enjoyebooks Chapter 17 Daily Bickering
Chapter 17 Daily Bickering
Kim Minjung slowly walked into the room, his fingertips gently brushing over the puppy patterns wagging their tails on the bed sheet, over the grinning bear stickers on the storage box, over the warm yellow lampshade of the nightlight, and over the little succulent quietly basking in the sunlight.
Then she plopped down on the bed, buried her face in the pillow, and let out a muffled roar.
"Waaaaaah, Kim Minjung, you're so embarrassing, ahhhhhh..."
Jiang Yan stood at the door, watching her crumple the pillow into a ball, tear it apart, and crumple it into a ball again, and he laughed out loud.
Do you like it?
Kim Minjung pulled her face out of the pillow, her hair a mess, her eyes red-rimmed. She looked at him and nodded vigorously.
"like."
"Then stop crying and pack your things." Jiang Yan walked over and pulled her up from the bed. "We're going to SM practice tomorrow. Tonight, I'll take you to eat the best barbecue in Hongdae to welcome you back."
"Barbecue?"
Kim Minjung's eyes lit up, but she quickly tugged at his sleeve, looking a little embarrassed, and said, "Oppa, Hongdae's barbecue must be expensive, right?"
"Don't worry." Jiang Yan chuckled and tapped her head. "Oppa has money now, and even if he didn't, would treating his sister to a welcome dinner be considered expensive?"
Hongdae at 6 pm is even more lively than during the day.
The streetlights lit up one by one, and the neon signs spread out colorful spots of light in the twilight. Long queues had already formed in front of the barbecue restaurants along the roadside.
Students in school uniforms and college students carrying backpacks gathered in twos and threes, and the sizzling aroma of pork belly on stainless steel grills filled the entire alley.
Jiang Yan had asked the boss to reserve a window seat for him, which faced the busiest intersection in Hongdae.
Kim Minjung sat opposite him, holding stainless steel chopsticks in his hand, watching longingly as the waiter brought out plates of pork belly, pork shoulder, and beef ribs to the table, and unconsciously made a gurgling sound in his throat.
Are you hungry?
"I'm not hungry." Kim Minjung shook his head vigorously.
As soon as she finished speaking, her stomach growled loudly, so loud that people at the next table turned around to look.
Kim Minjung's face instantly turned tomato red, and he wished he could bury his head in the lettuce basket in front of him.
Jiang Yan smiled and picked up the tongs, placing several thick slices of pork belly on the cast iron grill pan. "You said you weren't hungry? What's the point of pretending in front of your oppa?"
The grease sizzled as it touched the hot cast iron baking pan, white smoke rose, and the edges of the pork belly quickly curled up into an enticing golden brown.
Kim Minjung swallowed hard, then decided to go all out and picked up a lettuce leaf to prepare for battle.
"Dip this in." Jiang Yan handed her a dish of seasoned sesame oil and salt. "And this too, garlic and Qingyang chili peppers, stuff them in lettuce."
"I know!" Kim Minjung said matter-of-factly. "It's not like I haven't eaten barbecue in Busan!"
Kim Minjung said he knew, but his actions were incredibly clumsy.
Jiang Yan had already tied the shop's checkered apron on her, but a drop of sauce still splashed onto the cuff of her white sweatshirt, leaving a small orange-red oil stain.
The lettuce leaf was wrapped too full, stuffing in pork belly, kimchi, garlic, and chili peppers. Just as I pinched the edge to put it in my mouth, the lettuce wrap "splat" and fell onto the plate.
"Oh no! My clothes!"
"I told you to put less in." Jiang Yan handed her a tissue, then picked up a lettuce leaf, slowly spread it out, added two slices of charred pork belly, half a clove of garlic, a small piece of chili, and finally a thin layer of sesame oil and salt. After flipping it a few times with his fingers, a firm, square lettuce wrap was handed to her. "Wrap it like this, don't put too much meat in, one bite is just right."
Kim Minjung took the lettuce wrap and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks bulging. After chewing a few times, he mumbled, "Mmm! Delicious!"
"Oppa, give me another one!"
"You wrap it yourself."
"But yours tastes better than mine!"
"What kind of twisted logic is this?"
"It's not nonsense! It's the truth! Bye-bye! From now on, if you ever argue with my oppa, I'll definitely be on your side."
"...You're trying to extort money from me."
"So what if I'm trying to scam you?"
Jiang Yan shook his head helplessly as he looked at her smug little expression.
The vast night outside the window grew deeper and deeper. The lights of the barbecue restaurant were warm and soft, and the oil on the grill was still sizzling. Wisps of white smoke rose, blurring the outlines of the two people.
This is Kim Minjung's first night in Seoul.
She ate two plates of pork belly, a plate of beef ribs, a bowl of cold noodles, and half a portion of kimchi pancakes. In the end, she was helped out of the barbecue restaurant by Jiang Yan.
"Oppa... I think I ate too much..."
"Looks like?" Jiang Yan looked at her slightly protruding belly, suppressing a laugh. "You call this looking like?"
"It's all your fault!" Kim Minjung exclaimed angrily, slamming her small, harmless fist into his arm. "Who told you to grill so fast! You grill one piece, I eat one piece; you grill a whole plate, I eat a whole plate. I felt bad not eating!"
"How can you blame me?"
"Of course it's your fault!"
The two bickered as they slowly walked back along the brightly lit streets of Hongdae.
The night breeze in March was still quite cool, and Kim Minjung shivered. Kang Yeon casually took off his denim jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
The clothes were too big; the sleeves were so long they reached her knees. She spun around twice, looking like a child dressed in adult clothes.
"Oppa, you look so good in this outfit. I feel like I'm wearing my dad's clothes."
"Then take it off."
"No! It's warm!" Kim Minjung wrapped his coat tightly around himself, sniffed, and said, "It just smells a bit like laundry detergent."
"If you don't like it, then don't wear it."
"I don't mind!"
She chuckled twice, then suddenly ran a few steps, walking backwards on the sidewalk, looking up at Jiang Yan, "Oppa, do you think I can really be a good trainee?"
"You've already passed the audition, why are you still asking this?"
"But after signing the contract tomorrow, it won't be a joke anymore." Kim Minjung lowered his eyes, revealing a hint of fear for the first time. "Back in Yangsan, I thought I was pretty good at dancing and singing, but this is Seoul, this is SM Entertainment, there are definitely many people who are better than me."
Jiang Yan stopped and looked at her anxious face, illuminated by the streetlights.
Kim Minjung.
"Um?"
"Do you remember when you were little, you climbed that crooked persimmon tree on the back hill? You insisted on climbing to the highest branch. I told you that branch was too thin and couldn't support you, but you wouldn't listen. After you climbed up, the branch broke, and you fell and scraped your knee."
"I remember, I have a scar on my knee." Kim Minjung touched his left knee, looking bewildered. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"
Did you cry that day?
Kim Minjung thought for a moment, "...No, I held back my tears because I was afraid you would laugh at me."
"and then?"
Then you lifted me up again and said, "Don't be afraid, if you fall, Oppa will catch you."
Jiang Yan walked up to her and reached out to tidy up her high ponytail, which had been ruffled by the night wind.
"Back then it was a persimmon tree; now it's Seoul."
He lowered his head, looked into her eyes, and said in a soft but firm voice, "You haven't changed, and neither has Oppa. If you fall, Oppa will catch you. When you climb to the highest branch, Oppa will applaud you from below."