Chapter 7: The First Rumor and Slander (First Update Seeking Recommendation)

  He sighed, opened his computer on his office desk, logged into a portal website, and then turned the screen towards Ahn Jun-hee.

  On the colorful screen, a graphic news is also displayed, but the content is much richer, only the expression is really not happy.

  "Koo Hye-sun's Boyfriend Suddenly Appears on Set of a Certain Drama... and He's the Male Lead!"

  Here are three photos, the first one is the same as the illustration in that gossip magazine, showing Ha Ji-won standing in front of her own villa. The other two feature Ahn Joon-young, one taken when he just got out of the car, with a red dotted line circling his haggard face with stubble and license plate, which is enlarged for comparison with Ha Ji-won's black Kia's license number. Another photo shows him filming on location.

  Even if you don't read the analysis below, just looking at such a title and photo can tell what it's trying to say.

  An Junhe gazed at the screen, his expression calm, but the emotions that had originally been in his eyes gradually faded away, replaced by a chill. He stared at the two photos for a long time before humming: "This angle... was taken by someone from the crew."

  "I know!" Li Hengmin nodded, his face looking very unsightly. When the assistant in charge of publicity informed him of this matter earlier, he had noticed it the moment he saw the photo. In that instant, his anger seemed to be about to explode in his chest.

  If it were just an accident, but from the start of filming, he repeatedly ordered not to reveal Ahn Jun-hee's identity, lest outsiders seize Ahn Jun-hee's qualifications and attack them wildly.

  Unexpectedly, there are still people who dare to challenge his authority. Those two photos were obviously taken and sent to the portal website by someone on purpose, which is equivalent to slapping him in the face.

  "I'll investigate the crew as soon as possible and catch that person!" Li Hengmin said in a low voice, then looked at An Junhe with worried eyes, "But you..."

  After so many years in the entertainment industry, and having gone through Suzy's military service incident previously, Lee Hyun-min has a very bad impression of portal sites' entertainment news. He naturally understands their moral character deeply as well. In order to attract attention and clicks, they dare to say anything, doing everything they can to mislead people, and compared to reality, the online masses are even more crazy.

  Rumors are just a small matter. If it weren't for consideration of An Junhe's reputation, it would even be an opportunity for publicity for the crew.

  Unfortunately, reality doesn't have ifs. Now on the internet, it's just beginning. Once Ahn Jun-hee's thin information is organized by someone, Lee Hyung-min can imagine that wave of attacks!

  He is now worried whether An Junhe can bear it!

  "I'm fine, at worst I just won't read this stuff in the future." Ahn Jun-hee, knowing what he was worried about, comforted him and then laughed self-deprecatingly: "Thanks to the low price of newspapers, they wouldn't be interested in this kind of thing. The bigger the circulation and influence, the more they lose when selling papers. From now on, the battlefield will only be online, at least leaving me reality to escape!"

  Listening to his self-mockery, Li Hengmin let out another deep sigh...

  September 24th, the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching and the end of 2004 is near. South Korea, where cyber violence has become increasingly serious, is facing another new turmoil.

  It all started with a portal website picking up rumors about Ha Ji-won, then somehow obtained evidence and pinned the so-called "Ha Ji-won's boyfriend" on Ahn Joon-young, the male lead of the drama "I'm Sorry, I Love You". This was originally just a small rumor that only concerned Ha Ji-won's fanbase, but when some overzealous fans compiled information about Ahn Joon-young from various channels, the situation quickly spiralled out of control and spread to other groups.

  Searching on the website, there is no information about this person in the fashion industry, no MV shooting, no advertising shooting, and no participation in any drama.

  Is this tender guy from head to toe actually the male lead of a TV series?

  In other countries, the media might chuckle and say that the director and screenwriter dared to boldly use new people, but in Korea, they would just curse: "Lee Hyung-min and Lee Kyung-hee have both gone crazy!"

  "The success of 'Cheer Up, Mr. Lee' seems to have gone to their heads, is this sunken-eyed male lead just done with his fans?" — daum Entertainment section, re-posted a paparazzi photo of Ahn Hyun-seok's decadent expression, teasing him in such a way.

  "More than 10 days ago, the drama released a scene shot in Melbourne, Australia, which sparked great interest among investors. But now, who still has confidence in it? To spend 1 billion yuan to shoot an idol drama with a newcomer who has no relevant experience at all? I'd say you've chosen the wrong lead actor." - Never News, also re-posted that photo.

  "First it was So Ji-sub, then Ahn Hyo-seop, the production has been plagued with issues, perhaps KBS needs to consider ending filming and holding a ritual ceremony or replacing the entire cast, it's clear they're all cursed." - Nate Entertainment also mocked.

  The comments on these portal sites are just joking, but in the various fan forums of Hee-jin River, many die-hard movie fans and crazy fans directly attacked Ahn Jun-hee, and many private rice balls joined forces to prepare to expose this unknown guy and teach him a lesson.

