Chapter 72 Chapter 72
"Tick, tick..." The only sound in the silent room was the slow ticking of the wall clock. The lights were off in the shared recording studio. Lia sat alone at the console, her mind wandering. Suddenly, her phone chimed.
She casually clicked on it and found it was a request for revisions from Quan Zhilong. "Okay, I'll fix it tonight." She barely hesitated before editing and sending it off. It was just some minor adjustments, and she was still in the recording studio.
Lia thought. There was still an unread message on KaokaoTalk, and the full content could be seen from the list. [seungho_y] How about going to Lotte Theme Park?
She didn't click on it, unsure how to respond, so she kept putting it off. "He may be an actor, but he's already in talks for several idol dramas. Exposing his relationship now would do him no good." The man's words echoed in her ears.
When she got the call that day, she thought it was a prank. That manager, Cui, was clearly quite proactive. With just a few words, he asked her to meet him at a coffee shop near the company.
"We met at Jingtai High School. I wonder if you remember it. It was during the filming of the school's promotional video." The man asked politely over the phone. "I remember," she said.
Even though so much time had passed and many things had become blurry, those inquiring eyes were etched in my memory, calm and sharp, as if assessing something. Yu Seung-ho would occasionally mention him, calling him like an older brother who had watched him grow up.
More than just an agent, he was an elder. The reason he'd come to her at this moment wasn't hard to guess. With a mixture of speculation and curiosity, she agreed to meet him.
Compared to the coldness in her memory, this time, the other party's attitude seemed particularly polite, and there was even a hint of concern in his words. He did not look down on her because of her young age.
"Generally speaking, the company will not interfere too much in the private lives of artists. The reason I was anxious to see you this time is because... I happened to be photographed." The man said as he pushed a photo.
"I don't have the remaining photos on hand right now, and the other party didn't intend to expose them, so after taking them I contacted the company, and we've already paid for the buyout."
Lia's heart suddenly tightened. Her gaze fell on the photo, and her thoughts were suddenly dragged back to that summer three years ago—also a candid photo. What was the headline then? Oh, "YG Female Trainee's Dating Exposed."
Then, Quan Zhilong was pushed to the forefront.
The cold air from the PR department's conference room seemed to blast against her spine again, and that familiar feeling of nausea washed over her. Her hands, hanging from the table, couldn't help but tighten. She tried to keep her tone calm: "...Thank you."
The man looked at her calmly, not missing a single expression.
"I believe you understand the power of public opinion." He emphasized the word "power" with particular clarity. "Even though Chenghao is an actor, he's currently going through a transition period. Whether it's his image as the 'national younger brother' or his upcoming idol drama, if his relationship is exposed, it will be severely damaging to his career."
"...I know." Lia lowered her eyes and lowered her voice.
Perhaps because she'd been living off-camera for so long, she'd lost her guard. She knew, after all, that the person she was dating was a public figure.
"I came here today not to embarrass you, but I just hope you can be more cautious in your future actions."
There was no expected "dating ban"; the manager, surnamed Cui, simply pleaded earnestly with her not to appear in public with Yoo Seung-ho again. He obviously didn't need to say anything more; that photo spoke for itself.
Lia gave him a serious look. She didn't know why, but this man always struck her as familiar. Though he looked different from the PR director, they both held the same calm composure in their eyes—everything was a bargaining chip, everything could be calculated.
"Okay." She nodded gently. The man finally smiled, satisfied, but restrained. "By the way, he's conflicted about what I said now, and he's also told me not to contact you. So... could you please keep this a secret, please?"
He remained calm and polite, waiting for her to agree before concluding the conversation seamlessly. Lia sighed softly. She sat in the darkness for a long time.
"Never mind the amusement park or anything like that. Anyway... there'll always be a chance in the future." She muttered to herself and clicked on her phone. [NeonL] How about we find a quieter place to meet?
She casually texted the name of a coffee shop. It was a place she'd been to with Xia Qing before; it wasn't far from the office and had its own private dining room. By the time she finished adjusting her work, it was already eleven o'clock. Lia stretched and glanced at her phone.
Turning on the screen, a message popped up. [seungho_y] Okay, let's go to this cafe. He replied an hour after she sent it, his tone unchanged from his usual one.
But she suddenly felt an indescribable depression in her heart.
At Manager Choi's request, she didn't tell him why they suddenly changed the venue. She could have easily come up with any excuse: she didn't like amusement parks, there were too many people, she wasn't feeling well... But he didn't ask.
Was it out of consideration, or perhaps because she didn't want to ask further? He knew about the secret filming, but he hadn't mentioned a word. If he had asked, she could have told him about her worries, fears...even anger. But he said nothing.
Lia knew she was being overly critical. She was taking her anger out on him. He was clearly a victim in this matter as well. It felt like two thoughts were tugging at each other, and ultimately, her emotions took over.
Without replying, she tossed her phone back into her bag and headed home. Yu Seung-ho stared at his phone, lost in thought. They'd only filmed one night scene today, and it had finished early. When he got his phone back, he saw the message from Lia about the location change.
His heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at his agent. "Let's go?" Agent Cui had already picked up the paper bag on the table, ready to leave. His expression was calm, save for the weariness of a long day at work.
Maybe I was just being overly suspicious. The other party didn't have her contact information, and it was just an afternoon. She liked quiet time, so it was normal for her not to like going to the playground.
"Yeah." Yu Chenghao got up and followed, replying to the message in his hand: "Okay, let's go to this cafe." But until he returned to the hotel and finished washing up, he still didn't receive any more messages from her.
Actually, they didn't contact each other all the time. They were both busy, and there were many times during the day when they didn't have time to reply. But the last text message made him inexplicably uneasy. After hesitating for a moment, he dialed the phone. "Hello."
On the other end of the phone, her voice was cold and weary, with a hint of imperceptible fatigue. "Are you still busy?" he asked softly. "No, I just got out of the shower. Why are you calling suddenly?"
If entering the film and television industry as a child gave him a precocious maturity that his peers lacked, then the most important thing was the ability to read people's expressions—even if it was just by the sound of their voice.
She seemed stunned for a moment, and after a while she answered, "No, I had a lot of work at the company today, so I'm a little tired." "Then go to bed early?"
She sighed inwardly. She hadn't meant to say that, but in this relationship, he was always cautious. "Let's talk for a while," she said, her tone softening. "Do you... want to go to the amusement park?" Yu Seungho was startled.
"No, the cafe is nice too." This wasn't a perfunctory response. With her, anywhere was great. "Is that so..." She seemed to smile, her voice a little lighter. "Well, are you busy today?" he asked.
They rarely saw each other, and even before they fell in love, they weren't particularly close. Whenever he had the chance, he wanted to talk to her more. But even then, it wasn't enough.
"Oh, right," she said, her tone a little excited, as if she suddenly remembered something, "the president asked me to participate in the post-production of a program today..." "What program?" he asked, walking to the balcony. It was late at night.
The late spring, early summer breeze, mingled with the dampness of grass, trees, and earth, brushed against his lowered arms. There were no stars in the sky above the city, only sparse streetlights in the distance, flickering a sporadic, warm glow. Her voice on the phone was bright and brisk.
I really want to... extend this night indefinitely.
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