Chapter 75 A Bunch of Idiots

aff members and actors let out a sigh of relief. The commotion gradually subsided as everyone started chatting and taking a break to prepare for lunch."Hyeri's acting is really great, she portrays it...Are you free tonight Let's go for drinks!

Sunny came over without even saying hello and directly gave me an invitation.

However, her tone and intonation sounded a bit low to Chi Jingyuan's ears. It was clear she wasn't in a good mood.

Unlike Kim Taeyeon, who loves alcohol and drinks a lot, Sunny although has a good tolerance for alcohol, but after knowing each other for so long, she hasn't asked Chi Kyung-won to drink even once. This time, suddenly calling over must be something happened.

"Nuna is so enthusiastic today..." Ji Jingyuan chuckled softly without refusing: "Time is available, but after I finish filming today, it's estimated to be in the early morning. I wonder if Nuna..."

"Okay, then that time, you tell me when you're off work today and I'll send you the address." Before Chi Jingyuan could finish speaking, Sunny proactively interrupted and directly made a decision.

"OK, see you later," After making the arrangement, Chi Jingyuan hung up the phone and didn't go back directly. Instead, he stood there for a while thinking.

Sunny is considered the first artist senior he met when he joined the company. They've become very close now, mainly because their personalities match well. A lot of the time, they just look at each other and know what the other person is thinking. The two are also very pure friends and siblings without any other factors mixed in, so they get along naturally without too much avoidance.

This feeling is really great.

So she invited Chi Jingyuan out for a meal and drinks, not even bothering with an excuse, just straight to the point. Chi Jingyuan would definitely agree if he had time, and even when he was clearly busy with something, he'd still make time to check in.

... I just don't know what situation made Chi Jingyuan, who was usually quite calm and saw through things clearly, become so down in the dumps. Even Sunny senior, who always seemed to have it all together, needed to talk to someone about it.

But once we met in the evening, it naturally became clear.

After making up his mind, Chi Jingyuan strode back and continued eating the leftover zhajiang noodles from before. He listened to a few actors from the crew chatting about the hottest news lately.

Recently, the Korean entertainment industry seems to be plagued by scandals. Just when news about Kim Hyun Joong and Song Hye Kyo died down, another scandal involving Lee Byung Hun emerged just a couple of days ago.

According to media reports, GLAM member Kim Da-hee and model friend Lee Ji-yeon recently blackmailed renowned South Korean actor Lee Byung-hun, attempting to extort 5 billion won in hush money.

The news immediately shocked the entire peninsula entertainment industry.

After causing widespread attention, major and minor media outlets also began to flock to report on it. In just a couple of days, the details of the incident were unearthed.

It is said that on a certain day in August of this year, Kim Do-hee and Lee Ji-yeon had a gathering with Lee Byung-hun at a very private place. Some say it was a KTV, while others say it was Lee Ji-yeon's house, but that's not the point.

As long as it's kept private, that's enough.

During their drinking and conversation, Lee Byung-hun said some vulgar and image-damaging things to them, asking many highly suggestive questions.

And he was caught on camera by two women secretly filming him with their phones. Afterward, they demanded money from Lee Byung-hun, threatening to post the video online if he didn't pay up.

It seems Lee Byung-hun was truly courageous. He immediately informed his agency, and after discussing it, he directly reported the incident to the police, leading to the arrest of both women.

As soon as the news broke, people were surprised and most curious about what Lee Byung-hun had said that could lead to being blackmailed into silence.

To know that Lee Byung-hun, who once ventured into Hollywood, is one of the established veterans in the Korean film industry. His image has always been quite good, and after getting married last year, he has consistently presented himself as a good husband and a good man in public, making many passersby have a favorable impression of him.

After a deep investigation, the video of Lee Byung-hun being filmed was finally exposed on the elA news program "News TOP10." In the video, he asked several questions in a questionable tone.

When was your first time How did it feel

How are you

Which do you value more, appearance or time

Words like "...which part of me would be more excited..." that are direct and vulgar.

These videos and conversations, once exposed, left countless people stunned. Their perception of Lee Byung-hun as a talented actor and a good man shattered to pieces.

Although he ruthlessly sent those two blackmailing actresses to prison, his own image suffered a huge blow. The public's impression of him plummeted instantly. What he said in the videos these days has become a popular catchphrase among old men when they drink privately.

"Speaking of Lee Byung-hun, has he been around for a long time Even though he's so old, he must be taking medicine, right"

" "Do you see where I'm more excited" If it were me, I think his nose looks pretty good..."

Over the past two days, Chi Jingyuan kept hearing crew members gossiping about this topic while smoking and laughing in a sly and suggestive way. A few middle-aged VJs and assistants looked at each other with a knowing glint in their eyes, and that greasy vibe suddenly became palpable.

