Chapter 62 I want to participate as well.

"It's a great honor..."

Ming Yan and Kim Ji-won went up on stage together to accept the Best Couple Award, and along the way, he exchanged glances with Kim Woo-bin.

Kim Ji-won skillfully linked her arm through the man's beside her. She wondered if this guy had been secretly working out in private lately, because touching his arm felt noticeably firmer than before.

"You didn't seem to be smiling sweetly enough just now." Ever since her phone call with Krystal Jung that day, Kim Ji-won's approach had undergone a subtle shift.

"Noona, you actually had the time to notice my expression?"

"What kind of talk is that? The two of us are a community of shared interests now." For an actor, not reading the room while talking was a basic flaw: "The more popular our CP becomes, the more beneficial it is for *Fight for My Way*."

People always improve.

Kim Ji-won had indeed wanted to play hard-to-get with Ming Yan at first; after all, this guy's habit of breaking up just like that was too aggravating.

However, after going back and forth with their game of tug-of-war, the man in question had gone off to talk about the script with Lee Elijah.

She had to change.

Besides, Kim Ji-won had carefully thought about what Krystal Jung had said that day—"You and Lee Elijah are different." That guy keeping his distance from her might just mean he was scared.

The more he resisted, the more it meant there was something fishy going on.

Kim Ji-won refused to believe she was any worse than Lee Elijah. Back when the two of them were dating, Ming Yan had never looked twice at other women, like Song Hye-kyo, for instance.

Ming Yan: *Noona, please, you really shouldn't interpret things on your own.*

*I'm scared.*

"Ji-won noona, are you..." Ming Yan clearly sensed the change in this older sister. She was nothing like the cold person she had been when the drama first started filming.

What he actually wanted to ask was whether Kim Ji-won was still thinking about getting back together.

However, once the words left his mouth, they couldn't be taken back, so Ming Yan decided to give her the cold-shoulder treatment for now.

"Am I what?"

"Nothing, nothing."

The cast of *Descendants of the Sun* truly reaped a massive harvest. The final Daesang winners were Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo, Kim Eun-sook won the Writer Award, and Ming Yan and Kim Ji-won won the Top Excellence Awards for Best Actor and Actress in a Miniseries.

Everyone who came went home with something.

"Ming Yan-xi, Kim Ji-won-xi, you both worked hard today." Jeon Hyun-moo said his goodbyes to his two temporary co-hosts.

"You worked hard too."

Actors or idols serving as MCs was also a way to build public recognition. Many actors even went on music shows to serve as fixed hosts. Ming Yan had actually received an invitation when he first debuted, but he was always busy filming and couldn't spare the time.

***

Kim Ji-won changed her clothes, came out, and said to Ming Yan, "I didn't drive today."

"Then how did you get here?"

"My manager unni drove me here, but I told her to leave first." Kim Ji-won wore an expression that said everything was going according to her plan.

"So you're determined not to cause trouble for the agency, huh?"

Ming Yan shook his head helplessly. When a kind-hearted person decided to act shamelessly, ordinary people really didn't have a good way to deal with it.

There was one more thing he didn't say out loud: she was only ever causing trouble for *him*.

An ex-girlfriend's tone was simply more assertive than anyone else's. Just now, Kim Yoo-jung had come over to say goodbye, and the little girl originally wanted to chat for a bit longer, but she felt too embarrassed to bring up a similar request.

"Won-yong oppa, hello." Kim Ji-won got into Ming Yan's van.

"Ji-won-xi, hello."

Jung Won-yong was completely unfazed by all of this. That brat of his might have even been working out with her in the back of the van behind his back; what the eye didn't see, the heart didn't grieve over.

If he didn't know about it, then it didn't happen.

After getting into the car, Kim Ji-won took the initiative to start a conversation: "The crew has tomorrow off."

January 1st was a special day no matter how you looked at it. The filming progress of *Fight for My Way* was impressively fast, so Kim Na-jung generously granted a day off to let everyone rest.

"Tomorrow is Minjeong's birthday." Ming Yan had been keeping this matter on his mind.

Kim Minjeong's birthday was extremely easy to remember: January 1, 2001. Once you heard it, it was hard to forget.

That little one had climbed out of bed early in the morning some time ago to make seaweed soup for him. Ming Yan had been stirred by painful memories back then and hadn't drunk it, but he had always felt a sense of guilt toward Kim Minjeong.

Now that it was his niece's turn to have a birthday, he naturally wanted to make it a lively affair.

At times like this, children often missed their homes and mothers even more, and all Ming Yan needed to do was try his best to dispel any feelings of that sort for Kim Minjeong.

"Minjeong's birthday?"

Kim Ji-won's eyes lit up instantly.

She hadn't met Kim Minjeong yet—the "prime culprit" who had caused her to be dumped.

Regardless of whether she believed the excuse Ming Yan had made up, Kim Minjeong was a core figure, and getting to know her wouldn't hurt.

Ming Yan was typing a message on his phone: "Yeah, January 1st. It's very easy to remember."

"Then would it be convenient for me to attend?" Kim Ji-won cut straight to the point.

"This..."

***

Ming Yan had overlooked this detail, mainly because Kim Ji-won's sudden change had left him unable to react in time.

Human subconscious habits were hard to change.

"I want to meet your niece." Kim Ji-won suddenly seemed to be possessed by Rachel Yoo: "I heard from Krystal that Minjeong is a very well-behaved and cute child."

"Can I say no?"

"Don't worry, even if I have any grievances, I'll take them out on you, it has nothing to do with the child." Kim Ji-won knew what this guy was worried about—mostly that his scheme of making his niece take the blame would be exposed.

"Alright, then how should we arrange tomorrow? I'll send you a message later."

If he remembered correctly, this older sister had probably blocked him, so she couldn't blame him if she didn't receive it then.

Kim Ji-won: *Won't I just unblock you, then?*

...

"Jisoo, you can't drop the ball tomorrow, okay? You have to follow everything we agreed on."

Before going to sleep, Ming Yan was still a bit uneasy and called his good friend again to give her instructions.

"Aigoo, nag, nag, nag. How could I mess up things regarding Minjeong?" Kim Ji-won's tone was filled with impatience.

She had been running around doing year-end events with her group recently and was utterly exhausted. Just as she finally managed to return to the dorm and lie down, she was woken up by this guy's phone call again.

"It's not once or twice that you've messed up things I've asked you to do."

"Your business and Minjeong's business—can those possibly be the same?"

That hit right home, old friend.

Ming Yan silently hung up the phone and sent a few messages to Im Na-yeon as well. In a way, he was mobilizing his own network of connections to throw a birthday party for Kim Minjeong.

As an uncle, it was only right for him to put in a little extra effort for his niece.

Kim Jisoo, Im Na-yeon, plus Kim Ji-won, and Kim Minjeong had also invited some of her own friends. Adding it all up, there were seven or eight people, which really wouldn't fit inside his home.

Fortunately, Ming Yan had already arranged a venue in advance since his place wasn't very convenient.

Before going to sleep, he placed the trophy for Best Actor in a Miniseries that he had won today into the cabinet for display. Combined with his rookie awards from SBS and Baeksang, at least it didn't look too shabby anymore.

Having trophies was better than displaying a flowerpot.

He wondered when he would be able to put a Best Actor trophy inside it.