Ever since his debut, Kwon Jiyong had never shied away from talking about romance on variety shows. He could talk about the push and pull between men and women at the drop of a hat, and openly share little tricks for flirting, making himself seem like a seasoned love expert.
But anyone paying close attention could tell that, no matter how often he brought it up, the only relationship he ever talked about fully and openly was his first love in high school.
According to him, his first love was a cold, heartless older girl who dumped him first under the guise of doing it for his own good. Whenever he mentioned her, he always emphasized that she was only one year older than him.
Fans: If you hate her so much, why does a one-year age gap matter?!
Then, in 2016, news of his relationship broke, and he posted a blurry video with the image quality of a home camcorder.
The camera pointed at a second-floor window of a small villa. In the night, clusters of blue-purple roses surrounded the light glowing inside, making the whole scene look like a still-life painting.
"Why did I come all the way here in the middle of the night to film flowers?" His familiar signature voice asked from behind the camera. He answered himself: "Because it's my birthday today, and I want to spend it with someone special."
Then came a slightly indignant remark: "Our birthdays are on the same day, and she's exactly one year older than me."
His voice grew louder as he called toward the window. "Choi Yiran? Noona! Come out and get your birthday present." Then, "Are you asleep? Why are you taking so long? It's almost midnight!"
After his repeated calls, a slender figure appeared. She slowly opened the window and looked down. Her words were a sharp contrast to her languid tone: "You're disturbing the neighbors in the middle of the night. Want me to beat you up, Kwon Jiyong?"
"Ani!" The person being threatened seemed very nervous. He began to stumble over his words toward the end: "Instead of getting beaten up... I'd rather be your boyfriend, Noona. That's my one birthday wish this year."
*
The day Kwon Jiyong happened to learn that those blue-purple roses were called "Blue Rain," he dug up this video, filmed in 2005, and watched it over and over again.
He tossed his smoked cigarette butts into the trash one by one. Amid the swirling smoke, he remembered how it had all started.
The first time they met, he knew Choi Yiran was the famous, cold, beautiful "school delinquent."
The second time they met, he discovered that beneath her icy exterior, Choi Yiran had a warm heart. She was an "unsung hero" who quietly helped a classmate being bullied.
Later, they became friends, then lovers, then each other's exes.
By the end of their tangled relationship, Kwon Jiyong felt that Choi Yiran was a rainstorm in his life that he could never escape. The marks left by the rain would eventually dry, but the dampness that had seeped into his heart never went away.
A restless photographer x a workaholic superstar with a clear career path
I'll post once I have a buffer. The blurb and title may still change.
Theme: Hold on tightly to both freedom and love.
