Chapter 84

5:00 PM.

"Unnie Eun-jung, Bora's family is so rich, they actually live here!" Park Ji-yeon, who had been invited to attend the birthday party of Jeon Bora, followed three others in a taxi to a villa complex in Gangnam. Looking at the independent villas, Park Ji-yeon couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

Wearing a yellow coat, Park Ji-yeon had long hair and looked very youthful and cute.

Han Eun-jung, standing beside her, also curiously observed the surroundings. After a moment's thought, she said, "Bora's parents are both seniors in the industry, so they must have made a lot of money in the past. Let's go, we'll press the doorbell, it should be here!"

Park Hyo-min and Park In-jeong, who were also nearby, followed along. After a week of living and interacting together, everyone had more or less accepted Park In-jeong's inclusion, even though she wasn't a CCM trainee but had trained at S.M. for several years. Since her skills were solid and her personality was good, there was no reason to exclude her.

Park In-jeong also breathed a sigh of relief. When Kim Gwang-ju directly invited her to join the company and included her in the debut plan, she was very worried, mainly about whether the other members would reject her. After all, no one likes a sudden addition.

However, to Park In-jeong's relief, Lee Ji-hyeon's presence alleviated much of the awkwardness and helped everyone communicate more quickly.

Wearing a black hoodie, Park Hyo-min held an umbrella and walked beside Park In-jeong. Suddenly, she said in a somewhat whimsical tone, "BBQ in the rain would be pretty interesting, right!"

The other three turned their heads and looked at the slightly excited Park Hyo-min with a black line on their faces, then sighed in unison and turned away.

"Click!"

Just as they pressed the doorbell and identified themselves through the intercom, the villa's gate opened directly.

The four of them, each holding their gifts, entered the villa with curious hearts.

...

"Hey~~ Can you stop eating already!!!!"

Seeing Lee Hwalee, who was constantly sneaking food in the kitchen under the pretense of helping, Jeon Bora, who was working hard to decorate with balloons and other decorations, was really angry.

On someone's birthday, there should be surprises, right? Just the sight of it when you get home should be enough to make you cry with joy...

But what about her?

Rubbing her slightly sore face, Jeon Bora's resentment grew more and more. In the past few hours, Lee Hwalee had only taken out the electric grill, hung some lights, and then holed up in the computer room.

This made Jeon Bora feel like today wasn't her birthday, but rather Lee Hwalee's.

Wearing a white T-shirt, Lee Hwalee and Lee Ji-hyeon, who was cooking, looked like a couple. At this moment, Lee Hwalee was genuinely surprised; he hadn't expected Lee Ji-hyeun's cooking skills to be so good. Compared to his and his "cheap" sister's almost dark kitchen-level skills, this was like a master chef.

After eating another beautifully sauced crab, Lee Hwalee turned his head and said, "I'm just taste-testing. You know, in ancient times, before the emperor ate, someone would always taste the food first. I'm doing this for your safety and health, Bora. You really don't understand my heart. I'm so hurt, I'm going to eat another one!"

"Slap!"

"No more eating, go help cut the meat!" Lee Ji-hyeun turned around and accurately hit Lee Hwalee's right hand, which was covered in sauce, with her chopsticks, then smiled and gave instructions.

Seeing Lee Ji-hyeun's smile, Lee Hwalee suddenly thought of something and said in a flattering tone, "Ji-hyeun~~!"

"What, what are you doing!" Lee Hwalee's unexpectedly intimate tone and the way he moved closer startled Lee Ji-hyeun, who said in a slightly flustered manner.

Meanwhile, Jeon Bora, who had been completely ignored, suddenly widened her eyes and stared straight at the two who were almost touching.

"CCM's office is in Yeonhyeon-dong, Gangnam, right?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Is the food at your company good? Do you get meat?"

"Um, it's pretty good!"

"Pretty good isn't enough. You have to eat well for all three meals. How about this: your company is only a ten-minute walk from here, so why don't you come here for lunch from now on? I'll make sure there's meat at every meal. Of course, you'll have to cook it yourself. Bora can come too; she's still growing!"

"Who's still growing!"

Lee Ji-hyeun suddenly felt speechless. Although she was a bit nervous when Lee Hwalee got close, hearing this made her forget all her nervousness.

It turns out this guy just wants a full-time chef.

"Go cut the vegetables, and no more sneaking food!" Lee Ji-hyeun responded to Lee Hwalee's ridiculous invitation with a rare neutral expression, then turned back to continue making the sauce.

Lee Hwalee, on the other hand, subconsciously touched his nose, which was covered in red sauce, and then silently turned around to cut the vegetables.

Jeon Bora, who had suddenly tensed up, suddenly felt much more relaxed. However, when she saw the red sauce on Lee Hwalee's nose, she almost burst out laughing. Seeing that Lee Hwalee hadn't noticed, she held back her laughter and started tidying up the room.

A moment later, the doorbell rang. Jeon Bora quickly ran to the monitor by the door, saw her friends on the screen, and immediately opened the door, then held an umbrella and left the house.

"Lee Hwalee!"

"What?"

Hearing Lee Ji-hyeun's voice from behind, Lee Hwalee didn't turn his head and replied, then continued to battle the beef with his knife.

"Do... do you really consider us friends?"

"Clang!"

The knife hit the cutting board with a heavy thud. Lee Hwalee turned around, looking at Lee Ji-hyeun, who hadn't turned, with a surprised and puzzled expression.

"Why are you asking that?"

Lee Hwalee came back to his senses, frowned, and asked in confusion. He didn't understand why Lee Ji-hyeun would suddenly say this.

At this moment, Lee Ji-hyeun suddenly turned around. Her face was still smiling, but it was very sincere: "I've thought about it many times, and I always feel that this isn't right. If we're really friends, we should help each other. You've helped me and Bora a lot, so much that you've made my dreams come true. But I've only thanked you verbally and given you a meaningless promise. Every time I see you looking tired, I feel a bit guilty, thinking that as a friend, I haven't helped you at all. Even though you always say we're friends, you haven't told us anything."

...

Lee Hwalee was really stunned by Lee Ji-hyeun's self-reproachful and somewhat accusatory words. He hadn't thought that Lee Ji-hyeun would care about these things, be so sensitive... and consider him a true friend.