Chapter 32: The Great Storm (Part 1) (Second Update Seeking Recommendations)

  The second update~

  Thanks for the rewards from classmates Xie'e's Flower and Baby Pig Ears~

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  In August, the weather in Seoul has started to cool down slightly. The sky is a deep blue with white clouds scattered across it. The sun, which has just risen from the east, casts a golden glow on their edges. Between the densely packed high-rise buildings, there are also rays of light shining through, creating long shadows. In such a beautiful scene, the day begins in Yumin Island Park.

  A winding river flows through the park, the gurgling sound of water being swept away by the cool breeze, mixed with the rustling sound of leaves, drifting along the quiet pedestrian path in the park.

  It's still early, and there are not many people in the park. Only a few elderly men and women who are used to getting up early are doing some light exercises like fitness exercises. Of course, their attention occasionally shifts to focus on three strange men and women on the small path.

  It was a combination of one boy and two girls, with one boy and one girl walking slowly on the path, while another girl ran beside them, making gestures as if holding a camera, circling around the couple, with the gentle breeze blowing, and faintly hearing the conversation between the couple.

  "Do you also think love is a war of the stars?" The woman's voice was tinged with a hint of confusion and depression as she asked.

  "Huh?" The boy looked at her in surprise.

  "Do you also think love is just a game?"

  The boy lost his smile, "Who told you this... Minzhu?"

  "Not...," the girl pouted, "a friend said so."

  "Hey, what's with that? Don't hang out with people like that anymore." The boy, feeling helpless about the girl's strange thoughts, advised her and then playfully flicked the hair curl hanging in front of her forehead. As she still looked a bit down, he said in a spoiled tone: "Oh - our pure love hasn't been scared off, has it?"

  "Hahahaha...!"

  Another girl who had been circling around them finally burst out laughing.

  A sudden burst of laughter completely destroyed the pure atmosphere that had been building up in front of the conversation, and Ahn Jun-hee's hand stiffened as he practiced the script. He looked at the girl who was laughing so hard she was bent over: "Ji-young sister, are you here to help or cause trouble?"

  "Ah... sorry..." Xú Zhìyīng laughed so hard she was squatting on the ground, panting, "But when you talk like that, it's really... really weird..." As she spoke, she held her breath and imitated An Junhe's expression from earlier, puckering up her lips and making a coquettish sound: "Oh... our pure love... pffft... I can't take it anymore... hahahaha!"

  The girl was laughing uncontrollably, lying on the ground and holding her stomach as she rolled back and forth. Even Lin Xiu Jing, who had just broken away from the scene and returned to being calm, couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh secretly.

  An Junhe let out a helpless sigh, knowing that his usual mature and stable demeanor was too different from the character Cui Yun in the play, which made them laugh. But what could he do? The script was written that way, although sometimes he felt embarrassed while acting, work is work, there's no such thing as being completely satisfied.

  ...If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have brought her along...

  Looking at Xoo Ji-young who was still laughing loudly, Ahn Jun-hyuk felt a bit dizzy.

  Since the meeting that day, several people officially entered the crew. Although the shooting date has not arrived, the crew had arranged for dormitories and let the main actors move in early, eating and living together every day to make them quickly get familiar with each other.

  A familiar process, of course, not just chatting activities, but also formal rehearsals before filming. The conversation between Ahn Hyo-seop and Lim Ju-hwan just now is the scene where Choi Yoon and Song Eun-chae appear in the first act of the simulated drama. Such rehearsals are originally only for two people to come out, but Joo Ji-young can't bear the loneliness in the dormitory, Soo Ji-seob is a senior, and she has a lot on her mind recently, so she doesn't want to disturb her, and proposes to help the two rehearse, operating the "camera" herself, letting them find the feeling of performing in front of the "camera" first.

  Unexpectedly, after she came, she messed up and the short scene was interrupted several times because she couldn't help but laugh. This small path, Ahn Jun-hee and Lim Soo-jung walked back and forth at least 5 times or more.

  If there weren't so few people around now, someone would have probably called the police and caught these three mentally ill individuals by now.

  After laughing for a while longer, Xu Zhiying finally managed to compose herself amidst An Junhe's increasingly helpless expression, panting as she said: "Alright, let's continue! This time I promise not to laugh."

  "Never mind......" An Junhe looked at her distrustfully and rejected the proposal, "You've messed me up so much that I'm in no state to do anything. Let's take a walk and head back later. In two days, it'll be the day of the premiere, and the director should have arrangements for us today."

