Chapter 72

"From the trailer and posters, the movie seems pretty good, it looks like a very intense story."

"Even though it's just a short clip, Park Ji-hoon's acting is surprisingly brilliant!"

"So cool!"

The promotion for "Uncle" was very intense. Perhaps due to the recent scandal, many people were paying attention to this movie, and online discussions were quite lively. Many netizens speculated whether Park Ji-hoon's first lead role in a movie would be as successful as his supporting roles in the past, or if it would end in failure like "Beggar to Prince." Thanks to the recent scandal, Park Ji-hoon's reputation as a "gold medal supporting actor" was no longer limited to the industry and "We Got Married" viewers.

Although his reputation was somewhat damaged, since the scandal had already been hyped, it was normal for him to face some criticism. The only way to turn things around was with more effort and better results. Two days later, the new movie script was finally finalized, and all the staff and props were in place. The script was handed out, and Park Ji-hoon and Choi Ho-jun began preparing for the actor auditions.

As a producer, Choi Ho-jun gave Park Ji-hoon a lot of power! The "arguments" during the previous period had shown the executives Park Ji-hoon's extensive theoretical knowledge and deep understanding of movies, which is why he was so confident. Krystal would call Park Ji-hoon every day to discuss the script, after all, he was the director, and she had such convenience.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed. On July 12th, in the afternoon, Park Ji-hoon and Park Min-ah arrived at the National Science Museum. Park Ji-hoon was carrying a travel bag, and Park Min-ah had her red backpack on her back.

In front of the National Science Museum, a group of program staff were already waiting. SBS's latest weekend flagship variety show "Running Man" was also a new program Liu Zaishi took on after "Family Outing."

In 2010, the entire entertainment industry seemed to be caught in a "pay scandal," with many artists unable to receive their pay. Liu Zaishi also left his agency and had to end the filming of "Family Outing" for this reason. After that, SBS imitated the model of "Youth Never Fades" and invited idols like Yoo Seung-yeon and YoonA to host the second season of "Family Outing." However, the ratings plummeted, and YoonA was even criticized by some netizens as a "ratings killer," even suppressing Park Ji-hoon's strong luck!

With no choice, SBS had to remake a new program and invited one of the two "national MCs," Liu Zaishi. However, the new program "Running Man" seemed a bit rushed. Many of the MCs were new, and from the audience's comments after the first episode aired on July 11th, the response was not very good, with the ratings only at 10%—thanks to the presence of Lee Hyori!

This was the situation Park Ji-hoon understood after receiving Liu Zaishi's invitation. After finishing "Family Outing," he had asked Liu Zaishi to take care of him, and to his surprise, Liu Zaishi actually remembered and invited him to appear on "Running Man" during the promotion period for "Uncle."

No matter what, it was a weekend flagship variety show, and a program hosted by the prestigious "national MC" Liu Zaishi. Artists without enough popularity simply did not have the qualifications to be invited. Park Ji-hoon also remembered this favor.

"Brother Hyo-jun, hello!" From a distance, he greeted everyone familiarly. Many of the "Running Man" staff were the same as those from "XMAN" and "Family Outing." The "Brother Hyo-jun" he mentioned was the current PD of "Running Man," Cho Hyo-jun.

"Ji-hoon, hello." Cho Hyo-jun and the others greeted him familiarly and had the staff help him put on the microphone.

During this time, many staff members were secretly looking at Park Min-ah, who was standing quietly behind him. Always feeling lonely at home, Park Ji-hyeon had already started her internship, so Park Min-ah decided to be his manager for a day.

She was very quiet, bowing when Park Ji-hoon bowed and standing by his side when he spoke, giving the impression of being very well-behaved.

"No script?" After putting on the microphone, Park Ji-hoon noticed that the writer seemed to have forgotten to give him the script, so he asked.

"No script!" All his familiar friends laughed, and then PD Cho Hyo-jun said.

"Uh!" Park Ji-hoon lowered his head, making a stressed expression, reminiscent of Taeyeon.

"Ha ha..." Everyone laughed again.

"Don't be nervous, Ji-hoon. Just be yourself, and we'll edit it well." Cho Hyo-jun comforted him.

"Okay, I'll leave it to you all." Park Ji-hoon could only nod and then looked around, asking, "Brother Zaishi and the others haven't arrived yet?"

"You're the first to arrive!" PD Cho Hyo-jun said with a smile, "You should have known from how relaxed I am."

Park Ji-hoon smiled, found a shady spot, and waited quietly with Park Min-ah.

The first to arrive was Ji Seok-jin. However, before Park Ji-hoon could greet him, the staff immediately went up to put the microphone on him and directed him to the ticket booth.

"Is it already starting?" Park Ji-hoon muttered in surprise. He realized that this program was truly unique, testing the abilities of the MCs and guests.

"Just come to play." Park Min-ah said. She had watched last night's "Running Man" and understood that it was about playing games.

"Okay." Park Ji-hoon nodded.

Gary, Liu Zaishi, and the other MCs of "Running Man" arrived one after another. During this time, another guest also arrived early, and it was Jessica!

Neither of them knew beforehand, and they looked at each other in surprise when they met.

"Jessica, this is my sister Min-ah." Park Ji-hoon introduced them, "Min-ah, this is Jessica, Krystal's sister."

"Min-ah, hello, I often hear Krystal mention you!" Jessica was surprised to meet Park Min-ah in such a situation.

"Call me sister." Park Ji-hoon said to Park Min-ah.

"Jessica sister, hello." Park Min-ah bowed slightly and said, "Krystal has also mentioned you to me."

