The group was kicked out, and low presence means they are bad?

Dear Mr. Bai Xingjian, hello!
The huge global success of "Squid!" not only showcases the unique charm of Corean culture, but also sets a new milestone for the international spread of Korean culture.

As the screenwriter, producer and executive producer of the series, your foresight and outstanding contributions are indispensable.

On behalf of the Korea cultural community, the Korea Culture, Sports and Tourism Department sincerely invites you to visit Seoul on May 2026, 5 to attend the '15 Hallyu Culture Festival' and receive the 'Special Award for Hallyu Culture Contribution'...

-

In front of the computer screen, Park Jung-hoon looked at the invitation letter written by the staff and nodded with satisfaction:

"Not bad, not bad. This invitation letter is sincere and mentions prizes and other things."

Kim Tae-hyun asked, "Minister, this 'Special Award for Contribution to Hallyu Culture' was added temporarily, right? Can the jury explain it?"

Park Jung-hoon smiled and waved his hands: "Why do we need to explain this to them? We have the right to interpret this special award, and we don't need to go through their procedures. With the performance of Squid Game, it is very reasonable to give Bai Xingjian an award."

Li Zhixian smiled and nodded, then continued: "Then I will contact Bai Xingjian's team to confirm Bai Xingjian's schedule on May 5th?"

Park Jung-hoon nodded solemnly: "Yes, call them and test the waters first. Don't make them feel abrupt."

……

That afternoon, Li Zhixian sat in the office, holding his mobile phone nervously.

The contact information of Bai Xingjian's team was displayed on her mobile phone screen at this moment.

After taking several deep breaths, Li Zhixian dialed the number.

"I'm like a fish in your lotus pond"

"Just to wait for the bright white moonlight with you"

A soft and clear ringtone sounded, and after the song sounded for a while, a rather deep female voice came from the other side:

"Hello?"

Li Zhien quickly responded in fluent English: "Hello, I am Li Zhixian from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Department of Coria. Are you Ms. Zheng Wei, the assistant of Mr. Bai Xingjian?"

Zheng Wei almost thought it was a scam call. She paused and said, "Yes, I'm Bai Xingjian's assistant. What can I do for you?"

After receiving a positive reply, Li Zhixian smiled brightly and said warmly and politely, "It's like this, Ms. Zheng Wei, the drama "Squid Game" has received a warm response from all over the world after it was launched. Our Corea Culture Department is very grateful for Mr. Bai Xingjian's contribution. We would like to formally invite him to Seoul to participate in the '2026 Hallyu Culture Festival' and present him with a special award to recognize his contribution to the promotion of Hallyu culture."

Hearing this, Zheng Wei narrowed his eyes: "Oh? Giving out a special award? What kind of activity is that?"

A celebration of K-Pop culture?

Zheng Wei didn't know much about Corea, so he hadn't heard of this event.

Lee Ji-hyun quickly explained, "It is a cultural celebration held in Seoul on May 5. There will be awards and exchange activities. Our Minister Park Jung-hoon personally invited Mr. Bai Xingjian. I hope Mr. Bai Xingjian can come."

Zheng Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Bai Xingjian's schedule in May is quite full, so I have to confirm with him. However, he has always attached great importance to the Coria background of "Squid Game". I believe he is also very interested in Mr. Park Zhengxun's personal invitation. How about I reply to you later?"

Hearing this, Li Zhixian breathed a sigh of relief and said with a relieved smile: "Okay, thank you very much! We will send another formal invitation letter, please pass it to Mr. Bai Xingjian."

Zheng Wei responded, then hung up the phone with a strange look on his face.

"The Coria Culture, Sports and Tourism Department? The Coria officials are taking action so quickly?"

Zheng Wei muttered to himself.

……

Seoul, Gangnam-gu.

Somewhere in a luxurious large flat.

In the study, Bai Xingjian had just finished an online meeting. He was lying on his back in the office chair with the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to his elbows.

He rubbed his temple, and at this moment, there was a knock on the study door.

Then Zheng Wei pushed the door open and walked in, holding a freshly printed document in his hand: "Xingjian, the invitation letter from the Culture, Sports and Tourism Department of Coria has been sent."

Bai Xingjian raised his eyebrows, took the invitation and started reading it.

