"Oh~ So Xin’an, you met Irene while traveling in our country?"
"Uh... I actually had some things to do here, meeting Irene was kind of an accident."
The MCs were all intrigued, including Kim Heechul, who knew some of their background but was also unaware of this aspect.
Liu Xin’an nodded and instinctively glanced at Bae Juhyun, his eyes carrying a hint of inquiry.
Bae Juhyun nodded, as there wasn’t anything particularly unspeakable, so she simply started speaking herself. The source of thɪs content is NoveIＦire.net
"At that time, I happened to be on a break, and the first time I met Xin’an was at the entrance of my apartment elevator."
She lightly glossed over the period when she was sidelined and directly fast-forwarded to their first meeting.
"At the elevator entrance?"
"Yes, initially, he planned to stay for just half a year, so he rented an apartment. There are only two units on the floor my home is on, one is mine..." Bae Juhyun pointed to herself, then pointed at Liu Xin’an, "The other one is Xin’an’s place."
"Wow, what a coincidence!"
Even Kang Seulgi and others who had heard this many times couldn’t help but marvel at the miraculous coincidence, let alone Kim Heechul and others who were hearing it for the first time.
"So from the start, did Xin’an recognize Irene?"
This question made Liu Xin’an show an awkward expression.
Meanwhile, Bae Juhyun burst into laughter beside him.
Their strange reaction made everyone pause in confusion.
Finally, Liu Xin’an, still feeling awkward, spoke up to explain.
"Uh... actually, from the very beginning, I didn’t know that Juhyun... ahem, Irene was an artist."
"Really? But she’s Irene from Red Velvet!"
"It’s true." Bae Juhyun finally finished laughing, took a deep breath, and nodded, "He originally didn’t know the slightest bit about entertainment industry stuff, so he didn’t realize I was an artist."
"Then were you surprised, Irene?"
"Yeah, I was really surprised."
This part was a bit of a fake, as back then, Bae Juhyun wasn’t actually scared; she was simply... annoyed by the potential hassle.
At that time, during her darkest period, she just felt it would be a hassle to be recognized by Liu Xin’an... after all, her situation was such a public affair, young people who didn’t know her were very rare.
So, being startled was non-existent.
But for the sake of the show... some artistic flair was needed.
"Since you didn’t recognize Irene, how did you two become close?"
Kim Heechul’s question prompted Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun to exchange smiles.
"Precisely because Xin’an didn’t recognize me, we became close... He always treated me just as a neighbor, so following his mother’s suggestion, he prepared rice cakes for me as a moving-in gift."
"It was from that time on that we officially got to know each other."
"So, what was the opportunity for getting closer?"
"As for that opportunity..." Bae Juhyun pondered as she prepared to answer.
However, Lee Soogeun once again demonstrated his astonishing reflex.
He spoke before Bae Juhyun: "What was the opportunity for getting closer? Let’s answer together, 3...2...1..."
With Lee Soogeun counting down, Bae Juhyun and Liu Xin’an spoke in unison.
The real opportunity for them to become closer had to be the balcony.
If it weren’t for that day when she randomly decided to go out to the balcony to catch some cold air, she might never have had much interaction with Liu Xin’an in her lifetime.
So when asked this question, Bae Juhyun gave her answer without hesitation.
The same was true for Liu Xin’an.
"They’re really a couple."
"How did you become closer on the balcony?"
"My apartment and Juhyun’s floor plan have the main doors facing directly, but inside is a symmetrical layout, so the master bedroom of my place and Juhyun... Irene’s place is just separated by a wall, and the balconies of our homes are also adjacent." Liu Xin’an still wasn’t quite used to calling Bae Juhyun by her stage name.
And Bae Juhyun noticed this, she looked at Liu Xin’an and gently suggested, "Just call me by my name."
"Okay, so the day I moved in, the internet and other stuff weren’t set up yet. Because I’m a streamer, mainly playing games online, without internet I couldn’t do anything. So that night, I habitually went to the balcony to get some air, and it was then I became closer to Juhyun."
"Ah~ So Irene was also on the balcony at that time?"
"Yes, I was getting some air too."
"So who started the conversation on the balcony? Let’s answer together, 3...2...1!"
Lee Soogeun once again caught them off guard.
But this time, their answers weren’t so in sync.
The different answers made Liu Xin’an and Bae Juhyun instinctively exchange glances. Then Bae Juhyun suddenly remembered the specifics, she smiled sheepishly and pointed to herself: "I think it was me."
"So Irene was that proactive?"
"No, I wasn’t proactive. It’s just that I went to the balcony first, then heard him sliding the balcony door, so I instinctively called out his name."
"Yeah... I got startled, thought I encountered something spooky."
"Hey!" Bae Juhyun became anxious, what does he mean by spooky, is he calling her a ghost?
"...Probably only you in our country would call Irene a ghost."
Lee Soogeun’s quip made Liu Xin’an laugh awkwardly.
"I really was startled, but it was from then on that we upgraded from neighbors to friends."
"Then when did you upgrade to being lovers?"
"Um... actually, Xin’an and I ended up together, thanks in large part to a certain someone’s contribution."
"Seulgi!" Bae Juhyun said with a smile, mentioning Kang Seulgi’s name, which surprised Kim Heechul and others.