"What did she say?" Jessica said with a light laugh, "Nothing good, right? I'm not a very good sister." She wasn't easy to get close to, but she was different with Park Min-ah, having heard so much about her from Krystal and the members, they were like old friends.

"No." Park Min-ah's eyes sparkled with a smile, "She just said you often tease her." She realized that Jessica's personality was far from cold, and like her sister Krystal, she was warm and straightforward.

"I knew it!" Jessica pouted in mock anger. Through the topic of Krystal, she became much closer to Park Min-ah.

The two girls chatted happily, leaving Park Ji-hoon to stand quietly on the side.

As Park Min-ah and Jessica chatted, they also sized each other up. Women pay a lot of attention to clothing and appearance, and if they encounter someone whose style they don't like, it's hard to become friends.

Jessica was wearing a beautiful dress, a wide belt, and high-heeled sandals, with her long hair parted to the side and a delicate makeup, looking very pretty!

In comparison, Park Min-ah looked much more understated. She wore a thin sleeveless blazer, a stretchy tank top, and casual seven-eighths pants, all in a set. She had a white baseball cap on her head and ordinary canvas shoes on her feet, exuding a strong sense of youth. Although she was afraid of the heat, she had to endure it for "work."

The two of them standing together attracted the attention of some male managers and assistants.

Park Ji-hoon was a bit bored, crossed his arms, and pondered how to stand out in today's filming and promote his movie.

Suddenly, his arm was lightly tapped, and he quickly turned his head to see Jessica looking at him with a dissatisfied expression.

"Brother! Jessica sister was talking to you." Park Min-ah said after waking him up.

"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking." Park Ji-hoon hurriedly apologized and asked, "What did she say?"

"Krystal told me about the movie, thank you, oppa." Jessica repeated, still a bit angry, feeling ignored. Of course, like Krystal, she only showed her true self to friends.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely take care of Krystal!" Park Ji-hoon said with a smile. Since Krystal had been taking care of him since their first meeting, how could he not take care of her?

Jessica blinked. She already knew about his relationship with Krystal but was still surprised. They were 10 years apart, how could they be friends? Being a couple would be more normal!

"Ji-hoon, it's starting!" At this moment, a staff member reminded him.

"If you have any difficulties, just say so. Everyone is very nice and will take care of you." Park Ji-hoon instructed Park Min-ah and then nodded to Jessica before turning to leave.

At the ticket booth, Liu Zaishi, Ji Seok-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Haha, Gary, Song Ji-hyo, Song Joong-ki, and Lee Kwang-soo were all present. They warmly welcomed Park Ji-hoon, especially Liu Zaishi, Kim Jong-kook, and Haha, who were more familiar with him.

"Senior, hello!" As he approached, Song Ji-hyo, Song Joong-ki, and Lee Kwang-soo, who were his "direct juniors" in the entertainment industry, bowed to greet him.

"Hello." Park Ji-hoon returned the greetings and hugged Kim Jong-kook and Haha.

"Uncle, you're on the same level as Brother Seok-jin!" Liu Zaishi took care of him, promoting his movie right away.

Ji Seok-jin immediately stood proudly next to him, looking him over and said, "You look very cool!"

"Just the uncle in the movie, I don't want to be an uncle in real life!" Park Ji-hoon quickly defended himself, also promoting his movie.

"Looks like you really don't want to be on the same level as Brother Seok-jin!" Liu Zaishi joked.

Everyone laughed.

As they were talking, Jessica also came out.

"Ah! Jessica!" Instantly, Liu Zaishi and the others默契地把朴志勋抛在一旁。

朴志勋只能无奈地笑了笑。

“是！”Jessica脆生生地应了一声，很是爽朗，不待众人询问，便自己说道：“我好像穿错鞋了！”

“不止是鞋吧。”朴志勋说道。

恰好，Jessica从他面前走过，皱着小脸对他做了一个凶恶的表情，直接站在他和宋智孝中间。

两人在刘在石的指点下各自从售票处拿过一张奇怪的门票。

“大家看一下各自的门票……”刘在石介绍着，突然苦笑一声，说道：“志勋、西卡，不要这样！”

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(Note: The last two sentences are placeholders for advertisements and can be omitted in the translation.)

"Ah! Jessica!" Instantly, Liu Zaishi and the others默契地把朴志勋抛在一旁。

朴志勋只能无奈地笑了笑。

“是！”Jessica脆生生地应了一声，很是爽朗，不待众人询问，便自己说道：“我好像穿错鞋了！”

“不止是鞋吧。”朴志勋说道。

恰好，Jessica从他面前走过，皱着小脸对他做了一个凶恶的表情，直接站在他和宋智孝中间。

两人在刘在石的指点下各自从售票处拿过一张奇怪的门票。

“大家看一下各自的门票……”刘在石介绍着，突然苦笑一声，说道：“志勋、西卡，不要这样！”

(Note: The last two sentences are placeholders for advertisements and can be omitted in the translation.)

"Ah! Jessica!" Instantly, Liu Zaishi and the others默契地把朴志勋抛在一旁。

朴志勋只能无奈地笑了笑。

"Right!" Jessica responded brightly, very cheerful. Without waiting for anyone to ask, she said, "I think I wore the wrong shoes!"

"It's not just the shoes, right?" Park Ji-hoon said.

Just then, Jessica walked past him, pouted, and made a fierce face at him, then stood between him and Song Ji-hyo.

Under Liu Zaishi's guidance, the two of them each took a strange ticket from the ticket booth.

"Everyone, take a look at your tickets..." Liu Zaishi introduced, then suddenly smiled bitterly and said, "Ji-hoon, Jessica, don't be like that!"

(Note: The last two sentences are placeholders for advertisements and can be omitted in the translation.)