113: Chapter 113 I Never Lie

Over an hour later, Min Sunye curled back under the blanket, leaving only half her face exposed, her eyes fixed on Song Tianhao.

"Oppa." She whispered.

"Hmm."

"Aren't you going to ask me why I wanted to be like this tonight?"

"You will tell me when you want to." Song Tianhao looked at her. "If you don't want to say it, you don't have to."

Min Sunye was silent for a long time, so long that Song Tianhao thought she wouldn't speak. But in the end, she spoke, her voice very soft, as if afraid of breaking something.

"When I first joined JYP, I didn't know anything; I just liked singing and thought standing on stage looked cool."

She said, not looking at him, but at the halo of the floor lamp. "On the day of the audition, I sang 'Ten Minutes' by Lee Hyori. I danced messily, but President Park Jin-young said I had a certain drive that could infect people."

She paused, her fingers unconsciously twisting the edge of the blanket.

"After I joined the company, I realized that having drive was useless. There were too many trainees. They spent over a dozen hours a day in the practice room, dancing until their toenails curled up and singing until their throats bled. Back then, those who practiced with me—some debuted later, some left without debuting, and some couldn't hold on and went home. I hung on because I had nowhere else to go."

"My mother raised me by herself. She worked two jobs—factory during the day, restaurant at night—just so I could learn to sing. I couldn't let her down."

Song Tianhao didn't speak, just listened quietly.

"On the day of our debut, I cried backstage until my makeup was ruined. It wasn't because I was happy, but because I could finally earn money and finally let my mother stop working so hard."

Min Sunye said this with a faint smile, but her eyes were red. "Later, we became popular—really popular. 'Tell Me', 'So Hot', 'Nobody', one after another. Going to the USA, appearing on shows, touring, filming commercials... I earned more and more money, but I became more and more tired."

"It wasn't physical fatigue; it was emotional." She raised her hand and pressed it to her chest. "Here, it's empty. Every day when I open my eyes, it's rushing to schedules, and when I close them, it's sleeping—on planes, in cars, in hotels. The songs I sang weren't what I wanted to sing, the words I said weren't what I wanted to say, and my smiles weren't genuine. It was like... like a machine, wound up and running according to a program."

She took a deep breath, her voice beginning to tremble.

"When we were in the USA, there was a producer, over fifty, bald, with a heavy smell of cologne. He said he wanted to write a song for me and asked me to go to his studio. I went. He played a demo for me, and it was good—really good. Then he said this song would make me popular in the USA, help me hit the charts, and make me an international superstar."

"And the conditions?" Song Tianhao suddenly spoke, his voice calm.

Min Sunye looked at him, tears sliding down silently.

"The condition was that I had to be his 'muse'." She smiled, a bitter smile. "Meaning sleeping with him, accompanying him to parties, meeting his friends. He said it was the rules—the rules of the USA entertainment industry. I said no, and he called me naive, saying if I wanted to make it in the USA, I had to understand the rules here."

"And then?"

"Then I left." Min Sunye said, her tears falling harder. "I didn't get the song, and he badmouthed me in the circle, saying I was fake and that an Asian girl from a small place like me didn't understand the rules. After that, our schedules in the USA became fewer and fewer, until they finally stopped completely. The company said I screwed it up, that I offended people, and that I ruined our chance to enter the USA market."

She raised her hand to wipe her tears, but they only came more.

"The company said they wanted to rebrand us, but rebranding costs money, and the company wasn't willing to invest. So we just dragged on, until our contracts were about to expire, until everyone thought Wonder Girls were finished."

"Then, you appeared." She looked at Song Tianhao, her eyes red but bright. "You bought our contracts, wrote songs for us, planned our comeback, and held a family concert. You let us stand on stage again, be seen again, and... come back to life."

At this point, she suddenly reached out from under the blanket and grabbed Song Tianhao's hand. Her hand was cold and still shaking, but she held it tightly.

"Oppa, I know I shouldn't have these thoughts. I know you have many people around you—Taeyeon, Hyomin, Soyeon, Qri... they are all very good, all better than me. I also know that to you, I might just be a whim, or you might just pity me, or you might just think I still have some use."

"But I can't control it." Her voice trembled violently, but every word was clear. "When I was singing on stage, looking at you in the audience, I thought, if I could be looked at by such a person, if I could stand by such a person's side, even for just one day, one hour, one minute... it would be worth it."

"So..." She let go of his hand, moved back a little, knelt on the sofa, placed her hands on her knees, and lowered her head like a child admitting a mistake. "So my reward is, tonight, let me stay. Not asking for any promises, not asking you to be responsible for anything, just... just tonight, let me stay here, by your side."

