Chapter 446: 470 The

Late at night.

A car turned from the street corner into the underground parking lot; the beams from the headlights swept across the dim walls of the ramp, then were swallowed by the pale fluorescent lights in the basement.

The designated driver parked the car steadily into a spot close to the Elevator, pulled the handbrake, and killed the engine.

Immediately, they unbuckled their seatbelt, stepped out of the driver's seat, closed the car door softly, and left the area with quick steps, rushing to pick up their next job.

Inside the car, Lin Xiuyuan sat in the middle of the back seat, leaning against the backrest, his body tilted slightly backward.

Beside him, Lin YoonA's head rested steadily in the hollow of his shoulder; her long eyelashes flickered gently beneath her closed eyelids, as if she were having some quiet dream.

Just a moment ago on the road, as she kept talking to him, her voice had gradually faded, and in the end, she leaned on his shoulder and fell asleep quietly again.

So now that the car had arrived, he didn't disturb her sweet dream, wanting to let her sleep a little longer.

His right hand pulled his phone from his pocket, adjusted the screen brightness to the lowest setting, and he began to slowly scroll through the news on his phone to pass the waiting time.

As for that sentence Han So-hee had sent him earlier.

He only replied with two words: 【Guess.】

After that, whatever message Han So-hee sent upon receiving those two words, he ignored it directly.

At the time, the phone screen lit up a few more times, and the Kakao notification sound went ding-dong in the quiet car cabin two or three times, but he didn't look at them, sliding his thumb to clear the notification bar.

Lin YoonA, who hadn't fallen asleep yet at that time, saw this and laughed, calling him cold and heartless, saying it was too much to treat a great beauty like that.

To this, Lin Xiuyuan just smiled.

Another ten-plus minutes passed just like that.

The fluorescent lights in the parking lot flickered occasionally, the heat in the car had mostly dissipated, and Lin YoonA's breathing in the back seat had changed from its previous irregular rhythm to a deep, long, and steady one.

Confirming that Lin YoonA's breathing was no longer that of a light nap but that she had truly entered a deep sleep, Lin Xiuyuan finally turned off the phone screen and put it into his jacket pocket.

Then, he first used his right hand to gently support Lin YoonA's shoulder, slowly straightening her body from his own, his movements very light, as if moving a fragile piece of porcelain.

Then, while supporting her, he reached out with his other hand to open the car door, preparing to get out.

Lin Xiuyuan's movements were very careful, trying his best not to shake the car body or cause too much vibration in the seats.

After fumbling for about a minute, he finally stood outside the car door, bent over to reach into the back seat, passed one hand through the bend of Lin YoonA's knees and supported her back with the other, and with a gentle effort, lifted her whole body steadily from the seat.

And just at the moment Lin Xiuyuan held Lin YoonA steadily in his arms in a bridal carry, a pair of small hands quietly reached around from below, gently wrapping around his neck.

Ten fingers interlaced at the nape of his neck, the movement so natural it was as if this posture had been maintained for a long time.

This action startled Lin Xiuyuan, who looked down at Lin YoonA in his arms; her eyes were still closed, but the corners of her mouth had curled into an arc.

Seeing this, he laughed out loud too, his voice carrying a sense of helplessness, "I was just saying I wouldn't wake you up."

"I'm not a pig, and I didn't black out from drinking; if I didn't wake up even after all that, I'd really have been drugged."

At this moment, Lin YoonA in his arms finally opened her eyes, a pair of beautiful eyes, bright despite having just woken up, looking at the man within arm's reach.

At the same time, she tightened her arms around his neck, bringing the two of them closer, pressing her cheek against his chest to clearly feel his powerful heartbeat, and added another sentence.

"Alright, let's go up first. I don't want to end up in a magazine or news report in this position; that would be too embarrassing."

Lin Xiuyuan, holding her, used his foot to gently nudge the car door shut, then walked toward the direction of the Elevator, saying as he walked, "Speaking of which, it seems we haven't been caught yet."

When he said this, his tone carried a bit of genuinely thoughtful confusion.

It wasn't the first or second time he had gone out with Lin YoonA, Dalongzai, Kim Taeyeon, and the others, but it seemed he had never seen any photos or news about them online, which was honestly a bit strange.

As they moved away, the car behind them sensed the car key had left a certain distance, the car lights flashed twice, and it automatically locked with a crisp "beep."

That beep echoed for a small circle in the empty parking lot, then was swallowed by the humming of the ventilation ducts.

At the same time, Lin YoonA's voice followed.

"Do you really think you're invisible? How could we not have been caught?"

Amused, she shifted in Lin Xiuyuan's arms to find a more comfortable position, then continued, "It's just that we bought most of them, and we don't bother with the unimportant few."

