Chapter 113 Chapter 113
Kwon Ji-yong's excitement didn't last long. Two concerts in Saitama had just concluded, and they were heading to Fukuoka at the end of the month. In between, they also had to film local programs and promote their shows in Japan, leaving them with a packed schedule with little time to spare.
Bigbang had previously been stationed in Japan for a while, and the members were already accustomed to this kind of rhythm. Only Kwon Ji-yong was constantly clutching his phone, his mind clearly not on work. Soon, he keenly noticed a problem—
Lia's messages were rare. It wasn't that she didn't reply. As long as he asked her to, she would reply almost immediately. Even if her reply was brief, it was obvious that she had thought it through. But the problem was, if he didn't speak first,
It was as if she had disappeared from the world. He didn't notice at first. Until one day, there happened to be a program that needed to be recorded from morning to night, with almost no time to drink water. He decided to be "reserved" and pretend to be too busy to reply to the message.
He wanted to appear professional and not clingy. So, from the moment he woke up that morning, he deliberately refrained from sending messages, even leaving his phone with his agent without even glancing at it. Then, after a full day of recording, he took his phone back and saw—
The dialog box was empty, not a single message. Was this fair? Was this how a boyfriend should be treated? He was stunned for a few seconds, then tapped his phone in disbelief. Had his international data plan run out?
The next second, a message from Lee Soo Hyuk popped up. ...It wasn't broken. Sitting in the nanny car, he simply flipped through his chat history, scrolling through it from oldest to most recent.
Then, belatedly, he realized that he had been the first to initiate every single conversation. Every single one! Quan Zhilong laughed in anger. The phone screen glowed faintly white in the dim light of the car.
He stared at the screen for a long time, gritting his teeth and gnashing his teeth, startling his agent who accidentally turned around to speak. The agent turned back and pretended nothing had happened - the artist had been doing this for a few days, he was used to it...
Quan Zhilong paid no attention to the noise in the front row. He was secretly making up his mind: even if it meant dying of suffocation, he would wait for her to send a message. Before that, he would never speak first. Absolutely!
But as soon as the thought came to mind, I couldn't help feeling a little scared.
Even after spending time with Lia, he still felt a certain part of her was unfamiliar. On the surface, she was quiet and polite, even possessing a gentle, slow-to-warm-up nature. But the closer he got, the more he could sense a power hidden beneath that gentleness.
It was as if her temperament was simultaneously peaceful and extreme. This contrast was elusive to him, and he couldn't accurately describe it. It was precisely because of this that he suddenly felt uneasy: if he didn't speak for too long, he wondered if she would get angry.
He hesitated for a long time, then set a deadline for himself: Forget it, just three days. He had a concert in Fukuoka at the end of the month, and it would only take three days before he returned home. If she didn't take the initiative to contact him in three days, he would definitely go back and ask her face to face!
Lia, on the other hand—well, she had no idea the remote kitten was going ballistic. She was completely busy. "Paper Moon" officially released on the 25th.
Isaac already had a certain audience base in Europe and the United States, and with the behind-the-scenes video released by Lia on her YouTube channel, the song entered Spotify within just 24 hours of its release.
US "Fresh Finds" playlist and quietly squeezed into the tail end of Spotify's Global Viral 50.
The next day, the song link Isaac shared on Twitter was accidentally forwarded by Charlie Puth, with the caption "really like this
song". Charlie Puth is a well-known singer-songwriter on Youtube. He recently appeared on the "Ellen Show" and the topic was very hot. This forwarding immediately led to a sharp increase in the number of views.
As a result, within a few days, the song climbed all the way to the top 20 of Viral 50, and even briefly broke into the bottom of Spotify US Pop Chart.
Music, it not only entered the top ten of the independent music charts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other places, but also broke into the top 50 of the US pop chart. This achievement far exceeded Lia and Isaac's original expectations.
The behind-the-scenes video on YouTube was also pushed to the recommended position: it was viewed for over 6 million times in 5 days, the comment section was flooded with new listeners, and the channel's subscription count exceeded 1 million within a few days. The news quickly spread back to China.
Half of Lia's YouTube channel viewers are Korean. Ever since the behind-the-scenes footage was released, people have been asking in the comment section why it was not released on Korean music platforms.
