Must read before watching!
This book is merely a product of the author's wild imagination and will be written with as much logical coherence as possible.
Additionally, it features a parallel world view + the world view of ‘Under One Person’ + a part of Pili puppet show, but will not involve fight scenes or the original plot. Any fight scenes will be placed in side stories, but original characters might make cameo appearances. So, everyone can just treat it as a Korean entertainment novel with a touch of fantasy (mainly because sometimes I'm too lazy to think of names).
It will lean a bit towards an ensemble cast; my main goal is to develop each character's personality well.
I'm a novice writer, so please point out any awkward phrasing or silly plot points, but please be gentle (pretty please). However, some plot points might seem silly but are necessary to serve the story (done out of necessity).
Possible OOC warning (apologies again).
Most likely a solo project + slow updates.
(A place for my thoughts, please don't overthink it when you read it).
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May 2018, Incheon International Airport Terminal 2.
Yu Qianjue, who had just returned from Japan, walked wearily into a McDonald's with his bag.
After buying a coke and a double cheeseburger, Yu Qianjue sat in a corner, taking a bite of his burger and chewing it listlessly.
His phone, lying on the table, suddenly received a video call invitation. Yu Qianjue saw the contact name, propped his phone up, and answered the call.
The moment the call connected, a sarcastic Japanese voice came from the other end.
“Oh, so our Jade player has finally decided to answer the phone?”
The girl on the other end of the phone wasn't looking at the screen; instead, she was typing on the computer in front of her.
Yu Qianjue didn't reply, continuing to chew his burger mechanically.
After a brief silence, the girl, hearing no sound, pushed up her large, black-rimmed glasses that covered half her face, and looked at the screen.
She saw a rare look of exhaustion on Yu Qianjue’s face, a face so pretty it could be mistaken for a girl's.
“What the hell, what’s wrong with you? Aren't you a stamina monster? How did you get so tired?”
He picked up the iced coke, the condensation on the cup held in his palm. After a sip of coke, the lifeless look in Yu Qianjue’s eyes finally regained a hint of vitality.
His eyes focused, and he saw the girl's attire on the other side: a black pullover hoodie, the hood up despite being indoors, long brown straight hair falling over both shoulders, dark plaid pajama bottoms, sitting cross-legged in a gaming chair. Behind the large black-rimmed glasses, a pair of lively eyes revealed a worried gaze. It was a typical otaku girl outfit.
However, the faint dark circles under her eyes showed that the girl wasn't in very good shape either, likely having stayed up late again.
“I'm fine, Aeri... I'm just a bit mentally exhausted. The plane was a bit too noisy, and I couldn't sleep. I'll recover once I go home and get some sleep or meditate.”
Nai Yongzhili nodded reassuringly when she heard him say that. She pushed her glasses, which had slipped to the tip of her nose, and asked.
“Why didn't you come to see me when you came to Tokyo this time? I said I'd go shopping with you in Akihabara. Mom also said she'd make you a delicious meal.”
Yu Qianjue gently pinched his brows and put down his burger.
“I wanted to, but time was tight and the tasks were heavy. This competition schedule was indeed a bit cramped.”
Yu Qianjue had indeed been busy these two days. First, he flew from Seoul to the United States to participate in the CPT Platinum New York stop, then flew to Tokyo for the CPT Platinum Tokyo stop, working non-stop. Fortunately, he won both championships, so he could finally rest for a while.
Now, all he wanted was to go home, get a good night's sleep, and spend some quality time with his younger sister, whom he had somewhat neglected these past two years.
“You have time to eat with Umehara-san and the others, but no time to go shopping with me, huh?”
Nai Yongzhili raised an eyebrow, initiating their usual playful bickering.
“After eating with them once, I decided never to eat with them again. A bunch of drunks, and Tokido-san and I had to clean up the mess.”
Yu Qianjue recalled some unpleasant memories and sighed deeply.
“But please tell Auntie thank you for me. I’ll visit with a gift next time.
This time, I’m really too tired. I only arrived in Tokyo yesterday afternoon from New York, participated in the competition this afternoon, and now I’m already in Seoul.”
Understanding that Yu Qianjue was indeed too tired this time, Nai Yongzhili didn't bring up any of their usual bickering jokes, simply nodding silently.
