Chapter 14

The two people's gazes simultaneously turned to Jessica's face, making Jessica's face even redder.

"Um..." Jessica looked a bit at a loss.

"Xica, you're not sitting in someone else's seat, are you?" Tiffany asked with a mischievous look, her cute face making the expression even more vivid.

In fact, Jessica, who deep down really wanted to nod and say yes, stammered, "I really didn't bring any money, it was the boss of this place who gave it to me for free..."

Tiffany exclaimed, "You're already beautiful to this extent? I might believe if you said a man hit on you, but why would the boss give it to you?" She cherished this rare opportunity, as she was usually the one being bullied. Today, she finally had a chance to tease her queen-like good sister.

"Hey, Jessica! You've withheld so much of my pocket money, and now you won't even buy me an ice cream. I'm not going to talk to you anymore." Krystal burst out.

"Huh? What did you call me, and you're talking to me like that, do you want to die?" Jessica, after being embarrassed to the extreme, also burst out.

Tiffany, seeing the other customers looking over, quickly smiled apologetically, "Sorry, sorry."

She found the confrontation between the two sisters rather amusing and pulled Krystal, "I'll buy it for you, don't be angry."

"Pani." Jessica looked a bit embarrassed, "I'll pay you back when we get home."

"No need." Tiffany, looking pleased that she had defused the crisis, pulled the pouting Krystal to buy the ice cream. Although they couldn't find the same one Jessica had, Krystal saw a better one and ordered a mango-flavored one. However, Tiffany noticed the price was quite high. A few minutes later, Krystal sat next to Jessica, smiling and eating the ice cream, but her eyes turned cold when they glanced at her sister.

"Does Pani Onee-san not want to eat it? It's really good." Krystal asked Tiffany with a smile.

Tiffany quickly shook her head, inwardly sighing that if she bought two, she'd have to tighten her belt for the rest of the month. They were still trainees, and their monthly allowance barely covered food, mostly relying on pocket money from home. However, she said, "No, I have a body that gains weight easily, and the company has been asking me to control my weight recently." This wasn't a lie, but one ice cream wouldn't have that much effect.

"Onee-san, it's fine, it's just an ice cream." Krystal continued.

Tiffany struggled for a long time but couldn't resist the temptation of the delicious treat. She liked sweets. "Alright, you give it to me, I'll just have a taste." She said, then picked up a spoon and scooped a bite, putting it in her mouth.

It was really sweet, and it was worth the price. The high-priced items were indeed of a higher quality. The texture and flavor were so smooth, and Tiffany loved sweets. Her face was the best reflection of her enjoyment, smiling sweetly with her eyes squinting into a crescent. But why was it so cold? This ice cream seemed too icy. She opened her eyes to see Krystal staring at her coldly...

"What? Little Crystal, this was bought with my money." Tiffany was both angry and amused. This little one was really something.

"No, Onee-san, no." Krystal, realizing her mistake, quickly put on a smile. She had seen Tiffany scoop a large spoonful and instinctively glared. She was a super fan of mangoes, and the opportunities to eat mangoes were rare in Korea, where mangoes were very expensive. Now, she finally got to eat a mango ice cream, and it was so delicious. The mango-flavored ice cream, with fresh mango pieces, was icy and melted in her mouth, a heavenly treat, even better than grilled meat. She was savoring the flavor when she saw the ice cream being scooped, and she instinctively got angry. Actually, what she said to Tiffany was just a formality...

Although Jessica knew her sister very well, she still felt very embarrassed. Was this a child who had been abused for years? How could she be so obsessed with food? She wasn't usually hungry, and at fourteen, she was almost as tall as Jessica.

Krystal, who had done wrong, was very affectionate to Tiffany afterward, calling her "Onee-san" repeatedly, making Jessica start to feel jealous.

After Krystal finished eating, the three of them started wandering around the store, which had a semi-library atmosphere. Although it was quiet, many people were walking around. Everything here was appealing to the little girls, and the three of them chatted quietly and observed the other girls.

"Once we debut and earn money, I'll eat everything here." Krystal still had a small grudge.

Jessica lifted her chin and made a fierce expression, "You, who often skip out, still want to debut? What excuse did you use to run out today?"

"She said you had heatstroke and she had to take care of you to run out." Tiffany mentioned Krystal's excuse.

Krystal, with a pouting tone, said, "Pani Onee-san, how could you betray me!"

Jessica, who had come out to play, waved her fist at her, but Krystal stuck out her tongue and made a face. She knew better than anyone that her sister was just putting on an act, looking cold and fierce but actually being soft-hearted.

"This is the store owner." The three of them walked to the wall filled with photos, and Jessica pointed to Li Jingming's photo.

