Peninsula diplomat: My second life with a top celebrity

Jung Do-hoon calculated the time and realized that taking Bae Soo-ji to the TV station would only require a few extra steps on the gas pedal, and he could make it back in time to cook lunch for Ya-hsien, so he agreed.

However, he still sent a message to Ya Xian, explaining that he had something come up and might be back later.

Ya Xian sent a "1" to indicate that she understood.

Zheng Daoxun smiled helplessly, wondering what Ya Xian was doing. He guessed she was just lying in bed playing on her phone, and that she would be fine even if she was a little hungry.

Suzy sat in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, sent the address to Jung Do-hoon, and then slightly lowered the car window.

The early summer breeze blew in, carrying a slightly damp scent, and gently swayed her long, flowing hair.

She didn't say much, but just turned her head to look out the window, her eyes half-closed, as if she was spacing out or thinking about something.

It was fine. Jung Do-hoon quite enjoyed the quiet atmosphere and didn't try to find any topics to talk about; he just focused on driving.

After driving through a few blocks, Soo-ji finally spoke up, asking him if anything interesting had happened in Indonesia.

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Daoxun picked out a few things he could talk about.

He recounted how Bae Dong-yong was caught chatting about astrology by Mina at the entrance of a convenience store, and how embarrassed he was so much he wanted to disappear into the ground. He also talked about the local Indonesian clove cigarettes with cumin and cinnamon, which he never wanted to touch again after just one puff. He further explained how he managed to find a balance between the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the tax authorities and eventually get his passport back.

It wasn't just Jung Do-hoon who was talking; Soo-ji also shared some of the things that had happened to her in the past few days. She said that after she lent her umbrella to Jung Do-hoon, she realized when she got home that she had lent him her only umbrella. She got wet in the rain on the few steps from the garage to her house. Luckily, she didn't catch a cold, otherwise she would have had to ask Jung Do-hoon for reimbursement of her medical expenses.

"It's a pity that civil servants' medical insurance only covers themselves, their spouses, and their children, not their friends." Seeing that Soo-ji was deliberately pretending to rely on him, Jung Do-hoon also made a joke.

"Not even a girlfriend?"

"No, that won't work."

Soo-ji chuckled softly and then chatted with him about the passport process. She turned her head to look at him and smiled knowingly.

"The Japanese entertainers are still in Indonesia and haven't returned yet. It's all thanks to the contrast with their peers that they're so popular. Doho-ssi, you're quite the popular diplomat now."

Jung Do-hoon was taken aback. He didn't pay much attention to social media; it was Bae Dong-young who forwarded the news about him trending on social media.

Seeing that he didn't react much, Soo-ji simply showed him her phone screen—it was his account homepage, with his follower count clearly displayed.

A little over 20,000.

"You seem to care quite a bit about my whereabouts," Zheng Daoxun teased, his gaze still fixed on the red light ahead.

"Of course." Suzy waved her phone, knowing he was focused on driving, and added, "I've been following you."

Zheng Daoxun raised his eyebrows slightly and glanced at the woman in the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye.

Being noticed by an artist of Bae Suzy's caliber... is not necessarily a good thing.

Her account is being watched by countless eyes, and the addition of a young diplomat to her following list is sure to attract attention.

It's not that it's impossible, but it would cause a lot of unnecessary speculation.

She's been in the industry for so many years, she must have thought of this.

"What are you thinking about?" Suzy covered her mouth, clearly understanding his gaze, her tone teasing, "Of course I'm using the alt account."

Zheng Daoxun said, "Oh, I see. It's a pity. If you had followed me, I might have had even more followers."

He pretended not to care and instead teased Soo-ji.

Bae Suzy's eyes crinkled as she rolled up the car window and slowed her speech:

"However... I can follow you with my main account. It just depends on whether you want to or not."

She threw the choice to her.

Jung Do-hoon smiled helplessly, looked away, stepped on the gas, and followed the car in front through the intersection.

"I'm just a diplomat, so I shouldn't be too high-profile."

Suzy didn't continue the topic. She turned her head away and looked out the window again.

The navigation indicated that they would arrive at their destination in three minutes, and Suzy could see the TV station in the distance.

How did we get here so quickly? She hadn't even noticed the passage of time.

Suzy took out a slender perfume bottle from her small handbag, sprayed it lightly on her wrist, then dabbed a little on her fingertip and applied it behind her ear.

A cool, delicate camellia scent filled the carriage.

"Your car doesn't have any fragrance," Suzy said, putting the perfume bottle back in her bag. "Just consider this a little fragrance for your car."

"It tastes good," Zheng Daoxun said, seeing that she had already sprayed it and there was no point in stopping her, so he tactfully praised her, "It has a hint of camellia fragrance."

Suzy nodded slightly, but didn't put the perfume away: "Do you like this scent?"

"not bad."

She picked up the small bottle again and gently, slowly, placed it against Zheng Daoxun's wrist, which was resting on the center console.

"Would you like me to spray some on?"

Zheng Daoxun looked down at his wrist, then looked up at her.

Xiuzhi didn't avoid his gaze, nor did she actually press down with her finger; she simply left it there.

She was waiting for his reaction.

"Sure, I didn't wear perfume when I left this morning."

Suzy blinked: "You didn't wear perfume when you went to the banquet last time. Do you wear perfume?"

"Sure, it's not too late to start this habit now." Zheng Daoxun parked the car steadily at the entrance of the TV station's parking lot.

Bae Suzy was slightly taken aback, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

This Zheng Daoxun is quite amusing to tease. Even she had to admit that at one point she was a little at a loss and almost pressed the button.

The security guard at the entrance glanced over and recognized that the license plate was not one of the usual nanny vans, nor was it registered in the system. He then came over to confirm.

While Jung Do-hoon lowered his car window and spoke with the security guard, Bae Soo-ji quietly took a deep breath and pursed her lips.

"I brought Bae Suzy to the TV station; she has a schedule at the station today."

"Bae Suzy?" Although the security guard saw Bae Suzy sitting in the passenger seat, he still raised his hand to tell her to wait there. "I'll go back and check the system."

"The security here is quite strict." Jung Do-hoon remarked, glancing at Bae Soo-ji, only to see her remove the perfume bottle from his wrist and put it back in her bag.

"This is a sample sent to me by the brand. I really like the scent, I'm so reluctant to part with it~ I'll spray some more for you when it's released again."

Suzy unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed the car door open halfway, and glanced back at him.

"Your car can't get in, so we'll leave it here."

"Alright, see you later." Zheng Daoxun reversed the car, turned it around, and quickly disappeared from sight.

At this moment, the security guard came out, looking puzzled: "Bae Suzy-ssi, is there any unofficial schedule today? I didn't see it in the system."

"Oh," Bae Suzy glanced down at her phone, smiled gently, "I must have remembered it wrong."