Chapter 267: Jung Soo Jung Begins Touching 【life And Death】
With the second bedroom door clicking shut, blocking out the outside sounds, the room immediately fell silent enough to only hear the rapid breathing of Jung Soo Yeon and the other two.
The air seemed to be instantly sucked out, pressing heavily on their chests.
Meanwhile, Jung Soo Jung was half-pushed and half-pulled to sit on the edge of the bed, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her skirt, her heartbeat pounding like it was about to burst through her eardrums.
At this moment, she was staring wide-eyed, her gaze darting back and forth between Jung Soo Yeon and Sulli, her face full of wariness and confusion, like a small beast cornered, ready to flare up at any moment.
“Soo Jung, calm down first.” Jung Soo Yeon leaned down, her palm resting on her shoulder, gently pressing it, her voice much softer than usual, as if afraid of scaring her, “Stop for a moment and listen to me. We’re not deceiving you, nor trying to brush you off.”
Sulli also leaned down, moving close to her side, her tone soothing, “Yes, the one you saw in the bedroom just now… is real.”
At this point, she slightly adjusted her words, as if even she was still digesting that situation, “The reason is simple: oppa has a… time-space door that allows people to travel back and forth between 2013 and 2025.”
“Time-space… door?” Jung Soo Jung unconsciously repeated it, her gaze clearly shaken, her throat somewhat dry.
“Mm.” Jung Soo Yeon nodded, her eyes firm, “The tavern members you’ve been pressing us about are just people who know this secret.”
Normally, Jung Soo Jung would have rolled her eyes, thinking the two were joking, as if filming some hidden camera variety show to tease her.
But just moments ago, she had clearly seen Jessica tied up on the bed.
That Jessica who was more mature than the Jung Soo Yeon before her, with a slightly thinner face.
At first, due to tension and concern, she hadn’t noticed these details.
But as Jung Soo Yeon appeared, her thoughts gradually calmed, and she recalled that the figure’s gaze, aura, even the fatigue at the corners of her brows, were all different from Jung Soo Yeon’s.
“You two… when did you find out?”
Thinking of this, Jung Soo Jung suddenly looked up, her gaze locking tightly on the two, as if trying to find a flaw in their expressions.
Jung Soo Yeon was silent for a moment, then spoke first, “I knew from the very beginning.”
Her voice was as light as a sigh, as if carrying a long-held secret, finally exhaling a bit of its weight.
Sulli shrugged and added, “I found out later, after unnie and Ji-yeon.”
The defenses in Jung Soo Jung’s heart seemed to crumble bit by bit, her originally tense shoulders relaxing slightly, but new questions surged up even faster.
“But even if, even if the time-space door is real, why did Lin Xiuyuan kidnap future Jessica? Why? And so roughly, rudely—is there some problem on their side in the future?”
As she spoke, her voice unconsciously rose, carrying a hint of urgency.
Jung Soo Yeon and Sulli exchanged a glance, their eyes full of tacit understanding, but neither answered immediately.
In the end, Jung Soo Yeon just reached out and gently patted the back of her hand, her tone calming down, “Ask her yourself later… Krystal, that is, your future self, because this plan was set by her personally.”
“Mm, originally oppa wasn’t willing to carry it out, but just now, I don’t know what happened, he suddenly acted, and I was startled.” Sulli added.
“Future me?” Jung Soo Jung was stunned, her eyes flickering, then she immediately looked up at Sulli, “Right, so Snowball, you… you’ve seen your future self too?”
At these words, Jung Soo Yeon clearly paused, reflexively gripping Jung Soo Jung’s hand tightly, as if afraid she’d hear bad news.
But Sulli smiled, her smile carrying a bit of relief and release, “Mm, I have.”
Who says a tombstone isn’t oneself.
“You… how’s your future?” A trace of tension and expectation floated in Jung Soo Jung’s eyes, her heartbeat unconsciously quickening.
As if wanting to learn about her own future situation in advance from it.
However…
“Don’t be nervous.” Sulli’s tone suddenly lightened, as if she’d put herself aside, “In 2025… there’s no me.”
Jung Soo Jung froze, her whole body like it was paused, staring blankly at her, “W-What do you mean?”
