Chapter 49 Ren Xiyao stood at Incheon Airport…
Ren Xiyao stood at the exit of Incheon Airport, glancing down at her phone. It was a little past 3 PM; the team bus should have arrived by now. Including the coach, there were 16 people. Although divided by club, the management was unified.
She dragged her suitcase out. The training setup was the same as last year. Lin Shan was texting Li Enjing beside her. Rita was going to Italy for summer training this year. Ren Xiyao and the others would spend their adaptation period in South Korea and then go to Yunnan for high-altitude training in early June.
My phone vibrated.
Kwon Ji-yong: "Have we arrived?"
She replied with an "Mm," then thought for a moment and added, "Just got off the plane."
The other party replied instantly: "Send me your location."
Ren Xiyao raised an eyebrow: "Are you coming to pick me up?"
"Otherwise what?"
She couldn't help but laugh. She'd been about to post something when she looked around. Her teammates had already boarded the bus, and the coach, standing at the door calling roll, saw her still standing there and yelled, "Ren Xiyao! What are you dawdling for?"
"Right away!" She waved her hand, then quickly typed, "The team has a bus; we'll go directly to the training base."
Kwon Ji-yong: "Then I'll go directly to the base to find you."
She stared at the message for two seconds, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. After hesitating for a moment, she replied, "Okay."
Upon arrival, the coach held a short meeting to briefly explain the training plan and precautions.
She called back, and the other party answered quickly.
"Is it over?" His voice came through the microphone, with background noise, as if he were in a car.
"Yeah, I just finished packing." Ren Xiyao continued packing without stopping. "Was it noisy over there?"
"On my way back to the company." He paused. "Have you eaten?"
"We ate in the cafeteria."
"Is it bad?"
Ren Xiyao laughed: "I haven't eaten it for a while, but it seems okay now that I'm eating it again."
There was a rustling sound on the other end of the phone, as if he was adjusting his posture, then his voice became clearer: "I'll be at the back gate of your base in half an hour."
"Weren't we supposed to go back to the company for a meeting today?"
"I snuck out for an hour." His tone was casual, as if he were saying, 'The weather's nice today.' "I wanted to see you."
Ren Xiyao held her phone, suddenly feeling a burning sensation in her ears. She paused for two seconds before replying softly, "...Okay."
Ren Xiyao hung up the phone and told Lin Shan, "I'm going out for a bit."
“I knew it,” Lin Shan shook her head speechlessly, “Remember to ask for leave.”
The back gate of the base is a narrow alley, and the streetlights hadn't been there for a while, so they were dim and intermittently lit. Ren Xiyao, wearing a loose sweatshirt and a mask, stood in the shadows, glancing at her watch; she was five minutes late.
Just then, a black sedan silently pulled up to the alley entrance. The window rolled down, revealing Kwon Ji-yong's face. He winked at her and said, "Get in."
Ren Xiyao opened the car door and got in. Before she could even fasten her seatbelt, he grabbed her and pulled her close.
"Did you miss me?" he asked close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her neck.
“…Don’t we video chat every day?” She tried to push him away, but not hard.
“The video doesn’t count.” He loosened his grip slightly, looked closely at her face, and frowned: “You’ve lost weight.”
"You need to control your weight before high-altitude training," she casually made up, then looked him up and down: "Your dark circles are almost down to your mouth."
Kwon Ji-yong laughed and reached out to pinch her cheek: "It's comeback period, everyone's like this."
The car slowly started and drove out of the alley. Ren Xiyao looked out the window: "Where to?"
"Let's find somewhere we can talk." He held her hand, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the base of her thumb. "I don't have much time."
She didn't say anything, but instead clasped his fingers together. His hands were warmer than hers.
The two eventually went to a very secluded teahouse, brightly lit. Only then did Ren Xiyao get a clear look at Quan Zhilong, and her brows furrowed involuntarily.
"How long has it been since you last slept?" she asked as soon as she sat down.
