Chapter 100

"Mr. Park Ji-hoon, hello!" Seeing Park Ji-hoon come out, the waiting journalists immediately moved forward.

Park Ji-hoon gestured for them to quiet down, and then said, "I already know what you're here for, but the person in the video last night wasn't me. I was at home all night, and during that time, I was on the phone with Krystal discussing a movie. It's impossible for me to have been at the bar."

The news had already reached him in the morning, and the police, the bar, and the four involved parties had all been handled properly. However, they were powerless against the rumors spreading online.

However, a denial was enough. Public opinion in Korean society is too harsh on public figures, so many things must be concealed.

All the journalists were speechless. With his denial and the witness he provided, what more could they say? The video barely captured his face.

As for the cap, it was a very common baseball cap, which didn't prove anything.

They came with high hopes but left disappointed.

The journalists were hesitating whether to interview him about the progress of his new movie when they suddenly saw a woman approaching. She wore a sun hat, sunglasses, a yellow T-shirt, denim shorts, and white sneakers, looking very pretty. She carried a full bag, seemingly coming to visit the set.

It was Sung Yuri!

The journalists on the scene immediately became excited. They lost one opportunity but gained another!

Sung Yuri, upon seeing so many journalists, instinctively paused, almost turning back in fright. They had recently shot an advertisement together, which caused a bit of a stir, but Park Ji-hoon had been very considerate of her at the time. Feeling apologetic and grateful, she had specially come to visit the set today. They would be collaborating again in over a month to shoot another set of autumn advertisements for T.O.P Coffee, which had already been agreed upon.

But what was the situation here?

Fortunately, she wasn't a new debutee and knew that avoiding the situation would only make it worse. So, she walked over confidently.

"Miss Sung Yuri, hello!" The journalists approached her.

"Hello." Sung Yuri bowed slightly.

"May I ask, are you here to visit Mr. Park Ji-hoon?" the journalist asked directly.

"Yes!" Sung Yuri nodded confidently, "We shot an advertisement together recently, and Ji-hoon really helped me a lot, so I came to visit the set to show my gratitude."

That was enough!

After asking a few more questions, the journalists left.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble," Sung Yuri said apologetically to Park Ji-hoon. She could guess that the news of "Park Ji-hoon and Sung Yuri suspected to be dating" would soon be exposed.

"It's fine," Park Ji-hoon smiled faintly. "Thank you, Yuri-ssi, for coming to visit me."

During the advertisement shoot, due to Sung Yuri's agent's unreasonable behavior, she had been constantly apologizing and actively communicating with him, which made them closer. Sung Yuri had a very good personality, being very well-behaved, but she was a bit shy. If not for this, it would have been difficult for them to become close.

"I bought some nutritional drinks, let's share them," Sung Yuri said, taking out the gifts and smiling.

"Sure, thank you, Yuri-ssi," Park Ji-hoon took the bag from her and led her to distribute the drinks to the directors and senior actors. He gave his share to Krystal, not hiding his affection for her.

Afterward, he had the staff buy two bottles of iced juice.

"Being a director must be tough, right?" Sung Yuri, looking at Park Ji-hoon, who was three years younger than her, asked curiously and admiringly. From the scale of the set and the actors, it was clear that this was a real movie!

"It's my first time, so it is a bit difficult," Park Ji-hoon smiled. "It's like when an artist first debuts; it's definitely the hardest time."

"Right," Sung Yuri nodded. "Ji-hoon is really amazing! To be able to direct a movie at such a young age."

"I'm not that young," Park Ji-hoon smiled. "I've been in the industry for ten years. When I debuted, it was during the peak of fin.k.l."

Sung Yuri couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. The treatment back then wasn't as good as it is now, but she still couldn't help but miss it.

"Sorry, Yuri-ssi, today's shooting schedule is quite tight, so I can't spend much time with you," Park Ji-hoon said apologetically after receiving a notification from his assistant.

"It's okay," Sung Yuri quickly stood up and said.

"Thank you for coming to visit the set," Park Ji-hoon said again as he saw her off.

"It's fine as long as the great director doesn't mind me taking up your time," Sung Yuri joked. She was naturally shy and introverted, but after getting to know someone, she could be a bit playful and casual, similar to Krystal. She and Park Ji-hoon had become closer through "no pain, no gain," and they had become much closer.

