Chapter 85

Celebrating Xiaolong's Instagram post, adding an extra chapter...

It's been two years...〒▽〒

It's such a pity that she doesn't seem to have any scenes recently...

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The album "In My Voice" created a brilliance that goes beyond these achievements. However, it will take time for these to gradually come to light.

Of course, these are all future matters. In mid-February, Yin Xian had no time to ponder whether his album would be remembered in history. He was so busy that he even forgot his own birthday, fully dedicating himself to promoting and performing his lead single, as well as giving live performances of all the songs on his album on MBC's Music Center.

More importantly, there was the filming of "Dong Yi."

As the male lead in the drama, Yin Xian was not really satisfied with the script, and even felt it was inferior to the historical drama "Im Jaebok" that he had not been able to film due to various reasons.

In this drama, the male lead, King Sukjong, exists solely to help Dong Yi overcome her difficulties.

Playing such a role, to be honest, was no different from dancing in shackles.

It was at this moment that Yin Xian truly understood why Liu Zaishi had recommended him to take on historical dramas.

This was truly heart-wrenching!

Dancing in shackles was not just the actors following the script; even the screenwriter and director were under immense pressure.

No matter how the script was written, criticism was inevitable.

The difference was whether the criticism came after watching the show or before even watching it.

For historical drama screenwriters, the goal was to make everyone criticize after watching, and then watch again, and criticize again.

Getting praise?

It was really difficult.

Yin Xian was now facing such a bottleneck.

What was even more terrifying was that his uncertainty during filming was causing him to fluctuate in various ways.

In his own words, if it weren't for seeing Han Hyo-ju every day on set, he would have quit long ago.

Although Yin Xian's otaku traits had been largely washed away over the years, especially in recent years as an entertainer, his innate lewdness when facing beautiful women... was really beyond saving.

When everything was normal, this inexplicable lewdness was not noticeable. But once his rhythm was disrupted, his mind would occasionally start to...

For example, although he played King Sukjong with a serious face every day, his mind was always filled with anticipation for the kiss and bed scenes with Dong Yi...

This made him restless recently, to the point where he couldn't even look at IU straight...

This gave him a deep sense of guilt.

But this sense of guilt couldn't be stopped no matter what...

Finally, at the family dinner table on the weekend, he was harshly criticized by his sister, Yin Zhihui.

"Xian, you look like a hungry wolf! Spring has come, so go out and find some food!"

And then Yin Xian left...

Although he was already 25 years old by Korean age, Yin Xian couldn't understand why he had become like this in just a couple of months.

In the end, he found an excuse: it was because his life and work rhythm had been disrupted after leaving "Infinite Challenge."

Previously, no matter how busy or not, he would basically have "Infinite Challenge" recordings every week. Although special episodes would sometimes last one or two months, he had already gotten used to using this show to mark time.

Moreover, no matter how depressed he was, seeing the older brothers would always cheer him up.

But now, he felt lonely like a lost child, having to bear all the bad moods on his own.

Looking back, his classmates from school had long lost contact due to his skipping grades and entering the entertainment industry. In the entertainment industry, apart from the older brothers from "Infinite Challenge," he didn't have many other friends. The few girls he had been close to, like T-ara, had become distant due to certain reasons, and the competition with Girls' Generation during promotions made it inappropriate to contact them.

The only person who could talk to him was IU. But this young girl's thoughts... even if he pretended to be oblivious, he couldn't get too close to her. She ran around the house in semi-transparent pajamas, which was one of the reasons for his recent restlessness, although it wasn't really that appealing to look at...

His sister was in the midst of a career rise, and Mnet was considering promoting her to the TV station. She was extremely busy, so he couldn't bother her at this time. His mother was busy taking care of the third generation, and the little girl, Yin Xiaozhi, was almost uncontrollable...

But Yin Xian's restlessness was well hidden. Apart from people like Yin Zhihui who knew him well, no one else could tell.

At least on the set of "Dong Yi," he almost received praise every day. This king, who was internally restless in the script, was given a touch of loneliness and desolation by Yin Xian, making the character more three-dimensional and the interaction with the female lead more natural and reasonable.