Kwon Ji-yong took off his mask, revealing obvious dark circles under his eyes, but his eyes were bright: "Two days? Three days? I can't remember."
"...You'll die suddenly sooner or later."
"Don't worry, you won't die." He smiled and handed her the form.
Ren Xiyao didn't take the tea, but instead told the waiter, "Two green teas."
Kwon Ji-yong raised an eyebrow: "I didn't say I wanted to drink this, did I?"
"You should drink less strong tea at night. Green tea helps to reduce internal heat." She glanced at him. "Besides, haven't you been drinking it all these past few days?"
How did you know?
"When I was video chatting with you, I noticed that the logo on your table was exactly the same as the store's logo."
Kwon Ji-yong laughed: "You remember all of this?"
"I'm not forgetful."
After the waiter left the private room, Kwon Ji-yong reached out and squeezed her wrist: "You've really lost a lot of weight."
"Didn't I say before that I need to control my weight?" Ren Xiyao let him pinch her, not dodging: "And you? How's your comeback preparation going?"
"I'm about to die." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "The title track has been changed countless times, the dance has been rearranged several times, and the president still thinks it's not explosive enough."
Ren Xiyao hummed in agreement and didn't ask any further questions. She knew that although he complained, he would be the first to object if she asked him to do something half-heartedly.
The green tea was served quickly, steaming hot. G-Dragon took a sip and suddenly asked, "How long are you staying in South Korea this time?"
“One and a half months, six weeks.” Ren Xiyao blew on the soup. “Then we’ll go to Yunnan.”
"Six weeks..." he repeated softly, as if calculating something, "I'll be back next week, so we probably won't have much time to see each other."
"I know." She lowered her head and drank her tea. "You go about your business."
The topic quickly shifted. Kwon Ji-yong rambled on about the filming, down to the details of each meal—this was their daily routine these past few days. Now, however, they were sitting together, able to feel each other's presence. Kwon Ji-yong did most of the talking, while Ren Xiyao listened attentively, occasionally asking questions or sharing about her own life. Compared to Kwon Ji-yong, her busyness was, in a different way, monotonous and tedious. Every day was measured down to the second.
Suddenly, halfway through his sentence, Kwon Ji-yong remembered something and pulled a small box out of his pocket: "I brought this for you."
Ren Xiyao took it and opened it; it was a small, single earring shaped like a snowflake.
"I saw this in Tokyo last month, and I thought it would suit you perfectly." He tilted his head to look at her: "Do you like it?"
She picked up the earring and looked at it under the streetlight; the silver metal glittered in the light. "Hmm."
Kwon Ji-yong leaned closer: "Just 'hmm'?"
Ren Xiyao glanced at him, then suddenly reached out and grabbed his collar, kissing him on the lips before quickly releasing him: "Thank you."
He paused for a second, then laughed, taking advantage of the situation to wrap his arms around her waist: "One more time?"
"No." She pushed him away. "You should go back."
Kwon Ji-yong glanced at his watch and sighed, "Only forty minutes have passed."
“It takes at least twenty minutes to drive back to the company from here,” she calmly pointed out. “You also need to allow time for your agent to yell at you.”
He let out a wail and collapsed onto her shoulder: "I don't want to go back."
Ren Xiyao let him lean on her, her fingers unconsciously twirling his hair. The night breeze quietly slipped in through the slightly open window, and the city lights in the distance looked like scattered stars.
When they came out, someone was standing in front of the car. The two of them became a little wary. The person next to them obviously noticed them as well and quickly walked over. Only when they got closer did they realize that it was Kwon Ji-yong's manager.
Kwon Ji-yong frowned slightly: "Why are you here? Didn't you say you'd rush back?"
Seeing his extremely unwilling look, the agent was speechless, but still explained, "There have been some last-minute changes to the filming arrangements, and we were worried you wouldn't be able to find the location."
Kwon Ji-yong wanted to say something, but suddenly remembered something and turned to Ren Xiyao, saying, "This is my manager, his surname is Park."
