Peninsula: I'm the Top Streamer

Chapter 597 Squeezing Dry and Emptying (6k)

Kim Yoo-jung's kiss did indeed cause an accident.

There are no absolute secrets in the information age.

That evening and the following day, photos and short videos taken by onlookers began to circulate on Korean entertainment forums, Theqoo, Instiz, and Twitter.

The rumors of their impending romance seem to have originated from this short video.

The content circulating mainly consists of a few candid photos and a few short video clips.

The focus is on the action of "Kim Yoo-jung suddenly getting close to Kwon Heon-hyuk before the roller coaster started." The image quality is not high, and the angles are mostly awkward, so it can only be seen that the two were close to each other's cheeks.

In some video clips, you can even hear surprised exclamations from passersby.

Discussions mainly took place in fan forums, show discussion threads, and related sections of anonymous communities, without significantly impacting trending topics on platforms like Naver and Melon. Mainstream media outlets have not yet followed up with reports.

When most people see the image, their first reaction is to connect it to the context of the time.

"Are they filming '20th Century Girl'?"

"Maybe there will be a roller coaster scene too?"

"Look, there's a camera pointed at them! They're obviously filming a movie."

Kim Yoo-jung's character in the drama has a lively and proactive personality. Therefore, many people interpret her proactive behavior as an improvisation made by the actress in order to get into the role and seek a sense of immersion, which is a manifestation of her professionalism.

"After all, it's in front of the camera, and there are staff members around, so it must be for work purposes."

Some commentators believe it reflects the good relationship between the two.

"The two must have a good relationship on set, otherwise Yu-jung wouldn't have been so casual. Hyun-hyuk also seems to have a good temper; he wasn't angry after being ambushed and even continued filming."

"This shows that the atmosphere on set is relaxed and harmonious, which is necessary for filming love scenes."

Kwon Heon-hyuk's solo fans and Kim Yoo-jung's fans mainly focused on explaining that this was a filming activity to prevent misunderstandings from casual viewers.

"It's a filming session!! Official behind-the-scenes footage! No unofficial announcements please!"

"My brother is working, please pay more attention to his work '20th Century Girl'!"

"Yoojung was very lively on set, it was all for the role, please don't gossip!"

The captions posted by netizens who shared photos and videos were also full of suggestive language.

[I bumped into the filming of "20th Century Girl"! Oh my god! Yoo-jung was so proactive, she suddenly kissed Heon-hyuk oppa on the cheek! I'm going crazy on set! They're such a perfect match! Is this really just filming? I feel like the pink bubbles are overflowing from the screen!]

Keen-sense netizens immediately began digging into the two's past interactions.

People began searching for any leaked photos of the two interacting intimately on set.

Any interview clips featuring Kim Yoo-jung are meticulously analyzed in an attempt to find any "clues".

The movie poster and synopsis for "20th Century Girl" were officially released at the January promotional event. Due to Kwon Hyun-hyuk's involvement, the project's status has been elevated, making it arguably Netflix's top Korean wave project for this year.

As Kwon Heonhyuk's first major work this year, it has naturally attracted much attention from both inside and outside the industry.

Starring in a romance film with Kim Yoo-jung, one of the most outstanding actresses of the current generation, is a safe and highly anticipated choice for K-drama fans.

In terms of melo, K-pop is a solid force, and its minimum standard is set, so it can't be too bad.

The initial publicity and pre-release promotion don't require much spending. Just the name of Kwon Hyun-hyuk and the fact that it's a romantic comedy already saves a lot of money on marketing.

She worked with Kwon So-hyuk for several months, and in private, she became increasingly bold and proactive around him. Although the production team followed industry rules and wouldn't spread rumors, they still got out.

Although it's generally considered inappropriate for female celebrities to have scandals with male celebrities, Kwon Heon-hyuk is gradually becoming an exception.

All the actresses who worked with him rose to new heights, reaching even greater heights and reaping the full benefits.

So even if the female celebrity's die-hard fans are unwilling, they have to grit their teeth and accept it, and the female celebrity's management team is even more eager to do so.