Sulli’s gaze suddenly calmed, as if looking at her future self, her tone unusually flat, “Because a few years later, I committed suicide.”
The room fell into dead silence again, only the clock on the desk ticking slowly, each sound knocking on Jung Soo Jung’s heart.
“You… what did you say?!”
Jung Soo Jung’s pupils contracted sharply, as if splashed with a basin of ice water face-on. Her voice was lighter and slower than usual, carrying obvious hesitation and probing, as if each word needed confirming several times before she could say it.
Her brows furrowed tightly, her eyes filled with incomprehensible confusion, as if struggling to piece together the “future” picture from Sulli’s words, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t find an acceptable reason.
“Why…”
Murmuring softly, Jung Soo Jung’s voice was so low it was almost swallowed by the room’s silence, then the next second, as if suddenly regaining strength, she raised her tone, “This can’t be! Why commit suicide? For what reason?”
The instinctive questioning carried urgency, but not hysteria.
It was the intense incomprehension and curiosity unique to young people, wanting to know the answer and find the reason immediately.
Not yet twenty, Jung Soo Jung hadn’t truly experienced life-and-death partings; in her worldview, death was still distant and unfamiliar.
Let alone actively ending one’s life.
How could she commit suicide???
What was the reason??
Why???
These questions surged like waves, making her fingers unconsciously grip the bedsheet tightly.
But Sulli didn’t explain further, just quietly watching her, pursing her lips, then switching to an even lighter tone.
“That’s all future stuff, it hasn’t come yet, and won’t have the chance. I’m fine now, right? With the foresight oppa gave me this time, I definitely won’t end up like that.”
Sulli said this very lightly.
As if deliberately pulling the atmosphere toward gentleness, not letting the topic sink further.
Jung Soo Jung stared at her for a few seconds, ultimately not pressing further.
She just quietly noted it in her heart, knowing she’d figure it out eventually.
Because if what these two said was true, she’d definitely have a chance to go to the 2025 world.
Then, even if they didn’t tell her, she could look it up or ask her future self directly.
After a moment of silence, Jung Soo Jung suddenly remembered something, looked up at Sulli, her voice still carrying hesitation, “Right, so who was the one lecturing me before? Snowball, didn’t you say it was someone from the members?”
Sulli smiled, as if she’d anticipated the question, “That was your future self.”
She said it lightly, even with a hint of teasing.
Jung Soo Yeon nodded beside her, her tone calm but with a bit of amusement, “Mm, on Yoona’s side too, it was her future self lecturing her. You two are a pair this time, truly sisters now.”
“…”
Jung Soo Jung paused, a strange emotion flashing in her eyes, as if imagining what that “future self” was like.
Sulli quickly added with a smile, recounting her recent “copy script” experiences, how Lin Xiaolu snatched the role, and how things with Park Ji-yeon completely changed their life trajectories, telling Jung Soo Jung everything in detail.
Jung Soo Jung listened with furrowed brows, her fingers unconsciously tightening, finally taking a deep breath, as if temporarily suppressing the jumble of information.
“Let’s not talk about that for now.”
Then she looked up, her tone carrying a forcibly stabilized calm, “We should go check on next door first. Kidnapping is really scary, honestly.”
Jung Soo Yeon and Sulli exchanged a glance, understanding each other’s thoughts, nodding in tacit agreement.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Sulli responded softly, pushing open the room door, and the three walked out one after another.
Thus creating the scene from before.
But when Sulli clearly saw Jessica’s situation on the bed, her already tense chest trembled slightly again.
Without speaking, she quietly tugged at Jung Soo Jung beside her, who was clearly quite upset with Lin Xiuyuan.
Jung Soo Jung turned back puzzled, meeting Sulli’s gaze.
The latter blinked lightly and made a subtle chin gesture, signaling outside.
Following Sulli’s indication, Jung Soo Jung looked at Jessica on the bed.
Disheveled hair strands, a nearly collapsing expression, made her heart tighten.
Not a fool, she sensibly tossed her long hair, turned, and followed Sulli out of the room, her movements decisive.
The room door closed behind them, leaving only Lin Xiuyuan, Jung Soo Yeon, and Jessica on the bed in the bedroom.
