Our Story - Binjin

Chapter 157: Side Stories

Author's Note:

I'm not done with the "While he works..." chapters yet but decided to take a break with a couple of the side stories I've been meaning to include. The third one is a last minute addition after Kitty's spa photos came out 😁 I hope you enjoy the lighthearted chapter! (I included some pics of fans IG post - I just thought they were really good fun. 😊 Just let me know if it's a problem and I can remove)

As usual, thanks for reading, your ⭐ and comments! Also, apologies that updates are sometimes delayed... real life is busy and there's just lesser time to write 😥 So thank you for patiently waiting! Have a great week ahead! 🥰

Side Story 1: SMART BTS - I Will!

Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin's Smart behind-the-scene video was scheduled to be released on 22nd February. Even up till three days before that, SMART was concerned that they would not make the deadline. There was simply too much back and forth negotiation between them, Vast and MSTeam. They couldn't agree on what was to be included.

SMART's proposed video edit revolved around Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin's interaction. It showed them lost in their own world, chatting while waiting for filming to start; them monitoring the takes with their heads joint together; him looking indulgently at her while she laughed at a take, her picking piece of lint off his coat; him opening a bottle of water and handing to her and so many more. From SMART's perspective, it was perfect. The BTS video presented their endorsers flawless behind the scene chemistry.

Vast and MSTeam obviously had different opinions.

MSTeam was less of a problem. They only requested for one scene to be removed. Ye-Jin was holding onto Hyun Bin's arm as she stepped up the platform used to reduce their height difference. Their eyes were locked together and they laughed while she almost lost her balance and he held onto her. There was nothing scandalous about their actions but the exchange somehow felt unusually intimate.

Vast was the big problem. They had issues with almost every scene. Everything was either not relevant to the storyline, too intimate or too much details. Even Vast knew it was too much to ask to change every scene and they proposed to cut short all the current scenes so that Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin's chemistry would be less obvious.

The Smart team wanted to scream. This was a joint CF and it was all about their chemistry. Did it even make sense to edit the video to "make their chemistry less obvious"? It was illogical!

Unfortunately, they were at an impasse. It was written in the contract that Vast and MSTeam had to agree to all official content. Vast refused to budge and MSTeam stayed neutral. Left with no choice, SMART acceded. They cut short all the interactive footage and removed the "too personal" ones. The BTS video was approved just two days before the scheduled date.

It was a shame that all the beautiful footage of their lovely couple could not be shared with fans. SMART was going to make one last "protest". On 20th February, Jane Basas from SMART tweeted a true story on her personal SNS accounts...

Flashback to day of SMART CF filming

"It's a wrap!" the Director announced with a big smile. It had been a long but productive day. Despite the delays caused by the snowstorm, they were just an hour over schedule. The filming and photo shoot had gone smoothly and he was very impressed with Hyun Bin and Ye-Jin's chemistry.

"Thank you for all the hard work today," Ye-Jin said as she bowed repeatedly to the crew. Everyone worked very hard today.

"Thank you for everything today," Hyun Bin stood beside her and bowed politely to convey his thanks.