153: Chapter 152 The Taste

At noon, in a bustling rib soup restaurant near Myeong-dong...

By the window, Jiang Zhiyu and Im Yoona sat across from each other. On the table sat steaming bowls of their signature pork backbone potato soup, several side dishes, and two bowls of white rice. The aroma of food wafted through the air, carrying a homely warmth that felt like a world away from the absurd and chaotic filming site on the streets of Myeong-dong that morning.

Jiang Zhiyu ate quickly, yet his movements possessed a peculiar rhythm that kept them from being crude. He skillfully used his chopsticks to debone the meat from the spine, picking up potato chunks and leaves soaked in the rich broth before sending them into his mouth to chew, followed by a mouthful of rice. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, possessing an almost pleasing elegance, as if the act of eating itself had become a refined operation rather than mere sustenance. He kept his head slightly bowed, his thick eyelashes casting faint shadows beneath his eyelids, his focused expression making his already handsome and refined face appear even more serene.

The food in front of Im Yoona, however, was barely touched. She held her spoon, idly stirring the soup in her bowl, but her gaze involuntarily drifted toward Jiang Zhiyu across from her, over and over again.

Sunlight streamed through the window, softly bathing him in light. His skin appeared exceptionally clean and translucent under the glow, with almost no visible pores. The lines of his profile—from his forehead to the bridge of his nose and down to his jaw—were as smooth and beautiful as a meticulously carved work of art. At this moment, he tilted his head slightly, focused on a piece of backbone with cartilage; the lines of his neck stretched accordingly, with faint blue veins visible beneath his fair skin, and his Adam's apple rolled gently as he swallowed.

Im Yoona's gaze seemed drawn by a magnet, sticking to that patch of skin. That peculiar scent from that morning in Myeong-dong—like a mix of ripe fruit and fresh grass after a rain—drifted into her nostrils again, faint yet persistent. It wasn't perfume or body wash; it was a subtle sweetness seeping from deep within his skin. It was like the scent of juice bursting from a ripe peach when peeled, mixed with the crispness of sun-dried citrus peels, with a base note of damp moss from a forest after the rain. This scent reminded Im Yoona of the fruit trees in her grandmother's backyard when she was a child; in the heat of summer, the fruit would ripen until they fell naturally, cracking open on the ground and releasing a cloyingly sweet aroma mixed with the scent of earth that drew swarms of ants and bees.

She subconsciously swallowed.

It wasn't lust—at least, not entirely. It was a more primitive, more instinctive appetite. Just as one feels hungry when smelling freshly baked bread or craves food when smelling the savory aroma of grilled meat, smelling this "ripe fruit" body scent on Jiang Zhiyu made her harbor the absurd thought of "taking a bite to see if it's really that sweet."

Damn little man, what exactly is that scent on him?

Im Yoona poked at the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, but her gaze, as if pulled by a magnet, kept drifting back to Jiang Zhiyu's neck. His skin there glowed with a healthy luster under the sunlight, and she could see the faint blue veins pulsing slightly. If she bit down...

Damn little man...

Im Yoona cursed silently and forced herself to look away, staring down at the cooling soup in her bowl. But that scent seemed to permeate everything, leaving her restless. She took a large gulp of ice water from her cup, trying to suppress the strange thirst in her throat.

"Noona, why do you keep looking at me?"

Jiang Zhiyu's voice suddenly rang out, carrying the laziness of someone who had eaten his fill and a hint of a smile. He had already put down his chopsticks and was unhurriedly wiping his mouth with a napkin. Those eyes, always sparkling with all sorts of whimsical ideas, were now looking at her with a clear, innocently inquiring gaze.

Im Yoona's heart skipped a beat, feeling the panic of being caught doing something wrong, but she immediately put on her senior's front. She shot him a glare and retorted in her usual tone of playful annoyance and disdain, "Who's looking at you? Narcissist! I was looking at the sparrows outside the window, okay?"

She pointed to the bare branches outside the window, where there wasn't even a leaf, let alone a sparrow.

Jiang Zhiyu didn't call her out, simply curling his lips into a "fine, whatever you say" expression. He picked up his phone from the table and tapped quickly on the screen, seemingly sending a message to someone.

Im Yoona's attention was immediately drawn to it. She glanced at his phone screen as if casually, but the angle was wrong, and she couldn't see anything clearly. She couldn't help but wonder: who was he contacting? Someone from SM? Someone from tvN? Or... someone else?

Jiang Zhiyu seemed to notice her searching gaze. He looked up and explained naturally, "Ah, I'm chatting with the aespa kids." He waved his phone, showing a group chat interface with colorful profile pictures. "I told them I'd treat everyone to BBQ once their recent busy streak is over. Training and debut preparations are so exhausting; they need to recharge."

His tone was casual, carrying a familiar intimacy.

Im Yoona raised an eyebrow, her movements while drinking soup pausing. "aespa is very busy lately, what with the new song and all the pre-recordings. Teacher Lee Soo-man is keeping a very close eye on them, plus there's the aftermath of your 'ae training camp.' How could they have time to sneak out for a meal with you?"

