Chapter 59: Yoona: “lin Xiuyuan?”
2025.
On a rare day off, Yoona slept until she woke up naturally, and after coming out of the master bedroom, the first thing she did was slump on the living room sofa in a daze.
Only after her mind was fully awake did she lazily get up and head to the kitchen to look for food.
As an idol, body management was always the top priority.
Even Yoona, who had previously claimed she didn’t gain weight no matter what she ate, didn’t dare to eat without restraint after turning thirty.
So after making a bowl of oatmeal, she sat back down on the sofa, sipping this calorie-controlled lunch while staring blankly at the boring TV program.
In that daze, what emerged in her mind was that familiar figure she had accidentally glimpsed on the street in the early morning a few days ago.
Over these years, she had seen Jessica plenty of times, and even the last meeting hadn’t been half a year ago.
In videos on her mobile phone, she saw her every few days at most.
But that night, that figure passing by in a glimpse through the car window made her feel like she had seen Jessica from more than ten years ago in an instant.
The young features, the slightly wavy brown long hair—even just a brief moment was enough to shock her heart, so she couldn’t hold back at the time and had her assistant turn back to check if she had mistaken the person.
And that moment, from when she returned to her apartment, had lingered in her mind and refused to leave.
Even today, a few days later, it still left her unsettled.
After finishing the oatmeal, she changed into sports clothes and went out for fitness, never relaxing her habit of maintaining her figure.
Unknowingly, it was already afternoon.
After the exercise, Yoona got back in the car with slight panting.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly started the car and drove toward the place from that night’s memory.
After all, continuing to think about it like this wasn’t a solution.
Fortunately, that route home wasn’t remote; it was near Gangnam District.
After circling around, she soon saw that small tavern with the wooden signboard again—the only one on this street.
Then, just like that night, she turned around, pulled over, and slowly moved forward before finally stopping at the roadside.
However, she didn’t see that night’s ‘Jessica’, but instead encountered an unexpected figure.
“KARINA??”
Yoo Jimin, who was standing in front of the tavern door, suddenly heard someone calling her name from behind, so she quickly turned to look, thinking it was a fan or a passerby who recognized her. Instead, she saw an even more beautiful face.
So the next second, she hurriedly bowed in greeting, “Oh, hello, Yoona senior.”
“Hello, what are you doing here?”
Yoona got out of the car with a smile, showing no air of a senior, and came up to her.
“This is a tavern newly opened by a friend I know. I didn’t make it on opening day to celebrate. So I thought I’d come check it out today, but I didn’t expect him to skip work just a few days after opening.”
Hearing this, Yoona narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled, “Give him a call and ask.”
“I did, no one picked up.”
As Yoo Jimin spoke, she couldn’t help but ask back, “Senior, what brings you to this tavern too?”
“Same as you, I want to go in and take a look. A bit curious.”
“Ah~”
Yoo Jimin was shocked and subconsciously thought Xiuyuan knew Yoona, then recalled their shared surname, so she said, “So you know Xiuyuan too, senior.”
“Xiuyuan? Is that the boss’s name here?”
Yoona softly repeated the name once and committed it to memory.
“Ah, you don’t know him?”
“No, how do you know him?”
“Because of Soo Jung senior, and…”
And at that moment, the “Xiuyuan” they were talking about was in the time-space of more than ten years ago, warmly hosting two other people.
……
……
2013, small tavern.
After serving drinks and snacks, Xiuyuan didn’t return to the bar counter as usual but sat on the sofa opposite, full of curiosity.
“What a rare guest. Sulli, from the time I invited you here until now, this is only your second visit.”
Hearing Xiuyuan’s words, Soo Jung glanced at Sulli, who then smiled and said, “I’ve been a bit busy lately, and coming here always means drinking, so I can’t come every day, or I’d really turn into a drunkard.”
“That’s true.”
Smiling in agreement, Xiuyuan turned his gaze to Soo Jung, “Long time no see, Soo Jung.”
“Yeah, long time no see. I didn’t expect the small tavern you mentioned to Soo Yeon unnie last time would already be open by the time we met again.”
After saying that, Soo Jung looked down at the drink on the table and asked with some amusement, “This isn’t the drink worth tens of millions per cup you mentioned that night, is it? If it is, we can’t afford it.”
Hmm?
Hearing their baffling conversation and linking it to what Soo Jung had left unsaid outside earlier, Sulli quickly tugged her arm, wanting to know what was going on.
Xiuyuan replied, “Haha, for members here, food and drinks are all free; for non-members, it depends on my mood to charge. Fortunately, Sulli is a member, so eat and drink without worry—you won’t bankrupt me.”
After that, Xiuyuan got up and returned to the bar counter side, leaving the sofa area to the two girls.
He just occasionally looked at Sulli with some hesitation in his gaze, then glanced at Soo Jung beside her.
He lightly sighed: Sigh, it would be so much better if she came alone.
Sofa area.
With Xiuyuan’s departure, Sulli quickly voiced her curiosity, really wanting to know how Soo Jung knew him.
Soo Jung didn’t hide anything and briefly explained that she had met Xiuyuan through Soo Yeon unnie’s introduction, and also mentioned the initial concept of this tavern.
After hearing it, Sulli let out a wow and looked toward Xiuyuan, “No wonder Soo Yeon unnie is so familiar with him and even became a member of this tavern—they knew each other long ago. So Soo Jung, do you think there’s any chance…”
“No idea, I don’t even know how they met.”
Teasing Soo Yeon unnie with daily gossip was fine to chat about casually, but when it came to private matters, Soo Jung never speculated wildly.
While they were chatting about Xiuyuan, he at the bar counter was thinking about how to get rid of Soo Jung, the third wheel.
After all, Sulli coming over was so rare; if he missed it, he’d have to ask her out himself next time, which would probably be even more troublesome.
With that thought, he lowered his head, picked up his mobile phone, found a contact number, and quickly sent a message to the other party.
Just like that, more than ten minutes passed quickly.
During this time, although Xiuyuan didn’t disturb the two girls on the sofa, they occasionally chatted with him a few sentences, so the tavern’s atmosphere didn’t feel particularly awkward.
Until the tavern door was pushed open, accompanied by the ‘ding bell’ sound, and Ji-yeon, with a bare face, stepped in with a cheerful smile.
Her first glance was still at Xiuyuan, happily greeting him.
Then she looked toward the two on the sofa side and smiled with narrowed eyes.
“What a coincidence, Sulli, Soo Jung~”
A few more days, let’s push for the new book list, seeking monthly tickets, seeking collections, seeking everything
