Chapter 60 KBS Drama Awards

"Senior Jeon Hyun-moo, I hope we can work well together."

Ming Yan politely shook hands with the man in front of him and greeted him.

The three hosts of the KBS Drama Awards were Ming Yan, Kim Ji-won, and the professional MC standing right before them.

"Oh, Ming Yan-ssi, Kim Ji-won-ssi, I'm a huge fan of *Descendants of the Sun*." Jeon Hyun-moo came from a variety background, his speech naturally carrying a hint of a smile.

Kim Ji-won added, "I really enjoy watching *I Live Alone*."

"That is my honor."

The three MCs needed to go over the script together before the award ceremony and divide their respective parts to avoid any issues during the live broadcast. Since neither Ming Yan nor Kim Ji-won were professional MCs, they needed to familiarize themselves with the process even more.

...

"Noona, would you like some water?"

During a break in the schedule, Ming Yan and Kim Ji-won were paired together as MCs.

"Thank you." Kim Ji-won naturally reached out her hand. Whenever this guy took care of her during their dating days, he was always meticulously attentive.

Ming Yan handed the water over: "You're welcome."

"Sometimes, I feel like the time I spent with you was just like a dream."

Kim Ji-won suddenly spoke up.

"I wonder if it was a sweet dream or a nightmare?"

"What do you think?"

"A sweet dream, of course. I never have nightmares." Ming Yan was actually quite timid in certain aspects. When he watched *Detective Conan* as a child, he would have nightmares, so he later tried to avoid similar things as much as possible, such as horror movies.

It was better not to court trouble than to lack the ability to handle it. As long as he didn't touch what shouldn't be touched, he wouldn't have nightmares.

Kim Ji-won looked into his eyes: "I think it was a sweet dream, too."

"Fortunately, I left you with nothing but good impressions." Ming Yan patted his chest with an exaggerated gesture: "Just like the impression you left on me."

"Don't you dare say that you had to break up with me because I was too good."

"I didn't say that."

"Then why?"

"Ji-won noona, this part isn't in the script."

Ming Yan shook his cue cards to indicate that this noona was in a public place right now and it was not the time to discuss personal emotional matters.

Being with this noona was precisely what he feared would lead to such situations.

Breaking up meant breaking up; there was no need to make things so complicated.

How could there be so many whys in this world?

"It would have been great if I could have worked with Park Bo-gum-ssi instead. I heard the broadcasting station originally planned to invite him as the MC." Kim Ji-won decided to fight poison with poison. Anyway, handsome actors in the entertainment industry weren't limited to just Ming Yan.

Born in 1993, Park Bo-gum was also an outstanding actor. On the film side, he had starred in *The Admiral: Roaring Currents* and *Coin Locker Girl*, and in television dramas, he had appeared in *Reply 1988* and *Love in the Moonlight*, riding a wave of immense popularity.

Ming Yan had previously won the Best New Actor award at the SBS Drama Awards for *The Heirs*, and the Best New Actor in TV award at the Baeksang Arts Awards for *It's Okay, That's Love*.

Strictly speaking, in terms of awards, he was slightly ahead of Park Bo-gum.

"Is he as handsome as me?"

"Then is Lee Elijah unnie as pretty as me?"

Kim Ji-won had learned how to turn the tables now. Having learned a thing or two from Jung Soo-jung, she realized that girls needed to have a bit of a sharp edge; being too weak would only lead to being taken advantage of.

"No." Ming Yan honestly shook his head.

Lee Elijah possessed a mature charm that Kim Ji-won lacked, but he preferred Kim Ji-won's cuteness, innocence, and purity. A slightly silly woman was often much more lovable than a clever one.

"What were the two of you up to the other day?"

"We were discussing the script."

An actor had to thoroughly understand the script, studying it intensely, deeply, and persistently—even day and night—in order to climb to the peak.

Kim Ji-won wanted to continue asking questions, but she didn't expect Jeon Hyun-moo to interrupt.

The rehearsal began once again.

...

December 31, 2016, the day of the KBS Drama Awards.

The three major free-to-air broadcasting stations held two similar celebrations at the end of the year: one was the Drama Awards oriented toward actors, and the other was the Gayo Daechukje oriented toward singers and idols.

Ming Yan attended the former, while Kim Ji-soo and Im Na-yeon attended the latter.

"President Ko, hello."

Ming Yan went with Kim Eun-sook to pay a visit to the upper management of KBS. KBS President Ko Dae-young was also an award presenter today.

"Ming Yan, what a fine young man. Our broadcasting station relies entirely on these rising stars to keep developing." Ko Dae-young warmly exchanged pleasantries with Kim Eun-sook.

From the perspective of the platform, excellent creators were laying golden hens that produced golden eggs, so maintaining a good relationship was quite necessary.

Furthermore, Kim Eun-sook was practically a fighter jet among those hens.

Kim Eun-sook smiled and said, "President Ko, young people still need your guidance to grow. This child's next drama will also air on KBS, so please take good care of him then."

"No problem at all. We are very optimistic about the drama *Fight for My Way*."

Others might not feel it as keenly, but Ko Dae-young, as the president of KBS, saw the increasingly declining trend of free-to-air television stations very clearly.

The competitive pressure from cable networks was simply too great.

Most importantly, those networks were willing to spend money on investments, whereas free-to-air stations lacked such vast funds, making it essential to rope in high-quality content creators.

Ko Dae-young certainly didn't want future KBS Drama Awards to feature only a sparse handful of attendees.

"Thank you, President Ko."

While the big shots chatted away, Ming Yan obediently acted as a decorative accessory right beside them. His teacher had brought him along specifically to show his face in front of the top management, but in the future, he would still have to let his achievements speak for themselves.

After exchanging polite pleasantries for a long while, he finally left alongside Kim Eun-sook.

As soon as he came out, Ming Yan began preparing for the opening. Shortly, he would walk the red carpet together with the cast and crew of *Descendants of the Sun*.

"Joong-ki-hyung, Hye-kyo-nuna, you're here." Although Ming Yan's relationship with the two main leads carried a certain unspoken awkwardness, their surface-level relationship was still fine, just not particularly close.

Song Joong-ki, who possessed a baby face, smiled and said, "Xiao Yan, I heard you've joined another production crew recently."

This hyung was born in 1985 and was just past thirty this year, yet he truly looked exceptionally young.

"Yes, I took on another project. Just keeping busy with nothing much."

Song Hye-kyo only gave a faint smile and did not say anything.

She and Ming Yan's close hyung Jo In-sung had collaborated on *That Winter, the Wind Blows* in 2013, and unsurprisingly, romantic rumors had circulated between the two during the filming period.

It had to be said that the probability of Song Hye-kyo getting caught up in dating rumors while filming was a bit high.

Jo In-sung's publicly acknowledged girlfriend at the time was Kim Min-hee, and when the two later broke up, rumors spread widely through the grapevine that Song Hye-kyo was the cause, creating a massive stir on the internet back then.

Song Joong-ki and Jo In-sung were close friends, Jo In-sung had been rumored to be involved with Song Hye-kyo, and the Song-Song couple were dating...

How could such intertwined relationships be described as anything other than a mess?

There was another very interesting matter: Jo In-sung's ex-girlfriend Kim Min-hee had been exposed this year for having an affair with director Hong Sang-soo, willingly acting as a mistress.

Compared to these seniors, Ming Yan's affairs were truly child's play.