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墨書 Inktalez
Some news that one cannot even imagine always strikes unexpectedly, leaving people stunned for a moment before they realize they are not dreaming. It seems that whether good or bad, such events do not come alone; just as if they were meant to happen, they often arrive in pairs.
"EXO member embroiled in drug scandal, S.M. Company stock price plummets."
Anna stared at this news for an unknown amount of time before realizing that this nightmare had truly occurred.
She dialed Park Chan-yeol's number, but it remained switched off.
"What is going on lately? One shocking piece of news after another. Just a couple of days ago, everyone was excited about Yoo Jae-suk collaborating with EXO on stage, and now this scandal breaks out. It's really unpredictable."
"Ah, in this industry, who is truly clean?"
"Hasn't there been enough drug-related arrests over the years? But this time an entire group has been implicated; that's unprecedented."
Sure enough, as soon as she entered the subway car, she heard people discussing it fervently, especially some students whose excitement was palpable.
"The brothers can't be involved; I don't believe it."
"It must be a misunderstanding."
"But the news says drugs were found in their drinks and urine... how could this happen?"
"The brothers have now suspended all activities; what are we going to do? They just made their comeback, and now we can't see them again."
"There should be results soon. Let's show our support online together."
"Yes. We must not waver at this time."
"But what if it's true? Could it be that the brothers are just too exhausted, so..."
"That's impossible..."
"However, if it is true, it would be so disappointing."
"If it were just one person, that would be one thing, but how could all the members be involved with drugs? That's just illogical."
The discussions never ceased. Anna once again felt the anxiety she experienced when Brother Jae-seok had his incident. This feeling was extremely distressing. It was like a dam that had developed a crack; once a drop of water seeped through, it would only lead to a flood.
She tried calling Park Chan-yeol again, but his phone was still off. Anna remembered that Kwang-soo had exchanged contact information with Zhang Yixing, but the result was the same—Zhang Yixing's phone was also off.
In the news images, Park Chan-yeol and the others looked deeply troubled, as if they had become exhausted overnight. No matter how many schedules they had or how tiring their work was before, she had never seen them like this.
"How could this happen? It's not like them. When they came to record the show before, they were in great spirits," the Task Force members discussed among themselves.
"Aren't they still investigating? It's not definite yet," Han Yufei said quietly.
Anna sat in her chair, silent. Although it felt a bit selfish, all she could think about was what had happened to Park Chan-yeol.
"However, with S.M. Company's stock dropping so much, I wonder if something big will happen," Dong Wan said.
"What kind of big event?" Anna asked.
"Look, the news says that S.M. Company has a lot of scattered shares because of the continuous decline. This situation is serious, and we don't know when it will be clarified. So we have no idea how low it might go. Normally, these declining stocks should be hard to sell, but look at now—the news says scattered shares are almost being sold off completely. Just imagine if the person buying these scattered shares is doing so intentionally; what would happen then?" Dong Wan said.
"If that's the case... his shareholding could potentially make him the largest shareholder of S.M.," Han Yufei said hesitantly.
"Hey, that's right. I didn't expect you to be so clever at this moment since you usually don't talk much," Dong Wan said with a smile.
Han Yufei lowered her head, her face turning red.
"Are you saying that someone is buying up these scattered shares?" Anna asked.
Dong Wan felt a bit embarrassed by Anna's serious expression and replied with a smile, "I'm just hypothesizing. How could I know what's really going on? Besides, who has that much money to buy back so many shares? S.M. is after all the largest entertainment company in the Republic of Korea. It’s also possible that S.M. Company is just buying back these stocks themselves."
"Tsk~ You always have so many conspiracy theories; I thought you were being serious," Park Soo Eun teased him.
However, Anna disagreed. After experiencing Brother Jae-seok's situation, she now believed that everything that seemed absurd actually had a traceable source. Once the source was found, everything that followed, no matter how bizarre, would reveal the true truth.
Anna had lost track of how the day passed. After work, she went straight to S.M. Company. A large number of reporters were already waiting outside. With her SBS work ID, Anna successfully entered the lobby again, but as soon as the receptionist heard she was looking for EXO, she immediately refused her request.
At that moment, whether it was good or bad news, Jang Bo-Yeon appeared...
In a quiet corner of the café, Jang Bo-Yeon looked beautiful even without her stage makeup, but she was very different from her on-stage persona, so no one recognized her.