She had waited for a while before coming to visit the set to ease the awkwardness from the previous advertisement shoot. The kiss scene was very challenging, and they had shot it for an entire night!

"Ha ha..." Park Ji-hoon laughed. "How could I not? It's a happy thing to have someone visit the set."

Sung Yuri smiled contentedly and waved goodbye.

Park Ji-hoon turned and headed to the shooting site.

"Ha—" Krystal yawned boredly as he passed by.

Park Ji-hoon paused, turned his head, and his bright eyes scanned her face, then he wore a half-smile, turning back before she could get angry.

The shooting continued.

Until the sunset cast a golden glow over all of Seoul, they officially wrapped up for the day.

Krystal found Park Ji-hoon directing the staff to clean up the props and asked, "When did you and Sung Yuri-ssi become so close?" She was mostly curious.

"What, are you trying to manage me?" Park Ji-hoon turned to look at her, smiling.

Krystal was taken aback. When did he learn to joke like this? She could accept it, but it felt sudden after five years of him never doing this.

"Watch out, I'll tell Sister Taeyeon!" she retaliated. She had joked with him like this before, but he always ruined the mood by mentioning Taeyeon, which was boring. As a friend for five years, what couldn't they talk about?

But what was he up to today?

"Ha ha..." Park Ji-hoon chuckled. "After kissing for over ten hours, how could we not be familiar?"

"What?" Krystal's eyes widened. Did she hear that right? She unconsciously ignored the topic of Taeyeon.

"We shot an advertisement together," Park Ji-hoon explained.

"But you didn't need to kiss for that long, right? Did you deliberately not cooperate because you thought Sung Yuri-ssi was pretty?" Krystal had a "I get it" look.

"Are you kidding me?" Park Ji-hoon smiled.

Krystal, embarrassed and angry, swung her fist to scare him, but he caught it.

"Ah—" Park Ji-hoon suddenly opened his mouth as if to bite her fist, scaring her into pulling her hand back quickly.

"Ha ha..." Park Ji-hoon laughed loudly.

Krystal frowned slightly. He was acting strange today!

Right!

"What happened to you yesterday?" she asked seriously, very concerned. After Park Ji-hoon asked her to help cover for him, she had searched online and found out that he had gone to a bar and even got into a fight last night!

Even without his hint, she could recognize him.

"Too much pressure, I went to the bar for a drink, and then I got into a small conflict with four drunk people," Park Ji-hoon said softly. "It's been taken care of, don't worry. Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"I'm not stupid!" Krystal rolled her eyes, feeling relieved. She could imagine how much pressure he must have been under.

"Right, don't you have a schedule? Go quickly," Park Ji-hoon said.

"Don't forget about Director Lee Soo-man's invitation," Krystal nodded, reminding him. She had already told Lee Soo-man and given him the address.

"Right," Park Ji-hoon smiled and pinched her nose, knowing she wanted him to reconcile with S.M. Entertainment.

Krystal huffed but didn't mind. This was something he often did to Park Min-young, meaning only very close people would do this.

"OPPA, a little compromise as a man is really not a big deal!" she said seriously before leaving.

"I know, don't worry about it," Park Ji-hoon said, both amused and touched.

"Then I'll go," Krystal waved goodbye.

In the car, she immediately sent a text to her sister: "What's wrong with Ji-hoon OPPA?" She wasn't stupid! She had noticed his deliberate avoidance of the Taeyeon topic earlier. Moreover, over the past five years, she knew that Park Ji-hoon was a very disciplined person. Even under pressure, he wouldn't go to a bar to drink at midnight the day before work.

"What's wrong with him?" Jessica's reply came quickly.

"What's wrong between him and Sister Taeyeon?" She was in a hurry and hadn't asked clearly before.

"How do you know?" Jessica asked.

"I can tell! Did something really happen?" Krystal frowned. Yesterday, he had said he and Taeyeon were in a honeymoon phase, so what happened last night?

"Don't ask! Mind your own business and don't worry unnecessarily," Jessica didn't tell her.

"Fine, I won't ask!" Krystal replied angrily.

She wondered if she should probe Park Min-young. She really cared about Park Ji-hoon. Although he was the dominant one now, for the past five years, she had always been the dominant one!

...

On the other side, after the staff finished tidying up, Park Ji-hoon drove to meet Lee Soo-man.