The Old Me Is Actually Pretty Cool Too

Ever since Red Velvet released their fifth mini album, "RBB," on November 30, they had essentially had no more schedules for the rest of the year.

Their manager announced the instructions he had received from SM Entertainment's upper management: Red Velvet would be taking roughly half a year off to recharge, then return with a new album next June. This was the usual approach for wildly popular South Korean girl groups.

After all, Red Velvet's schedule this year had been far too packed. Concerts and new albums had come one after another, and they had barely rested all year. If things continued like this, not only would the artists become exhausted, but fans could easily suffer from aesthetic fatigue as well.

Now that it was confirmed they would be resting for around half a year, the Red Velvet members immediately got ideas. They all wanted to travel and have fun abroad.

They pleaded with their manager for permission. As the leader, Bae Joo-hyun had originally only wanted to stay home and had no intention of traveling overseas. But seeing how eagerly her sisters wanted it, she helped plead with the manager too. In the end, everyone was granted fifteen days of vacation.

During those fifteen free days, Bae Joo-hyun stayed cooped up at home for the first ten, never stepping outside. It was only during the final five days that she decided to visit nearby China. Otherwise, when Kang Seul-gi, Son Seung-wan, and the others returned and shared their travel stories, she would not be able to join the conversation.

Traveling alone in China carried some risks for a famous artist like her. Although China had the Korea Ban, Red Velvet had been incredibly popular lately—arguably one of East Asia's hottest girl groups. Therefore, she wore large sunglasses almost the entire time she was there, even when ordering takeout at the hotel.

Thanks to her excellent "disguise," no one had recognized her these past few days. Moreover, traveling in China had unexpectedly made her very happy. She had easily fallen in love with the food, customs, and local atmosphere, and had even begun to feel reluctant to leave.

But no matter how reluctant she was, she still had to return to South Korea. Otherwise, Red Velvet's manager, who had only approved fifteen days of leave for her, would surely go crazy. That was the helplessness of being an artist—even on vacation, her freedom was still restricted.

Bae Joo-hyun did not have much to complain about. Since she had chosen to become an artist, these were prices she had to bear. At worst, she could visit China again during her next break. When that time came, she would come out immediately!

She had thought this trip would end hastily in regret, but yesterday, when she went to collect her visa, she had encountered a strange man!

For the first time, she had accidentally let her disguise slip in front of that strange man and revealed what she really looked like, yet he had actually ignored her?

How should she put it? While she had secretly been delighted, as the leader of a popular girl group and South Korea's Fourth Generation Visual, she could not help feeling somewhat frustrated.

So she was not actually that famous.

The final day of her vacation passed just like that. What surprised Bae Joo-hyun was that despite having played and eaten so much in China, when she lay on the hotel's soft, fluffy bed that final night before falling asleep, the person who popped into her mind was that strange man.

Perhaps it was because he was the first person to make her feel frustrated. It was not really anything that strange.

Who would have thought that today, when she was flying back to South Korea, she would run into that strange man again on the plane!

The strangest part was, what was he even saying now?

Bae Joo-hyun widened her beautiful, clear eyes and reread the translation on Xu Junyan's phone again and again in confusion.

First, there was, "Who are you?" Then, "Have we met?" "You must have mistaken me for someone else." "Sorry, I need to sleep"...

That inexplicably familiar tone!!

After confirming it several times, Bae Joo-hyun finally understood. This strange man was pretending not to know her, and he did not intend to say much to her.

"Ah!... Hah!!"

Bae Joo-hyun had no choice but to take a long breath, gently pat her chest with her delicate hand, and let it out. There it was again, that strange sense of frustration.

Even setting aside her identity as the leader of the popular girl group Red Velvet, she was still South Korea's renowned Fourth Generation Visual. At the very least, she was pretty, wasn't she?

Yet this guy disliked her that much?

Bae Joo-hyun turned her head away and looked out the small airplane window. She was Bae Joo-hyun, for goodness' sake. If she took the initiative to speak to this guy again, she was a puppy!

In the next seat, Xu Junyan saw Bae Joo-hyun turn her head away on her own and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he would not be falsely accused after all.

Putting away his phone, Xu Junyan prepared to close his eyes and rest. The flight attendants walking up and down the aisle began reminding all passengers to fasten their seat belts.

Xu Junyan lowered his head to check. His was fastened... Wait, what was this extra strap? He reached behind himself and grabbed it, then glanced over to see that Bae Joo-hyun's waist was completely unbuckled.

"Hey, your seat belt."

Xu Junyan lightly nudged her arm with his elbow to remind her.

Bae Joo-hyun turned back. Her delicate, beautiful face had originally been expressionless, and her gaze had been cool, as though she wanted to convey the feeling of, The old me is actually pretty cool too. But the politeness ingrained in her bones made most of that coolness collapse the moment she realized Xu Junyan was reminding her to fasten her seat belt. What came out of her mouth became her habitual gentle, "Kamsahamnida~"

Xu Junyan blinked in surprise. This girl's cold expression was unexpectedly quite appealing. Shaking his head, he switched his phone to airplane mode, closed his eyes again, and rested up.

Bae Joo-hyun lowered her head and carefully fastened her seat belt. When she looked up again, she could not help sneaking a few more glances at Xu Junyan.

He really did have a handsome face, and he was a handsome man as well. Of course, there was no denying that he was still a strange man.

Actually, he isn't that strange. He just doesn't follow South Korean girl groups, so he couldn't recognize me, and he doesn't have the habit of going up to chat with pretty girls whenever he sees one. If I had to say it, that actually makes him a good man.

Bae Joo-hyun suddenly refuted her earlier thoughts in her heart. Shaking her head, she took off her clear glasses and prepared to put her large sunglasses back on before closing her eyes to rest as well. Unexpectedly, her stomach suddenly growled.

"Cough!" Bae Joo-hyun's pretty face reddened. She hurriedly bent over and covered her lower stomach, muttering, "I should have eaten a proper meal last night~"

She had been rather indulgent with food and drinks during her recent travels in China. But yesterday, on the final day of her trip, with her return home approaching, her miraculous self-discipline as a girl group leader had suddenly kicked in again. She had actually gone the entire day without eating.

Now it had collapsed!

Her stomach growled once, and the hunger that followed came flooding in. Her lower abdomen felt completely empty, and she was starving.

The expression on Bae Joo-hyun's pretty face crumpled slightly. She sighed pitifully, covered her stomach, lowered her head to look at the tips of her shoes, and began praying in her heart. Please, let the in-flight meal arrive soon.

This flight from Shanghai International Airport to Incheon came with an in-flight meal. It would most likely just be a dry little bread roll, but it was better than nothing, wasn't it?

Bae Joo-hyun maintained this position—the one most effective for resisting hunger—for a full half hour.

Finally, half an hour later, the flight attendants pushed out their meal carts and began handing out little bread rolls to every passenger.

Xu Junyan was awakened by the commotion. He accepted two little bread rolls and two bottles of water from the flight attendant, then handed one portion over to...

Whoosh!

Before anything even happened, the little bread roll he had extended halfway suddenly slipped smoothly out of his hand and was gone!