Chapter 173

Inside the bistro late at night.

Following the ringing of the wind chime not long ago, the originally relaxed expression of the Ham Eunjung from 2025 froze along with it.

Her gaze was firmly locked on the girl standing behind the door; the same height, similar physique, the only difference was that more vibrant and youthful face, the expression between her brows both familiar and strange.

"This is impossible..."

The Ham Eunjung from 2025 stood blankly on the spot, her lips slightly parted, her voice almost unable to come out.

Blood surged in her body, her heartbeat roared like a drum. She tried hard to say something, but didn't know what to say at all.

There was only one thought in her mind, and that was: the person in front of her was herself, but... it couldn't be her.

This absurd reality and the tearing of cognition made the Ham Eunjung from 2025 almost unable to bear it.

At the same time, the other "her" seemed to feel this strong impact.

When the Ham Eunjung from 2013 met the gaze of the Ham Eunjung opposite, her eyes widened instantly, and her breathing stalled.

Although the Ham Eunjung from 2013 knew the situation earlier than the one from 2025 and had some psychological preparation, at this moment, when truly facing the other person and seeing the other person, she still couldn't accept it easily.

However, beyond the shock, there was also some confusion: is this the future self? Still that short hair, still that appearance, even... a bit fatter.

Subsequently, the Ham Eunjung from 2013 couldn't help but touch her own face with her fingers, wanting to confirm again that this wasn't an illusion given to her by Lin Xiuyuan.

The moment she touched her cheek, she subconsciously lowered her head, staring blankly at the goosebumps standing up on her arm for a few seconds, then locked onto the future self sitting at the bar counter again, her eyes full of confusion and incomprehension.

Finally, she bit her lip, muttering in a trembling voice, "What is this."

After speaking, the Ham Eunjung from 2013 looked toward the bar counter again, her gaze meeting the other person's in the air, both seemingly seeking an answer from the other.

Shock, confusion, and a hint of undisguisable fear appeared on both of their faces.

As their gazes collided, time seemed to stand still for a moment.

A moment later, both of them turned their heads almost at the same time, their gazes falling on Lin Xiuyuan standing on the side.

The same emotion flashed in both their eyes, and that was questioning and doubt.

"Xiuyuan, is this the late-night snack you told me about?"

"Xiuyuan, is this the big gift package you told me about?"

Facing the simultaneous questioning of the two, Lin Xiuyuan "tsk"ed, smiling with a bit of playfulness in his eyes.

Then he walked between the two, took a deep breath, and first looked at the Ham Eunjung from 2025, "How about it, are you satisfied with this big gift package."

Then he looked at the Ham Eunjung from 2013, "We're eating here, it's just that we haven't ordered yet."

After speaking, he took out his phone, flipped out the delivery app, and handed it to the other person, "Here, you see what you want to eat, order whatever, I'll pay the bill, and then Eunjung, you reimburse it, okay?"

"Ah, I have to reimburse it after ordering?" The Ham Eunjung from 2013 was stunned, a bit of confusion showing in her eyes.

"Xiuyuan means I'm the one reimbursing, right." The Ham Eunjung from 2025 hurriedly interjected, smiling, trying to break the deadlock.

Subsequently, the Ham Eunjung from 2025 saw the scene before her, her mood gradually recovering from the shock; she knew that although this scene was absurd, it was also truly happening.

So she gently slowed her breathing, letting her body slowly adjust her mindset, and then smiled at the Ham Eunjung from 2013, "Come, sit down first, let's sit down and chat."

After speaking, she patted the seat beside the bar counter, signaling the other person to come over and sit down.

The Ham Eunjung from 2013 hesitated for a moment, ultimately nodded, walked toward the bar counter, and sat in that empty seat.

It was just that her eyes were still a bit lost, seemingly thinking about many things, her mind full of messy questions, as if wanting to piece the past and future together.

At the same time, Lin Xiuyuan also walked into the bar counter and asked the two, "Want to drink something? I believe you definitely want to drink something now."

