Chapter 43: Small Tavern Opening
Seoul’s traffic was as congested as ever, and by the time Jung Soo Yeon and Yoona arrived near the tavern, it was already 2 p.m.
As the navigation announced “You have arrived at your destination,” Yoona instinctively looked around, planning to find a nearby parking space.
However, before she could find an empty spot, Jung Soo Yeon made a neat right turn, driving the car into a residential area and skillfully parking in an empty parking space.
Lifting her gaze to look at the parking space sign overhead, Yoona hurriedly said, “Older sister, this is someone else’s parking space.”
“It’s fine, this is that guy’s rented parking space, and the one next to it is too.”
As she spoke, Jung Soo Yeon had already turned off the car and looked at Yoona, “Let’s go, get out of the car.”
“Older sister, you…”
Watching Jung Soo Yeon handle all this with ease, a series of thoughts emerged in Yoona’s mind—absurd ones, reasonable ones, even some she didn’t dare to dwell on.
The most outrageous idea was that her older sister had already developed an extraordinary relationship with that “mysterious man,” even to the point of sharing orchestral music and exchanging DNA.
Jung Soo Yeon keenly noticed something off and chuckled lightly, “What is this little head of yours imagining?”
“Nothing.”
Yoona naturally didn’t dare say what she was thinking, so she hurriedly got out of the car and walked with Jung Soo Yeon toward the exit.
After leaving the residential area and turning right, within less than 100 meters, the two arrived at the doorway of that small tavern.
At first glance, the tavern looked no different from an ordinary coffee shop, with its exterior walls made of gray-white bricks, low-key yet exuding a touch of warmth.
But upon truly approaching, the differences in the details became apparent.
First were the floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides, which seemed transparent but apparently only allowed views from inside out, with no way to peek in from outside.
The two tried leaning close to the glass for a closer look, but could only see their own reflections.
Afternoon sunlight filtered through the window gaps, casting mottled light and shadows on the wine cabinet and decorative items in front of the windows, creating a serene yet stylish atmosphere.
Those towering wine cabinets served both as decoration and blocked the originally clear line of sight, leaving only a few slits at the edges for light to pass through, giving it a strong artistic feel.
When her gaze returned to the doorway, Yoona chuckled lightly, “Such a small tavern, no wonder you said it’s membership-based, older sister. Without restricting the flow of people, probably only a few could squeeze through the door.”
“I didn’t expect it to be this small either,” Jung Soo Yeon said while observing the surroundings, “This is my first time here since the decoration, I thought he would make it bigger.”
In front of them was a dark wooden door set in a wooden frame, not wide enough for more than one person, yet it carried its own sense of ceremony.
Especially the circular mirror surface device embedded in the solid wood door, which abruptly revealed a modern tech aura amid the retro atmosphere—the small camera reminded Jung Soo Yeon of the villa door in 2025.
Just as she was about to step forward to check it out, the wooden door was slowly pulled open from inside, and Lin Xiuyuan, who had successfully advanced from part-time worker, street loafer, and unemployed drifter to boss, appeared before the two.
He had noticed their arrival earlier through the gaps in the floor-to-ceiling windows, so after setting down the things in his hands, he came out to greet them.
“You two, welcome, come on in.”
He first greeted Jung Soo Yeon, then looked toward Yoona beside her.
Similarly, the moment Lin Xiuyuan stepped out, Yoona had already begun sizing up this guy who was somewhat beyond her expectations.
Because as far as she knew, her older sister had always preferred mature and steady older men, especially successful gentlemen with established careers.
After so many years of interaction, she had rarely seen her older sister give a good look to any young guy, let alone proactively transfer money or chat so happily that she couldn’t stop smiling.
After their gazes briefly met, Yoona instinctively looked at Jung Soo Yeon, her eyes carrying a bit of smugness and inquiry: See, older sister, I really can get in by showing my face.
Jung Soo Yeon didn’t refute anything, just confirmed again with her eyes that the device on the door lock was correct, then laughed along.
Accompanied by the sound of the wind chime at the doorway, under Lin Xiuyuan’s guidance, the three walked into the tavern together.
If the exterior made the tavern seem small, then once inside, the internal space was truly quite compact.
A few tables and chairs, paired with sofa booths, took up nearly half, the right side had a wall-mounted bar counter, and at the very back was a mini stage with a few newly unboxed musical instruments, the overall layout warm and comfortable.
“Let me introduce, this is Lin Xiuyuan, a Chinese person.”
Upon entering, Jung Soo Yeon looked around with a smile before introducing, “As for this one, I probably don’t need to say it. Yoona, our Girls’ Generation center position face of the group.”
