Peninsula: Starting with the nation's first love, the white moonlight

Hanjiang Sports Exclusive Report:

[A female idol group's visual center is suspected of returning to her love nest late at night with a mysterious man!]

Below is a set of photos showing a man affectionately helping a woman into an apartment building on a snowy night.

On the morning after Christmas, this scandal unexpectedly made headlines on the entertainment sections of major portals.

In this country where everyone is a gossipmonger, even if the photos are blurry due to the blizzard, it's enough to ignite the enthusiasm of netizens.

The discussion has gone viral in the comment sections of major forums and social media platforms.

Hot Post 1: [Wow! This is so romantic! If my boyfriend did this to me, I would definitely cry tears of joy.]

Reply: [Stop swooning! Isn't the main point who this so-called visual of the girl group actually is?]

Hot Post 2: [I suspect this was fabricated by unscrupulous media outlets trying to boost their year-end sales figures. The picture looks like it's been pixelated a hundred times, and there's not even a clear view of their faces. How could anyone recognize them?]

Reply 1: [That makes a lot of sense. It's the end of the year, and celebrities are busy preparing for their year-end performances. Who would go out on a date at such a sensitive time?]

Reply 2: [Exactly! This paparazzi is so unprofessional. But looking at her figure, she looks a bit like Park Jiyeon from T-ara, or Jung Soo-jung from f(x).]

Reply 3: [Don't try to get involved! Our unnie was busy with her schedule last night. This paparazzi is just a useless person who only knows how to fabricate rumors. I suggest the company sue them!]

The internet is abuzz with controversy, while the woman at the center of the scandal has just woken up from her sleep.

With no scheduled activities this morning, Suzy saw Lee Lu-ran off and then took a comfortable nap.

She had only been asleep for a short while when she heard her phone vibrating incessantly. When she groggily opened her phone, she was instantly wide awake.

Her phone has been ringing off the hook!

The screen was filled with missed calls, from his manager, Park Jin-young, and a barrage of calls from his teammates and assistants.

Suzy was a little confused and quickly called her manager back.

"Sooji, my little darling, you finally answered the phone! Where are you right now?" As soon as the call connected, Lee Myung-joo's anxious voice came through. "Quickly check the trending topics online, is that you in the picture?"

Hearing her manager's anxious tone, Suzy realized something was wrong and quickly opened the webpage to take a look.

When she saw the photo, her heart sank. Although the photo was blurry, it was indeed the one taken yesterday when Li Luran brought her back.

She never expected that even with such a heavy snowstorm last night, there would still be paparazzi staking out her apartment.

"Unnie, I'll get ready right away. Come downstairs and pick me up." Suzy didn't explain further on the phone and quickly hung up.

She quickly washed up, put on some light makeup, changed her clothes, and hurriedly went out.

The van was already waiting downstairs. Suzy opened the car door and hurriedly got in. The car immediately sped towards the JYP company building.

The atmosphere in the car was somewhat heavy. After glancing at Soo-ji a few times, Lee Myung-joo finally couldn't help but speak.

"Suzy, tell your unnie the truth, is that really you in the photo? Is the situation as the paparazzi wrote?"

Bae Suzy leaned back in her chair and shook her head decisively: "Unnie, that person was indeed me, but he's just a regular friend of mine. He just gave me a ride home last night. I'm definitely not in a relationship."

Hearing Suzy's denial, Lee Myung-joo breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. You've only been in the industry for a year, and this is the peak of your career. It's definitely not the time to be dating." Li Mingzhu earnestly advised, "Don't forget that the company has a five-year no-dating policy. If you break the rule, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"I understand, unnie, I'll be careful," Bae Suzy replied perfunctorily, turning to look out the window.

Her mind was in turmoil. She had made great progress with Li Luran last night and finally broke the deadlock, so why did things have to go wrong at this crucial moment?

Thirty minutes later, Suzy and Lee Myung-joo arrived at the company building. The assistant had been waiting for them for a long time, and the three of them hurried to the president's office.

