Chapter 33: The Great Storm (Part 2) (First Update)

  Thank you for the reward from my fellow student 愤其不争...

  ==============

  The day of the opening, it was unknown whether the Taoist who chose the auspicious day had insufficient power or if heaven was brewing something in secret. After several days of continuous clear weather, today suddenly became overcast and turned gloomy. A cold air mass also flew from the Arctic Circle, unwilling to be left out. The dark clouds were thickly laid out in the sky, the light was dim, and the wind carried a hint of chilliness, passing through the land that appeared gloomy due to the dull light.

  Although the weather was bad, the crew couldn't afford to waste a lot of money by delaying for a day, so they still held the opening ceremony under such circumstances. Outside the studio, a long table was set up on the empty ground, with a large plate placed in the middle, containing a plump roasted pig's head.

  The pig's head was dressed up very luxuriously, with rouge on its cheeks, wrapped in red paper clothes, and even had earrings on its ears. A red ribbon fluttered across the top of the pig's head, tied into a beautiful bow, giving off a very festive atmosphere. It's unknown which designer created this masterpiece.

  Anyway, from the moment he saw it for the first time, An Junhe vowed that he would rather die than be controlled by that stylist.

  Everything is ready, the director and screenwriter first lit incense, followed by a group of assistants, recorders, cameramen and other crew members, as well as actors, who bowed several times in front of the ancestral tablet in the cold wind, and the ceremony was completed.

  After the ceremony, the director took Soo-young and others to a meeting to discuss going abroad for filming. Others who were not related to this matter naturally went their separate ways. Ahn Jun-hee, Lim Joo-kyung, and Seo Ji-young also returned to their dormitory, had a light lunch, and since the weather was bad, they didn't feel like going out. They ended up in Ahn Jun-hee's room, planning to play some games to pass the boring afternoon time.

  Xu Zhiying, who loves to play, proposes playing cards with flowers, and the loser will have a mustache on his face.

  Lin Xiujing didn't care about anything, but An Junhe felt that he was not good at this game and wanted to change it, unfortunately, he couldn't win over Xu Zhiying who was being both spoiled and playful.

  "Haha, you lost again, yeah!"

  In the small room, Joo Ji-young cheered and jumped up to celebrate with a weird dance, while tearing off a piece of paper, wetting it with saliva on her tongue tip, and slapping it onto Ahn Jun-hee's forehead with an expression of helplessness.

  At this time, his face was almost completely covered, and now his forehead was also stuck, he gasped a bit more, and in front of him, there was a white shadow shaking wildly. An Junhe, who was deeply troubled, couldn't help but complain: "Why don't you just stick it directly on my eyes? This way I can't even see the cards!"

  "There's nowhere else to post it, is it that you can't play yourself, losing so many times, who can you blame?" Xu Zhiying laughed triumphantly.

  Next to him, a few "whiskers" were also stuck on his face, but unlike Ahn Jun-hee's exaggerated expression, Lim Soo-jung covered her mouth and giggled for a while before finally coming out to mediate: "Okay, let's take a break first. Jun-hee's face is all stuck up, we'll start again later."

  Among the three, she was the oldest and most experienced. Although she was quiet and rarely spoke due to her personality, if she expressed an opinion, even someone as mischievous as Xu Zhiying wouldn't dare contradict her. So she just pouted and let An Junhe off the hook for the time being.

  Finally free.

  An Junhe let out a sigh, and with one swift motion, he ripped off the "mustache" on his face. "I'll go make some coffee," he said as he disappeared into the kitchen. Meanwhile, the two girls were not visiting his room for the first time, so they didn't feel awkward at all. Xu Zhiying picked up An Junhe's laptop from the head of the bed and opened it while calling out: "Junhe, I'm going to use your computer to log onto MSN!"

  "Go ahead!"

  Xu Zhiying smiled and teased: "So decisive, aren't you afraid that I'll see the unhealthy things inside?"

  At the kitchen door, An Junhe poked out half of his head and responded to her teasing without showing any weakness: "Oh? You're so clear about it, do you also have similar habits?"

  "Who would have thought An Junhe would counterattack so sharply? Her face turned red, and she immediately said with a mix of shyness and annoyance: 'Ah, you little stinker, how can you say such things to your sister?'"

  Finally venting the anger that had been pent up, An Jun let out a loud "hahaha" and went back to the kitchen to brew coffee. A moment later, Xu Zhiying's sudden cry came from outside.

  His heart tightened, "I won't really see anything unhealthy, will I?"

  Although as a normal man, An Junhe sometimes appreciates some popular movies, the computer is for work, he hasn't been so idle to carry those movies with him, it's just that these days he occasionally surfs the internet and accidentally clicks on some adult websites disguised as normal sites, and he doesn't have the habit of clearing his browser history, so if Xu Zhiying really rummages through everything, it's not impossible to find traces of those web pages.

  With some trepidation, An Junhe asked "What's wrong?" as he walked out of the kitchen.

  In the small living room, Xu Zhiying and Lin Xiujing stared blankly at the computer screen in front of them. When they saw him come out, the two silently turned the screen towards him. In the not-too-strong liquid crystal light, the webpage that was open on the screen had a line of bold large characters that shone dazzlingly:

  Fake medical records stir up controversy again!

  Subtitle: Following Song Chong-hwan, Jang Hyuk and Bae Yong-joon, So Ji-sub also exposed to the same scandal, has fake illness history become an industrial chain in the entertainment circle?

