453: Fifth

The underground parking garage of the apartment building was as quiet as another world. The lighting was cold white, shining on the gray concrete floor and reflecting a chilly luster. The ventilation ducts overhead emitted a low, droning hum, like some giant creature breathing slowly. There were a few cars parked in the spots, but not many; at this hour, most people were already home. Jiang Zhiyu's car was parked in the designated spot next to the elevator entrance, its headlights off, and the engine killed.

He opened the trunk and lifted out the two large bags of food. The bags were heavy; the one in his left hand sagged, so he adjusted his center of gravity and steadied the bag in his right hand as well. Kim Soo-yeon got out of the passenger seat and closed the door. She was empty-handed, carrying nothing. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but Jiang Zhiyu wouldn't let her. He said, "You're wearing a dress, it's not convenient." She was wearing a black evening dress that fell below her knees, made of a silk that wrinkled easily, so it was indeed unsuitable for carrying heavy items.

Kim Soo-yeon followed behind him with a light step, her high heels making crisp "click-clack" sounds on the concrete floor. The corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, but the curve wasn't her usual faint, polite smile; it was a smile with a hint of something wicked, like a cat that had spotted interesting prey. The elevator doors opened, Jiang Zhiyu walked in, and Kim Soo-yeon followed. The numbers jumped from B1 to 1, from 1 to 3, and from 3 to 5. The two of them were alone in the elevator, and it was so quiet that one could almost hear the aroma of the food in the bags quietly wafting through the air. Jiang Zhiyu looked at Kim Soo-yeon's reflection in the elevator doors, and the curve of her mouth made a chill run down his spine. He wanted to ask her what she was smiling about, but felt that even if he asked, he wouldn't get an answer.

The elevator arrived. The doors opened, and the hallway lights were a warm yellow, shining on the gray carpet—a color that made one want to yawn just looking at it. The hallway was very quiet, with only the low hum of air conditioner units and the occasional sound of a door closing in the distance. Kim Soo-yeon walked in front, and Jiang Zhiyu followed behind. She walked to the door of the aespa dormitory and reached out to press the doorbell.

"Ding-dong—"

Rapid footsteps came from inside the door. "Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp," like some small animal running. The sound went from far to near, getting louder and louder. The door was flung open. A figure lunged out from inside, moving as fast as lightning, fluffy slippers tracing an arc in mid-air, hair flying behind, the whole person like a cannonball that had been launched. That figure dove precisely into Kim Soo-yeon's arms.

"Oppa—" The voice was sweet and sticky, with a long-drawn-out tail, every syllable sounding like it had been soaked in honey. Kim Minjeong's face was buried in Kim Soo-yeon's chest, her hands wrapped around Kim Soo-yeon's waist, hanging on her like a puppy that had found its owner. Her hair rubbed against Kim Soo-yeon's chin, making a rustling sound.

Kim Soo-yeon looked down at the furry head in her arms, and the curve of her mouth deepened slightly. She raised an eyebrow, the movement slow and carrying the composure of a "plan succeeded" moment. Her arm rested loosely on Kim Minjeong's back, neither pushing her away nor pulling her closer.

Kim Minjeong's cheek rubbed against Kim Soo-yeon's chest. The sensation—soft, warm, bouncy. She rubbed her face against that sensation again. Wait. Oppa's chest shouldn't feel like this. Her body stiffened. Her nostrils were filled not with the crisp, herbal scent of Jiang Zhiyu, but with a faint floral fragrance. Not men's perfume, but women's perfume. Her gaze moved downward. Her eyes passed over Kim Soo-yeon's chin, neck, collarbone—and stopped. She saw high heels, black, with thin heels, glistening with a low-key luster under the hallway lights. Oppa didn't wear high heels. Her pupils dilated several times over in that instant. She turned her head and saw the long male legs standing beside her, carrying two large bags. Black dress pants, black leather shoes. Beside those legs, there were two more legs.

"Minjeong-ah." Jiang Zhiyu's voice came from above her head.

Kim Minjeong's brain went "buzz" in that instant, as if someone had pressed a start button. She sprang up from Kim Soo-yeon's arms, the speed so fast it was as if she had been scalded.

