Chapter 21: Milk Skin Taeyeon (Part 2)

  Completely different from his thick nasal tone and deeply emotional singing, in contrast, this female voice is like a gentle brook, quietly and delicately expressing the pain that has pierced her heart, but at the same time, it also has the explosive force of a sudden turbulent current around the corner.

  The high-pitched sound, along with the rolling heat waves, rushed in through the gap under the door. The wind on the rooftop grew stronger, and the creaking door slowly swung open. The faint noise startled the singer, whose voice abruptly stopped. A few steps away, a girl sitting cross-legged in the shade of the water tower suddenly turned her head around.

  The wind disheveled her hair, a few strands of which stuck to her forehead, but couldn't cover up the redness around her eyes.

  "Brother..." Seeing the door was An Junhe, Tai Yan hastily covered her eyes and called out softly.

  "How did you end up here all alone?"

  Since the girl was hiding, An Junhe also pretended not to see her, asking as he walked in front of her. The scorching sun shone down on his head, and he raised his hand slightly to block it. Even so, his eyes were filled with the light reflected from the ground, and for a moment, he had an illusion that the whole world was white.

  A small girl crouched in the shadows, just a tiny patch, as if it was the last place she could hide. Only his arrival provided a little more, but it was fleeting and uncertain, disappearing at any moment.

  Taeyeon didn't answer and just hung her head in silence.

  An Junhe also quietly waited.

  In this external world, the heat and humidity rise, the cicadas chirp loudly, and the fiery spirit of summer permeates all things. Looking far into the distance, behind the rows of buildings, the contours of the continuous forest emerge. As the wind begins to pick up, their branches sway, and the rustling sound of the leaves is inaudible from here, only a vast expanse of dark green ocean can be seen, with waves rising and falling.

  Taeyeon couldn't see the view, in her eyes, there was only a short shadow extending from her feet, so short that it couldn't even cover her small body. Her two bare feet were exposed to the sunlight, and her sandals were scorching hot. The nail polish on her toes shone brightly, reflecting a vibrant red color that caught her eye, leaving her staring blankly, lost in thought.

  She didn't know how long she had been dazed, a hand stretched out in front of her, she raised her head, and the eyes reflected An Junhe's bright face under the sunlight, he smiled slightly, softly saying: "Get up! Staying here for too long will cause heatstroke."

  Still so gentle...

  Such thoughts wandered, she subconsciously stretched out her hand, allowing his thick palm to hold herself, his hand was very hot, just like the cement board that had been exposed to the sun for half a day, but such heat couldn't hurt people, just like his smile, bringing warmth to others, as if their existence made it unnecessary to fear even in the coldest of worlds.

  But how long can I still rely on myself?

  He's going to debut, compared to being a trainee, it's another different stage, the dividing line between ordinary and brilliance. After crossing this line, he will move further away at a faster speed, until she can't even see his back, let alone continue to pursue him, she is powerless.

  If it's said that the initial closeness was only due to a thread of emotion and admiration, then such a long time of contact has been enough for her entire body and mind to melt into his warmth at all times. Many things, once accustomed, can no longer be let go, and before that, I was thinking, if he were to leave, what would I do in this strange city?

  No answer...

  Just thinking about it, I feel like everything around me is shrouded in shadows, as if the environment itself is hiding something. The only thing that brings a sense of coolness to my skin is the shadow of the water tower, but deep down, my heart feels like it's plummeting into an icy abyss.

  All sorts of thoughts were in disarray, she always thought about many things like this, but didn't know how to pour out her heart, and could only entangle herself, bearing everything alone.

  An Junhe wasn't the worm in her stomach, so he didn't know what the girl was thinking. For him, Taeyeon was like YoonA and others, saying they were friends but actually treating them as younger sisters. Sensing the girl's low mood, he kept thinking about what caused it and wanted to comfort her, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

  Leading Taeyeon by her small, soft hand, she brought her back to the cool stairwell, during which the girl kept her head hung low.

  After being together for a period of time, the boy had a good understanding of the girl's personality. He knew that her behavior in front of him meant that her concerns were related to him. After some consideration, An Junhe thought it was better to ask directly and clear things up.

  He put his hands on Taeyeon's shoulders, slightly crouched down to make eye contact with her, and spoke in a sincere and concerned tone: "Taeyeon, what's wrong? Why don't you try saying it out loud?"

  Taeyeon averted her eyes, avoiding his direct gaze as if the glance would scald her. She replied softly, "No, it's just too hot and I'm feeling a bit unwell in my heart. Brother, don't worry."

  “……”

  Stubborn girl.

