Chapter 423: 445 Park Hyomin: It

445 Park Hyomin: It's best if there are no little umbrellas at home!!! (Seeking subscriptions and monthly votes)

The apartment in the dead of night gradually grew quiet; the lights were deliberately kept very soft, and the clock on the wall had already passed eleven.

Lin Xiuyuan walked out of the bathroom, his hair still damp with moisture, water droplets falling from the tips from time to time, blooming into a few dark marks on his shoulders.

His light-colored pajamas were slightly dampened, clinging to his skin.

He walked toward the Living Room while casually drying his hair with a towel, his footsteps making a light and rhythmic sound as they landed on the wooden floor.

Meanwhile, on the sofa in the Living Room outside, Kim Taeyeon was curled up in the corner of the sofa, knees tucked in, leaning sideways against Xueli and whispering.

Watching this scene, Lin Xiuyuan, standing at the bedroom door, couldn't help but shake his head slightly, then draped the towel over his neck and said with some amusement, "I say, are you two planning to chat all night? It's almost twelve o'clock now; you don't have work tomorrow, right?"

Hearing the voice, Kim Taeyeon lifted her head from Xueli's shoulder and turned her face to look at Lin Xiuyuan.

"I really don't have work lately. I turned down those year-end events. You could say that apart from the new song, there's only an awards guest appearance. Now that the new song recording is finished, I really have nothing to do."

While saying this, there was a hint of small pride in Kim Taeyeon's tone, as if she were showing off her day off to Lin Xiuyuan.

At this moment, Xueli beside her also spoke up, her voice soft, "Oppa, Xiujing and the others have other schedules tomorrow, so there's no team rehearsal or activities during the day. I'll just go to the company to practice in the evening."

After hearing their explanations, Lin Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping back and forth across their faces.

"So, can you two be considered semi-retired now?"

"Hehe, just a little bit." Kim Taeyeon immediately replied, reaching out her hand and using her thumb and index finger to indicate a tiny gap.

Xueli, on the side, reacted extremely quickly, reaching out to press down on her hand, her palm directly covering her fingers to suppress that exaggerated gesture.

The two looked at each other and both guessed what the other was thinking.

And so, after a short one-second pause...

"Pfft."

As if they couldn't hold it back at the same time, both laughed out loud together.

Kim Taeyeon laughed so hard she leaned backward, then fell toward Xueli, pressing directly onto her.

Xueli was pulled by her to lean toward the sofa armrest, and while supporting her, she also couldn't stop laughing.

The two's laughter echoed in the quiet Living Room, crisp and bright, like a string of bells suddenly ringing in the night, instantly enlivening the originally still space.

Lin Xiuyuan, standing nearby, saw this scene and just shook his head lightly, not disturbing them.

He turned and walked toward the Kitchen, took a bottle of soda from the refrigerator, twisted off the cap, and took a big gulp.

After drinking more than half the bottle in one breath, he moved the bottle away from his lips and exhaled softly.

Then he turned and walked toward the sofa in the Living Room, intending to sit down and chat with Xueli and the others for a while longer.

But just as he was about to reach the sofa, a cell phone ringtone suddenly sounded in the bedroom.

In the quiet Apartment, this sudden ringtone seemed particularly abrupt, causing Lin Xiuyuan's walking pace to pause slightly, his eyebrows lifting, and he immediately turned to walk toward the bedroom.

At the same time, the two figures on the sofa also looked at each other and muttered in low voices.

"Wanna bet? It must be a woman looking for Xiuyuan."

"Unnie, apart from women, Oppa basically doesn't have many male friends around him. I've only seen one once."

"You've seen one?"

Kim Taeyeon looked at Xueli in shock, while the other raised a proud smile and nodded.

While the two were chatting outside, in the bedroom, Lin Xiuyuan reached out and picked up the phone on the bed, his gaze sweeping casually to the caller ID on the screen: Park Hyomin.

This name made him raise an eyebrow in surprise, his fingertip pausing on the screen for a moment, but the next second he swiped to answer and held the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Hyomin, not asleep yet this late?"

Getting a call at this time, he felt like it was another scene.

