Chapter Thirty-Two: Sir, your delivery has arrived.

Rosé eventually slipped away quietly.

If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have bothered struggling with her guitar; it was a complete waste of effort. Still, Jisoo unnie and that male friend of hers really seemed to have a great rapport. It wasn't often that someone could keep up with her train of thought. Kim Jisoo was beautiful, no doubt, but she could be so incredibly careless at times.

She hesitated for a moment, set her guitar down carefully, and then pressed her ear against the door, intending to listen to what the two inside were talking about.

...

"Your left leg hasn't been hurting again, has it?" Kim Jisoo asked casually, picking at her toes.

"No. That incident during 'Descendants of the Sun' was just an accident; I'm not made of glass," Ming Yan replied with a laugh.

Jisoo frowned slightly. "You aren't acting as tough as you were when you were crying to me about the pain before, are you?"

"Of course not. I'm a different person when I'm in pain versus when I'm not," Ming Yan chuckled. "If Nayeon found out, I'd probably get an earful again."

"You heartless thing. Nayeon was just worried about you. If it weren't for the fact that you saved her back then..."

"Alright, alright, let's not bring up the past." Ming Yan wasn't looking for gratitude; he simply wanted to protect the people around him.

"So, are you done with your commercial shoot now?" Jisoo asked.

"Sigh, not yet. I only took a break because I saw you calling. I've been busy all morning, and no one even came to bring me lunch," Ming Yan sighed over the phone.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot you're single now~" Jisoo dragged out the tone.

"Hey, Kim Jisoo, what does that have to do with me being single!"

"Just have your 'reserve squad' of girlfriends bring you some. I'm sure there are plenty of them; it's a rare opportunity." She certainly knew exactly how to push his buttons.

"Can we still be friends?" Ming Yan was speechless at his best friend.

"What do you want to eat? Tell me."

"Surprise me."

"Speak like a human."

"Suit yourself."

Having grown up together, they knew each other's tastes perfectly, right down to the things they detested. They were practically the same person.

...

Rosé shifted her posture to better hear the sounds from inside the room. Gossiping was always so entertaining.

"Rosé, what are you doing here?" As Jisoo opened the door, she caught her younger bandmate in an indescribable pose, pretending to examine something by the entrance.

"Oh... I... I just thought the pattern on our floor was really nice," Rosé said, her face flushing crimson. She tried to stand up but ended up crouching back down.

"Really? I don't think so," Jisoo said, looking down in confusion. "Oh, by the way, Rosé, which place was it that had those delicious pig intestines you mentioned?"

Rosé was the known foodie of the group; she always stuffed her cheeks until they were bulging, looking genuinely happy no matter what she ate. A true foodie wasn't just someone who could eat a lot, but someone who savored the entire process.

As soon as the topic touched upon her area of expertise, Rosé perked up immediately. "It’s that place at the Mangwon-dong market." Even though she was from Australia, during her trainee days, she and Lisa had spent plenty of time scouting out the snacks around the agency. The younger member was even in charge of ordering the group's secret late-night deliveries.

"Does it have a name?"

"It's just a street stall, no name. Just go inside, and it's the one with the most people." Rosé provided the instructions in great detail.

"Got it, thanks." With that, Jisoo tossed the words over her shoulder and hurried out to put on her shoes before slipping away.

Watching her unnie's back, Rosé muttered, "I thought she was going to take me with her." Forget it, she'd just wait for Lisa to come back.

...

"Xiao Yan, who are we waiting for?" Jung Won-yong asked curiously.

After finishing the commercial shoot, Ming Yan hadn't left immediately. Instead, he had his manager park the car at the corner, seemingly waiting for someone.

"Jisoo," Ming Yan replied, eyes closed in a light nap. He was used to pouring his full energy into his work, and it was hard not to feel exhausted once it was over.

Jung Won-yong nodded, not surprised. "Ah, didn't Jisoo just debut? Doesn't she have a schedule?"

"Who knows what YG is thinking. Maybe they're playing at 'starvation marketing'."

"Creating a sense of mystery? That's an actor's management style. Does that even work for idols?" Jung Won-yong was perplexed. Idols were supposed to maintain exposure by any means necessary during their promotional periods; some extreme agencies even manufactured scandals. The more orthodox approach was like Twice, ensuring public visibility through a lethal schedule—comebacks, live streams, and an endless stream of content.

"It might have a miraculous effect, you never know. YG still has the foundation for it," Ming Yan replied lazily.

The top three agencies were the kind of entities that might look like they were failing, but a lean camel was still bigger than a horse. Other agencies might launch one or two decent groups, but they struggled to take the next step. That was the gap—the background, the legacy, the talent.

Jung Won-yong thought for a moment. "That makes sense. Remember, early start the day after tomorrow. We're shooting the magazine cover on location, at dawn."

"Alright. Min-jeong will have to go to school by herself again."

"You really do have the makings of a parent."

"Of course. I am the Uncle of the Year." Ming Yan accepted the compliment without hesitation. He felt that his relationship with Kim Min-jeong was going well; the little one would only come to trust him more over time.

"Won-yong oppa, I bought stir-fried pig intestines, and I brought a portion for you too." While they were chatting, a fully disguised Kim Jisoo skillfully opened the car door and slipped inside. She had been riding in this car ever since Ming Yan started using it, only improving slightly after she debuted. If it weren't for the fact that Kim Eun-sook didn't mind, she would have insisted on splitting the gas money.

Ming Yan enthusiastically reached out to take the bag from his friend. "Pig intestines! I love these." He had always loved organ meats. They weren't exactly high-class food, but Ming Yan had eaten plenty of these "random" things growing up. Whenever he didn't want to go home, he’d hang out with the snot-nosed Jisoo. Eventually, Kim Ji-yoon (Jisoo's older sister) would find them, and they'd both get scolded. Back then, they were truly happy. Even when he didn't want to return to his own cold home, he had somewhere to go.

"Hey, don't reach for it. Let Won-yong oppa eat first," Jisoo slapped Ming Yan's hand away.

"Jisoo, I'm older than you, you should call me oppa."

"Two months counts as older? Save it." She was born on January 3rd, 1995, which effectively put her in the same age bracket as him.

Jung Won-yong watched them bicker, his mind completely at ease. He had seen too much of this over the past three years. His artist might have had his share of girlfriends, but as for Ming Yan and Kim Jisoo... he would be the last person on earth to believe it.