Chapter 27

Under Park Min-ya's careful care, this cold did not get worse, and there was no need to take leave.

However, for several consecutive days, Park Ji-hoon's condition was clearly not good—his mind was always preoccupied, yet he forced himself to endure and not inquire about Tae-yeon's situation.

Tiffany, after making a call last time, never contacted him again, seemingly having given up on their friendship.

Yoo-ri and Suh-hyun called him once, but with no result, they also gave up.

In matters of the heart, outsiders really find it hard to intervene.

As for Jessica and others, because their phone numbers were blocked, it was even more impossible for them to contact him.

Life became increasingly simple, and the people he interacted with every day, besides various staff members, were only Park Min-ya, a younger sister and confidante. As a member of f(x), Krystal had very little time to contact him. They were the kind of friends who didn't often contact each other, but no matter how long they hadn't been in touch, they would never feel any strangeness when they picked up the phone.

"Don't worry, I'm still here for you, bro!" Every day before leaving, he would see the photo Park Min-ya had stuck on the door, along with the words in the photo.

And so, changes began to happen bit by bit.

...

After the broadcast of "Family Outing," Park Ji-hoon finally received an invitation from Yoo-ri. It turned out that it was a housewarming party for the "We Got Married" cast, inviting close friends to visit.

The shooting location was in Hongcheon, Yeoju-ri, Gangwon-do, quite far away. To make the round trip easier, he specially asked a staff member from Gangwon-do to pick him up and drop him off.

For such a shoot, the production team did not provide any shooting fees, and the round-trip travel expenses had to be reimbursed by himself.

He set off at around 1:30 PM and arrived at Yeoju-ri by nearly 3:00 PM.

From a distance, he could see the shooting site of "We Got Married," with many staff members, various vehicles, and equipment, making it very noticeable. No one specially greeted him, so he went in by himself.

A white plastic greenhouse, which he had seen in the show, was there.

Before he even entered, he could hear the chattering inside, very lively. However, once inside, he instinctively felt a sense of constraint, as if a group of people were chatting happily, and he, a stranger, was trying to join in.

Therefore, variety shows really test a person's adaptability! In the last "Family Outing," his performance could only be described as average, with the only highlight being the phrase "Eun-hye ah."

"Ah—" Fortunately, when Kim Shin-young, Goo Hara, and others saw him, they gave him a sufficiently enthusiastic welcome. Yoo-ri also warmly greeted him, saying, "OPPA, you're here."

"Um." Park Ji-hoon nodded and bowed to greet them. Glancing over, he saw Kim Hee-chul standing nearby, and his eyes unconsciously narrowed slightly, giving off a dangerous vibe. Although not the root cause, Kim Hee-chul was the catalyst for his breakup with Tae-yeon.

Yoo-ri, fearing he might do something rash, quickly introduced him, pulling his wrist: "This is my good friend, Park Ji-hoon OPPA. OPPA, this is the village chief, Roh Soo-hyun..."

"I know him." Park Ji-hoon shifted his gaze to Roh Soo-hyun, bowed 90 degrees, and greeted him, "Senior, hello!" His expression had already returned to normal.

"Park Ji-hoon, hello." Roh Soo-hyun smiled, pulled him up, and patted his arm, signaling him not to be nervous. A polite junior is always likable, especially since they were both actors and had met a few times before.

Park Ji-hoon also greeted Kim Tae-woo.

"Park Ji-hoon senior, hello." Kim Shin-young, Goo Hara, Sunny, Hyo-yun, who had arrived earlier, Nicole, and even Kim Hee-chul, came forward to greet him. Kim Hee-chul's expression was also stiff and awkward.

Park Ji-hoon did not lose his composure, nodding politely in response, and he was already prepared for the distance from Sunny and Hyo-yun. On the contrary, Nicole, who had met him in "Family Outing," addressed him as "OPPA."

Sunny and Hyo-yun kept looking at Yoo-ri strangely, not understanding why she would invite Park Ji-hoon. After all, in Girls' Generation, this was a taboo name.

At this moment, Park Ji-hoon finally had the chance to observe everyone's attire. Not counting the guests, Yoo-ri and the others were all dressed in a "convenient for work" style.

"Very spirited!" After looking, he praised Yoo-ri.

Yoo-ri then released his wrist, but hearing his praise, she couldn't help but pause and look at him carefully. After not seeing him for some time, his demeanor seemed to have undergone a complete transformation! Even his previously delicate features, with his now more robust build, seemed to have gained a bit of manliness. However, amidst his humility and politeness, there was a subtle sense of detachment—neither cold nor hard to approach, but difficult to befriend.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Park Ji-hoon, seemingly unaware of her surprise, looked around and asked.

