novellhall Chapter 9 Xue Jingqiu: Kneel down and admit your mistake!
Chapter 9 Xue Jingqiu: Kneel down and admit your mistake!
Faced with the sudden and stern questioning from the senior member Xue Jingqiu, the private room fell silent.
Ha Ji-won, who was walking behind, leaned against the door without making a sound.
Li Zhixing abruptly stopped in his tracks as he took his first step.
He quickly withdrew his foot, as if his whole body was being pressed down by an invisible weight, and his originally upright body became slightly hunched.
A look of fear appeared on his face, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly uncontrollably. He didn't dare to look directly into Xue Jingqiu's eyes, which were filled with anger.
He lowered his head deeply, his hands nervously rubbing together in front of him.
"I'm sorry... Director Jijun, I'm sorry, Senior Jingqiu..." Li Zhixing's voice trembled slightly, with obvious panic.
"It's my fault for not confirming the time properly, I'm so sorry to have kept you all waiting. Please... please give me another chance, I promise I won't do it again!"
"Chance?"
Xue Jingqiu snorted coldly, tapping his finger heavily on the table, his eyes filled with condescending pressure: "You think you can get away with anything in this industry just because you acted in a multi-billion dollar production? With your attitude, believe me, I'll have Director Jijun cut all your scenes out, so you'll be stuck as a stunt double for the rest of your life?"
"Yes...yes...I understand..."
Li Zhixing's breathing became rapid and erratic, his shoulders trembling slightly. He repeatedly bowed to Yin Jijun and Xue Jingqiu, saying, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please give me another chance, seniors!"
Xue Jingqiu leaned forward slightly, crossed his hands on the table, and stared at Li Zhixing with a lifeless, cold gaze.
"Is this your attitude towards apologizing? Just empty words? You won't even kneel down and beg for my forgiveness!"
Li Zhixing was suddenly taken aback.
He slowly raised his head, his face filled with disbelief and deep humiliation.
He clenched his teeth tightly, and the muscles in his cheeks bulged slightly.
Under Xue Jingqiu's icy gaze, his knees began to tremble slightly, and then, little by little, very slowly, they bent towards the ground.
Just as his knee was about to touch the floor, a tear slid down from his reddened eye and landed on the wooden floor in front of him.
Seeing this, Xue Jingqiu's usually cold face suddenly broke down.
He grinned, revealing a strange smile that was both admiring and smug.
Li Zhixing, who was just about to cry from humiliation, stopped moving instantly.
He sighed, speechless. "That's going too far, Jingqiu-ge. Aren't you going to call 'cut'?"
Then, he straightened up as if nothing had happened, casually wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and looked at Xue Jingqiu.
Xue Jingqiu picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and gave him a disdainful look: "Don't give me that, it's not like you'd actually kneel down."
Ha Ji-won, who had been standing behind with her arms crossed watching the show, finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Have you two finished performing? Shouldn't you be sitting down?"
Director Yoon Jae-kyun chuckled and gestured for Ha Ji-won to take a seat. Then, looking at Lee Ji-haeng, he said with admiration in his eyes, "Your Kyung-gu hyung really cares about your acting. He keeps giving you these 'surprise tests' every now and then. Your reaction just now was amazing. You could cry so easily. You've improved since you were on set."
Li Zhixing chuckled and pulled out the chair next to Xue Jingqiu, then picked up a bottle of soju from the table. "Isn't this all thanks to the director and all the seniors who have given me guidance?"
While pouring drinks for Yoon Jae-jun and Seol Kyung-gu, he complained, "Kyung-gu, you live in Bangbae-dong too, why didn't you give me a ride? You have no idea how slow Noona drives."
Ha Ji-won had just picked up her water glass when she heard this and almost choked. She laughed and scolded, "Hey! You brat! Don't ride in my car next time!"
Xue Jingqiu wiped his hands with a hot towel and said irritably, "I came directly from Seocheon County in Chungcheongnam-do. How could I possibly give you a ride? Can't you buy your own car? Are you short of money?"
Lee Ji-haeng shook his head confidently: "Driving yourself is nowhere near as fun as hitching a ride. But Kyung-gu, filming for 'Unforgiven' has already started? That schedule clashes with our 'Haeundae' promotions, right? Can you manage it all?"
Xue Jingqiu glanced at Yin Jijun in the main seat, and Yin Jijun nodded slightly: "We'll talk business once everyone is here."
Li Zhixing nodded knowingly.
Holding a wine bottle, he turned to Ha Ji-won and asked, "Noona, shall I have the waiter bring over a bottle of red wine?"
Ha Ji-won waved her hand and pointed to the green bottle on the table: "Forget it, let's just drink soju today."
Li Zhixing was taken aback: "Didn't Nuna never like drinking shochu?"
Ha Ji-won blinked, a smug smile playing on her lips: "I recently landed an endorsement deal with a soju brand, so I'm having a little beforehand to get a feel for it."
Li Zhixing's face immediately lit up with surprise: "Dafage! Which one?"
"Jinro."