She said it very flatly, as if talking about something she was accustomed to.

And buying photos was not a secret at all in the entertainment industry anywhere.

It could even be said to be a survival skill that every somewhat famous artist's team must master.

It's just that most of the time these operations are done behind the scenes; the artists themselves won't take the initiative to mention it, and the teams won't publicly admit it, so although the outside world knows it happens, very few people can clearly describe the specific process and costs.

"Ah, you guys never told me." Lin Xiuyuan, who had already reached the entrance to the Elevator, looked down at Lin YoonA in his arms, somewhat surprised.

"What's there to talk about? They're all just photos of us eating and going out normally, nothing too prominent."

This time, Lin YoonA's slightly tipsy little tone was very loud, and she even let out a hiccup, "It's just that we aren't really trending right now, otherwise, Xiuyuan, you really wouldn't have it so easy here."

Speaking of this, she suddenly tightened her arms hooked around Lin Xiuyuan's neck, brought her mouth close to his ear, her breath brushing against his earlobe, and laughed with a slight warmth.

"And according to that idiot Lin Xiaolu, the company over there also bought quite a few photos of you and her together, but there weren't any overly intimate actions, so the cost wasn't high, but they did warn her a few times."

The Elevator went *ding* as it arrived, the silver stainless steel The Gate slowly sliding open to both sides; the lights inside the cabin were already on, the light bright and even, reflecting off the floor of the elevator area.

Lin Xiuyuan walked in, holding Lin YoonA, and turned around to let her reach out and press the floor button.

Watching the floor numbers jump and change one by one, Lin Xiuyuan gave a light hum, his tone carrying a bit of emotion, "I really didn't know that; I thought we'd never been caught."

"You're overthinking it. Seoul is only so big, running into people is normal," Lin YoonA replied with a smile in his arms. "It's just that people like us aren't worth following."

Lin Xiuyuan heard Lin YoonA's "not worth it" and frowned slightly, expressing his disagreement.

"That's not quite right, YoonA. If it were the case of Zhiyan and Juli's group, maybe it's true they aren't worth wasting time on, but setting others aside, just talking about you and Taeyeon, there's still popularity and traffic, right?"

"That's true, but compared to those popular new-generation female stars, we really aren't worth following anymore."

Seeing Lin Xiuyuan feeling a bit pained by her saying that, Lin YoonA adjusted her angle of explanation slightly, though her tone still carried a kind of clarity and transparency of someone who had been through it all.

"Besides, we've debuted for so many years; we haven't been living in vain."

"Over these years, we've long since built relationships with those media reporters; they're basically old acquaintances. So most of them just turn a blind eye when they see us, and the small minority who are newcomers who don't know the rules—we just pay them to buy the photos."

"There are also some taken by fans, but they usually don't release them; they basically keep them privately in small personal groups and won't spread them to public platforms."

The relationship between artists and the media is sometimes just that subtle; it's not purely hostile, nor is it purely cooperative, but a kind of tacit understanding built on time and trust.

You help me once, I owe you a favor, and next time there's something good, I'll tip you off in advance as a return.

Over time, those major media outlets and veteran reporters who had collaborated with Girls' Generation for over a decade had long since moved past the stage of relying on paparazzi photos of them to generate buzz.

When they met, they would even nod and greet each other, and if they captured any photos, they would let the company look them over first rather than publishing them directly.

And this point, in fact, Lin Xiuyuan had also learned a thing or two about from the highly developed internet, though not quite so clearly.

So, after hearing these words from Lin YoonA, he realized that over here, he was being protected by these "imperial sisters" in such a clean and pristine way.

However, he didn't feel there was any problem with that; after all, the things he provided weren't things just anyone could give, and the Time Gate and Great Medicine were pretty damn impressive too.

So what if he used that to trade for a bit of "soft rice" to eat?

It wasn't as if he hadn't contributed anything; he ate with a clear conscience.

The Elevator stopped, the numbers locked onto the floor Lin YoonA had pressed, and the door opened with a "ding."

Lin Xiuyuan, having walked out of the Elevator, soon carried Lin YoonA to the door of her Apartment.

Standing before the door, he first adjusted his hold, shifting Lin YoonA's center of gravity a bit closer to himself, then freed one hand to press it against the fingerprint recognition area of the door lock.

The fingerprint lock emitted a light electronic prompt, and the lock clicked open.

Lin Xiuyuan hurriedly bumped the door open and walked inside, carrying Lin YoonA sideways.

Then the door closed gently behind him, the sound of it automatically locking appearing exceptionally clear in the quiet Apartment.

And as soon as they entered the entryway of the Apartment, before even having time to turn on the lights, or even change their shoes...

