Chapter 6: Asking for signatures is a form of torture

The BHC fried chicken that the two often eat is on Yonsei-ro, less than 20 minutes' walk away.

After passing by no less than ten barbecue restaurants, I finally arrived at the door of BHC fried chicken. There was a poster of spokesperson Jun Ji-hyun on the glass door.

The reason why fried chicken and beer has caused such a big craze is thanks to her collaboration with Kim Soo-hyun in "My Love from the Star" last year.

Although the subject matter of this TV series is not novel, it is very popular in Asia and has won a number of awards of various sizes.

So much so that 80% of the boys’ hairstyles on the streets of Seoul are similar to the bowl cut of the male lead Do Min Joon in the drama.

Gao Zixiang, a member of the pot-covered hairstyle, ran into the BHC fried chicken shop rubbing his hands. It was still quite cold in Seoul at the end of February. He regretted not wearing a thick coat when going out. He really preferred style to temperature.

Having eaten here more than a dozen times, he is so skilled that he doesn't even need a menu and can just choose his favorite garlic sauce fried chicken.

Jiang Zhaohuan chose original fried chicken and three different flavors of sauce. Rather than having each piece of fried chicken have the same flavor, he prefers to dip the original fried chicken in different flavors of sauce to avoid getting tired of it.

Before the fried chicken was served, Gao Zixiang had already finished a plate of white radish kimchi to cleanse his stomach.

He caught a glimpse of Jun Ji-hyun on the poster holding fried chicken in one hand and beer in the other, and envy almost overflowed from his eyes.

He fiddled with the straw in the Coke can with an expression of confusion, his tone full of regret:
"I really don't understand why the legal drinking age in the peninsula is 20. It would be much better if it were 18! When I was 18, my dad opened his treasured Moutai for me. Hiss - you have no idea how pure and fragrant the taste is!"

At this point, Gao Zixiang secretly observed the diners around him, and after making sure that there were only them and the table in the corner, he boldly said:

"Zhao Huan, when you come of age, I will buy you a bottle of Moutai to celebrate. After you drink it, I guarantee that you will not be interested in Jinro at all. This stuff is really just like mouthwash!"

"So how do you know what Jinro smells like?" Jiang Zhaohuan obviously grasped the key point of the words and asked with his eyes raised.

Gao Zixiang smiled awkwardly. He bribed a senior student at school and took a small sip.

He lowered his voice, a little embarrassed:
"Oh, all in all, I really don't recommend you to drink Jinro. It's too unpalatable."

"I don't like drinking, but it's good not to drink. It can help prevent alcoholic liver disease."

When Kang Do-hwan was living in England, he secretly drank the wine his father used to entertain guests.

He still remembers the astringent taste clearly; it was really too hard to drink.

“But fried chicken without beer really lacks soul!”

Gao Zixiang, a fan of Korean dramas, curled his lips in dissatisfaction, but fortunately he had carbonated drinks to comfort his wounded heart, and his life was still acceptable.

The wait for fried chicken was long. Gao Zixiang held his chin up and felt a little bored. Just when he wanted to play a mobile game to kill time, suddenly a light golden color flashed into his eyes. His star-chasing radar quickly reacted, and he quickly poked Jiang Zhaohuan, who was sitting opposite him with his eyes closed.

He lowered his voice, his expression like a weasel stealing chickens from the countryside in the middle of the night, and said stealthily:
"Zhao Huan, look over there in the corner, I guarantee they are definitely artists!"

Jiang Zhaohuan looked in the direction Gao Zixiang mentioned, only to see three unidentified creatures wrapped like polar bears. One of them was swaying from side to side, and it must be looking forward to the fried chicken.

He was curious about how Gao Zixiang determined that they were artists, so he asked in a low voice:

"How did you tell? His face wasn't even shown."

"Come on, who would come to a fried chicken shop wrapped up so tightly? This isn't a gang building. And didn't you notice their hair color? This light blonde color is hard for most people to handle. The three of them have almost the same hair color, so they are probably from the same group!"

"Just like that? Can't you dye your hair a different shade just because you're related?"

Kang Do Hwan doesn't know much about South Korean artists, but if he had to say which girl idol group he's more familiar with, it would definitely be Girls' Generation.

He knew about this group not because of their popularity in the peninsula, but because one of their members went to London to participate in a fashion show three years ago.

His father, whose job was related to fashion, naturally regarded him as free labor for the show.

During the reception, Kang Do-hwan learned from the show staff that these three highly-anticipated Peninsula artists were from the well-known girl idol group Girls' Generation.

Gao Zixiang stretched out his fingers and shook them. Just now he caught a glimpse of the appearance of one of them. He guessed that the smell of fried chicken in the store was so delicious that she couldn't help but pull off her mask and take a few more breaths of the delicious air.

Seulgi is a member of Red Velvet, a new girl idol group launched by SM Entertainment last year!
Gao Zixiang, who had already guessed the identities of these three people, said confidently:
"Don't look so uninterested. I already know who they are. I'm an encyclopedia of Korean pop culture, so this kind of reasoning is very easy for me. Show your curiosity and let me reveal the secrets to you."

