The number one playboy on the Peninsula!

Chapter 277 What kind of person is Tarot?

"Oh, Mom, I understand..."

"I'll hang up now, then I'll drive..."

After sending Zhao Meiyan back to Yeongdeungpo, Gong Cheng took off his headphones, ended his call with his adoptive mother, and then returned to the company with a melancholy expression.

He was reluctant to have (G)I-DLE as guests on his world tour in the second half of the year, given the widespread rumors about his past "love story" with Zhao Miyan. These rumors, however, didn't seem to affect him much...

But it's inevitable that this will have some impact on Zhao Meiyan and their newly debuted group... However, judging from Pabo's appearance, she's already prepared to go public with her relationship with her members. After thinking it over, seeing Zhao Meiyan's attitude, she doesn't seem to care about the insults or anything, which is quite decisive...

Then he no longer needed to consider whether it would affect (G)I-DLE's development, or how pretentious that was... Besides, if he didn't show Zhao Meiyan, that papo, some determination to continue together, the two of them might really become a thing of the past...

If (G)I-DLE were to be guests on his world tour, would it mean he and Cho Mi-yeon got back together? The rumors would definitely spread like wildfire. Their agency, Cube Entertainment, would certainly not admit to any reconciliation, given they've only just debuted, but they would definitely accept the invitation for (G)I-DLE to be guests on his world tour…

They might even be trying to ride this wave of attention; after all, it's not a big-name agency, and they're surviving in a competitive environment. Relying on scandals and public opinion is a common strategy. However, that Pabo might get a lot of flak!

"A glass of orange juice." Gong Cheng took the elevator from the underground parking garage to the coffee shop on the first floor and ordered a cold drink.

The thought of (G)I-DLE appearing as guests at the Seoul leg of their world tour, besides TWICE, gave him a headache; he felt he couldn't hide it anymore! Damn it! Big stars like him already really minded that paparazzi talk from Cho Mi-yeon…

If all else fails, and BLACKPINK's comeback in June really takes them to new heights, then give them another push and bring them in as guests for the local event.
Gong Cheng, tall and wearing a baseball cap, stood in front of the bar, deep in thought. At this moment, there weren't many customers in the coffee shop; most were staff members who came to chat during their lunch break, but it was also possible that some fans came to take photos.

Almost the instant he placed his order, a little girl by the window stood up and excitedly shouted, "Tarot?"

The voice, half surprised and half doubtful, pulled Gong Cheng back to reality.

He glanced back curiously and saw several girls, around seventeen or eighteen years old, standing up in unison, excitedly waving their fists. His hesitant figure, standing rooted to the spot, seemed to want to approach but hesitated, a conflicting mix of emotions...

"Annyeonghaseyo~"

Gong Cheng, standing in the sunlight, waved warmly. Seeing their cautious expressions, he picked up the orange juice offered by the receptionist and walked over, asking, "May I sit here?"

The coffee shop is located in the lobby on the first floor of the company. The floor-to-ceiling windows next to it overlook the road in Jiangdong District. There are not many customers around, mostly company staff. There are also company security guards at the main entrance not far away, so he is not worried about any sasaeng fans.

"of course can!"

"can!"

Several girls, walking together, nodded their heads like chicks pecking at rice, their expressions exaggerated, "Oppa, can we record a video?"

"...No, thank you..." Gong Cheng hesitated for a moment before declining, then took a sip of orange juice with a smile. "A photo and an autograph are fine, but let's do the video another time..."

As he spoke, he squinted, taking in the café's ambiance and the sunlight streaming in. It was a rare moment of relaxation. It had been a long time since he'd last gone downstairs to buy orange juice and coffee. Usually, when he returned to the company, TWICE members or their managers would bring them up with him...

Since the company moved to the new building in Gangdong-gu, I feel like I rarely sit in a coffee shop for a cold drink. When I go back to the company, it's just to say hello to Park Jin-young and the members of Twice and chat a bit...

"..."

……

After spending about twenty minutes in the coffee shop and chatting briefly with a few self-proclaimed "lucky" fans, Taylor rushed from the hotel to JYP. The two chatted briefly before heading straight into the recording studio.

"Feeling down?" Taylor and Gong Cheng sat on the sofa, went over the lyrics and feelings for a while, took a sip of coffee, and looked up to ask with a smile.

Gong Cheng nodded dejectedly and tossed the lyric sheet on the coffee table. "Well, to put it simply, recording this song now feels like I'd really get into the emotions..."

