Chapter 303: Goo Hara’s Curiosity
When Lin Xiuyuan passed through the two doors and stepped into Sweet Eun-jung’s living room, Sweet Eun-jung, who was wearing an apron, also heard the sound. She turned around with something in her hand and looked over.
Upon seeing him, a flash of surprise crossed her face first, followed by a gentle smile tinged with a bit of understanding.
“Yo, Xiuyuan~ I thought I’d have to wait a bit for you.” Sweet Eun-jung leaned against the island counter, laughing lightly, “How’d you get here so fast? Not sticking around to be all lovey-dovey with Taeyeon a little longer?”
Lin Xiuyuan, who had come over to this side, walked familiarly toward the restaurant area, pulled out a dining chair, and sat down. His gaze swept over the breakfast that had just been set on the table, still steaming hot, and he casually replied, “Eun-jung, you know too much.”
Sweet Eun-jung burst out laughing with a “pfft” upon hearing this, turned around to plate the last fried egg, then walked over with her steps one deep and one shallow.
Her right foot landed steadily, but her left seemed to carry a subtle caution, her movements a bit slower, though overall it looked mostly fine.
So Lin Xiuyuan watched this scene of her approaching and didn’t go up to help or support her. Instead, his gaze lingered on her left leg for a moment before he said, “You’re recovering pretty fast, huh.”
Sweet Eun-jung followed his gaze down to her own left leg, her lips curving into a relieved arc as she nodded lightly.
“Yeah, indeed. Even the doctor was pretty surprised at my check-up yesterday. He said my recovery speed far exceeded his expectations.”
At this point, she lifted her eyelids, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin Xiuyuan, softly adding with intention, “That’s why I specially called you over to have breakfast together. You wouldn’t not know, right, Xiuyuan? You’re my elixir.”
Those last few words were said by Sweet Eun-jung with extra gentleness, even carrying a hint of indescribable intimacy and teasing.
So after Lin Xiuyuan heard this, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow amusedly, “Wow~ Your utilitarianism is a bit too strong, Eun-jung. So I’m just your portable special medicine, huh?”
Right after he said that, Sweet Eun-jung immediately widened her eyes dramatically, leaning forward slightly with undisguised tension and surprise on her face, blurting out, “Wait, with that response, Xiuyuan, you weren’t drained dry by Taeyeon last night and now out of stock, right?”
The question was too blunt and… outrageous, leaving Lin Xiuyuan speechless for a moment after, without even the energy to retort.
He could only glance at her helplessly, reach for a sandwich from the plate on the table, take a bite, and mumble, “Let’s eat breakfast.”
Then, before Sweet Eun-jung could react, he very naturally took the untouched glass of milk in front of her to his side and said seriously, “Drink this later. You don’t need to replenish this right now. I’ll give you plenty in a bit.”
Faced with this excuse, Sweet Eun-jung was stunned for a second before immediately understanding the implication and the blush-inducing hint hidden within.
“Pfft~ Hahaha…”
She then burst into bright, unrestrained laughter, her shoulders trembling lightly with the sound.
Her originally clear eyes instantly misted over with a layer of vapor, her gaze toward Lin Xiuyuan across from her becoming silky and entwining, filled with undisguised longing and tenderness.
……
……
Meanwhile, as Lin Xiuyuan and Ham Eun-jung enjoyed the gradually warming atmosphere during breakfast time in the 25th year’s apartment.
Over in 13th year’s Seoul, Sulli had also gotten up early and met up with Goo Hara again.
But today, the two of them getting up so early wasn’t for going out to play or crazy shopping; they just happened to both be attending the same variety show.
One to promote a new album, the other to promote a new drama.
So Sulli and Goo Hara were both there as guests, coincidentally appearing at the same beauty salon that morning, sitting side by side getting their hair styled.
During the break while waiting for deep hair conditioning, the beauty salon staff temporarily left the room, leaving just the two of them.
So the two besties naturally huddled together to chat.
As they chatted, Goo Hara suddenly steered the topic to Lin Xiuyuan, quietly nudging Sulli next to her with her elbow and asking in a lowered voice full of curiosity, “Jinjin, when are we going to ask Xiuyuan out again?”