In fact, at the beginning, she and Isaac didn’t think it was that complicated - the most direct way was to send the song to Spotify, Apple
Music and other global platforms. For them, this song was originally an attempt to target overseas, and the initial target was not domestic.
However, the final result was unexpectedly good, attracting the attention of Korean listeners and platforms. Several major digital music platforms even contacted YG, hoping to release the song as soon as possible.
Ha Ji-hye practically lived at the office because of this. Emails, interview requests, and platform connections kept pouring in. Meanwhile, the recording of "Show Me the Money" was scheduled for the end of the month.
The show was already in its fourth season, and while there were some controversial contestants, generating buzz and discussion, it still fell short of the network's original expectations. The production team desperately needed a new highlight.
Lia will participate in the recording of the semi-finals as a producer. She won't be performing on stage herself, but will prepare two complete tracks in advance. The top five contestants will draw lots to select their tracks, and then create a second track based on them.
This was a mutually beneficial collaboration for both parties: the program leveraged her popularity and freshness to boost her popularity, while she used the performance to officially release her work. As is customary on the program, the tracks would be released simultaneously on major Korean music platforms after the performance.
This was exactly what she needed at the moment. Therefore, her attention was almost entirely drawn to work. Besides work, she had another matter that needed to be resolved as soon as possible – changing houses.
She currently lives in two places: a company-provided studio apartment and a self-rented house near Seoul National University. She has no plans to move out of the latter, as it is very convenient for writing papers and doing group work at the end of the semester.
What really tempted her was the company-assigned apartment. The reason was simple: if Quan Zhilong occasionally came over, that place was simply unsuitable. Whether it was security, privacy, or simply the size of the space, it seemed cramped.
She's a man of action. After determining her needs, she quickly arranged appointments with several real estate agencies. Over the course of a few days, she viewed three properties.
The requirements were not complicated: not too far from YG, preferably within 20 minutes by car; the location had to be quiet and not easily disturbed by outsiders; the community had to have adequate security, with access control and surveillance; as for the house itself, as long as there was enough space and it wasn't as cramped as it was now, it would be fine.
The agent took her for a few laps.
One was near Hejing, right next to a subway station, but it was too low, with a noisy street outside the window. Another was in a newly built community with a spacious and bright elevator lobby and good security, but the units were too small, like a temporary home for single professionals, and didn't meet her needs.
It wasn't until the third apartment that she stopped dead in her tracks. The house was located in a newly developed area between Yeouido and Mapo. It had a simple facade and an underground parking lot with direct access to the elevator.
Security is extremely tight, with gated entrances and separate guardhouses. Elevator access requires card swiping, and visitors must register in advance. The corridors are thickly carpeted and soundproofed, so even passing footsteps are barely audible. Compared to company-owned apartments, the security and privacy here are on a completely different level.
The layout of the house itself is also very pleasing.
The living room is twice as large as her current residence, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Han River, allowing for excellent daylight during the day and reflections of distant city lights at night. The walls are painted a light gray, complemented by natural wood floors, creating a clean and simple yet not monotonous space.
The open kitchen features a spacious island-style countertop, allowing two or three people to work together without feeling cramped. The spacious master bedroom, with its own ensuite bathroom, offers ample privacy. The second bedroom is currently vacant and could be converted into a studio.
Of course, the price was more than double the previous two units, but it was still within her budget. Without much hesitation, she made the deal with the agent right away.
She knew that Quan Zhilong was also very busy with performances and promotions, so he rarely sent messages. She didn't know when he would be free.
She pinned his chat box to the top and set a special reminder. Whenever he sent a message, she would almost reply immediately. But when it comes to "real love", she actually hasn't done it yet. She is familiar with Quan Zhilong - but that was as a big star G-
Dragon, him as a senior and a friend. As lovers, they only spent a few hours together. In the occasional free moment, she would scroll through his messages. There was more to say than she'd imagined.
More like a passionate puppy than a cat. She found herself missing him even more than before they'd been together. Isn't there a saying that goes, "A lover's breath is like poppy?" Ultimately, they were both too busy.
Luckily, he was coming back at the end of the month, just the day she finished recording "Show Me the Money." She planned to give him a surprise.
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