The project that will be tested soon is Kwon Hyun-hyuk's new work, "Our Blues," which will be released in April.

It's already March, and the promotion for this project has been underway for a long time. They've been buying marketing materials and advertising, and tvN has started promoting trailers, cast information, and so on.

The lineup alone is impressive enough: Lee Byung-hun, Han Ji-min, Kwon Heon-hyuk, Shin Min-ah, and Cha Seung-won.

Award-winning actors, actresses, veteran actors, and top stars.

This makes no sense.

Of course, none of these news items lasted long; right now, the world's focus is actually on only one thing.

That was the Beijing Winter Olympics.

With the Winter Olympics underway, netizens from China and South Korea have once again clashed over the competition, with even celebrities joining the fray.

Girl's Day member Bang Min-ah posted on social media, "Am I watching the Olympics or a comedy show?" expressing disbelief at the competition results and publicly praising the South Korean athlete who committed a foul.

BTS member RM only posted a GIF of South Korea overtaking Chinese contestants and liked it.

Yoo Jae-suk said on the show "How Do You Play?" that he felt "uncontrollable anger" when watching the game where Hwang Dae-heon was disqualified for a foul.

This sparked a huge outcry and caused infighting and collapse within the K-pop community, but ultimately it didn't change anything.

These K-pop stars will only be remembered if they directly criticize Chinese people. Of course, even if they do criticize Chinese people, they will be selectively forgotten.

Because as long as one still yearns for the 'beauty' of the Korean wave, one must selectively forget and live a life of stubbornness and defiance.

BTS fans will still affectionately call Kim Namjoon their king and then roar "Ahhhhhh!"

Kwon Hyun-hyuk ignored the uproar that had caused online. If he didn't want to make money in China, he could express his opinion however he wanted. But if he wanted to have his cake and eat it too, that was another matter. As an excellent artist, he naturally had to respect his customers.

However, criticizing China is a mainstream practice in South Korea, and it's something they wouldn't do wrong.

Currently, South Korea's overall favorability toward China is among the lowest of all countries, and according to statistics, the number of young people with favorable feelings toward China is also the lowest.

Aside from all that noise, Liu Zhimin reacted much more strongly than others to a sudden uproar over the discussion.

She was even more jealous than Zhao Meiyan.

In the cold dormitory room, the light from the phone screen illuminated Liu Zhimin's tense face.

She curled up in the corner of the bed, her eyes fixed on the picture.

The screen displayed the GIF that had been circulating on a small scale online.

On the roller coaster at the amusement park, Kim Yoo-jung leaned her cheek close to Kwon Heon-hyuk, and then pressed herself against him.

Liu Zhimin's breathing became somewhat rapid.

Because I was scolded by my roommate for sneaking off to see him, the resentment and pressure haven't completely dissipated, and now seeing this makes me really unhappy.

Although it happened almost two months ago, Liu Zhimin has been taught a lesson since then and has never mentioned secretly meeting with Quan Xuanhe again.

After all, she has only been in the industry for a short time and is not yet strong enough to stand up to the company and make it compromise. She still feels heavy-hearted.

After the company found out, she couldn't openly date Kwon Heon-hyuk for a while. No matter what the company's rules were, she couldn't just start dating someone who had only been in the industry for less than two years.

Alternatively, they might take the risk of denying everything at the company while secretly continuing their clandestine relationship.

No matter which path she took, overthinking it always left her feeling depressed, and these things remained buried in her heart, making her feel uneasy.

A strong sense of bitterness and inexplicable anger welled up in my heart.

She was always on edge when she sneaked out to see him in the middle of the night, and was scolded by her roommate until she couldn't lift her head. But on the other hand, they could openly have "intimate interactions"?
I should have known she would become an actress too.

These were all complaints in Liu Zhimin's heart. Although reason told her that it was likely part of the filming or just a leaked photo taken from a distance, the feeling still surged up uncontrollably the moment she saw the picture.

After much deliberation, Liu Zhimin finally...
She rolled over, found a comfortable position to hug the doll, and crossed her legs, imagining it was Kwon So-hyuk. Then she dialed Kwon So-hyuk's number.

