Chapter 9: Little Beaver Loopy

The so-called "Night Owl Night Market" refers to the irregularly held night market within Hangang Park.

From exquisite jewelry to street performers, the Night Owl Night Market, filled with countless romantic elements, has become a kind of party for young people.

Of course, there’s also the American-style coffee deeply ingrained in the blood of Seoulites.

Shin Yuna carefully slipped a sleeve onto the cold Americano and then handed it to Xia Xing.

“This is for you; a gift in return.”

Another Americano gently clinked against the one in Xia Xing’s hand before Shin Yuna drank it like a beverage.

In this country, where the average per capita coffee consumption ranks first in the world due to intense competition and pressure, not being accustomed to Americano coffee feels as strange as not liking boiled water in China.

Under the girl’s gaze, Xia Xing took a symbolic sip.

“Thank you.”

Although he didn’t particularly enjoy the bitter Americano, Xia Xing still forced a smile and responded politely.

Walking ahead, Shin Yuna hummed softly a song he had never heard, occasionally reaching out to touch the cute accessories on the roadside stalls.

Though Xia Xing also had the habit of shopping in supermarkets or large shopping centers, he was always a lone wolf who went straight to his destination, never having the experience of accompanying someone on a leisurely stroll.

Naturally, he couldn’t quite tell what kind of relationship he and Shin Yuna had at this moment.

“Actually, compared to luxury goods that cost hundreds of thousands of won,”

Shin Yuna casually picked up a blue hat printed with the cartoon character Pororo the little penguin, gesturing in front of a round mirror at the stall, then turned to Xia Xing and said,

“I prefer this kind of romance that can be bought for just a few thousand won. Isn’t that strange?”

“I think…”

Xia Xing furrowed his brow slightly. Just as Shin Yuna expected him to offer some opinion, a pink hat adorned with the little beaver Loopy appeared before her eyes.

“This one’s cuter… I mean, Loopy.”

If not Loopy, then who else could it be?

“I thought you were going to help me wear it.”

The girl took the hat from Xia Xing’s hand, and their fingertips accidentally touched.

Like a current of electricity, it swiftly swept through her body from finger to toe.

Shin Yuna covered her gradually flushing cheeks with her hands, turning her head to look at the new hat as an excuse, her back facing Xia Xing.

She tried to calm her sudden fluster with deep breaths, but it seemed…

To little effect.

Loopy is a well-behaved, sensible child. Sensitive and shy, she always treats her friends with the kindest attitude.

Yet deep down, she envies Pororo’s carefree personality.

Did he think Shin Yuna’s character was actually more like Loopy?

Come to think of it, although Shin Yuna always appeared lively and cheerful in front of others, her core was truly similar to Loopy’s.

She did things within the boundaries of discipline, observing everything around her with a kind yet sensitive heart, and sincerely envied those who could live freely and boldly.

“Mr. Xia, which character do you think your personality resembles more?”

---

Faced with this unexpected question, Xia Xing pondered as he searched for an answer at the stall.

“Perhaps more like the little fox Eddy.”

It was still a succinct answer, without further explanation.

But little fox Eddy is quite talkative and sincere.

So, beneath Xia Xing’s clearly defined boundaries, does he actually harbor a loquacious heart?

Suddenly, Shin Yuna felt she was walking to the correct rhythm; she had just unlocked the first piece of the puzzle named Mr. Xia.

As time accumulates and more puzzle pieces come together, perhaps she could glimpse the full picture of Mr. Xia.

“Boss, how much are the Loopy and Eddy hats altogether?”

Turning around, she picked up the yellow hat printed with Eddy from the shelf, raised her hand, and tried to place the hat on Xia Xing’s head.

But the 13-centimeter height difference made her hesitate.

She just tiptoed, and Xia Xing roughly understood her intention, bending down accordingly.

Suddenly, with their faces close and eyes near each other, as if a sliding rheostat was pushed to nearly zero ohms, the sharply increased current made her hand jerk back as if electrocuted.

Shin Yuna herself nearly short-circuited, frozen in place with a tingling numbness.

That little fox Eddy hat was crookedly perched on Xia Xing’s head.

“Is this static electricity?”

Late autumn is indeed a dry season. Following the boy’s lead, Shin Yuna took the initiative to move forward.

“Yes, probably because I haven’t been using hand cream, so my hands are dry.”

Speaking with a seriousness she didn’t quite believe herself, Shin Yuna felt she was about to lose her mind.

In the past twenty years, she had never experienced this feeling—her heart pounding fiercely, her whole body uncontrollably burning up.

“Suddenly I feel this hat suits me quite well. I can pick out matching clothes later.”

The contrast between the cartoon-printed hat and the serious business suit made one involuntarily focus on his honest yet inscrutable eyes.

What kind of magic did he have? At least in that instant, Shin Yuna found herself asking whether this could be considered a date.

Although it was a satisfying evening, it seemed it had to end.

She couldn’t let this strange emotion truly take root in her heart.

Trying to compose herself, she pretended to glance at her watch: “It’s quite late. You have work tomorrow, right?”

Understanding Shin Yuna’s implicit meaning, Xia Xing waved his hand:

“Yes, it is late. See you?”

The farewell spoken with a questioning tone seemed to genuinely ask whether they would meet again.

“Yeah, see you.”

After walking a few steps toward the parking lot, Shin Yuna noticed she was the only one walking back and stopped.

“Mr. Xia, aren’t you going back?”

“Oh, I live nearby.”

---

Following Xia Xing’s pointed direction, there stood a high-rise apartment offering a panoramic view of the entire Yeouido’s bustling scenery.

“Then please accompany me to the parking lot.”

“It’s dangerous for a girl to walk alone at night.”

---

Entering the password, unlocking the door, and turning on the entrance light.

In the spacious apartment, only Xia Xing’s solitary figure was present.

According to the original plan, he should have returned home around six o’clock to continue researching the marketing strategy for 100% NFC coconut water.

But unexpectedly, because he invited Shin Yuna to dinner, he didn’t return until after ten at night.

In fact, when Xia Xing saw the Gucci bracelet in Shin Yuna’s car, he guessed that Xue Yun might have explained the situation to Shin Yuna and exchanged the gift back.

But since it was he and Xue Yun who troubled Shin Yuna, inviting her to dinner as compensation was reasonable.

So he didn’t expose Shin Yuna’s lie on the spot.

As for why she lied, he wasn’t really concerned.

After changing shoes, he checked the unread messages on his phone while heading straight to the study.

This spacious 312-square-meter high-rise apartment had an effective usable area of less than 60 square meters for Xia Xing.

Kitchen, bedroom with en-suite bathroom, study, balcony.

“Have you got the controller yet?”

“Xue Xue Xue Yun: Got it already.”

“Xue Xue Xue Yun: (image)”

The picture Xue Yun sent showed her curled up on the bed, propping up the tablet with her long legs, holding the game controller high in her left hand, while operating the phone with her right hand to take the photo.

Although her intended message was that she had the game controller and was happily playing Minecraft,

those two slender, fair legs made it impossible to focus on the controller and tablet.

A current dilemma was how he should respond to Xue Yun’s photo.

“It’s already autumn; remember to change out of your summer pajamas.”

After drafting the message, Xia Xing quickly deleted it.

Since she had boldly shown it to him, reminding her to wear warmer clothes would be too unromantic.

“I just got home…”

He was about to change the subject but was interrupted by Xue Yun’s message.

“How about coming over to your place next time I have a day off?”