Chapter 622. Henpecked (2)

The erupting volcano, also known as Choi Yeon-Ha, shot up to her feet. The weighty tiara perched on her head rocked precariously from side to side like a roly-poly toy. The costume coordinators freaked out at this scene and hurriedly rushed up to her.

“Miss Yeon-Haaa! Please stay still! You must not make sudden movements like that!”

Choi Yeon-Ha wasn't listening, though. She was too busy shooting flames out of her eyes for that! Unfortunately, the slimy bastard failed to read the room and made another comment. “Hahaha, looks like you're unhappy about something, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

“Haha? Hahahah?!” Choi Yeon-Ha muttered as her hand gripping the cushion ominously trembled.

Han Eun-Sol was chatting with the director in the distance at the time. However, when he spotted this scene, all color drained out of his complexion, and he rushed to Choi Yeon-Ha's position with every ounce of energy. “Uwaaaaaah?! Noona! Noonaaaaa!”

Before Choi Yeon-Ha could erupt... Well, it was already too late to stop the eruption at this point, but before she could physically do something to her co-star, Han Eun-Sol grabbed Liu Wei and yanked the actor back. “You mustn't do that, Mister Liu!”

“...You better let go, or else.” Liu Wei coldly glared at Han Eun-Sol. And that look of contempt froze Han Eun-Sol. Liu Wei continued to growl menacingly. “How dare you touch me!”

Han Eun-Sol, his expression stiff, calmly said, “Mister Liu, you mustn't do this.”

“Are you blind? Can't you see I'm speaking to your master right now? How dare a mere hired hand like you butt in!”

When Liu Wei spat those words out, Choi Yeon-Ha's distorted expression grew even more crumpled and cold. “You. You better shut your mouth right now.”

“...Miss Yeon-Ha?” Liu Wei looked a little taken aback at her threatening glare.

“Eun-Sol is no mere hired hand but more like a little brother to me. Run your mouth off one more time, I dare you! I don't care if we're shooting a TV show or not, I'm gonna show you what utter chaos and destruction look like today. Got that!?”

“Hahaha...!” Liu Wei raised both of his hands in mock surrender and backed off by a couple of steps. However, his action still contained a hint of mockery that pissed Choi Yeon-Ha off even more. He smirked and glanced at his co-star. “It seems overcoming cultural differences is more challenging than I thought. To think that you'd consider a mere hired hand as your little brother! I'm truly impressed by your kindness, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

Choi Yeon-Ha growled unhappily. “This doesn't look like your so-called cultural difference to me, but just your crappy personality?”

“You're the only person who speaks to me this way, Miss Yeon-Ha.”

“What the hell? Does this bastard have screws loose in his head? How can he utter that

'You're the first woman to treat me this way'

line with a straight face in this day and age!”

Han Eun-Sol hurriedly whispered into Choi Yeon-Ha's ear. “N-noona, you were speaking Korean just now.”

“Oh, really?” Choi Yeon-Ha grimaced, then rubbed her cheeks unhappily.

'Calm down, Choi Yeon-Ha! Calm down!'

Although the initial eruption had already occurred, the second eruption, which would’ve been more destructive, hadn't happened yet. Choi Yeon-Ha knew things could still be brought back to sanity by regaining her composure.

Han Eun-Sol looked back at Liu Wei. “My apologies, but our talent is trying to get some rest, Mister Liu. If you'd like to speak to her for private matters, please set up an appointment for a later date.”

Liu Wei looked displeased by the fact that he must go through Han Eun-Sol, but the prospect of souring his potential relationship with Choi Yeon-Ha deterred him from acting unreasonably. He briefly nodded while narrowing his eyes. “I see. I'll come back later, then. Yes, later... Since we still have a lot of time left to get to know each other better. Fufufu...”

Liu Wei gave Choi Yeon-Ha a brief nod, then strutted away from there. And that prompted a torrent of unprintable curse words to flood out of Choi Yeon-Ha's mouth.

Han Eun-Sol freaked out and hurriedly tried to block Choi Yeon-Ha's mouth. “N-noona, please calm down!”

She slapped his hands away and angrily growled. “That slimy son of a b*tch! Imma wrap that bastard in oil paper and shove him down a bloody borehole!”

“No, noona! There are reporters here! Reporters! Even if they don't speak Korean, who knows what will happen if you get filmed saying stuff like that?”

“Why aren't those stupid reporters not taking any photos, even though they are sticking to that slimy bastard like leeches?!”

“Well, it's the case of an arm bending inwards.” [1]

Eventually, Han Eun-Sol managed to sufficiently calm Choi Yeon-Ha down and helped her settle on the couch again. After that, he turned his attention to a nearby production assistant. “Bring me some coffee! With ice! And lots of syrup, too!”

“Yes, it's coming!”

Choi Yeon-Ha's expression softened a tad at the mention of syrup.

'Uh-whew...'

