Chapter 40: “huh? Can’t I Even Get In On Face Value?”
What does it look like for a person to wait anxiously alone? Just look at Ham Eun-jung right now.
Standing by the car, her gaze kept fixed on the residential area across the road.
This was already her Nth time getting out of the car. This time, she even walked to the middle of the road, but after hesitating for a moment, she retreated back, standing by the car door, her gaze staring straight across.
At this time, it had been almost an hour since Park Ji-yeon went to that apartment over there.
Enough time for something to happen at this point.
After more than ten minutes passed, Ham Eun-jung finally couldn’t hold back. She turned off the car, locked it, and planned to really go look for her.
And it was exactly at this moment that Park Ji-yeon slowly walked out from the gate of the apartment residential area across the way, then, under Ham Eun-jung’s surprised gaze, crossed the road and returned to the car.
Ham Eun-jung immediately went up to greet her, originally planning to ask something.
But upon seeing Park Ji-yeon’s dazed expression, she changed tack and asked with concern, “Are you okay, Ji-yeon? That person inside…”
Hearing the voice, Park Ji-yeon slowly looked up, composed her mind with a smile, and said, “I’m fine, older sister. That person was just joking with me. He just wanted to get to know me; he probably likes me.”
“Ah, what the heck.” Ham Eun-jung was surprised.
“Yeah, he doesn’t have that kind of relationship with Soo Jung either. I think he likes me more.” Park Ji-yeon nodded firmly, her smile radiant.
If the previous sentence had already shocked Ham Eun-jung enough, then the follow-up remark from Park Ji-yeon completely left her dumbfounded.
She even suspected if this silly little sister had been brainwashed by that guy who seemed like a “cult pervert.”
But in just over an hour, even taking a shower would be rushed—how could she be brainwashed?
However, Park Ji-yeon didn’t give her a chance to inquire further. She pulled her back into the car and headed straight back to the dormitory.
During the return trip, the atmosphere was briefly calm.
It wasn’t until the car was nearing the dormitory building that Park Ji-yeon suddenly asked, “Older sister, who do you think in our group will get married first, get the marriage certificate?”
“Married?”
Not understanding why Park Ji-yeon, who had just turned adult, would bring this up, Ham Eun-jung answered almost instantly, “That has to be Soyeon. I can’t imagine anyone else.”
This sentence, however, left Park Ji-yeon silent for the entire evening afterward.
And the next few days made her completely explode.
The next day, the schedule ran until early morning.
The third day, same as above.
The fourth and fifth days were the same.
With the subunit’s return, the death schedule packed airtight by the company completely squeezed out Park Ji-yeon’s time to go find Lin Xiuyuan. She couldn’t say much over text either, which really had her anxious and stomping her feet.
……
……
Just like that, a few more days passed.
During these few days, with the agent’s repeated efforts, Lin Xiuyuan finally transferred the apartment into his own name.
At the same time, the shop downstairs that he planned to turn into a tavern was also secured, and even the renovation team had started construction with the design blueprints he provided.
Those blueprints were generated by him using AI.
The tavern envisioned in the blueprints was about sixty square meters—not too big, not too small, just right for a private small tavern not open to the public.
The bar counter and high stool area took up a quarter, followed by a small stage, display wine cabinet, and partitioned bathroom.
The remaining space held two groups of four-person tables, two groups of small round tables, and a sofa booth seat. The layout was compact yet not crowded.
Plus, since the original shop was a coffee shop, most of the hard furnishings were retained; only some thought needed to go into the soft furnishings.
So under the renovation team’s busy work, the prototype of the small tavern was gradually emerging.
Accounting for progress, it could be completed in about ten days.
Moreover, the “another room” tavern in 2025 was also under simultaneous construction.
During this renovation period, Lin Xiuyuan wasn’t idle either.
While shuttling between the two time-spaces, he also finalized the alcoholic beverages supplier.
Although the process was tedious, to ensure sufficient safety and quality, he specifically used big data on the 2025 side to screen out fake small factories, then selected a company specializing in export alcohol based on online reviews, and finally signed a supply contract with them.
In the blink of an eye, it was noon another day.
Waking up from the 2025 villa side and returning to the 2013 apartment side, Lin Xiuyuan, wearing slippers, walked into the tavern under renovation.
Then he glanced at the workers installing tables, chairs, and equipment, as well as the aunties cleaning up garbage and tidying the site in the corner.
After turning to go out the door, he immediately called Jung Soo Yeon, “Hey, Jung Soo Yeon.”
“What?”
Jung Soo Yeon, who was currently rehearsing at the company for the upcoming world tour, threw back a couple of sarcastic remarks, “It’s rare for you, young master, to call me proactively. Not asking me to transfer money again, are you?”
“No, no.”
Thinking of his last ‘money transfer,’ Lin Xiuyuan smiled too, “I just checked the tavern’s progress. The alcoholic beverages can come in tomorrow, and it should be ready for a trial opening in about two days.”
Jung Soo Yeon, who had been dancing all morning, was covered in sweat, breathing heavily, and asked in a slightly fatigued tone, “So?”
“So, just letting you know. Come over for a drink then.”
This casual invitation made Jung Soo Yeon roll her eyes. She was too lazy to even complain and just hummed through her nose, “Hey, that’s how casually you’re inviting me? No matter what, I’m an investor too.”
“I’ll mix you a few good cocktails then, guaranteed to satisfy you.”
Recently, Lin Xiuyuan had been practicing on the villa side using those future cocktail recipes, and his bartending skills were getting more proficient.
The guy’s laughter in her ear made Jung Soo Yeon’s lips unconsciously curve into a smile. She nodded lightly and said, “Got it. Tell me when you confirm the time. I’ve been exhausted lately; a place to rest would be nice.”
“Yeah, I’ll let you know once it’s ready. It’ll just be two or three of us sitting around anyway.”
“Okay, you go ahead then. I still have rehearsal. I’ll call you back later.”
Having just hung up, Jung Soo Yeon turned and spotted Im Yoon Ah standing next to her, her pretty little face grinning with gossip, “Older sister, what tavern is opening? I want to go too.”
Jung Soo Yeon gave her a blank look, “Private tavern. What are you tagging along for?”
“Want to meet older sister’s little boyfriend.”
Ever since hearing last time that Jung Soo Yeon had been ‘tricked’ out of eighty million, Im Yoon Ah had been extremely curious about Lin Xiuyuan on the other end of the phone and had long wanted to find an opportunity to check him out.
Unexpectedly, while coming over to get water, she ‘accidentally’ overheard this and proactively spoke up regardless.
“First off, he’s not my boyfriend. Second, you might not even get in.”
But her proactivity didn’t bother Jung Soo Yeon at all. Instead, she smiled lightly, teasing her a bit, “Because that guy said his tavern is membership system only—non-members can’t get in. See if you can then.”
“Ah? Not even with my face?”
At the peak popularity of Girls’ Generation, Im Yoon Ah really didn’t believe her face-position C spot couldn’t get into a tavern not even open yet.
Jung Soo Yeon chuckled, “Who knows.”
Monthly ticket please