Kim Soo-yeon didn't let her spring away. It wasn't by holding her with her arms, but by her voice arriving before the action. "Winterxi—" Her voice was neither high nor low, carrying a lazy, raspy quality like afternoon sunlight. "You're too enthusiastic."

Karina, Ningning, and Uchinaga Eri walked out from inside. They had been on the sofa when they heard the doorbell, and by the time Kim Minjeong rushed out, they had just stood up. When they reached the entryway, they happened to see the scene of Kim Minjeong springing away from Kim Soo-yeon's arms. The three of them bowed simultaneously.

"Chairwoman Kim, hello!" The voices were as uniform as if they had been rehearsed.

Kim Minjeong raised her head and met Kim Soo-yeon's gaze. Kim Soo-yeon's eye color was very light, that kind of amber that shimmered with a faint golden light under the lamps. Those eyes were looking at Kim Minjeong right now, the gaze moving from her eyes, down along the bridge of her nose, past the tip, and stopping on her lips. The gaze was light, like a feather brushing against skin. Kim Minjeong's breathing paused for a moment. Kim Soo-yeon's gaze still lingered on her lips, as if examining an exquisite piece of porcelain, looking at its glaze, its texture, its luster.

"The name 'Winter' is very cold." Her voice dropped even lower, carrying a hint of raspiness, a hint of seductive allure. "But Winterxi is so enthusiastic." She paused. "Minjeong-ah—do you want to experience a summertime that burns like a raging fire?"

That voice landed in Kim Minjeong's ears like someone had gently blown a breath against them. It was tingling and numb, spreading from her earlobe, across her cheek, down her neck, all the way to her collarbone. Her breathing quickened a little; it wasn't fear, it was just that her heart was beating too fast. She looked into Kim Soo-yeon's amber eyes, her own face reflected in those pupils. Her head slowly, as if pulled by something, leaned in toward Kim Soo-yeon.

Karina's eyes were wide open, her pupils reflecting the sight of Kim Minjeong slowly leaning in toward Kim Soo-yeon. Ningning's mouth was open in an 'O' shape, the 'O' so round it looked like it had been drawn with a compass. Uchinaga Eri's expression remained that calm "I'm just watching a show" look, but her eyelid twitched.

This, this, this... what is the situation? Karina's brain short-circuited at that moment. Ningning's brain short-circuited too. Uchinaga Eri's brain didn't short-circuit; she was thinking—how far away are Kim Minjeong's lips from Kim Soo-yeon's?

Jiang Zhiyu was roaring internally. Kim Soo-yeon! You damn woman! Don't you dare seduce my puppy away! He took a deep breath, pushing the "I want to curse" air back into his chest, and then gave a dry cough. The cough was loud and sharp, like a bomb in the quiet hallway.

"Minjeong-ah! Get off Chairwoman Kim immediately!"

The three of them—Karina, Ningning, and Uchinaga Eri—finally snapped out of it. Karina stepped forward and grabbed Kim Minjeong's left arm, Ningning grabbed her right arm, and Uchinaga Eri wrapped her arms around her waist from behind. The three of them pulled Kim Minjeong away from Kim Soo-yeon like they were playing tug-of-war. When Kim Minjeong was pulled away, her gaze remained locked with Kim Soo-yeon's. Those eyes shifted from Kim Soo-yeon's lips back to her eyes, and from her eyes back to her lips, like a small animal bewitched by something.

Jiang Zhiyu raised the bags in his hands, blocking them between Kim Soo-yeon and Kim Minjeong. The two large bags acted like a wall, separating their gazes. Kim Minjeong's gaze landed on the bags, then on Jiang Zhiyu's face. She blinked, as if confirming who the person in front of her was. Her cheeks turned red, visible to the naked eye. The redness started from the base of her neck and spread upward, passing her chin, her cheeks, her earlobes, and reaching her forehead. She looked like a boiled shrimp, red through and through, evenly red, red without a single blind spot.

Kim Soo-yeon let out a few soft laughs. The laughter was light, spilling from deep in her throat, sounding like a string of wind chimes scattered by the wind in the quiet hallway. Her gaze shifted from Kim Minjeong and landed on Karina's face.

