The number one playboy on the Peninsula!

Chapter 108 "Runningman"

On October 30th, Gong Sung and Lee Sung-kyung arrived at the "Running Man" taping site in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. After nearly two hours of travel, he quickly took a nap in the car, which perked him up.

"I'm a little nervous. What should I do?" Gong Cheng took a sip of water to moisten his dry throat and suddenly felt a little nervous.

"Don't worry, didn't we agree that Nuna will protect you? Relax." Li Jingjing blinked her brown eyes and smiled. Looking at his messy and fluffy hair after waking up, she reached out and helped him smooth down the tuft of hair on his head.

At the recording site outside the car window, there were already many nanny cars with various license plates parked, as well as cameras of various sizes.

Gong Cheng took a deep breath and smiled: "Let's go, Nuna."

Not far away, the seven regular MCs of "Runningman" were being discussed about the plot of this episode at the call of PDnim while waiting for the arrival of the guests.

Lee Kwang-soo curiously asked Yoo Jae-suk, "Brother, besides Minho, Seo Ji-hye, and Jang Do-yeon, who else will be the guests this time? Didn't they say there would be five guests?"

Upon hearing this, the PDnim smiled mysteriously. As the mainstay of this variety show, Yoo Jae Suk naturally knew who the guest was, but he played along with the PD and kept it a secret: "You'll know when you meet him. All I can tell you is that he's been on Peninsula lately and he's quite the celebrity."

"A popular actor? Or a singer?" Haha and Song Ji Hyo looked at each other, somewhat confused.

As for actors, Gong Yoo can be said to be the most popular male actor in the peninsula this year after the box office hit of "Train to Busan", and there is also Song Joong-ki who played in "Descendants of the Sun".

But these guys all have a good personal relationship with me and the other MCs. If they come to the show to play, everyone will be notified. After all, we're all familiar with each other, so we can have fun together and won't treat it like work.

"It should be a singer, right?" Gary had a vague guess in his mind. He suddenly remembered that when he was drinking with his good friend Park Jae-beom a few days ago, he said that the group's youngest member might be on the show to promote their upcoming drama.

However, he had drunk a little too much at the time and didn't take it seriously.

"Oh no, if it's a singer, could it be a member of Bombardment Meteor?" Song Ji-hyo covered her mouth in surprise. As she spoke, she flipped open her phone and showed her friends her newly changed screensaver. It was a portrait by artist Lee.k, and the boy in the painting was exactly the same as Tarot's character in "Blood, Sweat, and Tears," with his head held high in disdain.

Then, she became a little uncertain. After all, this was a group with four members, and the number didn't match.

"Ah Xi, it can't really be Tarot..." Gary muttered doubtfully...

"An Ning Haseyo, fellow seniors..."

A clear greeting came from behind the MCs, and Kim Jong Kook, Song Ji Hyo and others turned around to look curiously.

Led by staff, two slender figures appeared, one on each side. Gong Cheng's light brown hair fell naturally, adding a touch of gentleness to his smiling face. He wore a light-colored denim jacket and a black sweatshirt underneath, creating a casual yet stylish look. Lee Sung-kyung also had light brown shoulder-length hair, a matching hairstyle. She wore a pink hoodie and a light-colored shoulder bag, exuding a youthful air.

The two waved to the MCs of "Runningman" and greeted them with a smile.

"An Ning Haseyo..."

"Oh, PDnim, are you filming an idol drama?" Lee Kwang-soo stretched his neck and turned his head to ask the PD. Although he was only 1.9 meters tall, he was jealous of Gong Sung's incredible body proportions.

"Haha, don't be so polite."

"Oh my god! It's really a Tarot!" Song Ji Hyo excitedly shook Gary's arm beside her.

"..."

"I didn't expect it was really you, Xiao Cheng. Don't be polite. Jae Fan mentioned it to me a few days ago. He asked me to take good care of you." Brother Gary walked to Gong Cheng with a smile, patted his back, and spoke affectionately.

Park Jae-bum is both his junior and his younger brother. The two have always had a good relationship in private and even released a single together last year, so it is naturally not a difficult task for him to take care of a junior on the show.

