Chapter 55: The Line Of Text Behind The Certificate
Bar counter.
Park Ji-yeon furrowed her brows as she looked at the last marriage certificate, her mind rapidly searching for when and on what date she had signed such a “brainless contract.”
But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t find any memories related to the young man in front of her.
However, there was one thing she felt relieved about, and that was that this thing was clearly just for fun.
The “contract” printed on A4 paper was neither the official marriage certificate of China nor the style of the Korean peninsula.
What was truly surprising, however, was likely just the name and fingerprint on the paper, which were indeed signed by her.
Thinking this, Park Ji-yeon looked at Ham Eun-jung beside her with a hint of amusement, “Unnie, do you remember me signing this?”
“No, it must have been around the time we were developing our careers over there,” she replied.
Ham Eun-jung, asked about it, leaned in for a few glances and also shook her head.
She didn’t remember either, but based on the image in the photos from before, she could roughly guess a timeframe.
“I don’t remember either, it was over a decade ago. All I can recall now is rushing back and forth between China during that period, either for fan meetings or award shows, or commercial performances; we were busy all day long.”
Recalling her life back then, Park Ji-yeon couldn’t help but feel a sense of emotion. Then, remembering something, she quickly looked at Lin Xiuyuan, who had brought out this booklet.
The latter smiled, flipped back to a few previous pages, and pointed to the date annotation at the bottom right corner, “There’s a date here.”
Bae Soo Ji and Ham Eun-jung also leaned in out of curiosity.
Indeed, a few photos were marked with dates, ranging from 2013 to 2016, but the later ones were blank.
Gazing at the yellowed yet clear photos, Park Ji-yeon raised her slender finger and gently brushed over her younger self in the pictures.
“Over a decade has passed, it seems I’ve really forgotten a lot of things. But you’ve preserved this booklet so well, it looks as if it was just freshly made.”
Krystal, who had been silent until now, heard this and wished she could roll her eyes fiercely at Lin Xiuyuan and tell Park Ji-yeon: Of course it looks fresh! The items in this booklet and the photos inside are guaranteed to be no more than a week old.
However, a sensible woman wouldn’t expose a man’s lie. If there’s anything, discuss it behind closed doors; externally, you should still give him some face.
Lin Xiuyuan then explained, “Yes, I laminated it as soon as I got it. Then recently, while renovating the tavern, I found this booklet again at home and re-laminated it.”
Finally, he added softly, “People and things you like are always worth preserving well.”
Krystal silently rolled her eyes again.
But these words made Park Ji-yeon lower her head and chuckle softly, looking at the young man behind the bar with a gentle gaze.
Thinking of his age over a decade ago, thinking of a naive middle schooler who had a crush on her, the smile and warmth in her eyes grew stronger, and she smiled brightly, “Thank you for liking me back then. If it weren’t for your support, we wouldn’t have known what to do, right, Unnie?”
For the latter part of that sentence, Park Ji-yeon looked at Ham Eun-jung.
“Yes, even today, fans from China are still supporting us, so… thank you for your likes.”
Hearing Ham Eun-jung’s sincere and emotional reply, the ‘liar’ Lin Xiuyuan was still too young and not thick-skinned enough; he actually felt a sense of guilt.
So, he glanced at Krystal beside him, intending for her to help him out.
As a result, Krystal turned away directly and walked towards Jessica on the sofa behind, saying, “Unnie, how is it? The drinks are quite good, aren’t they?”
Watching her receding back, Lin Xiuyuan chuckled, withdrew his gaze, and then met the smiling eyes of Park Ji-yeon and the others.
He quickly lowered his head, picked up the mixed cocktail drink he had prepared, and pushed it in front of Park Ji-yeon, “Um, you can try my handiwork and give me an evaluation, see if it’s suitable for a tavern.”
Although Park Ji-yeon had no memory of any interaction with this young man back then, the contents of the booklet were undeniably real.
The handwriting was hers, and the photos were hers.
So, subconsciously, she had already begun to develop some good feelings towards him, “Don’t worry, as my fan, even if you made it taste bad, I would still say it tastes good against my better judgment.”
