Chapter 104
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Park Si-hyun Silences the Controversy in Pink
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Because of me, the soccer world was in an uproar again—FIFA this, disciplinary action that—amid all the noise...
I acted like I couldn't care less, heading off somewhere else entirely with complete nonchalance.
Lisa Schmidt's new song preview concert venue.
A gathering packed with famous singers, actors, and composers.
And the cameras and reporters swarming to capture it all.
Today was the day Lisa would unveil a song in a completely different style from anything before, so the entertainment crowd had turned out in force—plenty of glamorous faces.
...And with me as the only soccer player there, the reporters had no choice but to take notice.
"Wha... what? Park Si-hyun?"
"That's really him, right? Park Si-hyun from Rot-Weiss Essen?"
"That's the guy from the news earlier."
The quietly murmuring press section erupted in an instant.
Cameras that had been focused solely on the celebrities strolling the red carpet began turning one by one, lenses swiveling straight toward me.
...This is awkward.
Flashes exploded in a barrage.
"Park Si-hyun! Over here, just once!"
"What's the occasion today? Have you known Lisa Schmidt long?"
"Are you two close? Is this a personal meetup, or just an invitation?"
"One word on the recent controversy, please! About the clash with the fans!"
Questions about Lisa, the controversy, our relationship—everything crashed over me like waves.
But this was, above all, Lisa Schmidt's new song debut.
Today, she was the one who needed to shine brightest on that stage. Even if I was the type who always stole the spotlight...
I didn't want to take it from her this time.
I took a light breath and addressed the reporters.
"Whether we're close, or what happened with those fans... let's save all that for later. This is where singer Lisa Schmidt is debuting a new song. We're all just guests here to listen and enjoy it. So let's stick to our roles right now. She's the star."
I left it at that and walked straight into the venue.
Reporters kept calling my name from behind, but I tuned them out.
Honestly, I was excited.
Sure, I'd confessed and gotten turned down, but I was still a Lisa Schmidt 'fan' at heart.
Her recorded tracks were great, but hearing her live voice straight from her lips? That had to hit different.
Stepping inside, I immediately sensed just how massive Lisa Schmidt's star power was.
Actors fresh from hit dramas and movies, singers glued to the Billboard charts—it was a room full of the industry's elite at a glance.
That's when someone approached with a familiar accent.
"Whoa, Si-hyun, right?"
A familiar face.
An actor who'd endured discrimination his whole childhood just for being Black, rising to the top on raw talent alone and claiming America's most prestigious film award—the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Damon Crawford.
"Damon Crawford?"
I said his name first, and he widened his eyes a bit before chuckling.
"Oh, you know me? Honored, Si-hyun. Mind if I drop the formalities?"
"Go ahead. I'll do the same."
"Haha, perfect. Y'know, when I meet folks from Asia, they get all awkward around me and stick to polite speech the whole time. Feels like there's a wall up. But you're as straightforward as they say, Si-hyun. No bullshit."
Damon Crawford was huge now, but he'd explode even bigger in the future.
He'd redefine himself as the go-to villain in blockbuster hero flicks, showing a whole new side—while off-screen, his spotless personal life and impeccable character would earn even wilder praise.
In 2020, when some racist reporter hit him with that absurd question—"Why hasn't a Black guy like you done drugs?"—he didn't even flinch. Instead:
'I'm a celebrity. But I'm also Black. I know some people still don't see Black folks in a good light. That's why I have to be extra careful, extra diligent. As a public figure, I want to chip away at those prejudices, even a little.'
Watching that interview, I'd thought:
That's exactly why he made it that far.
I grinned and asked,
"Nobody's as straightforward as Park Si-hyun. So, Damon, how do you know Lisa?"
He shrugged.
"Worked with her dad back in the day. Bet like... 40 percent? At least that many folks here came because they're tight with her old man."
"..."
That clicked for me then.
Why Lisa had seemed so weighed down when we first met.
Like Cha Du-ri, overshadowed by the massive glow of Cha Bum-kun until he could shine on his own.
A father's blinding light often smothers a budding sprout before it can bloom.
Lost in that thought for a moment, the venue lights dimmed, and the announcer's voice filled the air.
"Thank you all for coming to Lisa Schmidt's performance. She'll take the stage shortly."
"Oh, show's starting. Number, Si-hyun?"
We swapped contacts naturally, exchanged one more greeting, and headed to our seats.
A moment later—
Lisa Schmidt stepped onto the stage.
Black dress, pretty revealing.
Ahem... she's not even an adult yet, and that much skin...
I knew it sounded like peak boomer talk even to me, but my eyes stayed glued to her.
On her lap as she sat at the piano: a small blanket emblazoned with a vivid Taegeukgi.
...Is that for me?
Flirtation or just performance? Before I could decide, her fingers descended quietly—but oh so naturally—onto the keys.
"..."
The venue fell into a silence so thick after Lisa Schmidt's performance, it was like no one dared breathe.
At first, utter quiet.
Then, faintly—
Clap, clap.
Polite applause rose from somewhere.
Clap clap, clap clap.
It spread.
Clap clap clap clap, clap clap clap clap clap—
Soon, thunderous waves of applause filled the hall.
"Wheeee—! Beautiful!!"
"Bravo!!"
Cheers erupted everywhere.
Lisa Schmidt's song pierced straight to the hearts of everyone there.
The life of standing under endless lights as a 'star'...
And shedding it all to be alone at home.
Stage and home, cheers and silence.
The confusion and loneliness of a seventeen-year-old caught between, yet still burning to sing.
She poured it all into one song.
Who among these stars hadn't wrestled with that?
Some nodded, eyes closed. Others bit their lips quietly.
A few wept softly—even though the song wasn't overtly sad, more a calm storytelling—seeing their younger selves in her.
Lisa spotted Park Si-hyun among them, staring blankly from below the stage.
She smiled faintly, then approached him.
"So... how was it?"
She had to know.
What he'd think—the man who'd led her here, to this stage, this song.
And his answer was exactly what she longed to hear.
"Today, Lisa Schmidt wasn't anybody's daughter or anybody's storybook character... She moved people as Lisa Schmidt. And Park Si-hyun? One of them."
Lisa Schmidt's performance sparked buzz in every direction.
First off, stars emerging teary-eyed, calling it "the performance of a lifetime"—the praise alone was massive news.
But the real bombshell overshadowed it all.
[Park Si-hyun & Lisa Schmidt Hint at Romance with Taegeukgi Blanket?]
[Soccer's Lone Player, Lone Taegeukgi... Too Coincidental?]
[Why Chase Her to World Cup Final? 'Lisa Spotted at Japan Away Game'... Destination: Park Si-hyun?]
['Knees Covered in Taegeukgi'... Lisa's Pink Signal to Park Si-hyun?]
['Chemistry' Heating Up German Venue: Park Si-hyun & Lisa, Already Each Other's Muses?]