Negating the Rumours

A photo of Yeo Ri's lock screen, the new wallpaper proudly shown off with Gun's face blurred.

A photo of Gun, his head cut off from the shot, as he helped cut the steak for her.

A photo of her feet on Gun's lap; her socks clearly matching his shirt like a quirky couple look.

A series of scenic photos that she had taken throughout the day. Of course, for the sake of safety, she'd only posted them after they had returned home.

Yeo Ri captioned it simply with [Oppa is the best<3]

Yeo Ri giggled as she looked back at her handiwork. The fact that now everybody was aware of Gun's existence in her life somewhat made her giddy.

While her fans exploded from the sudden show of intimacy, Yeo Ri basked in the happy memories that they had captured throughout the day.

It had been a surprisingly calm day, despite what was happening online.

Now back in her home and resting snuggly on the couch, Yeo Ri nonchalantly scrolled through the thousands of comments that had appeared under her post.

Some lamented the fact that she was apparently 'taken', while others clamoured about the identity of the man.

Immediately after the first post, she posted two more pictures; a picture from the past that had survived their many moves, and a more recent picture.

[lyrnhyr: P.S.: my real brother.]

Yeo Ri had no intention of creating hype for herself by baiting her followers with fake news or a scandal.

She just wanted to show off her brother, really—the fact that Lee Yeo Ri had a really sweet and kind and caring brother.

She wanted people to know that he was one of two people she considered her most cherished family.

"Hehe," Yeo Ri giggled again, feeling a sense of euphoria as the number of 'likes' sky-rocketed.

"Are you that happy?" Gun smiled wryly at his sister's antics.

"Mm!" Yeo Ri grinned. Having had enough of the internet for the day, Yeo Ri set aside her phone and cuddled against Gun.

It seems like she might have a good night's sleep tonight.

...

..

.

[CheonsaMyOneAndOnly: Our Cheonsa, speak truthfully—is that really your real brother??? Blood-related????]

[8thgradersyndrome: No way, look at his physique, even without showing the face you can tell he's hot]

[YeoRiMyAngel: no way??? They're real siblings???? Cheonsa, please don't play with my heart TT TT]

[TrollingIsMyJob: she's definitely lying kekeke there's no way real siblings would act like this kekeke]

[CheonsaClubPresident: I can tell you that they're really siblings and he's really f***** handsome it's no joke kekekeke source: trust me bro]

[flowerboyradar: @ 8thgradersyndrome, +1 with my humble judgement, I think so too. He's definitely good-looking]

[bestboys1fan: guys... is it just me or... [raised eyebrow] #SiblingsOrDating]

[KTK112: SWEET HOME ALABAMA]

[StanCheonsa: don't anybody dare to talk sh*t about my babies!! I will fight you all!!]

[CheonsaClubMember1: Only real fans know Cheonsa has a brother who's really close with her keke]

Park Soo Yeon silently scrolled through the comments with a blank face, though her chipped nail was a tell-tale sign of her true state of mind.

The reactions were a mixed bag, but for the most part, they were receptive to the posts.

Park Soo Yeon was relieved.

It seems like she didn't need to do much to manipulate the public opinion to react positively to Yeo Ri's posts.

The dating rumours had swiftly faded away and was now replaced with the curiosity over the siblings' apparent good relationship.

Admittedly, even Park Soo Yeon herself had felt slightly unnerved by how close the siblings were in the beginning.

But Park Soo Yeon had some understanding of their dynamics; she wasn't privy to much of their background and circumstances, and it felt too insensitive to dig into it, but she was aware that the siblings only had each other to rely on. It was inevitable for them to be closer than regular siblings, though it did occasionally cross her mind whether there was something else between them or not...

Park Soo Yeon slapped herself lightly, snapping out of her strange thoughts.

So what if they were a little close? It was nice that they had such a good relationship with each other, compared to the kind of siblings who would backstab one another or treat each other like the other person didn't exist.

Park Soo Yeon felt like she was getting too absorbed in the online discussions. She rubbed her tired eyes, having spent the entirety of the day working overtime to handle the sudden 'scandal'. Though, it wasn't much of a scandal and they were able to disprove it easily since the young actress' 'date' was, in fact, her brother.

"President, I have Hong PD on the line. He wants to talk about having Miss Lee as a guest on [Today's Talk Show]."

"Reject it," Park Soo Yeon replied simply. Yeo Ri had made it clear that she wasn't yet comfortable with interviews. Park Soo Yeon herself was reluctant to send her off to appear on variety shows since Yeo Ri didn't have much PR training, and she was also still a minor. It was too early to expose her to those sort of shows by herself.

At least, if it was with her other castmates, Park Soo Yeon might consider it.

The assistant went back to the phone call, and after a brief inquiry from the person on the other side of the call, he vocalised the inquiry to the boss, "What about [Hiking Together]?"

"I don't think she'll have the stamina for it."

"[Team Runners]?"

Hearing the familiar name of the popular show, Park Soo Yeon made a conflicted face. "The MC is Kwak Joohyuk, which puts me at ease... But that show is too candid. They always like to spring random surprises and I don't think Yeo Ri can handle it."

The assistant nodded and relayed her words back to the producer.

"He says to think about it. He'd really like to have her on the network. He said he can work out a non-stressful schedule for Miss Lee if she agrees to go on [Team Runners]. The cast members have been taking it easy with less demanding challenges lately due to main cast members' health concerns, so..."

"I'll ask Yeo Ri if she's okay with it." Park Soo Yeon was open to the idea; the show was very popular and well-loved by the public. She herself had been a guest for several episodes during its early days, and she only had fond memories to speak of.

The production crew was creative with their ideas, and the cast synergy was funny and entertaining. They had a way with making guests feel welcomed, and admittedly, it was a quick and easy way to boost popularity for the guest stars.

"How many more interviews are left on the press tour for [Runaway Kids]?"

"Let me check... Three more. A full segment for K-Ent News Today, a 2-hour junket with some content creators, and a segment with Hallyu Star."

"Okay," hearing the words of her assistant, Park Soo Yeon heaved a relieved sigh.

On account of Yeo Ri's age, she made sure that Yeo Ri didn't participate in too many promotions despite her role as one of the main cast. She didn't want to burden the young girl, knowing how shy she could be outside of a set.

At this early junction, Park Soo Yeon hoped that Yeo Ri could focus on her artistry rather than popularity.

Her eyes drifted towards the small pile of scripts near the edge of her crowded desk.

[White Willow], marked with a 'maybe' sticky note.

It was her husband's script, which she had subtly tried to peddle to Yeo Ri.