Chapter Thirty-Six: A Visit to SM, The Mightiest Group of Supporters

“Uh, well…” Upon hearing Lee Soon-kyu’s words, Chen Zhe’s smile froze instantly. He turned his head and shot a fierce glare at Choi Soo-young, who was still fooling around with Im Yoon-ah, and found himself at a loss for how to respond.

“All right, Lee Soon-kyu, behave yourself!” Just as Chen Zhe fell silent, unable to answer, Kim Tae-yeon, who had been observing everyone closely, quickly stepped in to smooth things over, preventing the situation from becoming even more awkward.

“Sorry, Chen Zhe-ssi. Hmm, can we call you A-zhe?” Kim Tae-yeon first intended to address Chen Zhe with the formalities appropriate for someone newly introduced, but after considering Choi Soo-young and Chen Yuqi, who was very close to Girls’ Generation, she hesitated for a moment and decided on a more familiar term.

“Yes, that’s fine, Senior Kim Tae-yeon!” Chen Zhe scratched his head and had no objection to the change in address, agreeing without hesitation.

“Good, A-zhe, you can just call us ‘noona.’ Actually, Soon-kyu was just joking around, trying to get closer to you. Don’t mind what she said!” Seeing Chen Zhe agree to the new form of address, Kim Tae-yeon nodded with satisfaction and began to explain Soon-kyu’s actions.

As for having Chen Zhe call them ‘noona,’ that had already been settled during two internal meetings of Girls’ Generation the previous two nights. With Choi Soo-young, Im Yoon-ah, Seo-hyun, and Jung Soo-yeon in agreement and the others abstaining, the decision was made.

Thus, Kim Tae-yeon’s suggestion that Chen Zhe call them ‘noona’ came to pass.

“Wait, how did you compose ‘Melody’ if you’ve never been in a relationship?” Having finished her playful scuffle with Choi Soo-young, the ever-curious Im Yoon-ah hurried over to Chen Zhe to watch the drama unfold. She heard what Lee Soon-kyu had said and, being clever, instantly seized on the logical gap.

Listening to their conversation, even though he had just agreed to their request to change his form of address, Chen Zhe couldn’t help but silently complain: Everyone’s calling me A-zhe now; isn’t our relationship progressing a bit too quickly?

Still, Chen Zhe could pretty much guess the reason behind their friendliness—it was mostly out of respect for Choi Soo-young and his own sister.

He’d heard from his sister that she had once tutored Im Yoon-ah and Seo-hyun at Choi Soo-young’s request. Later, after becoming more familiar with Girls’ Generation, she had also tutored Jung Soo-jung at Jung Soo-yeon’s request.

“Right, A-zhe, you’re not single since birth, are you?” At this point, Choi Soo-young realized something, clapped her hands excitedly, and looked at Chen Zhe with interest. She really hadn’t heard of him being in a relationship.

“That’s true. I’ve been busy these days and haven’t had time to talk with you about ‘Melody’!” Their conversation instantly reminded Chen Yuqi of the matter she’d forgotten due to her hectic schedule: Chen Zhe’s romantic history and why that girl lingered so much in his memory.

“Uh…” Faced with such a fatal question, Chen Zhe was once again at a loss for words. After all, he couldn’t exactly say he was thinking of his girlfriend from his previous life, and that he currently had no girlfriend at all.

“I want to know properly—which girl could leave such a lasting impression on you?” Chen Yuqi’s eyes narrowed slightly; she cared deeply about this matter.

“Noona, it’s all in the past. I don’t want to talk about it.” After pondering for a moment, Chen Zhe decided to use the excuse that it was over and he didn’t want to discuss it, to fend off his sister’s questioning.

Upon hearing his reply, all the girls present fell silent for a moment—especially the quick-thinking Chen Yuqi, Choi Soo-young, Im Yoon-ah, and Seo-hyun.

In their minds, they instantly conjured countless scenarios: how Chen Zhe and that girl fell in love, why they broke up, and why he still remembers her so fondly.

“All right, let’s leave it at that for now.” Seeing a flicker of sorrow in Chen Zhe’s eyes, Chen Yuqi decided not to poke at her brother’s wound and let the matter rest.

“By the way, A-zhe, what year were you born?” The usually quiet Seo-hyun walked up to Chen Zhe, gazing at his handsome yet unusually youthful face, and asked curiously.

They all knew Chen Yuqi had a younger brother, and thanks to the close ties between the Chen and Choi families, he could be considered Choi Soo-young’s brother as well. But none of them had actually heard what year he was born.

“Yes, Seo-hyun noona, I was born in 1996. According to Korean age, I’m seventeen.” Looking at the adorable apple-cheeked maknae Seo-hyun of Girls’ Generation, and then glancing at Im Yoon-ah, who had nearly caused him trouble earlier, Chen Zhe silently grumbled to himself.

The two maknaes of Girls’ Generation truly differed in every way—personality, appearance, everything. As expected, the true maknae Seo-hyun was the more outstanding one.

“Ha-choo! Why do I feel like someone’s talking about me behind my back?” As if sensing Chen Zhe’s complaints, Im Yoon-ah suddenly sneezed loudly, instantly perking up and scanning her surroundings in search of the culprit.

“Ninety-six? That’s five years younger than me, four years younger than his own noona… But somehow, A-zhe’s temperament doesn’t match his age!” Despite being the righteous maknae of Girls’ Generation, Seo-hyun had grown up under the influence of her wild older sisters, and her thoughts often wandered off-track. Now, her own transformation into a troublemaker wasn’t far off.

“Ninety-six? That makes him two years younger than Jung Soo-jung from Soojung’s family—just another little brat!” Having spaced out since early morning, Jung Soo-yeon was reminded of her increasingly rebellious younger sister by Chen Zhe’s answer.

After Chen Zhe responded to Seo-hyun, the remaining members of Girls’ Generation sprang into action, bombarding him with all sorts of questions, revealing their true mischievous selves.

Surrounded by the Girls’ Generation troublemakers, Chen Zhe glanced around helplessly, as if searching for someone to rescue him. He found himself unable to fend off these wild older sisters.

He saw his own sister and Choi Soo-young standing off to the side, arms crossed, watching the spectacle. He shook his head—they were not to be relied upon. If he asked them for help, things would only get worse; given their love for stirring up trouble, they would certainly take it even further.