Noticing this, Lin Xiuyuan raised a sword brow, then looked at Jung Soo Yeon and asked, “How do you think we should handle it? You’ll have to come with me to the villa later to tie up some loose ends. Leaving her here like this shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Someone needs to watch her.”
Since entering the door, Jung Soo Yeon’s gaze had barely left Jessica; hearing Lin Xiuyuan’s words, she gave her opinion, “Have someone guard her to avoid accidents. Someone who could do something this stupid—you can’t be sure if her mind is still thinking straight.”
Hearing Jung Soo Yeon’s merciless evaluation, Jessica on the bed widened her eyes sharply.
Even with her mouth gagged, the anger and grievance were clear in her gaze; her originally somewhat dazed expression now turned to outright protest and fury.
She struggled hard at her wrists, making muffled “mmph…” sounds, her eyes glaring fixedly at Jung Soo Yeon, as if accusing: How can you say that about me.
Lin Xiuyuan watched her reaction, raising a sword brow, “Alright then, from now on, let Jinjin stay home to keep her company. Anyway, Jung Soo Jung knows now, so no need for her to watch anymore.”
His voice was unhurried, like announcing a simple arrangement, completely unaffected by the bed occupant’s emotional fluctuations.
Jung Soo Yeon nodded, giving Jessica on the bed a deep look, then turned to Lin Xiuyuan, “Let’s go, help this idiot clean up the aftermath, make her quit the industry.”
Her tone was flat to the point of coldness, as if it were just a pre-decided step.
“Mmph mmph…”
But Jessica on the bed had her pupils shrink sharply, her whole body like struck in the nerves by the words, shaking her head violently, wanting to say something but only managing vague, urgent muffled sounds.
She twisted her body desperately, her wrists reddening from the rope due to struggling, her ankles kicking hard at the bedsheet, as if using her whole body to express unwillingness.
Her eyes were filled with panic and refusal; tears that had dried now slid from the corners again, dripping down her cheeks onto the pillow, leaving small water marks.
That emotion was no longer mere fear, but utter panic and unwillingness, as if saying: No, I don’t want to, I won’t quit!
Her career, her stage, the name and glory earned through over a decade of effort—how could they be stripped away like this?
If it really happened, for Jessica, it would be more suffocating than death.
She’d rather die.
The room’s air pressure seemed to drop a few degrees in that instant.
…
Outside the door in the living room, the atmosphere was clearly much lighter.
Compared to the oppressive heaviness in the bedroom, here the lighting was soft, sunlight outside the floor-to-ceiling window refracted by tree shadows and glass into fragmented light, quietly falling on the floor.
Sulli and Jung Soo Jung sat side by side on the sofa, the air still lingering with the earlier tension.
At first, neither spoke, the air still holding that taut atmosphere.
Jung Soo Jung sat there with her hands down, as if trying to sort out the swirling information in her mind.
But soon, she couldn’t help turning her head, staring at Sulli, her voice low, “Snowball, how many people know about this?”
Sulli blinked, as if confirming what she meant, “What thing?”
“The time-space door.”
Jung Soo Jung’s eyes still held lingering complex emotions, her tone mixed with urgency.
Sulli’s sudden question made her chuckle lightly, eyes curving into crescents, tilting her head as if counting like a schoolkid calling roll, extending her fingers one by one.
“Mm… let me think, Soo Yeon unnie, Yoona unnie, Taeyeon unnie, Eun-jung unnie, and now, plus you.”
“Just these?”
Jung Soo Jung raised a brow slightly after hearing, seemingly not expecting such a short list, then nodded lightly, her expression serious, “That’s not many.”
“This is just the 2013 side; there’s more on the 2025 side, but that’s about it there.”
Jung Soo Jung pursed her lips, as if pressing the matter into her heart or slowly chewing it over.
After a moment of silence, she couldn’t resist her curiosity, turning to ask again, “So, did our future selves go through any really big events? Something major.”
Here, she subconsciously glanced toward the bedroom, hesitation flashing in her eyes.
Sulli smiled first, her brows and eyes teasing, “Like my death?”
“Ah, I’m serious, Snowball.”
