Chapter 51: The Delicate Lily of That Year (Part 2) (First Update)

  First update seeking recommendations!

  It's been busy during the day and I didn't have a chance to write until after I got home...

  Thanks for the rewards from classmates Royyi and Wu Yuede Mingsheng ~

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  The sound of the camera shutter caught the attention of the girls in front, and Soo-young, who was struggling, turned her head around. At that moment, it seemed like she was taken aback, and Soo-young took advantage of the opportunity to pucker up and push aside her rejecting hands, giving her a forceful kiss on the cheek.

  Crack!

  The flashbulb flashed again, and Su-yeon was momentarily stunned, her face unconsciously scrunched up like a dumpling. It took her a while to react, and she let out a sharp cry as the sudden burst of power pushed Su-young away. Her skin instantly turned bright red, and she crouched down, too embarrassed to lift her head. Su-young stood beside her, looking very pleased with herself as she licked her lips: "It's really sweet! Thanks, Jun-hee oppa, if it weren't for your help, I wouldn't have been able to kiss him!"

  Xiu Yan, who had been burying her face in embarrassment, looked up from the gap between her arm and body, glared fiercely at An Junhe, and shouted in a low voice: "Delete the photos you took!"

  As for her request, how could others agree? Yulyen and Taeyeon, who had been watching the play on the side, hurriedly waved their hands: "Don't delete it! Don't delete it!"

  Su-yeon, who always had a cold face and no expression, rarely showed such an embarrassing expression. How could they let it go? Ahn Jun-hee smiled and pretended to put away his phone: "Hmm, don't delete it, I'll print it out on the computer another day and give each of you a copy as a keepsake!"

  "Oh——"

  "Ah!"

  In the midst of the three girls' cheering and shouting, Soo-young's weak protest was drowned out.

  Over there, Lee Jun-yi and Baek Ji-young, who saw Ahn Joon-hee arrive, smiled and waved from afar before focusing on the shoot. Handing her phone to Yoo-ri, who was fussing about wanting to see how it turned out, four girls were fighting over playfully, Ahn Joon-hee walked up to them, looking at Yoon-ah and another girl still immersed in shooting on the balcony, asked: "How are they?"

  "Awesome!" Li Junyi nodded while staring at the TV, "The first one you recommended, Lin Yun'er, although her acting skills are still immature, she has a good talent and a strong sense of camera presence. What surprised me is this girl named Li Yixi, her acting skills are pure and mature, she can get in and out of character without any difficulty, this isn't her first time participating in filming, right?"

  "Hmm, I don't know her too well, probably!" An Junhe smiled a bit awkwardly.

  He also found out on the way that his original role, which was supposed to be played by Xiuying, had been taken away by a girl named Li Yexi. This came as a surprise to him, as he thought that among the female trainees of the same period, only Yun'er and Xiuying were the best in acting skills, but it turned out there was someone even stronger than them.

  "Isn't she your friend?" Baek Ji-young turned around in surprise, "I thought everyone here was your friend..."

  "He's a friend of a friend." Ah-huh. An Junhe, understanding her meaning, nonchalantly waved his hand and changed the subject: "How many days will it take to finish filming the MV?"

  "Within two days at most!" Li Junyi said after flipping through his schedule.

  "Hmm, in two days at most, if the weather doesn't get any worse." Baek Ji-young smiled slightly, running her hand through her hair which had been disheveled by the cold evening wind. Her hair wasn't particularly pretty, and over a year of gloominess due to her stagnant career, as well as her reliance on alcohol, had made her skin look dull. But perhaps it was because she had gone through so much, that when she smiled while running her hand through her hair, the mature womanly aura about her seemed like an old wine that had been aged for many years - rich, smooth, and fragrant.

  In those eyes as clear as water, when looking at An Junhe, there was an unspeakable sense of gratitude and closeness. At this time, he joked: "There are only a few more days for the recording production, maybe I'll release it with you at the same time! An Junhe, what's it like to be in a showdown with yourself?"

  An Junhe was taken aback by the words, and before that, he had indeed overlooked this issue. According to the current progress, it is possible that the two will release their albums at the same time, and they may collide in the music source and record sales market, engaging in a fierce competition.

  Imagine that scene, several song charts with the name "An Junhe" in the songwriter column, fighting each other to death on the rankings...

  He shook his head helplessly, and Bai Zhiying chuckled beside him: "Just kidding, I won't compete with you. I still need to contact the distribution channels. At this time, no record company dares to make a casual decision to release my song. It will take at least another month, and by then, it's just right to use your popularity to stimulate sales."

  Perhaps it was because she had high hopes for this song "No Longer in Love", and recently, as she gradually became more cheerful again, when talking about the current predicament, her expression was very calm, and she even had the mood to make a small joke about herself.

  But that's not without bitterness, the so-called connection with the distribution channel, I'm afraid in the end she still has to pay for it herself, this is the reality of the entertainment circle, no popularity, even if you were once popular, wanting to make a comeback is harder than climbing to heaven.

  The topic was obviously a bit heavy, and they didn't continue afterwards, just watching the live broadcast on TV while chatting casually.