"Give me something strong, my head is a bit swollen." The Ham Eunjung from 2013 raised her head and smiled bitterly.

"Just give me something, Xiuyuan, this big gift package of yours really blew my mind." The Ham Eunjung from 2025 was also adjusting her emotions as much as possible while looking at the self beside her.

Then she took the lead in throwing out her own question, "How did you come over? No, I should be asking you, Xiuyuan."

Suddenly thinking of something, the Ham Eunjung from 2025 turned her head to Lin Xiuyuan, "How did you bring her over through time? Ghosts? Or what?"

Lin Xiuyuan, who was mixing drinks, heard this and smiled, snapping his fingers at the other person, "Bingo, it's the ghost situation, I found a door, it's similar to the plot inside, opening the door from 2013 can get to 2025 here."

This answer made the Ham Eunjung from 2025 widen her eyes instantly, then she looked at the Ham Eunjung from 2013 beside her, "Is it really like this?"

"It is indeed from a door, but I don't know what the ghost you're talking about means."

The Ham Eunjung from 2013 nodded, lowered her head to look at her still slightly trembling hand, and then scanned the phone in front of her with the dazzling menu, her tone carrying a bit of confusion.

"Wow, this... is too magical." The Ham Eunjung from 2025 sighed, her gaze suddenly sweeping across the surroundings, her eyes widening as if thinking of something, "Wait a minute, Xiuyuan, the members of your tavern wouldn't be..."

"Very smart."

Lin Xiuyuan responded with a smile, accompanied by the crisp sound of ice cubes falling into the shaker, "It's those people who know the secret."

He said, turning his head to look at the Ham Eunjung from 2013, "You've seen it too, there's a tavern in each of the two time and space, and the members of the tavern are the batch of people who know the whole truth."

Now the Ham Eunjung from 2013 was shocked, "So Xiuyan, YoonA, Zhiyan, and Sulli all know?"

"Mm."

Lin Xiuyuan nodded, his hands starting to skillfully shake the shaker.

At this time, the Ham Eunjung from 2025 narrowed her eyes, suddenly thinking of something again, "Wait, you said YoonA over there is also a member, then YoonA here is also a member... so have they met?"

"Mm, just like you guys, now only you guys and YoonA know about their own in the two time and space."

Lin Xiuyuan, who had been shaking the shaker for a while, quickly mixed a Summer Momo Tea for the Ham Eunjung from 2013, and then poured it into the wine glass in front of her.

The remaining half was used to fill the glass in front of the Ham Eunjung from 2025, because the two glasses were the same.

Then he opened a can of cola for himself, raised it, and smiled, "Come, let's clink glasses, it's rare to meet like this 12 years apart, how should I say, it can be considered fate."

"You're squeezing me, Xiuyuan, I just said 'the willing fish takes the bait' this afternoon."

The Ham Eunjung from 2025, who raised her wine glass, smiled bitterly, and then looked at the self beside her.

Although the Ham Eunjung from 2013 didn't know what had happened between these two, this fate really scared her, and her heart urgently needed a drink to numb the impact just now.

So just like that, after clinking glasses, both Ham Eunjungs took a big gulp of the wine, only Lin Xiuyuan sipped his cola with some amusement.

With the adjustment of the wine and a few casual chats, the atmosphere gradually became much more relaxed, and the distance between the two "Ham Eunjungs" seemed no longer so distant.

After drinking the wine, the two looked at each other, and although the shock in their eyes hadn't completely dissipated, there was more understanding and tacit agreement.

Their respective moods gradually transitioned from confusion to a new kind of thinking.

"Do you know?"

At this time, the Ham Eunjung from 2025 suddenly spoke, breaking the silence between the two, "Just a moment ago, I really thought I saw a ghost."

She smiled lightly, her tone carrying a bit of self-mockery, but also revealing an unspeakable emotion.

The Ham Eunjung from 2013 looked at her and also suddenly chuckled, "I'm better than you, because my shock was used up seven or eight-tenths when passing through that door, it was really too weird at the time."