Zhao Meiyan's situation made him uneasy, as if his life was hanging by a thread, with a knife to his throat...

"Alright, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's try to record it less than two takes. I'll treat you to dinner after this is over..."

He stood up, sighed, and walked into the recording studio first.

Taylor smiled and followed closely behind, while JYP's photographer also set up his camera and followed along, recording. As for "Exile," a collaboration with Taylor, Gong Cheng was determined to use it as a prelude to their comeback in the second half of the year...

So, when we film the behind-the-scenes recording footage, Taylor and I will each get a piece of the action...

"..."

Gong Cheng put on his headphones. A man and a woman with nine heads tall appeared on the camera screen, and after a moment of emotional preparation... Gong Cheng felt increasingly heartbroken. Damn it, the eyes beneath the warm smiles carried a faint trace of melancholy and longing...

Meanwhile, Taylor listened to the intro of the arrangement playing through his headphones...

With piano chords as the main melody, it lacks the fiery passion of the unique style of "Tarot" and instead resembles clear, glistening water droplets falling quietly in a silent space. Each note from the strings strikes a chord in the heart, imbuing the listener with a subtle melancholy...

After a dozen seconds of piano music, Gong Cheng's magnetic, deep, and mellow voice gradually blended into it, "My dear, I can see your figure standing there..."

"..."

Even though I don't like this ending...

"You are no longer my homeland..."

As the piano melody gradually intensifies, the addition of strings makes the atmosphere of the whole song more grand and sorrowful, like a surging emotional storm sweeping past...

Gong Cheng thought of Lin Nayeon and Zhao Meiyan with a heavy heart, feeling immense pressure. His voice grew increasingly sorrowful as he spoke, "You were once the paradise I longed for..."

"Watching your receding figure now, I'll just let myself go..."

“wuwuwuwu~~” Gong Cheng held the microphone and hummed a soft, ethereal harmony…

Taylor pursed her lips, her mouth slightly parted as she looked down at the microphone, and then added in a slightly hoarse voice, "Darling, I can see your gaze..."

"..." It was as if a fragmented past was being whispered in a misty forest...

"Who have I offended now?"

"You were once the crown I was so proud of..."

"..."

As the song progresses, Gong Cheng and Taylor's voices intertwine and intertwine, like two souls struggling in an emotional vortex conversing across time. Their harmonies blend seamlessly, perfectly capturing the complex emotions of lovers blaming and complaining, yet filled with helplessness and reluctance...

Gong Cheng blinked, glancing at Taylor, who was clearly deeply invested in the situation, "Leave decisively..."

"I'm heartbroken and shedding tears for you!"

"It's all meaningless now..."

“Unwilling to patiently listen to my story…” Taylor’s mouth was open, his voice hoarse, and his eyes were tightly closed.

"..."

The VJ, who had been working quietly on the sidelines, watched the two in the camera. The collaboration between the male and female top five singers was truly impressive, but they both seemed to have quite a story to tell.
Right……

One is a celebrity whose scandals are all over the world, whose Instagram is full of internet celebrities, and whose nude photos are posted by countless A-list female stars; the other has only written songs for her ex-boyfriends since her debut...

……

Gong Cheng and Taylor spent five or six hours in the recording studio that afternoon recording the song "Exile" six or seven times before achieving the effect they wanted.

The two had barely caught their breath when the VJ who had recorded the behind-the-scenes footage returned.

"..."

After VJ explained his purpose, Gong Cheng touched the tip of his nose, looking slightly embarrassed.

Taylor's bright red lips twitched. "Wasn't your documentary filmed last year? It's not finished yet..." She was speechless. Last year, when she was working with the boy next to her in Seoul, the documentary about Tarot was being filmed. She stayed in Seoul for quite a while and cooperated a lot.

It's been more than half a year now, and the documentary still hasn't been released...

Gong Cheng shrugged helplessly. Park Jin-young's "Tarot" documentary started filming last summer, with the entire company hiring a large group of people. He had seen some of the recorded clips and really didn't know how Bambam could say that the first time he met him, Bambam was a very respectful and polite person to his seniors...

"..."

After asking a few questions with the VJ, only Taylor and Gong Cheng remained in the recording studio. She asked in surprise, "Is it possible that when I come back to work with you next time, your documentary will still be in production?"

