Peninsula: The Best Actor Begins with a Breakup

Chapter 545 The Gathering.

Lee Kwang-soo has arrived.

This guy is only in his thirties, but his face is full of wrinkles when he smiles. He's a natural comedian.

"Kwangsoo oppa, you even brought a gift."

Kim Minjung raised his voice slightly, as if to remind Mingyan.

"Hey, Minjung, long time no see." Lee Kwang-soo patted Kim Minjung's head.

He was actually quite envious of Mingyan. This kid had weak family ties, and his family background was indeed average, but he just happened to meet good people along the way.

First, she had two good friends, Kim Jisoo and Lim Nayeon, and then she had her adorable niece, Kim Minjung, who kept her company, making the house feel much warmer.

Mingyan stood up with a smile: "Kwangsoo hyung, you already gave me a gift, why did you bring something else?"

“I didn’t give this to you.” Lee Kwang-soo handed the bag to Kim Min-jung: “I heard Min-jung’s birthday is January 1st, this is for the child.”

"Ah, this..."

Kim Minjung subconsciously looked at Mingyan.

"It's a gift from Kwang-soo hyung, so just accept it. We're all family here anyway." Mingyan nodded with a smile.

Kim Minjung cutely thanked Lee Kwangsoo: "Yay, thank you Kwangsoo oppa."

“Kwangsoo hyung, if we’re going to go by that logic, then you’re a generation younger than me.”

"You brat, how dare you talk to your older brother like that."

Mingyan gave Lee Kwang-soo a brief tour of the new house.

This guy's family is actually quite wealthy; they own a furniture factory in Namyangju. However, his home in Seoul isn't that big, mainly because he doesn't need one.

"Maknae, you're amazing! Your house is even bigger than Insung hyung's house." Lee Kwang-soo said, sitting cross-legged in the living room after thanking Kim Min-jung for the water.

"My family is large."

"Isn't it just you and Minjung?"

"Jisoo also has a room, and Nayeon comes to stay here from time to time."

When all four members of a family are together, the space in the house is just right.

This doesn't even include Kim Ji-won, mainly because that older sister probably won't appear with Lim Na-yeon, so she can be discussed separately.

In the most extreme scenario, if Lim Nayeon brings Yoo Jeongyeon and Hirai Momo to visit, Kim Minjung invites Yoo Jimin to come back and stay, and then Myung-eon and Kim Ji-soo are added to the mix, then there would be seven people in the house at the same time.

Three rooms are not even enough, far from enough.

Yu Jung-yeon: It's not like I can't afford a house, why do I have to live at your place?

"Hey, you're with Nayeon now?" Lee Kwang-soo's winking was quite funny.

As for Kim Jisoo, this guy is too lazy to ask anymore. He'll just assume that their friendship has evolved into a familial bond, skipping the romantic stage altogether.

Who says there can't be pure friendship between men and women?

"Yes, I already said that."

"Isn't this like a rabbit eating the grass near its burrow?"

"Kwang-soo hyung, it's not certain yet who's the rabbit and who's the grass."

Mingyan felt that she was the one being watched by the little rabbit for many years, and Lim Nayeon laughed quite wildly after she succeeded.

While the two were chatting, the other members of the gang arrived one after another.

Jo In-sung brought two bottles of red wine, probably from his stash. Kim Woo-bin and Shin Min-ah came together. This guy hasn't fully recovered yet, so it's already quite impressive that he was able to come out and attend the party.

Do Kyungsoo received the warmest welcome as soon as he entered.

"Hello, D.Ooppa." Kim Minjung was as excited as an ordinary fan, which made Do Kyungsoo feel embarrassed.

Do Kyungsoo pretended to be very calm: "You must be Minjung. I've seen you at the company before."

"Have you seen me?"

Kim Minjung looked completely bewildered.

She was just an ordinary trainee at SM Entertainment, and had hardly ever seen any of the debuted artists. Not everyone had the high level of exposure that Lami had before her debut. "Because of the maknae... your uncle asked me to take extra care of you." Do Kyungsoo smiled very gently.

He did this for Kim Minjung's sake.

Although EXO has passed its peak, it still has a huge number of fans who are always paying attention to their idols' activities.

Another point is that being too high-profile in the company is not necessarily a good thing, as it is easy to be ostracized by others. So, Do Kyungsoo only helped contact his former teacher.

SM's music teachers have to mentor many trainees, and who they favor depends either on talent or connections.

Kim Minjung happens to have both.

The girl suddenly realized: "So it was Teacher Shen..."

"Yes, he's very capable. You can learn a lot from him."

Do Kyungsoo is the main vocalist in EXO, and his experience is still very useful.

"Minjung, stop bothering them." Mingyan waved to the two of them: "Brother, come sit down. I heard you're going to enlist."

He is the youngest in the group; Do Kyungsoo is almost two years older than Mingyan.

In South Korea, people who are not the same age are strictly not allowed to be friends, as there is a strong emphasis on seniority. However, since some people don't like to follow those rules, the older brothers don't care much about them.

"Yes, it's tentatively scheduled for July."

No South Korean man can escape this; they must serve two years of military service before the age of thirty, unless they meet certain special conditions for exemption.

For example, poor health, or having won a gold medal in a world-class competition, or having an excessively high or low level of education, etc.

For artists, this is a difficult hurdle to overcome. After all, the entertainment industry changes very quickly. If they can't film or release songs for two years, the world may have changed drastically when they come back.

The seven-year itch (the first contract expiration) for girl groups and the military white period for boy groups are both difficult hurdles on the road to development.

"That's still six months away."

"Yeah, I've been preparing to record some things lately, so I won't be left without any materials when I join the army." Do Kyungsoo was quite envious of Mingyan; military service is no easy task.

Zhao Yincheng laughed and said, "Don't worry, the army isn't as scary as you think."

"I actually hope I can serve in the military, haha."

Kim Woo-bin joked about it.

He is thirty years old this year, but his health has been deemed unsuitable for military service due to cancer, and he has obtained an exemption.

"Min-ah, how is Woo-bin's health now?" Ming-yeon looked at Shin Min-ah, the older sister who had been by Kim Woo-bin's side all along and knew a lot about his condition.

"The results are quite good, but it's quite tiring."

Kim Woo-bin has already undergone three rounds of cancer treatment and more than thirty rounds of radiation therapy, and he has lost a lot of weight.

Normally, he shouldn't be able to attend such gatherings, but it would be very depressing for him to stay in the hospital or at home for a long time, and Kim Woo-bin insisted on it, so he finally made it.

Anyway, Mingyan isn't an outsider, so anything can be handled easily.

Mingyan punched the guy in the chest: "Brother Yubin, I'm still waiting to drink with you."

“Maknae, I’ll drink with you today.” Jo In-sung picked up the conversation: “Now that you’ve bought a big house, and you’ll settle down and start a family, your life will be almost like that of an immortal.”

The other members of the Brotherhood echoed this sentiment, all hoping to see Mingyan doing well.

"Brother Yincheng, that's a bit too far."

“Yeah, bro, even if Xiaoyan wants to get married, the girl’s side won’t allow it,” Lee Kwang-soo chimed in.

Lim Nayeon is an idol, and given TWICE's current momentum, they should be active for at least ten years, which means they have at least another six years.

Moreover, at the age of twenty-something, how can one step into the grave of marriage with such a promising future?

That's incredibly unwise.

Kim Minjung listened silently to the conversation of these grown men.

Even if her uncle wanted to get married, the biggest problem would probably be not knowing who to marry.

(End of this chapter)