Jung Soo Jung wrinkled her nose, her tone carrying annoyance and urgency; she really wanted to know the answer.
And really couldn’t fathom how it could be suicide.
Sulli’s smile faded slightly, lips pressing tight, seemingly pondering seriously for a few seconds before slowly saying, “Yes, like our group disbanding two years from now.”
This sentence was like dropping a huge stone into a calm lake, creating massive ripples and waves.
Instantly turning Jung Soo Jung’s inner world upside down.
“W-What?”
She was completely stunned, eyes widening, body leaning forward unconsciously, her voice half a beat urgent, “Disband? Real or fake?!”
Her tone carried clear disbelief, as if afraid she’d misheard, or trying to find a “joking” trace on Sulli’s face.
Sulli just nodded lightly at her reaction, her expression so serious it held no hint of jest, “Real.”
“Why?”
Jung Soo Jung pressed instinctively, brows furrowed tight, as if demanding a reason.
“Not sure.”
Sulli sighed, her voice tinged with helplessness, “At first I thought it was because of me… but after hearing future Soo Jung’s explanation, my issue was only a small part; mostly it was company internal decisions. These things are really hard to explain clearly.”
This answer left Jung Soo Jung speechless for a moment, silent for a long time before finally digesting it all.
After a while, she changed the subject, trying to ease her inner turmoil, “What about Lin Xiuyuan? Is he from 2013 or 2025?”
Sulli couldn’t help laughing at her serious look, poking the back of her hand, “Of course 2013. Otherwise, how could he be here with us?”
“Oh…”
Jung Soo Jung responded softly, nodding slowly, her face showing a thoughtful expression, but her gaze couldn’t help drifting toward the bedroom, as if wanting to see through the closed door.
Seeing she had endless questions, Sulli simply leaned back on the sofa, relaxing her posture, tilting her head close and whispering mysteriously, “Soo Jung, want me to tell you something even more explosive?”
“There’s more?!” Jung Soo Jung’s eyes widened again, sitting straight up, clearly hooked by curiosity.
Sulli raised a brow, lips curving up, deliberately teasing before leaning to her ear, whispering, “In that future time-space, Soo Yeon unnie… quits the group next year.”
“What?!”
Jung Soo Jung nearly bounced off the sofa, her face full of shock, “Q-Quit the group? How could she quit the group!”
After all, Girls’ Generation now could outshine many groups with just two members, let alone a core figure like Jung Soo Yeon.
For Jung Soo Jung, such a top group had a bright future; quitting was impossible.
Quitting, in her view, wasn’t something her unnie would choose.
Sulli watched her reaction, her expression pausing with some struggle, glancing toward the bedroom as if debating whether to say more.
Ultimately, she gave a simple answer, “Dunno, the specifics you’d have to ask Jessica unnie inside. We don’t know the details; everyone just felt Jessica unnie had romance brain.”
“Who has romance brain?!”
Jung Soo Jung’s eyes widened, as if struck at a vital point, “Unnie?!”
Seeing Sulli nod.
She slumped back on the sofa like a deflated balloon, head back taking a deep breath, hand covering her eyes, as if trying to block the chaotic question marks in her mind.
Sulli watched, unable to hold back a chuckle, lips curving in a faint smile, casually grabbing the water cup from the coffee table and handing it over, her tone softening, “Get used to it slowly. Today is just the beginning, though yours is pretty explosive.”
“It’s really absurd.” Jung Soo Jung took the cup, pausing for a moment before slowly drinking, as if letting the cool liquid suppress the dryness in her throat and head.
After setting down the cup, she finally exhaled long, her brows and eyes regaining some calm.
Sulli smiled again, not mentioning her own situation at all.
After all, waking to a tombstone—who could top her shock.
Just as Jung Soo Jung and Sulli wanted to say more, the bedroom door suddenly opened.
Lin Xiuyuan and Jung Soo Yeon walked out one after another, their auras still carrying the earlier tension from inside.
Once out, Lin Xiuyuan’s gaze landed on Sulli, saying, “I’ve explained the situation to her, but Jinjin, you need to watch Jessica here to keep her from making trouble. I have to take Soo Yeon to the 2025 side to clean up her loose ends.”