Suzy walked ahead and pushed open the office door. When Park Jin-young saw Suzy and the other two, he immediately stood up.

"Suzy's here, please have a seat."

Park Jin-young paced back and forth in his office a few steps before getting straight to the point:

"Suzy, do you have anything to explain about the trending topics this morning? The person in the photo should be you, right?"

Before her manager could explain, Suzy interjected, "PD-nim, the person in the photo is indeed me, but things aren't as they're saying online. Last night, because it was Christmas, I had dinner with Ieun unnie and Jiyeon."

"The guy in the photo is a mutual friend of ours. It was late and snowing heavily, so he offered to give me a ride home. Ji-eun and Ji-yeon can vouch for me."

Lee Myung-joo chimed in at the opportune moment: "Yes, President, Soo-ji is usually a very well-behaved girl, and that photo is so blurry that you can't even see her face. If we stand up now to refute the rumors, it will only make us look like we're trying to cover something up."

Park Jin-young pondered for a moment, and finally nodded in belief in Suzy's explanation.

"Since it's just a gathering of friends, there's no big problem. The company's public relations strategy for now is to handle it quietly." Park Jin-young made the decision. "Anyway, the paparazzi didn't name names, and there are all sorts of speculations online. We don't need to take it personally. Let's wait and see how public opinion develops."

Although the immediate crisis has been weathered, everyone knows that the paparazzi may still have other photos in their possession, deliberately playing the long game to catch a big fish, preparing to drop a bombshell at a crucial moment.

Suzy also knew that the company's public relations were a mess. Now that her scandals were flying everywhere, the online haters believed everything they heard. They didn't care whether the photos were clear or not, they just wanted to spread rumors.

Just in case, after leaving the president's office, Suzy immediately dialed Park Jiyeon's number.

"Hey, Suzy, why are you calling me so early?" Park Jiyeon's voice was soft and sweet, clearly still half asleep.

"Ji-yeon, aren't you up yet?"

"Yeah, I drank too much last night, and my head still hurts a bit." Jiyeon rubbed her head and comfortably rolled over.

"As for you, I was worried about you for a long time because you didn't reply to my messages yesterday. But with Li Luran taking you, I don't think you'll be in any trouble."

"Hey Jiyeon, can you do me a favor?" Suzy wasn't in the mood for small talk right now, so she got straight to the point.

"What's the rush?" Jiyeon yawned, still a little groggy.

"Yeah, you should check online, it's probably still trending at number one."

"Trending search?" Park Jiyeon clicked on the website in confusion.

Five minutes later~

"Great!"

"Suzy, that mysterious man trending on social media, could he be Li Luran?" Park Jiyeon smiled knowingly. "Your progress is getting faster than you think."

"Oh, stop making wild guesses. Last night, when he was taking me home, he couldn't get a taxi because of the blizzard, so he stayed at my place for the night."

"Oh~ really... just something to do for one night..." Jiyeon deliberately dragged out her words.

"Okay, I'm not teasing you anymore. How can I help you?" Jiyeon knew that Sooji was anxious, so she stopped joking.

"Just post the photos of our dinner at the izakaya last night on social media, and you can treat it as a normal business."

"You mean you're using this dinner to prove that the person last night wasn't you?"

"Yes, that's it. The company has decided to handle this quietly, and rumors will start flying everywhere again."

"Hehe." Jiyeon chuckled softly.

"More than that, I'm curious to know how Ji-eun will react to this rumor, pfft~" Park Ji-yeon couldn't help but laugh to herself.

"Are you going to help or not? I'll explain to Ji-eun unnie." Suzy said coquettishly.

"Okay, sure, I'll definitely help my sister out!"

Having dealt with Jiyeon, Bae Suzy breathed a slight sigh of relief, then dialed Lee Ji-eun's number.

However, all I got was a busy signal on the phone.

Lee Ji-eun actually refused to answer!