“That’s not good for improvement, and it would be trouble if you start losing money,” Lin Xiuyuan said with a smile.
Park Ji-yeon continued to smile, “Then I’ll come more often in the future and bring some friends. That should be enough to ensure you don’t lose money.”
At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan was slightly taken aback and looked again at Krystal by the sofa.
She hadn’t mentioned the membership system?
However, having experienced the awkwardness of 2013, Lin Xiuyuan was not as hasty this time.
Seeing that they clearly didn’t know anything, he didn’t rush to reveal it, planning to explain slowly after everyone had left.
After this small interlude, his relationship with the girls had indeed become a little closer.
Although it wasn’t yet at the stage of being close friends in private, he could at least naturally join their conversations and was no longer passively responding, receiving more than just polite replies.
Even if they couldn’t delve into personal matters yet, they could at least chat superficially about recent events and news.
Soon, the small tavern was divided into two small groups.
On one side, at the bar counter, Lin Xiuyuan was surrounded by Park Ji-yeon, Ham Eun-jung, and Bae Soo Ji, chatting and laughing.
On the other side, on the sofa, Krystal accompanied Jessica and Jennie.
The two small groups did not interfere with each other, quietly sipping drinks, eating fruit, and enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.
It wasn’t until Jennie prepared to leave and casually mentioned coming back again when she had time that Krystal brought up the tavern’s membership system.
As the boss, Lin Xiuyuan once again became the center of attention.
“Membership system?” Bae Soo Ji’s eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, “Private tavern, that’s great, I like that.”
She had always preferred quiet, private spaces, and a membership system would prevent unwanted outsiders, which suited her perfectly.
However, Krystal then said, “Don’t get happy too soon, it depends on whether Lin Xiuyuan agrees. He told me that to join, one must meet certain conditions: down-on-their-luck but wealthy, beautiful and sexy, and a kind of rich woman who wants to continue stirring up her life.”
After saying that, she looked at Soo Ji meaningfully, “Simply put, Soo Ji, you’re directly out, because you’ve never been down-on-your-luck.”
As the female lead of a life drama script, Bae Soo Ji had never experienced hardship from birth to debut until now.
At the same time, Lin Xiuyuan’s eyes widened when he heard her words.
He remembered saying this only to Jung Soo Yeon, so how did it come out of Krystal’s mouth now?
Wow, that gossipmonger…
The others, after hearing Krystal’s words, all looked at Lin Xiuyuan, waiting for his explanation.
Lin Xiuyuan simply pointed to the signboard that had long been hung above the door, “‘Trouble-Solving Small Tavern.’ When I first opened this place, I wanted to provide a rare private space for those who have worries and troubles in their lives. As for those whose lives are fulfilling, they might not need it here.”
As soon as he said this, everyone’s eyes flickered, their gazes holding various emotions, but no one said anything further.
After Jennie and Jessica both left, and after a while longer, as evening approached, everyone began to prepare to say goodbye.
Before leaving, Park Ji-yeon hesitated for a moment but still asked Lin Xiuyuan about the marriage certificate, wanting to take it back.
After all, it was too sensitive, and Ham Eun-jung and Bae Soo Ji also felt it was appropriate.
Only Lin Xiuyuan looked at her strangely, and without refusal, he took out the booklet again, pulled out the last laminated certificate, and handed it to Park Ji-yeon.
A few seconds later, a burst of laughter erupted from Ham Eun-jung.
“Amazing, hahaha, these words really sound like something Ji-yeon would say.”
Bae Soo Ji and Krystal beside her were also laughing, just not as exaggeratedly.
It turned out that upon receiving the certificate, Park Ji-yeon, finding words on the back, instinctively flipped it over and saw a line of text.
【Old woman from some unknown period, don’t snatch a child’s gift, this thing doesn’t affect you anyway, what are you afraid of, scaredy-cat.】
We are about to go on shelves, and this is the last week for the new book charts. I hope everyone will comment, vote, reward, like, and recommend a lot.
