Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 304 "Can I join your little circle?" (Seeking monthly votes and subscriptions)

After a while, the wooden door of the tavern with the wind chimes was pushed open from the outside, making a crisp "ding-a-ling" sound.

Sulli, wearing a hat, walked in one after the other, accompanied by Goo Hara.

Goo Hara, who was visiting this small bar for the first time, couldn't help but look around curiously as soon as she entered.

Although Sulli had mentioned beforehand that the bar wasn't very spacious, Goo Hara quickly scanned the area and found it to be quite roomy compared to the smaller izakayas she had seen in Japan.

However, although the bar itself was nothing particularly special, the people inside at that moment truly caught Goo Hara's eye and even made her feel a little amazed.

Besides Park Ji-yeon, who is at the peak of her beauty and has a sharp edge, what attracted her attention even more was the girl standing quietly behind the bar: Lee So-hee.

Despite being only a recent high school graduate, Li Shaoxi still retains a youthful innocence.

But that delicate, well-defined face had slowly blossomed.

Especially when she doesn't speak, her aloof and detached aura, so different from the lively atmosphere around her, seems to have its own filter, making even Goo Hara, who is used to seeing all kinds of beauties, unable to help but secretly admire her.

However, this is nothing compared to Lee So-hee, who will be able to establish herself in the film and television industry with almost no surgery and only minor adjustments.

The superiority of her natural face, placed at the bottom of the K-pop idol hierarchy, is absolutely overwhelming.

(Old photo from high school)
So when Goo Hara's gaze quickly swept between Lee So-hee and Sulli, finally landing on the girl behind the bar, she immediately leaned closer to Sulli, lowered her voice, and asked in an incredulous tone.

"Truth, didn't you say this shop belongs to Xiuyuan? Then this person... is he an employee he hired?"

Sulli, who had already briefly greeted Park Jiyeon and Lee So-hee, simply smiled mysteriously when she heard the question, waving her hand to indicate that now was not the time to explain, "Unnie, we'll talk about this later."

Then he pulled the still curious Goo Hara to the bar and formally introduced them to each other.

Or rather, it's about getting to know several people who are meeting for the first time.

"Hara unnie, you must know Jiyeon. This is Sohee, who is temporarily Jiyeon's right-hand woman."

Sulli first introduced Goo Hara, then turned to Park Jiyeon and Lee Sohee and smiled, "Jiyeon, Sohee, this is Hara unnie from KARA."

"Unnie, it's been a long time."

"Hello, Goo Hara sunbaenim."

Unlike Park Jiyeon's intimacy, Lee So-hee, who was meeting Goo Hara for the first time, greeted her very politely.

"Long time no see, Jiyeon. Hello, Sohee-ssi." Goo Hara quickly returned the greeting, her gaze lingering on Lee Sohee's face for a few more seconds.

After everyone exchanged pleasantries and got to know each other, Goo Hara looked around again but couldn't find the person she was looking for. "Where's Xiuyuan? Where did he go?"

Seeing this, Park Jiyeon pointed to the door and said, "Unnie, oppa went to the barbecue restaurant next door to order food. He should be back soon."

Hearing this, Goo Hara nodded, but looking at the environment filled with bottles and glasses, she couldn't help but ask again, "Okay, but can we really eat barbecue here? There aren't any seats or grills, and won't the smoke..."

Before she could finish speaking, Li Shaoxi, who was standing behind the bar, smiled and pointed to the corner of the pub.

There was a portable gas stove and a small baking pan there.

Lin Xiuyuan bought this with the intention of occasionally having a fire here to brew tea or simply roast something, but unfortunately it has been sitting idle until now.

Just then, with a "ding-a-ling," the tavern door was pushed open again.

Lin Xiuyuan walked in carrying two large food bags with the barbecue restaurant's logo printed on them. When he saw that Sulli and Goo Hara had already arrived, he immediately greeted them with a smile, "Oh, you're here. That's perfect. Let's get ready to eat barbecue. Shaoxi, please bring over that grill in the corner."

At his command, the tavern immediately became lively.

Li Shaoxi immediately walked out from behind the bar and skillfully went to the corner to move the portable grill and the matching small gas canister.

After entering, Lin Xiuyuan placed two large bags on the coffee table in the middle of the sofa and began to take out various barbecue ingredients that had been portioned into food storage containers.

Pork belly, Korean beef, marinated pork neck, mushrooms, onions, kimchi...

A wide variety, a dazzling array.

Seeing this, Goo Hara quickly rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward to help, arranging the boxes of ingredients neatly on the coffee table with Lee So-hee.

On the other side, Park Jiyeon and Sulli brought over several colorful cocktails that had been prepared earlier from the bar.

