Peninsula: My e-sports dream shattered, I chose to become an actor.

"Hey! Zhenli! Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit the set?!"

When Jung Soo-jung saw Choi Sulli suddenly appear on set, a surprised smile bloomed on her face.

Choi Jin-ri (Sulli) took off her sunglasses, revealing her signature sweet face, and affectionately took Jung Soo-jung's arm:

I wanted to surprise you.

Li Mingye stood aside, revealing a perfectly timed expression of surprise, as if he had no idea that Cui Zhenli was coming to visit the set.

He joined in their conversation quite naturally, without considering anything like avoiding any appearance of impropriety.

Although there were already many paparazzi outside the film set with their cameras pointed at them, snapping photos incessantly, Li Mingye didn't care. If he could get rumors out of chatting with two girls normally, then he'd accept it.

"Oh, right," Li Mingye said, as if suddenly remembering something, turning his gaze to Cui Zhenli, his tone casual yet tinged with concern, "Is that Jaeho still bothering you?"

"No, that's all," Choi Jin-ri's smile remained unwavering, her tone relaxed. "I almost forgot about him if you hadn't mentioned him."

Li Mingye nodded, then chatted and laughed with the two of them.

……

The next morning, as soon as Li Mingye opened his eyes, he habitually reached for his phone and started browsing social networks. He immediately saw a post tagged "HOT".

[f(x) member Sulli is suspected of secretly visiting rising actor Lee Min-yeop on set; their intimate behavior fuels dating rumors?]

Li Mingye clicked on the post and glanced at the accompanying pictures.

Wow, this angle is absolutely perfect. The photo only shows Choi Jin-ri and him, with the background blurred and Jung Soo-jung, who looks like a third wheel, perfectly cropped out, making it look like the two of them are gazing lovingly at each other in a corner.

Fortunately, someone in the comments section quickly posted a panoramic photo of the three of them standing together chatting, which helped to dispel the rumors.

Li Mingye liked the comment that insulted the poster's entire family, then pursed his lips and tossed his phone aside.

The popularity of "The Heirs" is soaring, not only on the Korean Peninsula but also creating a sensation throughout Asia.

His previously registered Weibo account already had over two million followers, and it's still growing rapidly.

He even registered an Instagram account based on the information in his dream, and quickly amassed 20 followers.

With fame comes controversy, and at the same time, various scandals and rumors about him spread like wildfire.

He participates in so few interviews and variety shows that people know very little about him, which ironically fuels immense curiosity. Various marketing accounts, driven by the desire for clicks, fabricate all sorts of baseless and outrageous information, leaving fans struggling to debunk the rumors.

Li Mingye got out of bed to wash up.

We have a major scene to film today.

—The kissing scene between Choi Young-do and Yoo Rachel.

……

In the film crew, Li Mingye held the script in his hand, his gaze lingering on it for a few seconds.

Today's scenes were very different from what he saw in his dream. In his dream, Rachel Yoo didn't kiss him at all, and Choi Young-do didn't have any kissing scenes. He was always the tragic second male lead who was in love with the female lead but never got to kiss her.

But according to the script they have now, they not only have a kissing scene, but their relationship will also progress rapidly afterward, and they will directly become the official couple.

Actually, there have always been fans of the couple online who are worried, since Choi Young-do in the drama seems to be completely devoted to the female lead, and they are afraid that in the end it will be revealed that the relationship between "Do-seok" and "Do-seok" is just a pure friendship.

However, there are actually quite a few people online who ship him and the female lead, and there are even quite a few people petitioning Kim Eun-sook to change the script so that the second male lead can take the lead role.

However, this is of course impossible; if it were changed like that, the work might become a "dark work."

Of course, there's also a slight possibility that it could become a "masterpiece"...

However, once this episode, which was filmed today, airs, these controversies will disappear.

Li Mingye raised his head, looked at Kim Ji-won who was touching up her makeup across from him, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Why are you so nervous, Nuna? I should be the one who's nervous, shouldn't I?"