Soon, the corners of his mouth rose: "Squid Game has only been online for a week, and they can't sit still? I thought they would be reserved for a while."

Zheng Wei followed with a smile and said, "It's normal for them to be restless when the performance of Squid Game is so good."

"What do you mean? Are we going to this 'Korean Wave Culture Festival'?" Zheng Wei asked.

"Go, why not go."

Bai Xingjian smiled and nodded, "Since the other party is so sincere, if we don't go this time, we will really be ignorant."

Zheng Wei smiled and nodded.

……

On April 4, Bai Xingjian, who had stayed in Coria for more than half a month, also started his journey back home.

The performance of "Squid Game" has become stable, and the related activities in Corea are also proceeding in an orderly manner. There is no need for Bai Xingjian to keep an eye on it all the time to prevent mistakes.

Therefore, Bai Xingjian, relieved, can start working on other projects.

The moment she stepped off the international flight, Mei Jie took a deep breath and said with emotion:

"Sure enough, the air in China is still sweeter! I've been in Coria for so long that I'm almost numb from it."

Feng Shiqi smiled gently, and said with some emotion: "It is true that the environment in China is more comfortable, and it doesn't make people feel restrained and unfamiliar."

Bai Xingjian smiled and didn't say much.

The four people walked out of the VIP channel steadily and came to the customs hall.

Due to their status, Bai Xingjian and Feng Shiqi were "fully armed", wearing fisherman's hats, sunglasses, masks and other equipment.

In order to avoid being recognized and causing unnecessary trouble.

There were not many people in the customs hall, only a few passengers and staff, and the atmosphere was quiet and normal.

Bai Xingjian and his group of four quickly walked to the designated location, lined up at the second window, and prepared to go through inspection.

Inside the window, customs worker Xiao Zhang was typing on the keyboard with his head down, routinely checking every passenger's passport.

His colleague next to him, Lao Wang, a senior customs officer, was looking at the screen with a cup of tea in hand.

Not long after, Xiao Zhang casually took the passport handed to him by Bai Xingjian.

I looked down and saw the relevant information on my passport.

This young yet familiar face, and the three big characters "Bai Xingjian"...

Xiao Zhang was stunned for a moment, his hands shook, and his passport almost fell to the ground.

"This... is this Bai Xingjian from Squid Game?!"

Xiao Zhang raised his head sharply and stared at the man in disguise. At this time, Bai Xingjian also took off his sunglasses, mask and fisherman's hat as required.

Seeing this familiar face, Xiao Zhang was so excited that he almost jumped out of his seat.

"White God?!"

Xiao Zhang stared and exclaimed.

The sound was not loud, but Old Wang at the side heard it clearly and looked over following Xiao Zhang's movements.

"Oh my god! It's actually Bai Xingjian!"

As inspectors at the airport's international window, Xiao Zhang and Lao Wang are naturally well aware of the "Squid Game" which has recently caused a sensation around the world.

So when he saw Bai Xingjian, he recognized him the first time.

However, since it was working hours, Xiao Zhang and Lao Wang did not do anything out of the ordinary.

In other words, I was secretly delighted in my heart. I was so lucky today that I actually met the famous Bai Xingjian and Feng Shiqi.

"Feng Shiqi is really pretty! I think she is much prettier than on TV."

After Bai Xingjian and his group walked out of the inspection window, Xiao Zhang couldn't help but sigh.

Lao Wang nodded heavily. "I can only say that Bai Xingjian and Feng Shiqi are indeed big stars. They look much better in real life than on TV."

After saying this, Lao Wang sighed again, "It's a pity that I met Bai Xingjian and Feng Shiqi during working hours. If it wasn't during working hours, maybe I could ask them for their autographs and take a few photos with them. I'm a loyal fan of both of them!"

"Who isn't?"

Xiao Zhang also shook his head helplessly and said, "But if we didn't work here, we might not have had the chance to run into Bai Xingjian and Feng Shiqi!"

"What you said is indeed correct!" Old Wang praised Xiao Zhang with a smile.

……

"Brother Xingjian, Sister Shiqi, you two are becoming more and more famous now!"

After walking out from the inspection window, Mei Jie couldn't help but praise.

