Chapter 101: “code Word” And “incoming Call”
2013.
Early morning, inside Incheon Airport. The group that had finally finished their work on the LA side, Ji-yeon and the members, had finally returned to Seoul.
As soon as they got off the plane, Ji-yeon couldn’t wait to go to a certain place. But that was just a thought.
In reality, she still had to go back to the company with Eun-jung and the others first, then return to the dormitory to pack her luggage.
But before that, Hyo Min, dressed in a sexy little camisole, came to her side. “Ji-yeon, are you really going to tell the company about doing business investments?”
These past few days in LA, they had been hearing Ji-yeon muttering about these things every day. Even after calling Lee Ji-eun, that side had advised her, but it was completely useless.
“I’m going, but wait a couple of days first. I’ll go after I’m done with some things.”
Walking behind, Eun-jung, who had been talking quietly with Yu-jin, paused slightly upon hearing this.
She lifted her head, her gaze falling on Ji-yeon walking ahead, and the figure of a certain boy involuntarily emerged in her mind.
But for now, she didn’t say anything, just kept it in mind.
Afterward, they went back to the company with the members, then returned to the dormitory.
Until noon, when Ji-yeon finished showering, changed clothes, and was preparing to go out.
Eun-jung finally called out to her. “Ji-yeon, are you going to find that Boss Lin?”
Hyo Min, who had just taken off her clothes and was in her underwear preparing to wash up, also stopped her movements and looked at them with interest. “Ah? Ji-yeon, you’re going to find Xiuyuan right now?”
Ji-yeon stopped in her tracks, hesitated for a moment, then turned back to look at Eun-jung and suddenly said without warning, “Older sister, I hope one day I can get completely drunk with you.”
“What? What kind of talk is that?”
The words sounded a bit familiar, but Eun-jung couldn’t remember.
Ji-yeon didn’t explain, just smiled. “Nothing, you’ll know when the time comes. But right now, I’m indeed going to find oppa. For the investment business side, I still need him to give me some references.”
“Xiuyuan runs a tavern, what kind of reference can he give?”
Hyo Min, who had already reached back to unhook her bra, asked curiously.
But she was met with Ji-yeon’s attack. “Older sister, you don’t get it. Alright, I’m heading out first, bye~”
Then, Eun-jung and Hyo Min watched Ji-yeon leave this side, and at the moment she opened the door, Hyo Min even shouted loudly, “Hey, Park Ji-yeon, I haven’t gone in yet.”
Eun-jung stood in place, her brows slightly furrowed. Every word Ji-yeon had just said was strange, but she couldn’t understand a single one.
Just like the relationship between that boy and Ji-yeon, Soo Yeon, and Sulli.
She couldn’t see through it.
Half an hour later, Ji-yeon, who had left the dormitory, found Sulli, and they shared a big hug upon meeting.
“Ah, Sulli, why didn’t you guys wait for me last night? I wanted to see Yoona older sister too~”
Sulli, being hugged, smiled and patted her arm. “Don’t tell me, I was suddenly called over too. Oppa said it was a sudden idea, so everyone was pretty surprised.”
“Right, didn’t you say Yoona older sister would come later? Let’s go together too.”
After pouting a bit in frustration, Ji-yeon suddenly remembered the message Sulli had mentioned in the group. Though it didn’t specify where, she understood.
Sulli smiled faintly. “Ji-yeon, which Yoona older sister are you talking about?”
Ji-yeon was stunned, then laughed. “The Yoona older sister from our side. She’s going over, right? As for Big Yoona older sister, she should be going to the villa today too.”
“Hard to say. Last night Yoona older sister said she had a birthday party live broadcast announcement over there, and she has dinner plans with other older sisters in the evening, so she probably won’t have time to come.”
“Which Yoona older sister?”
This time it was Ji-yeon asking.
After asking, the two exchanged a glance and burst out laughing, quickly huddling together to unify the nicknames for these two Yoona’s.
Sulli explained last night’s situation to Ji-yeon. “The young Yoona older sister is called Little Deer, and the 2025 one can be directly called Yoona older sister.”
“Yeah, Little Deer older sister, hahaha, it’s a bit hard to get used to for a while.”
