Chapter 26

After a bit of fooling around, everyone was a bit hungry. Yoojoo looked at the wall clock and said, "It's already 7:30, let's go out for dinner."

"Sure, I'm starving," everyone agreed.

Everyone put on their coats, wrapped themselves in thick scarves, went downstairs, and got into the small car they had borrowed earlier. Li Zhen drove, slowly heading east. On the way, everyone chatted and laughed, and before they knew it, they had arrived in the Jiangnan Oegyedong area.

They got out of the car, parked it in a nearby parking lot, and then entered a not-so-conspicuous barbecue restaurant. They found a relatively secluded spot to sit down and immediately called the waiter to start ordering dishes according to their ages. Since they were at a barbecue restaurant, they definitely ordered some meat dishes. Lee Hyori ordered pork belly, Yoojoo ordered ribs, Li Zhen ordered black pork, and Li Zhen also ordered梅花肉 (梅花肉 is a specific cut of pork, often translated as "pork loin" or "pork shoulder"). Zhang Chengyuan casually ordered a plate of beef. Each plate of meat was quite substantial, but with Zhang Chengyuan, the big eater, the four girls weren't worried about wasting food. Additionally, each person ordered a bowl of cold noodles to help with digestion and to clear the greasy taste in their mouths after eating the barbecue.

Soon, salt, bean powder, salad, chili sauce, steamed eggs, lettuce leaves, green peppers, and kimchi were brought to the table. Lee Hyori couldn't wait and grabbed a green pepper to eat. She took a bite and immediately felt the spiciness, but she swallowed it without showing any discomfort, saying, "It's really refreshing!" She then encouraged others to try it and even picked one to feed Zhang Chengyuan.

Yoojoo, Li Zhen, and Seo Youn had known her tricks for a long time and just watched Zhang Chengyuan without moving. Zhang Chengyuan, unsuspecting, took a bite of the green pepper, chewed a few times, and suddenly felt the spiciness rushing to his head. He made a bitter face and said, "Hyori-ssi, why is it so spicy? You're playing me!"

The four girls immediately bent over with laughter. Lee Hyori laughed for a while, then quickly grabbed a glass of water and drank it, as she had already been unable to bear the spiciness but had been enduring it to watch the show. Now that her goal was achieved, she drank water to relieve the spiciness. The considerate Li Zhen also brought a glass of water for Zhang Chengyuan to drink.

At this moment, various fresh meats were brought to the table. The auntie server lit the grill, but since there were many customers, she didn't have time to cut the meat into slices, so this task was left to Yoojoo, who had the best cooking skills and was the most considerate. Normally, the youngest and male member, Zhang Chengyuan, should have done this, but given the female-dominated group, Zhang Chengyuan naturally received special treatment from Fin.K.L.

As they ate, everyone became more and more enthusiastic, feeling that it was a rare and pleasant experience to sit together and fill their stomachs while sharing their thoughts. Since they were eating out, Lee Hyori, who usually enjoyed drinking, considered the impact on their image and did not suggest drinking to liven up the atmosphere.

While they were eating, three men in their thirties suddenly arrived. They were all about 180 cm tall, one was as big as a barrel, one wore glasses and had a gentle and friendly appearance, and one had a standard build and was somewhat handsome but not a true handsome man. Upon seeing these three, Lee Hyori and the others immediately stood up and greeted them respectfully, "Senior Kang Ho-dong, Senior Yoo Jae-suk, Senior Lee Hwi-jae, hello!"

Although Zhang Chengyuan didn't know these three, he still bowed and greeted them along with the four girls, and the three unexpected guests smiled and accepted it. After all, there was a significant age difference; the oldest member of Fin.K.L, Lee Hyori, was about 7 years younger than the youngest of the three, Lee Hwi-jae, and they had debuted a few years earlier. It was only natural for the girls to treat them with respect.

Kang Ho-dong, Yoo Jae-suk, and Lee Hwi-jae were all new faces in the television variety show industry in recent years. Although they were called new faces, they had been in the industry for at least six or seven years. Being an MC was much harder than being a singer or a model, as good TV programs were often monopolized by senior MCs, and new faces usually had to start as minor characters and build their reputation over time.