The silent atmosphere was finally broken when their coffee arrived at the table.
Jang Bo-Yeon stirred her coffee and took a sip before saying, "Sister Anna, you haven't kept your promise."
"Promise?"
"In Park Chan-yeol's life, since you've chosen to withdraw, why are you here today?" Jang Bo-Yeon asked calmly with a smile.
From a distance, they appeared to be two close friends engaged in a friendly chat.
"Jiang Baoyan, you should know why I chose to withdraw back then, and you should also know who told Li Agent about our situation," Anna said.
Jiang Baoyan smiled and replied, "Sister Anna, since you know that I did it on purpose, why did you still go along with it?"
"Because at that time, I had no choice. Even though I knew you intentionally told Li Agent, I couldn't do anything about it. In fact, you know I would make that choice because you were certain that I didn't want things to escalate and negatively affect Park Chan-yeol."
"Did you never doubt my relationship with Brother Canlie?"
Anna smiled and said, "It wasn't doubt; I was sure you liked him. It would be a lie to say I wasn't jealous. When I saw you both together on Jeju Island, coming to the riverside to find me, and hearing about your rumors, I did wonder if you were really together. But..."
"But what?" Jiang Baoyan's smile slightly stiffened.
"When you came to record Running Man and asked me those questions, the things you said made me realize that although you longed to win Park Chan-yeol's heart, it seemed you hadn't succeeded."
"Why?" Jiang Baoyan frowned slightly.
"Because someone who is confident that their lover loves them back wouldn't be so eager to confirm others' positions," Anna said with a smile.
Jiang Baoyan's expression froze for a moment before she smiled again and said, "Sister Anna seems to be right. But I believe that one day I will make him truly love me. I will always be by his side. So what about you, Sister Anna? Are you going to go back on what you said before and return to Brother Canlie?"
Anna smiled slightly, shook her head, and said, "Jiang Baoyan, I have no such intention. Do you know why, even though I know it was you who told Li Agent about that matter, I don't blame you at all?"
"Why?"
"Because I know that sooner or later people would find out about my relationship with Park Chan-yeol. Perhaps it was precisely because of you that the impact of this matter on Park Chan-yeol was minimized and did not lead to an irreparable situation. As for everything else, it's already in the past; just forget it."
Jiang Baoyan took a sip of coffee. She knew exactly what Anna meant by "everything else" but chose not to respond.
"Today I came just because of what happened in the news, so I wanted to see if he was okay," Anna said.
"I only saw them once today. The incident is still under investigation, and there shouldn't be any issues for now."
"That's good."
"No one knows how those drugs ended up being found in their dormitory, and traces of drug use were detected in their bodies. Even if evidence is found to prove that the drug use was a setup, there is one thing that is most important right now."
"What is it?"
"Someone is acquiring shares of S.M. Company. If this person is powerful enough, then the largest shareholder of S.M. will be this person. When the company learned that someone was acquiring shares, they immediately responded, but now it seems like it might be too late."
Indeed, Dong Wan had guessed correctly, Anna thought.
"Who is it?"
Jiang Baoyan smiled and said, "This person should be known to you, Sister Anna."
"It’s…"
"Kim Mi-kyung."
The brief moment felt like a slow-motion scene; the cup shattered, scalding coffee splattered everywhere, dripping onto Anna's ankle and causing red spots to appear. However, Anna felt as if she couldn't feel the pain at all; even the sound seemed to have vanished…
If it weren't for Jang Bo-Yeon speaking clearly, Anna would really think she had lost her mind.
The scene before her felt somewhat hazy; Jang Bo-Yeon became increasingly blurred, and she seemed to be pulled back into that fire in an instant—the thick smoke, the suffocating heat, the horrifying screams, and Kim Mi-kyung's desperate yet deeply affectionate gaze.
Can a love that someone has staked their life on easily lead to happiness? Indeed, even though they did not start the fire and were also drawn into the situation, hatred and resentment have not vanished. Retribution never fails to show up; it will come sooner or later.
"Are you okay?" It wasn't until the waiter came to clean up the mess that the blazing fire in front of Anna faded from her mind.
"Oh, I'm fine, sorry," Anna said.
"It's alright." The waiter took away the broken pieces.