After understanding, Ji-yeon tried calling out once, then laughed herself.
Sulli followed up. “It’s fine, normally when facing her, you can still call her Yoona older sister directly. We’re just distinguishing among ourselves.”
“Yeah~”
“Then let’s go find Little Deer older sister. Oppa hasn’t replied yet, probably still sleeping.”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
……
……
2025.
Villa.
Sunlight slanted through the floor-to-ceiling window, spilling onto the white bedsheets and between the intertwined figures.
Lin Xiuyuan, who had just been in Sulli and Ji-yeon’s conversation, slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing that came into view was Soo Jung’s hanging hair and her exquisite collarbone line, which rose and fell gently with her breathing, carrying a lazy sexiness.
She was lying on him, one leg improperly draped over his waist, her snow-white skin glowing faintly in the morning light.
As he gently moved after waking, Soo Jung rubbed against him and mumbled in protest, “Don’t move, I haven’t slept enough.”
“The sunlight suggests it’s a bit late. We need to get up. I promised Yoona I’d pick her up today.”
After recovering a bit, Lin Xiuyuan thought of something. He glanced at the bright weather outside the large floor-to-ceiling window, his hand sliding down her smooth back, gently soothing.
Soo Jung lifted her head, her sleepy eyes still hazy. “Doesn’t she have a live broadcast today? Why are you picking her up?”
“The one from 2013.” Lin Xiuyuan chuckled lowly, his gaze lingering between her face and exposed shoulder.
Hearing this, Soo Jung bit her lip, lazily shifting closer on him. The soft touch against his skin made the atmosphere extremely ambiguous for a moment.
The sunlight outlined a golden edge on her slightly raised profile as she mumbled, “Then let that side’s older sister wait a bit longer. Let me stay in bed a while more.”
At the same time, she was more concerned about another issue. “You guy, it’s only been a few days since we last saw each other. What’s going on? Did you take some pills?”
Lin Xiuyuan blinked, but his hand didn’t leave her body. “Earlier it was because I was hit with a weakness buff. You didn’t think that was all my strength, did you?”
“One or two times isn’t enough to make me believe you. So let’s drop this topic for now and talk later.”
Soo Jung chuckled lightly and lay back down, staying still on his chest like a cat.
Warm, ambiguous, with a sweetness that couldn’t be put into words.
They dozed like this for about half an hour more until Soo Jung laughed and crawled up under Lin Xiuyuan’s somewhat impulsive hands. “Alright, stop groping around. Don’t you need to go pick someone up? Hurry, or it’ll be afternoon if we delay more.”
“The way you say it, it sounds like it’s my fault.”
Lin Xiuyuan rubbed his patted-away hand and complained to the graceful figure getting up to dress.
Soo Jung, who had casually put on a loose T-shirt, turned back and gave him a flirtatious eye roll. “Go wash up. I’m not going with you. I’ll order takeout here and wait for you all to come eat together.”
“Alright.”
Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan knew there was no chance and got up to follow her into the bathroom.
Then the two looked at the messy bathroom and exchanged a glance, both unable to hold back their laughter.
Around 11:30 a.m., Lin Xiuyuan lazily opened the door and returned to the 2013 side. As soon as he entered, his gaze fell on the vibrating smartphone, so he quickly stepped forward to answer.
“Hello.”
“Oppa~ You finally woke up. Any later and we won’t wait for you to eat.”
Sulli’s laughter came through the phone, making Lin Xiuyuan’s already relaxed mood even more pleasant. His lips curved up. “Eat? Where are you all now?”
“At the tavern. It’s almost noon. Won’t we eat first before going over?”
“Oppa, come out quick. We’re all waiting for you.”
As soon as Sulli’s voice finished, Ji-yeon’s voice came from beside her, making Lin Xiuyuan laugh a few times too.
Then he told them about Soo Jung’s side’s arrangement. “Soo Jung already ordered takeout over there, the stir-fry from last time. How about we all go eat together? It’s not good to be photographed eating out.”
Inside the 2013 tavern.
The phone, already on speaker, was placed on the bar counter by Sulli. Little Deer, listening to Lin Xiuyuan’s response beside her, looked confused and turned her gaze to the two younger sisters nearby.