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
‘Ding bell~’
While the two were getting acquainted, the wind chime at the doorway rang, drawing the gazes of Lin Xiuyuan and the others straight to the door.
Then three girls filed in, the one in front with a ponytail smiling happily upon seeing Lin Xiuyuan, “oppa~”
Only then did she notice the people nearby and hurriedly added, “Wow, Sulli older sister, Yoona older sister, you’re here too.”
“Long time no see, Ji-yeon.”
Yoona politely greeted Park Ji-yeon, then turned to greet Ham Eun-jung and Park Hyomin.
The other two responded one after another, and for a moment, the tavern was filled with hellos rising and falling.
“Yoona, long time no see.”
“Jessica senior, hello, long time no see.”
“Eun-jung, long time no see.”
“…”
Watching this lively scene, Lin Xiuyuan thought of how quiet the tavern had been just a few minutes ago, immediately feeling glad that he had installed the door lock correctly.
But for now, it wasn’t great to start the verification system, better to wait.
The idle chat soon ended, and everyone’s gazes turned to Lin Xiuyuan. Except for Jung Soo Yeon and Park Ji-yeon, the others looked at him with a bit of scrutiny, making his back tingle.
Fortunately, the two of them stepped forward in time, helping Lin Xiuyuan out of the awkwardness while introducing this ‘friend’ to their respective members.
Compared to Yoona’s earlier confusion and disbelief, Ham Eun-jung and Park Hyomin didn’t think too much about it. Because at first glance, this guy seemed pretty clean and handsome, so it wasn’t impossible for their dragon cub to take a liking to him.
Lin Xiuyuan, who had no experience greeting so many female idols for the first time and didn’t know what to say, simply said politely, “Have a seat first, standing is tiring.”
Then he turned to the counter, grabbed a few cups, and poured soda water for everyone.
Just as he brought the water over, Jung Soo Yeon looked toward the lintel and suddenly asked, “Lin Xiuyuan, hasn’t the signboard of your tavern been unveiled yet?”
She had noticed outside that there was a signboard hanging above the lintel, just covered with red cloth and not yet removed.
“Yeah, I was thinking of waiting for you all to come, to have some witnesses.”
Lin Xiuyuan nodded, then gazed somewhat emotionally at the group of beautiful figures before him, “Just didn’t expect so many people to come, I thought it would just be you and Ji-yeon.”
Sitting nearby, Park Ji-yeon said with some concern, “Oppa, your tavern opening is too simple, not even a flower basket, if you’d said earlier I could’ve sent a couple rows over.”
“It’s not too late now,” Park Hyomin thought for a moment beside her, “I saw some nearby when we drove by just now, delivery would be quick.”
“Really?”
Just as Park Ji-yeon was about to stand up, Lin Xiuyuan quickly pressed her back into her seat, “No, absolutely not, I don’t plan to become famous, just everyone sitting together for a simple chat is fine.”
Knowing what Lin Xiuyuan was worried about, Jung Soo Yeon smiled, “Now that everyone’s here, shall we unveil the signboard and open for business?”
“Sure, just removing a piece of red cloth.” Lin Xiuyuan didn’t refuse.
So, the group who had just sat down all went out the door together again.
Park Ji-yeon excitedly took out her mobile phone, opened the camera function, and aimed the shot at Lin Xiuyuan standing at the doorway.
He reached out and gently pulled down the hanging red cloth, and as the fabric fell, an ancient solid wood signboard quietly appeared before everyone.
Carved on the wooden surface were two bold and vigorous characters—【Solve worries】.
In the bottom right corner were two small vertical regular script characters—【Du Kang】.
Like a signature or some whisper, quietly revealing the tavern’s motto: Only Du Kang can solve worries.
At that moment, Lin Xiuyuan, who had rolled up the fabric, walked to the door lock, turned back to Jung Soo Yeon and Park Ji-yeon with a slight smile, “Come on, you two beauties, please record your member information, then you can open the door yourselves in the future.”
“Fingerprint lock?”
Hearing this, Yoona instinctively asked.
“No,” Lin Xiuyuan said calmly, “It’s an iris and fingerprint dual recognition system.”
At these words, not only Yoona was surprised, but Ham Eun-jung and Park Hyomin couldn’t hide their shock either.
They all unexpectedly looked at the unassuming door lock, not expecting it to be so high-tech.
At this moment, a note that Park Ji-yeon had received that evening suddenly emerged in Ham Eun-jung’s mind, its contents seemingly quietly confirmed right here.
The door of this tavern seemed, in a fateful way, to open only for the chosen ones.