"oppa~"

Liu Zhimin's voice was as sweet and soft as ever, but beneath that sweetness lay a layer of tension that was not easily detected.

Just as Kwon Hyun-hyuk finished his tender conversation with Chou Tzu-yu, Yoo Jimin called immediately.

The routine of making the same phone call every night had been going on for a month or two. There was a phone call every night, and sometimes Liu Zhimin would even fall asleep while the call was going on, but the call would continue.

On one occasion, Kwon Hyun-hyuk even heard her murmuring in her sleep.

[Quan Xuanhe'an retorts.]

Even whispering softly is a way of remembering him.

This behavior of making phone calls even while asleep reminded Kwon Hyun-hyuk of his past relationship with Chou Tzu-yu, except that back then it was the other way around; he was sound asleep while Chou Tzu-yu was thinking about him constantly.

Alas, it’s hard to look back on the past.

"Are you busy right now?" she asked again, as if just casually confirming.

Kwon Seonhyuk leaned back against the soft headboard of the hotel bed, the dim light casting a shadow on his profile. "Just got back to the hotel, a little tired. How about you?"

As he spoke, he quickly switched back to his chat with Chou Tzu-yu, tapping his finger to add a small heart to the "stay tuned" reply—the reassurance work needed to be comprehensive.

“I’m lying in bed right now.” Liu Zhimin paused, as if considering her words.

As if she had just remembered, she casually asked the crucial question with a curious tone, "Oppa... went to the amusement park to film today?"

“I saw oppa kissing another woman.”

He couldn't hide his jealousy.

How come you can kiss anyone?!

"What, you're jealous?"

Quan Xuanhe chuckled upon hearing this, teasing her with a hint of jealousy in her voice. "I didn't hold it against you for kissing me back then."

"Can people be the same as each other?!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhimin began to complain in a somewhat childish manner.

Quan Xuanhe could almost picture her holding her phone right now—her cheeks puffed up with anger, yet she was pretending to be nonchalant, her eyes bright with grievance, and she refused to admit that she was jealous.

"As the plot requires, we'll capture some moments of improvisation by the actors. You can check them out when the movie is released."

The reason was flawless. "Oh."

Liu Zhimin reluctantly agreed.

She's feeling a bit like a eunuch right now, anxious but helpless. The company is pressuring her to step up, and Kwon Heon-hyuk is a very busy man.

It's truly difficult to move forward; I'm hesitant and unable to move forward!

"Don't overthink it," Quan Xuanhe's voice softened, carrying a soothing tone, like coaxing a ruffled kitten.

“You know this is all part of the job. Waiting for the right time…” He wanted to say “waiting for the right time,” but felt that saying that now would sound like an unattainable dream to her, and would seem perfunctory.

"Waiting for the right opportunity?"

Liu Zhimin, however, keenly observed this.

"If I said I'd wait until the right time, you'd think I was just being perfunctory."

Quan Xuanhe said so.

"EM is just making empty promises."

Although it really is just wishful thinking.

Quan Xuanhe thought to himself, then turned to the hotel table where there were two bottles of Jinjingshancheng rice wine and fish cakes that he said he bought from the Sanjin Fish Cake Old Brand Shop.

These were all sent by Jin Dongtian; they even had handwritten notes attached when they arrived.

The handwriting is neat and rounded: "Oppa, filming must be hard~ Maybe the taste of home can help you relax (^▽^)——Minjung"

Actually, there were more. Jin Dongtian gave him quite a few things, some of which he had his assistant keep at home.

Quan Xuanhe didn't tell Liu Zhimin on his own initiative, because he was afraid that if he did, Liu Zhimin might have an extreme reaction, which would be bad.

As for why Jin Dongtian sent it to him...
There's really nothing to discuss about this. Jin Dongtian said her family sent her some local specialties and asked her to give them to her close friends and family.

Having said that, how could Kwon Hyun-hyuk refuse, given his sister's enthusiasm?