  When he suggested going back early, Xu Zhiying stomped her foot in dissatisfaction, "What arrangements could there be? Even if we start work, there's nothing for us to do up front!"

  Because the TV series is about adoption, it inevitably involves the issue of Korean babies being abandoned overseas. Therefore, after the crew started filming, they first went abroad to film on location. Soo Ji-seop's character Cha Moo-hyuk has a background of being abandoned overseas, so at that time, only Soo Ji-seop and a few other actors had to follow the crew to go abroad, while everyone else could only stay in the country and wait for the crew to finish filming on location and return home before starting their work.

  An Junhe knew she wanted to play outside for a while, and ignored her protests. He and Lin Xiujing walked along the path for a few laps, exercising their muscles, before returning to the dormitory. Xu Zhiying, who had no one to accompany her to play, could only follow them back with a listless expression.

  The dormitory arranged by the crew was a apartment building near the park, which was originally a KBS TV station property. Most of the residents in the building were also KBS employees, and the crew borrowed one floor from the TV station. The apartment was in a single-person dormitory mode, not very large, with over a dozen rooms packed tightly on one floor. When the three returned to the dormitory, So Ji-sub seemed to have just gotten up and washed his face, with a towel still draped over his shoulder, and water droplets still clinging to his mustache, which he had grown specifically for the drama's requirements, as he walked in the corridor outside the door talking on the phone.

  "...Cheng Xuan, don't hide anymore. I heard the police department has started investigating you guys. If they really find something and accuse you of violating the military service law, what will you do? Your future will be ruined..."

  The three people who were about to go over and greet him looked at each other in dismay, knowing that it was Song Chengxian on the phone again. This was not a good time for them to appear, so they tactfully retreated back to the corridor, planning to go up later.

  Since that day, Ahn Jun-hee deliberately went online to take a look after hearing what Joo Ji-hoon said. The controversy over the military service storm on the internet was indeed earth-shattering, involving not only Song Seung-heon but also Jang Hyuk and Bae Yong-joon. In fact, in the entertainment circle and sports world, it's not news that celebrities and athletes try every means to evade military service for the sake of maintaining popularity and income. Usually, the police department and military service bureau don't bother much about it, turning a blind eye as long as it's not too excessive. However, this time was different. These three were leading figures in the Korean Wave in recent years, with their popularity spreading widely across Asia. After the scandal of their fake medical records to evade military service broke out, it spread rapidly to neighboring countries, causing a huge negative impact.

  Even on the internet, there are people who have shouted that the three men's evasion of their duties has brought shame to the entire country of Korea, and they are traitors to the nation. They are calling for the police department to severely punish them in order to deter other male celebrities from evading military service, so that everyone can see what happens when you betray your country.

  Such fiery rhetoric has actually received a response from the vast majority of people, and the anger of the masses towards them can be seen at a glance.

  However, Ahn Jun-hee, who has already served his time for this kind of thing, does not have the sympathy that comes from shared experience, nor does he feel the anger of being deceived like the public. In the end, he doesn't know Song Cheon-woo, and he's only paying attention to him because of Soo Ji-hyun. Even with Soo Ji-hyun, they've only known each other for a few days, so it's impossible to have a deep friendship. He's just slightly concerned that his state will delay the filming schedule since he's always distracted by his friend's affairs.

  That's it, so after reading it, I didn't bother with it anymore.

  It was originally thought that Song Xiang would quickly come forward to show obedience to the national arrangement in order to salvage his image, but judging from Soo Ji-chul's recent advice, he seems to be preparing to continue evading.

  A bit silly.

  An Junhe shook his head secretly, thinking to himself. At this time, Xu Zhiying also whispered: "It seems that Song Chengxian still wants to continue hiding? Alas, he really doesn't know what's going on in the country while being abroad?"

  Lin Xiujing wasn't interested in this somewhat gossip topic, shaking her head and not responding. Only An Junhe smiled and said: "Who knows? Anyway, we can only watch."

  "Yes... Sigh, I hope it doesn't affect Senior So Ji-sub." Joo Ji-young pouted her mouth. So Ji-sub was also at the age where he had to serve in the military, but since he got injured in 2002, the Military Manpower Administration investigated and granted him a postponement of his enlistment.

  This was something that everyone already knew about, and Xu Zhiying's words were just a casual remark. An Junhe and Lin Xiujing listened to it casually and didn't take it to heart.

  But the three of them never thought that this already settled matter would suddenly explode online two days later, on the day the crew was preparing to start filming, at a speed that left people stunned and unprepared.

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