  "Keep this poisonous scum away from our goddess!"

  "Hurry up and find out where he lives, I'm going to let him have a good taste of my fist!"

  "What a ghastly appearance he has, why doesn't he just go and die?"

  "Everyone, let's get moving! Find that drama team and we'll smash it to pieces... pour sulfuric acid on Ahn Jun-hee..."

  Post after post was constantly updated, with many threatening messages being forwarded by fans directly to the official website of "Sorry, I Love You", forcing the site to temporarily shut down.

  In just two days, the situation escalated to an uncontrollable level. Before the website was closed, the production team issued a statement clarifying that Ahn Jun-hee was chosen solely for his acting skills and that he and Ha Ji-won had only a normal senior-junior relationship. However, like with So Ji-sub's military service controversy earlier, no one paid attention to this statement. The only consolation is probably what Ahn Jun-hee said - the traditional media won't be interested in this kind of thing, and it will just stay online without escalating into a full-blown attack like So Ji-sub experienced.

  "Bang!"

  In the dormitory arranged by the crew, Xu Zhiying closed the webpage and slammed her mouse in anger, saying: "Are these people crazy? Did Junhe rob their wives or something? They scolded so fiercely one after another!"

  Lin Xiujing also withdrew her gaze from the screen, with a calm and slightly worried look, looking at An Junhe who was leaning against the window, softly comforting: "Junhe, don't mind those people, they are all idle and gathering to watch the excitement, it will pass soon."

  "I'm fine."

  An Junhe smiled, he didn't take this matter to heart. Those people could mock and scold him as much as they wanted, but their words couldn't hurt him. He knew that if he took their words seriously, whether it was anger or resentment, in the end, he would be the one to suffer.

  But to say that I'm completely indifferent is impossible, and it's natural to be annoyed, especially when seeing people scolding his family online. However, the internet is like this, even if you're furious, there's nothing you can do, who knows where they are? These netizens, wearing a layer of armor, their repressed vicious nature bursts out without restraint, no wonder many celebrities and public figures have been advocating for real-name registration on the internet, it's really the only way to curb the netizens' aggression - although later it was proven that real-name registration is useless...

  Although the online controversy is boiling, the crew's work has not stopped, and filming continues. The main investor is now him, as long as he doesn't withdraw his investment, this drama will have to continue. Fortunately, the preparations made earlier have paid off, at least there's no need to worry about being cut off from one's debut anymore.

  On the other hand, Li Hengmin is also investigating who leaked the photos. However, with so many people in the crew and a constant flow of people coming and going, the investigation is progressing slowly, and they haven't found anyone yet.

  Just then, the phone suddenly rang, it was Ha Ji-won.

  After connecting, she heard her say with a full of apology: "Junhe, I'm sorry. I just knew about the online stuff today. Those fans are really... Sorry, if I had known that day, I wouldn't have gone drinking!" Her voice was filled with regret. If she hadn't gone drinking that day, Ahn Junhe wouldn't have been worried and sent her all the way home, so they wouldn't have been caught by the paparazzi, and this whole incident wouldn't have happened.

  "It has nothing to do with you, Hailin sister, it's not your fault." An Junhe smiled softly and said: "That day no one knew things would turn out like this, I'm in a good mood now, and those online things didn't affect me, don't worry."

  Perhaps because of his tone, which didn't seem out of the ordinary, Hwangbo asked a few more questions before finally letting out a sigh. "Sigh... does the production team and your agency have any countermeasures?"

  "It's useless no matter how we respond." An Junhe said, "Originally, we could have held a press conference and informed the media with good relations to stop hyping it up. But after what happened with Zhi Xiang last time, the crew is still traumatized and the company doesn't dare take risks. The current plan is to ignore those external voices, focus on filming the TV series well, and let the audience judge after it's broadcast."

  “…Is that all?” Hee-jin sighed and said, “Anyway, it’s all because of me. I’ll post a statement on the official fan community later to clarify our relationship. Although it won’t help much, it should make you feel a bit better.”

  "Thanks, Sister Hailing!"

  "No need to thank me, it's what I should have done anyway! I'll hang up first!"

  “bye！”

  "Hang up the phone! Xuzhiying, who was watching him beside, immediately shouted: "He Zhiyuan ah, it's He Zhiyuan ah, I really want to talk to her, you little brat, why didn't you let me have a few words with her just now?!"

  "You didn't ask me to." An Junhe looked at her with a puzzled expression, "Or should I call her now and tell her that there's a crazy fan of hers who wants to chat with their idol?"

  Xu Zhiying, who had always been timid, immediately shrank his head and smiled wryly: "Forget it... let's just forget it..."

  "Hiss!"

  "What's with this disdainful expression of yours?!"

  "What else can you mean by mocking me?"

  "Go die, An Junhe!"

  Looking at them starting to bicker again, Lin Xiujing smiled quietly on the side, he really didn't seem affected, just like that, she was very happy.

  ;