"Thank you, Brother Gary." Gong Cheng smiled relaxedly. "I really enjoyed listening to your album '2002' last year. Especially, let's go get some fresh air."

He didn't know this guy, but he knew him well enough. He was a friend of Park Jae-bum's, whose real name was Kang Hee-gun. More than a decade ago, he and Gil Sung-jun formed a two-person hip-hop group called LeeSSang, and they were considered veterans in the hip-hop world.

"Really? Why does it seem like every guest says this?" Brother Gary smiled suspiciously and joked.

"How could that be? Hum, hum, hum~~" Gong Cheng said as he hummed a few lines of Jiang Gary's song. This wasn't really a compliment, he had indeed heard it before.

"Haha, then we must cooperate." Jiang Gary's happy mouth was as big as his tilted baseball cap, and he couldn't stop smiling.

"Okay, you can talk about the cooperation in private. Xiaocheng, don't be nervous. Welcome you and Bible to "Runningman." Liu Zaishi greeted with a smile.

Afterwards, Gong Cheng chatted with several MCs while waiting for the other guests.

"Sungkyung, are you and Xiaocheng wearing this as a couple?" Yoo Jae-suk and Lee Kwang-soo asked Lee Sungkyung curiously. They had met Lee Sungkyung on other variety shows before and had a good relationship, so they didn't seem too distant.

Besides, Seoul is a small place. Even Gong Cheng, who has never met these MCs, can still draw many connections.

"Yes, it is indeed a couple's look. In the crew, the male and female protagonists' makeup." Li Jingjing nodded with a smile and pointed at Gong Cheng's light brown hair color.

"That's right. You still have to promote the new drama. I'll cue you a few more times during the recording." Yoo Jae Suk nodded in agreement. On the other hand, Lee Kwang Soo asked curiously, "Bible, the scandal..."

After about 20 minutes, all the guests including MCs arrived, a total of 12 people. In addition to the 7 MCs who are regulars including Yoo Jae-suk, the guests include Gong Sung, Lee Sung-kyung, Seo Ji-hye, Jang Do-yeon, and Choi Minho.

Holding the script in his hand, Pdnim briefly explained today's segments and procedures to everyone. As for the content after the filming started, for this kind of large-scale outdoor variety show, the guests and MCs were free to perform.

An hour later, in an open area, with cameras flashing red lights, the program officially began recording.

……

As the guests came on stage, cheers came from the seven MCs one after another. After Gong Cheng and Lee Sung Kyung got off the car, Song Ji Hyo excitedly raised her mobile phone and pointed to the screensaver she had just changed not long ago.

The VJ who was in charge of filming took a sensible close-up shot.

"Wow, Bombardment Meteor's youngest member, Tarot. The new fog in the Peninsula music scene!" Yoo Jae-suk exaggeratedly introduced Gong Cheng and Lee Sung-kyung to the camera: "And the actress, Lee Sung-kyung."

"It's not that exaggerated, brother." Gong Cheng waved to everyone, with a clean and handsome face and calm and gentle eyes.

"Oh my, he's even more handsome in person than in the music video!" Lee Kwang Soo smiled and leaned forward, motioning for the camera to give this handsome face a close-up: "Kwang Soo certified!!"

Haha, standing next to Gong Cheng, felt rather uncomfortable. He looked at the camera in the VJ's hand, which was filming something from bottom to top, and asked in confusion, "What is this filming?"

"kkk~" Song Ji Hyo stood opposite Gong Cheng and naturally noticed this angle. The two of them looked quite funny. She walked over to Gong Cheng, stretched out her palms, and measured the length of his legs one by one.

The long legs are almost overflowing from the screen, looking at the side haha......

No wonder the VJ teacher gave it a close-up.

Gong Cheng smiled rather embarrassedly, and the MCs did not ignore the other guests and started chatting with Choi Minho and others. The guests who came this time were all acquainted with each other privately, so they were not so polite when chatting.

"Xiao Cheng, what were the initial sales of your Bombardment Meteor debut album?" Choi Minho asked curiously. He had a good relationship with Lay, and since joining the show, he had a good impression of Gong Cheng, so he wanted to get closer and make friends.