After she finished speaking, she didn't dare look up, just kept her head down, her shoulders trembling slightly, waiting for the verdict.

Song Tianhao looked at her for a long time.

Then, he reached out and gently lifted her face. Her face was covered in tears, her eyes were swollen, and her nose was red; she looked disheveled and pitiful. But her eyes were bright, shining like a fire burning, refusing to go out.

"Min Sunye." He spoke, his voice deep.

"Yes." She replied softly.

"You just said your feelings for me might not be love, but dependency, like a drowning person grabbing a piece of driftwood." Song Tianhao said, his thumb gently wiping across the corner of her eye to wipe away a tear. "Right?"

Min Sunye bit her lip and nodded.

"Then let me tell you," Song Tianhao looked at her, word by word. "I am not driftwood."

Min Sunye was stunned.

"Driftwood will float away, will sink, will rot." He said, his voice calm, but every word sounded like it was being hammered into the ground. "I am the shore. You can come ashore now."

Min Sunye's eyes widened suddenly, and tears welled up again, but this time it wasn't sadness; it was something else—scalding, surging, almost drowning her.

"Oppa..." She started, her voice broken.

"Now," Song Tianhao interrupted her, reaching out to press her back down and wrap her tightly in the blanket. "Sleep. We can talk about whatever it is tomorrow."

"But..."

"No 'buts'." Song Tianhao's tone brooked no argument. "Your task now is to rest. The doctor said you need to recuperate. Close your eyes and sleep."

Min Sunye wanted to say something more, but Song Tianhao had already reached out to turn off the floor lamp. The living room fell into darkness, with only the faint light of the city filtering in from the window, barely outlining the contours of the furniture.

She lay inside the blanket, which had his scent—a faint smell of tobacco mixed with a clean soap fragrance. She kept her eyes open, staring at the ceiling, her heart beating so fast she thought it might jump out.

"Oppa." She whispered.

"Hmm."

"Was what you said just now true?"

"I never lie."

"Then... what is the shore like?"

Song Tianhao was silent for a moment, and then, in the darkness, she heard his soft laughter.

"The shore is where you can stop, catch your breath, and don't have to drift anymore." He said, his voice sounding exceptionally clear in the darkness. "The shore is where someone is waiting for you, someone to receive you, someone to tell you, 'You're home.'"

Min Sunye's tears flowed again. This time she didn't wipe them, letting them slide from the corners of her eyes into her hair.

"Then..." She sniffled. "How long can I stay on the shore?"

"As long as you want." Song Tianhao said. "The shore doesn't run away."

Min Sunye stopped speaking. She closed her eyes. The blanket was warm, the sofa was soft, and the air held the sweet fragrance of lingering milk and honey, along with his scent. It was safe, reassuring, like returning to many years ago, when her mother was still young, would hold her in her arms, and hum songs to lull her to sleep.

She thought she wouldn't be able to sleep, but perhaps because she was too tired, perhaps because she had cried too much, or perhaps because her heart had finally landed, she quickly fell asleep. Her breathing became even and long, her brows smoothed out, and the corners of her mouth even curled up slightly, as if she were having a good dream.

Song Tianhao sat on the carpet beside the sofa, his back against the sofa, listening to her even breathing. He didn't sleep, just stared at the night view outside the window, smoking cigarette after cigarette.

The phone on the coffee table vibrated, the screen lit up; it was a call from Ahn Sohee. He glanced at it, muted it, and then turned the phone screen face down on the coffee table.

The vibration stopped, then lit up again; this time it was Kim Taeyeon. He muted it again.

Then it was Park Hyomin, Park So-yeon, Lee Qri... one after another, as if they had agreed on it. He didn't answer any of them, just watched the screen light up and go out, light up and go out, like the flickering lights outside the window.

Finally, the phone went completely quiet.

He was about to get up and leave when Min Sunye's hand suddenly reached out from the blanket and grabbed his hem.

"Oppa..." She was half-asleep, her voice slurred. "Don't go..."

Song Tianhao's movements paused. He looked down at her hand. Her fingers were slender but strong, gripping his hem tightly.

He stood by the bed for a few seconds, then sat down.

Song Tianhao reached out and took her hand. Her hand was cold, and he held it in his palm, slowly warming it.

"I'm not going." He said, his voice very soft, like talking to himself.

The next morning, when Min Sunye woke up, it was already bright.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a golden spot of light on the floor.

She lay in bed, covered with a soft blanket that had a faint scent of laundry detergent mixed with a very subtle scent that belonged to Song Tianhao.