Sure enough, Park Hyomin's voice soon came from the other end of the line, "Xiuyuan, come pick me up."

The sentence was crisp and direct, without any extra preamble.

In the background, there were faint sounds of talking and music intertwined, noisy but not harsh.

Lin Xiuyuan felt his brow twitch, couldn't help but raise his hand to press his temple, his expression pained, "Hyomin-ah, you didn't run off to a bar again, did you?"

When he said this, the image from last time automatically surfaced in his mind; the situation at that time was still a headache to think about now.

"No."

Fortunately, the other end of the line refuted almost immediately, her tone carrying a hint of small grievance, "I'm just eating out with friends and had a little wine, so I can't drive."

At the same time, the music in the background became clearer; it really didn't sound like the heavy bass roaring of a bar, but more like background music in a restaurant.

The rhythm was soothing, mixed with the voices of several men and women, sounding quite orderly.

After hearing Park Hyomin's explanation, Lin Xiuyuan's brow relaxed a little, but the next second he glanced at the bedroom door again.

The light in the Living Room was soft and warm, and he could faintly hear the low voices of Kim Taeyeon and Xueli, as well as intermittent laughter.

And so, the headache that had just subsided climbed back up.

After two seconds of silence, Lin Xiuyuan tapped his fingertip on the back of the phone twice, finally sighed softly, and said to the other end of the line, "Fine, send me the address, I'm coming over now. Don't run around."

"Got it~" Park Hyomin dragged out the end of her sentence on the other end, her tone laced with obvious coquettishness, her voice soft and carrying a slight sticky sweetness soaked in alcohol.

As soon as she finished speaking, the call was hung up cleanly.

After taking the phone away from his ear, Lin Xiuyuan turned to change his clothes to go out, but stopped after taking two steps, looking down at himself.

Gray cotton pajama pants, loose and with a good fit, and a simple white crew-neck T-shirt on top.

After looking for two seconds, he gave a soft "tsk," and simply couldn't be bothered to fuss.

Anyway, he was just picking someone up, a round trip, not attending some red carpet.

So he reached into the closet, pulled out a long black down jacket, threw it over himself casually, didn't even bother to zip it up, just wore it open like that, and turned to leave the bedroom without even tidying up.

In the Living Room, Kim Taeyeon, who had finished whispering, looked up and, upon seeing Lin Xiuyuan's appearance, couldn't help but blink, asking with obvious curiosity, "What's wrong? Xiuyuan, a date?"

"It shouldn't be a date, otherwise Oppa wouldn't go out wearing pajamas like that; it's too relaxed," Xueli said lightly, with a hint of teasing.

To this, Lin Xiuyuan smiled helplessly, then briefly explained Park Hyomin's situation.

After finishing, he looked at the two of them, "You two should also get some rest early."

"Don't worry about us, you go do your thing." Kim Taeyeon waved her hand casually, her tone very relaxed, "It's fine even if you don't come back."

Beside her, Xueli also nodded gently, her voice not loud, "Oppa, Xiaomin unnie actually has a very good impression of you, so if you don't come back, it should be no problem either."

After hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan did not respond, only waving his hand casually, as if brushing off this sentence along with the two's teasing.

Then he picked up the car keys on the entryway cabinet and turned to walk toward the door.

Standing there changing his shoes, a thought flashed through Lin Xiuyuan's mind involuntarily: Do I not know? I've already eaten her up and wiped the slate clean.

Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth hooked up slightly, the smile very faint and fleeting.

He stood up and walked toward the door.

……

Since the current time was already approaching early morning, the traffic on the road was much less than during the day, so Lin Xiuyuan drove very smoothly the whole way, taking less than twenty minutes from getting in the car to nearing the destination, nearly twice as fast as during the day.

After arriving at the destination, he pulled the car over to the side and looked through the car window at the restaurant on the roadside.

It was a shop with a bit of a chic atmosphere, the storefront not particularly flashy.

Lin Xiuyuan, having glanced at the sign and confirmed it was the right place, then pushed the car door open to get out and walked toward the restaurant entrance.

The moment he pushed the door and entered, a wave of warmth wrapped in the aroma of food rushed toward him, isolating the cold air outside.

