Chapter 40: The Superb Restaurant Woman
As he wandered, Jiang Shu got lost.
It wasn't that he was directionally challenged; the main reason was that he had never been to Daegu.
The original owner had been in Korea for over a year, only visiting Jeju Island and Incheon, next to Seoul. The rest of the time, he stayed in Seoul.
The original owner had never even heard of a 'backwater' city like Daegu.
It was the arrogance of a Seoul native.
Oh no, Korea has its own 'Shanghai masters'.
Grumble, grumble~~~
Jiang Shu's stomach rumbled. He rubbed it, then looked around. There were all sorts of shops, including some small, fly-infested restaurants.
Jiang Shu wasn't used to going straight to small eateries when he arrived in a new city. He preferred to go to larger, cleaner restaurants to experience the local specialties.
He took out his phone, opened navigation, and looked at the surrounding restaurants.
After a quick browse, he found a restaurant that looked pretty good in videos and photos, and it was only four hundred meters away.
Let's Go!
He arrived in just a few minutes, covering a distance of over four hundred meters. Jiang Shu looked up at the sign, which was much grander than those of the small eateries, and then looked down to see the almost full restaurant.
Business was good, which meant the food should be good.
Thinking this, Jiang Shu stepped inside.
"Hello, how many are dining?" A waiter asked as soon as Jiang Shu entered.
"Just me."
"Is the main hall okay for you?" the waiter asked.
"Yes," Jiang Shu replied. He didn't plan on sitting in a private room; he thought it would be nice to sit in the main hall and experience the local atmosphere.
"Alright, this way, please."
Jiang Shu followed the waiter, weaving through tables of diners, until they reached a table further inside, where he sat down.
Currently, only some commercial areas in Seoul have adopted QR code payments. "Remote areas" like Daegu still rely on the traditional method of ordering from a physical menu.
Jiang Shu simply ordered a few local specialties and told the waiter to prepare the food. After getting off the train and walking for so long, he was hungry.
Placing his phone on the table, Jiang Shu rested his chin in his hand and looked at the diners.
Where could Bae Joo-hyun be?
He was like a headless fly. Daegu was so big; could he really run into her?
If he couldn't find her, should he have Liu Qi gather information on Instagram, or directly hack into Daegu's household registration office to find her location?
The former was more troublesome but safer. The latter was simple and quick, but it tested one's skill. Although Jiang Shu didn't think much of Korea's cybersecurity, he wouldn't underestimate it to that extent, right?
It seemed that if he couldn't find her this way, Liu Qi would have to put in the effort. Wasting time was fine; he could just search slowly. Anyway, Sun Shengwan was still "missing" for now, so even if he found Bae Joo-hyun early, it would be pointless.
Without Sun Shengwan, Red Velvet would be missing half its body.
Each of the five members had a unique color, and losing anyone would leave a gap. But if he had to pick a soul, Jiang Shu personally believed it was Sun Shengwan.
There was no way around it; she alone carried the 'Red' flavor of Red Velvet's songs, which made Jiang Shu give her extra points.
It might be a bit biased, but at least in Jiang Shu's opinion, if Sun Shengwan wasn't there, his cooperation with S.M wouldn't need to continue. He could just create a different concept group. He could take Bae Joo-hyun, his S-card, and form a Unicorn duo with Kang Seul-gi.
Rather than finding a random lead vocalist to replace Sun Shengwan and force a debut, it would be better to gather the original Red Velvet members.
It had nothing to do with personal connections; it was purely Jiang Shu's personal opinion.
"Hello, your spicy squid is ready." A voice sounded in Jiang Shu's ear as he was contemplating the group's lineup.
The voice was gentle and pleasant. Even without seeing the speaker, just hearing the voice made it feel as if a gentle older sister was speaking beside him.
But none of that mattered. The key was that this voice... Jiang Shu found it very familiar!
He looked up, following the voice, and a face he had longed for appeared before his eyes.
Bae Joo-hyun was very helpless today. She was originally in charge of collecting money at the cashier, but two serving staff called in sick. As the restaurant's young owner, she was forced to cosplay as a serving waiter.
She had just gotten her nails done; wouldn't serving food ruin them? But unfortunately, in her parents' eyes, their child was free labor for their business, and one they could order around at will.
A pure nuclear-powered donkey.
After getting the spicy squid ordered by table 37 from the kitchen, Bae Joo-hyun brought the dish over.
From a distance, she saw the man sitting at the table, and her first glance left her stunned.
So handsome!
Bae Joo-hyun had always been aware of her own looks. Since childhood, the number of people who pursued her could circle Daegu, and among them were many handsome and cheerful boys. But the man in front of her was a type she had never seen before.
There were many kinds of handsomeness, but the man in front of her felt more like...
An ethereal quality, detached from the world.
A flurry of thoughts flashed through her mind as Bae Joo-hyun brought the dish to table 37.
"Hello, your spicy squid is ready."
Jiang Shu stared at the Bae Joo-hyun in front of him, who was wearing light makeup and had no celebrity aura, looking very much like a girl next door. He was completely stunned.
Bae Joo-hyun found Jiang Shu's direct stare at her a bit strange.
It wasn't strange that someone would stare blankly at her face.
This situation was not uncommon in her twenty-seven years of life; after all, Bae Joo-hyun knew what she looked like.
What she found strange was that this man was so handsome; logically, he wouldn't be lacking in beautiful women, would he?
Even if she was good-looking, it wasn't to the point of being so... well... obsessed?
Just as Bae Joo-hyun put down the dish and was about to leave, Jiang Shu spoke.
"Beautiful lady, are you married?"
Bae Joo-hyun's initial positive feelings for Jiang Shu, based on his appearance, instantly plummeted, turning into helplessness and a faint sense of rejection.
"I'm already married," Bae Joo-hyun said, her tone somewhat cold.
Jiang Shu saw the rejection in Bae Joo-hyun's eyes, paused for a moment, then quickly took out a business card from his pocket.
"Don't misunderstand, please look at this." Jiang Shu handed his business card to Bae Joo-hyun.
Bae Joo-hyun glanced at Jiang Shu, but still chose to take the business card, and then her eyes widened.
DM Entertainment President, Jiang Shu.
President of an entertainment company?
Bae Joo-hyun looked up at Jiang Shu in disbelief, a thought of incredulity forming in her mind.
Could it be...?
"Let me ask again, are you married?" Jiang Shu asked.
Bae Joo-hyun was silent for a moment.
"No."
Jiang Shu breathed a slight sigh of relief. He was really afraid that what Bae Joo-hyun had just said wasn't a rejection but that she was actually married.
It's good that she's not married.
"I also don't have a boyfriend," Bae Joo-hyun added.
Jiang Shu raised an eyebrow, and his gaze towards Bae Joo-hyun changed slightly.
Did she realize what he meant by giving her the business card?
P.S.: 6k daily during the new book period is a bit much. According to the time of recommendation, it will probably be 240-250k words when it goes on sale. So, I'll revert to 4k for now, one chapter at 7 AM and one at 2 PM. I'll resume mass updates after it goes on sale. Mianhae!
Bae Joo-hyun's family used to run a restaurant, but it closed down not long after Bae Joo-hyun debuted.