Han Eun-Sol inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at the subtle change in Choi Yeon-Ha. She usually didn't go anywhere near the sweet stuff during filming to maintain her figure. The truth was, though... She really, really liked sweet things. So much so that she practically lived with cake constantly by her side in-between projects!

Nothing was better than something sweet to comfort Choi Yeon-Ha on the verge of erupting from stress.

A cup of iced coffee was rapidly brought to the couch, and Choi Yeon-Ha chomped on the straw to powerfully suck in the drink. Han Eun-Sol saw the coffee inside the see-through cup rapidly decrease and squeezed his eyes shut.

'Blooming hell... And I was trying so hard to keep her sugar intake down!'

Whether it was sugar or cigarettes... It didn't matter what addictive substance it was, those who had quit before would be beset with hunger verging on obsession once they touched it again. Han Eun-Sol could already imagine Choi Yeon-Ha going absolutely mental as the thirst for sugar takes over her senses in the future. And that made him want to run away from here right now if he could!

“Fuu-huuuuph!” Choi Yeon-Ha let the straw go and sucked in a deep, deep breath. “Finally. I feel revived!”

“...But I feel like dying here, noona.”

“Goddamn it!” Choi Yeon-Ha noisily gritted her teeth. “When this production wraps up, Imma sue this studio for all my mental anguish! What did I do to deserve that... That piece of trash entering my life!”

“You're right, noona. He is a piece of trash. A good-looking piece of trash at that.”

“Good looking? Eun-Sol, do you seriously think that bastard is handsome?!”

“Well, yeah. Isn't he, though?”

“Don't be silly, Eun-Sol! You can't call that kind of face handsome, you know!”

Han Eun-Sol wordlessly shook his head.

'Yup, she's beyond help now...'

It seemed Kang Jin-Ho had raised Choi Yeon-Ha's standards to an unrealistic level.

'No, hang on. Rather than her standards...'

Maybe this was an issue of her preference?

The past Choi Yeon-Ha would've still acknowledged that Liu Wei was handsome even if he was still a slimy bastard. Since he was objectively a good-looking man.

Han Eun-Sol was someone who had encountered countless good-looking actors back in South Korea, so his standards were pretty high. Yet even he had to acknowledge that Liu Wei was a handsome man. Since a man with zero acting talent was picked to lead such a massive historical epic solely for his looks alone, what other explanation was needed?

However, Choi Yeon-Ha's preference had shifted toward more... wholesome facial features after Kang Jin-Ho had entered her life. And it seemed she no longer viewed Liu Wei as good-looking. Like, not at all!

'Oh, well. Makes sense, considering how much of a cheat character Mister Kang Jin-Ho is...'

To use somewhat vulgar language to describe Kang Jin-Ho, the subtle drop-your-panties sex appeal dripped from every frame of that man even as he shuffled about in his worn-out tracksuits. Comparing Liu Wei to someone like Kang Jin-Ho was being rather unfair to the poor actor.

Choi Yeon-Ha continued to snarl unhappily. “Besides, who cares about good looks or whatever? When his personality is so sh*tty like that?”

“That I agree 100%.” Han Eun-Sol muttered, then glanced in the direction where Liu Wei had disappeared off to.

'What a sh*tty bastard...'

Obviously, it was unfair to negatively evaluate the character of every Chinese actor based on Liu Wei's example. After all, other actors Han Eun-Sol and Choi Yeon-Ha worked with so far in this production had been friendly and engagingly outgoing types.

Their outgoing nature sometimes did put a bit of strain on the two, but basically, they all had been good people. However, Liu Wei was the sole exception.

'That must be a talent, making people feel like crap...'

Something had to be wrong with that man's mindset. Although it was too... vague to single out one specific fault, the term 'entitlement' seemed the most fitting to describe the overall vibe Liu Wei gave off.

To summarize, that man seemed to think every woman must fall under his spell when he was this handsome and this successful, that he was too classy to even talk to mere plebeians. No, rather than 'classy', maybe it was more apt to say he believed he was from a higher caste than everyone else!

Of course, South Korea also had its fair share of entitled idiots suffering from

the 'I'm a Star!'

disease, but compared to Liu Wei? They were adorable little fools.

“Why did a slimy bastard like him have to attach himself to me?! And annoy the crap out of me like this?! Forget annoyed, I'm beginning to really hate his guts!” Choi Yeon-Ha angrily snarled out more of her opinion on the matter.

Han Eun-Sol faltered a little. “Well, that's because...”

That was obviously because Choi Yeon-Ha was beautiful!

'Damn it. I don't wanna say that to her face...'

It wasn't as if Choi Yeon-Ha suffered from the

'I'm a Princess!'

disease, so discussing stuff like this with her wasn't that awkward, but... But, for some reason, Han Eun-Sol didn't want to say it out loud.

He let out a heavy groan.

'Seriously, though. I gotta find a workable solution before things take a turn for the worse...'

Today wasn't the first time Liu Wei tried to lay his greasy fingers on Choi Yeon-Ha. In fact, he began trying his luck with her even before the filming commenced, starting from during the actors' first meeting and rehearsal! And his attempts had been getting only worse with every passing day.

