PDLP Chapter 34 Lipstick Mark
Chapter 34 Lipstick Mark
Bae Suzy didn't drive her red Ferrari; instead, she opted for a rather understated black Hyundai.
When Jung Do-hoon got into the car, he was holding two cups of coffee. He placed the cups on the cup holder on the center console, one hot and one iced.
"Would you like a hot latte or an iced Americano?"
"Latte, please."
He was wearing a basic white shirt today, with the cuffs rolled up twice to reveal a section of his wrist. His hair wasn't parted as usual, but slicked back, making him look more mature and sharp than usual, and the contours of his eyebrows and eyes were more defined.
As Bae Soo-ji watched him pull up his seatbelt and fasten it, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind—she wanted to buy him a tie.
She was startled by the thought, shook her head slightly, and chased it away.
The car started. Bae Suzy glanced at the apartment building where he lived: "Which floor do you live on? It takes quite a while for the elevator to come down."
"Fifteenth floor. Because there are only two elevators, they have to stop every few floors."
How many units are in one elevator in this apartment building?
"One elevator serves two households." Zheng Daoxun took a sip of his iced Americano, the bitterness of the coffee spreading on his tongue.
Bae Suzy tapped her fingers lightly on the steering wheel twice, and said slowly, "So, do you live alone—"
Before he could finish his question, Zheng Daoxun's phone rang.
He glanced at the caller ID, his brow twitching almost imperceptibly.
When he answered the phone, his tone had already switched to work mode: "Mayor, what can I do for you?"
The caller was Park Hyung-joon, the mayor of Busan.
Bae Suzy gripped the steering wheel slightly, remained silent, but her ears perked up.
On the other end of the phone, Park Hyung-joon first praised his handling of the passport crisis in Indonesia.
Zheng Daoxun's response was also very methodical, with phrases like "it's my duty" and "the mayor flatters me" being exchanged back and forth between the two several times.
After exchanging pleasantries, Park Hyung-joon got down to business.
"Dohoon, at tomorrow afternoon's meeting, could you please suggest a candidate for the publicity ambassador? We think it would be more appropriate to choose an artist from Busan. Since you're in charge of culture, it would be more natural for you to suggest it."
Zheng Daoxun did not respond immediately.
That old fox.
Jung Do-hoon does indeed intend to make a big deal out of the selection of the publicity ambassador.
However, his original plan was not to make demands on behalf of Busan, but to use this matter as leverage to force the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to make concessions on the Expo promotion plan.
If he takes the initiative to request a replacement, then the nature of the situation changes; it's not that he's manipulating the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, but rather that he needs something from the Ministry.
However, if Park Hyung-joon were to initiate the discussion, and then he were to express his support from the perspective of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Cultural Exchange Division, it would be much easier.
Jung Do-hoon pondered for a moment, then feigned doubt and said, "Karina is very popular. She's one of the best among the new generation of idols, both within the group and internationally. Isn't choosing her as the promotional ambassador a good idea?"
To be honest, when you take a Korean idol to the international stage, apart from the fans, who cares whether she's from Busan or Seoul? Korea is just a small country.
"Karina is indeed very good, but the World Expo is being held in Busan, so there has to be a Busan kid on stage. The people in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism should understand that."
"Mayor-nim is right."
"Then tomorrow—"
"However, this matter," Zheng Daoxun continued, his tone carrying just the right amount of difficulty, "is ultimately led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Of course, I can cooperate, but if our Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposes a replacement first, they might feel we're overstepping our bounds. If the mayor could bring it up at the meeting first, and I could then offer my support, the effect might be better."
He gently kicked the ball back. His tone was so natural, his words so appropriate, as if he were entirely considering the other person's feelings.
Bae Suzy listened from the side and couldn't help but glance at him. She suddenly felt a little thirsty, so she grabbed a cup of coffee from the cup holder and took a sip.
A cool, bitter taste...
Bae Suzy paused for a moment, then looked down at the cup in her hand—it wasn't her hot latte.
She silently placed it back on the cup holder, glancing quickly at the side out of the corner of her eye.
Jung Do-hoon was looking out the window, still listening to Park Hyung-joon, and didn't notice her at all.
Fortunately.