Zheng Wei smiled and nodded, saying, "The drama Squid Game has achieved such good results this time, it's hard not to increase the popularity of Xing Jian and Shi Qi."

"Haha."

Feng Shiqi smiled brightly and said, "Ajian is the MVP. I can only be considered an easy winner at best."

Feng Shiqi did not play any role in "Squid Game", she has been working behind the scenes.

"How can this be called a win without any effort?"

Bai Xingjian squeezed Feng Shiqi's soft little hand and said with a smile, "If you hadn't helped me coordinate the overall situation behind the scenes, I don't know how busy I would be."

Seeing the two of them being so affectionate, Mei Jie tactfully shifted her gaze elsewhere.

Then the sharp-eyed Mei Jie discovered that in a corner of the airport hall there was a man wearing a red and black plaid shirt, who seemed to be holding a mobile phone and taking pictures in their direction.

Mei Jie frowned, approached Zheng Wei, and whispered, "Sister Wei, is there anyone secretly filming us over there?"

Zheng Wei looked in the direction of Mei Jie's finger and soon frowned, "It's almost certain. Has our flight information been leaked again?"

This situation has occurred before, and Zheng Wei has already reminded the relevant staff of the airline.

But what I didn’t expect was that this situation happened again not long after.

Are these companies so poor at keeping their customers’ private information confidential?
"I hope there won't be any accidents this time." Zheng Wei said in a low voice, and then informed Bai Xingjian and Feng Shiqi of the situation.

"It's okay. We can just wait and see." Bai Xingjian smiled and shook his head, signaling Zheng Wei not to worry.

In fact, before boarding this international flight, Bai Xingjian and his group had already made a relevant plan for returning home.

After all, "Squid Games" has caused such a big stir around the world recently. Since Bai Xingjian and Feng Shiqi are in Coria, there is almost no voice from them in China except for a few Weibo posts released by Bai Xingjian.

Therefore, Bai Xingjian had anticipated that this return trip would definitely not be smooth sailing.

Those media outlets that follow the trend and flock to the media will probably not miss the opportunity for Bai Xingjian and Feng Shiqi to return to China.

"I just hope those people won't go too far." Feng Shiqi's eyes turned cold behind his sunglasses.

The actual situation turned out to be exactly as they had expected.

Not long after Bai Xingjian and his group walked into the airport reception hall, the atmosphere in the hall changed instantly.

Reporters and paparazzi appeared from all directions, carrying cameras and mobile phones, and swarmed towards Bai Xingjian and his group.

The flash lights went off like machine gun fire, and the scene suddenly fell into chaos.

Bai Xingjian held Feng Shiqi in his arms, took off his sunglasses and mask, and said:

"Everyone, can you be quiet and orderly? Even if you want to interview me, you have to line up one by one, right?"

Bai Xingjian's calm reaction also surprised the reporters and paparazzi.

Among them, a man and a woman looked at each other and saw confusion in each other's eyes.

Why did Bai Xingjian seem to have expected this to happen?

But since it really is Bai Xingjian himself, why should we care about order?
It is important to get first-hand information!

What Bai Xingjian said didn't have any effect.

Those carrying cameras, holding microphones, and taking photos with their mobile phones were still crowding one after another towards Bai Xingjian's direction.

After a while, Zheng Wei and Mei Jie were squeezed out by this group of people.

However, Feng Shiqi, who was held in Bai Xingjian's arms, was fine.

There were several microphones that were almost pointed into Bai Xingjian's mouth.

Fortunately, the security personnel in the airport lobby are no pushovers.

Under their intimidation, the situation here improved slightly.

Zheng Wei also returned to Bai Xingjian's side at this time. She glanced at the people holding guns and said:

"I know everyone is very eager to know the latest news about Bai Xingjian, but we have limited time, so I hope everyone can be quick and clear."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Wei pointed at a female reporter and asked her to start the interview first.

"grateful!"

The female reporter smiled and thanked Zheng Wei, then raised the microphone and said, "Hello, Mr. Bai Xingjian! I am a reporter from Qianhu Entertainment. Recently, your new work "Squid Game" has become popular all over the world. It has become the most popular drama in the world in less than a week since it was launched.

So, what was your idea for making a TV series with Kauria culture as the background? Why did you choose Kauria culture as the background instead of our Chinese culture? " (End of this chapter)