"No! Just sit over there, OPPA." Yoo-ri gathered her thoughts and said to him.

"What's this?" Park Ji-hoon did not idle, instead approaching the pot Goo Hara was stirring and asked curiously. His experience from the last "Family Outing" told him that in the show, one must never be idle.

"Tofu!" Goo Hara introduced.

"Did you make it yourselves?" Park Ji-hoon asked in surprise.

"Yes!" Goo Hara and Yoo-ri both nodded proudly.

"Wow—" Park Ji-hoon exclaimed.

Sunny and Hyo-yun, who had been watching him, exchanged puzzled glances. When did his entertainment sense become so strong? That exaggerated reaction shouldn't appear on an actor's face, right?

Moreover, looking at him, it seemed he had been living quite comfortably recently? Thinking of how Tae-yeon had often been in tears lately, both of them felt a surge of anger.

They ignored him!

Yoo-ri was also surprised by Park Ji-hoon's performance, but soon she realized that Park Ji-hoon was just "three strikes" and then ran out of things to say after asking about the new things around him.

After all, he was a novice in variety shows.

"OPPA, go sit over there." Yoo-ri pulled him to a side and sat down, comforting him, "This is the atmosphere here, don't worry about it!"

Hyo-yun and Nicole also sat idly by.

Kim Hee-chul had a better entertainment sense and was quite popular, often initiating topics.

Park Ji-hoon glanced around and sat next to Nicole.

"Ji-hoon OPPA, hello!" Nicole greeted again.

"No need to be so formal." Park Ji-hoon smiled faintly and said, "After all, we know each other."

"Yes." Nicole smiled in response. She was the kind of person who was very suitable to be a friend, being generous and straightforward. After realizing that Park Ji-hoon was not being deliberately formal, she relaxed.

Soon, the two began to chat.

There was no choice, as Goo Hara and others were making tofu, Kim Shin-young and Kim Hee-chul had left, and Hyo-yun was sitting quietly by herself, completely in "sheep mode."

"Heavy!" Suddenly, Park Ji-hoon heard Yoo-ri's cry, turned his head, and quickly walked over.

It turned out that the tofu had already been cooked and needed to be pressed with heavy objects. Yoo-ri was trying to move a small stone mill and called out, "Heavy!"

"I'll do it!" Park Ji-hoon ran over and asked, "Do I need to move both?"

"Yes." Yoo-ri nodded. She was intentionally giving Park Ji-hoon a chance to be on camera. Regardless of the relationship between Park Ji-hoon and Tae-yeon, she would not stop being friends with Park Ji-hoon.

"You never said it was heavy when you moved it before!" Roh Soo-hyun teased Yoo-ri.

"Village chief!" Yoo-ri called out in dissatisfaction, but when she turned her head, she saw Park Ji-hoon lifting both stone mills with one hand each, without any effort.

Was he always this strong?

After the surprise—this meeting was full of surprises—she instructed him to place the stone mills properly and then continued to make tofu with him.

Just as the tofu was completed, the guests invited by Narsha, the male group BEAST, arrived. They debuted in October 2009, completely new.

During the introductions, when it was Park Ji-hoon's turn, one of the members suddenly asked, "What is Park Ji-hoon senior's representative work?"

Park Ji-hoon's pupils instantly contracted.

Although he didn't understand the reason, he could tell that this junior was subtly mocking him! Everyone knew that his supporting roles were very successful, but the only lead role he played in a drama had a disastrous ratings drop! At the time, the company had even arranged for him to play a supporting role in the already successful "Inheritors" to salvage his popularity.

Many people around him also noticed, and the atmosphere became awkward.

However, unexpectedly, Park Ji-hoon quickly regained his composure and said calmly, "I played in 'Prince Who Became a Beggar' with Yoon Ah."

Sunny and Hyo-yun looked at him in disbelief, slightly disappointed. He had been so strong about the Kim Hee-chul incident, but now he was so weak!

"Many representative works, haven't you seen 'National Representative'?" Yoo-ri stepped in to help him.

"Oh—yes, yes!" The member, who had been secretly warned by his teammates, quickly responded humbly.

The reason was simple; not long ago, one of their appearances had been taken over by Park Ji-hoon! However, Park Ji-hoon himself did not know this.

"This guy can only bully us, who have only been in the industry for two or three months!" They were definitely furious, which is why one of them couldn't help but say that.

The topic was thus dropped, and BEAST started dancing, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

Afterward, Kim Hee-chul left, and the shooting paused, giving everyone a break.

Park Ji-hoon left alone, came to an open space outside, lit a cigarette, and quietly watched the vast scenery in the distance. However, before he could take two puffs, a hand suddenly reached out and snatched the cigarette from his mouth.

Yoo-ri had come over at some point and was now looking at him disapprovingly!