  Not long after, the camera stopped temporarily, and Yoon-ah ran over with a smile, hugging Ahn Jun-hee's arm warmly and talking about her feelings in front of the camera. This was the girl's first time participating in filming, so she couldn't hide her excitement, but also felt a bit nervous: "Jun-hee hyung, how did I do?"

  She raised her head, and her clear eyes reflected his figure as she asked nervously.

  An Junhe rubbed her hair, smiling warmly: "Great, just now Director Li told me that you have a strong sense of camera angles and a pretty good talent!"

  Having been praised, the girl suddenly became pleased and rushed to Xiu Ying who was watching from the side, wrinkling her nose, "But sister said I acted terribly, how annoying!"

  "Ugh~" Xiu Ying repeated, not blushing at all, and then disdainfully curled her lips: "As soon as she sees Junhe brother, she starts acting cute and tattling, Lin Yuner, have you graduated from kindergarten?"

  "You're jealous!"

  "Hah, me jealous? Don't dream on!"

  The two of them started arguing again, and Ahn-jun-he and others who were already used to it didn't think much of it. Only Lee Yeon-hee, who wasn't very familiar with them, looked at them with a surprised gaze when Su-yeon brought her over to greet them.

  She immediately withdrew her gaze and bowed respectfully towards Ahn Jun-hee: "Hello, senior!"

  "You're welcome, don't mind them, they're used to playing around." An Junhe stretched out his hand to her, "Great acting skills, you..." He suddenly paused.

  It wasn't until now that he noticed her standing in front of him, and the face that still had a hint of youth but already showed signs of future beauty always gave him a faint sense of familiarity. It was only later that he remembered that he had actually met her before. In his memories, there were two different scenes: the first one was when he had just joined the cast of "Sorry, I Love You" last year and invited everyone to have barbecue to celebrate his upcoming debut.

  Su-Young's friend at the time was her, but there were a lot of people around and he didn't pay much attention, so his impression is vague.

  In addition, this face also appeared in a dream, seemingly from a TV series several years later. I don't remember the specific TV series, but it was memorable to him at that time. A faint sense of surprise rose in my heart: This girl will also make her debut and achieve great success!

  With this understanding, take a look at the current situation. She is still like a flower bud waiting to bloom, facing her senior with restraint and tension. Then look around her, there are also young girls like Yeon-ah, and White Ji-young smiling at them, as well as Lee Jun-yi busy directing staff to clean up equipment.

  This small open-air rooftop, as if it has a starry feeling. He came back to his senses after a while and proposed to Baek Ji-young and Lee Jun-young under the puzzled gaze of Li Wei-xi and Xiu-yan: "Let's take a photo?"

  "What?" Baek Ji-young looked at him strangely and Lee Jun-ik, who was still busy a few steps away, also turned around.

  "Hey, let's take a photo together for the MV outtakes! Say some auspicious words and then keep it in your single disc as a memento for the future!"

  The two of them looked at each other in confusion, not understanding why he had made this proposal. However, it was a small matter, and since he had brought it up, the two naturally wouldn't oppose it, so they nodded in agreement.

  The girls wouldn't resist, being able to appear in front of the camera was a fresh experience for them. For just a moment, a group of people squeezed onto the balcony edge, leaning against the concrete railing, smiling at the camera, each saying a congratulatory phrase wishing the single a big sale and great popularity.

  In the western sky, the last rays of sunlight disappeared beneath a thin layer of indigo at the horizon, where the mountains undulated. The clouds were set aflame, and the orange hue spread across the sky, enveloping them in its radiance, their silhouettes tinged with a faint crimson along the edges.

  In such a picturesque background, 17-year-old Lee Yeon-hee, who is still vague about her future; Choi Soo-young, who has no worries and no burdens, having failed once in her debut and living carefree every day; Yoo-ri, who hasn't taken off her braces yet and is trying hard to become prettier; Yoona and Tae-yeon, who are tightly holding onto his arm, subconsciously seeking a sense of dependence like small animals; Soo-young, who is still not used to the camera and speaks shyly; Baek Ji-young, whose mature and elegant demeanor belies the worries that linger between her eyebrows; and Lee Jun-ki, who has only taken pictures of people before but never been photographed himself, looking somewhat awkward.

  And then there's Ahn Jun-hee — who has just established himself in the entertainment industry and hasn't yet solidified his foundation, with many people speculating whether he will become a shooting star.

  The distant lens frames these figures in a small sky, recording various expressions. Who knows, 2 years, 3 years or 5 years later, when people watch this MV again, see this flower arrangement, and see them still like unopened white lilies, ordinary, plain, without luxurious and noble decorations. What will people think? What kind of surprise will they have?

  Maybe they'll say "Oh, so Girls' Generation was together back then", "They knew each other a long time ago" and so on.

  An Junhe didn't know, but he was certain that the people in this frame might be ordinary now, but they would surely shine brightly in the future, just like the afterglow behind him, which dyed the sky and earth with a uniform color, lingering on and on, as if eternal...