Chapter 54: “ji-yeon, You’re Really Ruthless To Yourself”
Inside the tavern.
After hearing Ham Eun-jung’s shout, Lin Xiuyuan abruptly looked up from behind the bar counter.
His reaction also drew an exasperated expression from Krystal, “Whoa, hey, Lin Xiuyuan, you’re really too pragmatic.”
“No, I’m just curious about how much she’s changed.”
Lin Xiuyuan’s voice was much lower, unsure if he was afraid of some secret being exposed or his own preferences being revealed completely.
Krystal snorted coldly and didn’t waste more words with him, standing up to go out with Ham Eun-jung to find Park Ji-yeon, because that Big Dragon Cub couldn’t find this tavern.
With the departure of the human shield Krystal, Lin Xiuyuan behind the bar counter immediately became the focus of attention in the tavern.
Jessica, Jennie, and Bae Soo Ji’s gazes repeatedly fixed on him.
Soon, Bae Soo Ji stood up with a cheerful smile and walked over, sitting on the bar stool, “Lin Xiuyuan, you don’t seem to want to get to know us.”
“No, I just suddenly saw so many beauties like you all at once, I didn’t react for a moment, too shocked.”
Facing Bae Soo Ji’s ‘accusation’, how could Lin Xiuyuan admit it? He might lack experience, but that didn’t mean he lacked emotional intelligence or IQ.
After hearing the answer, Bae Soo Ji smiled lightly, “Oh, so that means Soo Jung isn’t a beauty?”
“That’s not what I mean, I just meant… there are too many, it’s dazzling.”
He was getting a bit creeped out by their stares, so he lightly furrowed his brows and scratched his nose tip while looking down.
Then he picked up the gin nearby, planning to use bartending to cover his embarrassment.
“Oh, I get it.”
Bae Soo Ji watched his dodging little gaze and smiled even more brightly. She suddenly realized that teasing this somewhat shy young boy was way more fun than listening to cheesy pickup lines from those slick handsome guys.
“By the way, I’m older than you, so I should be your noona?”
After seeing Lin Xiuyuan nod, she smiled slightly again, “Then can I call you by your name?”
“Of course, but I’m not used to the honorifics and rules here, as long as you don’t mind.”
“It’s fine, just call me Suzy, I don’t like others calling me noona either.”
Women over thirty rarely don’t care about age, even if they say they don’t, you can tell by how well they maintain themselves.
And as an artist and actor, Bae Soo Ji goes without saying.
But before that, she had a small question, “By the way, how do you address Soo Jung?”
“Krystal?”
“Krystal~ You call her by her English name directly.” Bae Soo Ji was slightly surprised.
“Yeah.”
On the sofa, Jennie quietly leaned over to Jessica, “Noona, look at that Senior Suzy, she seems to have some interest in this little handsome guy. Looks like the rumors in the industry aren’t baseless.”
Jessica, who had been looking down at her mobile phone, glanced over there, then quickly shifted her gaze back, “Probably not. She’s probably just bored and playing around. With her current status, she’s long past the phase of casually ‘eating roadside grass’.”
“Yeah.” Jennie nodded, deeply agreeing.
At this time, Krystal and Ham Eun-jung, who had gone out to find someone, finally returned to the tavern.
Following behind them was the recently divorced Tara maknae, Park Ji-yeon.
She wore a sharply tailored black sleeveless top, form-fitting but not tight, with a slightly open neckline revealing her collarbone and shoulder line, exuding a capable sensuality.
Paired with a light beige thin suit jacket casually draped over her shoulders, carrying a modern aura tempered by storms.
As soon as they entered, Krystal brought her to the bar counter and introduced with a smile, “Come, Ji-yeon, let me introduce this tavern’s boss—Lin Xiuyuan.”
“Hello.”
Park Ji-yeon’s makeup today was light, lacking the overpowering intensity in front of the camera, with more of a gentle bare-faced warmth.
But that casual curl of her lip seemed to carry sarcasm or self-mockery while also revealing the inherent cold allure in her bones.
At this moment, the ‘cold allure’ version of her was worlds apart from the high-pressure, high-heat, radiant ‘flame’ of 2013.
One like a scorching flame, the other like embers after extinction.
Looking at the Big Dragon Cub in front of him, who seemed not much changed compared to the Little Dragon Cub from 2013, Lin Xiuyuan quickly nodded politely, “Hello, I didn’t expect to see you again here, I’m your fan.”
Huh?
Krystal, who didn’t expect Lin Xiuyuan to say this, suddenly widened her eyes, and even the others all turned their gazes over.
Only Park Ji-yeon was still a bit clueless, thinking Lin Xiuyuan was just being polite, so she smiled faintly, “Thanks, want me to sign something for you?”
Not expecting it to unfold so smoothly, Lin Xiuyuan was momentarily surprised and swallowed the words he had planned to say next.
Then, under Krystal’s stare, amid Park Ji-yeon’s confusion, and under the curious gazes of Bae Soo Ji and Ham Eun-jung, he squatted down and took out a booklet from under the counter.
Looking at Park Ji-yeon, his smile warm like sunlight, “Of course, I thought you didn’t remember me.”
Huh??
Krystal, who was almost catching on, looked down at the ‘fan book’ Lin Xiuyuan opened and finally understood this guy’s idea.
So she bit her back molar lightly, listening to him continue, “I’ve been your fan for over a decade, but back then I was too young to follow along, didn’t expect to complete my stanning journey here this time.”
On the sofa.
Jessica abruptly looked up, her gaze turning to the bar counter where they were gathered.
This rhetoric… so familiar.
She seemed to have just heard it somewhere recently.
At this moment, Park Ji-yeon was flipping through the “fan book” page by page.
It was full of her photos from over a decade ago, with signatures, “To”, and quite a few Polaroids in casual indoor clothes.
Practice room, dormitory, shops where she had afternoon tea outside.
She remembered all these, but she alone didn’t remember this ‘fan’ in front of her.
What shocked her and everyone present the most was the last page—a marriage certificate.
It clearly showed her signature and fingerprint, Park Ji-yeon’s.
“Whoa~”
“My god.”
Compared to Park Ji-yeon’s disbelief, and the stunned expressions of Bae Soo Ji and Ham Eun-jung, Krystal glared fiercely at Lin Xiuyuan.
You’re pulling this trick again??
……
“Ji-yeon, are you sure this will work?”
“Definitely, as long as my brain hasn’t been altered, she definitely won’t see through whether this is real or fake.”
“But earlier when I deceived Krystal and them, it got exposed.”
“That’s because you were too hasty, oppa, you can’t eat hot tofu if you’re impatient, you have to wait for her to come to you.”
“And then? These things can at most make her smile.”
“Oppa, you don’t understand how important fans are to me, if she discovers a fan who’s liked me consistently for decades, no need to think, the first impression will be through the roof.”
“Huh?”
“Trust me, oppa, I’m Park Ji-yeon too.”
“The last one to say that to me was Jung Soo Yeon.”
“Ah, oppa, the simplest method is the most effective, that old woman would never think of a parallel dimension no matter what.”
“…”
“Ji-yeon, you’re really ruthless to yourself.”
……
Monday’s readership dropped, lost a recommendation… begging for monthly tickets, begging for comfort, wuu wuu~
