Chapter 5

"Lafrance, this should be French, right?" Jessica took the book from Soo-young's hand, flipped through it, and pointed to a few English words, reading them aloud.

"French? Omo! Hyun, Senior Saint-Yuan is much more impressive than you." Soo-young had always thought that Seo-yeon was the most studious person she had ever met, but she never expected to meet such a "genius" today.

After hearing this, Seo-yeon smiled slightly, without any sign of displeasure.

"What is this?" Jessica couldn't help but feel curious about the senior that Hyun often mentioned, and her eyes scanned the table. Suddenly, she noticed a card similar to an ID card, picked it up, and muttered to herself.

"Seoul University student ID!" Yoo-ri, who was standing nearby, heard this and leaned over to take a look, exclaiming in surprise. Her voice rose sharply like a spring.

"Really?" Soo-young immediately pushed her head in front of Yoo-ri, calling out in surprise as she examined it closely.

Seo-yeon also leaned over with a hint of curiosity.

"Issue date: February 15, 2004, it's today!"

"Wow—"

"Hyun, how about you share your Saint-Yuan brother with me?" Soo-young suddenly smiled brightly at Seo-yeon.

"Hey! Soo-young, how can you do that?" Yoo-ri slapped Soo-young's arm and said, "I should get a share too."

"Then I'll take a share too." Jessica smiled slightly and said lightly.

A slightly childish laugh echoed in the bedroom, and Jessica felt that the hard work of the whole day's training seemed to ease a lot with the playful banter among the group.

In the kitchen, Yoon-a stood there, completely at a loss with the various ingredients, staring blankly.

"Being a trainee is very tiring, right?" Kim Saint-Yuan didn't mind, organizing the ingredients while asking Yoon-a.

"Um." For some reason, hearing Kim Saint-Yuan's slightly hoarse voice, Yoon-a couldn't help but pour out her heart.

"The trainees at S.M. are the most competitive. To succeed, besides innate talent, hard work is essential." Kim Saint-Yuan continued.

"Uh-huh."

"Training not only requires effort but also dedication. If you resist from the heart due to fatigue, ten days of training won't be as effective as one hour of focused training."

"Uh-huh."

...

Yoon-a watched Kim Saint-Yuan skillfully handle the ingredients, listening to his hoarse voice, and couldn't help but be overwhelmed with emotion, recalling her childhood.

Is this person really the stern "uncle" she knew? Although it was still "lecturing," it was filled with deep concern, as if coming from the heart, making her feel no resentment at all.

With each word from Kim Saint-Yuan, their five-year friendship seemed to suddenly elevate, rising rapidly, like a seed that had been dry for a long time and suddenly received water, growing uncontrollably.

"Saint-Yuan brother, what's wrong with your voice?" Gradually, Yoon-a started helping Kim Saint-Yuan and then suddenly asked.

"There's a problem with my vocal cords, but it's fine now. It just needs time to recover." Kim Saint-Yuan smiled and said.

"Then what about you in the future..."

"I've already left S.M. and am preparing to be a regular guest on a variety show, then gradually accumulate experience and learn hosting." Kim Saint-Yuan didn't want to talk too much about himself and began to share some awkward and funny stories from his trainee days and after his debut.

Before long, the kitchen was filled with exaggerated laughter.

Yoon-a couldn't figure out why Kim Saint-Yuan had changed so drastically, and every time she tried to ask, he would brush it off lightly. Yoon-a couldn't help but pretend to be angry but was always tempted by Kim Saint-Yuan's delicious food.

"Yoon-a, eat less, you're going to finish all the sweet and sour pork yourself." Kim Saint-Yuan couldn't help but say again to Yoon-a, who was secretly sucking her fingers.

"There's still so much left." After becoming closer to Kim Saint-Yuan, Yoon-a began to show her boyish side, exaggerating, "And Saint-Yuan brother, you don't know how fierce Soo-young is at grabbing food. If I don't eat more now, she'll finish it all later!"

"Alright, now let's serve the dishes." Kim Saint-Yuan turned off the stove and said to Yoon-a.

Since it was the first time hosting Seo-yeon and the others, and also a housewarming party, Kim Saint-Yuan had prepared a very rich meal. To prevent the dishes from getting cold, he had covered them and not yet brought them to the table.

"I'll go call them to help." Yoon-a's eyes twinkled, and she bounced out, grabbing another piece of sweet and sour pork on the way.

Kim Saint-Yuan shook his head helplessly and started preparing the rice, thankful he had bought plates and bowls in advance.

"Let's eat!" Yoon-a's voice, like a boy's, echoed into the bedroom before she even arrived.

"Yoon-a, you're imitating a boy's voice again, that's not good." Seo-yeon came out and said seriously to Yoon-a.

"What smell?" Before Yoon-a could speak, Soo-young suddenly flared her nostrils and stared at Yoon-a, asking.