Lee Byung-hun unknowingly became a middle-aged friend.

Those crew members gossiped freely behind the scenes, but actors like Park Kyung-won couldn't be so unrestrained. They only casually discussed the matter and expressed their opinions.

To be honest, although we seem to get along on the surface, we're not very close. I don't know who spread the word, but somehow it got around and now I've offended someone without realizing it.

Very interested, Ji Jingyuan even went to check the information about this GLAM girl group. He was surprised to find that the operating company of this female group was actually BigHit, BTS's company, and it was the first female group operated by BigHit.

BTS hasn't recovered from the situation with V yet, and now GLAM has this blackmail scandal. This agency really resembles ** in a way, both seem to have bad luck.

After dinner, the crew resumed filming. With this period of intensive shooting, recent progress has been very good. Now, almost all the first few episodes before the official broadcast have been completed. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in the later stages of production. Among them, Park Seo-joon has many voiceovers that he needs to personally record after editing.

Because the progress is very encouraging, and there are almost 20 days left before the official broadcast, time has suddenly become more ample. Since yesterday, I haven't been busy until 2 or 3 in the morning like before, and recently the crew will wrap up and go home around 12 o'clock.

At half past twelve, work officially ended. After saying goodbye to others with a smile, Ji Jingyuan went straight to the parking lot.

"Are you going back" The driver, Choi Ji-chang, turned his head and asked him. Park Jae-hyeon in the passenger seat remained silent, looking over Ji-seong's recent schedule.

"Let's not go back yet... just wait a little longer..."

Chi Jingyuan started operating without raising his head and quickly sent a message out. He soon received a reply from sunny.

As soon as he saw the address, Jingyuan smiled. It was the barbecue restaurant where he and Sunny had first met and eaten together.

"Bro, here's the address," Qi Jingyuan held his phone up to Cui Zhichang for a look. After seriously looking it over, Cui Zhichang nodded and said, "Got it," before starting the car.

Seoul Square is still a bit of a distance from ** Company, but it's late now and there aren't many cars on the road. We sped along and arrived at the alley where the barbecue restaurant is in no time.

"You guys go eat some late-night snacks first, I'm guessing it'll take me a while here." Before getting out of the car, Ji Jingyuan thought for a moment and turned back to remind him.

"Okay, we'll find a place to park and grab something to eat nearby. Jingyuan, just send us a message when you're done." Park Jaehyun gave an "OK" hand gesture and watched Ji Jingyuan leave towards the agreed-upon location.

After walking for a few steps, Chi Jingyuan stood at the door of a barbecue restaurant called DanCook. Looking at the familiar sign, he suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.

He retracted his gaze and walked back into the shop. Although it was still brightly lit, the main hall inside was now empty.

With no guests left, the owner who was waiting at the front desk recognized Chi Jingyuan at once after seeing him without a mask. He hurriedly walked out and greeted him with a smile: "Jingyuan xi, are you here to see Shun-gui She's been in that private room waiting for you for a while now."

"Come in, Kang Sang-mi." Ji Jingyuan smiled and nodded. Under the other's lead, he came to the private rooms and lightly knocked on the door before pushing it open and walking in.

It was still that small, unassuming private room. Sunny, currently sitting by the wall and scrolling through her phone, looked up when she heard the sound. She glanced at Chi Jingyuan who had just entered, slightly raised her chin as a greeting, then pointed to the seat in front of her, gesturing for him to sit. At the same time, she turned to the boss at the entrance: "Oppa, bring out the dishes, and the drinks too, just go with what I ordered earlier."

She's wearing a pale yellow short-sleeved top and denim shorts. She has light makeup on to cover up any blemishes, with wispy bangs parted to the side and her hair tied up in a ponytail at the back. Her overall look is casual and natural.

"Okay." The boss replied and immediately got to work.

The dishes must have been prepared beforehand, for soon a trolley piled high with meat and vegetables appeared outside the private room. Fresh charcoal was added to the brazier on the table, and the entire room instantly warmed up.

"I guess it's so late that you must be hungry, so you probably didn't feel like going to the bar," Sunny put down her phone and glanced at Ji Jingyuan a few times, seemingly quite interested in his thick bangs.

Saying that, she randomly picked up a chopstick and pointed to the dishes beside her: "I've already ordered some things. Just tell me if you want anything else."

"Not bad." Chi Jingyuan scanned the surroundings, nodded with satisfaction: "The crew had dinner a bit early tonight. I was starving while filming just now, Nu Na really understands me."

