At seven o'clock, the plane took off from Shanghai. At 9:37, the international flight slowly landed at Incheon International Airport.
The broadcast came on right on schedule, reminding all passengers to collect their luggage, take their phones, and disembark.
Xu Junyan suddenly opened his eyes, pulled out his phone to check the time, and let out a soft breath.
He had arrived!
"That was fast."
Muttering to himself, Xu Junyan got up and took his backpack down from the overhead compartment. Just as he was about to leave, he paused and instinctively looked toward the girl with a bun hairstyle curled up in the window seat, still sleeping soundly behind her oversized sunglasses.
By now, he had realized that he had misunderstood her before. She had never intended to scam him. On the contrary, some of Miss Bae Joo-hyun's occasional reactions were, admittedly, rather cute.
"Forget it."
Xu Junyan suddenly turned and left without looking back, because he remembered what had happened with RNG and Yu Shuang, and abruptly lost interest in this sort of thing.
Besides, he had only met Miss Bae Joo-hyun twice. He was a little interested, sure, but calling it affection would be going way too far.
What Xu Junyan did not know was that, in his eyes, Miss Bae Joo-hyun had been sleeping curled up by the window, but her bright eyes beneath those sunglasses had long since opened.
She simply sat there with her eyes wide open, silently watching Xu Junyan stand up, retrieve his luggage, glance at her midway through, then withdraw his gaze and leave.
"This guy..."
Bae Joo-hyun pursed her lips. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little disappointed.
After turning off airplane mode on her phone, she found that Kang Seul-gi and Son Seung-wan had already been frantically @-ing her in Red Velvet's small group chat.
Kang Seul-gi: "Older Sister, when are you coming back?"
Son Seung-wan: "Unnie, unnie! What time is your flight? We're shopping around Seoul right now. Once you get back, we decided to go to your place in Incheon for barbecue! After we eat, the Finnish duo will be in position and set out for the Rift again! We'll teach those blind bot-lane guys a vicious lesson! /grinning/ /grinning/"
It was easy to tell what sort of personalities they had from their messages. Kang Seul-gi's tone was soft, much like she was herself, probably the gentle-tempered type. Son Seung-wan, on the other hand, was far more sunny and cheerful, her tone even carrying a hint of tomboyish wildness.
Bae Joo-hyun smiled faintly and replied to her younger sisters in the group chat. As she unfastened her seat belt, she thought that she had probably been too idle lately, always overthinking things.
That was right, she was Bae Joo-hyun! The Fourth Generation Visual renowned throughout South Korea! Why would she feel disappointed just because that weirdo had not asked for her contact information?
That was absolutely impossible!
After leaving the airport, Xu Junyan looked around for the person picking him up. Before coming here, Faker had repeatedly told him that he would come to meet him at the airport!
Xu Junyan had not been able to refuse, so he agreed. Now, he was looking for Faker, but after scanning the area, he still did not see him.
"Right, Faker is a top celebrity in South Korea too. His public recognition is no less than that of most first-tier idols. He probably wouldn't deliberately pick a crowded place to meet me."
Xu Junyan gave it some simple thought. Using reverse logic and putting himself in Faker's shoes, he quickly thought of places in the airport that might have fewer people.
Somewhere like the vending machines?
Drinks in airport vending machines were often expensive, and normal people generally would not buy drinks there.
Xu Junyan looked around. Once he spotted the vending machines, he moved a little closer. After only a few steps, he saw a guy with a bowl cut and a mask holding up a sign bearing the words "Junyan."
It was Faker!
The corners of Xu Junyan's mouth lifted as he strode over. Once he reached Faker, he patted him on the shoulder and greeted him, "Hello."
"Hello."
Faker knew a few basic Chinese phrases. When someone suddenly patted his shoulder and greeted him, he responded instinctively. Once he saw that it was the person he had been waiting for, his face lit up with delight.
"Junyan, you're finally here!"
Faker happily held out his hand.
Xu Junyan shook it and teased him in English, "I can't really understand Korean for now, but I'm happy too."
Faker's English was decent enough. He was nowhere near CET-6 level, but he was at least around CET-4 level. He could barely understand what Xu Junyan was saying. He smiled awkwardly and touched the tip of his nose.
Then his gaze suddenly fell on the vending machine beside them.
This was his first time picking up a new teammate at the airport, and this new teammate had even been sincerely invited by him. Shouldn't he show some hospitality?
Faker regretted rushing out of the club so impulsively. He could have at least brought out a bottle of something to drink. Then he would not be standing here so awkwardly empty-handed.
Still, he had to make some kind of gesture. He knew a fair bit about Chinese culture, especially how much Chinese people valued social etiquette and relationships...
He gritted his teeth, steeled himself, then suddenly turned to the vending machine and pressed several buttons in succession. He took two bills from his pocket, hesitated for a long while, then put one of them back.
He would not drink any himself; he would only watch. One bottle was enough, right?
Xu Junyan stood beside him with a baffled expression, watching Faker's sudden actions in confusion.
What was this supposed to be?...
Ding!
The Korean won went in, and a can of Coke rolled out of the vending machine. Faker bent down to pick it up, finally relaxing into a smile again as he handed it directly to Xu Junyan. "Drink it."
Xu Junyan froze for around three seconds before finally realizing what was happening. Damn! Faker was treating him to a Coke?
The story of five people sharing one can was still fresh in his memory, yet today, this bowl-cut guy was actually willing to open an entire can just for him?!
Were they not going to make ends meet anymore, Sang-hyeok?
That emotion involuntarily appeared in Xu Junyan's eyes, but he immediately hid it and smiled. "Thank you."
The smile on Faker's face became even more sincere and radiant. He felt that he had handled the social etiquette perfectly today!
Although... ahigo! Two thousand won! It hurt! It hurt so much! His heart hurt so badly that he could barely breathe!
Coke bought at the airport was so expensive that he had never even been willing to drink it himself! He had really splurged to welcome his good teammate! That was why his gaze kept drifting toward Xu Junyan as he drank the Coke.
Xu Junyan naturally noticed. He understood immediately, generously handed the Coke over, and invited him, "Want some too?"
Faker first waved his hands in refusal, saying in Korean, "How could I? How could I?" Xu Junyan said in Chinese, "Come on, come on. Only brothers who have drunk from the same can are good brothers." Faker could not understand, but he seemed to grasp the meaning. Gratefully taking the Coke, he tipped his head back, held the can over his mouth, and gulped it down.
With the two of them sharing that expensive can of Coke, Faker suddenly felt much more at ease. Maybe he had not lost out so badly after all?
Junyan really got him!
Deeply moved, Faker instantly felt that the distance between himself and Xu Junyan had shortened by a few more degrees. Speaking in his somewhat clumsy English, he chatted with Xu Junyan all the way out of the airport, and the two headed straight for the SKT club base.
Stop scolding me, stop scolding me o(╥﹏╥)o. The official matches are coming soon, and there will be three updates today.
Before you continue