"Why did you move all the way here from China, and Mr. Liu, you speak Korean really well."
"Ah... it's because my mom is from here, so I've been speaking it since I was young, but it's definitely going to take some time before I can get rid of the accent."
His self-deprecating remark elicited a string of soft laughter from the girl on the other side of the wall.
Liu Xin'an didn't hear any mockery in it, so he wasn't angry at the girl's laughter.
"As for why I moved here... it's probably because I wanted a change of environment."
"A change of environment?"
"Yes, you know, I've always been curious about my mom's country, so since I had some time, I thought I'd come over and see the place where my mom used to live. But I won't stay for too long, probably just about half a year or so."
"...Is that so?"
"Hmm-hmm, enough about me, you're still up at this time too, right? Don't you have work?"
The houses in this area aren't cheap; even renting would set you back a hefty sum each month.
Liu Xin'an isn't short on cash; his income as an up-and-coming celebrity is more than enough for him to live comfortably for a while, and he's the kind of person who believes in living life to the fullest, so he doesn't have the habit of saving money.
But how many people in the world could be as lucky as him?
The neighbor girl named Bae Juhyun was indeed very pretty, the type that would take your breath away at just one glance.
Err...thinking about it, she wouldn't be one of those girls who snagged a super-rich boyfriend, would she?
In an instant, Liu Xin'an entertained this possibility in his mind.
A young, beautiful girl living alone in a luxury apartment—don't blame him for his shallow perspective.
"I... am currently taking a break."
The hesitance in Bae Juhyun's reply only solidified his assumptions.
He wasn't judging her for it; everyone's life is their own, and he had no right to dictate how others should live.
So, as a man who had been single for 26 years, he just hoped that if there was any noise from next door, they could keep it down a bit...
Of course, he certainly shouldn't say this out loud in front of her.
"Rest, huh? It's good to rest, take plenty of it."
Liu Xin'an's awkward tone actually made Bae Juhyun uncomfortable—the difference between a warm conversation starter and a perfunctory response could easily be told.
Bae Juhyun reflected on her own answers and couldn't find anything strange, leading her to ask in confusion, "Are you going to rest now?"
"Ah? No, not at all."
"Then why does your voice sound weird?"
"Does it?"
"Mmm."
This time it was Liu Xin'an's turn to fall silent. He frowned, pondering over how to respond, and after a while, he slowly said, "I was just a bit curious about what you do for a living."
"My job?"
The girl's voice took on a solemn note, further confirming Liu Xin'an's thoughts.
Quick, change the subject, that's the priority!
"When I was helping you install the ceiling light earlier, I saw that you had quite a few game consoles on the TV cabinet. Do you really like playing games?"
The shift in topic was a relief for Bae Juhyun, who didn't want to reveal her occupation. If the other party knew she was a celebrity, he would surely be curious enough to search for information about her online.
Then...
She feared she might lose this neighbor she had known for less than a day.
"Gaming? It's okay... I just started playing recently because I've had nothing to do."
It had been more than a month since she took a break.
Without anything to do, she was indeed bored.
Apart from occasionally attending dance and acting classes to keep her body from getting stiff, she spent most of her time cooped up at home, experimenting with recipes.
Her sensitive status made even the idea of going out for a breather seem like a luxury. The only time she felt truly free was when she lay quietly on the balcony at night, looking at the night sky.
Well... now there was someone new to join her, a rare stroke of luck that made the usually pessimistic her feel fortunate.
"Is that so? Does your boyfriend enjoy playing games?"
Here, Liu Xin'an implied the boyfriend as the one willing to pay her living expenses each month...
Don't blame him; he was still suspiciously eyeing the beautiful neighbor girl next door.
But her peculiar response surprised him.
"Boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend."
What a joke, she was already miserable due to the backlash from "insulting staff" that had tanked her reputation. If she had a boyfriend now, she might as well retire from the industry.
But truthfully, this whole ordeal had already made her feel like her life might continue this way for the foreseeable future.
The company told her to wait patiently, but...
She had seen too many similar cases.
"Ah? No boyfriend? Then how do you afford to live here..."
Liu Xin'an was so surprised that he reflexively chimed in, only to quickly cover his mouth and force himself to stop speaking.
As soon as he said this, even Bae Juhyun could guess the kind of perspective her seemingly nice neighbor had of her.
Her face flushed with anger in an instant. She stood up abruptly and kicked the wall of her balcony with force.
The muffled "thud" made Liu Xin'an instinctively shrink his neck. Before he could explain, the girl's voice, filled with gritted teeth, made him curl his toes in embarrassment.
"I bought the house with my own money!"
