enjoyebooks Chapter 24 An Unexpected Reunion
Chapter 24 An Unexpected Reunion
Upon hearing this, Kim Minjung's shoulders, which had just relaxed, tensed up again. He glanced cautiously at the people beside him to make sure they weren't paying attention before replying softly, "Yes, me too."
Liu Zhimin noticed that she had become a little nervous again, and realizing that the previous topic had been somewhat related to discussing her seniors, she quickly changed the subject, saying, "By the way, you said you're from Busan, so will you be traveling back and forth from here? Will you be taking the KTX every week?"
"Hmm." Kim Minjung nodded, his fingers unconsciously twirling the cap of a mineral water bottle. "I'll come over Friday night and go back Sunday afternoon. But I heard that a new SRT line will open at the end of the year, so it'll be cheaper to take that one then."
"Wow, that's amazing." Yoo Jimin exclaimed sincerely. "I live in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. It only takes me a little over an hour to get here by subway every weekend, and I still feel exhausted. You actually went all the way to Busan. I've never been to Busan before. I heard the sea there is especially beautiful."
When Busan was mentioned, Kim Min-jung immediately relaxed, and his eyes regained their sparkle. "Yes, the sea in Busan is so beautiful! Haeundae, Gwangalli, Taejongdae, and Jagalchi Market! My mom often goes there to buy groceries and seafood. They have all kinds of seafood there—live octopus, halibut, and crabs bigger than my face!"
As she spoke, she gestured with her hands to indicate the size of the crab, spreading her arms wide, which made Liu Zhimin laugh out loud.
"Then take me to Busan to see the sea sometime!" Yoo Jimin tilted her head, half-jokingly and half-seriously. "I've never seen the sea in Busan before. Is it especially cold in winter? Is it windy?"
"Winter? Busan's sea is at its most beautiful in winter!" Kim Minjung clutched the bottle of mineral water tightly and said excitedly, "The sea breeze is howling, and the waves crashing against the breakwater can splash very high. Sometimes you can see seagulls fighting on the waves. When the lights of Gwangalli Bridge are on, the whole sea turns golden. It's such a pity you haven't seen that kind of scene."
As she was talking, she suddenly realized that she was being too noisy, so she quickly covered her mouth and glanced cautiously at the three Japanese trainees.
One of the girls, who had her hair in a bun, looked up and met her gaze. She smiled at her and then looked down again to continue flipping through the sheet music.
Kim Minjung breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to find Yoo Jimin looking at her intently, her chin resting on her hand.
"You're so good at talking! You described the sea in Busan so well. When I was writing an essay about the scenery of my hometown, I struggled for a long time and finally wrote, 'There's a park in our neighborhood, and there are lots of trees in the park.'"
Kim Minjung chuckled at her words, "If you ever go to Busan, I can take you there. Standing on Gwangalli Beach, the waves just go up to your ankles. It feels really nice."
Liu Zhimin looked at her, her smile growing wider.
The young girl from Busan in front of me was like a frightened rabbit when she came in, hiding in a corner and not daring to lift her head. But as soon as she mentioned Busan, she was like a person illuminated by the sun, and she completely changed.
"Okay." Liu Zhimin stretched out her hand, raising her little finger. "Then it's a deal. You'll take me to Busan to see the sea, and I'll bring you breakfast from work. There's a bakery downstairs from my house that makes really delicious canelés. I'll bring you some next time."
Kim Minjung paused for a moment, then grinned and hooked his little finger around Yoo Jimin's finger, shaking it vigorously.
"It's a deal!"
In a small practice room filled with sound-absorbing cotton on the basement floor of the SM Entertainment building, they tied their first bond in Seoul with their two hands.
On the other side, Jiang Yan watched Tiffany's figure disappear at the end of the corridor. She was going to the dressing room to prepare for the afternoon's photoshoot.