At the start of the filming, it seemed Liu Wei was still conscious of other people's gazes, so he at least tried to remain dignified on set and around the crew members. But now, he had discarded such pretense and was openly acting like a slimy bastard!

So far, nothing serious had happened. But...

'I'm getting the ominous vibes on this one...!'

Han Eun-Sol grimaced deeply. His gut feeling warned him that, unless something was done now, a huge incident might break out sooner or later.

'I better call the agency back home about this.'

Unfortunately, Han Eun-Sol's pay grade was too low to decide on this matter by himself. Even if Choi Yeon-Ha was a big star back in South Korea, her popularity or influence in China was practically non-existent. Obviously, she wouldn't be able to mount any fight against a top star in the Greater China region.

The situation might've changed a tiny bit had this TV show been aired to the public already, but for now? Choi Yeon-Ha's position was nothing more than a pretty foreign actress.

In such a situation, it'd be better for her agency to raise the issue rather than for Choi Yeon-Ha to do it herself. That seemed like the only way to force the Chinese producers to listen somewhat seriously. Even then, this solution didn't seem like the silver bullet to Han Eun-Sol.

“Fuu-woo...” Han Eun-Sol groaned deeply again.

'I heard that people automatically become patriots when they travel abroad...'

Even the top star in Korea like Choi Yeon-Ha was nothing more than an aspiring actor in China. Han Eun-Sol and Co. had already considered that point before coming here, but to think there would be this vague hint of discrimination because she wasn't Chinese...!

Every now and then, Han Eun-Sol would feel his blood boil at what happened to Choi Yeon-Ha. She was supposed to be one of the leads, yet the very people responsible for hiring her sometimes treated her worse than actors in supporting roles. Something like this would've never been allowed back in Korea.

The only saving grace here was that Choi Yeon-Ha had been patient throughout all the nonsense.

“...Noona, I'm really sorry. Sorry that our agency is so powerless.”

“Eh? What do you mean?” Choi Yeon-Ha tilted her head.

“I'm talking about how poorly you're being treated.”

“What nonsense is that, you idiot?” Choi Yeon-Ha grunted as sparks leaped out of her burning eyes. “This has nothing to do with the agency, you know! It's all because I'm virtually unknown in this country!”

“...”

“I'm a newbie in this place, okay? And all newbies receive the same kind of treatment everywhere. It's not like you've treated a newbie like royalty before.”

“That's true, but you're a queen back in Korea, you know!”

“Hah. People hearing you will think I've been on a constant power trip back home, Eun-Sol.”

“Sure, you haven't done that, but...”

Forget power trips or whatever, you've been on a personality trip instead...!

In a way, maybe that was preferable. A person on a power trip used their superior position to torment people around them. However, someone like Choi Yeon-Ha on a 'personality trip' simply boasted a crappy personality!

'Hold on... Isn't that, like, worse?'

While Han Eun-Sol was seriously debating between the two trips, Choi Yeon-Ha bitterly announced her resolution. “All I have to do is remain patient until the end of the production. Then, I'll be popular enough to stop punks like him from talking slick to me ever again. So... I need to be patient until then! Argh, so bloody irritating! Why do the Chinese broadcast their TV shows after wrapping up production first!”

“Didn't you say you prefer this way before this whole thing started?”

“I didn't know something like this would happen!” Choi Yeon-Ha unhappily yelled back, prompting Han Eun-Sol to groan again.

All Chinese productions had to be shot and edited before they were allowed on air. That was because they needed to go through the Public Security Bureau's approval first, which was unimaginable in places like South Korea.

Once the censors went through the footage and pointed out things considered problematic, the production team would reshoot, re-edit or even outright eliminate those scenes until they were given the thumbs-up by the authorities to broadcast the show.

At first, Choi Yeon-Ha said she liked this approach as it'd ensure the project's completeness. But her tune gradually changed after Liu Wei persistently drooled all over her like a leech in heat during the filming.

If this was in Korea, several dozen episodes would've been aired by now, and that would've rapidly improved Choi Yeon-Ha's popularity. And that would've prevented that slimy Liu Wei from sticking so close to her... This was the crux of Choi Yeon-Ha's complaints.

While letting Choi Yeon-Ha's complaints slip out of his other ear, Han Eun-Sol grimaced and glanced at the location where Liu Wei might be.

'I'm getting a seriously ominous vibe here...'

When looking at this situation from the other side, Liu Wei didn't have much time left before his window of opportunity to do something to Choi Yeon-Ha closed down. After all, the production should wrap up not too long from now.

'I'm sure he's not that stupid, but...'

There was a chance that slimy bastard might do something truly idiotic. Even if the odds of that happening were low, a capable manager should still prepare for every eventuality.

'I better call the agency back home and ask for more bodyguards.'

Han Eun-Sol swore to phone his boss after going back to their lodging later today.

1. This idiom means 'a person or a group tend to favor those with connections to them.' ?