Even if we’re dating, we must not reveal it to the fans.
This is something Lee Sooman said himself at the time.
How... did this standard become flexible all of a sudden?
She couldn’t help but glance towards Lee Sooman, who had personally lectured them back then.
As expected of the "tyrant" who had ruled S-M for years, his expression remained unchanged even after Lee Seongju said something that completely undermined him.
He couldn’t wait to announce the relationship on the S-M official website.
Just revealing the relationship at the banquet had already given S-M so many opportunities. If the relationship was made public afterward... the opportunities that would follow were beyond his wildest dreams.
As for Bae Juhyun’s worries about fan dissatisfaction...
That was really not an issue.
"You don’t have to worry too much about the fans, the company will support you and Liu Xin’an, and Liu Xin’an’s mother is also from our country, so being with him shouldn’t cause much fan rejection."
Lee Sooman slowly spoke, making the company’s stance clear.
Publicly revealing a relationship and getting this kind of support from the company—Bae Juhyun was probably the only exception among all the artists in Korea.
"...The company will ?"
Lee Sooman nodded, crossing his arms with a faint smile: "Actually, if you and Mr. Liu Xin’an could really make it long-term, it would be a great thing for both you and the company."
The perspective switched to Liu Xin’an’s side.
After breakfast, Liu Xin’an visited the leaders at the consulate who had hosted him this time. Of course, he didn’t forget to chat with Dai Zhiyuan as well.
On workdays, Dai Zhiyuan, as the Cultural Consul, was usually quite busy. But when Liu Xin’an arrived, Dai Zhiyuan happened to be slacking off.
"I’ll head back to Seoul in a bit. When you come to Seoul for business, remember to contact me. Juhyun and I will treat you to dinner."
"Not staying a few more days in Busan?"
"I still have to go back and edit videos." Liu Xin’an patted the camera in his bag. He hadn’t forgotten that he came here to "film videos."
From entering the event yesterday to shooting various venue details afterward, he took quite a few shots.
Hmm... of course, he would delete all the shots involving Bae Juhyun and her team.
Actually, he didn’t really need to delete them since they planned to go public anyway. Releasing this video a few days before the official announcement would do.
"Remember to send me the edited video first. I’ll review it for you before you publish it."
Liu Xin’an grinned: "Don’t worry, getting past your review doesn’t mean it will pass on Little Broken Station."
"...Is it that realistic?"
"It is, but I’ll definitely send you a copy. You can let me know if any of my scripts are incorrect."
After all, Liu Xin’an wasn’t a relevant staff member here, and some errors in his narration were inevitable.
Although most audiences wouldn’t notice these errors, being meticulous was always a good thing.
"No problem. But when you were filming, Irene must have appeared too, right... what are you planning to do about that, edit her out?"
"It depends on the release time of the video. You know, Juhyun and I plan to go public soon, maybe within this period."
"Hmm... that’s fine. If all goes well, you and Irene might be in contact with us a lot next year. You can go public confidently, and we’ll support you!"
Dai Zhiyuan patted Liu Xin’an’s shoulder, giving him an encouraging look.
Liu Xin’an was stunned, apparently not fully grasping the meaning of his words.
"What do you mean by being in contact a lot next year?"
"Hmm, you don’t know?"
Liu Xin’an’s confusion left Dai Zhiyuan deeply surprised; he thought Liu Xin’an knew about this.
"Next year is a very special year."
Dai Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow and spoke word by word: "China and Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992. Next year..."
"The 30th anniversary?!" Liu Xin’an finally realized what Dai Zhiyuan was trying to say and exclaimed in surprise.
Dai Zhiyuan nodded with a grin and said enthusiastically: "Once you both go public, you will be the most famous cross-national couple in recent years. At such a critical time..."
Dai Zhiyuan spoke cleverly—saying nothing yet saying everything.
Liu Xin’an understood, taking a deep breath and nodding in relief.
The perspective shifted back to Bae Juhyun again.
"Long-term?" Bae Juhyun didn’t quite understand what that meant and asked Lee Sooman with confusion.
Lee Sooman had no intention of hiding, speaking gravely to clarify Bae Juhyun’s confusion: "Next year marks the 30th anniversary of our country’s diplomatic relations with China. There will be a series of activities."
"Yes, as one of the most famous cross-national couples of this generation, you two will likely be at the center of these activities."
This news truly shocked Bae Juhyun. She pressed her lips together, trying hard to contain her excitement, and remained expressionless. Chapters first released on novel·fire·net
"So the company supports us because of this?"
"In short... you can go public. Next year, the company will focus on Red Velvet’s development, so you don’t need to worry too much about the fans’ reactions. Moreover..." Lee Sooman revealed a sly fox grin, with his eyes narrowing behind his black-framed glasses, "The Chinese side will definitely support you."
Let the Korean fans resist all they want. How many fans could Red Velvet possibly have in Korea?
In this comeback alone, Chinese fans contributed nearly seventy percent of album sales. Even in the worst-case scenario, with the support from China during this special period, Red Velvet wouldn’t lack popularity all year.
Besides, S-M was a professional in media strategy.
With their cooperation and coordination, making the fans support Bae Juhyun and Liu Xin’an wouldn’t be a difficult task.
"So, Irene, when do you plan to announce the good news to the fans?"
Bae Juhyun remained silent, frowning in deep thought.