She turned her head to look beside her.

Song Tianhao was still asleep. He was lying on his side, facing her, eyes closed, breathing evenly. His face looked very soft in the morning light, lacking the usual cold, sharp angles; his eyelashes were long, casting shallow shadows under his eyelids.

Min Sunye watched him for a long time, then carefully reached out and lightly touched his eyelashes with her fingertips.

Song Tianhao's eyelashes fluttered, and then his eyes opened.

The two locked eyes.

Min Sunye's hand froze in mid-air, her face instantly turned red, and she wanted to pull it back, but Song Tianhao grabbed her hand and held it in his palm.

"Awake?" He spoke, his voice raspy from just waking up, which sounded very good.

"...Hmm." Min Sunye replied softly, her face even redder.

Song Tianhao looked at her flushed face, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he leaned over to kiss her forehead lightly.

"It's still early, sleep a little more."

"But... the hospital..."

"We'll go at ten, there's plenty of time."

Min Sunye wanted to say something more, but Song Tianhao had already pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes, and going back to sleep.

His embrace was warm and safe. Min Sunye leaned against his chest, listening to Song Tianhao's heartbeat, steady and strong.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and finally, she closed her eyes too.

When Min Sunye woke up again, she was awakened by the ringtone of a phone.

Song Tianhao was already up, standing by the window making a call, his voice kept very low. He was only wearing pajama pants, his upper body bare, the morning light outlining the smooth lines of his back muscles, broad shoulders, and narrow waist, with well-proportioned muscles.

Min Sunye looked at his back, and her face turned red again.

Song Tianhao hung up the phone, turned around, saw she was awake, walked over, and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Awake?" He asked, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

"Hmm." Min Sunye replied softly, not daring to look at him.

"Everything is arranged at the hospital. We'll go at ten for a check-up, and if there are no problems, you can be discharged." Song Tianhao said. "Manager Jang will come to pick you up and take you back to the dorm. I've given you the day off, so rest well."

"What about you?" Min Sunye asked.

"I have to go to the company." Song Tianhao said. "There are some things to handle."

Min Sunye nodded and didn't ask further. She knew what he was going to handle: the CJ matter, Chairman Lee Jae-hyun's matter, the pill bottle matter. That was a man's battlefield, and she couldn't intervene or help.

All she could do was not add to his troubles.

Song Tianhao looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Min Sunye shook her head, then whispered, "Oppa..."

"Hmm?"

"Last night..." Her face turned red again, her voice as small as a mosquito's. "Was that my reward?"

Song Tianhao looked at her for a few seconds, then leaned down and kissed her lips.

"That was just the beginning." He said.

Min Sunye was stunned.

Song Tianhao stood up and walked toward the bathroom. When he reached the door, he looked back at her.

"Get ready, come down for breakfast in a bit. I made sandwiches."

The door closed.

Min Sunye sat on the bed, stunned for a long time, then buried her face in the blanket and laughed happily.

At ten in the morning, Song Tianhao's car stopped at the hospital entrance.

Jang Se-hoon was already waiting there. Seeing them get out of the car, he hurried over.

"President, Ms. Min Sunye."

"Is everything arranged?" Song Tianhao asked.

"It's all arranged. The doctor is waiting. The check-up will be quick, and we can get the results in half an hour." Jang Se-hoon said, looking at Min Sunye with a gentle tone. "How are you feeling, Ms. Min Sunye? Is your body okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Manager Jang." Min Sunye said softly, her face slightly red.

Song Tianhao glanced at her and said to Jang Se-hoon, "You accompany her inside; I'll wait in the car."

"Yes."

Jang Se-hoon accompanied Min Sunye into the hospital. Song Tianhao returned to the car, lit a cigarette, and took out his phone.

There was a new message on the screen from the lawyer: "President Song, the materials have been submitted. The court has accepted the case, and we will have news by this afternoon at the latest. CJ Entertainment's stock price has already fallen by 5.3% and is still dropping."

Song Tianhao replied: "Good."

Just as he put down the phone, another message came in. This time it was an unfamiliar number, but Song Tianhao recognized it—it was Chairman Lee Jae-hyun's private number.

"President Song, let's talk. You name your terms."

Song Tianhao looked at the message and smiled.

He typed: "Eleven o'clock, Sky Entertainment, my office. Come alone."

Send.

Then, he threw the phone onto the passenger seat, leaned back against the seat, and closed his eyes.

Outside the car window, the sunlight was just right.

And inside the car, the man had a cold smile on his lips.