21: Chapter 21 The Cold Reception at the Song Festival

On December 29, 2012, the SBS Television Station Gayo Daejeon venue was already filled with the cheers of fans.

The year-end Gayo Daejeon has always been a major event in the entertainment industry of The Peninsula, where various idol groups gather together.

In the backstage corridors, staff and artists were coming and going, creating a very lively atmosphere.

In f(x)'s dressing room, warm yellow lights shone on the mirrors. Choi Sulli and the other four were sitting in front of the vanity mirrors, letting the stylists apply makeup to their faces.

Liu Zijun felt a bit bored, so he teased the Little Iceberg, causing her to furrow her brows into an 'eight' shape.

Choi Sulli was still dressed as she was during the rehearsal, her bangs under her short hair making her baby-faced features look even more charming.

However, a trace of lingering fatigue was hidden in her eyes. After all, these past few days had been spent either rushing to schedules or soaking in the practice room. The non-stop rhythm was a bit much for this underage girl to handle.

And this state was the norm for these idols.

As Victoria Song said, being busy is a good thing; it proves they are still popular.

Liu Zijun stood up and leaned against the doorframe of the dressing room, hands tucked into the pockets of his newly issued suit pants, watching the girls put on makeup with a gentle look in his eyes.

His gaze occasionally swept over Sulli's face reflected in the mirror, but his thoughts had drifted far away.

Emily had sent detailed information about Choi Jae-ho in the middle of the night.

Choi Jae-ho, stage name Choiza, was neither hot nor cold in popularity.

His grandfather was a current Member of the National Assembly, and his father controlled a fairly well-known shipbuilding group on The Peninsula; his family background was wealthy.

However, he was a full 14 years older than Choi Sulli.

The records stated that this year Kim Hyoyeon introduced Choi Sulli to Choi Jae-ho, and the two exchanged contact information.

That night, Liu Zijun was still wondering who this Choi Jae-ho was, but as soon as 'Choiza' was mentioned, he knew exactly who it was—the old man whose photo Choi Soo-myung used to pin to the dartboard every day in his past life.

Choi Sulli's mind was quite simple. Coupled with being busy with the group's comeback and year-end stages during that period, she had only replied politely a few times; their communication wasn't much.

Yet, those few brief encounters were enough for Choi Jae-ho to harbor ill intentions.

Emily found out that Choi Jae-ho had told those around him more than once in private that he wanted to win over Choi Sulli, and even boasted that he would make her actively depend on him.

The anti-fan incident in Myeongdong was just the first step in his plan—to ruin Sulli's reputation first, putting her in a difficult situation, and then he would appear, playing the role of a good oppa and a caring, mature man to gain her favor.

Emily was still gathering dirt on Choi Jae-ho and his family.

Liu Zijun wanted to make this scum's life a living hell, both openly and secretly.

"I'll deal with you once this busy period is over."

Choi Sulli seemed to hear his muttering. She glanced at him in the mirror and suddenly tilted her head, looking extremely cute.

She asked, "Oppa, what are you saying? Do you think my makeup doesn't look good today?"

The stylist had just finished the last stroke of eyeliner and said with a smile, "Sulli-xi is naturally beautiful, she looks good no matter how she's made up. Mr. Liu Zijun must be dazed from looking."

Liu Zijun snapped out of it, walked to Sulli's side, looked at her cheeks seriously, and spoke with a teasing tone.

"It looks good. Our Jin-ri looks good no matter what. I'm just worried you'll get tired on stage later; you should exercise more."

Choi Sulli pushed his face away and huffed.

With slightly reddened cheeks, she said, "I won't! Our f(x) stage has been prepared for a long time. It will definitely amaze the fans, and you too, Oppa."

Victoria Song, who was nearby organizing the performance costumes, smiled upon hearing this and said, "This naughty child Sulli gets energized as soon as the stage is mentioned. But Ji-Jun, don't worry too much; we'll look out for each other."

Over the past two days, they had also learned that Liu Zijun was born in 1988.

Being younger than Victoria Song and both being from Huaxia, they got along quite well, and their way of addressing each other became more casual.

Liu Zijun nodded. His gaze swept over the other members in the dressing room: Amber Liu was practicing dance moves in front of the mirror, Luna was memorizing lyrics, and Krystal Jung was leaning against the wall, peeking at him.

He knew that for these idols, the stage was an important opportunity to prove themselves. No matter how tired they were, they wouldn't slack off in the slightest.

After staying in the dressing room for over half an hour and seeing that Sulli and the others were still doing their makeup, he felt a bit stifled.

He told Choi Sulli he was going out for a walk and would check on the backstage security while he was at it.

Choi Sulli waved her hand to tell him not to worry and reminded him to come back on time to watch their stage together.

This enthusiasm made Han Jaeran a bit worried these past few days.

He noticed that Choi Sulli was too dependent on Liu Zijun, which wasn't good for her.

The air backstage was mixed with the smell of hairspray and cosmetics, and it was filled with the noise of people coming and going.

Liu Zijun walked slowly along the backstage corridor. The corridor was long, with the names of various groups posted on the doors of the waiting rooms on both sides.

From top groups like Super Junior to newly debuted rookie groups, he basically didn't recognize any of them.

Occasionally, he would encounter other artists or staff in the corridor. Most were in a hurry, and some would glance at his unfamiliar face, but only for a fleeting moment.

He wandered aimlessly, still thinking about Choi Jae-ho's matter.

Emily said that Choi Jae-ho not only had family influence behind him but was also involved with some capital investors in the entertainment industry. To resolve him completely, one couldn't be too reckless; a plan had to be laid out slowly.

After all, his current identity was a security staff member of SM Entertainment Company. Being too flamboyant would only bring trouble to Choi Sulli.

Just then, his gaze fell on a half-open waiting room door. The name posted on the door made him pause—T-ara.

Next to it was also an unfamiliar group name, a rookie girl group that debuted this year, with a name that wasn't very recognizable.

Liu Zijun frowned and instinctively drew closer, peering inside through the crack in the door.

This waiting room wasn't large, only about twenty square meters, yet it was packed with over a dozen people.

The seven members of T-ara were sitting by the window, all dressed in performance costumes, their eyes full of exhaustion.

Park Soyeon leaned against the wall, holding a lyrics book, her gaze somewhat empty as she looked at the words. The red veins in her eyes were clearly visible; she obviously hadn't rested well.

Park Ji-yeon sat next to her, looking down at her phone, seemingly distracted as well.

And Jeon Bo-ram, who looked like a small child, was slumped over the table, looking listless.

Meanwhile, a woman whom someone like Cao Cao would likely favor most was quite calm, quietly looking at her phone.

Other members were either silent or speaking in low voices, their tones carrying an unmistakable weariness.

The members of that rookie girl group were squeezed onto the sofa on the other side. The girls looked a bit constrained, occasionally stealing glances at the T-ara members.

They were whispering about something. Although the content couldn't be heard, the scrutiny in their eyes was obvious to anyone.

On the table in the waiting room, there were only a few bottles of mineral water and some simple bread, without even a proper support flower basket.

Compared to the waiting rooms of those boy groups next door, which were filled with flowers, snacks, and gifts, it was like night and day.