hooklinebooks Chapter 77 Guilty Feelings
Chapter 77 Guilty Feelings
Bang
Before the heavy iron door in the stairwell could close, Ahn Yoo-jin nimbly darted sideways and "darted" inside.
Seeing Zhang Yuanying looking up at the building, Ahn Yoo-jin simply climbed the stairs to a higher vantage point to observe for a moment.
blah blah blah
Back beside Jang Won-young, Ahn Yoo-jin was about to ask a question when Jang Won-young spoke first, "Yoo-jin unnie, what should I do now?"
Ahn Yoo-jin had no idea what had happened.
But it doesn't seem like something "happened" in Zhang Yuanying's family.
Judging from her eyes and expression, she was both excited and at a loss.
Ahn Yoo-jin lowered her voice and asked, "Who is it?"
The only thing that could possibly cause Zhang Yuanying to become "abnormal" is that person.
Zhang Yuanying nodded and said, "He sent me a text message."
"Um?"
"Unnie, actually I've been sending him text messages all the time, one every morning, noon, and evening."
"Don't get me wrong, it was just a regular text message. He usually reads it but doesn't reply. But just now when I picked up my phone to order takeout for the maknae, I saw an unread message from him."
Ahn Yoo-jin was still a little confused, so she tentatively asked, "Won-young, do you like that person?"
Zhang Yuanying shook her head.
Ahn Yoo-jin stroked her chin and said, "If you don't like that person, then why did you receive a text message from him...?"
Zhang Yuanying knew what Ahn Yoo-jin wanted to say, and waved her hand, saying, "Unnie, take a look at the text message first."
The phone was handed to Ahn Yoo-jin.
Just as Zhang Yuanying said, she would send him very ordinary greeting messages at three specific times every day without fail, but he never replied to Zhang Yuanying with any message, not even a single punctuation mark.
If you scroll up in the text message chat, you'll definitely see many more greetings sent by Zhang Yuanying.
The key message is the one at the very bottom, which was replied to at 2:34 PM today.
Ahn Yoo-jin looked very carefully, afraid of missing even a single word and missing the most crucial information.
After reading the message, he turned to look at Zhang Yuanying.
The reply message was only one paragraph long. Ahn Yu-jin asked, "So you're going to see that person?"
Zhang Yuanying pointed at the phone screen and said, "Unnie, I actually saw him today."
"what?"
"After finishing the photoshoot at noon, I went to the KAKAO Group company first."
"What? You went...?"
What surprised Ahn Yoo-jin even more was that Jang Won-young told her that she cried in the stairwell of the KAKAO Group building, and cried her heart out in front of Han Hee-joon.
Ahn Yoo-jin instinctively reached out and put her arm around Jang Won-young's shoulder.
I want to offer comfort.
But for a moment, he didn't know what to say to comfort Zhang Yuanying.
She had seen Jang Won-young cry, but that was several years ago. Ever since the limited-time group IZ*ONE disbanded and the two returned to Starship Entertainment as IVE members, she had never seen Jang Won-young cry. It was as if she had really grown up overnight.
Aside from occasionally acting cute with herself, Jang Won-young always maintains a "perfect" member image in front of the other members, or rather, maintains a polite and respectful "distance".
That's why when she heard Jang Won-young say that she cried her eyes out in front of Han Hee-joon, she was so shocked that she forgot what she wanted to say and her mind went blank.
Zhang Yuanying actually burst into tears in front of an "outsider".
That's incredible.
"Unnie, unnie"
Still not quite back to reality, Ahn Yoo-jin muttered, "Tell me this isn't real."
Zhang Yuanying said, "I only told Unnie, so what should I do now?"
Trusted, Ahn Yoo-jin roused herself and looked Jang Won-young straight in the eye, asking, "Are you really alright?"
Zhang Yuanying shook her head.
Ahn Yoo-jin asked, "Do you want to see him?"
Zhang Yuanying said, "I must see him."
Ahn Yoo-jin asked doubtfully, "Is it necessary?"
Zhang Yuanying explained the reason to An Youzhen.
Ahn Yoo-jin knew that Jang Won-young wanted Han Hee-joon to help her secure an endorsement deal for Hyundai-Kia's latest flagship car.
For idols, especially female idols, being able to endorse Jinro soju is a symbol of popularity, and being able to endorse products of Fortune 500 conglomerates is proof of their status in the entertainment industry.
Prior to this, Hyundai Kia invited BLACKPINK to be their brand ambassadors.
BLACKPINK has also established their unique position as a fourth-generation group with their popularity and strength.
Entering the era of fifth-generation girl groups, no girl group or individual has ever received the same endorsement offer. Jang Won-young's ability to secure it makes her the first person from the fifth-generation girl groups to do so.
Ahn Yoo-jin understood Jang Won-young's thoughts and said slowly, "Then let's go see him. If your manager comes to the practice room, I'll cover for you."
Zhang Yuanying asked, "Unnie, won't you ask me what would happen if I asked him for help, that would mean it would be between him and me..."
Ahn Yoo-jin interrupted Jang Won-young, saying, "Do whatever you want, if you can achieve your goal. But you must be careful, Won-young, you must be careful. You are different from everyone else."
Zhang Yuanying's nose felt sore.
Ahn Yu-jin is the one who truly understands herself.
Ahn Yu-jin wasn't worried about her or the other members of IVE.
The team leader should prioritize the group's well-being.
But at this moment, Ahn Yoo-jin was only worried that something unexpected might happen during her and Han Hee-joon's "cooperation" to win the endorsement deal and she wouldn't be able to handle it.
For example, if news of a fake relationship is exposed and photos are taken, it's clearly fake, but you can't clarify that it's fake.
So many people are watching Jang Won-young, whether they are fans, anti-fans, or those who have bet on her, as well as Starship Entertainment.
The backlash Zhang Yuanying will face then will be beyond their current imagination.
Zhang Yuanying was also aware of this.
But pursuing goals always involves taking risks.
Rather than facing unknown risks that haven't yet occurred, Jang Won-young is more interested in securing endorsements and becoming the first member of a fifth-generation girl group. With that confidence, she will have the opportunity to be herself again.
"Go ahead, I'll tell the members you've gone home."
"Yes, we can't let the members worry."
Ahn Yoo-jin opened the iron door to the stairwell.
He gestured for Zhang Yuanying to go first.
Zhang Yuanying nodded emphatically and said firmly, "Unnie, I'm going to see him."
As Zhang Yuanying walked out of the stairwell, Ahn Yoo-jin stood in the corridor, gazing at his straight back. She could feel Zhang Yuanying's determination to "win" and prayed that his firm steps would lead to "success".
Tehran Road, Kakao Group.
15th floor, research and development center.
Ding
SMS notification tone.
Han Xijun picked up his phone casually.
He thought it was a message from Zhang Yuanying.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the time displayed in the lower right corner of the computer was 6 p.m. Every day at this time, I would receive Zhang Yuanying's evening greetings.
But today will be different. Zhang Yuanying should have finished her work and seen the text message asking her if she wanted to meet.
Unlock your phone screen and open the text message chat box.
Han Xijun frowned.
The text message wasn't from Zhang Yuanying, but from Wu Haiyuan, asking if Han Xijun was busy.
Upon seeing the text message, Han Xijun felt a sudden, inexplicable shock.
He didn't know why he felt guilty.
It's like cheating on your girlfriend with someone else...