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墨書 Inktalez
The snowflakes that started falling in the early morning had blanketed all of Seoul by morning, creating a vast expanse of white. The snow showed no signs of stopping, continuing to fall in flurries.
"Beautiful..." Anna murmured as she caught a snowflake, watching it melt and disappear in her palm.
It was already six-thirty in the morning, yet the sky was still just beginning to brighten. With a recording scheduled for nine-thirty, Anna and the other crew members needed to arrive at the first recording location by seven.
"The second long recording is at Cloud Park's Changliu Qingxi. Who wants to go with me?" Dongwan, now the Assistant Director, asked.
Everyone knew that at this time, Cloud Park would be freezing cold, with no shelter from the wind and snow—at most, they could hold an umbrella. Everyone would prefer to go to the indoor locations for the first and third recordings.
Seeing no one respond, Anna looked around and said, "I'll go. I'm not afraid of the cold; I can handle it." Anna chuckled at herself.
"Alright, Anna. Please coordinate with the relevant filming sound personnel so we can head directly to the next recording site," Dongwan replied.
"Okay," Anna agreed.
With five fixed filming crew members, one mobility filming member, two sound crew members, one stagehand, and the necessary equipment, they hurriedly made their way toward Cloud Park.
"Zhang Yuanxiao and Liu Quan Town are such slackers. A couple of big guys don't want to come out here in the cold while you—a girl—are brave enough to join me. I'll have a good talk with them after this recording," Dongwan said.
"Don't! Zhang Yuanxiao and Liu Quan Town are avoiding the cold because they're sick. Besides, I'm really not afraid of it. And compared to indoor filming, outdoor segments are always more challenging—you know that about me. If you go back and tell them, it will seem like I'm trying to show off when I just wanted to come along. Also, brother, you've just become Assistant Director; maybe tone down your temper a bit. As long as we can get the show done well, that's what matters," Anna rambled on. Dongwan was taken aback for a moment before he turned back and sighed, "Wow, Anna, when did you become so thoughtful? What you're saying makes so much sense; I don't even know how to argue against it."
"I've always been like this, okay?" Anna replied.
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you," Dongwan said.
Anna smiled and said, "Let's not dwell on that." She glanced at the map. "We should just turn right at this intersection for Cloud Park."
"I scouted the location myself; I know how to get there. Don't worry," Dongwan said with a proud smile.
"Mm, impressive. It's all up to you now," Anna teased.
"Don't worry," Dong Wan replied.
After setting up all the filming preparations, by the time the guests and Running Man arrived at Cloud Park, it was already noon. Although it was midday, the continuous snowfall obscured the sun, and the cold wind made Anna's face and nose turn red as she kept sniffing.
"I'm freezing to death," Dong Wan said, pacing back and forth while rubbing his hands together. He took out a warm pack from his pocket and handed it to Anna.
"Thank you, Dong Wan," Anna said as she accepted it, tearing open the packaging and sticking it inside her down jacket.
"Looks like it's our turn to catch a cold," Dong Wan remarked, glancing at the other staff members who were also reluctant to leave their posts but were feeling extremely cold. After thinking for a moment, he said to everyone, "Let's all move around a bit. There’s hot water in the thermos over there; drink some to warm up. I'll contact Miao PD and ask him to notify us a bit earlier so we can prepare for filming later."
"Okay." Everyone sighed in relief, grabbing their cups from their bags and heading over to get some hot water.
"Ugh, shooting outdoors in this weather is really tough."
Fortunately, not long after saying that, they received notice that the guests were about to arrive, prompting everyone to quickly regain their focus and return to their workstations to prepare for filming.
"VJs, please pay attention. VJs, please pay attention. Please exit the vehicle first and capture the process of the artists getting out of the car," Anna communicated through the walkie-talkie to all the VJs.
"Received, received."
"They're getting out of the car at Rainbow Bridge. Anna, take the props and go announce the mission; follow along with them," Dong Wan instructed.
