Chapter 34

"Um!" Taeyeon softly responded, saying, "I'll listen to you."

Her soft words instantly melted the coldness on Park Ji-hoon's face, and the defenses in his heart almost crumbled. How many men could resist such a statement?

He had thought she would choose to give up, after all, they were no longer in a relationship.

"Cough!" After a moment, Park Ji-hoon lightly coughed and said, "I've thought about it. We both need to cool off for a while. Let's not meet for a while."

Taeyeon bit her lip lightly and didn't say anything.

"You're too emotional." Park Ji-hoon, not hearing her response, continued, "Don't make choices based on guilt or impulse. Besides, your career is at a critical stage, and I don't have much time either. Cooling off will be good for both of us."

"You've changed!" After a moment of silence, Taeyeon said softly. Even if it was a rational choice, in the past, he would never have made such a decision.

"People always change," Park Ji-hoon said softly, "And I'm just no longer suppressing my personality."

Taeyeon suddenly thought of Yoo Ri's description of him. A person who was so popular in elementary school, how could his personality suddenly become soft? It turned out the root was here; he had always been suppressing his personality! Just like the profession of an entertainer, what he showed was not entirely his true self.

"Phone calls?" she asked after biting her lip.

"Whatever." Park Ji-hoon couldn't be heartless.

"Um." Taeyeon's mood brightened slightly. After a pause, she suddenly asked, "I heard you were good at fighting when you were a kid?" Thinking from another angle, he was considering their future, using the most rational way, which made her feel much better.

"Uh!" Park Ji-hoon was taken aback.

"Tell me, I want to hear!" Taeyeon said in a coquettish tone.

...

The next day, Taeyeon told Tiffany, Jessica, and others that Park Ji-hoon had asked her to apologize on his behalf and had re-added their phone numbers to his contacts.

At the same time, she also talked about the company's suppression of their relationship, letting them decide how to face their relationship with Park Ji-hoon.

As expected, all the members made the same choice—back then, they had sworn they would never forget the people who helped and supported them during that period! Moreover, the company had no right to interfere in personal matters like friendships.

Because of the company's actions, they couldn't even blame Park Ji-hoon for his unilateral decision.

Although they were angry and ignored him, they still learned about some of Park Ji-hoon's conditions from Sulli, such as being very tired and having injuries on his hands.

It was precisely because of this that they didn't say anything about being blocked. Their only condition was for Park Ji-hoon to send an apology text—thinking they lacked the spirit of friendship was too underestimating them!

However, from today on, Park Ji-hoon's situation would likely become even worse.

As they had guessed, Park Ji-hoon suddenly found it difficult to receive program invitations from the three major TV stations. S.M. Entertainment still had some influence at the three major TV stations.

His exposure rate also greatly decreased.

However, after cursing "get lost" yesterday, he had already prepared mentally. It was a good opportunity to focus on the fixed program "We Got Married," which would be more effective than participating in those medium-sized programs!

Interestingly, this program was still a collaboration with S.M. Entertainment's artists. What would the expression of S.M. Entertainment be? Would they have the courage to have a falling out with MBC?

Thinking about these things was a way to find some joy in the midst of hardship.

S.M. Entertainment's actions did cause him some trouble, but the impact was not significant. After all, he was an actor.

In terms of living, he had the boxed meals provided by the production team every day, so he didn't have to spend much, and he didn't need to use Park Min-ah's living expenses. Being a bit frugal was fine; they were used to it.

However, he wasn't overly arrogant. Sharpness was important, but reality was more pressing! So, although he had cursed S.M. Entertainment, he chose the most rational way.

Of course, there was another reason he didn't mention. Although he buried his self-respect deep in his heart, he still didn't want Taeyeon to see him in such a difficult situation.

Korean variety shows were "excessive." In some programs, the punishment methods were completely devoid of human rights—putting people in suitcases, tying their limbs to a wooden stick, and making them wear pig head masks... and they had to laugh while receiving these punishments!

He didn't want Taeyeon to see these scenes.

The movie "Uncle" was the most popular due to him. To boost future box office sales, he had to work hard to increase his popularity and recognition. Whether good or bad, as long as people knew and paid attention.

He took on all the pressure, without blaming heaven or man, and instead smiled. For his current state, all pressure was motivation.

After S.M. Entertainment imposed restrictions on Park Ji-hoon, they deliberately increased Taeyeon's schedule, leaving her no time for anything else. And it seemed to be effective; Taeyeon didn't have any strong reactions.

