"Thank you."
Xu Junyan thanked her, accepted a glass of lemonade, and then sat down on the sofa at Kim Min-ah's invitation.
"Junyan Oppa, did you really go to SKT?"
Curiosity sparkled in Kim Min-ah's eyes. Xu Junyan had mentioned it to her on Twitter, but she still found it astonishing.
That was SKT! One of the LCK's top powerhouses had actually broken convention first and become the LCK's first team to bring in an import. How could that not surprise her?
"Now that I'm already here, could it possibly be fake?" Xu Junyan replied with a faint smile.
"As expected of Junyan Oppa, you're amazing." Kim Min-ah praised him sincerely, then said with a grin, "I remember Faker and the others basically don't speak Chinese. No wonder you were in such a hurry to learn Korean, Junyan Oppa. Not being able to communicate must feel awful, right?"
"Yes." Xu Junyan sighed softly.
At the moment, kkOma was the only person in all of SKT he could communicate with normally. Talking to everyone else was incredibly difficult.
Fortunately, he had run into Bae Joo-hyun on the plane, and she had shown him a way to communicate using phone translation. Otherwise, he would never have thought of it.
Speaking of Bae Joo-hyun, Xu Junyan could not help falling into a mixture of laughter and helplessness again.
What a coincidence. They had run into each other twice in three days, and she even lived right across from Kim Min-ah!
"It's fine. You have me."
Kim Min-ah's eyes curved into crescents as she patted her chest. Without wasting any time, she turned and hurried into the bedroom. Before long, she came out carrying a tablet, opening something as she solemnly explained:
"Actually, Chinese and Korean have quite a few things in common. For example, Korean Sino-words basically all correspond to Chinese characters, so they're especially easy to learn. Since you know Chinese, learning Korean really isn't difficult at all."
"Let's start with vowels and consonants. I'll teach you first..."
Xu Junyan raised a hand and suggested, "Teacher Mina, teach me sentence structures directly. I've already learned that stuff."
"Huh?"
Kim Min-ah wore a shocked expression as she looked up at Xu Junyan in disbelief.
Xu Junyan explained, "After deciding to come to the LCK, I started teaching myself. I basically know the vowels, consonants, and vocabulary already. I just still can't speak it. Also, I can barely understand each word on its own, but when they're put into a sentence, it becomes difficult. Especially the subject-object-verb sentence structure you're used to using—it gives me a headache every time I see it."
Kim Min-ah clicked her tongue as she appraised Xu Junyan in amazement. A moment later, she suddenly felt inferior and inwardly grumbled, It's only been a little over half a month, hasn't it, Junyan Oppa? Are you trying to make everyone else jealous with that learning ability?
"Fine!"
Since Xu Junyan was not a complete beginner, Kim Min-ah quickly adjusted herself. Patting her chest, she said, "Then Teacher Mina will teach you something more advanced. I guarantee that within an hour, you'll thoroughly grasp Korean sentence patterns, and tonight you'll be able to have intimate interactions with your teammates!"
Xu Junyan automatically ignored the words "intimate interactions" coming from this flighty girl and listened attentively.
Kim Min-ah was not a professional teacher, but as a bilingual host, she often interviewed players who used different languages. She really did have some skill in this area.
Xu Junyan had arrived at Kim Min-ah's place at three in the afternoon. In the blink of an eye, he studied until eight that night, and he felt that his grasp of Korean communication had improved by more than half! If he had to communicate face-to-face again, he would no longer suffer the embarrassment of knowing five or six words out of ten yet being unable to understand what the other person was saying once those words were strung together.
Kim Min-ah's retired-host sister still had not returned home. Xu Junyan glanced at the sky outside and felt it was not appropriate to stay any longer, so he got up to say goodbye. "Thank you. I'll head back first."
"Hmm???"
Kim Min-ah instantly sprang to her feet, widened her pretty eyes, and stared Xu Junyan down as she let out a high-pitched note of suspicion from deep in her nose.
Xu Junyan understood. Smiling, he rolled up his sleeves and said, "All right. Do you have any vegetables at home? It's too late today, so I'll just make you a couple of simple dishes. As for a proper feast, I'll make one for you another day when I have time. Didn't you say you have a sister? We can all eat together then, so there won't be too much food to finish."
