Chapter 54

Time passed swiftly, and before he knew it, it was March 15, 2004, the day of Zhang Chengyuan's discharge from the military. He declined all his friends' offers to come to the border to welcome him, and only allowed his agent, Park Byung-ryeol, to accompany him, returning to the free and bustling modern society in a low-key manner. In fact, even if he wanted to make a grand return, he couldn't. The entertainment industry was ever-changing, and despite Park Byung-ryeol's tireless efforts, the long two years had made the public forget about him. Now, the only ones who could still remember him were a few loyal fans.

Considering this, Zhang Chengyuan and Park Byung-ryeol decided not to hold a grand press conference to announce his return but to return to Seoul quietly. As for Zhang Chengyuan's future career, neither of them was worried.

On the way back to Seoul, Park Byung-ryeol first asked Zhang Chengyuan about his time in the military. Seeing that he was not in the mood to answer and only shook his head, Park Byung-ryeol changed the topic and began to talk about the changes in Korea, especially in the entertainment industry, over the past two years.

The entertainment industry was always full of surprises, and every year brought many topics that captured the public's attention. The past two years were no exception. For example, Kim Nam-ju's plastic surgery scandal, the dissolution of S.E.S., the popularity of TV dramas like "Winter Love Song" and "Dae Jang Geum," Zhang Na拉's rapid rise to fame, BoA's shining in the Asian music scene, the debut of TVXQ, and many other events.

However, Zhang Chengyuan was not particularly interested in these topics; he only listened to them as interesting stories. What he truly cared about were the news and information related to his friends and family. For instance, Lee Hyori swept the music charts in the second half of 2003 and won five major music awards at the end of the year; Yoo Ju-hyun continued her singing career while hosting the radio program "Starry Night"; Lee Jin and Sung Yuri were both developing in the entertainment industry, becoming actors and MCs, and although they were not as prominent as Lee Hyori, they had achieved good results.

Additionally, Kim Tae-hee starred in the TV drama "Dream Screen" and won the Best New Actress award at the 2003 SBS Acting Awards; Ha Ji-won's film "Color of the Air" received a strong response among young people and she won the Best Actress award at the MBC Acting Awards for the TV drama "Cha Mo"; Moon Geun-young was active in the film and television industry, and her movie "My Little Bride" was about to be released; Yoon Eun-hye's popularity was rising, and her group was still strong; Won Bin's movie "Taegukgi" was released last month with astonishing box office results, but he had been plagued by scandals over the past two years... The two sisters, Jeong Soo-yeon and Soo-kyung, were living well and growing more beautiful.

All his family and friends seemed to be doing well, which made Zhang Chengyuan very happy. Thinking about the last time he saw them, which was during his last military leave, about half a year ago, he felt even more eager to meet them. However, he knew they were all very busy, and it would be impossible to meet all his friends in one day. Therefore, he only wanted to gather with Lee Hyori and the four other girls, as well as Little Soo-yeon. He would find other opportunities to meet the rest of his friends, as he had just been discharged and needed some time to adapt before returning to work, so he had plenty of time and was not worried about missing out on opportunities to meet his friends.

At noon, Zhang Chengyuan and Park Byung-ryeol returned to Seoul. Zhang Chengyuan wanted to go to the Jeong family's house to reunite with Little Soo-yeon, so he temporarily parted ways with Park Byung-ryeol and took a taxi to the Jeong family's house, while Park Byung-ryeol went to arrange some personal matters for him.

At the Jeong family's house, Little Soo-yeon had already taken a day off and was eagerly waiting for Zhang Chengyuan's arrival. Her parents and sister were also at home, wanting to see Zhang Chengyuan, whom they hadn't seen in a long time.

Looking out the taxi window, Zhang Chengyuan noticed that although the people on the street were dressed more fashionably, Seoul seemed to have changed little overall. Most of the streets were still crowded and narrow, and most of the buildings were still low and unremarkable. Zhang Chengyuan glanced around but quickly lost interest.