"Got it, I understand," Anna replied as she picked up a small bundle of colorful long ribbons and set off running toward Rainbow Bridge. Although Rainbow Bridge was less than 300 meters away from Changliu Qingxi, walking through the snow was quite exhausting. The snowflakes fell on her face like tiny blades, cold and stinging. "Oh man, this is ridiculous," Anna muttered under her breath as she ran.
From a distance, she saw the car driving along the park path. Anna double-checked her mission details: Park Chan-yeol was teamed up with Brother Jae-seok; Yunhao with Sister Jihyo; Yonghwa with Haha Brother; Nam Taehyun with Chi Seok-jun; Tiffany with Jung Kook; Lee Kwang-soo with Jin Nam-jun. Twelve people in six brightly colored down jackets created a vibrant scene against the backdrop of white snow.
"Our Anna FD has been waiting here for so long that her face and nose are all red. I hope she's not angry," Yoo Jae-suk joked as he got out of the car and saw Anna looking quite disheveled.
"I thought I would see Santa Claus's red-nosed reindeer," Lee Kwang-soo chimed in.
Anna smiled, thinking that if this weren't a recorded show, she would definitely give Lee Kwang-soo a good beating. As her eyes met Park Chan-yeol's, Anna quickly averted her gaze. Picking up the cue card in her hand, she looked at it seriously and said, "Alright, everyone has successfully arrived here. If you walk down this small path behind me for about 300 meters, you'll reach Changliu Qingxi. Now, since each team consists of two people, you will reach Changliu Qingxi in a three-legged race format. The first team to arrive will gain a significant advantage in the upcoming games. Now, please come here to collect the corresponding colored ribbons for your team." Anna said as she took out the ribbons.
Everyone hurried over to grab their ribbons and quickly tied their legs together.
"Are you ready?" Anna asked.
"Yes, we're ready."
"Good, everyone listen to my command: 1, 2, 3, start!" With Anna's command, the once peaceful park path erupted into chaos, filled with vibrant colors as everyone chased after one another. Not to mention Lee Kwang-soo, who loved to break the rules. Whether he was carefully seeking revenge or not, he suddenly grabbed Sister Jihyo's hat, causing her to lose her balance and fall into the snow along with Yunhao.
"Ah! Lee Kwang-soo, you're dead meat!" Ji-hyo pointed at Lee Kwang-soo's back in frustration.
Yunhao was both amused and exasperated and could only pull Ji-hyo up quickly to catch up.
On the other side, Brother Jae-seok and Park Chan-yeol were completely out of sync; even without any interference, they fell behind. Kim Jong Kook surged ahead with Tiffany; despite Tiffany being a girl, Kim Jong Kook alone was worth three men. Haha and Jung Yong Hwa closely followed behind, with both teams neck and neck.
Anna leisurely followed beside them, just guiding the filming angles. Lee Kwang-soo attempted to grab Kim Jong Kook but ended up being thrown into the snow instead. Remembering how he had mocked him earlier made Anna feel secretly pleased.
In another hour it would be ten o'clock; at exactly ten o'clock, the filming of Chase Battle would officially begin. They had just finished dinner and had an hour of rest time.
After Miao PD assigned everyone's tasks and confirmed that preparations were nearly complete, he allowed the staff to take a short break. Anna felt her shoes were wet and cold; finally having some rest time, she quickly ran over to a small bench to sit down. She took off her sneakers and socks and twisted them out—water actually came out.
If only she had worn snow boots; her sneakers had turned into water after stepping in the snow, making her feel extremely uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Miao PD still wanted her to keep an eye on the overall filming from the fourth to seventh floors of the mall while some had already run off.
Anna looked up at the unreachable air vent blowing warm air and raised her pitiful socks in frustration, praying that they would dry even a little bit.
"What are you doing? Praying?" Lee Kwang-soo asked as he noticed Anna's strange behavior and handed her a bottle of warm drink from his two bottles.
