Chapter 53: Candor and Misunderstanding

A sudden gust of autumn wind swept past, drying the faint film of sweat beading on Shin Yuna's forehead, leaving behind a chilly, refreshing sensation.

Because she had simply grabbed the nearest athletic jacket and rushed out the door, Shin Yuna hadn't noticed that she was actually wearing the garment inside out.

Panting softly, and since she was not a resident of this apartment complex, she had no choice but to park her car in the public parking lot of a nearby park.

Although she used to be a field hockey player, ever since she became a trainee, keeping up with the daily dance and vocal training alone was enough to drain every ounce of her physical stamina.

Therefore, aside from body-shaping workouts like Pilates, the only form of exercise she could tolerate was sleeping in while lying comfortably in bed.

The distance of 1.2 kilometers had taken her a little over five minutes. If not for the foundation of her athletic background, she probably would have taken well over seven minutes to run it...

"You're asking me why I'm here?"

Naturally, Shin Yuna couldn't betray Mina, the senior who had tipped her off in the nick of time. Instead, she fixed her gaze directly on Seolyoon, whose makeup was exquisitely done.

Even without makeup, Shin Yuna's skin condition was remarkably good. Her hair, which had come undone from running, didn't look messy at all; rather, it added a vibrant, striking charm to her fair skin, which was flushed with a hint of red.

"If I told you I came here for a run, would you believe me?"

"Judging by Yuna sunbaenim's current state, I'm somewhat inclined to believe you. But based on intuition and experience, I don't really buy it."

Seolyoon had naturally noticed Shin Yuna's hurried appearance, but unable to determine whether the older girl was up to what she suspected, she still tried her best to remain polite.

"In the idol industry, full holidays are extremely precious. People either use them to properly rest and recover, or to urgently see the person they've been longing to meet."

"Unless a comeback is imminent, nobody goes out of their way to manage their figure through running."

Although the two of them had once been fellow trainees in NMIXX together and their relationship wasn't superficial, at this exact moment, Shin Yuna simply disliked Seolyoon's preternaturally composed demeanor.

Especially that look of hers, as if victory was guaranteed in everything she did.

"What about you then? Did you spend your holiday seeing the person you want to see, or recovering from an injury?"

Actually, the excuse of Shin Yuna recovering from an injury was quite plausible. High-intensity dance training and stage performances left many idols with aches and injuries all over their bodies.

The most typical example was Mina's knees.

"Oh, I'm here to see the person I want to see."

Seolyoon once again raised her head to look upward, intentionally or not. That nonchalant attitude was truly vexing. "He hasn't played games with me for a long time, so I came to make him keep me company."

Seolyoon spoke in the calmest tone possible, as if sharing the most ordinary and mundane thing. "Though I haven't actually seen him yet. On the other hand, you seem a bit insincere, don't you?"

The polite honorific "sunbaenim" had suddenly shifted to the casual "you," making the relationship between the two seem to morph from a simple senior-junior dynamic into something far more complicated.

Because Shin Yuna knew that Seolyoon and Xia Xing shared a gaming relationship, well...

Could Seolyoon be considered as laying her cards on the table with Yuna? Since that was the case, Shin Yuna, who had originally expected a lot more covert maneuvering, felt considerably more relaxed.

"To be completely honest with you then, I'm here for him."

"Looking for him? You couldn't possibly be the fake girlfriend he mentioned, could you?"

Seolyoon knitted her delicate brows slightly. Seeing that the situation was unfolding precisely as she had guessed, she couldn't feel happy about it at all.

While she strongly doubted the reason for Shin Yuna's timely appearance here—even if she were just visiting a fake boyfriend, she wouldn't have dressed so carelessly.

At the very least, she had roughly figured out one thing—Shin Yuna had come straight for her.

Therefore, she simply tossed out a portion of the information she already possessed to show that she was completely aware of the relationship between Shin Yuna and Xia Xing.

It was just that, for the sake of the bigger picture, she hadn't exposed it outright yet. And senior Shin Yuna, acting as the fake girlfriend, should naturally be able to read between the lines and catch the subtext.

At the very least, she ought to figure out who held the higher priority.

Suddenly having her true identity exposed by Seolyoon, Shin Yuna felt a wave of shyness wash over her, and her previously high momentum felt like it had punched a pillow filled with cotton.

What on earth... Xia Xing had actually already told Seolyoon about their romantic relationship?

This guy really couldn't keep a secret to save his life. How could he share so much with someone he usually just played video games with?

No matter what... he should have at least waited until their relationship was officially confirmed!

"Mm," Shin Yuna nodded awkwardly, her nervous fingers twisting the zipper of her athletic jacket. "This matter... please keep it a secret for me for now. Just keep it to yourself."

Seolyoon's mouth twitched slightly. After emitting a muffled murmur of agreement, she nodded helplessly. "Anyway... just remember to maintain the proper boundaries."

Maintain the proper boundaries... what kind of remark was that? Although Shin Yuna felt uneasy inside about the fact that the two of them played games together, she had never actually voiced it to anyone else.

For Seolyoon to be so open and demand that Shin Yuna stay within "proper boundaries," could it be... that she really was just a simple gaming buddy to Xia Xing?

"Will this situation between Xia Xing and me affect the relationship between the two of you?"

"Of course not. Senior, it's naturally impossible for you to affect the relationship between Xia Xing and me."

"Phew... That's a relief. I'll try my best to respect your relationship too."

Shin Yuna's sudden sincerity and politeness left Seolyoon somewhat baffled.

She had originally thought Shin Yuna had some intention of turning the fake romance into reality, but looking at her attitude now... could it be that she had completely misunderstood Shin Yuna?

So Seolyoon also reined in the sharpness of her words, reverting to a soft, gentle tone. "I will also... try my best to understand your relationship."

"By the way, senior, do you have something to discuss with Xia Xing?"

Although Shin Yuna genuinely had a date with Xia Xing today, her appearance downstairs at this very moment truly wasn't because of the date.

Thus, Shin Yuna chose a correct yet utterly redundant answer. "I have serious business with him."

"Alright then, in that case, I won't disturb the two of you."

-----------------

Not long ago, she had walked from her apartment to Han River Park, ran two or three kilometers consecutively, and later accompanied her boyfriend to a nightclub to pull someone out.

Now, after sprinting over a kilometer from the park parking lot and arriving downstairs at his building, in order to conduct a spot check on her boyfriend's current situation, Shin Yuna had climbed twenty-nine flights of stairs in one breath.

She truly felt like she had exhausted her entire quota of physical exercise for the next few years.

"Hah..."

"I must be out of my mind..."

Driven by the lingering heat from her workout, she had long since peeled off her black athletic jacket. The white sports crop top accentuated her smooth waistline, complementing the loose gray sweatpants and displaying her waist-to-hip ratio to absolute perfection.

Stumbling forward, Shin Yuna reached the familiar apartment door, punched in the password, and unlocked the entrance.

Yet, immediately following her entry, an unfamiliar female voice rang out.

"Excuse me, who are you..."