As a member of SM Entertainment's SHINee group, he was very curious about album sales, especially the fact that Bombardment Meteor sold 17 copies on its first day.

As soon as this question came out, the MC and guests present suddenly quieted down, including the PD and VJ outside the venue, all of whom pointed their cameras at Gong Cheng.

"Initial sales?" Gong Cheng smiled at the curious looks and answered truthfully, "It's been five days since the official release, and initial sales are around 400,000 copies."

Compared to the sales of 17 copies on the first day, the album's sales have been slowly declining in the following days.

"40 copies? That's not right. Your Bombardment Meteor pre-sale sales are close to 30 copies..." Choi Minho muttered. This is a terrifying album sales figure. Even compared to the younger generation EXO from the same company, they are not much different.

The fundamental problem is that although EXO's third full-length album "Ex'act" this year has 66 pre-sales, it includes two versions, Korean and Chinese, and how many years have EXO debuted?
After the huge success of "Roar", it has a solid fan base.

And what about Gong Cheng? Bombardment Meteor, the limited-edition group, had only been announced a few months ago and had begun pre-launch promotions, but they were already the top-selling debut album in the entire Peninsula, both in terms of pre-sales and total sales.

"The pre-sale sales? That's not included. If it were included, it should be 70." Gong Cheng smiled calmly and said calmly.

He wanted to say something more, but seeing the weird looks people gave him, he tactfully shut up. To him, the most exciting thing about this album wasn't how many copies it had sold. It was the news from Kim Dae-woo this morning: sales of "Fireworks are eternal" had rebounded yesterday, halting their downward trend and now slowly rising.

The most important thing is that in addition to the local market, the album's sales in Japan, China, Asia, and even Europe and the United States are gradually increasing.

The aftermath of the bombardment meteor is beginning to radiate to the whole of Asia, centered on the peninsula.

"Alright, alright. Let's begin the first part." Pdnim spoke up at the right moment, getting the show back on track. "Everyone, please draw your guardian angel from the jar in front of you."

Following the PD's words, everyone looked at the transparent jar placed on the table. In the hole on the top were small balls of various colors, each person's name was wrapped inside.

"A game about guardian angels?" Yoo Jae-suk smiled, his expression a bit nostalgic. "My favorite game in middle school. Every winter..."

"Brother, why do you look like you're missing your first love?" Lee Kwang Soo joked with a smile, always maintaining his artistic sense.

Gong Cheng had heard of this game, but he'd never played it much. The rules were pretty simple: each person's name was written on a slip of paper, and those names were mixed together and drawn. Whoever's name you drew became that person's guardian angel for the rest of the game.

The duty of a guardian angel is to protect and care for the person you are guarding, but you cannot let others know your identity and you must keep it as mysterious as possible. Each participant has a dual identity, being someone else's guardian angel and the object of someone else's care.

Therefore, we must not only protect the people we protect, but also guess who our guardian angel is.

"Huh~ Fortunately, it's not a team-building session." Jiang Gary glanced at the tall and handsome Gong Cheng next to him and put on a relieved expression.

Haha also had an expression of lingering fear and nodded in admiration.

The two of them stood on Gong Cheng's left and right, and under the VJ's lens, it seemed that their appearance was obviously different.

Xu Zhihui chuckled twice and said, "Is today the day for the Oppas to be questioned about their appearance?"

Zhang Duyan: “kkk~”

"Hey, it's really stressful standing next to this guy..." Jiang Gary shook his head and made a self-deprecating comment. However, the show effect was really great, and the VJ and some staff involved in the filming laughed out loud.

Haha nudged another guest next to him, Choi Minho: "Minho, please stay away from me, okay?"

Gong Cheng and Choi Minho smiled embarrassedly. As expected, when the program was broadcast, the editor in charge of post-production would put their pictures with those of these brothers together to create a visual contrast effect.

Soon it was Gong Cheng's turn to draw his guardian angel. He broke open the black ball and saw Li Jingjing's name on a small piece of paper.

He put the note into his trouser pocket and looked curiously at Lee Sung-kyung who was drawing lots.

