Chapter 20 Stir-fry (Part 1) (First update seeking recommendation)

  Thank you for the rewards from classmates 418 and Resplendence!

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  In late September 2004, the entertainment industry was not bustling after the holiday. The major entertainment media and the public were still enthusiastically discussing Kim Jong-kook's strong rise to fame with the release of his second album "Evolution". In just a few days, this solo singer, nicknamed "mosquito voice" in the industry, rose from being relatively unknown to the peak of the music industry. The title track of the second album, "A Man", was perfectly performed by Kim Jong-kook's unique "shouting" singing skills and quickly topped various music charts as soon as it was released.

  In recent years, due to the impact of several major brokerage firms' idol strategy, it has been rare for male solo singers to rise strongly in the entertainment industry. Entertainment reporters suddenly swarmed up like sharks smelling blood, and recently, all the headlines of various newspapers were reports about him. However, within two days, another incident took away all his attention.

  On the first day of October, some weekly and monthly entertainment magazines, as well as several major portal websites, published a set of photos - Baoyu smiling and chatting intimately with a young man in a coffee shop. Behind them were some blurry photos taken with a mobile phone, showing the same young man sitting on a small flower bed in a park, while Baoyu stood in front of him, holding an accordion.

  Although both of them wore sunglasses in the photo, and the shooting behind the accordion was not clear, anyone could see at a glance that it was indeed Baoluo, and there were also photos of her taking off her sunglasses behind.

  "Baby's love affair exposed?"

  "Bao'er and mysterious man appear in park, deeply performing"

  "Who is this man?"

  “…………”

  One by one, the bold and eye-catching headlines spread like wildfire through magazines and online media within a short span of just one day, causing a storm in the entertainment circle. Many people were caught off guard, thinking it was all a joke, posting to condemn these irresponsible media for sensationalizing. However, not long after, someone on the internet analyzed that the photos did not have any signs of technical editing, and some even claimed they were at the park at the time and saw Bao'er with a man, and had already found out who this so-called mysterious man was - An Junhe!

  Baoyu's fans are thoroughly outraged. Although a few days ago, there were screenshots of Baoyu and An Junhe singing together on the internet, but at that time, some veteran fans said that it was an internal gathering of SM, and singing together was normal, so everyone didn't pursue it further. But this time, a series of photos, obviously not just "cooperation" or something simple like that.

  The power of the internet is boundless, and soon after the incident broke out, some people with ulterior motives exposed Ahn Jun-hee's information on Baekho's fan club and various portal sites. It was very simple, even to the point of being pathetic - all that was known was that he was an artist from S.M. Entertainment, who debuted this year as the main actor in "Sorry, I Love You", with suspected HIPHOP creative abilities but unverified, in short, a newcomer with no fame, no works and no achievements!

  "Shameless guy, go die quickly!"

  "Think you can rise to fame by relying on our baby? Dream on!"

  Many fans of Bao Er, based on that information, indignantly stormed into Ahn Jun-hee's website, threatening and condemning him, as if they were the enemy of all people.

  As Ahn Jun-hee's information was widely spread, the scandal with Ha Ji-won and the incident of his qualifications also heated up again. Ha Ji-won's fans, as well as some people who looked down on Ahn's qualifications and were jealous of his circumstances, followed after Baek A-yeon's large fan base, excitedly waving flags and shouting. Overnight, Ahn Jun-hee had several anti-fan clubs established online.

  But at the same time, manipulated by the company, the audio of his collaboration with Bao Er on Mid-Autumn Festival eve also spread rapidly. The melancholic melody, lyrics like a narrative poem, and his calm and sorrowful rap also captured the hearts of many people who love sentimental music. The unofficial fan club "An Jia Xiao Zhu" saw a rapid surge in registered members within two days of the scandal, exceeding 5,000 people. Meanwhile, the official fan club also gained its first batch of registered fans (who need to pay a fee) and reached a scale of over 1,000 people in a short period, with numbers continuing to grow.

  Thanks to the power of scandal hype, although it can attract these fans, mainly thanks to that audio clip, but without a doubt, if there was no scandal with Bao'er, it quickly increased its popularity, expanded the base of attention groups, and made more people hear that song, fans would not have developed so fast.

  What's more, this is just the beginning.

  BoA's influence in Korea is beyond everyone's imagination. In recent years, the Korean public may not know who the president is, but it is impossible to not know BoA. People regard her as a bond between Japan and South Korea, and as the most successful Korean artist in Japan and Asia, BoA has become a national idol of Korea.

  Two days later, without being reminded or interfered with by some forces, and even with some tacit consent, various large-circulation newspapers also put this scandal on the headlines, and even the entertainment section of Chosun Ilbo could not avoid it. As a result, the scandal wave expanded in an even more overwhelming way.

  If this scandal is said to have made S.M. Entertainment's higher-ups and Gwon Bo-seon the happiest, then the second happiest would be KBS TV and the production team of "Sorry I Love You".

