Bae Juhyun was not worried about her sisters suddenly barging in; knowing the home's code didn't mean they had the keys to her bedroom, so she chatted with Liu Xin'an undisturbed for quite some time.
It was only when Liu Xin'an yawned that her excited voice finally stopped.
"Are you tired?"
"Not really, I was just thinking about what to have for a late-night snack later."
"A late-night snack? At this hour?"
It was already late at night, and late-night snacks were something Bae Juhyun was quite familiar with; they often ended their activities in the middle of the night and that was the time they usually ate.
But Liu Xin'an was not like them.
"The life of a video blogger is quite flexible, I usually don't sleep until two or three in the morning, and then I get up almost at noon."
Liu Xin'an replied while scrolling through his phone, talking to Bae Juhyun.
"That's not good for your health."
"Do I look like someone in bad health?"
Liu Xin'an's retort made Bae Juhyun unconsciously envision Liu Xin'an's physique.
Honestly, she had never actually seen what Liu Xin'an's physique was like, but it was not hard to tell from his exposed arms and face that he worked out. His arm lines were beautiful, comparable to those who worked out regularly.
"I don't even know what your physique looks like..."
Bae Juhyun blushed at her own thoughts and then quickly said loudly, as if trying to cover up her embarrassment.
As a fitness enthusiast, how could Liu Xin'an not take selfies at the gym?
What a joke! Isn't working out all about taking selfies to show off?
Cough cough, okay, he was just joking; he exercised more for health, but taking selfies... he still did that.
"Ah~"
A notification sound from her phone made Bae Juhyun, who was covering her small face, unconsciously look down at her phone.
The message was from Liu Xin'an next door. She didn't think much of it, but when she opened the phone and saw the photo Liu Xin'an had sent.
The coolness on her face heated up instantly again.
Oh, it wasn't that Liu Xin'an was exceptionally vain sending a photo showing off his abs by lifting his shirt. He simply wore sportswear, standing before a mirror, snapping a photo of himself, and just having finished working out, Liu Xin'an's muscles were pumped, his sexy physique making it hard to look away.
Bae Juhyun bit her lip and closed the image, thought for a while, then reopened it, saved it, and after all that she couldn't help but yell at the wall, "Hey! Is this sexual harassment?"
"... You said you hadn't seen my physique. Besides, I didn't send anything weird, how could it be sexual harassment?"
Liu Xin'an was genuinely wronged; he had just shared a photo he posted in his social circle.
But Bae Juhyun didn't buy it.
"Would you dare send this kind of photo to someone else? Weirdo!"
"..I just took it from my social circle, is that strange?"
Okay, this time Bae Juhyun was at a loss for words.
However, Liu Xin'an did reveal something—that his social circle seemed to have many similar photos.
Bae Juhyun quickly thought of this, then blushed and shook her head vigorously, trying to dispel the heat on her face.
"That doesn't prove anything. Anyway, staying up late is still bad for your health."
She tried to be stubborn.
Liu Xin'an didn't argue with her. He merely nodded cheerfully, knowing that reasoning with a girl was useless, and besides, she did have a point.
Even if he worked out, staying up late was still harmful to his health.
But... so what! He didn't care!
"It's nice to have some fried chicken paired with beer on a cozy night. Ah~ just thinking about it feels perfect."
"What's so good about fried chicken?"
That didn't tempt Bae Juhyun; she didn't eat fried chicken.
"What do you like to eat?"
Just as Bae Juhyun was about to answer, she quickly covered her mouth.
She had reason to believe that Liu Xin'an was only asking this to order takeout later and tempt her!
Such sinister intentions, this guy!
"Don't think you can tempt me."
"Come on, I'm treating, want to have a late-night snack together?"
This time Bae Juhyun, who had been steadfast in resisting temptation, was stumped.
While tempting her was definitely not okay, but...
The girl swallowed, turned her head to glance at the door, hesitating.
The company had scheduled a new activity for the beginning of the year, which was the first day of New Year, and it was only mid-November now.
A month and a half away... one late-night meal shouldn't be a problem, right?
At that moment, Bae Juhyun completely forgot that she had just had a big meal not long ago, though she had remembered not to eat too much at the time, only filling herself to fifty percent.
Which meant, she was indeed still a bit hungry.
"If it's not fried chicken..."
"Ah, then I'll eat, shall I order something else for you?"
"Okay!"
She finally gave in, succumbing to Liu Xin'an's invitation for a midnight snack.
After agreeing, Bae Juhyun began to prepare for the second problem she was facing.