Hearing this, Sulli sat straight up like awakened, nodding crisply, “No problem, oppa.”
Then gesturing to Jung Soo Jung beside her, smiling as she added, “Actually, I already chatted with Soo Jung about this before. When I mentioned it, she prepared me mentally—just didn’t expect it this sudden.”
“What?!”
This bombed Jung Soo Jung straight through, her body jolting like pricked by a needle.
She widened her eyes, face full of “???” and “not my fault” innocence, voice stuck in her throat before squeezing out, “Mental prep? What mental prep?!”
She clearly knew nothing—how did it become her preparing in advance?
For a moment not turning the corner, Jung Soo Jung suddenly thought of her future self.
She immediately clenched her fingers, inwardly complaining: What has future me been through? She’s totally changed.
After all, current her would never do anything this crazy.
Thinking this, Jung Soo Jung took a deep breath, looking up at Lin Xiuyuan with added stubbornness in her eyes, “That, I want to go see too.”
Her voice wasn’t loud, but carried unyielding determination.
Though she mostly believed in the time-space thing, she wouldn’t feel settled without seeing it herself.
“Come along then, just don’t run around, I won’t stop you.”
Since she knew the situation, Lin Xiuyuan naturally wouldn’t block her, nodding lightly in agreement.
Then he walked to the time-space door, opened it, and stepped in first.
Jung Soo Yeon, who hadn’t spoken, seemed lost in her thoughts, took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and followed inside.
This scene left Jung Soo Jung stunned for a moment; without time to think, she followed Lin Xiuyuan and Jung Soo Yeon inside.
The room quieted instantly, leaving only Sulli in the apartment.
She looked at the empty living room, her eyes flickering slightly, as if thinking of something.
The next second, she slowly stood, walked to the bedroom doorway, fingers on the frame, hesitating several seconds before cautiously peeking in.
Jessica on the bed was still tied and struggling.
Thus, what suddenly emerged in Sulli’s mind was the second part of the plan Krystal had once mentioned to her.
Lin Xiuyuan didn’t know this second part; it was just treating Jessica less than human, so Sulli now hesitated on whether to act.
Once acted, no turning back.
And she could imagine, if it came to that, Jessica would likely go completely mad, even possibly doing something extreme like murder…
Thinking this, Sulli’s fingertips tightened slightly, freezing at the doorway, unable to step in for a long time.
…
…
Meanwhile.
Meanwhile, the instant Jung Soo Jung’s foot hit the floor, she truly realized.
No light rings, no special effects, no movie-like buildup.
She simply stepped out of one apartment, and the next second, the space before her was completely different.
A cool breeze hit her face, carrying scents of grass and faint aroma, shocking her senses.
Before her was a spacious bright living room; the high floor-to-ceiling windows let sunlight pour in like liquid, the space several times larger than the small apartment.
This scene froze her instantly, feet halting at the doorway, pupils dilating slightly.
Jung Soo Jung froze at the doorway, pupils dilating slightly, steps stopping.
She instinctively turned back; the room door stood quietly behind, leading to the apartment she’d just been in.
From some impulse, she swung her small hand, gently closing the door.
The door frame stood quietly, as if nothing had happened.
Opening it again with immense shock, it revealed not the apartment, but a storage room.
“T-This… we’re here?”
Her post-experiment voice was so light it nearly scattered in the wind; Jung Soo Jung couldn’t believe her eyes or the reality, “So this is 2025’s time-space?”
Touching the door handle, she turned to look at the unfamiliar yet exquisite villa, mind blank.
Clearly just now in a small Seoul apartment, simply walking through a door, how did she end up in another world?
All logic, common sense, sense of time shattered instantly.
Under this flood of information, Jung Soo Jung’s chest heaved rapidly, nearly forgetting to breathe, finally gasping sharply.
It was then she heard a voice from above, carrying relaxed familiarity and teasing, “Oh~ Xiuyuan, you’re back.”
“Mm, here to handle things, you guys keep playing, bring the one behind me too.”
Hearing Lin Xiuyuan mention her, Jung Soo Jung’s gaze quickly swept upward, or rather to the villa’s third floor.
One glance, and she froze again.