Her words carried a hint of a warning, as well as an undetectable... subtle emotion. Jiang Zhiyu seemed to always show extra care for aespa, especially those few kids he had personally trained.

Jiang Zhiyu waved it off nonchalantly, a confident "everything is under control" smile on his face. "It's fine! I'm on great terms with Winter, Karina, and NingNing! Especially Winter; she even called me 'Oppa' at the BBQ restaurant last time (though she was corrected to 'Noona'). It's just a secret meal; we just have to be careful to avoid the Manager Oppa's eyes! Besides," he winked at Im Yoona, "with a former SM ace producer and current TG genius PD like me treating them, they'll definitely be happy to come!"

His proud "I'm tight with the kids" attitude made Im Yoona want to laugh, yet also feel a strange sense of irritation. She put down her spoon, wiped the corner of her mouth, and steered the conversation elsewhere. "By the way, you mentioned this morning that you'd create a custom variety show for Red Velvet. How do you plan to do it? Do you have any preliminary ideas? It's not going to be something like 'Purple Cabbage Court' or 'Rice Cake Balls Save the World' again, is it?"

She deliberately brought up those absurd settings from the morning, her tone teasing.

Jiang Zhiyu's train of thought was indeed diverted, and he temporarily forgot about the BBQ date with aespa. He rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. "Red Velvet... Their colors are richer, and the members' personalities are more distinct and prominent. It's not quite the same as IZ*ONE's overall youthful vibe... Yeah, I really need to give it some proper thought."

As he spoke, he picked up his phone again. "But before that, I need to ask Yeri first."

"Yeri?" Im Yoona was a bit surprised. "Why not go directly to Irene? Or Seulgi, or Wendy? Even though Yeri is the maknae, don't you usually communicate with the leader or a member with more of a say first for things like this?"

Jiang Zhiyu's expression instantly became a bit unnatural. The momentum of his previous talk faded, and his gaze flickered. "Well... I only have Yeri's contact information."

"Huh???" This time, Im Yoona was truly shocked, her voice rising slightly and drawing the attention of a nearby table of guests. She quickly lowered her voice, but the disbelief on her face was plain to see. "You've worked with Red Velvet so many times! You wrote 'IRACEBETH,' didn't you? And you had plenty of interactions with Bae Joo-hyun... Irene and the others during the 'weekend special,' right? You actually only have the maknae's contact info?"

Jiang Zhiyu grew even more embarrassed, his ears seemingly turning a bit red. He scratched his head and tried to explain, "We saw each other often back at SM for work and such... but private contact info... I have their Manager's number, and all work-related contact goes through the Manager. Bae Joo-hyun..." He paused, his voice dropping, his gaze flickering. "Irene-ssi and I... our relationship is actually just so-so."

Im Yoona keenly caught the change in how he addressed her. Earlier, when mentioning other Red Velvet members, he used nicknames or their names, but for Bae Joo-hyun, he had blurted out "Bae Joo-hyun" only to immediately switch to the formal "Irene-ssi."

Calling her by her real name?!

Alarm bells rang in Im Yoona's mind. In the Korean entertainment industry, it was very unusual for seniors and juniors—especially of the opposite gender—to call each other by their real names unless they were extremely close, or... something was up. This guy, Jiang Zhiyu, usually seemed to handle everyone with ease and was even a bit irreverent, but his stiff correction and deliberate distancing regarding Bae Joo-hyun were instead signs of something abnormal.

Jiang Zhiyu, you rascal... Various guesses swirled in Im Yoona's mind, but she remained outwardly calm. She simply stared at him with those clear eyes that seemed capable of seeing through people, her tone carrying just the right amount of curiosity and seniorly concern. "No way? Your interactions with Irene on the 'weekend special' seemed quite natural to me, and she even praised you for having great ideas about music. Is there some kind of misunderstanding?"

Jiang Zhiyu felt uncomfortable under her gaze. He looked down and took a sip of water, avoiding eye contact. He couldn't exactly say that because of Bae Joo-hyun's face and that cold yet occasionally fragile aura, she always inexplicably reminded him of his ex-girlfriend Baek Ji-xin from the Tianxuan Continent, who had left him heartbroken and full of regret. Every time he saw her, his long-dormant heart would race as if it were malfunctioning. To avoid unnecessary trouble and emotional entanglements, he deliberately kept his distance and didn't even dare to ask for her contact information, right?

He couldn't say such a reason even if it killed him.

So, he could only give a couple of dry laughs and try to gloss over it. "It's not a misunderstanding... it's just... we're great partners at work, but we just don't have much contact privately. Irene-ssi is a very good senior and artist." He paused, then added, "Yeri is more lively, and we had a good time collaborating on the 'Fight, ae!' program before, so we exchanged contact info. It's good to chat with her first and hear the maknae's honest thoughts, right?"

He tried to pull the conversation back to the legitimate reason of "understanding the members' thoughts."