"Wow!" Yoon Jae-jun excitedly slapped the table. "Congratulations, Ji-won! This is the highest honor for a female star! It seems our crew is about to produce a Soju Queen!"
Ha Ji-won flashed her signature bright smile once again.
The people at the table raised their glasses to celebrate with her.
After a few drinks, the atmosphere in the private room became increasingly harmonious.
Although Lee Chih-hsing was the youngest person present, and strictly speaking, not even a "quasi-entertainer" who had officially debuted, he seemed quite at ease among these big names in Chungmuro.
The senior colleagues treated him like family, without any airs or pretenses. Their words and actions made him seem like one of their own close juniors.
Just as they were having a lively conversation, the door to the private room was pushed open by a waiter, and a stylishly dressed woman strode in.
"Sorry, director, senior, the traffic on Gangnam Avenue was terrible, I'm late!"
The person who arrived was Kang Ye-won, the third female lead in "Haeundae".
Today she was wearing a fitted black off-the-shoulder dress. While apologizing repeatedly, she blinked her big eyes at the person in the main seat, appearing both ingratiating and mischievous.
Yin Jijun waved his hand dismissively and smiled, gesturing for her to sit down.
Li Zhixing leaned close to Xue Jingqiu's ear and whispered in a way that everyone at the table could hear, stirring things up: "Jingqiu-ge, Yiyuan Nuna is late too, why don't you give her a hard time too?"
Xue Jingqiu turned to the side and gave him a disdainful look: "Get lost."
Jiang Yiyuan had just walked over and hadn't even sat down when she heard this, so she put her hand on Li Zhixing's shoulder and leaned down slightly.
"Our Zhixing~" Jiang Yiyuan blinked and teased in a suggestive tone, "Have you been practicing your kissing scenes lately? You had so many takes on set, do you want me to teach you again, mouth to mouth?"
Upon hearing the word "kissing scene," Li Zhixing's smile instantly vanished.
In "Haeundae", he and Kang Ye-won played a bickering couple. The passionate kiss scene during the sea rescue made this "pure young man" suffer a lot.
He slammed his hand on the table, feigning annoyance: "Ye-won noona! Don't go too far! My kissing scenes are fine right now!"
"Really?" Jiang Yiyuan's eyes gleamed mischievously. "Talk is cheap, let's try it now?"
As she spoke, she actually pouted her red lips and pretended to kiss Li Zhixing.
Li Zhixing, quick as a flash, grabbed a cherry tomato from the fruit plate and precisely stuffed it into Jiang Yiyuan's slightly open mouth.
"Noona, you'd better eat something to shut your mouth first!"
"Ugh... Ah! Li Zhixing! What did you stuff into my mouth!" Jiang Yiyuan covered her mouth, but she wasn't really angry. She just glared at him vaguely.
Seeing the two of them playfully bickering as if they were on a movie set, everyone at the table burst into laughter.
Not long after Jiang Yiyuan sat down, the door to the private room was pushed open again.
The man who walked in this time was a middle-aged man with short hair and a rugged face.
Park Joong-hoon, who played the role of marine geologist Kim Hwi in "Haeundae," was undoubtedly South Korea's national film emperor in the 90s and a dominant figure at the box office for an era.
Faced with this highly experienced senior figure, everyone who had been joking and laughing stood up.
Li Zhixing bowed respectfully and greeted him, saying, "Hello, Senior Chongxun."
Unexpectedly, Park Joong-hoon walked over, patted Lee Ji-haeng on the shoulder with a smile, and said the first thing he said was, "I heard you guys arguing about kissing outside. Ji-haeng, how's your kissing scene practice going? Want me to introduce you to a girlfriend for some practice?"
Li Zhixing was completely exasperated and sighed helplessly, "Brother Chongxun... why are you joining in too!"
The people at the table burst into laughter again, and the atmosphere in the private room became extremely lively.
After everyone was seated, the wine glasses were finally clinked together.
After several rounds of drinks, everyone ate barbecue and chatted about their recent lives. Laughter filled the private room almost continuously.
After a few rounds of drinks, Yin Jijun, who was sitting in the main seat, put down his chopsticks, took out a tissue to wipe his mouth, looked at the noisy crowd at the table, and cleared his throat with a complicated expression.
"Uhm Jung-hwa is currently filming 'The Man Who Can't Get Married' and can't get away, so she won't be coming today. Now, most of our main cast members are here."
As Yin Jijun finished speaking, the smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by a deep solemnity.
Sensing the change in the director's mood, the atmosphere at the table instantly cooled down.
Xue Jingqiu silently put down his wine glass, Ha Ji-won suppressed her smile and sat up straight, and Lee Ji-haeng also quietly looked towards the head of the table.
The atmosphere in the private room instantly became serious.
Yin Jijun glanced around at everyone present, took a deep breath, and spoke in a low voice:
"I'm sure you've all heard or seen some rumors about our movie recently. I've called you all here today to tell you the truth."
He paused, his eyes revealing his exhaustion: "Our film is in a terrible situation right now. It's one thing for the media outside to keep trying to ruin it, but now even within CJ itself, things are starting to waver..."
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