Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 165 Kim Tae-yeon: "Sulli... how come you're still here?" (Please subscribe and vote)

In June, the temperature in Seoul at night is just right, and even the evening breeze has a gentle feel to it.

Lin Yoona's car slowly drove along the main road in Gangnam. The windows were closed, blocking out the noise outside, but they couldn't stop the city's neon lights from shining through the glass onto the two people's faces.

The neon lights on the street flickered like dancing musical notes, passing by the car window in rows, only to be left behind by the car's speed.

The traffic light ahead flashed an orange glow, and the warm, soft lights of the roadside cafes reflected perfectly on Kim Tae-yeon's face in the passenger seat, making her look quiet and gentle.

There was no music playing inside the car, which made it feel rather quiet.

Lin Yoona held the steering wheel with one hand and casually rested the other hand on the gear shift.

But for some reason, ever since she hung up the phone call from Lin Xiuyuan, driven out of the parking lot, and now, she has been glancing at Kim Tae-yeon in the passenger seat from time to time.

Once, twice, three times... until the Nth time, Kim Tae-yeon finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Yoona, why are you staring at me like that?"

Turning her head to the side, Kim Tae-yeon asked with a mix of curiosity and ease, "Is there something on my face? They've been staring at me since just now."

Yoona shook her head and said slowly and softly, "No, I just wanted to see your expression now so I could make a comparison later."

"What are you saying?" Kim Tae-yeon raised an eyebrow, amused... oh, she didn't have an eyebrow anymore.

"Well, it's nothing."

After saying that, Yoona looked away from the traffic ahead, but then changed her tone and asked a question.

"Unnie, what do you think is the most unbelievable thing you've ever seen in your life?"

This unexpected question startled Kim Tae-yeon.

The car fell silent for a moment, with only the soft sound of tires gliding gently across the road.

Turning her head to look out the window, Kim Tae-yeon saw a familiar dessert shop. The signboard was still the same old blue and white neon sign from back then, as if time had never gone by.

A few seconds later, she slowly looked away, turned to look at Yoona, and spoke with a hint of a smile.

"The most unbelievable thing... many of them are outrageous, but if I really had to choose one... I think it would be your statement that you like Xiuyuan. You've only known each other for a short time, and you're already so serious about it."

Upon hearing this, Lim Yoona didn't rush to respond, but simply chuckled, "You'll find out soon enough, unnie."

Kim Tae-yeon blinked, a strange smile curving her lips. "And Yoona, what's the most unbelievable thing you've ever heard?"

Lin Yoona didn't answer, but simply pressed the accelerator lightly, and the car accelerated through a brightly lit intersection.

"Unnie, ask me again when we have dinner tonight." She then chuckled and replied, "If you still want to ask then, I'll answer you."

Faced with this answer, Kim Tae-yeon was genuinely looking forward to it, saying, "Then I'll wait and see what comes out."

The two chatted as the car continued its journey, passing towering buildings and dappled streetlights.

The night breeze brushed against the car window, bringing a cool sensation, as if driving into a future yet to be revealed.

……

And at the same time.

In the apartment in 2013.

Jessica Jung, who had already arranged the trinkets on the shelf, glanced at the closed door and frowned. "That guy has been gone for a while now, why hasn't he come back yet?"

"I don't know, I guess they're waiting for everyone to come together."

On the sofa, Lin Xiaolu sat cross-legged, leaning against the cushions, watching TV. The rare moment of leisure made her very relaxed.

"How long will it take? Zhenli will probably have dinner ready by now."

"Not so fast, unnie. Why don't you sit down and rest for a bit? Didn't you get up very early this morning? Aren't you tired?"

In response to Jessica Jung's statement, Lin Xiaolu smiled and pulled her to sit down next to her, then handed her a peach and asked curiously, "By the way, unnie, what do you think will happen if things continue like this?"

"How could we have imagined this? Xiu Yuan was right when he said that from the moment he opened that door, everything became uncertain."

After sitting down, Jessica Jung hesitated for a moment, first answering Lin Xiaolu's question, and then continued, "Yoona, what are you worried about?"

"I'm not worried at all." Lin Xiaolu waved her hand. "Everything is going too smoothly right now, and it won't be too bad if we just follow the same pattern in the future. Compared to over there, at least we have the right to choose, and I'm very content."

The phrase "contentment brings happiness" has never disappeared from Lin Xiaolu's character.

"Contentment brings happiness."

Jessica Jung couldn't help but laugh after hearing this, "That's good, at least we won't have any regrets, and we can keep moving towards the dreams we want to achieve and become the people we truly want to be."