"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" Kim Min-ah nodded repeatedly in satisfaction, urging Xu Junyan from behind to hurry into the kitchen and cook.
Last year's World Championship had been held in the imperial capital of China. At the time, she had stayed there for nearly two months, and her food-loving heart had been almost completely conquered by Chinese cuisine.
Even now that she had returned, she still woke up in the middle of the night every day, drool running down onto her pillow.
There was no other reason. Chinese food really was far better than South Korea's "cuisine." The two were simply not on the same level.
Since Xu Junyan had only told Kim Min-ah that afternoon that he was coming over to study Korean, there were not many ingredients stocked in her home. Just a few heads of broccoli, some potatoes, tomatoes... To his surprise, Xu Junyan also found a raw chicken in her refrigerator!
Xu Junyan thought for three seconds before starting to prepare the ingredients. His hands moved quickly, and his cooking motions were incomparably smooth.
"Junyan Oppa, are you really good at cooking?" Kim Min-ah leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching until her eyes were dazzled.
"I get by."
Xu Junyan answered casually, his hands moving faster and faster as he prepared the ingredients. Eventually, Kim Min-ah could not just stand there any longer, so she asked whether he needed help, whether she could come in and assist him with something. Xu Junyan refused.
Having a kitchen novice help out was not help. It was sabotage!
The meal consisted of tomato scrambled eggs, broccoli with minced garlic, and potato braised chicken. Just three simple dishes, but by the time they were finished, more than half an hour had passed.
The rice that had been simmering was long since done as well. Xu Junyan helped carry the dishes to the dining table. Behind him, Kim Min-ah's eyes shone brightly as she kept wiping away her drool.
"It looks delicious!"
Kim Min-ah swallowed and hurriedly said, "Sit, sit, Junyan Oppa. Let's eat together!"
Although she said that, she had already picked up a pair of chopsticks and impatiently lifted a piece of chicken into her mouth.
"Mmm~!!!!"
At the dining table, someone immediately let out an utterly satisfied moan.
Xu Junyan smiled and said, "Take your time enjoying it at home. My leave from the club only lasts until nine, so I need to hurry back."
"Ah~ You're not eating? That's so embarrassing~" Kim Min-ah spoke unclearly with her little mouth stuffed full, yet she was still constantly shoveling food into it.
Xu Junyan did not bother with this foodie anymore. One meal in exchange for five hours of Korean lessons—he had made a killing.
Still, he was a little hungry too. Earlier, while cooking in the kitchen, he seemed to have seen several packs of Shin Ramyun.
"Teacher Mina, I'm taking a pack of Shin Ramyun!"
Thinking of how he used to eat instant noodles dry as a child, Xu Junyan had an idea. He picked up a pack and waved it toward the foodie inside.
"Mhm, mhm! Take it! Just take it! Aren't you really going to sit down and eat with me? It's so good!" Kim Min-ah answered indistinctly without even wanting to turn her head.
Xu Junyan's mouth twitched. At this rate, if I sit down, there might not even be enough food left for you. And you're telling me to sit down? How insincere can you get?
After leaving, Xu Junyan pressed the elevator button and waited. Taking the opportunity, he tore open the Shin Ramyun package, slipped the sauce packet directly into his pocket, took out the salt packet and vegetable packet, opened them both, and poured everything into the noodle bag. Then he began... breaking! Crushing! Pressing! Kneading! Once those four steps were complete, he gripped the opening shut and shook it violently! He shook it so hard that his arm became a blur!
Ding!
The elevator finally arrived.
The doors opened. Inside, Bae Joo-hyun had just sent her younger sisters to the underground parking lot. She froze slightly, her clear gaze fixed on Xu Junyan's wildly swinging arm, shaking so frantically it looked absurd. Her small mouth slowly formed an "O."
Because I wanted to write about a happy life in the LCK, there had to be some romantic buildup in the early stages. Otherwise, if I only kept writing matches and slapping Royal Hooligans in the face, I felt it would eventually become dull and lead to reader fatigue. But everyone might still think these daily-life setup chapters are padded, so starting today, I'll update three times a day. With more chapters, it probably won't feel padded anymore.
Before you continue