Although deep down he believed that South Korea's local specialties were limited to just one big country, that was secondary.

The main reason is that Minjung, as a thoughtful and warm-hearted younger sister, giving her gifts is quite heartwarming.

Who wouldn't be happy to receive a gift?

As for the underlying thoughts, he didn't think too much about them. Thinking about everything from the perspective of jealousy and rivalry is exhausting.

"If the progress is fast, we can wrap up filming by the end of this month, then I will have a lot more time."

"Then we won't just have to meet once; there will be so many more things we can do."

Quan Xuanhe stopped making empty promises at this point. Once filming wraps up at the end of the month, although he still has the "Night Owl" project to work on, he will be able to free up some time. In particular, seeing that he has enough projects this year, his desire to reschedule "Night Owl" is becoming stronger and stronger.

Liu Zhimin ate the pancake with great relish.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, with only Liu Zhimin's soft breathing coming through.

Quan Xuanhe's words, "There are so many things we can do," were like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating ripples in her heart, diluting the bitterness and rekindling waves of anticipation.

"Then... you keep your word?" Liu Zhimin's voice was slightly nasal, as if she wanted to laugh but was holding it back, but the corners of her mouth had already subtly turned up, and her voice had become a little softer.

"I've got it all figured out, oppa, you can't go back on your word."

"But before that, stop thinking about things that aren't going to happen. Focus, we'll be back soon, won't we?"

aespa is riding high. Putting aside the internal strife within the company, everyone thinks their next comeback will be a triumphant return, beating Twice and BP to the top.

The Fifth Regiment rises slowly!

Liu Zhimin chuckled twice, a slightly silly satisfaction in her voice. She rolled around on the bed, hugging her doll and ruffling the stray hairs on her pillow.

Then he muttered something under his breath, "Let some people see too..." The rest of his words were mumbled and Quan Xuanhe couldn't hear them clearly.

"Alright, it's getting late, you should get some rest too." Quan Xuanhe ended the call at the right time.

Liu Zhimin is easily excited but also sensible. Give her something to look forward to and offer her a gentle way out, and she will obediently follow.

"Alas! Oppa too, you must be tired from filming, get some rest~"

Liu Zhimin obediently responded, her voice trailing off with a sweet, finally appeased tone.

"Sweet dreams, in your dreams... um, it'll be even better with me in them." She quickly finished the last sentence, and as if afraid he would object, she immediately hung up the phone.

Since we can't meet in person, let's stimulate each other more through language.

The receiver went dead. Quan Xuanhe looked at his phone, which was off, and shook his head with a slight chuckle.

The next day.

The amusement park bustled with activity again the following day, and the film crew's equipment was set up in the morning light.

Kwon Heon-hyuk changed into his costume, still wearing a washed denim jacket.

The online ripples caused by Kim Yoo-jung's unexpected kiss last night are still unfolding, but the staff at the scene looked at him and Kim Yoo-jung with a knowing look and a good-natured teasing.

Director Fang Youli, holding a megaphone, gave instructions, his gaze sweeping over the few fans and media still gathered on the periphery, his brows furrowing slightly.

Although Kwon Heonhyuk's reassurance yesterday was effective, the charm of a top star, coupled with intriguing leaked photos, has only increased the level of attention here.

Kwon Hyun-hyuk nodded in agreement. Kim Yoo-jung was having her makeup touched up by a makeup artist not far away, her eyes occasionally drifting towards him, carrying a hint of barely perceptible smugness and scrutiny.

Clearly, she was aware of the uproar her "improvisation" had caused online and was very concerned about Kwon Heon-hyuk's reaction.

Just as the crew was about to begin the intense filming, a more noticeable commotion arose among the crowd on the periphery than the previous day.

Unlike the screams of fans, it was a whisper filled with shock and awe.

"Daebak...is that Han Hyo-joo?"

Wow! She has even more charisma in person than on screen!

"Why is she here? Is she visiting Xuanhe on set?"

"Definitely! Oh my god, this scene of them together..."

Kwon Hyun-hyuk looked toward the source of the commotion and saw a low-key black van parked outside the police cordon.