Seeing Anna's terrified and dazed expression, Jiang Baoyan mockingly said, "Looking at your face, you must know Miss Kim Mi-kyung. Why are you so afraid of her? I’m not afraid of her; from the very beginning, I knew Brother Canlie wouldn't like her."
Hearing Jiang Baoyan say this, Anna understood that Park Chan-yeol had certainly not told her about the fire. Jiang Baoyan did not know that Kim Mi-kyung was already dead.
"Does Park Chan-yeol know about this?"
"He should know by now. Everyone in the company is trying to find her, but it’s as if she has vanished into thin air. Besides knowing she is the daughter of the former chairman of Century Group, we can't find anything else."
Anna clenched her trembling hands and whispered, almost as if in a trance, "Someone must know..."
Century Group—this was Anna's first time stepping into this place. The 59-story building exuded a tremendous sense of oppression once inside. There was not a hint of bright color; everyone moved hurriedly with serious expressions.
"Hello, I'm looking for Zheng Andy." Anna approached the front desk since Andy's phone had gone unanswered.
The young man at the front desk clearly had never encountered someone who directly addressed their chairman by name.
"May I ask who you are?"
"I am his sister. My name is Anna Zheng."
Who could believe that if they were siblings, they wouldn't have a direct pass to enter, or at least they should have received the appropriate notification?
"Excuse me, do you have an appointment?" the man asked.
"No, I don't have an appointment." Anna never thought that one day she would need an appointment to see her own brother.
"I'm sorry, miss, our chairman is in a meeting. Please come back another day," the man said.
Anna was clearly annoyed by this dismissive attitude, and feeling anxious inside, her tone became a bit more intense.
"No, I need to see him right now. Please call him for me," Anna instinctively slapped the front desk, which attracted the attention of two tall security guards.
"Miss, please do not cause a scene. Also, if you really are Chairman Zheng's sister, you can call him yourself," the man said.
"Do you not believe that I am his sister?"
"Miss, you misunderstand."
Seeing that he maintained a polite smile yet subtly showed disdain, Anna decided not to waste any more time with him and turned to rush towards the elevator.
Just as she took a few steps, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. The grappling moves Jung Kook had taught her flashed through her mind. The previously imposing security guard was taken by surprise as she swiftly threw him to the ground. However, before Anna could straighten up, another security guard grabbed her arm from behind and pinned her against the wall. Her lip was cut, and she tasted blood in her mouth.
Just when Anna thought she was about to be thrown out of there, the phone at the front desk rang.
"Hello, Chairman..." The man glanced at Anna and continued speaking into the phone, "Okay... Understood... Alright."
After hanging up, the man told the security guard holding Anna, "Let her go. Then take this young lady to the chairman's office."
Two security guards remained expressionless as they released their grip. Anna adjusted her clothes and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Please," one of the guards said.
Anna said nothing and stepped into the elevator with them.
At the height of the 59th floor, the elevator ride felt long. Whether it was due to the earlier impact or the discomfort of the elevator space, Anna felt an inexplicable sense of panic rising within her.
It turned out that Andy worked in such an environment, and he was in a position of top leadership. The atmosphere here was something Anna could never have imagined, and from the very first second she entered, she felt out of place. Moreover, why had that phone call come at such a convenient time? It meant that Andy might have been watching everything unfold from somewhere right from the start.
Thinking about this made Anna's scalp tingle.
Finally, the elevator stopped, bringing Anna to the office door, and the security guards turned to leave.
Anna looked around; the dark and oppressive atmosphere made it seem like she had to muster all her courage just to raise her hand and knock. The sound echoed in the silent corridor, feeling particularly jarring.
"Come in." A familiar yet strange voice belonging to Andy came from inside.
"Please sit." Andy smiled, clearly pleased to see Anna.
Anna took a seat across from him. She didn't know that at one point, this very spot had been where Yoo Jae-suk faced Jin Yu Cheng. Now, the same location was occupied by different people and different events.
"You've never come to visit me at the company before. What brings you here today? Checking on my work environment?" Andy asked with a smile.
Seeing that sunny smile, if it weren't for being in such a dim space, Anna might have thought this Andy was still much like the old Andy. However, Anna no longer held onto such hopes; she only prayed that Andy hadn't truly lost his conscience.
Anna did not smile; she couldn't bring herself to do so.