Because at the third floor railing stood two figures familiar beyond familiarity…
Park Ji-yeon.
More precisely, two Park Ji-yeons.
From afar, their almost twin-like faces turned toward her, showing identical expressions.
In that instant, Jung Soo Jung’s heart raced, eyes widening, a sense of daze washing over her, as if in a dream or suddenly entering a sci-fi movie set.
Moments later, the two in bathrobes slowly descended the stairs; the living room air still held faint swimming pool chlorine scent, with a moist coolness.
Jung Soo Yeon immediately noticed the faint swimsuit shoulder straps under Big Dragon Cub’s bathrobe—definitely swimsuits.
Her gaze sharpened instantly, giving Lin Xiuyuan a cold look, tone with fire and teasing, “Yo, our young master Lin is having quite the fun, twin swimsuit party?”
Lin Xiuyuan froze in place, face twitching slightly, “Hey hey, don’t falsely accuse me! This wasn’t me, Ji-yeon insisted on swimming, nothing to do with me.”
Before he finished, Big Dragon Cub lightly reached the first floor, lips curving in a smile like a dazzling bomb dropping, “Hmph hmph, Xiuyuan~ How can you deny it? Didn’t I ask what bikini you like? Wasn’t it you who picked?”
Park Ji-yeon beside her piled on, eyes crescented, grinning mischievously, “Yeah yeah, at first I wondered if it was okay, but oppa said no to that, now playing innocent?”
The air shifted instantly from heavy oppression to fast-paced cheer with playful tension.
Lin Xiuyuan stared at these two culprits, eyes wider than bells, unsure whether to laugh, “Wow… you two are too much! When did I say that?! Don’t slander me.”
“Slander?”
Big Dragon Cub pursed a smile; she really wanted to retort: No slander from the mouth, but from the hole maybe.
But considering everyone else’s thin skin here besides her, she curbed the absurd thought.
Still, she laughed bending forward and backward, shoulders shaking.
After all, both she and Park Ji-yeon knew Lin Xiuyuan was innocent but insisted on embellishing.
The thrill of “only rumor-spreaders know how wronged the subject is” showed vividly in their expressions.
Jung Soo Yeon watched beside, her coldness nearly uncontainable, eye corner twitching, holding back laughter.
Inwardly complaining: Really need to give this guy some work; playing like this daily, what if his body breaks…
Mainly, she hadn’t eaten yet.
Thinking this, Jung Soo Yeon stopped joking, saying, “Give me the phone. I’ll figure out how to explain to their side. It’s tricky. Don’t even know their team, and Soo Jung’s not here.”
“What to do?”
Big Dragon Cub looked curiously at Jung Soo Yeon, smiling after the explanation, stepping forward with energy, “I’ll help, unnie. I met some of their people during group exercise before; should be useful.”
Meanwhile.
Under Lin Xiuyuan’s signal, Park Ji-yeon came to Jung Soo Jung’s side, gently taking her small hand, “What’s wrong, Soo Jung? Feels dreamy, right?”
Jung Soo Jung nodded, looking at Park Ji-yeon before her, then glancing at Big Dragon Cub, asking puzzled, “Ji-yeon, is that your future self?”
“Mm, one old woman.” Park Ji-yeon unsparingly dissed, her tone habitually sharp.
This sudden evaluation made Jung Soo Jung purse her lips, completely dumbfounded.
Fortunately, Big Dragon Cub just glanced lightly, nodding and smiling at her without minding, letting Jung Soo Jung relax.
Park Ji-yeon sensibly pulled Jung Soo Jung up the stairs, “Come on, let them handle here; I’ll take you up to sit.”
Watching their backs disappear, Jung Soo Yeon looked up, saying, “Xiuyuan, is it okay?”
Lin Xiuyuan, on the phone, glanced at the stairs, flatly saying, “Ji-yeon can handle her. Even if not talked into it, she can beat her into it.”
At this, Big Dragon Cub burst out laughing, “Hahaha, Xiuyuan, that’s hilarious.”
Jung Soo Yeon rolled her eyes at him again; even Im Yoon Ah on Lin Xiuyuan’s phone felt reassured by the words.