Although it had only been a few days since their last meeting, Goo Hara’s curiosity was truly piqued beyond control.
Whether it was the seemingly familiar yet somewhat special atmosphere between him and Im Yoon Ah, or the subtle expressions Ham Eun-jung and Park Hyomin showed when mentioning Lin Xiuyuan, it all made Goo Hara increasingly curious about that uniquely charismatic guy.
But facing Goo Hara’s pressing question, Sulli tilted her head with a sweet, helpless smile, “Oni, I can’t do anything about that either. Oppa seems pretty busy lately; he’s been disappearing without a trace these past few days. I can’t even see him when I want to. How could I arrange anything?”
At this, Goo Hara was greatly shocked, instinctively covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide round.
“Oh my? Doesn’t he live with you? He can vanish even from a room with you in it? Wait, didn’t Yoona go to Tokyo? Then who else could he be hanging out with?”
As she said this, Goo Hara was clearly imagining some details about Lin Xiuyuan and Sulli’s “cohabitation” relationship.
So Sulli, guessing that the oni next to her had definitely misunderstood her relationship with oppa, smiled again but didn’t explain much.
After all, on the surface, they did live under the same roof, and no matter how much she said, this oni would probably still half-believe it.
So Sulli simply decided to let her keep this beautiful misunderstanding for now. Anyway, there’d be a chance later to go to the 25th year side and see for herself, then everything would be clear, saving her the trouble of explaining.
Thinking of this, Sulli replied in a slightly mysterious tone, “Well, I’m not too sure about that. I rarely proactively ask oppa where he’s gone anyway, so…”
At this point, a look of certainty and peace emerged on her face as she softly said, “Oppa will come home sooner or later anyway.”
That last sentence, with the absolute trust and some indescribable meaning in her tone, shocked the clueless Goo Hara next to her once again.
What level of confidence was this?
What mode of freedom was this?
Too wild, and too… enviable.
Just as Goo Hara wanted to grab onto this and press for more, the beauty salon staff came in with tools, ready for the next step.
Seeing this, Goo Hara could only temporarily suppress her overwhelming curiosity, sit quietly, and let the stylist work on her hair, though her gaze occasionally drifted to the relaxed Sulli beside her.
The questions in her heart rippled outward like stones thrown into a lake, one circle after another.
Once hair and makeup were all done, the two each got into their respective vans heading to the recording location, ready to tackle the busy and packed work of the day.
……
……
In the blink of an eye, nightfall quietly enveloped Seoul.
After finishing the day’s variety show recording, Goo Hara and Sulli stood in a corner of a grassy area, carefully removing the microphones and wires wrapped around them with the staff’s help.
They were excitedly discussing where to get late-night snacks later and sharing fun stories from the recording, both with relaxed smiles now that work was over.
Once the program staff left, their assistants immediately hurried over.
Handing water, draping jackets, gently wiping the fine sweat from their foreheads—the actions were all orderly.
At that moment, Sulli’s assistant suddenly reminded her softly, “Oni, you just got a phone call. I saw you were almost done so I didn’t answer. Check it later.”
Sulli nodded, “Got it. Give me the mobile phone.”
As her assistant pulled the mobile phone from her pocket, Sulli took it, unlocked the screen with her fingerprint, and just as her lips were about to curve up upon seeing the missed caller’s name, a head leaned over from the side.
Goo Hara’s eyes were practically glued to the screen, excitedly calling out, “Oh~ It’s Xiuyuan! Jinjin, quick, call back! Perfect timing to ask him out for late-night snacks.”
Turning to see Goo Hara even more eager than herself, Sulli couldn’t help but laugh a few times.
But she didn’t hesitate, going along with her oni’s wish, lightly tapping to call back Lin Xiuyuan’s number.
The phone rang only twice before it was quickly picked up, and his familiar voice came through with some lazy music in the background, “Hey, Jinjin. Done with work?”
“Yeah, oppa, just finished. Where are you?”
Sulli answered with a smile while naturally linking arms with Goo Hara, the two walking side by side toward the parking lot where the vans were.
Lin Xiuyuan on the other end glanced at Lee So-hee wiping wine glasses behind the bar counter ahead and smiled slightly, “At the small tavern.”
This answer surprised Sulli a bit, “How’d you end up there, oppa?”
