Side Story 2: Spring of 2027...
As spring 2027 began, while everyone was still immersed in the debate surrounding this joyous occasion, a wildly popular show emerged on YouTube: the "Envelope Challenge," an extension of a South Korean dating reality show. It started as a segment derived from the success of a certain dating show. Eventually, it evolved into a short-video format, each episode lasting about 15-20 minutes, featuring ordinary people, celebrities, and more. The diverse themes made these videos incredibly engaging, full of stories, laughter, tears, and emotion. One day, the PD and G-Dragon were chatting, and thus, this connection was born…
[Sports Forum Live Stream - Real-time Discussion]
Title: Holy crap! G-Dragon and Sister Ren are actually participating in the envelope challenge! (Breaking News)
1L: Hurry to the homepage! These two, who have been keeping a low profile for three years, have finally given us some sweet moments! (Click to watch the video)
2L: Weren't they just exposed for getting married in Las Vegas? Why would they agree to go on a TV show?
3L: It's said that the PD and GD collaborated on a documentary, and I casually asked about it at the dinner table, and he actually agreed...
4L: After retiring, Sister Ren only studied at NYU. This time...
Would you agree to have your face shown?
5L: He's been retired for two years, what does it matter! The important thing is to believe! Subtitle team, get to work!
...
[Video Link: Ren Xiyao Reads the Letter]
The video begins with Ren Xiyao wearing a beige trench coat, her hair still styled in a bun, sitting by the window of the New York University library, with morning light streaming through the blinds onto the letter paper.
21L:
I'm going crazy! I thought it was just a normal sweet moment, but it turned into a nuclear-level tearjerker!
22L:
Yes, I'm watching it now! The beginning is so sweet. When Sister Ren first started reading the letter, she had a "I'll see what you've got to say" look on her face, but her voice got softer and softer as she read. I felt like if it went on any longer, she was going to cry!
23L:
Seriously, I had to stop reading it so many times! And the paper is even yellowed!
...
When the scene shifted back, Ren Xiyao's voice carried a hint of coolness, as if she were telling a story in a gentle, narrative style.
Ren Xiyao:
It is currently 3:17 AM on February 26, 2018.
I wasn't asleep.
Lately, I've been constantly observing the people around me. An almost morbid comparison. I know it's wrong, but I can't control it. Their perfumes and the way they touch make me feel out of place. It turns out that when you lose someone, the first things to go crazy are your senses of smell and touch.
I've had many relationships, Xiyao.
You love Kwon Ji-yong, not G-Dragon. That's terrifying.
The sun says I'm good at making people fall in love with me, but not good at maintaining relationships. It's true, I used to never be heartbroken for more than two weeks after a breakup; a few sad love songs would be enough to move on. But this time, that didn't work.
Do you still have your marriage certificate from Las Vegas?
I kept it.
Although it was just a commemorative certificate valid only at that church, I regretted it a little. If I had known the paparazzi would still dig it up, I would have just gotten it notarized. That way, at least in America, there would be a place where our love would be recognized.
How ridiculous it is that even being "married" sounds like an impromptu lie now.
They said my new song was good, with a "broken" feel. Those who didn't know the truth thought I'd had another romantic encounter, or found new inspiration from these short-lived relationships. But do you know what? Those lyrics were all fake.
I wrote "The sound of falling snow is like a farewell," but the day we broke up was in the sweltering heat of summer. How could it have snowed? I wrote "Drunk in the night no one knows," but now I don't even dare to drink strong liquor, afraid of failing my medical exam; I even wrote "Love is an unfinished sunset," but we clearly watched it together.
Look, without you, I even have to fake my pain.
I'm enlisting tomorrow.
My agent asked me to take inventory of the items, so I had to take off the jadeite ring.
I've occasionally heard people say that jade is good for you, but you didn't tell me that. You only said it brings peace and safety, and I have been safe and sound. But I've lost fourteen pounds in the past few months. Maybe it only recognizes you as its owner. It only protects me when you speak to it.
Taiyang said I was crazy, trying to sneak my way into the army. I said I didn't want to wear it, I was just... afraid it would get lost if I left it at home. Actually, I was afraid that when I came back in two years, I wouldn't even have this little bit of evidence left.
I used to laugh at your poor Korean, but actually my Chinese has improved a lot.
When you say "um," I can read a hundred different meanings; when you type a period, I know you're just teasing me; when you say "whatever," it actually means you're too tired from training to think.
Should I wish you all the best?
But I still want to make a wish about the two of us, like so many times before, that we can meet again in the season when the flowers are in full bloom, okay?
As the last syllable faded, the video fell completely silent. Then the camera slowly zoomed in, revealing Ren Xiyao's fingertips tracing the edge of the letter, where dark water stains had seeped through…
[Live Forum Comments]
"Wow! I'm truly impressed. Is this what they mean by 'every word is written in blood'?"