The car door opened, and a familiar, tall figure came into view.

Today, Han Hyo-joo wore a neatly tailored beige trench coat that accentuated her tall and graceful figure. She paired it with a simple turtleneck sweater and casually tied her long hair up, revealing her beautiful neckline.

Instead of making a show of herself as she walked through the crowd, she was accompanied by her assistant. She spoke a few words in a polite and familiar manner with the staff member in charge of maintaining order before entering.

He spotted Quan Xuanhe at a glance and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

Even after not seeing each other for a while, Han Hyo-joo still missed Kwon Seon-hyuk.

There was no way to stop thinking about it; Pirates 2, just as Kwon Hyun-hyuk had pessimistically predicted, flopped completely.

The film was released in South Korea on January 26 and topped the daily box office charts on its opening day. After two days, it attracted 167,000 viewers, and by its 19th day, it had reached 1.18 million viewers.

Despite topping the box office for nine consecutive days, it became the first film in South Korea in 2022 to surpass one million viewers.

However, the box office figures were so bad that they plummeted to rock bottom, making it impossible to recoup costs. Therefore, they chose to sell the online streaming rights to Netflix at lightning speed and launch the service immediately, hoping to make a small profit.

When it was released on Netflix on March 2, it attracted 132 million viewers, and the final box office is expected to be around 135 million.

The reviews were overwhelmingly negative.

The story is stale and outdated, the plot logic is perfunctory, the multiple storylines are confusing, and the narrative loses its focus.

The jokes are outdated and have been used in variety shows. The main comedic segments are all farces, relying on tired jokes like flirting between men and women to create laughs. It feels very vulgar and gives people an overall noisy feeling.

The post-production editing was chaotic, the plot often jumped around inexplicably, and the pacing was out of control. It was like a bunch of music videos pieced together, which easily pulled the audience out of the story.

The actors' performances were also rather exaggerated. For example, Kang Ha-neul's performance was described as greasy, and Han Hyo-joo's attempt to act like a big shot was awkward.

It has been accused of being a low-quality knock-off of the Korean version of "Pirates of the Caribbean," with unrealistic special effects and a bull-running scene that has been criticized as resembling scenes from the movie "The Promise."

The reviews were indeed terrible, which only highlighted Kwon Hyun-hyuk's wisdom in securing her the lead role in Dark Glory early on. Otherwise, Song Hye-kyo would have used this opportunity to her advantage and squeeze her out of the role.

Now, Han Hyo-joo is completely convinced of Kwon Seon-hyuk's abilities.

"Pirates 2," a commercial blockbuster with all the elements, was considered a sure thing by industry insiders, yet it still flopped as predicted. Who wouldn't listen to their advice?

I'm truly impressed.

Han Hyo-joo previously accepted Kwon Seon-hyuk's invitation to star in "20th Century Girl," and it wasn't just a simple cameo; her total screen time was quite substantial.

She plays the female lead, who has matured many years later, and her screen time in the complete film is nearly twenty minutes.

Visiting the set today is like a warm-up, a chance to get a sneak peek early.

Han Hyo-joo glanced at Kwon Hyun-hyuk, then nodded to director Bang Yoo-ri, saying, "Director Bang, hello. I'm sorry to have disturbed the filming."

Fang Youli smiled and waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mind at all: "Hyoju-ssi? You're too kind, it's not bothering you at all!"

Although Han Hyo-joo's film flopped badly, it wasn't a complete disaster; top-tier stars have a lot of leeway when it comes to failure.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the director, Han Hyo-joo went straight to find Kwon Seon-hyuk.

"It's been a long time, Nuna."

"It's been a long time. If I don't look for you, you won't remember to come and see me."

Han Hyo-joo said this with a smile, which sounded gentle, but it was actually a smile that hid a knife.

"Aren't you still filming?"

"Filming wrapped up a few days ago."

Han Hyo-joo's smile became even more dangerous.

She decided that tonight she would be a complete juice extractor and empty Kwon Seonhyuk's bullet pouch.

(End of this chapter)