"I don't want to drink," Anna said. "I just hope my socks can dry a bit."
"There’s an outdoor shoot; who told you not to wear snow boots?"
"I'm not like you guys, with assistants bringing shoes and clothes. How can I run in snow boots?"
Lee Kwang-soo finished his bottle of yogurt drink and then drank the one he was supposed to give Anna, placing the empty bottle aside.
"By the way, I recorded by the Han River yesterday and saw someone who looked just like Andy."
Anna shivered in shock. "Who... are you talking about?"
"Andy," Lee Kwang-soo said with a smile. "But didn't you say he was working abroad? Did he come back? You seem surprised; did this guy not tell you he was back?"
Anna was momentarily at a loss for how to react, feeling goosebumps all over when she heard Lee Kwang-soo's words. It turned out that deep down, she had been so frightened of Andy.
"What's wrong with you..." Lee Kwang-soo noticed Anna's dazed expression.
Anna snapped back to reality, awkwardly smiling as she said, "Oh, no way. He's in Italy and won't be back for a long time."
"Really? Did I see wrong?" Lee Kwang-soo pondered for a moment and said, "If it were really him, he clearly saw me but didn't come over to say hello; that doesn't make sense."
"Exactly," Anna seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"What are you talking about?" Sister Jihyo came over and patted Kwang-soo on the shoulder.
"Oh my gosh, you scared me," Lee Kwang-soo jumped in surprise.
"What are you scared of? I'm not a ghost," Sister Jihyo said.
"Ghosts are much cuter than you..." Lee Kwang-soo mumbled softly.
Ji-hyo shot Lee Kwang-soo a glance and handed him two concert tickets.
"This is..." Anna took them and looked.
"This is the ticket for the Lessang concert that Brother Gary and Brother Ji are holding together. We'll go watch it together then. Brother Jae-seok and the others will also be there," Ji-hyo said.
"Great!" Lee Kwang-soo said happily.
"Thank you, Sister Jihyo," Anna also felt very happy, not only because she received the invitation but also because she saw that although Brother Gary had left, their marriage was happy, and his music career was still thriving.
"Staff, get ready! Everyone take your positions. I'll notify you of the next steps," Miao PD said loudly while clapping his hands. Just when they had relaxed for a moment, they had to perk up again, quickly gathering their necessary equipment and heading to their assigned posts.
"I'll head out first; see you later during the shoot," Anna said as she put on her damp and chilly socks, slipped on her shoes, and hurried to her spot on the fourth floor to wait.
She checked if the fixed cameras were operating normally and confirmed the locations of hidden treasure chests. After completing these tasks, she received notifications that the members and guests would be arriving at various floors at any moment, ready for filming. She reported the equipment's status back to Miao PD and waited patiently.
Ding~
The elevator doors opened, and Anna was looking down at the script, noting that the recording budget for Chase Battle should wrap up around midnight. Naturally, there needed to be plenty of dramatic conflicts in between to satisfy post-editing needs. The group that performed well would appear on television for the longest time. Not only did Running Man need these idols to boost their popularity, but having so many young idols appearing simultaneously on a prime-time variety show also created a competitive atmosphere. Companies and their respective managers would naturally observe their artists' performances on the show, while fans would pay close attention to their idols' presence. The amount of screen time depended partly on whether luck favored them and partly on their own efforts.
Looking up, Anna saw Yoo Jae-suk and Park Chan-yeol coming out of the elevator. Thinking filming had already started, she instinctively ducked into a spot where the camera couldn't capture her.
Yoo Jae-suk laughed with Haha and said, "Anna, we haven't started filming yet; come out."
"Oh, is that so?" Anna smiled shyly and stepped out.
Yoo Jae-suk spotted a long bench and said, "Chan-yeol, let's go sit over there and wait."
Anna followed them to the bench and said, "There are a total of six groups, each on different floors. Once you find the treasure chest and obtain a certain color, you can tear off the name tag of the corresponding color team. Do you understand?"