Kim Ji-won's legs were trembling slightly, and she seemed a little flustered. Upon hearing this, she gave him a hasty glare, but there was no murderous intent in her eyes.

She couldn't explain why she was so nervous, and even felt a little... expectant?

"Kim Ji-won! What are you thinking? He has a girlfriend!"

She kept cursing herself in her heart, trying to use the stick of morality to wake up her restless self, but she couldn't suppress the feeling of anticipation.

A constant internal struggle raged within me, a battle between reason and some indescribable emotion.

Before she could dwell on it for long, the assistant director's loudspeaker blared.

"Mingye and Zhiyuan are ready to take their positions!"

The two responded, took a deep breath, and stood in their positions.

"Action!"

To make Kim Tan jealous, and also to test Choi Young-do, Yoo Rachel suddenly grabbed Lee Myung-yeop's collar.

The next second, she stood on tiptoe and forcefully kissed him.

Li Mingye's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. He was stunned for several seconds, as if struck by lightning. The soft touch made his brain freeze instantly.

"Are you crazy?!"

After saying that, he rubbed his lips roughly, as if he was trying to wipe away something dirty, and his eyes were filled with an indescribable meaning as he looked at Kim Ji-won.

"Cut! Great! The emotion was spot on! Let's change the camera angle and do it again!"

……

After filming the kissing scene, the two went to the dressing room to remove their makeup.

Kim Ji-won hasn't said a word since the director yelled "Cut." She's been keeping her head down, staring at her toes, and her expression is unreadable.

Li Mingye was quite emotional when he first filmed the kissing scene, after all, it was his first on-screen kiss. But after filming a few more times, he calmed down and got into character.

On the contrary, now, looking at the silent Kim Ji-won, his heart was filled with turmoil.

After a long silence, Li Mingye suddenly spoke, addressing the two makeup artists who were packing their makeup cases:

"Could you two please step outside for a moment? I'd like to speak with Ji-won Noona alone for a few minutes."

The two were very perceptive; they exchanged a glance, silently withdrew, and closed the door behind them.

After confirming that there was no more movement outside, Li Mingye spoke:

"If I didn't have a girlfriend, I might pursue Nuna."

He spoke his mind directly, his voice calm yet resounding.

"Huh?"

Kim Ji-won suddenly came to her senses, staring at him with a surprised look.

"Are you... are you crazy?! How could you say something like that!"

Her tone was flustered, and she stammered as her cheeks flushed instantly, seemingly ignoring the first half of Li Mingye's sentence.

Li Mingye sat there, shook his head, and spoke sincerely.

"Only someone who's not crazy would say something like that. Noona is just too charming; it's no wonder I'm attracted to her."

He paused, then continued:

"But I already have a girlfriend."

His words sounded like he was admitting he was a jerk, but he was incredibly honest about it.

Kim Ji-won stared blankly at Lee Myung-yeop's profile; his angular face looked unusually serious at that moment.

Her internal struggle suddenly stopped.

It seems she was rejected.

But she hadn't said anything yet, not even revealing her own feelings.

So... she made it that obvious?

Her mind was a little blank; she just stared at Li Mingye.

The silence lasted for more than a minute, with the clock on the wall ticking away.

Kim Ji-won's thoughts gradually returned.

Her feelings remained unchanged, but the argumentative voice in her mind disappeared.

Li Mingye did not expose her thoughts or put her in an awkward situation, but he gently but firmly rejected her from the side.

Kim Ji-won suddenly felt that this was actually quite good; they could maintain their current relationship, and she no longer had to struggle with it. This feeling of love and guilt fighting was truly torturous, and now she was finally free.

"Who asked you? You delusional fool."

Kim Ji-won's tone was somewhat relieved, and her voice returned to normal.

"I'm really sorry for being so narcissistic." Lee Myung-yeop breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Kim Ji-won's voice return to normal, and said in a teasing tone.

Then, he turned his head naturally, only to see the back of Kim Ji-won's head.

"Don't look this way yet."

Kim Ji-won had her back to him, and her voice was muffled.

Li Mingye paused for a moment, then turned his head back and remained silent.