I don't know who this sister will pick. It's not such a coincidence that she will pick me too, right?

That was quite fun.

After the drawing of lots was over, all the guests and MC came to a building prepared in advance by the program team.

In the hall, the PD started talking about the first game of the day: "Guess the song title."

In the PK mode, two players compete in a group. The loser will be punished by being hit on the forehead by the winner, and the winner can also get clues about his or her guardian angel.

As Kim Jong Kook was eager to try, Lee Kwang Soo couldn't help but shrink back.

"Xiao Cheng, do you exercise regularly? We can make an appointment to get together some other day." Kim Jong Kook remembered some rumors about Gong Cheng on the Internet and made an invitation with a smile.

"Sure, brother." Gong Cheng agreed with a smile. I heard that this brother is a fitness fanatic.

Before the two of them could chat for a few words, the candidates for the first group of opponents were announced, and coincidentally they were Kim Jong Kook and Lee Kwang Soo who were next to them.

"..."

"..."

After hearing Kim Jong Kook excitedly guess the song title, Lee Kwang Soo covered his face with his hands in despair.

Kim Jong Kook came to him eagerly, blew on his bent fingers, and quickly tapped Lee Kwang Soo's forehead with his middle finger.

"Clap!"

The crisp sound startled the guests present and made them open their mouths.

Lee Kwang Soo rolled his eyes in agony, looking like he was about to die.

Kim Jong Kook got the clue about his guardian angel and walked aside to read it alone.

And the next second, Lee Kwang-soo and female guest Seo Ji-hye faced off.

"..."

This guy finally guessed the title of the song correctly. It was a loud and clear voice without any sympathy for women.

Gong Cheng was amazed by what he saw. This guy really believed that everyone is equal!

If he remembered correctly, in a show in May this year, this guy stabbed the female guest Kim Ji-won in the neck.

After the show aired, it was widely criticized online, and it was trending on the internet for several days. Many Korean citizens even petitioned the Blue House...

"Hiss~ I want to go home..." Xu Zhihui covered his forehead and said in a sad tone.

It hurts! But she's not someone who can't afford to play around. At most, she's just being coquettish for show.

"Mi, Nei, ah..." Lee Kwang Soo quickly explained.

"..."

"Brother Guangzhu, come on." Gong Cheng sat on the chair, closed his eyes, and prepared to accept the punishment. How could he have guessed the meaning of this 80s Peninsula song?
Many male MCs cast gloating glances, thinking, "Ah Xi, is such a handsome boy going to make a fool of himself?"
Seeing Lee Kwang-soo fiddling with the posture of taking action for a long time, his fingers finally paused on Gong Cheng's forehead like a dragonfly skimming the water, and then quickly pulled away.

"Hey Kwang Soo, what are you doing?" Yoo Jae Suk.

"Is this a caress?! Ah Xi~"

"No, Kwang Soo? Where's the strength of your hand that hit me just now?" Seo Ji-hye stood up dissatisfied. What's wrong with this brother? Isn't the discrimination too obvious?
Feeling the weak fingers on his forehead, Gong Cheng opened his eyes and saw a face with a long neck, looking at him gently.

He was startled and quickly shrank back!
What's that look in this guy's eyes?

Seeing Gong Cheng's reaction, the VJ quickly moved the camera closer, and the guests burst into laughter, especially Lee Kwang Soo's obscene and greasy smile, coupled with Gong Cheng's conditioned resistance, the show effect was simply amazing!
Lee Sung Kyung raised her hands and shouted, "I know Kwang Soo is Xiao Cheng's guardian angel?!"

"right!"

"This is too obvious!"

Hearing this, Gong Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. He almost forgot about this. If someone didn’t know, they would think that this guy had some kind of hobby.

Lee Kwang Soo retracted his neck and winked at him with an expression that said, "You know what I mean."

"Hehe..." Gong Cheng smiled helplessly. Is this guy really his guardian angel?

Why does he look like a pervert?
Really are!
However, I still have to thank this guy for showing mercy. He can still clearly remember the expression on Kim Ji-won's face when she was stabbed.

“Thank you, Kwang Soo.”

(End of this chapter)