The lighting inside the shop was warm, and there weren't many tables, just four or five, distributed in the not-so-spacious area, occupying most of the space, with the remaining room left for a small bar counter.

Overall, this shop clearly carried a semi-private attribute, very suitable for small gatherings of friends or dates for couples.

At this time, there was only one table of guests in the shop.

Four or five people were gathered around a long table near the back, with a few empty wine glasses on the table, along with a few scattered side dishes, the atmosphere looking quite lively.

And Park Hyomin, who had called Lin Xiuyuan over, was sitting in the innermost position with her back to the wall, facing the door.

So the moment he pushed the door and came in, she saw him almost immediately.

Then, an unreserved smile bloomed on her face instantly, and she stood up from her chair, her arm raised high in the air and waving vigorously, her voice clear and carrying obvious happiness, "Xiuyuan! Over here!"

Seeing her action, Lin Xiuyuan did not stop his pace and walked straight toward that table.

However, this greeting from Park Hyomin naturally also attracted the attention of the others at the table, so the few people turned their heads or simply turned around almost simultaneously, looking toward the direction of the door.

Then, their gazes all paused at once.

How to put it, the impact of this first glance Lin Xiuyuan gave them was truly a bit strong.

Mainly because in an environment like Seoul where people are extremely particular about personal image, they really hadn't seen anyone go out directly wearing a set of pajamas.

But then again.

When a guy over one meter eighty tall, with a clean and handsome look comparable to an idol, appeared here and walked over step by step

these image management issues seemed to become less important.

After all, if the hardware is maxed out, the software being a bit lacking doesn't count as a deduction at all; instead, it added a bit of relaxation to Lin Xiuyuan, giving him a dashing and unrestrained appearance.

After walking closer, Lin Xiuyuan first exchanged a look with Park Hyomin.

Then he turned his head and greeted the few people at the table generously, "Hi, good evening. I'm just here to be a driver, pick someone up and leave. I shouldn't be disturbing you all, right?"

When he said this, his gaze swept lightly around the table, his expression very calm, without the slightest bit of awkwardness or discomfort from wearing this set of pajama-style outdoor clothes.

This composure also made the atmosphere relax all at once.

So, a short-haired girl with a round face sitting next to Park Hyomin took the lead in responding, "No, no! Why not sit down and eat something together?"

While speaking, she also looked Lin Xiuyuan up and down, her eyes carrying undisguised appreciation, then turned to look at Park Hyomin, "Xiaomin, you're too mean, actually hiding such a handsome friend and not introducing him to us."

"Don't talk nonsense." Park Hyomin, being teased, retorted quickly and even patted that friend lightly, the action carrying familiar intimacy.

Immediately after, she stood up, waved her hand at everyone, her tone carrying a bit of embarrassment, "Alright, alright, I won't mess around with you guys anymore. I have to go to work tomorrow, so I have to head out first."

As her voice fell, she picked up the coat draped over the back of the chair, draped it casually over her arm, and prepared to leave.

As a result, someone at the other end of the table started to jeer, the tone carrying an obvious teasing implication.

"Yo, Xiaomin, are you going home, or are you starting the second half of your date right away?"

The one speaking was a boy wearing glasses, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, in a posture of joking and watching a show.

"Yah, Lee Min-young, your mouth really should be sewn shut." Park Hyomin retorted immediately, her voice a few notches higher than before.

Although it carried a hint of being annoyed by shame, it was clearly the kind of bickering between acquaintances without any malice.

And while speaking, she quickly left the table, stood in front of Lin Xiuyuan, and started joking and bickering with her friends.

Laughter came in waves, echoing in the not-so-large space.

Lin Xiuyuan stood behind her watching this scene, and couldn't help but feel a bit of emotion in his heart.

The relaxed and vivid Park Hyomin in front of him, even with a bit of a temper and unreserved emotions, was really quite different from the idol who kept her state restrained in front of the camera.

Not to mention being similar to the wife from the year 25; having known the Park Hyomin from that side for so long, he didn't seem to have seen her bickering with Dalongzai and the others; it seemed she had already passed that age.

However, the Park Hyomin in front of him was the one who looked like a girl in her twenties.

