Snap!
The eyes of the paparazzi sharpen like an arrow.
Just a moment ago, I thought I was the one being caught, but then I heard that they weren’t out to catch me, but to negotiate. Well, that made sense.
“So? How much are you willing to pay?”
“Well, let’s take it slow and discuss it.”
Lee Soo-ah said that for now.
In fact, she didn’t really know how much these ‘photos’ were actually worth. She understood that in capitalism, if there are ‘many buyers’, the price will go up.
She knew that secret dating photos of famous celebrities or scandalous pictures of foreign royals and nobles were expensive—that was the extent of her knowledge.
If it were a normal situation, it would have been prohibitively expensive for her to buy with her personal funds. Not every child of a conglomerate has assets akin to Sara’s. There were various reasons she had some wealth lined up, but those were typically ‘just set up like that’ rather than truly reflective of her assets.
If the other side demanded a ridiculous price, in the millions or more, it wouldn’t be easy to purchase.
However, she felt somewhat confident.
That person surely wasn’t in a ‘normal’ situation.
“You know that it’s unlikely to be cheap, right? I’m probably the only one following around the Yujin Group’s heiress to take pictures. Plus…”
The paparazzo looked up and down at Lee Soo-ah like they were going to devour her.
“…I know what family you come from, but do you really think you can buy something like this with your own money?”
The situation seemed to have flipped, or so the paparazzo thought, as they spoke in a somewhat boasting manner. They looked like they had forgotten that they were in the middle of an amusement park.
A few passersby threw curious glances their way.
Although there were certainly some foreigners, Lee Soo-ah, appearing somewhat foreign while speaking fluent Korean, seemed a bit intriguing.
“But you definitely can’t sell it for a high price.”
Lee Soo-ah addressed them directly.
“What?”
The other’s eyebrows knitted together, possibly because they were feeling overly confident in their photography skills.
“That photo, there’s no one buying it anymore.”
Lee Soo-ah spoke calmly.
“What? What do you mean? How would you know?”
After being called by her father to see the articles featuring herself and Sara, Lee Soo-ah had been checking internet news daily without fail. While she hadn’t checked the paper separately, such photos usually hit the internet before appearing in print.
However, no articles about Sara had appeared since then.
Sara continued to stick close to her friends—both in school and outside. They always went together, whether coming or going from school. Recently, they even refrained from taking the car home, making it much easier to snap photos during dismissal.
And in all that time, they weren’t shy about showing affection.
In fact, with time, their initial shyness faded, allowing for more natural skinship, hugging, or linking arms.
“You’ve surely been taking pictures until now, right?”
Of course, it wasn’t possible that they hadn’t taken pictures at all. If they made a living off it, they wouldn’t have just given up selling.
But no one would have bought those photos.
The rumor about the wealthy heiress being a lesbian would certainly be enough to keep people talking for a few days, regardless of whether it was true or not. But that was all. She wasn’t a celebrity, and dating someone wasn’t a huge deal.
If Sara were a trainee at an agency or a child actress, it might be a different story, but to the public, she was simply ‘a rich ordinary person.’
Even if people knew Sara had personal wealth, they wouldn’t think she’d be able to move that wealth personally. They probably wouldn’t think about her fighting with her mother, nor would they care that she suffered terrible abuse since childhood.
Of course, if such stories blew up all at once, the reaction could change, but one dating photo wouldn’t bring forth a cascade of such stories. The picture lacked any hints, and the article merely gave a ‘description of the photo.’
Yes, it wasn’t that it was ‘not at all’ gossip-worthy.
The child hanging around with Sara wasn’t just Ha Neul.
If they kept posting pictures and writing follow-up articles, it could become more talked-about than it is now. The ‘wealthy heiress’ is dating ‘several girls’ at once, and one of them happens to be the heiress of a well-known company. While it’s not ideal, it would be good material to use when there are no stories to exploit.
But the media hasn’t utilized such articles at all.
Lee Soo-ah could guess the reasons for that.
“Was there pressure from some company? Yujin Group? Or maybe Ho Myung Group?”
Lee Soo-ah took a step closer to the paparazzi.
