she thought that two people without much popularity should sympathize with each other. She was quite enthusiastic towards him and after a while, her attitude became more casual, talking openly about herself: "I've been idle for two years, everything feels unfamiliar, like I'm back to when I first started out. If not for today, I wouldn't have been late, fortunately, I met a good director who didn't scold me, thinking about it, I'm quite lucky." As she spoke, she playfully stuck out her tongue, "Looking at the scriptwriter's instructions before he left, it seems like he values you highly! With such a big tree to take care of you, Joon-oh, please take good care of yourself in the future!"

  He took a sip of coffee, feeling the rich aroma spreading in his mouth, An Junhe blinked and smiled: "I should be the one to ask for your care, who can be older than you after all!"

  Xu Zhiying was taken aback for a moment, then understood that he was teasing her about her background. Her background was something she had revealed herself, never thinking of hiding it, and naturally didn't mind others making fun of it. Otherwise, An Junhe wouldn't have been so presumptuous.

  She pouted: "My family has never agreed with me entering this line of work. What's the big deal? As long as I'm not a burden, that's good enough."

  Just then, So Ji-sub and Lim Soo-jung walked in, the two of them with simple makeup, not bad effect, also wearing a pair of large black-framed glasses, this unremarkable outfit, from afar it's likely others wouldn't recognize that these two are actually stars.

  As soon as they sat down, Soo Ji Hwan smiled and asked, "You guys are getting along pretty well, huh? What's making you so happy?"

  An Junhe opened his mouth, just about to speak, when Soo Ji-hyun's phone on his waist suddenly rang. He was stunned for a moment and had to get up again: "Sorry, I'll take this call." As he said that, he picked up the phone and walked out of the coffee shop while answering it.

  He didn't know who was on the other end of the phone. As soon as he picked up, without saying a few words, Su Zhihui's worried look reappeared on his face.

  "It must be Senior Song Chengxian who made the call!"

  Like Ahn Jun-ho, Joo Ji-young, who was watching Soo-ji leave, suddenly said with emotion.

  "Huh?" An Junhe looked at her in surprise, "How did you know?"

  "Huh? Don't you know?" Xu Zhiying seemed even more surprised that Ahn Jun-hee didn't know, "Song Cheon-geun is a good friend of So Ji-sub's, and he's been caught up in a military service controversy lately. The newspapers and online are all criticizing him for dodging his duty, especially since he went abroad recently... Sigh, I can understand why he did it though. Two years of military service means leaving the industry for two years, and by the time you come back, your popularity is gone. Unfortunately, ordinary citizens don't get it, and online they're almost calling him a traitor. Anyone in this situation would be at their wit's end. So Ji-sub must be under a lot of pressure too as his friend."

  As she said that, she wrinkled her nose at An Junhe, "You really are, this matter has already caused a huge commotion, and you still don't know about it."

  "Cough... " An Junhe coughed dryly, "I've been busy running around all day recently, and I haven't read the newspaper or gone online for a long time."

  As soon as the words fell, Lin Xiujing, who had been quietly holding her cup and burying her head to drink coffee, also slightly raised her head: "I am too, if I hadn't heard you say it, I wouldn't have known either!"

  The two otaku boys and girls who didn't care about anything outside their window looked at each other and smiled.

  “……”

  Xu Zhiying speechlessly stared at the two who had suddenly come to an understanding, "I really admire you guys."

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