She paused, her eyes slightly lowered, her voice lower, "So seeing you just now, it wasn't as shocking as before."

The two Ham Eunjungs looked at each other, smiled at each other, raised their wine glasses, and clinked them again tacitly, "Cheers." *2

The rims of the glasses touched lightly, the wine surged down, and it was another clean and neat gulp.

This made Lin Xiuyuan gasp a big breath of cold air, "My god, you guys take it easy. I can't send two people running back and forth in a while, drink slowly."

The Ham Eunjung from 2013 heard this, couldn't help but laugh, and glanced at him lightly, "Scared now? Then when you put us two together, why didn't you think about whether we were scared?"

"Exactly, exactly." The Ham Eunjung from 2025 also nodded along.

Then Lin Xiuyuan hurriedly looked at the Ham Eunjung from 2025 and explained, "You can't be so unreasonable, didn't I tell you before, you just didn't take it seriously."

"Who could have guessed this situation."

When answering, the gaze of the Ham Eunjung from 2025 quietly fell on the self from 2013, a thought always stirring in her heart, but she had been hesitant to speak.

Until another ten minutes passed, the Ham Eunjung from 2013 finally took the initiative to speak, her tone carrying undisguisable curiosity and anxiety.

"By the way, so you all know the future direction, then what is the future of me... or our group?"

As soon as these words came out, the gaze of the Ham Eunjung from 2025 moved slightly, then turned to Lin Xiuyuan.

And Lin Xiuyuan shook his head gently, looking completely relaxed, "I won't explain, I'm the only one explaining to so many members, this time let you speak, Eunjung, as a person who has experienced it personally, you definitely know more than me."

The Ham Eunjung from 2013 blinked, looking at him with a smile in her eyes: "Are you calling me? Or her?"

The Ham Eunjung from 2025 suddenly said, "Then you call me Sweet Eunjung, Xiuyuan, you should know this title, I'm a celebrity on your social platform."

Lin Xiuyuan laughed out "poof": "Yeah, it's just that... the updates have been broken for a bit too long."

The two of them talked one after another, and the familiar interaction made the Ham Eunjung from 2013 suddenly feel a bit uncomfortable.

So she knocked on the bar counter and asked anxiously, "So, what exactly happened? Stop talking in riddles."

After a moment of silence, the Ham Eunjung from 2025 finally sighed gently and spoke slowly, starting to recount everything that had happened over the past ten years.

The lighting was warm, and the tavern was quiet.

In the blink of an eye, they had moved from the high stools in front of the bar counter to the sofa against the wall, one narrating eloquently, one listening quietly.

Lin Xiuyuan sat in the corner opposite, head down scrolling through his phone, not disturbing, but always accompanying this night where time and space intersected.

The whole scene was quiet and gentle, as if covered by a soft filter by time.

It's just that it would have been even better if there hadn't been the next scene.

When the Ham Eunjung from 2025 was still narrating slowly, Lin Xiuyuan felt the atmosphere was a bit dull, so he got up and walked toward the old phonograph in the corner.

Intending to pick a record to put on and listen to, wanting to add some background atmosphere to this conversation, to make it more relaxed.

But just as he finished adjusting the volume and was about to turn back.

A figure appeared behind him without warning, and the moment he turned around, she grabbed his collar, "So why didn't you open the door two years earlier, Xiuyuan."

In the familiar voice, there was undisguisable grievance and collapse.

Lin Xiuyuan was startled, his whole person stunned instantly, his mouth half-open, unable to speak.

Two years earlier? He wasn't even in Seoul at that time!

Fortunately, the Ham Eunjung from 2013 was just momentarily out of emotional control; after saying this, as if her strength had been instantly drained, she threw herself directly into his arms, buried her head in his chest, and panted violently.

Lin Xiuyuan froze for a few seconds, slowly raised his head to look at the Ham Eunjung from 2025 on the sofa, but met a pair of moist and deep eyes.

What was written in those eyes was not just heartache, but also a hint of hidden... resentment.

(End of chapter)