  An Junhe was speechless and let out a sigh, just as he was about to say something else, the sudden ringing of his phone interrupted him. He furrowed his brow slightly, intending to ignore it, but the ringing continued nonstop. Tai Yan in front of him reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, saying softly, "Brother, answer the call, I'm really fine."

  Looking at the girl's downcast eyes and her refusal to speak, An Junhe felt a slight sense of defeat, just like when he faced the taciturn Zhishu. When facing people he cared about, all the decisiveness and ruthlessness honed from his experiences in the business world and the underworld became useless, leaving him only able to react passively.

  He let out a sigh and took the phone call, putting the matter aside for now.

  The phone call was from Teacher Zheng Chunyuan. As soon as it connected, he anxiously asked, "Junhe, is Taeyeon with you?"

  "Yes, Taeyeon is with me, teacher, anything wrong?"

  "That's good, that's good." Teacher Zheng Chunyuan clearly let out a sigh of relief and repeatedly congratulated them. He then said: "Where are you guys now? Alright, send Taeyeon to the company, her dad is worried about the road conditions in Hancheng changing for the worse, so he came early to pick her up."

  "Got it, teacher. I'll send her back now."

  Hanging up the phone, Ahn Jun-he looked at Tae-yeon who was standing in front of him with her head down and fidgeting with her fingers. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a gentle voice, "Tae-yeon, can you do me one favor?"

  "Huh?" The girl raised her head, and the eyes hidden behind her glasses showed a hint of curiosity. Seeing his serious expression, she fell silent for a moment, then nodded, "Uh-huh!"

  He looked into her eyes, this time the girl didn't dodge, her clear pupils were like a clear pool, crystal and pure. "No matter what, you call me brother, I am your brother. You can have whatever thoughts you want without telling me, but don't distance yourself from me, okay?"

  “……”

  Taeyeon stared blankly at him, this was the first time she had heard such a strong and slightly overbearing tone from his mouth. In the past, he had always been gentle as water, seemingly never having a temper, but it couldn't be denied that this sudden overbearing attitude made her unable to resist. The girl's fluffy eyelashes trembled, and she suddenly burst out laughing.

  "Brother, why say such sentimental words suddenly." The girl blushed and punched him lightly on the chest, then nodded slightly a moment later, meeting his inquiring gaze.

  "Hmm..."

  An Junhe smiled and rubbed her hair, holding hands with her in her slight resistance. "Let's go, I'll send you back home, your dad is here to pick you up."

  It was said that he sent it, but in fact it was Quan Baogen. An Junhe is only 19 years old this year and has not yet obtained a driver's license, so naturally he cannot drive. The studio also needs to leave someone here to wait for the CD to be made, so I had no choice but to ask Quan Baogen to send Taiyan back to the company.

  Hancheng is really going to change the sky again, and when the three of them went downstairs, the wind outside was getting bigger and bigger. In a distant direction, you can already see the dark clouds at the horizon, but this time it's not a sudden rainstorm, they are spreading over very slowly, with a wide range, maybe in the next few days we won't be able to see clear skies again!

  Watching Gwon Bo-geun and Tae-yeon drive away, Ahn Jun-hyuk stands still under the bright light of the clear sky.

  Although Taeyeon agreed not to distance herself from him, when she saw the girl smile, she knew that perhaps distancing was inevitable. She was a stubborn and persistent child who was also very fragile. When she felt confused, she wouldn't face her difficulties head-on to find answers, but instead would quietly hide away and comfort herself in silence.

  The car went further and further away, towards the direction where dark clouds were spreading, eventually disappearing into the distant dim light, while here, the sunshine was still bright...

  ……

  ============

  I didn't want to write this plot originally, I promised it was a pleasant text, but as I wrote it became a bit sad. However, I really like Taeyeon and wanted to restore her true personality. Before that, I tried writing about her lively and playful side, the personality she portrayed in "Camera Taeyeon", but it always felt too illusory to me, so I ended up writing this part anyway.

  This is the real Taeyeon, strong and weak at the same time, likes to escape, like her milky skin, looks beautiful but too fragile, gets hurt easily, not like the strong leader of Girls' Generation during the Black Soshi era a few years ago.

  But still afraid of scaring everyone away like in the first volume, so I've restrained myself a lot and it's not very satisfying, O(∩_∩)O haha~

  Don't worry, it won't be heartbreaking. At this point, the idol group is still small and suitable for the main character to polish rather than pluck. Looking at Korean entertainment, isn't the greatest satisfaction being able to put oneself in the main character's shoes and watch him step into the life of an idol?

  Besides, I'll just finish this chapter today because I have to work overtime tonight, damn capitalist!

  Finally, thank you for the reward and evaluation votes from Duan Donghe Yu classmates!