Although Sunny appeared quite composed, a faint sense of melancholy emanated from her, which Ji Jingyuan couldn't help but notice. However, he didn't bring it up. They poured themselves some wine and began eating, casually chatting about recent events.

"How's the filming going lately I saw on the internet that it doesn't seem to be doing very well." Sunny placed several slices of pork belly on the grill, using a spatula to stir them without looking up. He asked, "

"There were so many people who didn't think highly of us. Before the broadcast of 'The Heirs' last year, many people underestimated us just because we were idol actors. They even said terrible things… These people don't understand at all and just follow the crowd."

"At this point, Chi Jingyuan had no more pretense or taboo. He casually spoke some of the honest thoughts in his heart: "After being in the group for so long, I think it's pretty good. Whether it's the script, the actors, or even the directors and screenwriters, their level is all okay. The viewership should be able to reach expectations."

"If this "My Teenage Girl" becomes a hit, wouldn't that make it three consecutive TV dramas you've starred in that were successful"

He raised his head and looked at Chi Jingyuan in surprise, Sunny lifted her glass to make a toast: "Then I'd like to congratulate you in advance, Actor Chi."

"Then I'll thank you in advance." Chi Jingyuan smiled and raised his glass to clink it with hers. After looking at each other and smiling, they both drank it down.

After putting down her glass, Sunny pondered for a few seconds, seeming to consider how to phrase it. Her expression turned more serious as she looked over, "How has XO been doing since Han left"

Ji Jingyuan filled his glass with wine and said: "What's going on Is it our members themselves Or an arrangement made by the company Or fans"

"Just go ahead and say it, I'm quite interested," sunny said proactively, piling some meat onto Ji Jingyuan's plate. She smiled at him with narrowed eyes.

"As for us, the atmosphere during those days was really bad. Honestly, all of us were feeling uncomfortable, including me. It felt like we were betrayed, and we were also sad to see a good friend leave. After that, the other two members from Xia Guo were ostracized or isolated for a few days because of this incident. But things eventually got better."

"The cracks have already formed. Even if you glue the surface together, inside it will still be hollow."

Chi Jingyuan will make five-spice pork belly.

"Everything is delicious. I took a comfortable breath and said, 'As for the company, from that point onwards, apart from important stages, we basically suspended group activities. All the members are busy with individual projects now, and we don't even know when our next comeback will be.'"

As for fans... you must have seen those arguments and divisions within the fandom. A lot of our fans left, not to mention the original fans from hna.

"Sunny raised his glass and took another sip of beer, but when he put it down, he didn't control his strength well, and the bottom of the cup collided with the table with a dull thud."

Chi Jingyuan glanced at her but said nothing.

Her face changed color for a moment, and finally she sighed, staring at the cup she still held with a hint of melancholy, and said: "I really didn't expect that I just comforted you about this matter not long ago, now we have also fallen to this point."

"Is someone from Girls' Generation going to leave the group" As soon as he heard this, Ji Kyeong-won instantly understood what she meant. The quick one who was flipping meat on the grill suddenly stopped, squinting in disbelief at her with a look of astonishment.

He still thought he misunderstood. Girls' Generation had clearly announced their renewal of contracts just two days ago, and the ecstatic celebratory posts from their fans, the Sones, were still frequently seen online.

"The sound and image of you are still vivid. It's only been a few days, and you're telling me someone wants to leave the group"

"It's not finalized yet, but looking at our situation now, I think it won't be a few days. " Sunny sighed and poured himself another glass of wine. As he poured, he suddenly chuckled and looked over: "Want to guess who's leaving the group"

"Um..."

After a few seconds of contemplation, Chi Jingyuan blinked and looked at the other person, tentatively saying a name: "Senior Lin Yun'er"

"Pffft…"

"Just now, was it a little bitter or emotionless Sunny actually couldn't hold back her laugh this time. She frowned and said irritably: “No, you don’t like Yuna that much, do you You have so many opinions about her”

"There's no way, I'm a fan of Unnie先輩! Wasn't this what you made me guess" Some innocently shrugged his shoulders, Ji-seong declared his IU fandom with righteous conviction.

"Too lazy to bother with you..." She glanced at him, Sunny tapped the oven lightly with a quick movement of her hand. The smile she had just moments ago vanished, replaced by a sense of listlessness. After a few seconds, she spoke calmly, "It's Jung Soo-yeon."

"Jessa senior" Chi Jingyuan chewed on the name, a little surprised.

Because of his relationship with Jung Soo-jung, he's not very close to Jung Soo-yeon, but he has a good impression of her. The impression Jung Soo-yeon left on him doesn't seem like the kind of contestant who would think about running away on their own.