That was how to slip out of her house without alerting the girls watching a movie in the living room.
Passing through the balcony was a good decision, but the height of the 17th floor made her hesitant to take any risks.
There was a way to leave without passing through the balcony. Her room was connected to her walk-in closet, which in turn was connected to the living room's bathroom. If she went through the bathroom, she could bypass the living room and go directly to the hallway.
Then from the hallway to the entrance, open the door, and sneak out.
But all of this without alerting everyone was quite unrealistic.
The sound of the door opening, footsteps, and even then the girls coming to her room to call her... would expose her actions.
If exposed, she dared not imagine what earth-shattering conclusions her gossipy sisters at home would draw.
Thus, after thinking it over, Bae Juhyun began to visualize a complete process in her mind.
...
Since Liu Xin'an had ordered takeout and it still needed some time to arrive, she told Liu Xin'an on her phone that she would come over in a while and then started her operation.
She first left her bedroom; by this time, the girls in the living room had switched to a variety show. Being a celebrity, it was still best to pay attention to the industry news, and a variety show was a great choice for this and also very relaxing.
She watched the show with everyone for a while, then yawned tiredly.
"I'm going to sleep first; you guys figure out your plan later."
If someone were observing Bae Juhyun at that moment, they would definitely see the deliberate acting on her face.
But everyone's attention was on the variety show, not observing every move Bae Juhyun made.
"I want to sleep in a bed!"
"Juhyun, I want to sleep with you."
"No, I want to sleep alone."
Bae Juhyun straightforwardly denied Son Seungwan's request and then left the three with her back as she returned to her room.
The girls didn't mind and just continued to watch the TV, occasionally bursting into peals of laughter.
Back in her bedroom, Bae Juhyun carefully locked the door to avoid her sisters running in and finding nothing, then went into her walk-in closet to pick out clothes.
Even though it was just for a midnight snack, she was still going to meet someone and needed to put together an outfit and do her makeup in advance.
But she didn't need to prepare a very elaborate look, and after applying some natural makeup, Bae Juhyun raised her hand to loosen her ponytail and smoothed her long hair.
Finally, she blinked cutely at herself in the mirror, pursed her lips, and stood up with confidence.
Now she had reached the bathroom, which was very close to the hallway.
She stealthily opened the bathroom door a crack, then listened attentively to the chatting sounds from the girls in the living room.
After listening patiently for a few minutes, she quietly pushed open the bathroom door and stepped into the hallway.
Then tiptoed from the hallway to the entrance, changed into her outdoor shoes, and waited patiently.
Only when the girls burst into laughter did she finally turn the doorknob of the main door.
The tightly closed door opened promptly, and the sound of the door was masked by the girls' laughter.
She hurriedly stepped out, then patiently waited again.
Luckily, the variety show they were watching today was full of comedic moments, and soon the laughter of the girls resounded once more.
After securing the house door and standing at the entrance, Bae Juhyun breathed a sigh of relief.
Honestly, it was really thrilling!
With an excited smile on her face, she jogged over to Liu Xin'an's door and rang the bell.
After some footsteps, the door was pulled open from inside, revealing Liu Xin'an clad in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, catching Bae Juhyun off guard.
The smile on Bae Juhyun's face became momentarily rigid, mainly because she didn't expect Liu Xin'an to be dressed so coolly...
She herself had put some thought into her outfit, wearing an off-white shirt over a pretty pink T-shirt, and light blue jeans on the bottom.
With her hair draped over her shoulders and her features striking, Liu Xin'an found it hard to look away.
"Oh? You're early; I thought the delivery had arrived."
The excitement of sneaking out from home had faded a bit, and she smiled politely, then followed Liu Xin'an into a place she was visiting for the third time.
The first time was that day she came to show her ID to prove she was older than Liu Xin'an.
The second time was earlier today when she came looking for Kang Seulgi and Son Seungwan.
And now, this was the third time.
She wasn't too nervous or uncomfortable, having chatted with Liu Xin'an for so long, he was now considered a "friend" in her heart.
Walking in slippers prepared by Liu Xin'an, she casually walked into the house, then naturally went to sit on the sofa.
"Has the takeout not arrived yet?"
"Hmm, your side's delivery service isn't very efficient, huh? It's been almost an hour and it still hasn't arrived."
"At this time, it's definitely not easy to order."
"What's wrong with this time? In our country, you can still get delivery in the middle of the night."
Bae Juhyun hummed softly; she didn't believe it, as she had never been there, whatever Liu Xin'an said was fine.