  Generally, a TV series starts preparing for promotion one month before its premiere, releasing main cast photos and plot summaries. However, due to Ahn Jun-hee's qualifications issue, the production team's promotional work has been somewhat subdued from the start, initially not daring to reveal who the lead actor was, and later exposing it, completely stopping all promotional activities in hopes that the media would be lenient.

  But now these are no longer a problem, with the scandal in front, who still cares about Ahn Jun-hee's qualifications? Even if someone says it, everyone is already tired of debt and itching. Instead, taking this opportunity, more people know about this TV series, as long as they have fame, and no one attacks the crew, whether it's good or bad, at least it's better than being unknown.

  At 4 am, An Junhe arrived at the temporary office of the crew in a warehouse by van. Before he even got close, he could see from afar that under the hazy morning light, some people disguised as reporters were standing outside the iron fence of the warehouse door - since yesterday, the crew had set up an iron fence around the warehouse, leaving only one entrance to prevent reporters from sneaking in and disrupting their work.

  Now those reporters can only stand outside the iron fence, waiting day and night. When they see Ahn Jun-hee's nanny car coming over, the flash lights suddenly light up frequently. Some reporters holding recorders run alongside the car, loudly asking questions from inside:

  "An Junhe, may I ask if you are in a romantic relationship with Bao'er?"

  "An Junhe, may I ask when did you and Bao'er start?"

  "An Junhe xi……" "An Junhe xi……"

  A chaotic wave of noise crashed in from outside, but the nanny car didn't stop for a moment, still moving slowly forward. The curtains on all four windows were already drawn, and those reporters couldn't take any pictures. After following in vain for a while, they arrived at the entrance, where the crew's staff rushed out to block them. They pushed and shoved each other, arguing loudly, but eventually dispersed with their tails between their legs.

  From the rearview mirror, Ahn Jun-hee saw the reporters being blocked outside the wire mesh and gradually dispersing. Only then did he get out of the car with Kwon Bo-geun and Won-seong surrounding him, ready to go to makeup, and soon followed the crew's car to the outdoor filming location.

  As soon as I entered the isolated makeup room, I heard Xu Zhiying burst out laughing: "I knew it was An Daoming's star when I heard how noisy it was outside!"

  "Shut up!" An Junhe walked over to the chair beside her and sat down, on the other side was Lin Xiujing who was also getting a makeover. The makeup artist who had been waiting rushed over and started working busily on his face.

  The makeup and styling were quickly finished, and soon a staff member came to inform them that they had to rush to the outdoor filming location. Xu Zhiying, who had been waiting impatiently for a long time, immediately ran out, and the makeup artist, stylist, and others also left one by one. Only Ahn Jun-hee and Lim Soo-jung were left in the room to pack up their personal belongings.

  Everyone has left, Lin Xiujing's expression was a bit hesitant, packing things up seemed absent-minded. An Junhe, who had packed quickly, saw her look and asked strangely: "Xiujing sister, are you not feeling well today?"

  "Ah?" Lin Xiujing reacted after a while, shaking her head: "No..." As she spoke, she looked at An Junhe, stuttered for a moment, and suddenly asked: "Junhe, you and Bao'er really...".

  When he heard that the normally quiet she also asked about this matter, An Junhe bitterly smiled: "No way, you also know those media love to exaggerate, I and Bao'er can only be considered as relatively good friends."

  Rumors are things that companies create, and they can't be spoken of. It's not because of distrust or anything like that, but rather because there's no need to spread such things everywhere.

  Listening to him say that, Lin Xiujing seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and with a hint of embarrassment, she lowered her head and smiled: "I saw the newspaper today, they said it so definitely, and there were those photos, I thought you and Bao'er were really together!"

  An Junhe shrugged and smiled, just about to tease her a couple of sentences when the curtain of the dressing room opened and Quan Baogen came in from outside. Seeing Lin Xiujing also there, he was visibly taken aback for a moment before slightly bowing his head: "Lin Xiujing, hello!"

  "You too." After taking a look at him, Lin Xiujing knew that he might have something to do with An Junhe, so she bid farewell and left.

  Looking at her back as she walked away, Quan Baogen asked: "What was she just saying to you?"

  "Nothing much, just asking about the rumors."

  "Alas, Junhe, from now on don't stay alone with girls in a room. There are many people in the crew and it's easy for rumors to spread."

  An Junhe lost his smile: "Only you with such unhealthy thoughts would spread rumors, okay, let's not talk about this. You weren't waiting for me in the car, what are you doing here?"

  "Ah!" Quan Baogen patted his head, remembering the purpose of his visit, and said: "It's like this, the company just called, they've finalized the follow-up plan for the hype. Later at the outdoor filming location, there will be a KBS reporter interviewing you. This time, don't refuse, and regarding your relationship with Bao'er, you can be vague and ambiguous in your words."

  An Junhe furrowed his brow: "What about Bao'er's side?"

  "Haha, for now, her company isn't arranging any speeches, let's take it slow, this kind of hype needs to be gradually built up, only then will the popularity last."

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