Peninsula diplomat: My second life with a top celebrity

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea has a separate building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, while the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is located in Sejong Special City, with only a small office in Seoul.

So when Zheng Daoxun, a complete stranger, walked into the office, he attracted a lot of attention.

"Looking for Section Chief Fang Zhixiu." While Zheng Daoxun was filling out the visitor registration form, Pei Dongyong also rushed over.

As a veteran of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Officer Bae had always harbored resentment towards the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. If it weren't for Jeong Do-hoon chatting amiably with the receptionist, his face would have turned ashen.

No, if Jung Do-hoon hadn't insisted on meeting Bang Ji-soo first, Bae Dong-young would never have set foot here.

The receptionist was a young woman. Seeing Zheng Daoxun's demeanor and temperament, she smiled and made a phone call to the Cultural Industry Office. A moment later, the rhythmic sound of high heels clicking on the floor could be heard.

Before you see him, you hear his voice.

A single black suit skirt and trousers accentuated her long legs and slender waist, creating a striking silhouette.

She wore frameless glasses similar to Zheng Daoxun's, had an oval face, and a high ponytail. She reached out and shook hands with Zheng Daoxun.

"Hello, Fang Zhixiu from the Cultural Industry Office."

Zheng Daoxun smiled, looked at the tall woman who was almost as tall as his nose, and tactfully released his grip:

"Jung Do-hoon from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and this is my administrative officer, Bae Dong-young."

Fang Zhixiu usually works in Sejong Special City, but she doesn't have her own office here. She could only lead Zheng Daoxun to the conference room and arrange for her assistant to prepare tea.

"When did Section Chief Fang arrive in Seoul? Did he arrive yesterday?"

"I originally planned to come this afternoon, but since Secretary Do-hoon is visiting, I naturally had to come early to prepare." Fang Zhixiu saw that Zheng Do-hoon was smiling and hadn't yet gotten to the main topic, so she chatted about trivial matters.

That's how the work is done.

"When I came here, I heard that Section Chief Fang has a younger sister who is a trainee at Hybe. I'm the same as you in that respect."

Jung Do-hoon glanced at Bae Dong-young, who blinked blankly and silently accepted the blame for his gossip.

As a seasoned veteran of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bae Dong-young had a wide range of sources of information. However, the relationship between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had always been one of cooperation amidst conflict, and he knew very little about this particular area.

I don't know where Zheng Daoxun got this inside information from.

"Yes, I have a younger sister named Zhiwen. She's going to participate in her company's talent show soon, and I'm extremely anxious about it."

Mentioning her younger sister, Fang Zhixiu's face softened with tenderness and worry. She sat up straight and leaned forward slightly: "Secretary Daoxun, how is your sister?"

"Everyone has their own difficulties. Have you heard of Jung Ah-hyun from YG Entertainment, Section Chief Fang?"

As the head of the Cultural Industry Department, directly responsible for K-pop, Fang Zhixiu was naturally familiar with a large company like YG. She nodded slightly: "You'll be debuting in the second half of the year, right?"

"His foot is injured, and he'll need at least a few months to recover. Everything is uncertain." Although Yang Hyun-seok had assured him, Zheng Daoxun only listened to Yang's bluff and didn't give a definitive answer.

At this moment, Fang Zhixiu's assistant came in with tea, and the casual conversation was about to end.

Jeong Do-hoon first affirmed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's contributions to K-pop's overseas expansion, then recounted his experiences in Indonesia in detail before proposing the necessity of revising the "Regulations on the Safety Management of Overseas Cultural Activities".

Bae Dong-young then went on to explain the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' initial ideas—

The approval process for overseas trips has been strengthened. Any trip involving high-risk regions such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South America must be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval one month in advance. All activities can only proceed after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed with the relevant countries.

It just so happened that the artists were collectively stranded in Indonesia. Fang Zhixiu did not have much doubt about the necessity of the "Regulations", and the two sides only discussed some details.

