Chapter 82

Yin Xian arrived at MBC TV station very early that day. Today would be the last time he would participate in the recording of "Infinite Challenge" as an MC. Due to several special episodes at the end of last year, the production team had already accumulated a considerable amount of content that could be aired until the end of February. In March, Haha would be discharged from the military and could smoothly take over Yin Xian's position, returning to "Infinite Challenge." For Yin Xian, there wasn't much pressure whether he recorded this special episode or not.

However, when Yin Xian mentioned to Liu Zaishi, Park Myung-soo, and others at a gathering that he didn't want to record a so-called farewell special, he faced unanimous opposition from the other five.

In fact, even Liu Zaishi himself was against Yin Xian leaving "Infinite Challenge." He even had a rare argument with Yin Xian over this.

Liu Zaishi naturally knew why Yin Xian wanted to step down from his position. Initially, Yin Xian was invited as a guest to replace Haha, and everyone was aware of this.

Even at the time, Yin Xian wasn't the only candidate.

However, through his own performance, especially the talent and ability he displayed during the first recording, Liu Zaishi immediately recognized his potential.

For the first time, Liu Zaishi had the idea of taking on a direct disciple, much like Kim Joo-ra with Cho Kyu-hyun and Kang Ho-dong with Lee Seung-gi.

However, Yin Xian's development far exceeded Liu Zaishi's expectations, so he never formally brought up the idea. Instead, their relationship was more like that of brothers.

But this didn't mean Liu Zaishi didn't want to cultivate Yin Xian. When Yin Xian informed the production team of his decision to leave, Liu Zaishi was absolutely against it. He believed he could manage both Yin Xian and Haha.

However, in the end, Yin Xian convinced Liu Zaishi. His reasoning was simple: Haha was different from Kim Jong-kook, who had a glorious past in other fields. For Haha, his memory in the public's mind was primarily in variety shows. Only a truly top-notch variety show could bring him back into the public eye quickly, not some new variety show that SBS planned to shoot in July, as Liu Zaishi had suggested.

"Infinite Challenge" was undoubtedly such a platform.

After a long period of adaptation, "Infinite Challenge" had formed a clear core of six members. Haha's sudden return wouldn't be beneficial; only by stepping aside could Haha quickly find his place in the program.

As for himself, he wanted to focus more on drama and music recently.

Yin Xian's willingness to step down and his efforts were seen by every member of the "Infinite Challenge" production team. Everyone was deeply moved by his righteous behavior. Thus, with everyone's insistence, Yin Xian had the opportunity to use the resources and time of "Infinite Challenge" to shoot his own MV.

Soon, the MCs gradually arrived at MBC TV station. Unlike the usual tardiness, this time, none of the six were late.

"Yin Xian-xi, we're all here!" Liu Zaishi, who took the initiative to step down as the main MC for this last recording, handed over the position to this younger brother he highly regarded.

"Everyone, welcome to today's 'Infinite!'"

"Challenge!" the six shouted together.

"Today is actually a rather sad day. After this recording, I will be leaving the 'Infinite Challenge' production team. Thank you all for your long-term support, and thank you, brothers, for taking care of me for so long," Yin Xian said with a smile.

"Hey, Yin Xian-xi! Why don't I see any sad expression on your face? Don't you have any feelings for us?" Jung Hoon-dong said with a hint of resentment.

"Originally, I was quite sad about leaving everyone, but the thought of escaping PD Kim Tae-ho's clutches made me feel like I was flying!" Yin Xian made a flying gesture.

The scene was filled with laughter and teasing.

"Of course, during my two and a half years on 'Infinite Challenge,' I had a lot of fun and experienced many challenges that I would never have tried on my own, although most of them failed due to some old, weak, sick, or disabled reasons..."

"Hey! Who are you calling old, weak, sick, or disabled!" Park Myung-soo was very sensitive to this.

"Whoever feels it is them!" Yin Xian laughed and dodged Park Myung-soo's attack, then continued, "I've gained a lot of valuable life experiences. Thank you to all the PDs and VJs in the production team. I'm a person with a rather scattered mind, and you've worked hard to keep up with me!"

The production team couldn't tell if Yin Xian was thanking them or criticizing them, and their expressions were a bit complicated.

"Of course, the most valuable thing is meeting these six brothers, even though one of them is still in the military... From you, I've felt the warmth of a family and gained many insights, so I've written a song for you all. Today's challenge is to shoot this song as an MV!"

"We've shot MVs before," Jung Jun-ho said, starting to do the horse dance from "Gangnam Style."

"Right, we haven't heard this song, and you haven't given us the lyrics. How are we supposed to shoot it?" Roh Hong-chul chimed in.

"I've already written the script, so today it's actually a short drama. There are no dance scenes in the entire MV, and there are six scenes, each with a different main character. We are six people in total. Originally, I wrote seven scenes, but since Haha is still in the military, we'll skip his part today."

"One main character each? Are there any female leads?" Jung Jun-ho got excited.

"Only one scene has a female lead." Yin Xian turned to Park Myung-soo, "Myung-soo-ssi, I asked your wife to come and act yesterday. Did she agree?"

"She has to work today and only has a bit of time during lunch." Park Myung-soo was a bit embarrassed, which basically meant a refusal.

"That's enough. We have a scene set in a hospital anyway." Yin Xian nodded, "Let's start: Infinite!"

"Challenge!" the other five instinctively shouted, not knowing what they were supposed to do.

"The first scene is inside MBC TV station." Yin Xian looked at PD Kim Tae-ho, who gave him a thumbs-up.

...

"What is this!" Liu Zaishi shouted, unable to hold back his laughter.