Karina felt a deep sense of foreboding. Does this Chairwoman Kim have some designs on me? A thin layer of sweat broke out on her back. Kim Soo-yeon's gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then shifted away. It moved to Ningning's face. Ningning's mouth was still in an 'O' shape, and when that gaze swept over her, her mouth shape changed from an 'O' to an "Ah." Then it moved to Uchinaga Eri's face. Uchinaga Eri's expression remained that calm "I'm just watching a show" look, but her fingers clenched slightly at her sides.

[part:gemini-3.0-flash]

Jiang Zhiyu thought that bringing Kim Soo-yeon over was definitely the worst mistake he had ever made. He had heard rumors before that she was a "girl idol killer" who changed partners every month, using various means to seduce them before breaking up. But he had never seen it with his own eyes; those were just legends. Today, he saw it. That was his puppy, the puppy he had raised himself—how could she be so easily seduced away! He took a deep breath.

“Let's go inside first. It's too cold out,” he said, his voice calm.

Jiang Zhiyu led the way inside, carrying two large bags. Kim Soo-yeon followed behind him, her pace still light and that curve still at the corner of her mouth. Karina and Ningning supported Kim Minjeong as they followed, and Uchinaga Eri came in last, closing the door behind her.

The door closed. Quiet returned to the hallway, save for the low hum of the air conditioner's outdoor unit.

—

The atmosphere in the living room had been off from the moment they stepped inside.

Jiang Zhiyu placed the two large bags of food on the coffee table, the containers inside clinking softly. The aroma of food wafted from the bags—the charred scent of grilled Hanwoo, the sweetness of seafood, and the creamy fragrance of French desserts—blending into a mouth-watering smell. But no one moved to touch the bags.

Kim Minjeong sat in the middle of the sofa, holding Lami in her arms, her fingers unconsciously tracing circles on Lami's back. Lami's large mechanical eyes were half-open and half-closed, letting out a "purring" sound as she was rubbed. A blush from the earlier "misunderstanding" still lingered on her cheeks, spreading from the apples of her cheeks across the bridge of her nose. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her gaze landed on an indistinct spot on the coffee table. She didn't dare look at Kim Soo-yeon, nor Jiang Zhiyu, or even Karina and the others. Her mind was still replaying the scene from earlier—how she had lunged into Kim Soo-yeon's arms, nuzzled her, and then looked up into those amber eyes. Her ears turned red again.

Ningning sat on the other side of the sofa with her legs crossed, holding her phone. Her eyes scanned the living room, moving from Kim Minjeong's bright red ears to Karina's slightly pursed lips, from Karina's lips to Uchinaga Eri's face which was as calm as water, from Uchinaga Eri's face to the faint curve at the corner of Kim Soo-yeon's mouth, and from Kim Soo-yeon's smile to Jiang Zhiyu's "I want to speak but don't know what to say" expression. A curve formed at the corner of her own mouth, and her large eyes sparkled like two polished pieces of obsidian. She radiated the satisfaction of someone watching a drama unfold.

Karina sat at the edge of the sofa, her body slightly turned, with one hand on the armrest and the other on her knee. Her hair was tied in a bun, with a few stray strands hanging by her ears, making her delicate face look even more refined. She was wearing cream-colored loungewear, the collar hanging loosely to reveal a section of her fair collarbone. She looked like a gentle, domestic girl that anyone would want to get close to.

Her gaze moved back and forth between Jiang Zhiyu and Kim Soo-yeon. They sat on the individual sofas opposite them, Jiang Zhiyu on the left and Kim Soo-yeon on the right. There was the distance of a console box between them, neither too far nor too close. Jiang Zhiyu's posture was the same as it usually was in the office, his back straight and hands on his knees. Kim Soo-yeon's posture was more relaxed; she leaned against the back of the sofa with her legs crossed, her toes swaying gently.

Karina recalled the news she had seen online before—"TG Entertainment's President Jiang Zhiyu and Chairwoman Kim Soo-yeon Suspected to be Dating," "The Two Photographed Entering and Leaving the Company Multiple Times," "Relationship Between Jiang Zhiyu and Kim Soo-yeon Sparks Industry Speculation." There were also rumors in the circle that the two were more than just business partners and might have a deeper relationship. She used to think those rumors might be true. But now, she wasn't so sure.