Ren Xiyao nodded, without any extra expression, and extended her right hand: "Hello, Mr. Park."
The agent smiled calmly and said, "Hello, Ms. Ren, I often hear Zhilong mention you."
"Get in the car." The manager was about to say something when Kwon Ji-yong interrupted her. While Ren Xiyao was getting into the car, he gave the manager a warning look.
On the way back, the manager drove. Looking in the rearview mirror, the manager saw that the two were very close, their hands tightly clasped together. Kwon Ji-yong seemed a little sleepy. The manager knew that he was lucky to get four hours of sleep a night these days, but even with his schedule compressed to the minute, he still video-called her every day, and today he was taking almost two hours to see her. This made the manager a little worried.
Ren Xiyao turned to look out the window. The night view of Seoul was dazzling, and the LED screens on the high-rise buildings were playing a teaser for a new song by an idol she didn't recognize.
Kwon Ji-yong followed her gaze and suddenly smiled: "Next month, I'll be on that page."
"What's there to be so proud of?"
"Your boyfriend is coming back, shouldn't you be a little proud?"
Ren Xiyao rolled her eyes, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly: "Fine, proud, you should go to sleep."
Kwon Ji-yong smiled, closed his eyes, and really fell asleep.
The car stopped at an intersection near the training base. Ren Xiyao hesitated for a moment, but still gently woke him up: "I'm here."
Kwon Ji-yong mumbled an "Mmm" in his sleep, then suddenly grabbed her hand: "Give me a kiss before you go."
Ren Xiyao glanced at her manager in the driver's seat, who very tactfully put on her headphones and looked out the window.
She quickly kissed Kwon Ji-yong on the corner of his mouth, then opened the car door: "Let's go."
"I'll miss you. Good luck in training and get off the ice safely."
"You too, take care of yourself."
Kwon Ji-yong smiled as he watched her walk away, and only after her figure disappeared behind the training base gate did he ask his manager to drive.
Kwon Ji-yong looked at his manager and slowly spoke, "Speak, hyung, what do you want?" Having worked together for years, they couldn't hide their thoughts from each other. Kwon Ji-yong knew that ever since he and Ren Xiyao got together, his manager had been restless and wanted to see her, to talk to her, or perhaps give her a warning. In the industry, this was quite normal. From the manager's perspective, he hadn't neglected his duties; in fact, he could be considered very dedicated. However, he didn't understand Ren Xiyao. Kwon Ji-yong had been consciously keeping his distance these past few days, but he hadn't expected him to come today.
The agent sighed, "You've done quite a few outrageous things over the past year, it's understandable that the company is worried. Besides, what if she..."
Before he could finish speaking, Kwon Ji-yong interrupted him. His tone was somewhat cold: "Unless something goes wrong, don't come looking for her. Also, keep an eye on those people in the company who want to interfere in my affairs. She's not in our circle. Don't bother her with these trivial matters from our circle."
"Then let's make it public."
Park Sung-hyun nearly choked on his saliva: "Are you crazy? What time is it? Comeback period! Concert! Do you know how many eyes are on you!"
Kwon Ji-yong looked directly at him and asked calmly, "So?"
"no."
"Supreme Dragon..."
“I said, no.” Kwon Ji-yong said, enunciating each word clearly: “Don’t go to her, don’t bother her with your ‘rules.’ Her world revolves around winning gold medals, not these petty calculations in the entertainment industry.”
The manager was speechless. He had known Kwon Ji-yong for so many years and had never seen him like this before; it wasn't anger, it wasn't negotiation, but rather a direct line drawn, clearly telling everyone: no crossing this line.
After a long pause, the agent sighed, "Okay, I'll try my best to keep it under control. But you know, there are some things I can't control."
Kwon Ji-yong simply looked at his manager seriously and said, "Then just control the people in the company."
The vehicle restarted, and the agent's sigh and the notification sound of Kwon Ji-yong's phone, exclusively for Ren Xiyao, filled the car.
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