“You really need to rest well. I don’t want to lose a like-minded comrade on my fanfiction journey.”
Yu Qianjue made an OK gesture. The two chatted idly for a few sentences, then hung up the phone.
Finishing his burger and coke in a few quick bites, Yu Qianjue hastened his steps, exited the terminal, and hailed a car using an app.
After getting in the car, he opened Kakao and sent a message to the contact saved as 'Younger Sister'.
【I'm in Seoul. Are you coming home tonight?】
The '1' next to the message bubble quickly disappeared, and the other side replied almost instantly.
【No, Big Brother, I've already showered at the dorm!】
【You can pick me up from the company tomorrow! I can introduce you to the Eonis who have been taking care of me!】
Seeing his younger sister's reply, Yu Qianjue seemed to envision her energetic self and couldn't help but smile, his mental fatigue dissipating considerably.
【Okay, then I'll pick you up from the company tomorrow afternoon, and we can go eat korean beef to thank them for taking care of you.】
His younger sister replied with a cat-smiling emoji, then an OK.
After replying to the message, Ning Yizhuo said to Liu Zhimin, who was applying body lotion on the top bunk.
“Eoni, my brother is coming to pick me up at the company tomorrow! We're having a good dinner tomorrow!”
Liu Zhimin tilted her head, a bit confused by Ning Yizhuo's words.
“Ningning, I understand your Oppa is picking you up, but what do you mean by 'having a good dinner'?”
Ning Yizhuo climbed onto the top bunk and hugged Liu Zhimin. Mmm, her soft, fragrant body was so comfortable to hug.
“Because my brother said that to thank you and Min-jeong Eoni for taking such good care of me, he’s treating us to korean beef tomorrow night!”
A small head poked out from the bathroom, a toothbrush still in her mouth, looking at Ning Yizhuo who was speaking.
“korean beef? Where's the korean beef?”
Kim Minjeong mumbled with foam in her mouth.
“Min-jeong Eoni, my brother is treating us to korean beef tomorrow!”
“Oh oh oh oh oh oh!! What a generous brother!! korean beef, korean beef!”
Watching the two cheer and celebrate, Liu Zhimin quickly interrupted them.
“Wait a minute, Ningning! I remember you told me your Oppa is only about a year and a half to two years older than you, right?”
Ning Yizhuo tilted her head, a bit puzzled.
“Yes, why?”
Liu Zhimin's pretty little face furrowed. korean beef wasn't cheap. Not counting Ning Yizhuo, she and Min-jeong danced every day, so their appetites were much larger than average girls. A single meal would cost a lot of money. How much money could a brother only two years older than Ningning have? He probably earned it from part-time jobs. That wouldn't be much at all!
You ask if Liu Zhimin wanted to eat korean beef? Of course she did, but korean beef was really expensive, and she didn't want Ningning's elusive brother to spend so much.
She still had some of this month's living expenses. Tomorrow, she would treat Kim Minjeong's share, and go Dutch with Ningning's brother. If she did that, she might have to eat dirt this month, but luckily, her dad had secretly given her a good amount of pocket money from his stash for her birthday recently. Calculating it all, she could probably splurge tomorrow.
“korean beef isn't cheap, you know. How about I go Dutch with your Oppa tomorrow?”
When Ning Yizhuo heard this, her eyes stared intently at Liu Zhimin.
Liu Zhimin felt a bit uneasy under Ning Yizhuo's gaze and rubbed her arms.
“Eoni, just tell me if you want to eat korean beef or not?”
“Well, of course...”
Ningning's stare ( . • ́ ︿ • ̀ . )
Liu Zhimin relented and nodded.
“I want to eat it...”
Ning Yizhuo put her hands on her hips and proudly said, “Then you don't have to worry!”
“My brother is a rich bumpkin! Treating the three of us to korean beef for a month wouldn't make him poor!”
Who in their right mind eats korean beef every day... Liu Zhimin murmured to herself as she listened to Ning Yizhuo.
Only Kim Minjeong was still somewhat out of it, immersed in the joy of eating korean beef tomorrow.
Looking at her two somewhat clueless younger sisters, Liu Zhimin scratched her head.
She felt like tomorrow would be quite a challenging day...