Hancheng: There is a door between me and the future

Chapter 243 Park Hyo-min's "Fiasco" as a Stalker (Please subscribe and vote)

On a bright afternoon in 2013, the streets of Seoul were bathed in sunlight, which cast dappled shadows on the glass outside the coffee shop.

Park Hyo-min sat in the car, her brows furrowed slightly, her expression somewhat silent.

Today, she had only planned to visit her friend's flower shop, order a coffee, browse through some books, and take a few nice photos to post on social media—that would have been a perfect day.

But the images of those two people, Park Jiyeon and Ham Eunjung, kept replaying in my mind.

The main problem is that she has been very free outside of rehearsals lately, and she has found herself often "isolated," which makes her feel uncomfortable.

In the past, she probably wouldn't have cared about these small things, but after what happened last year, her fear and sensitivity have increased significantly.

In particular, their maknae and Ham Eun-jung suddenly joined that mysterious "pub member" group, and their behavior and expressions became strange and unusual.

He always acts furtively and cautiously, as if he's hiding some kind of secret.

This made Park Hyomin feel a little worried: Could it be that these two have joined some kind of "cult"?
So she followed them to the coffee shop.

Through the glass, Park Hyomin saw Park Jiyeon sitting by the window, with Sulli and Lim Soo-won next to her.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the three of them in warmth and a relaxed atmosphere. They chatted happily while sipping coffee.

Park Hyo-min muttered to herself, "That Lin Xiuyuan's tavern... could it really be a gathering place for a cult?"

After speaking, she shook her head again, feeling it was unlikely. "That doesn't make sense either. That place is so small that it can't even fit a few people. How could there be a brainwashing session there... But something just doesn't feel right."

Her fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel, her heart filled with both curiosity and trepidation.

However, Park Hyo-min did not intend to act rashly, but only wanted to observe and gather information first.

However, she overestimated her own caution.

Or rather, her behavior itself was somewhat foolish.

Just then, Park Jiyeon suddenly turned her head to look out the window, her gaze fixed on a car on the opposite side of the road.

The familiar car model and appearance made her mutter to herself, "Huh, it looks like Hyomin unnie's car."

"Is it the same style?" Sherry, who was next to her, followed her gaze and looked over.

"I don't know, I can't see the license plate." Park Jiyeon shook her head, her brows furrowed slightly, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

Neither of them had very good eyesight, so after listening to their conversation, Lin Xiuyuan narrowed his eyes, glanced at the license plate number, and then spoke it aloud.

Then Park Jiyeon's eyes widened suddenly, "It really is Hyomin unnie's car, why is she here?"

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Xiuyuan's laughter came from inside the shop, tinged with teasing, "Look at the sign over there, it's a men's massage parlor...tsk tsk, Jiyeon, isn't Hyomin being a little too thirsty?"

As his voice faded, Park Jiyeon and Sulli finally noticed which shop Park Hyomin's car was parked in front of.

The brightly lit signboard prominently displayed the word "massage," and next to the door were promotional posters featuring men as the main clients and women as the target customers—the images were direct and explicit.

The sunlight shone on these signs, making people squint, but it also made them feel a little uneasy, and the atmosphere suddenly became slightly tense.

This situation made Park Jiyeon immediately pick up her phone, muttering, "That can't be right, even if unnie is blind, she wouldn't do this... It's probably just a coincidence that it stopped there, I'll make a call and ask."

She skillfully opened her contacts and quickly dialed Park Hyo-min's number.

The call notification on the screen was exceptionally clear in the quiet car.

"Hey, Hyomin unnie, what are you doing right now?"

On the other end of the phone, Park Jiyeon's tone was somewhat concerned, but her curiosity was clearly undisguised.

Park Hyomin, who was lost in thought in her car, was startled by the phone call. Her fingers trembled, and she almost dropped the phone on her lap.

She quickly waved her hand and said in a low voice, "Ah, Jiyeon, I... I was just about to go out for a walk and see the scenery, what's wrong?"

"shop??"

Park Jiyeon's voice carried a hint of suspicion, "You're not... um, thinking of going to some men's massage parlor, are you? Unnie, don't be impulsive, those kinds of places are dirty, don't just go in."

Park Hyomin was stunned. She didn't understand what she was talking about at first, but her eyes subconsciously looked towards the coffee shop. She was immediately fixed on by three pairs of eyes staring at her.

Lin Xiuyuan, Shirley, and Park Jiyeon were all looking in their direction through the glass.

