Seoul was in a buzz. Although it wouldn't be all that surprising if the whole of South Korea was in a buzz, or even the whole world for that matter. One seemingly fine Sunday, almost all major newspapers within the city had a common subject of interest in its front page: Kwon Jiyong's Scandalous Life Before His Rise to Stardom.

Pictures were posted everywhere, from newspapers to magazines, and from tabloids to random websites over the internet, of the photos that were taken during the actor's long weekend escapade with an unknown woman and three children.

Before that piece of gossip could grow any further however, immediately the day after, another headline graced the front pages of the Monday newspapers, and it simply read: The Not-So-Scandalous Life of Kwon Jiyong.

This particular issue sold even more than that of the previous day due to the relevance of the one news report broadcasted in the nightly news that very same day: Kwon Jiyong Sacks Long-Term Manager, Nam Bora.

The Not-So-Scandalous Life of Kwon Jiyong

Written by: Gong Minzy

We all know the talented, rich and famous actor, Kwon Jiyong. We also all know that rumors are erupting everywhere regarding his relationship with a one, Park Sandara, due to the rather shocking photos revealed almost everywhere since yesterday.

I would personally want to extend my apologies to Mr. Kwon and Ms. Park for being the root cause of all the said photos taken the night they had their romantic dinner on Jiyong’s yacht along with their three children. As much as I would want to deny ever having taken part of the acquisition of those photos, it is crucial that I admit the truth.

Yesterday's news may have revealed Kwon Jiyong’s relationship with Park Sandara and the nature of the three children who were seen with them on the yacht by making obvious conclusions. But Kwon Jiyong himself has personally sat down with me to talk about it all willingly just to clear things up to everyone.

For the detailed interview with Kwon Jiyong, turn to page C7…

"Oh this is ridiculous!" Hino said exasperatedly as she flipped through the pages of the newspaper. "Honestly, this reporter's more like a gossip columnist in a magazine than an actual journalist," she muttered before she found the page and area of the paper she was looking for.

Minzy: So Jiyong, who really are those kids who were seen with you on your yacht?

Jiyong: The kids everyone saw me with that day are my children. You all know Yogun and Yogi- or rather Yonggun and Yonggi, that's their real names -from a previous event in Busan. They were on stage with me that day, although I didn't know they were my kids that time. And the third child, the little girl, is Nabi, my daughter. The three of them are triplets.

Minzy: Oh that's adorable! And what about the woman you were caught kissing and embracing with when the kids were out of sight later during that first night at sea?

Jiyong: Her name is Park Sandara. She was my long-term girlfriend since I was in high school, all the way until I got my big break as an actor. I suppose you can see the pattern as to how I didn't know about my children until just recently.

Minzy: Yes, indeed we can. So, exactly what happened since your cruiser docked? It was reported that a lot of drama took place at the Seoul ports as you arrived there and even after you had left.

Jiyong: I never expected the media to find out about that little trip. I planned that all out on a whim, so you can imagine my surprise and annoyance to find a hoard of people waiting for our arrival. The only person who knew that I had even left on that yacht with Sandara and our kids was my bodyguard, Joe – who, by the way, was the one who informed Bora of where I was and who I was with, thinking she had to know since she's my manager. He apparently did not give her full details except that I was with my boys but I suppose Bora was smart enough to know the specifics anyway to give us away. She was already suspicious of Sandara from the start so I suppose she already figured out she had to be on that yacht with me too. Anyway, on our way to the car when we arrived, the kids got pretty shaken up. You know how the media can be, seeing as you are one yourself. Questions were thrown from every direction and the ceaseless camera flashes were too much for the kids, so we decided to head straight to the hospital. That's where my manager, or rather, now ex-manager, turned up…

Hino scanned the next few lines, already knowing most of the parts of what happened within the hospital since she was there as well.

"Ah, here it is…" she said aloud before slowing down and reading more properly again.