"Ah... haha, that's really impressive!"
Liu Xin'an quickly laughed it off, trying to salvage the friendly connection they had just started building.
But as his voice dissipated, the girl's voice from next door ceased to rise again.
Liu Xin'an smacked his forehead in annoyance, he really was a bit too mean, to actually harbor such perspectives to speculate about others...
He had to apologize when he was free, regardless of whether the other party would forgive him or not, at least he ought to convey his apology first.
Thinking this, Liu Xin'an didn't continue to bother with saying anything more and just quietly sipped his nearly finished beer, gazing into the distance of the darkness.
After a long while...
"Liu Xin'an."
The sound of the girl's voice again made him start.
Liu Xin'an coughed and asked in surprise, "You're still there?"
"...Otherwise?"
"I'm really sorry about earlier, truly sorry, and I hope you can forgive my sick speculations!"
The sincere apology left Bae Juhyun in silence.
The girl curled up in the chair, quiet as a doll that couldn't speak.
She gently pushed her bangs behind her ear with a hand and sighed softly, "I must have a face that's easy to misunderstand."
"Ah? Don't say that, you're a very beautiful girl, it's not an exaggeration to say you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Liu Xin'an replied earnestly.
But after all, it was he who blindfolded himself with dark thoughts to speculate about others, so he still seriously apologized, "The real mistake is me guessing about you with a dark mindset."
Honestly, Liu Xin'an was frightened by his own dark speculations from earlier; had his sudden surge in fame made him arrogant?
He felt that he really needed to reflect on his attitude.
But what he didn't know was just how much his heartfelt words impacted the girl next door, who at that moment had lost her self-confidence due to various suspicions.
Bae Juhyun's beautiful eyes shimmered with moisture, causing her to bite her lower lip involuntarily.
Without a word, she raised her hand to gently wipe away the tears brimming in her eyes, then covered her nose to sob quietly so that Liu Xin'an on the other side of the wall wouldn't hear her losing her composure.
It wasn't until Liu Xin'an's voice inquired again that she pulled herself together.
"Then please apologize," she said softly, but with determination in her tone.
Upon hearing the girl say so, Liu Xin'an responded earnestly, "I'm sorry."
"Mhm, I forgive you," she said with a smile as she forgave him.
"Miss Bae really is beautiful and kind-hearted!"
"Beautiful and kind-hearted?"
This phrase that clearly seemed pieced together made Bae Juhyun quite puzzled.
Liu Xin'an thought for a moment, then explained to her in detail what each of the words meant and repeated it in Chinese.
"Beautiful and kind-hearted."
"People... no new mountain?"
"Uh... that intonation sounds strange, it's 'ren', 'mei', 'xin', 'shan'."
"Hmm, that's difficult, I don't want to learn anymore."
"Hey? Can you show a little perseverance?"
The girl's giggling could be heard through the wall.
———
When both cans of beer were empty, Liu Xin'an was ready to wash up and rest.
He lazily rose from the lounge chair, yawned, and stretched his body.
This not-so-small disturbance also made its way to Bae Juhyun next door.
The girl curiously looked at the wall that lay between her and her neighbor, as if she could see through the thick wall to the man's movements on the other side.
"Are you going to rest?"
"Yeah... It's past midnight, aren't you going to sleep?"
"I'll stay up a little longer..."
Ever since the incident, she had been suffering from insomnia.
Either she would wake up from nightmares, or lay awake all night.
Colleagues who were seniors, or sisters who were close to her, all worried about her psychological state, but to be honest... Bae Juhyun herself wasn't sure if she was still mentally healthy.
Perhaps she had already become seriously ill without realizing it herself.
"Sleeping too late is bad for your skin, even if you're beautiful you shouldn't squander your assets."
The past hour of interaction had made Liu Xin'an feel much closer to Bae Juhyun next door, so he could naturally make jokes with her.
Similarly, after Liu Xin'an's words, Bae Juhyun was no longer so resistant to this neighbor she hadn't known for even a day.
She didn't think someone who could say those words was a bad person, even though he had once speculated about her in a dark way..
"...Okay, I know. I'll go to sleep earlier."
"Hm-hm, then I'll take my leave first, goodbye Bae Juhyun."
Having said that, Liu Xin'an pulled open the balcony door of his home and returned to his room.
Leaving Bae Juhyun still curled up quietly in her chair, contemplating.
To directly call her by her name? Considering their previous interaction, the man's age couldn't be that much, could it?
In this place, directly calling a girl older than oneself by her full name was quite a rude gesture.
To prevent her neighbor from making such a mistake in the future, she decided the next time they had a chance to talk, she would have him call her 'sister'!