"Andy, Miss Kim Mi-kyung, do you know?" Anna asked.
Sure enough, Andy's smile disappeared for a moment, but soon he turned around, the corners of his mouth lifting again. He did not answer Anna's question but relaxed into a chair and lit a cigarette.
"Also, I want to ask you, does the matter with EXO have anything to do with you?"
Andy exhaled a puff of smoke, chuckled, and said, "You came to find me just for this... Heh, I thought you were here to check on the working environment of your only relative."
"Andy, please tell me if Miss Kim Mi-kyung and the EXO matter have anything to do with you."
"Wow... that's really disheartening," Andy sighed. "I thought you came to visit me."
"Andy, please tell me!" Anna's tone became firm as she stared intently at Andy's face.
Andy met Anna's gaze, raised the corners of his mouth, and slowly said, "Alright, I'll tell you. My answer is that I don't know."
Receiving such a useless answer left Anna feeling helpless. This response made it impossible for her to continue questioning him, cutting off any reason for her to speak again. 'I don't know' was truly an answer that couldn't be better.
However, Andy happily stood up and said, "Alright, I've answered your questions. Let's go eat."
"No thanks." Anna also stood up and said, "Thank you, but I have other matters to attend to. I'll be leaving now."
Not knowing what expression Andy had behind her, Anna left the office without looking back. Her footsteps quickened until she exited the Century Group building and got into a taxi. Only then did her anxious heart finally begin to settle.
Three days later at night, she received a reply from Park Chan-yeol. After all those days, how hard must it have been for him to sound so exhausted?
"Chan-yeol," Anna called out anxiously.
Park Chan-yeol seemed to smile. "What's up? It feels like I'm about to die."
Hearing his voice, tears almost spilled from Anna's eyes as she bit her lip, forcing herself to hold back those emotions.
"I just wanted to ask if you're okay?"
"It's just a pause in all activities, think of it as a break." Even though he was clearly heartbroken, he pretended everything was fine, which only made the listener feel even sadder.
"Chan-yeol..." Anna didn't know whether to bring up Kim Mi-kyung.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"I know what you want to ask. Jiang Baoyan told me she saw you. Is it about Kim Mi-kyung?"
Caught off guard by his guess, Anna was speechless.
Chan-yeol said, "I suspect she's not dead. And if this is her revenge against me, it would settle my debt to her. It's just that it has implicated the members and the company."
Kim Mi-kyung, is she really not dead? How did she escape? Where is she now?
"Chan-yeol, are you okay?" Anna asked again, repeatedly wanting to confirm this matter in her heart.
"Are you silly? Didn't I just say that? If you're really that worried about me, since I'm completely free now, why not meet up?"
The word "good" almost made it to Anna's throat but was swallowed back down. After such a decisive breakup, she truly didn't know what face or reason she had left to meet him. The day she went to S.M. Company to find him was just because she wanted to see him and make sure he was okay. But now that everything had been made clear over the phone, what reason was there...? Moreover, what worried her more was the fear that she couldn't control her emotions.
"What's wrong?" Park Chan-yeol asked softly, waiting for a response that never came.
"Nothing..." Anna smiled and let out a long sigh, saying, "Anyway, it's good if there's nothing wrong. Well, goodbye."
Park Chan-yeol was silent for a moment before smiling and replying, "Goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, Peter jumped onto the sofa. He was quite large but still cuddled up to Anna like a child seeking affection. What should she do about this? She couldn't think of any solutions at all. If Kim Mi-kyung really wasn't dead, where could she be? Did she really do it?
"But..." Anna murmured, stroking Peter's head as she said, "I really miss him..."
Peter lifted his head and looked at Anna's face.
"Do you know who I'm talking about..." Anna smiled and said, "You probably don't know, but I really want to see him, just to catch a glimpse of him. However, it seems I can't find a reason to look for him now."
Peter quietly lay on Anna's lap, silently wagging his tail.
"Are you hungry?" Anna asked.
Peter seemed to perk up instantly, jumping off the sofa and sitting obediently in front of Anna. She smiled and patted his head before pouring some dog food into his bowl.
It's so nice to have such simple joy.
The wind picked up again, rustling the curtains. Although it was early summer, the night was still a bit cool. Anna stood up and walked to the window, gently closing it. The room fell into tranquility as she lay down on the bed but found it hard to fall asleep for a long time.
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