The next second, she glanced at the shop sign next door. The eye-catching word "massage" and the posters made her head feel like it was on fire, and her face turned so red that it almost bled.

"Ah...no, it really isn't!"

Park Hyomin quickly explained, subconsciously rubbing her face, "I just got here, parked the car, and was just about to come over to buy a cup of coffee..."

On the other end of the phone, Park Jiyeon couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, unnie, I saw your car. You parked it by such a coincidence."

"Jiyeon...shut up."

Park Hyo-min was both embarrassed and angry, but secretly she breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, the misunderstanding was exposed in time, preventing too much confusion.

Then, at Park Jiyeon's enthusiastic invitation, Park Hyomin agreed to go to the coffee shop for a while.

A moment later, she got out of the car, straightened her clothes and hair, and quickly walked into the coffee shop.

Park Jiyeon and Sulli had already stood up and were smiling as they gestured for her to come over.

"Come, sit here."

Park Jiyeon waved and pointed to the spot next to her.

Park Hyomin nodded slightly and sat down between Park Jiyeon and Lin Xiuyuan.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing her in warmth mixed with a slight tension, making her feel slightly flushed.

After all, the fact that Lin Xiuyuan saw her calling him a "male prostitute" made her feel like she wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground; she even wanted to die.

Fortunately, Lin Xiuyuan just smiled faintly and didn't say anything to embarrass her.

On the contrary, her own maknae, Park Jiyeon's words almost made her freeze on the spot, "It's okay, unnie, it's just a minor misunderstanding, don't be nervous. Besides, it's normal to call out, it's a daily need, but I think you should find a more secluded place next time..."

"Hey~ Park Jiyeon, I already said it was a misunderstanding." Park Hyomin glared at Park Jiyeon, embarrassed and angry.

Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan quickly took the opportunity to pull Shirley out to the nearby cake shop to buy bread, giving the two of them space to compete.

Sure enough, the next second Park Jiyeon took out Park Hyomin's spare phone and smiled slyly: "Unnie, you didn't follow me here, did you?"

After learning about the "time portal," Park Jiyeon crammed on knowledge about stalking and counter-stalking. At least just now, when she took her phone out of her bag and saw a spare phone that didn't belong to her, and then ran into Park Hyomin's car... so many coincidences made her involuntarily suspicious.

Park Hyomin took the phone back, her brows furrowing slightly, her eyes filled with a mixture of reproach and curiosity.

She gripped her phone tightly, her knuckles tightening slightly, her voice tinged with helplessness and honesty, "Yeah, that's right, I didn't see anyone in the dorm this morning. So I was wondering what you and Eun-jung were up to this time, but I didn't expect you to be here to see Lin Xiuyuan and Shirley. You should have told me sooner."

Park Jiyeon was taken aback at first, then couldn't help but laugh, crossing her arms and tilting her head slightly, "Ah, unnie, you're so boring."

Her smile carried a hint of helplessness and a touch of teasing, with the corners of her eyes slightly upturned.

"Who told you all to be like this?"

Park Hyomin placed her phone on her lap, tapping the phone case lightly with her fingers, her voice tinged with a hint of anger, "Yesterday we were saying we're 'sisters of one mind,' but the next day you just left me all alone. Is that what you call being of one mind?"

Park Jiyeon quickly waved her hand, a hint of apology and sadness flashing in her eyes, "Unnie, we didn't... we didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just that..."

Park Hyomin waved her hand impatiently, interrupting her, her eyes wide with a half-joking reproach.

"I know about the membership, you've mentioned it many times. But Jiyeon, I'll ask you seriously this once more, is it really true that we can't talk about anything related to this membership?"

Others have joined some special clubs, but they can all say something about it, more or less. Why does your place sound like a cult? If that's the case, you really need to get out of here as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing the word "cult," Park Jiyeon almost burst out laughing. She gently touched her forehead with her fingers, a smile playing on her lips, but a hint of headache flashed in her eyes.

"Cult? No, unnie, hahaha, it's not a cult, it's just that there are some things that are hard to say, and most importantly... I need oppa's permission to say them."

Park Hyomin raised an eyebrow, crossed her arms like Park Jiyeon, leaned forward slightly, and squinted her eyes. "You signed a confidentiality agreement?"

Park Jiyeon shrugged and gestured in the air with her hand. "Unnie, just take it this way."

She did not deny that, although no one actually signed it, everyone who joined the church basically tacitly accepted the agreement.