  Looking at the photo of Soo Ji-hyun lined up with Song Cheon-gil and others under the title, although he didn't see the specific content, these were already enough to hint at what had happened. Ahn Jun-hee was stunned for a moment and smiled bitterly: "...... The director should still not know, right?"

  Lin Xiujing glanced at her watch and nodded: "Still in a meeting..."

  "Sigh, let's call them..."

  ……

  When An Junhe and others called, the TV station that had received the news before them had already sent an inquiry to Li Hengmin. The crew had just decided to start filming and had not yet set off when this happened, so the attitude of the TV station was definitely very bad, causing Li Hengmin to rush back to the crew with a very serious expression.

  However, the director, who is usually low-key but has a lot of experience, did not panic after this sudden incident. After returning, he immediately sent someone to investigate the development of the event and comfort Soo Ji-seop, who was feeling down, while also calling his agency to ask if Soo's medical history was fabricated, which directly relates to the crew's stance on the issue.

  The brokerage firm reacted quickly and soon sent a copy of Soo-young's medical records, including his hospital diagnosis and surgery, as well as X-rays taken during follow-up checks after the surgery, to the production team through Soo-young's family.

  But Lee Hyung-min was not satisfied with the reply from the agency, these things would have been naturally unquestionable in the past, but now that So Ji-sub's fabricated medical history has suddenly surfaced online, the outcome is different. From a personal standpoint, Lee Hyung-min wants to believe So Ji-sub, but if he stands on the entire production team's level and considers giving the TV station a clear answer, he must see more evidence.

  The brokerage firm had no choice but to contact the hospital where Soo Ji-hyun was diagnosed under his request, and asked for the records kept by the hospital.

  This matter is not something that can be understood at once, but rather the investigation into the development of the event has quickly made progress. In fact, the cause is very simple. At first, someone just posted a list on a portal website's forum of male celebrities who had been allowed to delay their military service due to illness, and So Ji-sub was naturally among them. Since recently, the hot topic has been about celebrities fabricating medical records, many people immediately followed up with posts, and some idle individuals even analyzed which male celebrity is most likely to do such a thing.

  At first, these were just idle chatter of bored people, but when analyzing So Ji-sub, an analyst questioned whether he could endure the pain for several months with a torn ligament and found the original show that caused his injury, frame by frame screenshots analysis, trying to prove that he was simply dislocated at the time.

  This doubt enraged Su Zhihuan's fans, and the controversy grew more intense as the number of follow-up posts increased, until someone posted two medical records with completely identical serial numbers.

  The serial number is the same, but the content of the record is quite different. One diagnosis result shows dislocation, and the other shows ligament tendon rupture. Such two vastly different medical records suddenly made this debate slide in an unpredictable direction.

  It was as if the sharks had smelled blood, and many portal websites, stimulated by recent topics such as Song Chongxian's, frantically re-posted the two medical records after they were released, quickly drafting news articles and placing them on their homepages in the first instance, rapidly spreading this unverified so-called scandal.

  "These lousy online media outlets are really infuriating!"

  Li Hengmin, who understood the cause of the matter, slammed his hand on the table, and the atmosphere was solemn. This was a small conference room, with an oval-shaped table surrounded by people who had a say in the drama group. In addition to Li Hengmin, there were also Li Qingxi, Su Zhiyan, An Junhe and others present.

  Seo Ji-hoon's face turned iron-blue, and after Lee Hyung-min's outburst, he fell silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "I'm sorry, I delayed the crew's work because of my relationship."

  The crew originally planned to take tomorrow's flight to the overseas filming location, but now that this has happened to him, it is clear that they will not be able to go until this matter is thoroughly resolved. Without him as the male lead, there would be no point in going, so their previous plans have naturally been scrapped.

  "It's not your fault." Li Hengmin waved his hand, "It's those media outlets spreading false information to attract attention." He paused for a moment, then instructed Soo Ji-hyun, "I've already spoken with your agency and asked them to obtain the medical records from the hospital where you were treated. In the next few days, you and your agency need to gather evidence and show it to me, so I can put this matter to rest."

  Saying that, perhaps seeing Su Zhihui's expression becoming increasingly gloomy, Li Hengmin softened his tone: "Don't have too much burden, a upright person is not afraid of a crooked shadow. The internet is currently in an uproar, once you bring out the evidence, they will naturally retreat."

  "Thank you for your trust and support."

  After comforting him for a while, Li Hengmin said to An Junhe and others: "The crew can't stop for a day. From tomorrow on, we'll start filming your parts first. I hope you can adjust your mindset and don't be distracted by these things outside the scene..."

  Several main actors quietly listened to his speech, except for So Ji-sub, who seemed to have temporarily forgotten about the incident. After all, from the cause of the event, it was just another online rumor that had been magnified by the media. In the face of facts, these rumors could be easily resolved.

  Only An Junhe had some gloom on his face.

  He vaguely felt that someone seemed to be deliberately targeting Su Zhihuan, because this hype method was too familiar to him. In the years to come, on the internet, there were too many such things. As long as you grasped the hot topic, attracted people to watch, and then created a contradictory view with a seemingly ambiguous point of view, gradually intensifying their debate, it would quickly make a silent post attract a lot of attention. When the media also noticed, suddenly throwing in an explosive material - standard operating procedure.

  If it's really like this, then at this level now, I estimate it's just the beginning...

  ;