Chapter 54: **Star

Li Yunzai heard the commotion behind him and turned around to see a girl, wearing a black down jacket and half a head shorter than him, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"These people, they all look so pretty!" Li Yunzai thought to himself, but his movements were quick as he stepped aside to make way, "Hello, I'm the new tenant upstairs. I just moved in today and came down to visit!"

"Oh... Hello! I'm Han Seungyeon, please take care of me! This is Park Gyu-ri!" Han Seungyeon introduced, standing next to Park Gyu-ri.

"Oh... I'm Li Yunzai, nice to meet you!" Li Yunzai quickly greeted and then handed the cake to Han Seungyeon, smiling slightly, "Here, one for each of you! This cake is homemade, try it and give me some feedback!"

"Really? You made this yourself? I thought you bought it!" Park Gyu-ri clearly had some doubts about Li Yunzai's words. She couldn't even cook a meal, and the guy, who was about her age, had such good baking skills.

Han Seungyeon took the cake without hesitation and started eating, praising it loudly, "This cake is really delicious... much better than the ones sold outside..."

Li Yunzai looked at Han Seungyeon, who was gulping it down in big bites, as if she hadn't eaten for a day. She had transformed from a lady to a starving ghost in a second. Park Gyu-ri, who was used to this, handed her another piece and said, "Go inside to eat, you're scaring the guest with your eating!"

Han Seungyeon walked into the room with an apologetic smile. At the same time, two more girls came out, clearly roommates.

After exchanging greetings, Li Yunzai learned that the two girls were Kim Sunghee, who was sweet and cute, and Jung Nicole, who had a very nice smile.

"Sorry... I didn't know there were four of you... Wait a moment, I have more cake upstairs, I'll go get it!" Li Yunzai said and turned to leave.

"It's okay... no need, really no need!" Park Gyu-ri knew her roommates were all foodies. Even if Li Yunzai brought two 4-inch cakes, they would still eat them. Besides, he had already given them two pieces, and the gesture was enough.

Li Yunzai waved his hand, "No need to be polite... there's still half a cake upstairs. I like making cakes but don't eat much sweet stuff. I was wondering what to do with it, so I'll just give it to you!"

Without waiting for a response, Li Yunzai darted into the stairwell and ran upstairs.

"Oppa, you're so warm and welcoming!" Jung Nicole wrapped her arms around Park Gyu-ri's shoulders, grinning widely.

As they spoke, Li Yunzai came down the stairwell, carrying a white plate with the remaining half of the cake.

"Wow..." Kim Sunghee's eyes lit up, "Great, we can have a better meal tonight... eating ramen all day, I'm almost sick of it... cake, I haven't had it in so long, I almost forgot what it tastes like..."

"Here... no need to be polite, enjoy it! If you like it, I can make it for you often!" Li Yunzai smiled warmly.

Park Gyu-ri's heart skipped a beat at his words. Her eyes gradually showed a hint of unease. Unprovoked kindness, it must be for a reason. As the leader of a debut group, she had a duty to protect her teammates. Li Yunzai's excessive enthusiasm made her feel very uneasy. The only explanation was that he had recognized them.

But Park Gyu-ri had misunderstood Li Yunzai's kindness. Li Yunzai liked making cakes but didn't like eating them. Rather than putting the still-warm cake in the fridge to be thrown away, he preferred to give it to others.

"What do you want?" Park Gyu-ri suddenly said, and the atmosphere became tense. Han Seungyeon came out of the room, and the four girls gathered together.

Li Yunzai was at a loss. Park Gyu-ri's sudden question left him at a loss. What did he want? He didn't want anything!

"Um... can you be more specific? What do you think I want? I just came to visit and offer you some cake!" Li Yunzai said, confused.

"Oppa, don't you recognize us?" Jung Nicole looked at Li Yunzai with her bright eyes.

"I do... aren't you Jung Nicole? My memory isn't that bad... I don't think I got it wrong!" Li Yunzai was genuinely confused by the four girls.

Jung Nicole, feeling sad, buried her head in Kim Sunghee's chest and sighed, "Sis, we're such failures..."