She was halfway through her sentence when a certain image flashed into her mind.

That was the scene when she and Lin Xiuyuan first traveled to 2025, and the two of them were standing on the rooftop enjoying the breeze.

Suddenly, she felt a surge of interest and thought she would go with him over there later to enjoy the evening breeze and chat.

Just then, the kitchen door opened, and Sulli poked her head out and asked, "Unnie, when are oppa and the others coming? I'm wondering if I should start cooking. If they're going to be late, I'll wait a bit, otherwise it'll get cold."

Upon hearing the voice, Jessica Jung thought for a moment and replied, "Didn't you say there was soup? There's no rush. Sulli, why don't you come out and rest for a bit?"

Hearing this, Shirley came out and sat down on the other side of the sofa. "The soup is already cooking!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Little Snowball."

Lin Xiaolu grinned and hugged her, rubbing her face against hers. Then she turned to look at Jessica Jung and said, "Unnie, look, isn't Sulli's complexion getting better and better lately?"

Jessica Jung nodded gently, her tone soft, "Yes, once you've resolved the knot in your heart and stopped hurting yourself internally, you naturally feel much more energetic and radiant."

"Does she look radiant?"

This word reminded Sulli of the 'miraculous phenomenon' that Yoona and Krystal had mentioned before. She then secretly glanced at the two unnies, still not daring to mention it to them, fearing that her oppa would also be drained dry here.

……

While the three of them were chatting in the apartment, on the other side of 2025, Yoona finally drove Taeyeon to that familiar alley.

As the car slowly came to a stop, Kim Tae-yeon subconsciously looked out the window to check her surroundings, then suddenly turned her head to look at the alleyway beyond the car window, her tone tinged with surprise.

"Huh? Isn't this the alley next to the tavern?"

"Yes, that's right, unnie."

As she turned off the engine, Yoona picked up her phone and replied with a smile, "Let's go, we've arrived at Xiuyuan's house."

"Is his home here?"

Kim Tae-yeon got out of the car with a suspicious look on her face, looking around until she saw Im Yoon-ah standing in front of the villa surrounded by high walls. Only then did a look of shock appear on her face.

"Wait, this is... Xiu Yuan's house?"

"That's right, isn't it? You never expected that!"

Seeing Kim Tae-yeon's expression, Lim Yoon-a couldn't help but laugh, because the other woman's expression was almost exactly the same as when she first came.

While Kim Tae-yeon was still in a daze, she had already skillfully completed the fingerprint verification and iris recognition, and gently pushed open the villa door.

"Wait a minute, Yoona." Kim Tae-yeon snapped out of her daze upon seeing this and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "How far have things progressed between you and Xiu Yuan? How come you can come and go from his house so easily?"

"You can think about this yourself in a bit~ Now let's go inside." Lim Yoona pulled Kim Tae-yeon, who was still in a daze, inside.

The moment Kim Tae-yeon stepped into the courtyard, her mouth was almost agape in an "O" shape.

The villa in front of us is even more stunning than its exterior, with its huge floor-to-ceiling windows, marble-paved courtyard, and warm interior lighting that exudes an exquisite and elegant style.

All of this was far from her impression of Lin Xiuyuan. She followed Lin Yun'er into the house with an expression that was half shocked and half scrutinizing.

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan got up from the sofa, smiled and came over. He first greeted Lin Yoona, and then his gaze shifted to Kim Tae-yeon beside him.

It seems that everyone who knows he lives in this villa would have a similar expression.

Interestingly, even Lin Xiuyuan himself couldn't say exactly how much the villa cost.

It's not that I don't care, it's that I genuinely don't know.

Soon after stepping into the living room, Kim Tae-yeon's first reaction was an exclamation of surprise, "Wow~ It's even more luxurious in here than outside! Xiu Yuan, you're not some kind of second-generation chaebol, are you, trying to experience some kind of lifestyle with us here?"

"What if I said yes?" Lin Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow and retorted easily, "Taeyeon, how about you consider getting on my good side? I promise you won't be disappointed."

Seeing that the problem had been pushed back to Kim Tae-yeon, Lim Yoon-ah next to her also burst out laughing.

"Sigh, never mind."

Kim Tae-yeon shook her head slightly, her tone joking yet tinged with self-deprecation, "I'm almost semi-retired, I don't want to fly too high anymore. This state is just right now, singing occasionally, appearing on a show, and resting the rest of the time."

"Isn't that perfect?" Lin Xiuyuan laughed as well. "I just happen to need someone who has time to keep me company."

Just as Kim Tae-yeon was about to say something, Lin Xiuyuan continued, "Hey, where's Zero? Didn't Yoona just say you took him out for a walk?"