Park Hyomin's lips twitched, and she stared at her with a look that was half helpless and half teasing, "Hmph, you guys... are always so secretive."

outside.

Lin Xiuyuan and Shirley carried the cake they had just bought and walked briskly out of the cake shop, preparing to return to the coffee shop.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped out the door, they saw Li Shaoxi coming out of the coffee shop, carrying a small trash bag, and tiptoeing to throw the trash into the outside trash can.

Lin Xiuyuan coughed lightly and said with a smile, "Hi~ Don't you have any trash cans in your store?"

Li Shaoxi was startled, her hand trembled, and the garbage bag almost fell to the ground. She quickly looked up, a look of surprise and nervousness on her face. "Ah, ah, because it smells, it's usually thrown outside the store."

Sherry tilted her head slightly, her eyes gentle, and a faint smile on her lips as she introduced herself, "Hello, my name is Sherry."

"Oh, hello, my name is Li Shaoxi." Li Shaoxi's voice was a little low, with a hint of shyness.

Shirley smiled and glanced at her, her tone gentle yet inquiring, "Li Shaoxi~ What a lovely name. Have you ever thought about entering the entertainment industry?"

Li Shaoxi paused, lowered her head and bit her lower lip, and after a moment whispered, "I...I want to."

Lin Xiuyuan narrowed his eyes, his smile carrying a hint of inquiry, "Why do you want to go in?"

Li Shaoxi pursed her lips and answered frankly, "I want to make money."

This answer was so straightforward that it was both funny and exasperating, yet it also revealed sincerity and determination, leaving no room for doubt about her good intentions.

So Shirley's smile gradually faded, her expression becoming somewhat complicated as she looked at Lee So-hee, "But... if this industry is very deep and the waters are very dirty, would you still be willing to go in?"

Li Shaoxi was startled for a moment, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

The popular idol in front of her was actually saying these things to her? This made Li Shaoxi hesitate slightly, but after a moment she nodded again in a low voice.

A resolute glint could not be concealed in her eyes; money was a pressing and realistic necessity for her.

Lin Xiuyuan chuckled softly beside him and rephrased the question, "If there were other ways to make money, would you be willing to try them?"

Li Shaoxi hesitated for a moment, her eyes flickering slightly as if she were weighing the pros and cons.

They also seemed to be wondering what these two people wanted by pulling them aside and saying these things.
Seeing Li Shaoxi hesitate, Shirley was about to speak when Lin Xiuyuan pulled her aside, "How about we exchange contact information? We can contact each other if needed. I do have some positions that require a good-looking girl to help out."

He took out his phone, the screen lit up, and handed it over.

Li Shaoxi looked at her phone and then glanced at Shirley next to her.

If Shirley hadn't been there, she would definitely have misunderstood that Lin Xiuyuan had ulterior motives towards her.

But now that Sulli, Park Jiyeon, and Park Hyomin were there, she felt much more at ease and knew she had to stay calm.

Finally, she bit her lip, her heart racing slightly, and excitedly tapped the phone screen to add the contact information.

Then he asked, "Excuse me, are you a talent scout?"

“Me?” Lin Xiuyuan pointed to himself, then turned to Shirley with a relaxed smile. “Zhenli, do you think I look like a talent scout?”

"No, oppa, you're more like an idol, it's just a pity you don't want to be one." Sulli's lips curled up, her eyes filled with a hint of approval.

After listening to their answers, Li Shaoxi finally understood the situation.

She wanted to ask something more, but her name was already being called from inside the shop, and her seniors were calling her to get back to work.

Left with no other choice, she could only bow deeply to Lin Xiuyuan and the other man to express her gratitude, and then turn and walk into the coffee shop.

Lin Xiuyuan and Shirley were left standing at the door, watching her retreating figure with a touch of melancholy.

"Oppa, do you have any other jobs that can make money?"

"I don't have one, but Jiyeon does. Let's find her an assistant to help out first and see what her personality is like. We'll see what happens next."

"Then why did you say you wanted to find a pretty girl, oppa?"

"If I don't have any requirements, then I can just pick anyone, and she'll think about it more carefully."

"So thoughtful, oppa~"

In the store.

At this moment, Park Jiyeon, who was chatting happily with Park Hyomin, was completely unaware that Lin Xiuyuan had unknowingly found her a "celebrity assistant".

Moreover, he was a complete freshman who had just graduated from high school.

　I have to go back to my hometown for a few days, so I'll rest for a few days and stop writing articles. I'll resume writing articles when I get back.

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(End of this chapter)