"Yes, understood," Park Chan-yeol replied.
"Good, then we just need to wait for it to start," Anna said.
Yoo Jae-suk glanced at Kwon Ryeol and another VJ who were explaining filming precautions a little further away, and after Anna finished speaking, she went up to a higher floor to check on other teams.
Park Chan-yeol looked as if he was lost in thought, and Yoo Jae-suk smiled thoughtfully at him.
"Chan-yeol," Yoo Jae-suk suddenly spoke up.
Park Chan-yeol quickly turned around and smiled, saying, "Yes, hyung. What's up?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?" Yoo Jae-suk brought up an unexpected topic.
Park Chan-yeol was somewhat surprised; he could guess that Yoo Jae-suk probably knew about his previous relationship with Anna, which is why he asked.
He answered honestly, "Not at the moment."
"It must be quite troubling for popular and handsome idols like you to date," Yoo Jae-suk remarked.
"Yeah," Park Chan-yeol replied helplessly.
"That girl Anna is very strong, smart, and also beautiful."
Park Chan-yeol paused for a moment in silence, nodded with a smile, and said, "Yeah, she's really beautiful."
"A girl like that will have many admirers. But liking someone and being happy are two different concepts. To be together for the long haul, the time spent together must bring more happiness than tears and pain. No two people can be together without laughter and warmth; even couples who grow old together will have countless thoughts of wanting to separate and numerous moments of crying and distance. But as long as the desire to continue together can overcome separation, and laughter and warmth can outweigh sadness, then it's worth holding on for the long term." Yoo Jae-suk seemed to be murmuring to himself. He heard Park Chan-yeol let out a light sigh and wondered if he could understand these words deeply or remember them well. He chuckled and said, "I’m rambling again, right? Haha, I can't help it. I'm going to the restroom for a bit; I'll be back soon since it should start shortly."
"Okay." Park Chan-yeol nodded.
The recording ended, and after the final clapboard, it was already 12:45 AM. The snow outside finally stopped, and the idols said their goodbyes, getting into their respective vans and leaving tiredly. Park Chan-yeol waved to Anna from a distance, and she smiled lightly, nodding and bowing in farewell as she watched him get into the vehicle.
"Anna, what are you doing? Stop daydreaming and move quickly," Dong Wan said as he walked past her.
"Oh, got it." She continued to help everyone pack up the equipment from the recording site.
Whether Gary's departure would truly bring new energy to the show or hurt Running Man's spirit was uncertain. The official website was filled with voices pleading for him to stay, and some even expressed negative emotions due to Gary leaving during such a difficult time. Others attributed his departure to Ji-hyo and his marriage. The idols' presence during the recording naturally attracted more attention than usual, but the comments section had more viewers expressing negative sentiments.
This probably couldn't be resolved simply by replacing Gary with someone else. Some might say that over time, viewers would get used to it, but Running Man didn't have that much time left. Everyone knew that there was a six-month deadline; at most, they could hold on for a year. Within that year, whether they could still survive would soon be revealed.
As for Anna, she may not have put in the most effort in Running Man, but she loved it more than anyone else. Even shivering in the cold and snow, she still cherished this place. It was the starting point of her dreams, and she had a long way to go before achieving her goals. She didn't want to see Running Man end up in a miserable state before she reached her destination. Regardless, the hard work put into editing and production had resulted in a slight increase in viewership when it aired, which was somewhat reassuring.
The day of her trip to Germany was fast approaching. Anna took her five days of annual leave and packed her bags. When she saw the red scarf, she hesitated for a moment but decided not to pack it.
"Over here." Park Chan-yeol waved from a corner that wasn't very noticeable. Fortunately, at four in the morning, there were very few people in the international flight waiting area; a few people sat on the benches yawning or playing on their phones, while others simply closed their eyes to rest.