Minzy: Yes, I figured it must have been Ms. Nam who had made the call to our studio. I was suspicious of the tip at first of course but then, a tip's a tip. We were quite desperate for a worthy enough story at the time. Seoul's been in a drought for juicy news lately.

Jiyong: And when you found out that the tip was pretty accurate…?

Minzy: I immediately thought it must be someone rather close to you. And since we don't know anyone here in South Korea whom you actually trust to share such information with, she was the immediate suspect.

Jiyong: That was very smart of you.

Minzy: Well, you've never really done any work here in South Korea. It was easy to round off the people close to you who're currently residing here. So anyway, after your security team rounded up a bunch of us, asking about the photos and who got the tip, the rest is history. I told them it was my team who took the shots and as it so happens, I had already spoken to Ms. Nam beforehand, thanking her for the tip. She didn't admit she was the one who called us but I recognized her voice easily enough through the phone.

Jiyong: I really appreciate it that you cooperated with us on this and openly admitted all that you know. Bora's done a lot of deceitful things in the past, some I would rather not reveal to the public since it has affected my family and I personally. With you admitting all this, about her involvement in starting this whole mess about my personal life, is already enough for the public to know just what kind of person she is. So, again, thank you.

Minzy: Not a problem Jiyong. Glad to be of help. Now, is there anything else you want to tell our readers?

Jiyong: Yes. I hope the media, as well as my fans, will be more compassionate the next time I decide to go out in public like that with my family. My kids were actually frightened that time. They aren't used to how the paparazzi act around celebrities. They mean the world to me and I don't want them to take the wrong end of the stick to having a father who is famous. So I hope you can all try to tone it down a bit if ever you do spot me in public with them.

Hino read the parting note of the writer before folding the paper up and throwing it on top of the Sunday paper, covering its heading:

Kwon Jiyong's Scandalous Life Before His Rise to Stardom

"I really should learn to read newspapers the day they're dated," Hino said regretfully with a sigh.

Sandara smiled at the older woman from the sink as she washed the plate and glass she had just used. "It's not that important anyway."

"Not important?" Hino repeated incredulously. "Dara, this is the first time the news has ever featured someone I actually know! Not only that, they featured five people whom I know so well! And I can't believe it, why didn't you tell me about your history with Jiyong? I should have suspected it the moment I noticed his increased visits over the past few months! I really can't believe it. A famous actor is the triplet's father? Who would've thought?"

"You're not that late. So it doesn't really matter," Sandara reasoned, completely ignoring the rest of her comment. "It's only Thursday today. You just missed the news for four days."

"Oh stop trying to make me feel better," she said with a wave of her hand and looking depressed, making Sandara giggle.

Sighing, Hino stacked the newspapers of the previous days in a neat pile before opening the paper for that day. "I suppose it's never too late to start keeping up with the news in time. And with you as my witness Dara, I promise I'll read every single detail in the paper from now on," she said in a sigh as she started reading.

"You do that," Sandara said with a grin before glancing at her watch. "Anyway, I have to get going. I have to get to the studio by one o'clock. Jiyong might be bringing the kids over here later if Nabi gets discharged today. So can you wait around here until I get back?"

Hino nodded, not looking up at her as Sandara shuffled around the kitchen for a while before leaving through the front door.

After a few minutes of reading the rather boring article on the front page however, Hino found herself already losing on her promise and was now scanning the pages of the newspaper for anything more interesting. Then something caught her eye.

Hino's brows furrowed as she quickly read the article.

"Oh dear," she said when she finished. She held a hand over her heart as she read the short article again, now with a wide smile and a proud look on her face.

Park Sandara, South Korea's Next Big Celebrity?

Park Sandara. We all heard that name lately ever since pictures of her and the famous Kwon Jiyong were revealed in newspapers and magazines around the globe.

But who is Park Sandara?

