In a place like an entertainment company, gossip spreads faster than a virus.

From Taeseok dragging those two gossipy male artists into the restroom to the end of f(x)'s rehearsal, it was less than three hours, and the entire SM building was already filled with various versions of legends.

"Did you hear? Sulli has an older brother who is in the underworld, and he just dragged two people away right in the Artist Department."

"What older brother, that's her boyfriend, specifically here to keep an eye on her."

"How many hands down is your news? The version I heard is—Sulli is actually an illegitimate daughter of a chaebol family, and this guy is someone sent by the family."

"Hiss... Yours is even more outrageous."

"Outrageous? I think it sounds quite reasonable."

Two female employees holding coffee walked through the Artist Department, and one of them was still gesturing.

"I heard that person picked someone up with just one hand."

"Such great strength? How strong must he be?"

"Anyway, I heard he can really fight..."

Taeseok and Sulli walked through the first-floor lobby, their ears filled with whispers, countless gazes secretly drifting over, first sweeping a glance at Sulli, then fixing on Taeseok, turning back to exchange an "as expected" expression with the people beside them.

Sulli felt a bit uncomfortable and slowed her pace.

Taeseok looked back and glared "fiercely" at the two trainees whispering together.

This look, coupled with the rumors in the restroom, had plenty of lethality; the two trainees shuddered, one lowering their head to pretend to look at their phone, the other looking up at the ceiling, not daring to draw a single full breath.

Walking all the way out of the SM building like this, their ears finally quieted down.

Holding back a smile, Sulli whispered: "Oppa, your face is all stiff."

Taeseok rubbed his jaw; his persona as a "little-sister-protecting maniac" had truly been completely lit up.

Just as he was wondering what to do in a while, there was suddenly a "ding" sound in his head.

【Daily Quest: Help the special fortune individual "Choi Sulli" escape harassment from male artists of the company. Quest Status: Completed. Merit Points + 1. Karma: None generated yet.】

Taeseok's mouth twitched.

Only + 1?

This system! The merit points it gives are getting more and more stingy, but the karma rising is not ambiguous at all; interactions with T-ara and Nine Muses have been a bit frequent recently, showing signs that this karma value is getting a bit hard to suppress.

He pulled open the passenger door: "Do you want me to drop you off back at the dorm?"

Sulli slipped into the car, her lips puckered high: "Oppa, today is Christmas, let's go out and play."

Taeseok held onto the car door and lowered his head to look at her: "Where to play? You're a popular female idol after all; it's easy to talk normally, but today there definitely won't be few people outside."

Sulli propped up her chin and thought very seriously for three seconds: "How about we go watch a movie?"

This suggestion was relatively safer.

Taeseok took out his phone, and the two crowded together to flip through the screening schedules of nearby cinemas.

As expected, during the Christmas slot, good movies were almost completely sold out, and those remaining few could be known as filler just by looking at their posters, leaving people without even the desire to click on them.

"This is just too miserable." Sulli poked the screen, "This is Christmas, are people all over The Peninsula watching movies?"

As she swiped and swiped, her expression grew worse and worse: "I've seen this one. This poster is so cheesy. This... this is a horror movie, right?"

"A horror movie?" Taeseok glanced at her, "Do you have the guts to watch it?"

"..." Sulli very honestly swiped the movie away.

Taeseok thought for a moment and said: "Let's forget it today. When Yuri's new movie is released, I'll treat you to it."

Sulli was stunned: "Yuri unnie filmed a new movie? How come I didn't know?"

"Yes, it's called 《Sister》," Taeseok started the car, "an independent drama film, Yuri starred with zero salary, and it's of a public welfare nature."

Sulli opened her mouth wide, failing to close it for a long time.

"Unnie is amazing..."

She leaned back, and that bit of yearning on her face couldn't be hidden at all.

"When will I also be able to act in this kind of drama film."

Taeseok laughed.

"The one you filmed a while ago, 《To the Beautiful You》, was also good; idol dramas suit you quite well."

"Oppa, you're making fun of me." Sulli said coquettishly, "The viewership ratings of this drama are a complete mess, and the reviews are also mediocre. In order to play the female lead, I even cut a chunk of my hair, and yet it turns out like this? I can't accept it..."

"How old are you even playing the female lead, and you're still not satisfied?" Taeseok reached out and patted her head, "If these words of yours get out, you'll definitely be blasted for showing off."

"Tsk," Sulli pushed his hand away. "I don't care what they say."

Taeseok smiled and didn't take up the conversation.

As soon as the car turned onto the main road, Sulli's phone rang.

She glanced at the screen, and her expression slumped a bit: "It's Vic unnie."

After answering and not saying two sentences, she wilted.

"...Yeah... Understood... I'll head back right away."

Hanging up the phone, her whole body sank into the seat, announcing listlessly: "Drop me back at the dorm, there's a group dinner tonight."

"Isn't that pretty good, there's ready-made food to eat."

"I have zero interest in group dinners," Sulli sighed, and added another sentence, "but Vic unnie said we need to film content to send to fans to see..."

She paused for a moment and said as if resigning to her fate: "Then I can only agree."

Taeseok turned the steering wheel, steering the front of the car toward the direction of f(x)'s dorm.

On the road, traffic was continuous, and the display windows by the roadside were hung with colorful lights, twinkling on and off.

Sulli leaned against the car window and watched for a while, her mood seeming to recover a bit more, breathed a puff of air onto the glass, and reached out to draw a crooked smiling face.

Arriving downstairs at the dormitory building, the car came to a steady stop.

Sulli unbuckled her seatbelt and reminded him solemnly: "Oppa, don't forget to treat me to a movie."

"I won't forget."

"Really?"

"Really."

She pushed the door open and hopped down, turned back to wave at him, and only then hopped and skipped into the building entrance.

A trace of hand cream's scent still remained in the passenger seat, sweet.