For events like concerts, the preparation time from signing a contract to the performance is generally 6-8 weeks. The 30-day approval window given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs greatly reduces the preparation time for brokerage companies, making it impossible to communicate with overseas organizers about venues and personnel in a timely manner.

To Bae Dong-young's surprise, discussing such detailed issues meant that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism did not oppose the regulations themselves, which affected its normal operations.

It's worth noting that the relationship between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has always been fraught with tension over the past decade. It's already difficult enough for them to sit down and talk calmly, let alone expect the other side to show a willingness to cooperate.

The meeting, originally scheduled to last all morning, had already reached a preliminary framework after two hours of negotiation. Pei Dongyong looked at Zheng Daoxun with a mixture of respect and curiosity in his eyes.

Did Zheng Daoxun do some pre-arranged ideological work with Fang Zhixiu, or did he do some other off-site work?

During a break in the meeting, Bae Dong-young pulled Jung Do-hoon outside for a smoke and couldn't help but bring up his curiosity.

Zheng Daoxun simply shrugged, not feeling that the promulgation of the "Regulations" was a sure thing.

After all, Fang Zhixiu only represents her department, and it is still unknown whether her superiors agree. The real power struggle has not yet begun.

However, the way career diplomats handle things is quite different from that of ordinary civil servants. Jeong Do-hoon was very good at building personal relationships and solving many work-related issues at the same time by developing personal relationships.

It's normal for someone like Bae Dong-yong, who has always worked in an office doing clerical work, not to understand.

Jung Do-hoon could sense that Fang Zhixiu still had something to say about her sister. He saw Fang Zhixiu waiting at the conference room door from afar through the glass door, so he urged Bae Dong-young to hurry back to the conference room and continue the work.

As for himself, seeing Fang Zhixiu walk towards the restroom, he also consciously went to the sink in the shared restroom for a while.

As expected, after Fang Zhixiu came out of the restroom, she didn't rush back to the meeting room. Instead, she stopped, crossed her arms, and slowly began to speak:

"Clerk Dao Xun, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, we should have firmly opposed the 'Regulations,' as they impose many unnecessary restrictions on our normal work. However, considering the impact of the Indonesian passport incident, I will relay your thoughts to higher authorities."

Zheng Daoxun cleared his throat, his tone quite natural:

"Thank you for your understanding, Section Chief Fang. We all have younger sisters, and we certainly don't want our sisters to encounter similar situations when they work overseas in the future."

"Is Ya-hsien seriously injured?" Fang Zhi-xiu took out two cigarettes, put one in her mouth, and lit one for Zheng Dao-xun first.

"It's not serious, but she needs to rest for a long time. These past few days, as her oppa, I've really had to treat her like a little princess."

Fang Zhixiu smiled almost imperceptibly: "After all, you are the oppa, so you have to take better care of your younger sister. As the unnie, I don't usually have the chance to take good care of Zhimin."

How old is Jimin this year?

Born in 05.

"I'm only two years younger than Ya-Hsien, and we'll both be idols in the future, so we can exchange experiences more."

Zheng Daoxun's idea was to let Fang Zhiwen and Ya Xian exchange contact information, so that Fang Zhiwen could visit Ya Xian more often when she had free time, which would also be a way to find a friend for her younger sister.

But after a moment of contemplation, Fang Zhixiu went a step further: "There's no time like the present, I'll just pick Zhiwen up from get off work today."

Recently, Ji-min has been extremely anxious because she is going to participate in the debut audition. Fang Zhi-xiu thinks that Ji-min can get to know Ya-xian more, since Ya-xian debuted as the first place winner and must have some experience of her own.

"Then... come to my house for dinner?" Zheng Daoxun was taken aback. He really hadn't expected Fang Zhixiu to act so decisively.

"Okay, it's settled then."

"Then I need to tell Ya-Hsien first." Zheng Dao-Xun took out his phone and recounted the whole story.

The only response he received was a question mark (?) from Ya Xian.