She let out a soft breath. Then her gaze fell on the rim of the cup—where a faint lipstick mark stood out starkly.
Bae Suzy pursed her lips, pulled a tissue from her bag, and reached for the cup.
Before her fingertips even touched the rim of the cup, Jung Do-hoon had already picked up the coffee. She watched as he lifted the iced Americano, stained with her lipstick, to his lips and took a sip.
Her fingers froze in mid-air, the tissue still clutched in her hand.
Bae Suzy's mouth opened a crack, as if she wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say—
And he's already drunk it. It's too late to say anything now.
Bae Suzy silently crumpled the tissue in her hand, turned her head to look ahead, and pretended nothing had happened.
Zheng Daoxun hung up the phone.
The carriage was quiet for a few seconds.
He glanced down at the coffee in his hand. He hadn't noticed it before drinking, but now, looking again, he saw a very faint lipstick mark on the rim of the cup. He paused for a moment, then put the coffee back on the cup holder without saying anything.
No wonder Bae Suzy's condition seemed a bit strange.
"How was your latte?" Zheng Daoxun teased her on purpose.
Judging from her expression, she didn't seem to have deliberately drunk the wrong thing.
However, that possibility cannot be ruled out, after all, Bae Suzy has been an actress for many years.
But if Bae Suzy really did drink the wrong thing on purpose and then pretended to be flustered and shy...
That means Jeong Do-hoon was truly in "danger".
Bae Suzy took a deep breath, regaining her composure, and simply gave a soft "hmm," her composure tinged with a hint of probing:
"Not bad. Why don't you give it a try?"
The temperature inside the car suddenly rose.
"Never mind, I'm not that curious." Zheng Daoxun glanced at her, and their eyes met.
Bae Suzy looked back at the road ahead and changed the subject: "You just mentioned Karina from Aespa?"
"Hmm." Jung Do-hoon briefly explained the cause and effect—the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism initially selected Yoo Ji-min, but Busan wanted to replace her with a Busan-born artist, so the two sides were competing.
He's going to attend the preliminary review meeting for the publicity plan tomorrow afternoon, and Park Hyung-joon wants him to give him a push at the meeting.
Bae Suzy listened, nodding occasionally, but she didn't really take it all in.
She wanted to regain the initiative, and this feeling was really strange—
When Jung Do-hoon ignores her, she feels a secret desire to conquer him.
Whenever there's even the slightest hint of ambiguity, Bae Suzy tries to take the initiative, but so far she has absolutely no chance.
Maybe... I could try it when he gets off work?
"...That's about it." Zheng Daoxun finished speaking.
"Oh," Bae Suzy responded, then picked up her latte and took a sip.
The car passed an intersection. Bae Soo-ji pulled herself out of her thoughts and suddenly remembered the question that had interrupted her on the phone earlier, so she spoke again: "Dohoon, do you live alone? Or do you share an apartment with a friend?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Zheng Daoxun's phone rang again.
Bae Soo-ji watched him answer the phone and sighed softly.
Zheng Daoxun listened for a few minutes, his expression didn't change much, he just hummed a few times, and then hung up.
"It's about another meeting. I've arranged to meet with representatives from various entertainment companies tomorrow morning to discuss revising the regulations."
"You're really busy," Bae Suzy said, her tone carrying a hint of slight annoyance.
Zheng Daoxun smiled but didn't say anything.
The car came to a stop in front of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism building. Jung Do-hoon unbuckled his seatbelt, placed his hand on the door handle, and suddenly stopped.
"Oh, right," he turned around, "I don't live alone. My sister has been staying with me recently."
Bae Suzy turned to look at him.
"Her name is Zheng Yaxian. You can find out who she is by searching her online."
After he finished speaking, he opened the car door and got out, his white-shirted figure disappearing behind the revolving door.
Bae Suzy sat in the car, looking down at her phone screen.
When you type "郑雅娴" into the search box, the first result is Babymonster's official profile page—this girl looks cute, but she doesn't resemble Zheng Daoxun at all, whether it's her eyebrows, eyes, or figure.
Are they really biological siblings? The difference is too great...
Maybe one looks like the father and the other like the mother?
She looked at it for a while, then exited the search page, opened her social media accounts, and found Babymonster's official account.
Then click "follow" using the larger account.