Even after a lot of hard work, they couldn't compare to entertainment stars or popular singers in terms of status in the entertainment industry. This was due to the relatively low status of the variety show industry, as Korean variety shows had not yet become a cultural craze in Asia like Korean dramas and pop music.

After a lot of hard work, Kang Ho-dong, Yoo Jae-suk, and Lee Hwi-jae finally gained a certain status in the variety show industry. In the past two years, they had hosted some popular programs and had collaborated with the highly popular girl group Fin.K.L several times, so they had a good relationship and often chatted with each other. Therefore, when they happened to meet Fin.K.L today, they came over to chat.

The three men sat down, squeezing Fin.K.L and Zhang Chengyuan to the opposite side of the table. Yoo Jae-suk said, "It's not easy to see you all on a regular day."

Kang Ho-dong said, "I also heard that Fin.K.L, except for Yoojoo, don't like to go out for leisure. Why are you all out for dinner today? And at this place?"

Lee Hyori said, "What's wrong with this place? We heard from some senior members of the TV station that the barbecue here is very authentic, the taste is excellent, and the price is reasonable, so we came to try it."

Lee Hwi-jae smiled and said, "You didn't know that this place is run by Ho-dong's manager? I think the senior members of the TV station knew about it because of Ho-dong's promotion. Am I right, Ho-dong?"

Kang Ho-dong laughed awkwardly, "I just mentioned it casually!"

Yoo Jae-suk questioned, "Hey! You still deny it. I and Hwi-jae were just about to go for Italian pasta, but you dragged us here to eat meat, and you specifically chose this place. Clearly, you have a hidden agenda. Be honest, do you have a stake in this place?" Yoo Jae-suk and Kang Ho-dong had a very close relationship, so they didn't use formal language in private, just calling each other "brother."

Kang Ho-dong pretended to be angry, "You just praised the meat here, and now you're complaining. I won't eat or drink with you anymore!"

Yoo Jae-suk and Lee Hwi-jae ignored him and enthusiastically chatted with Fin.K.L. After a while, Yoo Jae-suk suddenly asked, "Hyori, what's the name of this handsome young man?" With Zhang Chengyuan's appearance, demeanor, and closeness to Fin.K.L, the three men had noticed him as soon as they arrived, but they didn't want to be too forward, so they chatted for a bit before bringing up Zhang Chengyuan.

The four girls looked at each other, and Lee Hyori answered, "This is our younger brother, Zhang Chengyuan. He's very close to us. Chengyuan, meet the three seniors."

Zhang Chengyuan stood up and bowed formally, greeting them, "Hello, three seniors! My name is Zhang Chengyuan. Please take care of me in the future!"

Lee Hwi-jae said, "Young brother, oh, Chengyuan, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before."

Yoojoo said, "He used to shoot an advertisement with Jang Dong-gun, the one that started airing half a year ago, the Nongshim Shin Ramen ad."

Kang Ho-dong and the others suddenly realized, "Oh, you're that 'younger brother' of Jang Dong-gun. No wonder you look familiar. I didn't expect Chengyuan to be Fin.K.L's younger brother."

Seo Youn said, "Seniors, Chengyuan has no relation to Jang Dong-gun. He's just our younger brother."

Kang Ho-dong, with a thick face, said, "Sure, sure, Fin.K.L's younger brother, ah! That means he's also our younger brother. Chengyuan, since you're in the entertainment industry, we'll have the chance to work together someday." He stood up and shook hands with Zhang Chengyuan, and then Yoo Jae-suk and Lee Hwi-jae did the same. Whether it was out of respect for Fin.K.L or because they saw potential in Zhang Chengyuan, they all genuinely wanted to connect with him.

Zhang Chengyuan naturally didn't dare to be disrespectful and became even more polite. Lee Hyori and the others also expressed their gratitude to Kang Ho-dong and the others.

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