Then Shirley skillfully opened the cabinet under the bar and took out a large, transparent pitcher of cold water.

First, I poured in most of the ice cubes, then quickly selected several base spirits, fruit juices, and syrups, poured them into the pitcher in a certain proportion, and finally filled it with soda water with a "whoosh," put on the lid, and shook it vigorously.

This smooth and effortless maneuver left Goo Hara, who was standing next to her, speechless with astonishment.

"Wow! That's amazing!" Goo Hara exclaimed. "When did you learn to mix drinks so professionally? Your moves are so cool!"

Sherry chuckled at the compliment, placed the large pitcher of beautifully colored mixed drink she had prepared on the coffee table, and then grinned proudly, "I learned it from oppa. He said that these party drinks look complicated, but once you remember the proportions, they're actually very simple, and you can mix them anytime."

"Xiuyuan, you can mix drinks too?" Goo Hara was even more surprised and turned to look at Lin Xiuyuan, who was adjusting the flame size of the grill with Lee So-hee.

However, her words only made things worse. Lin Xiu looked up with amusement and pointed to the dazzling array of liquor cabinets and the bar around him. "No way, Hera, are you stupid? If I didn't know how to mix drinks, why would I open this bar? Just for decoration?"

After saying that, he seemed to remember something and added, "And I remember when we stayed at a hotel in Tokyo last time, I think I tried mixing a couple of drinks, right? You and Mari were there too, weren't you? Don't you remember?"

Goo Hara gave a slightly embarrassed smile and touched her nose. "Ah~ did I? I was probably too busy chatting to remember, I forgot, I forgot."

Soon, the gas flame in the oven became stable and vigorous, and Li Shaoxi placed the baking tray with tongs and brushed it with a thin layer of oil.

As Lin Xiuyuan placed the first thick slice of pork belly onto the sizzling grill, it made a delightful "sizzle" sound, accompanied by the rising, enticing smoke and aroma of meat...

Tonight's late-night gathering, a blend of barbecue, fine wine, and a subtle atmosphere, has officially begun in this pub.

……

……

Inside the sofa in the pub.

As the only male here, Lin Xiuyuan was comfortably leaning back on the sofa, holding a glass of mixed drink that Sherry had just poured for him, with delicate bubbles in his hand.

He originally wanted to pick up the grill tongs to help grill the meat, but as soon as he made the move, Shirley and Lee So-hee snatched them away in perfect unison.

"Oppa, you can just sit and wait to eat." Sulli smiled and pressed him back onto the sofa, then took over the reins of grilling the meat. Lee So-hee quietly placed the ingredients to be grilled onto the grill pan one by one, her movements gentle and focused.

Seeing this scene, Goo Hara and Park Jiyeon were happy to have some peace and quiet. After all, too many people crowding in front of the grill would easily make things chaotic. So the two of them naturally sat on the sofas on either side of Lin Xiuyuan and started chatting.

The first to speak was Goo Hara, whose curiosity had already exploded.

She really wanted to know how Lin Xiuyuan, who seemed to be aloof from the entertainment industry, had built such a familiar and even intimate relationship with Park Jiyeon and Sulli.

So, just like she was asking any question that came to mind, she directly threw the question at Park Jiyeon, who was standing next to her.

Upon hearing the question, Park Jiyeon subconsciously glanced at Lin Xiuyuan and found that he was just leisurely drinking his beverage with a half-smile on his face, without any intention of stopping or implying anything, which meant that he tacitly agreed that she could say whatever she wanted.

Then a smile, a mixture of reminiscence and a hint of teasing, immediately appeared on the little dragon's face. His first words were earth-shattering: "How did I meet oppa? Looking back now, the process is quite magical. I guess I was attracted by oppa's 'church destiny theory'?"

"church??!!"

Upon hearing this name, Goo Hara's heart skipped a beat.

It's worth noting that on the peninsula, there are probably more churches of all kinds than idol groups.

Among them are many groups that act strangely and are highly controversial.

So Goo Hara almost immediately thought of some bad rumors.

She subconsciously looked at Lin Xiuyuan with a scrutinizing gaze, her mind flashing through various images of him interacting with Lin Xiaolu, Shirley, and Ham Eunjung.

A terrifying thought instantly seized her mind.

Is it some kind of cult that requires "self-sacrifice"?!
This wild thought caused Goo Hara's pupils to contract slightly, and she fixed her gaze on Lin Xiuyuan, her eyes filled with vigilance and inquiry.

If there isn't a reasonable explanation, she might really categorize Lin Xiuyuan as some kind of "cult leader" who exploits the psychological weaknesses of idols.