Gathering with friends, drinking a little wine, teasing each other, and then calling someone to pick her up in the middle of the night with full justification.

Youth, very youthful.

After messing around for several more minutes, Park Hyomin finally realized that she couldn't out-argue a whole table of people by herself.

So she admitted defeat decisively, turned around and took Lin Xiuyuan's arm, and shouted unreasonably, "Let's go, let's go, Xiuyuan, let's go, no need to pay attention to them."

Having said that, she pulled him and walked outside, her steps a bit light, but the direction was still clear, not chaotic.

And Lin Xiuyuan, after being led forward two steps by her, still didn't forget to look back and smile at the people at the table, raised his hand to wave, and said politely and naturally, "We'll be going first, bye-bye."

"88."

The few people responded almost simultaneously, their voices rising and falling.

"Drive carefully," the short-haired girl advised with a smile.

"Stay safe," the boy with glasses added as well.

A few words of well-meaning concern saw the two of them all the way to The Gate.

As the restaurant door closed gently behind them, the warm-colored lights and the aroma of food inside were shut away, and the cold air outside immediately surged up, carrying the crispness unique to an early winter night, making one instantly a bit more sober.

Lin Xiuyuan subconsciously slowed his pace, one hand naturally wrapping around Park Hyomin's shoulder to help her steady her slightly unsteady balance, while the other hand opened the car door to help her into the passenger seat.

Then he walked around the front of the car and sat in the driver's seat, only then turning his head to look at her and ask, "How should we go now? Shall I take you back to the dormitory?"

In the passenger seat, Park Hyomin, whose alcohol was already starting to go to her head, leaned against the seat back, tilting her head slightly to look at him.

That charming face was flushed with a faint red, her eyes were brighter than usual, and the flickering light of the streetlamps was reflected in her pupils.

She just looked at Lin Xiuyuan like this, her gaze a bit clingy, as if she were unwilling to look away.

Yet in her mind, the scene from the restaurant just now replayed uncontrollably.

The man who had walked in wearing nothing but pajamas was calm and natural even when facing a table of strangers; his expression didn't change when they teased him, and he even remembered to say goodbye to everyone when he left—the whole process was gentle and appropriate.

Immediately following that, another image surfaced: it was Xian Enjing's denial of her earlier.

The alcohol made these already blurry thoughts become exceptionally clear, as if someone were whispering in her ear, slowly repeating them once more.

So after a long while, Park Hyomin shook her head, her voice very soft but also very clear, "Not back to the dormitory, let's go to the Apartment."

"Hmm?" Lin Xiuyuan opened his eyes slightly and turned his head to glance at her.

This hint was a bit too obvious.

So he tapped his fingers lightly on the steering wheel, his gaze lingering on her face for two seconds, as if confirming something.

Although the two of them had already had intimate contact many times, a nod of subjective willingness was still very important.

And although Park Hyomin's eyes beside him carried a bit of post-alcohol detachment, her consciousness was clear, so her gaze did not dodge, and she blinked twice with a smile.

Seeing this, Lin Xiuyuan did not refuse again; after all, no one could refuse this kind of thing.

Then he started the car and drove toward Park Hyomin's Apartment.

On the road, the inside of the car was very quiet.

Only the low and steady hum of the engine and the sound of the warm air from the air conditioner gently filled the narrow space.

The streetlamps outside the window retreated one after another, dragging streaks of flowing light and shadow across the car window.

Park Hyomin leaned against the passenger seat, her gaze landing outside the windshield, letting the night view of Seoul sweep past her eyes scene by scene.

Her fingers were unconsciously picking at the edge of the seatbelt, her fingertips applying force bit by bit, as if using this to suppress some kind of emotion in her heart.

At this moment, only one thought was spinning repeatedly in her mind.

That was whether there were still any little umbrellas at home.

This question circled in her mind, round and round, like an endless loop.

Her entire heartbeat was also clearly faster than usual, and the heat on her cheeks was climbing bit by bit; it was unclear whether it was the effect of the alcohol or something else.

Because she didn't want there to be any.

But rather... it would be best if there weren't.

(PS: Begging for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!!!)