Anna nodded and walked over. Although there weren't many people around, Park Chan-yeol still wore a mask and hat, afraid of attracting any unnecessary trouble.
In the vast sky above, the plane roared as it flew for twelve hours before finally landing at Berlin Airport.
After exiting the airport and getting into a taxi heading towards Brandenburg, it wasn't long before they were surrounded by tall blonde-haired blue-eyed Germans. Park Chan-yeol took off his mask and stretched widely.
"He is buried in a small town called Koslief in Brandenburg; we still have quite a distance to go," Park Chan-yeol said.
"Is Cat there too?"
"I haven't found any news about her. No one knows where she went."
Anna nodded slightly without speaking. She looked out the window at the land she was stepping on for the first time—so distant, so unfamiliar, so cold. Even the snow here seemed to possess the unique resilience and toughness of the German people. In the distance, they passed by several churches. These churches were oppressive, silent, and solemn. It was then that Anna realized how similar the place where Hogga lived in Korea was to these churches.
This was the place where he lived, where he was reborn, where his soul returned.
Only such a land could give him that kind of forbearance.
As they arrived in Koslief Town, darkness fell completely. The Boss Lady of the motel was drinking beer at a table littered with peanut shells. She had a scruffy beard, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a large belly, looking just like those characters seen in movies.
The Boss Lady glanced at Anna and Park Chan-yeol, who were carrying their luggage. She burped, and the smell was somewhat unpleasant. However, out of politeness, both of them awkwardly smiled without much reaction.
"CHINESE? OR JAPANESE?" the German man asked in simple English.
"KOREAN," Park Chan-yeol replied.
"OK."
"I WANT A DOUBLE ROOM FOR ONE NIGHT."
Anna tapped Park Chan-yeol's arm and said, "We need two rooms."
"This place is so desolate; have you gone mad?" Park Chan-yeol gestured for her to look outside.
Anna turned back to glance and indeed saw that this area seemed to have only this motel with its lights on. Finding another place would be quite far away. So she silently refrained from saying anything.
Park Chan-yeol completed the check-in process and took the room key. The Boss Lady merely pointed in a direction. Park Chan-yeol thanked her, and they headed toward the room indicated by the key.
The room was indeed very shabby; there was even a lingering smell of smoke and alcohol. On the table, aside from some drinking water and coffee, there were two condoms prominently displayed. Anna accidentally caught sight of them, blushed, and quickly looked away.
Park Chan-yeol noticed and chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?"
Park Chan-yeol walked over, picked it up, and threw it into the trash can. "Is this better?"
Anna pretended to shrug it off and said, "I don't care."
"This is my first time here too; I didn't expect it to be so deserted." Park Chan-yeol took off his jacket and placed it on a nearby chair.
Anna noticed that there was only one large bed in the room and started to feel a bit frustrated. "There's only one bed; how are we supposed to sleep?"
"We've slept in the same bed before, so what's there to be afraid of? Sleeping with me is definitely safer than being alone in a separate room," Park Chan-yeol replied.
"That was in the past; it was a special situation."
"Now is also a special situation," Park Chan-yeol said with a smile. "Don't worry; it'll only be until we open our hearts to each other again. Otherwise, I wouldn't want to either."
Anna let out a sigh of relief.
"Alright, you tidy up first; I'm going to take a shower," Park Chan-yeol said as he opened his suitcase, took out some clean clothes, and walked into the bathroom.
As soon as the sound of water started, Anna looked around the old house. Outside the window was pitch black, and she could hear the slurred words of a drunk man along with a woman's playful voice in the hallway. Although Anna couldn't understand the German they were speaking, she could sense the unusual relationship. It seemed that being in the same room did provide more safety. Looking closer at the room, she noticed that many of the wooden floorboards were cracked, creaking underfoot like something out of a horror movie.
Anna sighed; as soon as dawn broke tomorrow, she would leave. As long as nothing happened like those scenes often seen in horror films, everything would be fine.
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