Krystal leaned in to take a closer look, "He's so young, I thought he'd be an uncle."

"He's so handsome, like a prince." Tiffany made a fangirl expression at the photo.

"Snap out of it, who has a prince running a dessert shop?" Jessica, seeing her friend's expression, couldn't help but sneer and puff out her cheeks.

The other photos on the wall were mostly landscapes, with some people, clearly taken during travels to record local customs. Only Li Jingming's photo was focused on the person, standing out on the wall. These photos were taken by Li Jingming during his travels around the world, mainly in European and Central Asian cities, with fewer in China and the United States, where he had stayed for a long time.

"Did you say the boss gave you the ice cream? Have you met him?" Tiffany suddenly became interested in the store owner, "Do you know his name?"

"How could I know?" Jessica lied.

"Ah, Xica, you can't even lie properly." Looking at Jessica's red face, Tiffany wasn't sure if she was lying about the boss giving her the ice cream or not knowing his name.

"I didn't." Jessica argued.

The three of them, including the little tail, played for a while and then left to have lunch together. As they were leaving, Jessica looked back, not knowing where Li Jingming or Li Kan had gone.

Li Jingming was having lunch. He had gone downstairs when he saw Jessica answering the phone, and the three people who had just arrived for work were there. He thought there wasn't much to talk about with the quiet one and decided to take a walk on the street. He was unfamiliar with Korea, like a friend he hadn't seen in years, and he wanted to get closer to the streets of Seoul. While walking, he hadn't even reached the intersection when he saw Baek Gyeom and Song Seok-jae get out of a taxi. Thanks to Song Seok-jae knowing some Korean, the two of them were looking for Li Jingming to have lunch. Li Jingming's original phone was a new smartphone from Apple, but it didn't work in Korea, and he hadn't gotten a new one since arriving the night before. So, Baek Gyeom and Song Seok-jae couldn't contact him and came directly to find him.

The three of them ran to Apgujeong, where there was a Beijing restaurant, very authentic. Li Jingming ordered a bunch of delicious Chinese dishes, including the restaurant's signature dish, roast duck. He and Baek Gyeom had both eaten authentic roast duck before, but Song Seok-jae hadn't. The crispy skin and tender meat, with a rich Beijing sauce, made him fall in love with the taste after one bite, calling it extremely satisfying.

Eating with friends was a great pleasure, but during the meal, Baek Gyeom almost lost his temper because of the alcohol.

This Korean soju, despite having the word "soju" (burning) in its name, didn't taste anything like burning. The "soju" on the label was in Chinese characters, which Baek Gyeom was very familiar with. Men couldn't drink without alcohol, and Baek Gyeom, thinking it was baijiu (Chinese liquor), took a small sip, pretending to be serious and saying he had important business in the afternoon and couldn't drink much. Then, he took a small sip while the atmosphere was good.

After that small sip, Baek Gyeom was furious. How much water had to be added to make such a bizarre drink? This was such an obvious scam. Were foreigners so easy to fool? Did they think he was a tourist because he ordered in English? He was about to find the restaurant owner, but Li Jingming stopped him, pointing to the 19% alcohol content on the bottle.

In Baek Gyeom's mind, if it was called soju, it should be at least as strong as baijiu. The elders in the Hongmen (a Chinese secret society) he knew always carried alcohol, which could be used to disinfect wounds or to quench their thirst. Having grown up with such alcohol, Baek Gyeom couldn't understand how something barely stronger than beer could be called soju. Could water in Korea burn?

Korea was a small country, and in the past, there wasn't enough grain to make high-proof alcohol. Even though the economy had improved, Koreans, who had been used to drinking this for many years, no longer pursued high-proof alcohol.

Song Seok-jae, after taking a sip, didn't feel any surge of affection for Korea. He directly switched to beer.

The three of them ate and chatted, and the division of labor was already decided. Baek Gyeom would manage all of LK's operations in Korea, becoming the CEO of the LK Group. These operations included nine LK cafes, over twenty LBS (LightBookStore) bookstores, and a small newspaper, the LDN (LightDailyNews). Song Seok-jae would manage a registered entertainment company. Under the teasing of the two, Li Jingming didn't insist on keeping the LK name. The entertainment company was called Light and Delight, abbreviated as LAD, and in Korean, it was called "Gwang Yeo Entertainment." The location was found by Li Jingming's father in Cheongdam-dong, close to where Li Jingming lived, which suited him well. The interior was already decorated, and the company documents were prepared by Li Jingming's father, everything was ready.

Li Jingming and these friends seemed to be constantly eating and drinking, not doing much serious work, but this was just the calm before the storm. They were about to create a storm in Korea and even the world, and the three of them would be at the center of it.

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**End of Chapter**