"what?"

Jiang Zhaohuan was a little confused. After all, from his perspective, he could only see the "polar bear".

"Hehe, they are Red Baby, the one shaking her head, her stage name is SEULGI, her real name is Jiang Seulgi." Gao Zixiang pushed up his black-framed glasses and imitated the classic catchphrase of a primary school student wearing neon glasses, "There is only one truth, the two people sitting opposite Seulgi are definitely not Joy."

Jiang Zhaohuan took a sip of the ice water in front of him. He still didn't like the fact that fried chicken shops didn't provide warm water in winter, so he asked:

"why?"

"Because of height, JOY is much taller than the other three members. What do you think? Now you believe that I am the encyclopedia of K-Pop, right?"

"...Well, so what do you plan to do after learning this?" Gao Zixiang seemed to have been waiting for Jiang Zhaohuan to say this. He raised the corners of his mouth and said with a wicked smile:

"Of course I want an autograph~ So let's play rock-paper-scissors, and the loser gets to ask for an autograph~"

"?"

Jiang Zhaohuan wanted to find a cotton swab to clean his ears. He really couldn't believe that Gao Zixiang said such words with a matter-of-fact expression.

Why did he play rock-paper-scissors? He didn't want an autograph.

Unexpectedly, Gao Zixiang didn't give him any chance to refuse, so he had no choice but to cooperate and punched.

Paper versus fist, you don't have to think about it to know who wins.

Jiang Zhaohuan's luck in rock-paper-scissors has always been bad. He lowered his head and had no intention of getting up.

As an introvert who is a bit socially anxious around strangers, he really can't ask anyone for an autograph.

Gao Zixiang knew Jiang Zhaohuan's "shortcomings" very well. He thought that if his good brother wanted to enter the entertainment industry, he would be at a disadvantage if he still had this kind of personality. So he could only say sorry in his heart and deliberately raised his voice:

"If you want an autograph, just go get it yourself. Do you really need me to help you?"

As soon as these words came out, the "polar bear" that was still shaking its head suddenly stopped moving.

The expression on Jiang Zhaohuan's face was completely out of control. He suddenly looked up with a look of disbelief. He never expected Gao Zixiang to do this.

Now he was in a complete dilemma, and he could even sense three strange gazes falling on him.

The nervousness that should have arisen during the audition fermented at this moment.

Boom boom boom boom.

Jiang Zhaohuan lowered his head, feeling a little overwhelmed. He regretted taking off his mask to keep warm as soon as he arrived at the store.

As soon as he looked up, he saw Gao Zixiang winking at him, so he had to grit his teeth and make a neck-wiping gesture to him.

At this moment, the two of them were engaging in body language communication that only they could understand.

Gao Zixiang: Sorry, sorry, I’ll treat you to dinner today.

Jiang Zhaohuan: You will die even if you eat ten meals.

Gao Zixiang: Then please help me get an autograph, otherwise I will die with regrets.

Jiang Zhaohuan hesitated for a while, but thinking about what Gao Zixiang had said, he felt a little scared if he didn't go up.

In most matters, he had a strong desire to win, so he naturally blocked his own way out.

Kang Do-hwan: There won’t be a next time.

Gao Zixiang: There will definitely not be a next time, I only have one life!
Gao Zixiang, worried that his good brother would be angry, put his hands together and made an apologetic gesture. Helpless, Jiang Zhaohuan had to drink up the ice water on the table. Others drank to get courage to confess, but he drank ice water to get courage to ask for an autograph.

He approached the corner with an expressionless face. With a height of nearly 1.9 meters with shoes on, he appeared next to the three "polar bears". For some reason, the BGM from "Attack on Titan" rang in his mind.

It would be more accurate to say that he came to collect a debt rather than to ask for an autograph.

Jiang Zhaohuan twitched his lips, his habit of getting gloomy when nervous did not change, and he said in a stiff tone:

"An Ning, I'm your fan, can you give me an autograph?"

Fortunately, the attitude was very polite, otherwise, Son Seung-wan, one of the "Polar Bears", would rather not have the fried chicken that had not been packaged yet, and would lead his teammates to break through the giant's defense and escape from the fried chicken shop.

Kang Seul-gi and Son Seung-wan, who was wrapped equally tightly, exchanged glances and asked each other: It seems like you are really our fans?
Just as they were about to speak, the captain Pei Zhuxuan who was sitting opposite them spoke first:
"Okay, where is the signature?"

The soft and sticky voice is very nice to listen to, and should be quite suitable for singing lyrical songs.

Jiang Zhaohuan now completely believed what Gao Zixiang said. He reached into his trouser pocket and found only cash in his wallet besides the bank cards. He couldn't let them sign on these two things.

In desperation, he had to remove his phone case and asked the store for a black marker.

Pei Zhuxuan reached out to take the phone case and was about to sign it when she remembered that she hadn't asked for the name yet, so she asked:

"Your name is?"

"...Gao Zixiang."

　The single female lead, Bae Joo-hyun, makes a brilliant appearance.

　　Don't worry, there's no misunderstanding.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)