Fortunately, before Lin Xiuyuan could even explain, Shirley, who was diligently grilling the pork belly, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

She looked up and glanced at Park Jiyeon with amusement.

"Unnie~ What you said is too ambiguous. What 'church'? It sounds like one of those weird cults. We're just a few close friends who formed a small circle and occasionally meet up at oppa's bar."

After Sulli exposed her secret, Park Jiyeon admitted it with a smile, but said something else entirely.

"There's nothing I can do about it. I was lured in by oppa's mysterious-sounding explanations, right, oppa?"

As she spoke, Park Jiyeon turned her gaze to Lin Xiuyuan again, her expression even carrying a look that only the two of them understood.

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan finally put down his wine glass, smiled frankly, and nodded without denying it.

"Yeah, we did use some rhetoric to pique Jiyeon's curiosity. But it was pretty much the same thing, just like an internal nickname for our little group. Like Jinri and you guys have the '94 line,' we're kind of like a... 'tavern line'?"

Small circle.

After hearing these few words of explanation, Goo Hara's tense nerves finally relaxed, and the huge weight in her heart was finally lifted.

Yes, small cliques are very common in the entertainment industry. Small groups formed based on shared interests, trust, or benefits are everywhere.

It would be abnormal for someone not to have a small social circle.

But it’s not like nothing.

Thinking of this, Goo Hara smiled again, her face showing a mixture of curiosity and probing. Half-jokingly and half-seriously, she asked, "That sounds interesting. So, Xiu Yuan, can I, as an outsider, apply to join your little circle?"

Goo Hara, who said those words, probably didn't even realize it herself.

When she brought up the topic, Shirley, who was cutting the barbecue with scissors, paused slightly, and a flash of excitement and relief crossed her eyes.

Finally, my beloved Hara has taken a step in the right direction, and all my hints and preparations haven't been in vain.

As the core of this small circle, which is jokingly referred to as a "cult," Lin Xiuyuan did not immediately agree after hearing Goo Hara's offer. Instead, he asked her a question with a playful smile.

"Hara, didn't you already have your own little circle? I often saw you getting together with some friends in the news before, and you seemed to have a very good relationship."

Upon hearing this, Goo Hara seemed to have been touched upon something, and shrugged self-deprecatingly, her tone becoming somewhat indifferent, "That was all in the past, it's pretty much over now."

After picking up a piece of meat, she continued, "Xiuyuan, haven't you noticed? In that circle you mentioned, there seems to be a younger and more popular female idol lately, and they're interacting quite frequently."

"What's going on? Who is it?"

Lin Xiuyuan, who had been running back and forth between 25 years ago, hadn't really paid much attention to the entertainment industry news in 13, so he turned his attention to Park Jiyeon and Sulli, who knew more about the situation.

Upon meeting Lin Xiuyuan's gaze, Shirley placed a piece of crispy roasted pork belly onto Lin's plate and softly replied, "Oppa, it's Hyuna."

Park Jiyeon, who was standing next to her, also remembered the news and asked, "Hara unnie, I remember you and that Yong Junhyung... when did you officially break up?"

Upon hearing this, Goo Hara picked up her glass and took a sip, her tone calm but tinged with a barely perceptible weariness.

"Actually, we broke up at the end of last year, but we only announced it to the public at the beginning of this year. But even though we broke up, we still hang out together in the industry, since we've known each other for so long."

As she spoke, she put down her wine glass, her eyes glazed over as she stared at the sizzling meat slices on the grill.

"But in the last few months, I gradually stopped responding to their party invitations. After reducing contact, it seems that he and his friends also started to think that I was no longer of any value. So naturally, they started looking for newer, more talked-about people."

Then, Goo Hara's lips curled into a cold yet relieved smile, "But looking back now, it doesn't matter. Those people in that circle were indeed quite awful, filled with all sorts of scheming and hypocrisy."

As she finished explaining, she shifted her gaze from the baking pan to Shirley, who was listening attentively. Her eyes softened with a smile. "And I really have to thank Mari. She reminded me in advance to be careful and not to get too involved. That's so kind of her."

Lee So-hee, who had been listening quietly to everything, suddenly opened her mouth wide. Her initial longing for the entertainment industry was instantly extinguished.

Shirley, who was suddenly praised, smiled.

Then she looked at Lin Xiuyuan, who was sitting in the main seat, as if she were expecting something, staring at him intently.

She begged him.

　I'm begging for monthly votes at the end of the month, my godfathers, please vote for me!!!
　　(PS: I have tenosynovitis and am currently recovering from my hand injury. Once my hand is healed, I'll continue writing 10,000 words a day!!!)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)