Page 53 of From Paris to Seoul

I slid into my seat, inhaling deeply. “Wow, this smells amazing.”

Baekhyun grinned as he sat across from me. “I still prefer instant noodles, though.”

I shot him a glare but was too hungry to argue. Instead, I raised my spoon and took the first bite. The flavors hit instantly—savory, spicy, with just the right amount of tang from the kimchi. “It’s so good!” I squealed.

Baekhyun looks pleased, but before he could say anything, I shook my head in disbelief. “Seriously, is there anything you’re bad at? You can play music without even trying, speak French like it’s nothing, you have a nice voice, a nice face…”

His smirk deepened. “Go on.”

I rolled my eyes, shoving another spoonful of rice into my mouth to stop myself from feeding his ego any further.

As we ate, Baekhyun glanced at me, his voice softer than before. “So… how have you been?”

I paused, spoon hovering over my plate. There was something about the way he asked that made me want to unwind everything.

“I’m okay,” I said after a beat. “Busy, mostly.”

He studied me for a second, as if searching for a deeper meaning behind my words. “Really?”

I let out a small breath, pushing my food around. “Well, during my escapade to Paris… my ex called my family.”

Baekhyun’s expression darkened instantly. “What?”

“Yeah. Just… out of nowhere. Like we didn’t break up. Like he didn’t cheat on me after six years together.” I scoffed. “My mom didn’t know, of course, so she kept pushing me, asking what happened and why I ran away to Paris.”

Baekhyun set his spoon down with a sharp clink, his jaw tightening. “And?”

I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head. “And I reminded him that we’re done. Told him he should stop being delusional.”

His lips pressed into a thin line, and he exhaled through his nose.

“Anyway, I really don’t want to talk about him anymore. Actually, I don’t want to talk about my life much at all right now—nothing good has happened since I left Paris,” I said with a chuckle, then added, “I’m officially unemployed too—my agency dropped me for leaving without notice.”

Baekhyun reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. I glanced up and smiled, as if to tell him not to worry. “So… let’s talk about you instead. How have you been?”

He frowned slightly, his fingers still wrapped around mine, but stayed quiet.

I raised my eyebrows, silently urging him.Well? I’m listening.

Finally, he exhaled, a small smile tugging at his lips as he rested his arms on the table. “I’ve been busy too.”

“You heard my song. I met with a producer and spent some time in his studio.”

I sat up a little. “Tell me more about it.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Turns out, it’s pretty easy to produce and self-publish music nowadays. He helped me upload a track to a streaming platform, and I got a couple hundred listens in the first few days,” he said, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

My eyes widened. “Baekhyun, that’s amazing!”

He grinned. “I think it’s really about luck and how you promote the song. This producer knows what he’s doing, so… who knows? It could turn into something, or it could be nothing. But I like making music—more than acting or posing as a model. And that’s what matters.”

I reached across the table and lightly squeezed his wrist, a mischievous smile playing on my lips. “Since you wrote a song about me, shouldn’t I get a percentage of the royalties or something?”

He squinted at me and clicked his tongue in mock disapproval. “Look at you, diving straight into business.”

I laughed. “Well, as an unemployed person, I need to get creative about making money.”

He grinned, shaking his head. “You’re unbelievable.”

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