Peninsula Platinum Era

Chapter 249 Disguise
Minju deliberately chose a dress that looked appropriate but not overly flashy, and her makeup was also a light, everyday look. She planned to minimize her presence and play the role of a quiet and polite junior.

The girl thought it was just a simple crew dinner, while the drama production team assumed she would definitely have a conversation with Chen Shijun, so they were probably aware of the dinner.

In a situation where information was not very transparent, the mistake was simply accepted and no one raised any objections or thought to ask any further questions.

But when she saw that she had only met a handful of celebrities along the way, and that she didn't recognize any of them, she felt something was wrong, and her heart skipped a beat.

The sudden unknown makes people uneasy, but they dare not ask too many questions, thinking about how to leave gracefully if an unwanted situation arises.

As the waiter led me into a secluded private room in the restaurant, I looked around at the people around me. At the head of the table was a middle-aged man in a suit. General Manager Lee Joo-hwan, whom I had met before, was sitting to the left. And in the first seat to my left was Chen Shijun, who was smiling and nodding frequently.

Min Zhou was immediately terrified. Could it be that Chen Shijun wanted to use him for amusement today? He thought to himself, "This is bad, he's after me."

But then he thought about it again and realized that the situation was quite serious. Chen Shijun at the party seemed very talkative, chatting happily with several middle-aged men gathered around him, as if he hadn't noticed him at all.

"President Kwon, you're too kind. HYBE has always valued relationships with excellent platforms. The minor unpleasantness in the past is but a fleeting moment compared to our long-term cooperation. Let bygones be bygones."

Chen Shijun stated that MBC, as one of the three traditional television stations, has a very deep foundation, and both parties are looking forward to the next collaborative project.

Minju wanted to stay away, but she kept listening intently. She didn't know what her purpose was in being there today. She tried to find someone she knew at the party to chat with and ease the awkwardness, but she couldn't find anyone.

"What brings you here, Minju-ssi?"

A young woman's voice startled Minju. He turned around and saw that it was Chen Shijun's secretary who always stayed by his side. His face immediately stiffened.

"Ah? Secretary Li!"

Seeing the other person's suspicious look, Minju quickly nodded and bowed softly. Although he didn't have a good impression of Chen Shijun, the lady next to him had a decent appearance and couldn't be too bad.

"Why didn't you inform the company before attending this kind of gathering? Whose idea was it?"

Eun-hye also found it very strange, especially since Min-ju said that the production team hadn't said anything, and she had mistakenly thought it was just a normal production team dinner. She even wondered if it was a form of deception.

Actually, this completely wronged MBC, because in their view, Chen Shijun went to great lengths to get this cake for her, and the two sides should have known each other well.

It's perfectly fine for you to come over and have a meal with your family; in fact, the relationship might be even closer than they imagine.

"That shouldn't be the case. At this crucial time for cooperation, is this an attempt to intimidate us?"

Secretary Li fell into deep thought, unable to grasp the crux of the matter for the time being, as there might be more implications in some of the details.

Chen Shijun's gaze followed Secretary Li and swept over Minju. He immediately felt a chill and looked at the person opposite him with a strange expression.

Although the conversation still mainly revolves around industry trends and future development plans, and there are many compliments between them, their mindset has suddenly changed.

Is the other party trying to retaliate against President Ahn's low attitude towards the fat man a while ago, giving HYBE a small warning without saying a word?

"Your HYBE artists don't even have the same level of control over us outsiders, and you're the core figure in the girl group project," Chen Shijun thought, increasingly convinced that this was possible.

Although she still smiled, she inwardly cursed Kim Min-ju. If she didn't know the truth, she was a fool being used as a tool; if she did, she was a scheming and manipulative woman. She glanced at Kwon Jae-hong and Yoon Mi-hyun's faces, which still looked sincere; she couldn't detect any ill intentions at all.

"Foolish woman, so foolish!"

Regardless, Kim Min-ju's behavior today had greatly displeased him. It was unforgivable to hand a knife to external forces like this. Was this how he repaid his kindness?

Minju felt a chill run down her spine under Secretary Lee's scrutinizing gaze. After hearing what Eunhye said, she realized that she might have been involved in some conflict, and the thought of causing trouble made her panic instantly.

Whether it's Chen Shijun, Eunhye, or Minju herself, they cannot rule out the possibility that MBC has ulterior motives, even if the other party loudly proclaims their innocence.

"Secretary Li, why is our Minju standing here? Shouldn't we assign her a new agent or something?"

When Chen Shijun, who had briefly ended the conversation, walked over, his words were incredibly sarcastic, and Minju's face immediately turned red.

This is clearly a sign of dissatisfaction with her attending the party without the company's knowledge, but she also came without knowing the truth.

Her manager didn't come with her from Urban Works at the time, and since she's a trainee now, she hasn't been assigned one yet. So, she's basically doing all the work related to this drama herself.

"Director Chen, Minju said she came after being notified by the production team, which surprised me a bit."

Eunhye quickly put on a smile and explained on behalf of the girl. Minju immediately felt relieved and looked at Secretary Lee with gratitude in his eyes. It was crucial that she spoke up for him at this moment.

Minju felt Chen Shijun's gaze was fixed on her, so she lowered her head and dared not meet his eyes. His gaze seemed to be enveloping her like a large net.

"Oh? Really? Minju was completely unaware?"

Although these little tricks are useless, they are quite disgusting. However, Chen Shijun cannot retaliate today, since Jin Minzhou came on her own, and no one forced her.

"You're here now, so don't look so helpless. You represent the face of HYBE."

The more I looked at this girl's seemingly weak and embarrassed appearance, the more I felt that she was a very scheming girl. She could make Eun-bi, An-an and Xiao-yuan think that she was a soft girl, and she could even deceive Eun-hye. Her disguise was simply too good.

Chen Shijun formed a preconceived notion, and everything Min Zhou did reinforced and corroborated his suspicions. Min Zhou was speechless and could only lower his head and remain silent.

"Come back with us later, Minju. Did you come here by yourself?"

Seeing that Chen Shijun was a little unhappy, Secretary Li quickly tried to smooth things over. In fact, Eunhye thought she was the woman who understood women the most, and she believed Minju's claim of ignorance to a great extent.

But her belief was useless; Chen Shijun had to believe it too. Minju didn't dare refuse and quickly nodded, her impression of this older sister improving even more.

"Thank you for the reminder, Director Chen. I will definitely study hard and live up to your expectations."

After finally calming down, Minju felt his voice tremble slightly. He was already afraid of Chen Shijun, and Chen's "fierce" appearance made him even more terrifying.

Sitting quietly in the corner, the girl watched Chen Shijun continue to clink glasses with the middle-aged men, as if she were waiting for a strange moment of execution.

(End of this chapter)