At that moment, his thoughts were swirling, imagining Little Soo-yeon's cuter and more beautiful appearance. Thinking about the 137 letters she had written to him over the past two years, he felt warm inside. Suddenly, a cold, autumn-like face flashed in his mind, reminding him of the scene two years ago when she came to see him off. He thought, "Soo-yeon is a good girl. I should be nicer to her and get closer to her. She must be 16 years old now, almost a grown-up. I wonder how she's doing at ** Company?"

Arriving at the Jeong sisters' house, Zhang Chengyuan rang the doorbell. Before he could even lower his hand, he heard light footsteps inside, and the door opened. A little girl with two braids rushed out, shouting, "Brother Chengyuan!" and then jumped into his arms. Zhang Chengyuan quickly and gently caught her, lifted her up, and said with satisfaction, "Soo-yeon, you've gained a lot of weight. It seems you've been listening to your brother." He had written back to Little Soo-yeon, telling her to eat well.

Little Soo-yeon wrapped her arms around Zhang Chengyuan's neck and said, "Of course! I always listen to my brother, but you also have to keep your promise and be nicer to me, take me out to play, and treat me to good food." She then looked at Zhang Chengyuan and kissed his face several times, adding, "Brother, you've lost a lot of weight and gotten much darker, but I still like you this way."

The kisses made Zhang Chengyuan feel a warm and tingling sensation, and he couldn't help but kiss Little Soo-yeon's chubby cheeks in return. The two of them were happily reuniting, completely unaware of the couple and the young girl standing at the door, staring at them intently.

The couple was smiling and feeling very happy. Without a son, they had already considered Zhang Chengyuan as a son-in-law. They thought it would be even better if they could become even closer in the future. Thinking of this, they turned their gaze to their eldest daughter. However, their eldest daughter had always been cold to Zhang Chengyuan, and they knew their wish was just a dream.

After a long while, Jeong Soo-yeon, seeing that Zhang Chengyuan and Little Soo-yeon were still affectionately interacting, couldn't help but cough loudly, which finally caught Zhang Chengyuan's attention. Realizing his behavior was too impolite, he immediately apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Jeong. The Jeong couple was not at all offended and even praised him for his straightforwardness.

It was time for lunch, and the Jeong family had been waiting for over an hour, which made Zhang Chengyuan feel even more apologetic. The five of them gathered around the table, eating and chatting happily, like a close family. Zhang Chengyuan, who seemed to have not eaten for three days, wolfed down his food, making Mrs. Jeong feel that her cooking was greatly appreciated. Mr. Jeong also felt that Zhang Chengyuan was genuinely treating them like family, as he didn't care about his image as a celebrity in front of them.

After lunch, Mr. Jeong had to go out, and Mrs. Jeong was in the kitchen cleaning up. Zhang Chengyuan continued to play with Little Soo-yeon, while Jeong Soo-yeon sat nearby reading a book, occasionally glancing at Zhang Chengyuan and Little Soo-yeon.

While dealing with Little Soo-yeon's various strange questions and requests, Zhang Chengyuan took the opportunity to glance at Jeong Soo-yeon a few times. He noticed that she had changed a lot over the past two years. Not only had she grown about ten centimeters taller, reaching around 160 cm, but her feminine features had also become more pronounced, giving her a bit of a young woman's charm. Only her cold and beautiful face seemed unchanged, still as icy as ever. No, it seemed to have become even more attractive. Her previously slightly flawed teeth were now perfectly aligned and as white as snow, and her skin had become much fairer.

Looking at Jeong Soo-yeon, Zhang Chengyuan couldn't help but praise her, "Soo-yeon, you've become much prettier over the past two years. I bet a lot of boys are chasing after you, right?"

Jeong Soo-yeon felt both embarrassed, angry, and curious. She never expected Zhang Chengyuan to speak to her like this. In the past, he had been cold and strict with her. If she hadn't been perceptive enough, she wouldn't have sensed the faint but sincere care beneath his cold exterior. Sometimes she really envied and even resented the way he showed his affection to Little Soo-yeon without restraint. However, his tone today didn't seem bad, at least not as cold as before, so maybe they could become closer.