Ji-yeon quickly explained to her. “Older sister, oppa means takeout from a Chinese restaurant. The taste is pretty good.”
“Then let’s go eat there. It’s the same wherever we eat.”
Yes, compared to eating or whatever, this Little Deer Bambi now wanted more to witness the wonder of crossing time-space with her own eyes, because that thought had entangled her all night last night, even affecting her sleep.
Hearing Little Deer’s response, Sulli smiled into the phone. “Okay, oppa. We’ll head back to the apartment to find you now. Don’t wander off.”
“Yeah, I won’t. Come over.”
Lin Xiuyuan’s laughter came from the other end of the phone.
After hanging up, the three left the tavern together and headed to the apartment behind.
And Little Deer’s mental journey on this short walk was already much more relaxed compared to Soo Yeon or Ji-yeon, let alone Sulli who had gone over with an eye mask.
After all, she had already confirmed the existence of the time-space door, rather than coming over with confusion, doubt, and even worry.
So when Little Deer watched Sulli skillfully enter the password to open the room door and enter the apartment, her gaze immediately scanned around, looking for the strange ‘light door’ like in TV series that she had imagined.
But there was nothing in this apartment, just an ordinary apartment.
Lin Xiuyuan, sitting on the sofa, saw her curious peering appearance and immediately read her thoughts, smiling. “What are you looking at? You didn’t really think there was some time tunnel, did you?”
“So how do you go over?” Little Deer, still not giving up, kept looking.
Until Lin Xiuyuan pointed to a door in the corner, and her gaze focused on that ordinary room door with a brass handle.
“This is the time-space door?”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Lin Xiuyuan, who had gone through this process many times, always found it more amusing seeing different people’s reactions.
Sulli and Ji-yeon were the same, both smiling as they watched Little Deer’s reaction.
Then, seeing Little Deer excitedly open the door and the surprised expression when she saw it was just a storage room full of cardboard boxes inside, the three finally couldn’t hold back their laughter.
Hearing the laughter, Little Deer turned back. “What? Are you guys joking with me?”
“That’s because you opened the door wrong. How about you say a password?”
Lin Xiuyuan, getting playful, laughed.
But he got an eye roll from Little Deer. “I’m not that silly. Let’s go. Didn’t Soo Jung order food? It’ll get cold if we’re too late.”
Though she hadn’t met the 30-year-old Soo Jung yet, it didn’t stop her from using her as an excuse.
So upon hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan didn’t dawdle. He stood up and looked at them. “Then let’s go.”
He walked straight to Little Deer, smiled slightly. “Watch, I’ll demonstrate. The door is right here. It’s really that you opened it wrong.”
After saying that, Lin Xiuyuan first closed the room door, then under Little Deer’s curious and slightly nervous gaze, he recited the Daoist “Golden Light Mantra” from his mouth.
“Heaven and earth mysterious sect, root of myriad qi. Extensive cultivation over billions of kalpas, proving my divine powers…”
It had to be said, Daoist incantations sounded truly mysterious and shocking.
Little Deer didn’t understand a word, but was awed stunned by that solemn momentum.
Until Lin Xiuyuan finished with, “Reverse time-space, open!”
He yanked open the room door.
Little Deer, standing beside him, widened her eyes too, only to see that the small room full of clutter had, in the blink of an eye, become a portal to another space.
“It really… needs a password?”
Gazing at the time-space behind the room door, Little Deer turned to Lin Xiuyuan. “What did you just recite?”
“Want to learn? I’ll teach you.”
“Hahaha, alright oppa, stop teasing older sister.”
Sulli couldn’t stand it anymore at this point and laughed as she walked forward, grabbing Little Deer’s arm.
“Older sister, let’s go inside. This door doesn’t rely on any incantation at all. It’s purely owner-bound. Only oppa can open it.”
Little Deer was stunned, her brain finally reacting, and she whipped back to look at Lin Xiuyuan.
Under Sulli’s gentle pull, her feet stepped through that door, crossing time-space.
Arriving in 2025.
Right behind, Ji-yeon entered too. The last to step in was Lin Xiuyuan.
After the door closed, Little Deer finally had a chance to properly take in this unfamiliar yet real world.
