enjoyebooks Chapter 39 Choi Sulli's First Visit
Chapter 39 Choi Sulli's First Visit
It's four o'clock.
Jiang Yan took the marinated Korean beef out of the refrigerator, checked the army stew broth on the stove again to make sure it was cooked just right, then took off his apron, picked up his keys and went out.
Because he was in a hurry this time, he chose to take a taxi, which took only about ten minutes to get to the SM building.
On a weekend afternoon, the company entrance was much quieter than usual, with only a few trainees carrying bags coming and going.
Jiang Yan walked into the lobby with ease. The young girl in the black uniform at the front desk already recognized him and waved and nodded at him.
This time, Jiang Yan didn't have to wait long in the rest area before the door to the emergency exit was pushed open.
Kim Minjung and Yoo Jimin walked out one after the other, both with flushed faces.
"Oppa!"
As soon as Kim Minjung saw him, she jogged over and said, "You don't have to come pick me up every time. I can take the subway home by myself."
"Forget it, we've only taken the subway a few times. I'm afraid I'll have to go to a farther place to pick you up later." Jiang Yan reached out and took the backpack from her back, his gaze moving over her shoulder to Liu Zhimin. "Zhimin-xi, are you practicing again tonight?"
Liu Zhimin smiled and shook her head: "Ani, my dad came to Seoul on business today and said he would pick me up on his way home. He should be waiting in the parking lot now."
"That's good." Jiang Yan nodded, took a small box out of his pocket and handed it over. "I was bored at home, so I made some chocolate chip cookies. Try them and see if they're good."
Liu Zhimin paused for a moment, then took the box with both hands. Through the transparent box, she could see the golden-brown cookies inside, with half-melted chocolate chips embedded on top.
Her eyelashes fluttered slightly, then her eyes curved into a bright smile: "Wow, Oppa, you're so...so thoughtful. Thank you, I'll savor it."
"Jimin-xi, you don't need to be so polite." Jiang Yan waved his hand, then glanced down at his watch. "Then you should go quickly, don't keep your uncle waiting too long."
"Okay!" Yoo Jimin carefully put the cookies into her backpack, waved to Kim Minjung, and said, "Minjung, see you next week! Be careful on your way back, I'll miss you."
"Yes, I'll miss you too, unnie. See you next week, unnie!" Kim Minjung waved her arms vigorously, watching Yoo Jimin's figure disappear outside the revolving door before turning her head to look up at Kang Yeon.
"Oppa, let's go home. I'm a little hungry. The food at the cafe was awful, I didn't eat much... Hmm? Oppa, you smell so good. What delicious food did you make?"
"Dog nose." Jiang Yan brushed her nose and handed her a small box. "Have a couple of bites first, then you can have your main meal when you get home."
After leaving SM Entertainment, Kang Yeon hailed a taxi under Kim Minjung's questioning gaze.
"Oppa, I'm not in a hurry. My ticket is for 7 o'clock, we can take the subway back." Kim Minjung said, munching on a cookie and tugging at Kang Yeon's clothes with one hand.
Jiang Yan opened the back door of the car. "Your oppa is in a hurry. If I get back late, the food I cooked will burn."
Upon hearing this, Kim Minjung quickly let go of his hand and darted into the car, shouting, "Oppa, bye-bye!"
When the taxi stopped downstairs in the old residential area, Kim Minjung was even more anxious than Kang Yeon. He pushed open the car door and jumped out, his legs much more agile than yesterday.
She walked ahead as they went upstairs. When they reached the fourth floor, she started sniffing. The higher she climbed, the stronger the fragrance became. Her soft muttering echoed in the stairwell, "Thank goodness, thank goodness."
Jiang Yan, listening from behind, kept shaking his head, wondering if the little girl was worried about it being unsafe if it burned dry, or if she was worried about not having anything to eat if it burned dry.
Upon arriving at the door of room 601 on the sixth floor, Kim Minjung urged him on while reaching into Kang Yeon's pocket for his keys. "Oppa, open the door quickly! It smells so good!"
Jiang Yan slapped her little hand away, "What's the rush? It won't fly away if you leave it there."
After saying that, he calmly took out his key and opened the door.
As soon as the door opened, the rich aroma of soybean paste soup wafted out.
Kim Minjung kicked off his canvas shoes and ran to the kitchen. He stood in front of the stove, staring wide-eyed at the bubbling army stew.
"Wow! Army stew! And Korean beef... Eh? Korean beef?" She turned around, her mouth wide open, and frowned as she looked at the Korean beef next to her. Then she looked back at Jiang Yan with a pained expression. "Oppa, Korean beef is expensive. You can't do this. If you cook a big meal every Sunday when you go back, it's too expensive."
Jiang Yan was amused by her worried expression.
He didn't explain, casually tossed the keys into the small tray on the shoe cabinet, walked up to her, raised his hand and ruffled her hair, "Okay, I promise you, I won't be so extravagant in the future."
Kim Minjung squinted at him for a few seconds with some doubt, but finally nodded his little head: "Then it's settled, unless it's an important day, you can't buy Korean beef, pork belly is enough."
"Yes, yes, little housekeeper." Jiang Yan pushed her towards the bathroom. "Go take a shower and change your clothes. I'll take you to Seoul Station after dinner."
"Inside!"
Kim Minjung obediently responded, then went to his room to get a change of clothes, turned around to take a shower, and the bathroom door clicked shut, the sound of running water filling the air.
Soon it was five o'clock, and the doorbell rang precisely on time.
Thump...thump thump!
Jiang Yan took off his apron, washed his hands, and went to open the door.
He paused for a moment when the door opened.
Choi Sulli stood at the door, and compared to yesterday, she was clearly dressed up carefully today.
The light beige silk shirt had a thin ribbon of the same color tied at the collar, and the cuffs were rolled up to the elbows, revealing a slender, fair wrist.
She wore a smoky gray high-waisted pleated long skirt, the hem of which fell just two inches above her ankles, swaying gently as she turned slightly to the side.
Her long hair was not casually draped as usual, but loosely tied back with a dark green ribbon, with a few stray strands deliberately left out, curving down beside her ears.
The makeup was light, but you could tell that every stroke was carefully chosen. The eyeliner was slightly upturned at the outer corner of the eye, and a thin layer of lip gloss was applied to the lips, which shimmered with a moist glow under the warm yellow light in the entryway.
She was also carrying two bags, one a bulging white paper bag, and the other a smaller one tied with a pale purple ribbon.
Standing in the old stairwell, it felt as if I had brought the entire spring of Jiangnan with me.
"What, don't you recognize me?" Choi Sulli tilted her head to look at him, a faint smile on her lips, but Jiang Yan noticed that her fingers holding the bag tightened slightly for a moment.
"Ani-yo." Jiang Yan snapped out of his daze, stepped aside to make way, and reached out to take the bag from her hand. "I just think it's very pretty... but with this outfit, won't you stand out too much in the old neighborhood of Hongdae?"
"So what if it's eye-catching? As long as I'm not recognized." Choi Sulli handed him the bag, took off her beige pointed flats and put on the spare slippers he had left by the door.
As she stood up, her gaze naturally fell on the area directly opposite the entrance, where a Marine Corps dog tag was hanging.