The look Kim Soo-yeon had given her just now... it wasn't the look of a romantic rival, but the look of a hunter watching prey. It carried a playful sense of "you're very interesting," a scrutiny of "I'm very interested in you," and a certainty of "you can't escape." What she felt in that gaze wasn't hostility, jealousy, or the possessiveness of "he's mine, don't even think about it"—it was something more direct, more naked, something that made her heart race and her back turn cold.

She didn't like women. She had never liked women. But just now, when she was being watched by Kim Soo-yeon's amber eyes, her heart had indeed skipped a beat. It wasn't attraction; it was tension. Like a frog stared down by a snake, she knew the danger but couldn't move her legs. She pulled her thoughts back and lowered her head, suppressing the thought of "Does Kim Soo-yeon have designs on me?"

She thought of the scene where Kim Minjeong lunged into Kim Soo-yeon's arms, the scene where Kim Minjeong's heart raced from just a few words of flirtation from Kim Soo-yeon, and the scene where Kim Minjeong kept staring at Kim Soo-yeon even as she was being pulled away. If Kim Soo-yeon and Jiang Zhiyu were truly a couple, she wouldn't treat Kim Minjeong like that. She would care about Jiang Zhiyu's feelings and her status as the "boyfriend's sister." The fact that she didn't care meant she and Jiang Zhiyu weren't in that kind of relationship.

Karina's heart skipped a beat. It wasn't tension this time, but a secret joy. That joy welled up from her chest to her throat, her cheeks, and her eyes. They weren't dating, which meant she had a chance. This thought circled in her mind, turning from "having a chance" to "maybe it's possible," and from "maybe it's possible" to "what if."

She even thought of something darker. If Minjeong followed Kim Soo-yeon, then she could be with Jiang Zhiyu—she extinguished that thought. She couldn't think about it, couldn't think too deeply, or she wouldn't be able to maintain her current expression. She took a deep breath, pressing that "secret joy" down into her chest, and then slowly exhaled.

Uchinaga Eri leaned against the other end of the sofa, holding a cup of Americano. The coffee was already cold, but she didn't care. Her gaze scanned the living room, from Kim Minjeong's red ears to Ningning's sparkling eyes, from Ningning's eyes to Karina's slightly pursed lips, from Karina's lips to Jiang Zhiyu's "I'm organizing my words" face, and from Jiang Zhiyu's face to the faint curve at the corner of Kim Soo-yeon's mouth.

Something indescribable was surging in her heart. It wasn't tension, embarrassment, or curiosity—it was inspiration. Those scenes flashed through her mind frame by frame like a movie: Kim Minjeong lunging out from the door into Kim Soo-yeon's arms; Kim Minjeong's cheek nuzzling against Kim Soo-yeon's chest; Kim Soo-yeon looking down at her with that curve at her mouth and that light in her eyes; Kim Soo-yeon saying, "Do you want to experience a scorching summertime?"; Kim Minjeong slowly leaning toward Kim Soo-yeon's lips; Karina's wide eyes, Ningning's open mouth, and Jiang Zhiyu's devastated expression.

These images automatically rearranged and combined in her mind, fitting together like a puzzle to create a complete picture. It wasn't reality; it was fanfiction. She was someone who had written fanfic before, back when she was a trainee, publishing several short stories on an anonymous forum under a pseudonym. They were later dug up and verified by fans, and those articles were still circulating online. She thought she hadn't felt that impulse in a long time, but at this moment, it surged up again. It was as if something had struck her heart, sending blood rushing to her limbs, every cell saying—"Write it, write it out."

Uchinaga Eri lowered her eyelids and took a sip of the cold Americano. The bitterness of the coffee exploded on the tip of her tongue. She closed her eyes and saved that image in the deepest part of her mind.

The living room was so quiet that the low hum of the air conditioner's outdoor unit could be heard. The food on the coffee table was still steaming, though the Hanwoo in the container had cooled slightly, the fat on the surface beginning to solidify, and the scent of seafood becoming faint. The TV was still on with the volume turned to the minimum, replaying some late-night variety show. The audience's laughter came through the speakers like distant background music from another dimension. No one spoke, no one moved their chopsticks, and no one reached for the food. Kim Minjeong was still looking down at Lami, Ningning was still looking at her phone, Karina was still looking at the floor, and Uchinaga Eri was still looking at her coffee. Jiang Zhiyu looked at them, and Kim Soo-yeon looked at them too.

Silence, like an invisible quilt, weighed down on everyone.