"Um, of course it's the smell of the food Saint-Yuan brother made." Yoon-a put her thumb and index finger in her mouth, mumbling, and turned to go downstairs.

"No!" Soo-young's eyes flashed with suspicion, and she suddenly grabbed Yoon-a's arm, pulling her fingers out of her mouth.

"Hey! Yoon-a, did you eat all the meat by yourself!" Although it was a question, Soo-young's tone was accusatory, staring at Yoon-a's greasy fingers with a murderous look.

"No! How could I?" Yoon-a shook her head quickly in denial.

"Still denying, look at the oil on your fingers, you..." Soo-young glared, almost losing her temper, "I'll eat you!"

Saying that, Soo-young opened her mouth and bit Yoon-a's two fingers.

"Ah! Soo-young, spare me! There's still a lot of meat, really a lot!" Yoon-a cried out in distress, as if Soo-young was really going to bite off her fingers.

"Omo, does this count as an indirect kiss?" Yoo-ri, watching the two, suddenly had a mischievous idea and called out.

"Hey! Yoo-ri." What was just a playful fight between girls suddenly became awkward, and Soo-young immediately turned to bite Yoo-ri's cheek.

"Ha ha," Yoo-ri was prepared and ran downstairs, suppressing her laughter and walking out with a virtuous expression.

"Senior Saint-Yuan, hello."

"Don't mind me, I didn't see anything." Kim Saint-Yuan's lips curled into a strange smile, and he turned back into the kitchen.

Yoo-ri was startled and tried to run away but was tightly held by a pair of arms. It turned out that while she was greeting Kim Saint-Yuan, Soo-young had already caught up and didn't bother to compose herself like Yoo-ri.

"Ah! Senior Saint-Yuan, how can you do this?" Yoo-ri couldn't help but cry out, and was soon laughing uncontrollably from the tickling on her sides.

"Soo-young, I'm... I'm sorry, I... I was wrong!" Yoo-ri laughed and gasped for breath.

Jessica followed closely behind Soo-young, intending to remind her to be polite, but was taken aback by Kim Saint-Yuan's words and couldn't help but look at Yoon-a.

"How could I know that Saint-Yuan brother would change so much." Yoon-a, looking like an innocent deer, bounced into the kitchen.

"Soo-young, stop teasing Yoo-ri," Seo-yeon, who was also surprised by Kim Saint-Yuan's attitude, said to the playful Soo-young and Yoo-ri.

"Soo-young, Yoon-a went to the kitchen." Seo-yeon, seeing her persuasion had no effect, puffed out her cheeks and said to Soo-young with a quick glance.

Sure enough, this worked. Soo-young immediately let go of Yoo-ri and dashed to the kitchen to "help."

"Hyun, I never thought you, who are usually the most well-behaved, would have this side!" Yoo-ri, lying on the sofa, looked at Seo-yeon in surprise.

"Yoo-ri, I'm going to help." Seo-yeon's face remained unchanged as she walked obediently to the kitchen.

Yoo-ri, speechless, tidied up the sofa and also went to help in the kitchen.

Sweet and sour pork, cola chicken wings, Kung Pao chicken, fish-flavored pork slices... As Soo-young served the dishes, her nostrils flared, and a hint of drool appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"Saint-Yuan brother's Chinese dishes are amazing!" Yoon-a showed off the dish names she had learned from Kim Saint-Yuan and concluded.

"Hey! Yoon-a, didn't you say your relationship with Saint-Yuan brother was just so-so?" Soo-young, unable to bear Yoon-a's boasting in her ear, looked around to see if Kim Saint-Yuan was nearby and whispered.

"I was lying!" Yoon-a stuck out her tongue mischievously and said, "Soo-young, why did you start calling Saint-Yuan brother so quickly?"

"We are like sisters, and since Saint-Yuan brother is your and Hyun's brother, he is naturally our brother too." Soo-young said without changing her expression.

"I think you just want to use Saint-Yuan brother as a free meal ticket." Yoo-ri, passing by, said lightly.

"Hey! Yoo-ri, why did you change your tone too?"

...

After the dishes were served, the six of them sat around the table, and Kim Saint-Yuan gestured for everyone to help themselves.

"Thank you, Saint-Yuan brother, we will enjoy it."

As soon as the words were out, the girls' chopsticks moved like dragonflies skimming the water, flying quickly.

"Mmm, delicious!"

"Yoon-a, don't grab the meat from my bowl." After bullying Yoo-ri, Soo-young felt much closer to Kim Saint-Yuan and scolded Yoon-a without hesitation.

"Who told you to put all the meat in your bowl." Yoon-a pouted and said.

"These two girls, they're not ashamed." Jessica, the oldest of the five, couldn't help but feel embarrassed and frequently tapped Soo-young's knee under the table, but was completely ignored.

"Jessica, " Seo-yeon suddenly called softly.

Jessica followed Seo-yeon's gaze and realized that the dishes in front of her had almost been divided between Soo-young and Yoo-ri.