"He actually kept the letter from 2018!"
"I really don't know what to say. So you actually got your marriage certificate in Las Vegas back then?! Even if it was just for commemorative purposes... (Reply: That's practically ten years of marriage!)"
"Damn, this video is really worth analyzing closely. I've watched it over and over again. It contains so many secrets that only the two of them know."
"Even though I know you so well, I still lost you in the end." Does anyone understand the helplessness in that sentence? It perfectly reflects the feeling of ordinary people who can't have the love they desire. Even top celebrities can lose terribly in love! This show has truly become a legend this year!!!
"If I had known it would be dug up, I would have just gotten it notarized." That tone of regret and helplessness really made them not know what to say. Even being "married" became an "impromptu lie." They clearly wanted to acknowledge their relationship, but in the end, they could only hide it. The love between a top celebrity and an Olympic champion was truly filled with the bitterness of being unable to control their own destiny from the very beginning!
"So it's even more heartbreaking when you combine it with the real timeline. Every sentence is clearly saying, 'I still love you, but this is all I can do!'"
"Wow, when I first started watching, I wondered if someone like Kwon Ji-yong would put his feelings under the public eye for judgment, especially showing such a vulnerable side. But now I understand. He's almost 40, nearly halfway through his life. He cherishes Ren Xiyao so much, and he wants to show her his whole self. Every pause, every tear Xiyao sheds while reading the letter is a response: 'I know your pain, I remember our promise, we didn't miss each other.' This journey from 'loss' in 2017 to 'reunion' in 2026 is all contained in this letter. Who wouldn't exclaim 'They're a perfect match!' I bet no one will dare to doubt their relationship anymore!"
...
[Video Link: Kwon Ji-yong Reads the Letter]
The scene cuts to G-Dragon's studio in Seoul; the setting isn't particularly special. But you can tell G-Dragon is incredibly excited. He's talking a lot and can't sit still. He keeps glancing at the PD holding the letter. His hand even trembles slightly when he takes the letter and opens it. This side of G-Dragon is truly rare.
Kwon Ji-yong:
While tidying up old things today, I found the pillbox you used during your 2017 tour. It reminded me of that dream from 2018. Actually, we both swallowed equal amounts of bitterness without each other knowing it.
"I love you," it seems like you're always the one saying those words. And thank you for accepting my tendency to say one thing but mean another. But right now, I want to sincerely tell you that from the very first moment we met until now, every single moment, every single second, my love for you has never changed.
When I read that sentence again, something suddenly touched me, and the image of that club in Jiangnan in 2013 flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.
At the time, Ren Xiyao must have thought it was just a chance glance, but now she writes it down with a hint of secret joy, calling it the most accurate "aiming" of her life.
I think I can finally say with certainty that our love wasn't built up over time, but rather a tremor from being struck by lightning in a single moment. The Ren Xiyao who "saw" Kwon Ji-yong under the dim lights of the bar back then, and the Ren Xiyao who is struck by words now, overlap across time and space.
There were no earth-shattering vows, no grand pursuits, just a glance, a touch of souls, and a seed called "love" was planted in each other's hearts.
We were chosen by fate in this way: it wanted us to win, so it gave us talent; it wanted us to suffer, so it gave us love. And it seems we have endured all of fate's trials, so now it rewards us with the best gift. The most important thing in our lives was hinted at many years ago, but we were oblivious at the time. Now, in the moment of perfect harmony, it will finally blossom into the most magnificent and beautiful scene.
What I'm even more grateful for is that some people walked from the bright sunshine to the starlight, some walked from the blizzard to the spring sunshine, and we really walked the whole way.
P.S. There's a hangover soup in the second compartment of the refrigerator, remember to drink it.
He suddenly laughed out loud when he finished reading, and off-camera, the PD could be heard quietly asking, "Should we re-record?" He shook his head: "That's for the best."
[Excerpt from popular forum comments]
"That detail about the medicine box was so touching! Both of them were really putting on a brave face!"
"I really can't stand these two. Are they competing to see who's more cultured? How come they're both so artsy? Is this how cultured people write love letters—it's like a game of cat and mouse?"
"Come on, who said that love at first sight is just lust? This is clearly a script written by fate that has reached this moment. The gears of time have intertwined and meshed, and so the story begins."
"This story, spanning 15 years from 2013 to 2028, finally comes to a perfect conclusion in this letter. Who wouldn't exclaim 'The Chosen One' after reading it!"
"I'm really tired of talking about 'the chosen ones.' These two are perfect for writing books. They're born to be the male and female protagonists! Could one of them write a memoir or an autobiography? I'd read it like a novel."
...
[Behind the Scenes: The Story Behind the Envelope]
(PD's voiceover: Why did you choose to release these letters now?)
(The camera cuts to Ren Xiyao, who is looking at the cherry blossoms outside the window as she speaks.)
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