This was actually a concern for the screenwriter. According to his script, King Sukjong's initial admiration for Dong Yi eventually turned into love, but it always felt like a piece of the puzzle was missing.

Yin Xian helped him find that missing piece.

As the true and only lead of the drama, Han Hyo-ju had far more scenes than Yin Xian.

Fortunately, she was just a pure actor and didn't have to rush to music promotions like Yin Xian, otherwise, she might not have been able to sleep for hours in a week.

Although "Dong Yi" was positioned by MBC as the drama of the year, in terms of the cast, there weren't many big names. Unlike last year's "IRIS," where Yin Xian had to bow and greet everyone, in this production, apart from Han Hyo-ju and Jeong Jin-young, who had starred in "The King and the Clown," most of the actors were still in the third or second tier.

Most directly, at the upcoming Baeksang Arts Awards in April, it would be only himself and Han Hyo-ju attending...

Yin Xian didn't really want to go to the Baeksang. Two years ago, he almost had a falling out with the entire Korean entertainment industry because of the Baeksang.

Looking back now, although he was in the right at the time, his reaction was indeed excessive. If it were now, he had at least ten ways to make the other party lose face without any damage to himself...

So, Yin Xian really didn't want to deal with the Baeksang again.

But this time, he had to go.

Because "IRIS" had swept the television industry last year, it was not hard to imagine that "IRIS" would be the biggest winner at this year's Baeksang.

At such a time, whether for the sake of Kim Tae-hee, the director, or Lee Byung-hun, Yin Xian had to participate.

Of course, while Yin Xian was troubled about whether to go to the Baeksang, his colleagues who were still striving for nominations at the Baeksang envied this young man who was already ahead of them.

Perhaps because most actors didn't have much acting experience or opportunities, their performances were often formulaic. Actors like Yin Xian, who put their heart into their roles, and Han Hyo-ju, who acted with her eyes, stood out like cranes among chickens.

This led to a painful struggle and conflict in the entire production.

Repeated NGs, repeated retakes.

The key was that these NGs were often not due to the complex lines or high performance requirements of Yin Xian or Han Hyo-ju, but rather the numerous supporting actors...

Yin Xian was fine, as his understanding of the production and filming process allowed him to control the situation from the director's perspective, minimizing the possibility of NGs due to others.

But poor Han Hyo-ju suffered.

Especially during a break for lunch, when Han Hyo-ju overheard other actors chatting and saying that acting with Yin Xian was easier than acting with her, her spirits plummeted.

The next scene was a confrontation between Yin Xian and Han Hyo-ju.

To save time for others, Yin Xian and Han Hyo-ju's scenes were always very well-coordinated. After more than a month of filming, almost all their scenes were done in one take, which even made the director and cameraman suspect they had been secretly dating for a long time.

But this time, they NGed eight times.

The puzzled director called a halt to the filming and asked the two leads to regulate their emotions.

"Hyoeju, what's wrong today? You seem to be in a bad mood. Are you too tired?" Yin Xian noticed Han Hyo-ju's sudden change the most. Her eyes, which were usually full of spirit, seemed a bit dull during their scene, which worried him.

"Nothing, I'll be fine after a rest. Thank you." They had become closer during the filming, and with their birthdays only a few days apart, they used informal language.

"Is there something bothering you? Do you want to talk about it? I can help you think it through." Yin Xian could tell that if a rest would help, Han Hyo-ju would never bring such emotions into her acting. He had worked with many female actors, including the other girls playing his concubines in "Dong Yi," and Han Hyo-ju was the best at controlling her emotions.

Han Hyo-ju shook her head, indicating she could handle it.

Yin Xian didn't press further and quietly sat with her.

After a while, Han Hyo-ju suddenly said, "Yin Xian oppa."

Yin Xian was taken aback; Han Hyo-ju had not called him that for some time. "What's wrong, Hyoeju? Just use informal language. You being so formal makes me uncomfortable."

"Can you teach me how to act?"