Managing the Korean entertainment industry: I have superpowers, but I won't say.

The day after Su Yu returned from Busan, Sulli's Japan tour began.

Five cities, 500 people per show—a small number of shows, but all tickets sold out. Tanaka sent a message from Tokyo, sounding very excited: "This is Sulli's first solo tour in Japan, and the response has been much better than expected. Local media are calling her a 'healing singer from Korea,' giving her very high praise."

Su Yu read the message and replied with an "OK". Then he forwarded it to Cui Minxiu and asked him to follow up.

Before she left, Shirley sent Su Yu a message: "The tour is about to start. Will you come to see it? The first show is in Tokyo." Su Yu was busy with the A24 contract at the time and replied: "We'll see." Shirley didn't send another message.

The first performance was at a livehouse in Shibuya, Tokyo. The 500-seat venue was packed, mostly with Japanese fans, and a few who had flown in from South Korea. Sulli sang seven songs, three in Japanese and four in Korean. Tanaka recorded a video of the performance and sent it back, which Su Yu watched at the company. In the video, Sulli was wearing a white dress, standing in the center of the stage, bathed in light, making her seem to glow. She sang a slow song in Japanese; Su Yu couldn't understand the lyrics, but the melody was very gentle.

After finishing her song, she said a few words in Japanese, and the fans applauded. Then she switched to Korean and said, "Thank you for coming. I miss Korea, and I miss some people." She didn't say who "some people" were, but the camera panned to the audience, where several Korean fans were calling her name. Sulli smiled and continued singing the next song.

After watching the video, Su Yu put down his phone.

Kim Dong-wook happened to come in to deliver some documents. Seeing his expression, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay. It's just a video of Shirley's tour."

"Didn't you say you couldn't go?"

"Yeah. Busy."

Kim Dong-wook glanced at him, said nothing more, put the documents on the table, and left.

That evening, Su Yu sent Shirley a message: "I saw the first show. It was great." Shirley didn't reply for a long time, so long that Su Yu thought she wouldn't reply at all. The message was only a few words: "It would have been even better if you had come." Su Yu looked at that line, typed a few more words, then deleted them, and finally just replied with "Next time."

Shirley didn't post anything more.

Over the weekend, Su Yu went to Busan again. This was Cai Xiubin's last weekend before filming wrapped up; one more week of shooting and it would be over. When he arrived at the set, Cai Xiubin was filming her final scene in the coffee shop. Zheng Yaying handed the key to the new owner, a young girl. The script read—"She put the key on the bar, pushed it over, and smiled. No lines."

Tsai Hsiu-bin filmed two takes. In the first take, she smiled too broadly, and the director said, "It doesn't feel like a farewell, it feels like a release." In the second take, she smiled, but only half of her mouth turned up, and there was something in her eyes—not sadness, but a faint emotion that said, "This place is nice, but I have to go."

The director yelled "CUT!" and then stood up and applauded. "Great! Jung Ah-young's scenes are finished!"

Applause erupted on set. Cai Xiubin paused for a moment, then smiled, her eyes reddening. A staff member handed her flowers, which she held, stood behind the bar, and took one last photo. Su Yu watched from the corner, not going over. After taking the photo, Cai Xiubin walked through the crowd to him.

"I've finished filming."

"I saw it."

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

Su Yu looked at her. "You've worked hard."

Cai Xiubin stared at him for two seconds, then smiled. "Okay. This is enough."

The two walked out of the film set and strolled slowly along the seaside path. The setting sun dyed the sea orange-red, seagulls cried in the sky, and fishing boats slowly passed by in the distance. Cai Xiubin held flowers, while Su Yu carried her bag.

"Su Yu".

"Um."

Are you going to the US this week?

"Leaving on Wednesday."

"Then I won't see you off. I finish filming on Thursday and will go straight back to Seoul."

"Um."

Cai Xiubin stopped and looked at him. "When you come back, I'll be waiting for you in Seoul."

Su Yu reached out and tucked her wind-blown hair behind her ear. "Okay."

That evening, Su Yu took the high-speed train back to Seoul. Cai Xiubin saw him off at the ticket gate, holding his hand tightly.

Message me when you arrive.

"Um."

Be careful when you go to the United States.

"Um."

"Don't eat hamburgers all the time."

"Um."

Cai Xiubin laughed. "Besides 'uh-huh,' can you say anything else?"

Su Yu thought for a moment. "Wait for me to come back."

Cai Xiubin's eyes reddened. She released his hand and took a step back. "Then come back quickly."

Su Yu nodded, turned, and entered the ticket gate. After taking a few steps, he glanced back; Cai Xiubin was still standing there, holding the flowers, watching him. He waved and turned to leave.

The high-speed train started moving, and the sea outside the window gradually transformed into a city, and the city into fields. Su Yu leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Images of Shirley on the Tokyo stage, of Cai Xiubin wrapping up filming on the Busan beach, and of the father in the A24 script counting change at a convenience store—all these images swirled together like an unfinished movie.

His phone vibrated. It was a message from Shirley: "The venue in Nagoya is smaller than in Tokyo, but the audience was very enthusiastic. What were you busy with today?" Su Yu typed, "Back to Seoul from Busan." Shirley said, "Went to see Soobin again?" Su Yu replied with a "Yeah." Shirley sent a smiley face and then said, "You're so good to her." Su Yu looked at those words but didn't reply.