Chapter Seven
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“Shin Jun?”
A low-level crew member wearing black clothes, a mask, and a camera in his hands scoffed. He had just exited his car in the middle of the small coastal town.
The man next to him nodded in agreement: “Shin Jun said to be twenty years old. He’s the only one we don’t have a clear picture of, and he’s going to be the second youngest on the show.”
The two men in black were supposed to film a little bit of the areas they picked the boys up from, but they didn’t need to record audio yet. There would be a song playing over it in a fast-forward motion, anyway.
The low-level crew member sneered and mocked the boy as they set up to start filming: “It looks like it’s going to be some country boy. The program is going down the drain. I don’t know why they want to film a gay reality show anyways - aren’t they just waiting to be canceled and shut down?”
“Speaking of Shin Jun, what if he’s ugly? Not even the producer knows…”
“Then he just won’t be chosen by anyone to go on a date with. Either way, it’ll be good content whether he’s ugly or a hidden beauty!”
“Isn’t it weird that he was added so last minute? Never mind, let's just get the filming over with and pick him up… His address looks to be a few streets down.”
The men shut up. The low-level crew member held a camera over his shoulders and began to film.
He may have a dirty mind and mouth, but he truly did the small-town justice. He filmed the sea from between the buildings, zoomed in on couples at a small ice cream shop, and even filmed a few elderly friends laughing warmly at a local cafe. The atmosphere was warm, almost mythical.
They continued to film as they walked toward Shin Jun’s mansion, but they ended up cutting some of the footage later for privacy. A small bathhouse, a few local students walking home, and a beautiful view of the ocean.
If nothing else - this would be great footage to use to boost tourism.
“Hello, may I ask what you’re filming?”
Just a street away from Shin Jun’s mansion, the two crewmen were stopped by a group of middle-aged women looking… Quite concerned. They were worried, even.
One of them spoke before they could answer: “Did someone die? Was there a murder? A break-in? An accident?”
The crew members looked at one another with raised eyebrows, both thinking the same thing: ‘Do we look like news reporters?’
“Miss, we’re filming a TV show… We’re going to pick up the participant now.”
“A TV show? Oh my! Xiao Xiao, our town going to be part of a show!”
“Who’s the participant?”
“This is exciting! Will we see ourselves on TV?”
It could be said that a group of women can chat up gossip, in one ear and out the other, for hours on end. That’s exactly what happened to the two crew members as soon as they spoke: “Shin Jun, he seems to be a local here.”
Immediately, the atmosphere turned from excitement to dread once again. The eldest woman of the group crept forward: “I heard he was a criminal, you want to take him on your show? Are you filming a delinquent drama?”
Shin Jun had no idea that such rumors were being spread through whispers and tales over cups of tea in the morning and glasses of beer in the evenings.
Seeing content before filming even began, the second crew member held a mic toward the group and asked: “You said Shin Jun is a criminal… What did he do?”
The group of gossipers looked at each other with their own questionable eyes. What did he do?
Technically they’d only heard things but…
“He’s obviously a criminal. Why would such a handsome young man choose to settle down here? Look here mister, we’re a small town and the last place that youngsters want to stay is here - we can’t even keep our kids from growing wings and flying to the city!”
“That’s right, they only come back when they’ve made a name for themselves and want to retire… I haven’t seen my grandson for so many years now.”
“He came here off the bus one day, bought a mansion, and hasn’t left it since. His food even gets delivered! Would someone who isn’t suspicious stay inside all day for months on end?”
“I heard from my friend that he sent someone to the hospital.”
“I heard that he murdered someone!”
“He’s also jobless - my friend said that his lights are on well into the night. Maybe he’s running a shady business!”
The two cameramen looked at one another with shock in their eyes. Just what had they gotten themselves involved in? How could the executives allow a criminal onto the show? Could they slip this recording in?
3