She then smartly realized, “You’re with others, right?”
“Yeah, Ji-yeon and Soo Hee are both here.” Lin Xiuyuan said candidly.
Hearing that Park Ji-yeon was there too, Sulli instinctively glanced at Goo Hara listening intently beside her, then said, “Then Hara older sister and I will come find you. We’ll grab some late-night snacks together later, or… should we pack some things and eat inside the tavern?”
Facing this suggestion, Lin Xiuyuan checked the time on his mobile phone—it was just a little past seven in the evening, plenty of time—so he replied, “Either works, but just come straight over. I’ll order from the barbecue restaurant next door in a bit and have them deliver right to the tavern. More comfortable that way, and saves you the trouble of getting out to pack food.”
“Sounds good. See you soon then.” Sulli sweetly agreed to Lin Xiuyuan’s words.
“See you soon.”
At the tavern side.
After hanging up, Lin Xiuyuan immediately turned his gaze back to the quiet, busy figure behind the bar counter and smiled satisfactorily, “Soo Hee, what do you think? How about handing this small tavern over to you to manage from now on? Any issues?”
But right after he said this, Park Ji-yeon’s slightly urgent and whiny protest came from behind, “Huh?? Oppa, no way! I can’t be without Soo Hee. You can’t do that.”
Then Park Ji-yeon quickly came over from the sofa in the back, her face full of reluctance and gloom, “There’s so much going on at the company lately. I can’t handle it alone. You can’t take Soo Hee away from me again.”
After saying that, she simply pounced onto Lin Xiuyuan’s back as he sat on the high stool, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hanging on him like a koala.
She swayed back and forth, starting her signature acting cute.
“Ah, oppa~ No way.”
This extremely intimate scene made Lee So-hee’s gaze flicker slightly from behind the bar counter, but she quickly lowered her eyes and continued focused on polishing the already gleaming glass cup.
As if she knew to pretend she saw nothing, thought nothing, afraid that seeing too much would get her quietly tossed into the Han River someday.
Lin Xiuyuan, shaken to laughter by Park Ji-yeon, patted her arm in return and asked, “Ji-yeon, didn’t Eun-jung say you all were going to Tokyo? Why are you still hanging around here?”
Facing this question, Park Ji-yeon poked her head over his shoulder and softly explained.
“They’re going first. I’m still busy here and will fly over the morning after tomorrow. Soo Hee will have to come with me to help then too, or I really can’t manage the company stuff. So oppa, don’t get any ideas about my Soo Hee. I really can’t do without her.”
Inside the bar counter, the just-high-school-graduate Lee So-hee faced this “tug-of-war” over her and felt nothing but joy and satisfaction in her heart.
“Okay, okay, won’t take yours, won’t take her.”
Lin Xiuyuan, whose head was getting dizzy from Park Ji-yeon’s shaking, laughed and agreed repeatedly.
Actually, he had only mentioned it casually. Before Lee So-hee joined the fold and truly became one of his own, she wouldn’t be taking over core management of this small tavern yet—at most, just helping out here.
Having gotten Lin Xiuyuan’s guarantee, Park Ji-yeon was finally satisfied and curiously asked, “Right, did Snowball just call saying she’s coming over?”
“Yeah, she’s coming with Hara, so I need to go order from the barbecue restaurant next door.” Lin Xiuyuan said as he prepared to stand.
“Hara older sister?!”
But upon hearing that name, Park Ji-yeon jolted in shock, as if thinking of something, eyeing Lin Xiuyuan suspiciously up and down, “Oppa, don’t tell me you’re… again…”
Knowing what she meant, Lin Xiuyuan cut off her impending imagination in time, his tone carrying a helpless smile, “Don’t overthink it. We’ll see how it goes, but it’s probably inevitable. Don’t be too shocked.”
After that, he stood up, straightened his wrinkled clothes from Park Ji-yeon’s antics, “Alright, I’m off to order food. Ji-yeon, get some refreshing cocktails ready with Soo Hee. To go with the barbecue later.”
“Got it, oppa.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan turned and walked out of the small tavern, his figure blending into Seoul’s night outside.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the city, the van carrying Sulli and Goo Hara was speeding through the glittering night toward this area.