"Your company's progress is really slow..." "I might retire before the documentary is even finished filming..." Gong Cheng smiled awkwardly. He hadn't paid much attention to the documentary. To be honest, he'd only been in the industry for three years; what kind of good documentary could he possibly have...?

Furthermore, the documentary project began last summer, and Park Jin-young has been working on it for almost a year, yet it hasn't been released, but the marketing for it is incredibly popular...

"It should be soon, probably before the World Tour." Gong Cheng thought for a moment, took a sip of warm water, and rubbed his slightly dry throat.

After an afternoon of intensive recording, my mouth is dry.

"Tsk tsk, what kind of documentary takes so long to prepare?" Taylor suddenly became interested in his documentary. What kind of documentary could take more than a year to prepare?

Gong Cheng waved his hand and gave a wry smile, "I don't know either. In short, what I see being filmed are all very ordinary things."

"Let's go eat, I'll treat you to a good meal. We'll have a couple of drinks tonight and then talk about your collaboration piece..."

"Alright, let's talk about your love life too. You seem to be having a lot of trouble with it." Taylor smiled slyly, a knowing smile on her face... Although she didn't know the specifics of Gong Cheng's relationship status, or who he was dating...

But a man with such good looks, figure, fame, and fortune is unlikely to settle down.

Besides, she had studied the songs produced by Gong Cheng. How should I put it? If she wrote songs for men, then the songs he wrote were all for women, and the very explicit kind at that…

"The Eight Trigrams..."

"This is out of concern..."

"I'm afraid you'll care so much that you'll write a song for me."

……

At 11 p.m. that night, Gong Cheng was driven back to his dormitory by Jin Dayu. After washing up, he went to the living room, opened a can of beer, and turned on the TV.

Lying on the sofa, Gong Cheng scrolled through his phone for a while, then idly opened a search engine to check if any of Yoona's dramas were currently airing. Nothing...

This woman's career in film and television has recently stalled. He was even planning to turn on the TV and tune into a channel featuring her new drama to enjoy her acting and have some snacks with his drinks.

It's really quite boring...

Gong Cheng opened the Kakao accounts of the Executive Department's Dragon and Washboard, offering a couple of words of comfort to both.
"How have you been lately? Have you been practicing diligently?"

"I'm always thinking about you, stay strong..."

He sent two more messages to the company's star trainee, Huang Lizhi.

As JYP's most popular senior artist, it's essential for him to encourage the juniors who are about to debut...

The message had barely been sent when both Executive Department Dragon and Washboard replied almost simultaneously, "I've been doing well lately, oppa, but nothing compares to when you message me. This is the best moment..."

"Zhimin at his best?" Gong Cheng took a sip of beer and smiled, then stopped replying.

Suddenly I don't want to talk anymore... about cheesy pickup lines,

He glanced at the commercials playing on the TV, then pulled a thin blanket over himself… his thoughts drifted to melancholy.

The main group of TWICE, led by the female lead, is still in Goyang and is expected to return to Seoul tomorrow. Meanwhile, Cho Mi-yeon, who is traveling alone, went to visit her adoptive parents in Yeongdeungpo today and then returned to her company dormitory to continue working on the group's affairs.

He even set a date for meeting with the (G)I-DLE members, which shows that this papo is in a hurry...

Eager to establish his position

After pondering for a long time, Gong Cheng rubbed his temples anxiously, picked up his phone, and sent a message to [Mina-chan].

"Is the concert over? I wanted to talk to you, I'm a little tired..."

He wanted to learn from Mina's experience, since Little Penguin knew everything about his situation, and as the saying goes, the onlooker sees most of the game; maybe Mina could give him some good advice? Besides, he'd been feeling really tired lately, with a long and tiring schedule that left him with little time to rest…

Although the group's Asian tour reached Japan, it will end soon. There won't be many shows in Malaysia and Thailand afterward. The busiest months are July and August, with signing various endorsement deals and fashion week events, as well as helping the female members manage their fashion resources...

With the World Tour just around the corner in the second half of the year, these are all urgent matters.

Gong Cheng stared at the screen for more than ten seconds, but didn't read it...

Looks like they're busy.

Not far away, on a huge television screen, after IU's soju commercial ended, a variety show switched to—a relatively popular local program in the last two years, which specifically invites idol groups to be guests...

"Annyeonghaseyo, we are BLACKPINK..."

The familiar voice and self-introduction made Gong Cheng's slightly tipsy eyes glance at the television screen glowing in the dimly lit living room...