And this year, the program combination J&a;a;K of Jung Soo Yeon and Jung Soo-jeong is very popular, their sister group variety show is also quite popular, he seems to have mentioned that the company is preparing a temporary sister group for them because of the high response and popularity.

Why did you suddenly decide to quit the group

“It’s not that she wanted to leave, she probably hasn’t fully realized it yet.” Sunny took another sip of her drink, licking her lips as if organizing her thoughts.

But after thinking for a long time, I still couldn't sort out the thoughts. Sunny, who was usually very organized, spoke incoherently this time: "I don't really know how to explain the specific reason, and it's not easy to say something deeper... It's just a lot of things. Now some contradictions are so big that they can't be reconciled, and it's almost like forming factions and dividing into 'us' and 'them'..."

"The company also has problems, Jung Soo Yeon's own problems are huge, and other people have problems too, me included. Anyway, we're all the same, there are no good people…"

"I don't know how this happened..."

Even though what he was saying was a bit incoherent and hard to understand, Chi Jingyuan still put down his cards and listened attentively.

He suddenly noticed that Sunny, from the start of the meal to now, seemed to have been fiddling with the grill, flipping the meat over and over, but hadn't taken a single bite, just kept drinking.

Chi Jingyuan could feel the other person's sadness, disappointment, and deep sense of helplessness that they couldn't hide. This was directed at the members, the company, and even himself.

They all left the group, but Girls' Generation debuted seven years ago. Nine members went through highs and lows together. They argued and disagreed countless times but still made it to today. I thought they could stay together until the end and become a legend of K-pop female groups forever.

I didn't expect that just after renewing my contract and preparing to set sail again, aiming for the peak, it would all come to an abrupt end.

Although it doesn't seem to have really happened yet.

After a moment of silence, Chi Jingyuan smiled, filled his glass and raised it. Facing the other's gaze, he smirked: "Otherwise, wouldn't we both be members of a combination airdropped in These things happen one after another, I wonder if this coincidence is good or bad."

"Of course that's not good," Sunny said, her full lips pouting slightly. She looked disapproving but with a smile on her face as she raised her glass for a toast and finished it in one go.

After Jessica Jung's departure from Girls’ Generation, Ji-sung didn't ask how they would be doing. He didn't offer any comforting words either. He felt that Sunny, his sister, didn't need any consolation. She actually saw through everything and was crystal clear in her heart, understanding it better than anyone else.

He knew the other party called him over for drinks today just to find a close, one hundred percent trustworthy friend to vent his overflowing melancholy and the negative emotions that were piling up inside.

After talking for so long, Sunny seemed to have let go of a lot. She wasn't just drinking anymore; she kept stuffing plate after plate of barbecue into her mouth, her face covered in oil as if she were venting. Ji Jingyuan, who had been hungry on set all day, didn't eat as quickly or frantically as she did.

But her letting go is obviously only superficial.

Because after a while, Sunny who was eating and drinking seemed to be getting a little drunk.

Chi Jingyuan remembered that this sister's alcohol tolerance was very good. Although she had drunk several bottles of beer from the beginning to now, considering her capacity, it should only be a breeze, and there was no need for such a reaction.

But the fact is, Sunny, who usually has a good tolerance for alcohol, was already drunk at this point.

She seemed not to see the oil stain on the table and leaned directly onto it with her left arm, while holding an empty glass in her right hand and kept smashing it on the table, making a "bang bang" sound like a child.

Not very hard, but the voice is deep.

Drunk Sunny seemed a little embarrassed, even though he was dazed and lying on the table, muttering insults incessantly in his mouth.

The voice was soft, broken and somewhat slurred, but the still-seated Ji Jingyuan across from him listened intently.

"Is Choi Soo-young crazy What does it have to do with her if someone else is successful in their career Her family is well-off, so why be so jealous of others Even bringing her parents to the company to cause a scene, what a psycho…"

"Zheng Xiuyeon is also a fool. She thinks that by saying a few nice words, people will support her Interests are not something that can be so easily clarified. Even at this age, she's still so naive. Doing business and treating Girls' Generation less seriously, she deserves to be kicked out…"

"Kim Taeyeon, you're the leader of a group who forms cliques and never takes a stand. You just go along with whatever the company says. What use are you..."

> "Even Yoona, usually so intelligent and insightful, manages to please everyone without revealing her true thoughts. She just plays dead..."

And also Kwon Yuri, Kim Hyo-yeon...

"

And me, and Lee Sun-gyu...

"

"

A bunch of idiots, not a single good person...

"

First published by the Traditional Chinese Novel Networkhalf-bow when entering. After entering, Park Ji-hyo took the lead in bowing, and nine people quickly bowed to greet each other. Several members kept glancing over here while bowing, their eyes sparkli...