"Oh, I took it to the hospital to have the doctor check it out and give it a bath."

Kim Tae-yeon explained that although the situation that happened in the afternoon had passed, she was still a little worried.

"okay."

Lin Xiuyuan didn't say anything about it. He nodded and glanced at the time. "Let's go then. Everyone must be getting impatient. We should go eat too."

After saying that, Lin Xiuyuan waved to Lin Yoona and Kim Tae-yeon and led them to the portal.

Lin Xiuyuan and Lin Yun'er exchanged a knowing glance, and then gently opened the door.

"Let's go, unnie~"

With a smile, Lim Yoona pushed the still-dazed Kim Tae-yeon inside.

Caught off guard, Kim Tae-yeon stumbled and staggered into the room.

The next second, as the foot landed, the scene before my eyes seemed to have had its color tone suddenly changed.

Kim Tae-yeon originally wanted to turn around and complain to Im Yoon-ah, but the moment she turned her head, her body seemed to be suddenly paused by an invisible force.

She felt the air suddenly freeze, and several unfamiliar yet familiar gazes were falling on her; even the light seemed to slow down.

Kim Tae-yeon instinctively looked away and gazed straight ahead.

This time, she clearly saw the familiar figure sitting on the sofa, biting into fruit.

Long hair, bright eyes, thin lips, and that face that, even after so many years, still exists in her memory.

It's that person who has already left us forever in reality...

It is Sherry, it is also Mari, and it is also that adorable little snowball.

At that moment, the air suddenly froze.

Kim Tae-yeon felt as if she had been struck by some invisible emotion, and her soul trembled violently.

She stared wide-eyed, her lips slightly parted, but she couldn't utter a single word.

She didn't even realize that she had subconsciously taken a step back, as if she wanted to escape, or as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing was real.

It's not a photograph, not a dream, and certainly not a hallucination.

The girl who only lived in eulogies, bouquets, and her nighttime tears was sitting on the sofa not far from her.

Wearing a casual white T-shirt, her hair was casually tied into a ponytail, and she was holding a bitten peach in her hand, staring at her with a somewhat dazed expression.

"Taeyeon unnie?"

Shirley spoke first, her voice soft and tinged with doubt, yet so genuine.

That "Unnie" was like a knife, cutting through the deepest defenses in Kim Tae-yeon's heart.

Her eyes instantly reddened, and tears welled up.

Her lips trembled slightly, yet she couldn't utter a complete sentence. She could only stare intently at that face, afraid that it would disappear from her sight again in the next second.

"What's wrong... why aren't you all moving?"

Kim Tae-yeon murmured, her voice trembling violently.

Lin Xiaolu, who had been chatting and laughing, was startled by her sudden appearance and stood there stunned for several seconds before she reacted, "Wait... Taeyeon unnie? What are you doing here?"

"Taeyeon".

Jessica Jung finally snapped out of her shock, slowly stood up, took two steps toward her, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

She hesitated as she looked at Kim Tae-yeon, who was clearly different from the Kim Tae-yeon she had met yesterday in terms of clothing, appearance, state, and even figure. Her lips twitched, but she didn't know what to say.

Kim Tae-yeon remained frozen in place.

From Sulli's appearance, to the young Lin Xiaolu, and now to Jessica Jung, whom we haven't seen in a long time.

The relaxed and playful mood that had led them to the dinner appointment completely collapsed at that moment.

Countless possibilities flashed through her mind like lightning, but they were all shattered by Shirley's "Unnie".

Tears welled up in my eyes and suddenly fell uncontrollably.

“Shirley…” she called softly, hesitantly, tentatively, “Why… are you still here? Why are you all here?”

Just then, Lin Xiuyuan and Lin Yun'er stepped into the time portal one after the other.

The door clicked shut behind me.

Upon hearing the noise, Kim Tae-yeon instinctively turned around, her gaze falling on them. Especially when she saw Im Yoon-a, her pupils constricted sharply.

Because on the sofa not far away, there was another "Lim Yoona".

At that moment, all the doubts in her heart exploded, and Kim Tae-yeon suddenly shifted her gaze to Lin Xiu-yuan, as if all the mysteries were gathered on him.

Lin Xiuyuan simply smiled slightly, his tone as relaxed as if nothing had happened.

"Taeyeon, do you remember you said you'd treat me to dinner this afternoon?"

“Hmm…” Kim Tae-yeon nodded mechanically, like a puppet being led around.

"Now look at this situation, and think about how many meals you'll have to treat me to in the future."

He paused, then added meaningfully.

"By the way, this is—2013."

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(End of this chapter)