Chapter Two: Past Encounters

"Yes, I am currently a trainee at SM Entertainment. It just feels like Chen Zhe isn't nearly as talkative in person as he is in the game. Even the way you address me feels so formal and distant!"

Cupping her chin with both hands, Son Seung-wan looked at Chen Zhe, who was clearly flustered but deliberately putting on a calm and composed expression, and a smile couldn't help but tug at the corners of her lips.

"Then how do you think I should address you? Would 'Seung-wan' be better, or perhaps 'Washing Dishes'?"

Meeting Son Seung-wan's gaze, Chen Zhe had the lingering illusion that he had already seen right through, but he wasn't about to be led around by the nose. Mimicking her posture, he cupped his chin with both hands, tilted his head slightly toward the young girl, and put on a deliberately serious expression to ask.

"Well, if it's up to my personal preference, I'd naturally hope you call me Seung-wan. After all, 'Washing Dishes' sounds really awful!"

Son Seung-wan didn't mind that Chen Zhe was copying her gaze. After pretending to ponder his question for a moment, she chuckled and clapped her hands.

"I recall you're supposed to be Korean as well. Wouldn't calling you straight by your name like Seung-wan be a bit too impolite?"

Hearing Son Seung-wan's words, Chen Zhe moved his hands from supporting his chin back onto the table and asked with a trace of puzzlement.

After all, during his year and more as an entertainer in South Korea, Chen Zhe had gained a deep understanding of the country's obsessively intricate social hierarchy and rules. Regarding forms of address, casual usage could easily be perceived as a lack of manners.

Therefore, when Son Seung-wan suggested she could be addressed directly by her name, Chen Zhe was instantly filled with doubt.

"I'm only of Korean descent; my nationality is Canadian. Like you, I'm a foreigner here, so let's just skip the Korean etiquette! Or could it be that Mr. Chen Zhe doesn't consider me a friend at all?"

Once Chen Zhe's voice trailed off, Son Seung-wan's nose crinkled slightly, as if she were deeply dissatisfied with his remark. Leaning forward with her hands braced on the table, she closed the distance between them. Her tone grew somewhat intense and carried a rather aggressive edge.

"Well, of course I consider Shu—Seung-wan a good friend of mine! Otherwise, I wouldn't have agreed to come out and meet you. Alright, since I'll call you Seung-wan, you should just call me Ah-zhe from now on. All my friends address me that way."

Facing Son Seung-wan's rather forceful demeanor and her face drawing closer, Chen Zhe instinctively shrank back a little, momentarily overwhelmed by her momentum.

Just as he was about to slip and call her "Washing Dishes," the first syllable had barely escaped his lips when he caught sight of her slightly unfriendly glare. He hurriedly corrected himself, laughing and waving his hands at her in a placating gesture.

"Then from now on, I'll call you Ah-zhe, just like your other friends do! But we've been sitting here for quite a while without ordering anything. Ah-zhe, haven't you noticed the weird looks the waiter keeps giving us?"

Upon hearing Chen Zhe's words, Son Seung-wan finally leaned back into her chair. Having secured the outcome she desired, she finally had the bandwidth to pay attention to other matters.

Shortly after sitting down, Son Seung-wan noticed that a waiter had been staring persistently at their table. Glancing at Chen Zhe's sunglasses, which concealed most of his face, and the baseball cap pulled low on his head, she gently shook her head.

As she instinctively lowered her gaze to ponder why the waiter kept staring at them, Son Seung-wan noticed that their tabletop was completely bare. Suddenly, enlightenment struck, and she grasped the root of the problem.

Ever since walking in, the two of them had been entirely absorbed in conversation and completely forgot to order. The staff probably assumed they were just freeloading seats and air conditioning. Cupping the side of her face with one hand, Son Seung-wan lowered her voice and whispered to Chen Zhe.

"You wouldn't have mentioned it if I hadn't brought it up. No wonder I thought the waiter kept staring at us—it's because we haven't ordered anything yet!"

Listening to Son Seung-wan, Chen Zhe first glanced at the waiter in the distance, then looked down at their empty table. Understanding dawned on him, and he finally figured out why the server had been eyeing them all this time.

"Annyeonghaseyo, could we please have two cappuccinos and two chocolate cocoa mousse cakes? Yes, that will be all for now, thank you!"

Just as Chen Zhe was about to signal the waiter to come over and take their order, Son Seung-wan had already taken the initiative and ordered the coffee and desserts for both of them.

"Eh? Seung-wan, how did you know that I like cappuccinos for coffee and chocolate cocoa mousse cake for dessert?"

Watching the waiter walk away, Chen Zhe turned his head back to look at Son Seung-wan, his eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. He was genuinely baffled as to how she managed to order his absolute favorite combination.

Aside from his closest companions, no one else should have known about his preference for cappuccino paired with chocolate cocoa mousse cake. Chen Zhe was very curious about how Son Seung-wan found out.

"Ah, well... when we were playing games and chatting online, we talked about our favorite foods. You mentioned back then, Ah-zhe, that you've been liking the combination of cappuccino and chocolate cocoa mousse cake whenever you drink coffee lately. Could it be that you forgot?"

Suddenly confronted by Chen Zhe's question, Son Seung-wan realized she might have overplayed her hand. However, she knew she mustn't panic and needed to come up with a plausible excuse on the spot.

Keeping a smile on her face, Son Seung-wan's brain raced, searching for an appropriate response. It seemed that under emergency conditions, human cognitive processing speed really did improve.

Within moments, Son Seung-wan actually managed to come up with a fairly reasonable explanation: that Chen Zhe had casually mentioned it while they were chatting during a gaming session, and she had simply remembered it.

"Did I mention that while gaming and chatting? I'm so sorry. Because I've been rather busy lately, I probably just blurted it out and threw it to the back of my mind immediately. I honestly didn't expect you to specially remember it, Seung-wan."

Hearing Son Seung-wan put it that way, Chen Zhe searched through his memory, momentarily uncertain whether he had ever actually mentioned such a thing.

Due to his packed promotional schedule over the preceding period, he had been constantly occupied. Gaming was just a rare form of relaxation, so he tended to speak quite casually and often forgot what he said the moment the words left his mouth.

Still, Chen Zhe figured Son Seung-wan had no reason to lie to him about something like this. He must have just casually dropped the remark and forgotten about it, whereas Son Seung-wan had remembered it so clearly. Feeling rather embarrassed that he had briefly suspected her, he rubbed the back of his neck and offered an apology.

"It's no big deal at all! You were busy during that time, Ah-zhe, so it's completely normal to forget about some minor details!"

Seeing that Chen Zhe had successfully swallowed her explanation, Son Seung-wan inwardly heaved a sigh of relief. She smiled and waved a hand at him, gesturing that it was nothing to worry about.