In front of him was a set of Dolly the Dinosaur's costume.

"Brother Zaishi, hurry up, we have a lot of shots to do after this one." Yin Xian urged.

Liu Zaishi, surrounded by everyone, put on the costume and performed a few actions, then repeatedly shot a scene of taking off the mask on his head.

"Is that it?" Liu Zaishi was a bit confused.

"That's just the first shot of this scene." Yin Xian waved his hand and moved on to the next shot.

"What is this! 'Book! Book! Book! Read a book!'" Liu Zaishi looked at the next set and started to feel a bit cold.

"Hey, no nonsense, just do a segment like you used to." Yin Xian pushed Liu Zaishi to change clothes.

...

After shooting several different hosting scenes, Liu Zaishi's part was complete.

Then everyone got into the car.

"Where are we going?" Liu Zaishi felt uncomfortable with the lack of control.

"We're going to the hospital to shoot two scenes." Yin Xian said.

...

"We need someone to play a role without showing their face. PD Kim, you do it!" Yin Xian said, standing in the temporary shooting area on the lawn outside the hospital. "Come here, just one shot, swinging a knife down. Camera crew, focus on the knife, not PD Kim's face. Great, one take, perfect! PD Kim, you have a real killer vibe."

"..." Kim Tae-ho was speechless.

Then it was Roh Hong-chul's turn. The first shot was of him smiling and extending his hand, followed by covering his ears and crouching on the ground. The blood prepared by the production team was splattered on Roh Hong-chul's hand. The next shot was of him being pushed on a hospital bed down the corridor, with Yin Xian and the other five playing the roles of the people pushing the bed, and the production team members playing the blurred crowd.

The last shot was of Roh Hong-chul, with a pale face from a full box of white foundation and a bandaged ear with a bit of blood, shaking his head with a smile.

Then it was noon, and Park Myung-soo's wife was off work. The group returned to the shooting area on the lawn to shoot Park Myung-soo's scenes. Given Park Myung-soo's strong desire to perform and his poor acting skills, Yin Xian only designed two shots for him: his girlfriend turning away and the two hands touching through a glass.

These two actions took Park Myung-soo nearly two hours to perfect.

Then it was Jung Jun-ho's turn, being shot separately among the group, performing a few silly reactions and actions. This was his signature, and it only took about ten minutes, making up for some of the time wasted by Park Myung-soo.

Then the group drove to a KTV.

"What are we shooting here?" Liu Zaishi and the others entered the large private room prepared by Yin Xian.

"Simple, singing and drinking! But we can't really drink, so let's just have some drinks and pretend to be happy. The crew can join in too, they'll be blurred out. More people make it look more real!" Yin Xian directed, "Hoon-dong-ssi, come here and sit. Jun-ho-ssi, come and sit here. Two cameras, focus on their upper bodies and faces."

"How should we act?" The two, who were singled out, were a bit nervous.

"Hoon-dong-ssi, when everyone laughs, just laugh along and try to interject. If you can't, it's fine, just like you usually do on the show," Yin Xian indicated. "Jun-ho-ssi, just sit quietly, like you do when you're drunk at our gatherings."

The group then spent about half an hour in the KTV, without a specific theme.

"Yin Xian, can we really shoot an MV like this?" Liu Zaishi asked, worried.

"No problem." Yin Xian turned and asked, "Did you shoot the expressions of the brothers in the car?"

"We got them. It was really tiring to keep the camera steady in the car. Don't do it again," the cameraman said proudly but couldn't resist complaining.

Yin Xian nodded and said, "Brothers, let's do one more action, and we'll be almost done."

"What?" The group was curious.

"Show your most relaxed expressions, like when you're not being filmed, and walk into this room from outside the door. One by one."

The five MCs obediently walked out of the room and entered one by one with blank faces.

Seeing the main cameraman give the OK sign, Yin Xian felt relieved but still said, "Brother Zaishi, do it again, this time without your glasses."

"Hey!" Liu Zaishi jumped up.

The others laughed.

After the final shot, Yin Xian had the five sit on the sofa and arranged five high-speed cameras to focus on each of them.

"Yin Xian, what are you doing now?" Liu Zaishi was a bit frustrated, having recorded for almost ten hours without knowing what they were doing.

"Nothing much, the MV is almost done, and you haven't heard the song yet. I'll perform it live for you now!"

Yin Xian waved the KTV microphone.

Then, as agreed, the music started.

"In the crowd, you cry, wanting to become invisible

You won't dream or feel pain or be moved anymore

You've already decided, you've already decided

You quietly endure, tightly holding yesterday in your fist

And the sweeter the memories, the more they hurt

The deeper the cuts left in your palm

You're not truly happy, your smile is just a protective color

You've decided not to hate and not to love

You've locked your soul in a forever sealed body

The world laughs, and you join in

When survival is a rule, not a choice

You walk, teary-eyed, stumbling and falling

You're not truly happy, your smile is just a protective color

You've decided not to hate and not to love

You've locked your soul in a forever sealed body

You're not truly happy, your wounds never fully heal

I stand on your left, yet it feels like a galaxy apart

Will you really carry this regret until you're old and then regret it?

You deserve true happiness, you should take off your protective color

Why should you be punished for losing?

Can we just let the sadness end and start living again?"

After Yin Xian finished the song, the private room fell into a strange silence.

The cameramen gave Yin Xian the OK sign, having successfully captured the moment when tears welled up in each MC's eyes.

"Yin Xian!" Liu Zaishi, having composed himself, said meaningfully, "Thank you for this song."

Yin Xian shook his head and patted each colleague on the shoulder.

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