The 2025 villa had luxurious yet modern decor, with exquisite flowers in the courtyard, exuding a fashionable and comfortable atmosphere everywhere.
That was her first impression.
Just as she was immersed in the shock of her first crossing, a clear voice came from the restaurant direction:
“You’re here. Sit for a bit first. The takeout just arrived. We can eat right away.”
Little Deer looked up and saw a graceful figure in a loose T-shirt and bottomless style standing over by the restaurant, smiling warmly at them with a subtle air of a female host.
And that face, though much more mature, had contours that were still incredibly familiar.
Little Deer softly called out, “Soo Jung?”
“Yes, it’s me, older sister.”
Soo Jung smiled faintly, her expression calm yet with a touch of gentleness.
……
……
Meanwhile, inside a restaurant elsewhere in 2025.
Big Dragon Cub Ji-yeon, who had just finished several days of intensive work, was having a small gathering with Lee Ji-eun and Eun-jung, and newlywed Hyo Min had also joined the meal.
Not long after sitting down, Hyo Min asked eagerly, “Ji-yeon, how’s your progress with that little fan now?”
“What progress? We’re just chatting.”
Ji-yeon sipped her water and responded somewhat helplessly. “And we don’t chat much. It’s mostly work topics like golf, photography, and such. Nothing else.”
“Oh, you’re already chatting about photography and no development yet? Next meeting, are you doing an offline photo shoot?”
When it came to teasing, it had to be Lee Ji-eun.
Even Eun-jung beside her laughed and quietly gave her a thumbs up.
So even a strong one like the divorced Big Dragon Cub was broken by Lee Ji-eun’s teasing.
She let out a long sigh. “Ah, older sister, I really don’t.”
Lee Ji-eun waved her hand with a smile. “Alright, alright, I believe you. But seriously, Xiuyuan is actually a pretty good guy. It’s fine to get to know him as a friend.”
“Older sister, that turnaround is a bit sudden.”
This sudden 180-degree turn threw off Hyo Min who was just about to jump on board, and she sharply looked at her. “Right, older sister, you’ve had several solo meetups with him afterward. Don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to him?”
“Doesn’t matter if I like him. He’s Ji-yeon’s ‘true love fan’.”
Lee Ji-eun raised her brow in teasing, with a hint of unseriousness.
“Older sister~” And Big Dragon Cub was already listless.
Ever since meeting Lin Xiuyuan, her defenses in the little group were weakening day by day, and even her basic counterattack ability was almost gone.
Luckily, at this moment, Eun-jung spoke up fairly for her.
“Alright, stop teasing Ji-yeon. Though that guy does seem pretty good, it probably won’t be Ji-yeon’s turn.”
“Huh?”
Hyo Min, not quite understanding, looked at her suspiciously.
Lee Ji-eun nodded solemnly beside her too. “Indeed. Ji-yeon just has the idol halo advantage. Compared to that, Yoona’s proactiveness surprised me more.”
“Yoona? Not Soo Jung?”
Then Eun-jung was surprised too. “At the opening that day, Soo Jung’s behavior was obvious.”
Lee Ji-eun added leisurely, “That time she proactively invited Xiuyuan to meet, they chatted enthusiastically, not at all like people who just met. She even introduced him to Taeyeon, which really shocked me.”
Listening to them getting more and more outrageous, Big Dragon Cub wanted to interject but felt her elbow lightly bumped by the person beside her.
Huh?
……
……
Villa.
“Alright, time to eat. Come sit quick.”
With Sulli’s shout, Little Deer, who had been deeply chatting with Soo Jung, slowly stood up, still muttering softly, “This place really feels unbelievable.”
“You’ll get used to it after coming a few more times, older sister.”
After chatting with Little Deer for a bit, Soo Jung suddenly felt that compared to 2025’s Yoona, she actually liked this young Little Deer a bit more.
At least her eyes weren’t so sharp. Last night’s one… she felt completely seen through.
Hmm, it wasn’t that she favored this point.
No.
At this time, Lin Xiuyuan, just coming out of the kitchen, suddenly heard his phone ring.
He pulled it out and looked, his gaze involuntarily turning to Ji-yeon ahead.
“Ji-yeon, you’re calling me.”
Last day of the month, begging for monthly tickets!!!!!