He picked up his beer, took a sip, then got up and ran to the refrigerator to get the drinks he had bought from the convenience store that night. He almost forgot, but he had to take the time to tell the crazy TWICE girls to stop stealing his drinks. It had happened several times already!
Even though my warehouse was fully stocked, when I got home it felt like a thief had broken in. Even though they were all supposed to be rich women...

As Gong Cheng sat back down on the sofa, the MC's chuckled voice came from the TV screen, "I heard that your first mini-album after your comeback is produced by Tarot, is that right?"

"Inside..." When this topic was brought up, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa from BLACKPINK seemed to open up, raising their eyebrows and excitedly following the MC's question, talking about some behind-the-scenes stories from the production of the album "Tarot".

Kim Jisoo sat at the table looking a little reserved, but with a gentle smile, she would occasionally chime in with a few words of approval or something similar...

Gong Cheng picked up a glass filled with whiskey and ice, leaned back on the sofa, and watched the program broadcast with great interest. To be honest, when he was young before his debut, he rarely watched TV or variety shows, and he didn't pay much attention to K-pop or anything like that.

I remember the only time a few years ago I excitedly turned on the TV to watch some shows, it was Yoona's drama playing... It wasn't anything particularly bad that caused me psychological trauma, she's not that devastating, but hehe...

Later, he happened to see "God of War Zhao Yun," where he played two roles... Sigh... to the point that he once thought that being an actor was simple, just being good-looking was enough. And that's exactly what happened; he is indeed an actor, a TV King...

I took a sip of my drink. The show was still airing. This episode of the variety show featured BLACKPINK as guests. I guess YG Entertainment was trying to generate buzz for their upcoming comeback next month, since their popularity had already exploded after they announced that they produced an album for BLACKPINK.

Yang Hyun-suk is counting on BLACKPINK's comeback to turn things around; from his perspective, no amount of marketing is too much.

I must say, the show was quite interesting.

Gong Cheng sipped his drink, occasionally letting out a chuckle...

A moment later, the MC on the TV screen chuckled and said, "Aigoo, it seems you guys have a really good relationship with Tarot?"

“Yes! We’ve known each other for a long time,” Jennie answered quickly, her eyes filled with the adoration of a devoted fan.

Lisa, Jisoo, and Rosé nodded in agreement. "We often get together for meals in private, and..." Rosé smiled honestly, subtly gesturing with her slender fingers as if she were picking up a wine glass...

“Tarot oppa has always taken good care of us.” Lisa smiled and grinned, seemingly without any reservations. “We have a really good relationship. But to be honest, we didn’t expect oppa to come and produce an album for us at first.”

"Why? Aren't you two on good terms?" the MC asked, puzzled. "That's precisely why you're working together. You know, we've invited Tarot to our show many times, but the invitations have gone unanswered. Apart from appearing in two episodes of Running Man, he's hardly ever appeared on any variety shows in Japan..."

"And I heard that Tarot is only recording PRODUCE 48 because of fans' requests." The MC smiled somewhat bitterly, stating Tarot's immense popularity.

Park Chaeyoung smoothed her blonde hair and laughed, "Because Tarot oppa is very busy, aigoo, really busy, so busy he barely has time to breathe. And the last album oppa produced was by Taylor Swift, a collaboration between very famous singers. So he's producing an album for me. Even though we're good friends in private, I'm still very surprised and happy."

Jennie quickly added, "Yes, I was really shocked at the time. We all thought he wouldn't come, after all, he has a lot of schedules this year, as everyone and fans should know, Asian tour, world tour, all kinds of events..."

The MC listened attentively to the information presented by the group, then changed the subject, looking at Jisoo who was smiling but very silent, and asked softly, "So Jisoo, what kind of person do you think Tarot is?"

"Me?" Kim Jisoo looked at the MC with a blank expression, and the smile on her face began to look unnatural.

She stared at the MC for a moment, somewhat unsure whether the show was deliberately creating a buzz or trying to stir up trouble, or if they had something else in mind. After all, right now, in the local area, her rumored relationship with that guy was among the most intense...

Her pretty face seemed to have been in thought for a moment. She raised her eyelids, smiled, and prepared to speak...

Gong Cheng pricked up his ears, took a sip of whiskey, and was also a little curious about what kind of person he was in her eyes.

But before Kim Jisoo could even speak...

Commercial break! Lee Ji-eun is here with the soju brand she endorses...

The girl with the slippery hand...

(End of this chapter)