In due time, that name will be known to every citizen across the nation as South Korea's next singing sensation!

JTVN has formally made a statement late yesterday about this very woman. It is confirmed that Yang Hyunsuk, the founder and proprietor of JTVN and Teddy Park, the CEO of the famed record company, TG Studios (both who are known to be good and long-time friends) are currently under collaboration to ensure the successful kick-off of Ms. Park’s career.

The pair had confessed that they had originally meant to keep this under wraps until the completion of Park’s album which is currently still undergoing its pre-recording. But due to the buzz about her standing where Jiying is concerned, they decided to make the announcement far earlier than they intended in case rumors begin about the coincidence of her working with Mr. Yang, who is also widely known for instigating Jiyongs's acting career years ago. Hama has even disclosed that he was the one who had originally discovered Ms. Park and had immediately seen potential in her, and soon after sought collaboration with Mr. Yang. Ms. Park has worked closely with Teddy in recent months ever since his offer of a record deal. It was also revealed that Ms. Park had no idea of Mr. Yangs working relationship with Mr. Kwon, and was actually surprised to find out the truth of their affiliation only a few days ago.

A lot of coincidences have certainly occurred where Ms. Park and Mr. Kwon are concerned but both JTVN and TG Studios have assured everyone of Ms. Park’s potential and say that Mr. Kwon’s association with her has nothing to do with all the luck that she's been getting lately where her career and impending fame is concerned.

"Daddy?"

Jiyong looked up from his newspaper and towards Nabi, a smile immediately on his face. She's been calling him that ever since the day she collapsed five days ago and still Jiyong can't help the grin that breaks out of his face whenever she does.

He and Sandara still found it hard to believe the kids had somehow figured out that he was their father. They truly were too smart for their age. Neither he nor Sandara were complaining of course. They were, in fact, grateful that they didn't have to explain to them the truth in a very uncomfortable manner. But they also know that they have to one day explain to them just how things ended up as they are now, from when Sandara had left him to when Jiyong returned to South Korea and also about Bora's involvement. They knew the kids would be smart enough to understand it for the most part but it still wasn't something they both wanted to do so soon, so they agreed to do the explanations when things between all of them settled down again.

"Hmm?"

"Why can't we leave yet?" Nabi said with a frown. She was sitting up on her bed with Yonggun and Yonggi at the edge of the bed, trying to make a tower out of a deck of cards with little success due to all their moving around.

"We have to wait for Seungri. He has to check the results to your tests last night first," he explained making her sigh. "We should be able to leave in the afternoon."

"It's just going to be like the last check-up. I'm really okay now," she said just as her brothers managed to keep six cards up. She wiggled in her spot a little before doing a not-so-innocent bounce, sending the cards falling in a heap.

"Hey!" the boys shouted simultaneously, turning to her. "You did that on purpose!"

"I did what on purpose?" she asked in an innocent tone.

"Dad!" Yonggun and Yonggi shouted, turning to Jiyong for back-up. It took a while for them to adjust to addressing Jiyong as their father but they finally caught on just two days ago after Nabi addressed him numerous times a day as 'daddy'.

"Mmm…" Jiyong replied, not paying attention as he read an article holding the name of someone very familiar. "Don't bully your sister boys," he said absently before silently and quickly reading the short article.

The boys looked at him, appalled, before turning back to their sister who was grinning at them smugly.

"Oh, you're so gonna get it!" Yonggun threatened, crawling over to her side of the bed with Yonggi.

"Don't come any closer!" Nabi warned, trying to shoo them away with her hands though it did nothing to keep them away.

"Get her!" Yonggi shouted before he and his brother pounced on her and started tickling her everywhere.

Nabi shrieked out loud, causing Jiyong to fall from his seat in surprise.

"Oy!" he said over the noise as he scrambled back to his feet, still smiling from ear to ear from what he had just read.

The triplets stared at him expecting to be reprimanded for the noise they were