He finished his half-warm iced Americano, crushed the paper cup, threw it into the trash can in the hallway, and then walked towards the elevator with the light pink gift bag in his hand.
While waiting for the elevator, he glanced down at his phone.
Kim Minjung posted several messages a few minutes ago, the latest one being: "Oppa, I've met a new friend named Yoo Jimin, born in 2000. I'm going to call her unnie."
Jiang Yan stared at the message for two seconds, and a question mark slowly appeared on his forehead.
This coward made friends on the very first day?
That shouldn't be the case. Could it be that she changed her mind today?
Jiang Yan shook his head, about to reply to the message, when the elevator doors in front of him opened with a ding.
Jiang Yan subconsciously looked up, his gaze sweeping into the elevator car, but his feet suddenly froze on the spot.
The elevator doors slid open slowly in front of him, revealing two people standing inside the car.
Standing at the back was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, clutching an open black file folder in his hand. He was tilting his head and whispering something, with a gold badge unique to SM Entertainment pinned to his chest.
The woman standing in front of him was wearing a loose, off-white silk shirt with the sleeves casually rolled up to her elbows, revealing her slender, fair wrists. She wore faded dark blue skinny jeans and a pair of clean white canvas shoes.
Her long hair was dyed light chestnut brown, with natural curls at the ends, and loosely draped over her shoulders, making her already small face even more delicate.
The moment Jiang Yan's gaze fell on her face, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and even his breath caught in his throat.
Choi Jinri.
No, now the whole world calls her Choi Sulli.
In my memory, there was that little girl who followed him around picking wild fruit on the hill behind the Yingdao Welfare Home, the little girl who chased after the car barefoot for half a mountain road on the day he left the welfare home.
I was standing less than two meters away from him at that moment.
Her features have matured, and the timidity and naivety of her youth have faded from her eyes, replaced by a bright radiance tinged with a sense of brokenness.
Like a flower blooming on the edge of a cliff, breathtakingly beautiful, yet making one worry that it might be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Jiang Yan's shoes seemed glued to the floor tiles at the elevator entrance, and he couldn't take a single step.
He instinctively gripped the bag in his hand, the brown paper handle making a slight creaking sound.
In the two seconds he was stunned, the middle-aged man in the elevator looked up and glanced at him.
The man's gaze first fell on Jiang Yan's frozen face, then quickly slid over the silver-gray production department badge hanging on his chest. His gaze lingered for less than half a second before he looked away as if he'd seen thin air, and continued speaking to Cui Xueli:
"The script was submitted by Kim Soo-hyun's team. They value this project highly. Director Kim of the film and television department read the first draft last week and felt that you have a lot of room to develop your skills in it."
"Although the character's setting is very controversial, if you play it well, it will definitely be a milestone work for you to transition from idol to actor. Kim Soo-hyun personally requested that you work with him, and the head of the film and television department said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Sulli did not respond.
She lowered her head, her long eyelashes drooping down, obscuring the emotions in her eyes, her toes unconsciously rubbing against the metal seams on the elevator car floor.
"Shirley," the middle-aged man pushed up his glasses, slowed his speech, and spoke with a hint of elder-like advice, "I know what you're worried about, but the company has already taken care of everything for you. You're at a crucial stage of your career transition right now. Being the lead actress in a big-budget movie is more valuable than filming ten TV series."
Choi Sulli remained silent.
She simply raised her hand slowly and wrapped it around the elbow of her other hand, as if hugging herself to keep warm in the cold air.
The elevator lights were a cold white, falling on her pale face.
Jiang Yan stood at the elevator entrance, watching her familiar little gesture. His heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, and the pain made it hard for him to breathe.
When she was little, if she was wronged, she would hug herself like this, without saying a word, and sit quietly in the corner until he found her and put the candy he had secretly hidden into her hand.
The elevator doors began to close slowly.
The middle-aged man finally lost his patience, reached out and pressed the door open button, frowning as he looked at Jiang Yan: "Are you coming in or not?"