Lin YoonA, who had been restraining herself for a long time, eagerly and accurately pressed those cherry lips, radiating a faint scent of alcohol and fragrance, against Lin Xiuyuan's mouth.

Her hands tightened around his neck, her ten fingers interlaced firmly at the nape of his neck, her lips carrying the tipsy aura remaining from those few glasses of soju that evening, along with the faint, sweet taste of her own lipstick, kissing him again and again, as if to convey all the longing from the time they were apart through this kiss.

The motion-sensor night light in the entryway, amidst their quiet and fervent breathing, silently dimmed its light a little, and then dimmed it a little more.

On the shoe cabinet sat an unopened delivery box, and next to it was a bottle of unfinished mineral water.

The dim light cast the overlapping shadows of the two onto the hallway wall, stretching them long, their outlines blurred and warm.

……

……

The next morning.

Over in the year '13.

Park Hyomin sat on the sofa in the Dormitory Living Room, her body leaning slightly forward, elbows resting on her knees, holding her phone, the chat interface on the screen glowing.

Above, in the chat history with a certain someone, the last sentence was the one she herself had sent yesterday; the white bubble hung lonely on the right side of the screen, while the left side was a silent blank, not even having a "read" mark.

She looked at that silent blank for a while, then locked the screen, flipped the phone over onto her knees, and turned her head to look at Park Jiyeon, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, taking big bites of a Sandwich.

"No one replied."

Hearing this, Park Jiyeon chewed the bite of the Sandwich in her mouth a few times and swallowed; the expression on her face was not surprised at all, even carrying a kind of accustomed composure.

"Normal, unnie, haven't you gotten used to it before? No reply just means oppa is over on the other side, just wait."

Over this past year, she had long since become accustomed to the situation of Lin Xiuyuan not replying to messages, and she also knew there were only three possibilities.

One is that he is busy, two is that he is sleeping, and three is that he is in that other Time Gate.

But now that nearly 24 hours had passed without a reply, it had to be the third possibility.

Park Hyomin was just about to say something when another voice sounded in her ear, "But now that you know where Xiuyuan goes, Hyomin, you shouldn't be so anxious anymore, right?"

The one speaking was Xian Enjing.

At this moment, she was sitting nearby holding a mug, white steam rising from the cup, the smell of instant coffee drifting through the air.

Hearing this answer, Park Hyomin first nodded slightly, then made a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and an exclamation.

"No wonder when I asked you all before, you wouldn't say. I thought at the time, what kind of massive secret could it be, that you couldn't even say where someone was."

"Thinking about it now, it really was hard to say. How could one even say it."

Park Jiyeon put down the Sandwich in her hand and said quite amusingly, "Unnie, as long as you understand, so we really weren't trying to isolate you on purpose back then."

And Park Hyomin nodded again, indicating she understood completely.

She wasn't the type of person to fuss over such small matters, and now that everything was cleared up, she also understood that the sisters keeping it a secret from her back then was actually another form of protection.

Thinking of this, her gaze slowly glanced backward, looking toward the direction of the Living Room and the hallway, where a small figure was walking about.

"But now it's our turn to isolate the other unnies, what to do, Baolan unnie just asked about Xiuyuan's whereabouts."

"Just say you don't know." Xian Enjing, already well-versed in this, answered very crisply.

She took a sip of coffee from the mug, paused when her lips touched the rim, and added, "Just say Xiuyuan went on a business trip, his phone is off, and he can't be reached. Anyway, he's always this mysterious, saying it is the same as not saying it, and they won't think there's any problem."

Park Jiyeon raised her head at this moment, taking another bite of the Sandwich in her mouth.

Only this time, the speed of her chewing slowed down significantly, as if she were thinking about some problem, and after swallowing the food in her mouth, a thought that even she found somewhat surprising popped into her mind.

"But how did Baolan unnie think to look for oppa? These two wouldn't really be having some sneaky development behind our backs, would they?"

"Jiyeon, be careful with what you say, don't let Xiuyuan hear you, or he'll definitely beat your butt swollen."

At this, Xian Enjing was directly amused to the point of laughing out loud; fortunately, she had put the coffee cup back on the table beforehand, otherwise, she really would have spilled it from laughing.

Park Jiyeon's face turned slightly red from Xian Enjing's words, but she quickly composed her expression and lifted her chin slightly, "If he has the ability, let him come; I'm only afraid that even if I took off my pants, he wouldn't dare look."

This little dinosaur, who knew her own weaknesses well, had also been rapidly learning some shameless knowledge these past few days, but when the words came out, she was still blushing a little.

It seemed she hadn't expected herself to say it so directly and boldly.

It seems her face is still a bit thin.