"Do you really not recognize us?" Park Gyu-ri asked again.

Li Yunzai smiled bitterly and nodded, "I really don't... unless... are you artists?"

"Ah... really... I'm going crazy! We're almost **... so tragic!" Han Seungyeon waved her hands and walked back into the room.

Li Yunzai's sincere and puzzled gaze eventually overcame Park Gyu-ri's unease. But she also felt a sense of failure. They had been in the industry for almost a year, but he didn't recognize them. Being an artist to this extent was truly heartbreaking.

Park Gyu-ri realized she had misunderstood Li Yunzai's kindness and invited him in. Seeing the posters all over the room, Li Yunzai understood that the four girls were artists. He now understood Park Gyu-ri's earlier reaction, thinking he had been too enthusiastic, which made her wary.

After Park Gyu-ri's explanation, Li Yunzai learned that the four girls were members of a group called KARA, under DSP. He felt a bit embarrassed for not recognizing them earlier.

"Sorry... I just..." Li Yunzai was embarrassed and couldn't continue.

Park Gyu-ri smiled faintly, "It's okay... if you didn't recognize us, it just means we haven't done well enough. It's not your fault... we're just a small, unknown group, and now we're struggling, relying on Seungyeon to run around for promotions to keep the group going..."

The ups and downs of the entertainment industry, though Li Yunzai hadn't entered it, he understood very well. HOT was once incredibly popular but ended up disbanding and being blacklisted by Lee Soo-man.

"It's okay, you just had bad luck... look at you, you have looks, figures, and talent... the industry is full of ups and downs, and the tide will eventually turn in your favor!" Li Yunzai comforted them.

Although KARA wasn't doing well, Kim Sunghee, Jung Nicole, and Han Seungyeon were very cheerful, unlike Park Gyu-ri, who seemed troubled.

"Wow... full and satisfied..." Kim Sunghee, Jung Nicole, and Han Seungyeon patted their bellies, looking content, "Yunzai oppa, your cake is really delicious..."

Hearing the girls' praise, Li Yunzai felt very happy and said, "I'm glad you like it... if you like it, I'll make it often, and you can come up whenever you want! I have a bad habit of liking to make cakes but not eating them, so I'll leave the eating to you!"

Jung Nicole jumped up from her chair, delighted, "Really? Oppa, you have to keep your word, don't just say it to make us happy!"

"Don't worry... as long as I'm home, I'll make sure you have delicious cake to eat..." Li Yunzai promised, patting his chest.

"Great! We can say goodbye to this cursed ramen..." Kim Sunghee and Han Seungyeon were clearly hooked on Li Yunzai's cake.

Time passed, and Li Yunzai stayed in room 1202 for an hour before leaving.

"Hey... I was just saying that, and you took it seriously... we've only known him for an hour, we're not that close!" After Li Yunzai left, Park Gyu-ri closed the door and scolded her three roommates.

"Gu-ri... don't take it so seriously, come, we saved a piece for you, try it, I guarantee you'll love it! Yunzai oppa's cake is really good!" Han Seungyeon waved her over.

"Can you not be so familiar so quickly? We've only known him for an hour, and you're already calling him oppa!"

"Hehe... Gu-ri, haven't you heard that sweet talkers get fed? Call him oppa a few more times, and we can have cake every day, saying goodbye to ramen... I've been waiting for this for a long time!" Kim Sunghee, already imagining the delicious cake, licked her lips.

Park Gyu-ri sighed, admitting that she was tired of eating ramen all day, but what could they do? Few commercial performances, few activities, even if they ran around tirelessly, the money went to the company, and the four of them got very little. But no matter how little, they needed to have some dignity!

"Please, have some dignity..." Park Gyu-ri said, displeased.

"Sis... can dignity be eaten?"

"Um..."

This chapter was a bit difficult to write. As the year-end approaches, work is getting busier, completely disrupting my train of thought. I sat in front of the computer for over two hours and only wrote 1000 words... sigh, writing is not easy, please follow and recommend!

I'll try to update twice a day.

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