No matter what they say about freedom of the press, this is still a capitalist society. In a country where individuals can earn and spend money on their desires as long as they keep a minimum standard of law.
And it’s a country where spending money to hide unfavorable information is also possible.
It’s tough to directly threaten the media. They are ‘the media’ after all. They would not hesitate to ruin someone’s reputation simply because they were offended or annoyed.
But even the media can’t go against companies much larger than them.
Because, at the end of the day, they too were ‘companies that exist to make money.’
No matter how many papers they sold or how huge the web traffic was, if there were no ads attached, there would be no revenue. The price of a newspaper is too low to profit from, and simply entering and reading on the internet doesn’t require readers to pay.
And obviously, the companies that pay the highest ad fees are among the top groups that could be counted on one hand domestically.
Choi Na-kyung from Yujin Group treasures Sara in a strange way. Even if it means tarnishing it herself, she would never want it destroyed by others. Or, perhaps she simply dislikes seeing someone else showing romantic affection with her goals.
Ho Myung Group has their heir engaged to Sara. Even if their relationship isn’t favorable, they haven’t called off the engagement yet, and they plan to marry when they come of age. Too many articles about this could undoubtedly come up even after marriage. No, rather, it could blow up even bigger at that time.
If unfavorable stories were to emerge for Sara then, it might be beneficial for Ho Myung Group, but currently, it’s just a bomb with unpredictable outcomes. Naturally, they would prefer silence surrounding the matter.
And—
“Or maybe Iwon Trading?”
Yes, and Iwon Trading.
In fact, it was a much smaller company compared to Yujin Group or Ho Myung Group. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t a media client. It was a stable company that would appear in the ranks when big companies in the country are mentioned.
If she could cozily be in with one of those three, it might be better. Advertisers prefer articles that receive a lot of views.
However, whether it would become an issue or not is uncertain, and even trying to create an issue requires steady follow-up articles, something the big three carry tremendous value. Even two of those two are monstrous entities filled with affiliates, subsidiaries, and sister companies.
It’s remarkable enough that there are articles still hanging around without being taken down.
“It’s fine to refuse here. I can just find another way on my own.”
In reality, if this person refused, it would mean going back to much more troublesome methods, but there are other options.
Lee Soo-ah said that and then looked straight up at the paparazzo’s face.
“But I’m not sure if you can sell it to someone else after turning this proposal down.”
“……”
The paparazzi looked down at Lee Soo-ah with a slightly shocked expression.
“……Even so, selling it here right away would…”
They might be implying they would negotiate the price properly.
In fact, Lee Soo-ah wasn’t in a position to give them any money immediately, so she nodded at that comment.
“Alright then. Shall we exchange contact information?”
Lee Soo-ah said with a bright smile towards the paparazzi.
*
Took them long enough.
Watching Yang Hye-in and Sua walking over from afar, that’s what I thought inwardly.
Even so, I couldn’t say something like that to the girls.
I might be a girl now, but.
But now?
“……”
I bit my lip tight.
Ah, right, I already was holding it tight.
Still, sitting here for a while made me feel much more relaxed.
“Sorry, I got a bit lost…”
Sua came running to us with light steps, saying just that. Seeing her glowing face—ah, no. Let’s not think any further.
I stood up from the chair.
“Then… shall we head somewhere else?”
At my words, everyone nodded.
“Let’s go to the flower garden up ahead.”
Ha Neul said as she naturally took my hand and led me along.
“Are you sure? There’s hardly any rides up there…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
Sohee smiled and spoke.
“We came here to hang out together. Being together is the most fun part.”
Sua nodded in agreement with her words.
“……”
At those words, I couldn’t help but smile.
And then a bit of guilt washed over me.
In truth, I could see how much joy those kids were having on the rides earlier.
Nothing is more disappointing than not enjoying a place you came to because of one person.
But none of them seemed annoyed. Everyone was being considerate of me. Instead of leaving me behind, they were all trying to find something enjoyable together.
……Yes, everyone was figuring it out for Sara.
…….
Sara hadn’t said a word.
However, I couldn’t shake this strange feeling of warmth in my chest, and it didn’t seem like just my imagination.