Earlier, after Big Dragon Cub’s call about Jessica being kidnapped by Lin Xiuyuan, she rushed over from Gimpo in a panic.
But traffic jammed her, so she was still en route.
Im Yoon Ah, gripping the steering wheel, laughed then turned serious, “Okay, Xiuyuan, tell unnie to wait for me. Call back when I’m there; I’ll play supporting role to convince unnie’s staff better.”
“Sure, how long?” Lin Xiuyuan agreed.
“2 km, ten minutes.” Im Yoon Ah checked navigation.
Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan complained, “Really jammed, drive safe, see you soon.”
Meanwhile.
The rooftop wind was much cooler than in the living room, blowing gently with a faint salty taste, rippling the swimming pool surface.
Jung Soo Jung stood dazed by the pool; sunlight danced on the water, sparkling, but brought no warmth.
She subconsciously shrank her shoulders, fingers clasping tightly, as if seeking some sense of security.
The Seoul before her was both familiar and strange; distant Namsan Tower stood quietly, but she felt separated by layers of glass, distant from reality—an illusion.
Her heartbeat rhythm disordered slightly, mind flashing with countless questions and unease like thin fog clouding her vision, blurring the path ahead.
“Come sit, don’t just stand.”
Park Ji-yeon smiled behind her, patting the lounger, voice soft with teasing, like a warm light pulling Jung Soo Jung back from daze.
Jung Soo Jung slowly walked over and sat, palms slightly sweaty, breathing a bit rapid.
Until the next second, a mobile phone was handed to her, screen glinting faintly in the sunlight.
“Soo Jung, no need for much explanation; as someone who’s been through it, I know how powerless words are.”
Park Ji-yeon’s calm tone carried depth, “So search whatever you want to know yourself. The news here answers all basic info you seek; the rest… you’ll have to ask yourself.”
Jung Soo Jung paused, reaching for the phone; the screen showed the search engine homepage, cursor blinking, urging her.
But for the moment, she typed nothing, mind filled with chaotic heavy fragments.
Park Ji-yeon beside didn’t urge, just sat quietly hugging her knees, head back gazing at the blue sky.
Sunlight fell on her eyelashes, casting a faint halo, gentle and serene.
After a long while, Jung Soo Jung seemed to steel herself, slowly typing four words in the search bar: Sulli death.
The moment she hit enter, her breath hitched.
The page jumped instantly, flooding with news headlines…
【Seoul entertainment circle sees tragedy again, Sulli dies at home】
【Kim Jonghyun, Sulli, Goo Hara pass away successively, public outrage】
【Fans mourn three artists, call for mental health attention】
【…】
Those cold headlines like blunt knives slicing Jung Soo Jung’s heart one after another.
The text made her finger hover on the screen, gaze blurring, breathing shallowing.
Park Ji-yeon watched her reaction, lips pressing tighter, sighing softly without speaking, just reaching to smooth her wind-tousled long hair.
Sunlight still blazed, pool waves still glittered, but Jung Soo Jung felt the world muted, only heartbeat booming in her ears.
…
…
At this moment, Krystal finally finished the movie promotion work.
Her suit jacket clung slightly to her sweat-dampened back; she took a deep breath, as if released from intense tension.
Her gaze swept over cameras, media, staff packing gear, her heart easing.
But the planned dinner with the main creative team was now completely disrupted by Jessica’s sudden issue.
Krystal pursed her lips, adjusting hair and makeup to appear calm and composed.
She approached the director and producers, bowing lightly, politely apologizing for her urgent personal matter requiring early departure.
The director nodded gently, smiling understandingly, “No problem, Krystal, handle your urgent matter; everyone understands.”
A producer added, “Yeah, just a dinner; missing one meal is fine.”
Krystal smiled gratefully, nodding in thanks.
Then she told her assistant the situation, took the car keys, got in the car, floored the accelerator, and headed straight for the villa.
Outside the car window, afternoon light warmed toward evening, sunset slanting on her profile, casting faint golden glow.
Her gaze locked ahead, thoughts churning endlessly.
Just the faint smile at her lips hinted at her excitement.
Ten Thousand Daily done, thanks to godfathers for support and votes.
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（PS: Heading to concert tonight, updated early, godfathers.）
