Chapter Forty-Eight: The More You Try to Be Clever, the More You Blunder.

“My name is Ning Yizhuo, and I’m from China.” The round-faced girl introduced herself to Minjoon Kim.

“Hello, I’m Minjoon Kim, from Yangsan, South Korea.” Minjoon felt a little embarrassed; she had just mistaken the girl for her senior, only to realize Ning was nearly two years younger than her.

Suddenly, the senior had become the junior.

Come to think of it, how could this fourteen-year-old look more mature than herself?

Ning Yizhuo blinked her big eyes. “You’re new here, right? I haven’t seen you before.”

“Yeah, I’ve been at the company for just over half a month.”

At S.M. Entertainment, trainees at different stages attend different courses, though sometimes they’re mixed together.

Minjoon had only just made a new friend and didn’t know much about the others yet.

“I’ve been a trainee for about a year. In September this year, I became a public trainee under the Rookies Project.” Ning spoke with a hint of pride.

At fourteen, it’s hard to hide one’s feelings.

The girl was proud of her achievements.

Minjoon smiled. “Yes, senior.”

She could quite understand the junior-senior dynamic because she had been in similar situations herself.

Minjoon found Ning adorable. Since her mother and maternal uncle were Chinese, she instinctively felt a kinship when Ning mentioned her place of origin.

“You’re the elder sister, so just call me by my name,” Ning said, blushing a little. South Korea tends to place great importance on age, but luckily Minjoon wasn’t so formal.

“Ning Yi... jio?”

Minjoon tried to recall the girl’s name.

She hadn’t inherited her mother’s proficiency in Chinese, as the language environment was lacking. At home, Mingyue mostly spoke Korean.

“Ning Yizhuo.”

“Ning Yi jio.”

“Ning Yi... never mind, whatever you like.”

Ning quickly gave up on correcting Minjoon’s pronunciation. Certain Korean phonemes are difficult to articulate, and she was used to it by now.

Minjoon’s sweet accent made the name sound even cuter.

...

“Uncle, it’s a red light.” Minjoon tapped Mingyan’s thigh.

For some reason, she felt her uncle seemed preoccupied, otherwise, he wouldn’t be so distracted.

“Ah, I know.” Since meeting Ji-won Kim, Mingyan had been troubled.

After all, he had dated that woman for nearly a year, and they knew each other well. Ji-won’s reaction was clearly off compared to before.

Calm, composed, as if...

As if possessed by an actress’s role.

Could the breakup have unlocked some hidden energy in her, causing her to evolve?

If so, who knew what might happen during the filming of “The Road of the Third Rate.”

The unknown is always the most frightening.

Minjoon guessed, “Uncle, are you too tired from practicing taekwondo? Your instructor must be unprofessional.”

“Don’t say that. He’s a black belt.”

Actually, Mingyan wanted to ask if his niece knew Ji-min Ryu.

They were trainees from the same period, having joined S.M. within a month of each other.

“Is a black belt that impressive?”

“He could probably beat you twice over.”

...

Time passed to November 24th.

“Ring, ring...” The alarm disturbed peaceful dreams, but a slender, fair hand quickly silenced it.

Minjoon groggily opened her eyes. Today was a special day: Mingyan’s birthday.

She had been thinking about it ever since coming to Seoul. Mingyan had cared for her meticulously, though sometimes clumsily or childishly, but it warmed her heart.

When she first arrived in Seoul, she was understandably scared.

Mingyan’s name was often mentioned by her mother, and she had vague memories of him, but they had little contact—maybe once or twice a year at most.

Minjoon was sensitive and could sense that Mingyan had been nervous at first too.

Since arriving in Seoul, from daily meals and living arrangements to school and trainee auditions, Minjoon knew her uncle was trying hard to be good to her.

That was why she gradually accepted Mingyan and wanted to do something for him.

On her desk calendar, November 24th was circled, so busy school life wouldn’t make her forget.

“I wonder if the seaweed soup recipe I found online tastes as good as mom’s,” Minjoon murmured while dressing.

In Korea, seaweed soup is a must on birthdays.

Minjoon remembered that every birthday during her childhood, her mother would cook a fragrant bowl of seaweed soup, creating a warm memory she cherished.

In her mind, a birthday without seaweed soup was incomplete.

To surprise Mingyan, Minjoon kept this plan secret and quietly learned how to make seaweed soup.

Of course, mostly theoretical learning—she hadn’t tried making it yet.

She had considered ordering takeout from Mingyan’s favorite place and pretending she made it, but after thinking it over, she gave up.

Seaweed soup was about expressing heartfelt sentiment, and takeout wouldn’t convey that.

It wasn’t much different from instant noodles anyway.

“Uncle probably hasn’t gotten up yet.”

Minjoon carefully stepped out of her room.

She had already bought all the ingredients and stored them in the fridge.

Not worried about being caught, based on her observations, Mingyan rarely opened the fridge unless cooking, especially not at night.

So after school, she went shopping with Chaewon Kim, then stashed the ingredients in the fridge.

Just as expected, Mingyan was completely unaware.

Minjoon also prepared a small birthday gift, intending to give it when her uncle was deeply touched.

The plan was perfect.

“I still need to add beef...” Minjoon clumsily began cooking, occasionally perking up to listen for any sounds from the house, fearing her uncle would get up before she was ready.

That would spoil the surprise.

Fortunately, Mingyan didn’t wake until the seaweed soup was ready. He was probably exhausted from taekwondo practice.

Minjoon placed the steaming seaweed soup on the table, her heart filled with joy as she waited for her uncle.

When Mingyan finally got up and saw the soup, he froze in place.

“Uncle, happy birthday!” Minjoon stood up. “I made this seaweed soup for you. Please have some.”

“...”