However, on the third day, they were again troubled by the photos sent by the magazine!

Park Ji-hoon and Krystal!

Was this guy deliberately going against S.M. Entertainment?

However, it was better this way; showing the photos to Taeyeon would make her disappointed in him!

In fact, Park Ji-hoon was completely innocent.

Krystal had somehow learned about S.M. Entertainment's suppression of him—she had already known about the conflict between him and the company, so she paid special attention to related information—and called him to meet on the third day after the incident. This was the time to see who was a true friend!

Park Ji-hoon didn't have time during the day, so he could only come out at night, and it was 1 a.m.

"Isn't it too late to not go home? Isn't your aunt worried?" Park Ji-hoon's first words to Krystal were a scolding. There was no way around it; they were too familiar! He treated her like a younger sister.

"Isn't there an oppa with me?" Krystal said casually.

"Does your aunt know?" Park Ji-hoon asked.

"No!" Krystal replied.

Park Ji-hoon smiled speechlessly. Wasn't that not answering his previous question?

"Oppa, what you should be worried about is yourself, not my mom!" Krystal said, "Don't worry! I only come out this late to meet oppa."

"When did you get so smart?" Park Ji-hoon pretended to be surprised and looked at her.

"I've always been smarter than oppa, okay?" Krystal countered without backing down. In other words, if she was stupid, he was even more stupid.

Park Ji-hoon smiled helplessly but without any blame. Being with her was always more relaxed; he didn't have to specially take care of her or hide anything, just say what he thought.

"Did you call me out this late just for some late-night snacks?" The two walked side by side on the street at night.

"Can't I?" Krystal asked.

"Huh!" Park Ji-hoon turned his head speechlessly and said, "Are you trying to exhaust me?" The familiar gesture and tone were exactly what Taeyeon had done in the car before filming "We Got Married." After being together for a long time, they inevitably became somewhat similar.

"Is it that exaggerated?" Krystal pouted and said, "Don't always sleep. Occasionally sacrificing some rest time to go out and relax can relieve mental stress better than resting."

Although Park Ji-hoon was ten years older than her, it was strangely as if she was taking care of him—since their first meeting, it seemed destined that they would interact in this strange way, and it had been like this for five years.

"Sure," Park Ji-hoon responded casually.

"Two fish cake skewers!" Krystal stopped at a stall. In the cold night, eating a few fresh and fragrant fish cake skewers and drinking a hot fish cake soup, it felt like the best taste in the world!

Park Ji-hoon also stopped, asking the price and paying.

"Young man, take good care of your girlfriend! It's so cold, and she's wearing so little. What if she catches a cold?" The stall owner was very talkative. Both of them were in plain clothes and not particularly popular, so even without hiding, they didn't have to worry about being recognized in such a place.

"Aunt, we're siblings," Park Ji-hoon explained with a smile. Although neither of them cared, there was no need to cause misunderstandings.

"Siblings? Humph!" The stall owner glanced at them and humphed, then ignored him and continued her work. Their facial features had no similarity at all; even plastic surgery couldn't make such a big difference!

"Ha!" Krystal couldn't help but giggle at Park Ji-hoon's embarrassed expression after the stall owner turned away.

Park Ji-hoon could only smile bitterly.

However, things didn't end there. He suddenly realized he didn't have his fish cake soup! After calling out, he was told there were no more bowls left!

How could that be?

Just as Park Ji-hoon was smiling bitterly, a bowl was handed to him.

"Do you need it?" Krystal asked directly, with the implication that she would take it back if he hesitated.

Park Ji-hoon didn't say anything and took it directly.

Krystal nodded in satisfaction. She knew that Park Ji-hoon didn't like eating things that others had touched, except for very close people.

"Delicious!" Park Ji-hoon said after drinking it in one breath. The fish cake soup was fresh and fragrant, and after drinking it, his whole body felt warm, worthy of praise.

However, just as he finished speaking, he was elbowed by Krystal.

"Ha ha..." Park Ji-hoon realized his words had a double meaning and laughed awkwardly.

"You drank it all!" Krystal complained.

"We can order more," Park Ji-hoon smiled and said. Was she elbowing him for this? He couldn't grasp her thoughts.

Including this meeting.

They wandered around, had some late-night snacks, and then went home, as if she had just called him to accompany her for some late-night snacks!

[Congratulations to book friend "Mickey Li Ai" on your birthday, there will be three updates today~~~]

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