070 A Lonely Man and a Lonely Woman (Not Quite)

"Oppa, why did you come so early?"

"Early? It's already past nine o'clock, and aren't you already at the company, Yuna?"

"Ahahaha."

Shin Yuna offered an awkward laugh, and the accompanying manager quietly exposed her: "Our Yuna only arrived a little bit earlier than Yunhui-xi. She was actually late today."

"Unnie!"

Shin Yuna reacted in desperate dismay, eager to defend her reputation, and hurriedly explained to Yoon Yunhui, "My being late is entirely your fault, oppa."

"Huh? How is that related to me?" Yoon Yunhui asked, completely puzzled and not expecting this turn of events.

"Of course! I was already awake and scrolling through my phone in bed when I came across a clip from *The Penthouse*. It's so makjang, but utterly addictive..."

Shin Yuna complained with a grievance-laden tone, manufacturing an excuse for failing to get out of bed in the morning.

"I'm truly sorry, then~ Wasn't today supposed to be your day off, Yuna? And yet I'm making you rush all the way to the company to teach me how to dance."

Yoon Yunhui found it amusing. It was only natural for a kid to struggle with waking up early. He figured she was probably still full of novelty and energy right after debut, but once the busy schedule hit, she must have realized how precious rest time was. Wanting to sleep in was completely understandable.

"Ahahaha..."

Shin Yuna couldn't quite laugh it off, as today was actually supposed to be a working day for her anyway, so she hastily switched topics: "How well prepared is Yunhui oppa?"

"Huh? Prepared for what?"

"Prepared to learn dancing, of course! This isn't going to be a walk in the park. I think you should take off that necklace."

The two rode the elevator up to the practice room booked for the day. Shin Yuna pointed at Yoon Yunhui's neck and asked out of curiosity: "I've never seen a necklace like that before. Is that a crucifix too?"

"Yeah, I'm Catholic."

As Yoon Yunhui spoke, he unclasped the rosary. An assistant had already opened a small box, waiting for him to place it inside.

"Is today some kind of important religious day, or something? Sorry, I don't really understand."

Shin Yuna had no religious faith herself, but she maintained a respectful attitude.

"No, nothing like that. I'm just wearing it to ward off evil spirits and bad luck."

Yoon Yunhui brushed the topic aside casually; naturally, he couldn't admit that he specifically switched to his rosary just for visiting JYPE.

"Ward off evil spirits?"

Shin Yuna looked completely bewildered by the explanation, but she didn't press the matter further—that simply wasn't her personality.

"The dance teacher isn't here yet..."

Both of them were dressed in comfortable athletic wear, and Shin Yuna radiated youthful vitality. "Well, let me lead you through some warm-ups first. Can you manage this, oppa?"

"Don't treat me like some elderly person whose limbs are too stiff to stretch out. I just don't know how to dance, that's all."

Yoon Yunhui didn't know whether to laugh or cry, though he rather enjoyed Shin Yuna's proactive and lively personality. Having someone else's younger sister around was definitely more obedient and sensible than dealing with one's own.

"Hahaha~ Sorry~ oppa~"

Shin Yuna giggled. At that moment, she was thoroughly enjoying herself, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. As the youngest member of her group, she was actually playing the role of a little teacher to someone else!

Shin Yuna led Yoon Yunhui through a series of common warm-up exercises, and she could tell that he was quite capable across the board. "Oppa, you work out regularly, right? And I don't just mean hitting the gym to build muscle."

"Of course. I'm pretty versatile."

Once the warm-ups concluded, Shin Yuna exercised the hospitality of a host and brought Yoon Yunhui some water. Actually, the manager had already prepared it with the cap unscrewed and a straw inserted; Shin Yuna simply took it from the manager and handed it to Yoon Yunhui.

"Oppa, drink some water!"

"Mm, thank you, our Yuna."

Holding the bottled water with the straw inserted, Yoon Yunhui fell into deep contemplation. Did he really need to use a straw to drink water? Besides, he didn't see any trash cans in the practice room.

Shin Yuna paused for a second, then decisively took matters into her own hands by pulling the straw out. "I have a feeling oppa doesn't need to use this."

"Ooh, Yuna is so cool."

Hanging out with a young girl made Yoon Yunhui's gaze grow considerably clearer and purer.

"Cool?"

Shin Yuna walked over to the cabinets where the built-in, concealed trash cans of the practice room were located. Hearing his words, she turned back and blinked rapidly.

"Awesome!"

Yoon Yunhui did not hold back his praise. He had figured it out: Shin Yuna was exceptionally easy to please. You just had to keep showering her with compliments, and she seemed to never get tired of it.

What else could you do besides praise her anyway? Shin Yuna was still a minor! Just think about it—he would be co-hosting *Inkigayo* alongside Shin Yuna for at least half a year. Even after half a year, Shin Yuna still wouldn't be an adult. Yoon Yunhui had no ulterior motives whatsoever; he simply treated her like a child needing indulgence. Yoon Yunhui had plenty of experience in that department.

"Hehehe."

Shin Yuna didn't feel embarrassed at all, and her impression of Yoon Yunhui only grew more favorable. She wasn't stupid; she could easily tell the difference between genuine kindness and malicious intentions—especially with their managers standing right there in the room.

The vibe Yoon Yunhui gave her was somewhat like an older brother, or maybe even a father figure? At any rate, he wasn't treating her like a young woman, but rather like a little kid.

Shin Yuna didn't think there was anything wrong with being treated like a kid. She *was* still a child, after all—just an energetic, positive, and driven one. Once she reached adulthood, she wouldn't be a child anymore!

"Ahem, oppa is pretty cool too."

Shin Yuna gave Yoon Yunhui a thumbs-up. Yoon Yunhui nodded and replied with a completely deadpan expression: "I know."

"Huh?"

Shin Yuna froze. *Ah, a guy who is well aware of his own good looks.*

Of course Yoon Yunhui knew he was handsome... He was his grandfather's masterpiece, born from a meticulously chosen maternal gene pool that had hit the genetic jackpot, achieving an extreme level of optimization while preserving the characteristic facial features of the Yoon family.

"You're very pretty too, Yuna. Aren't you?"

"Well, obviously!"

A sense of mutual appreciation blossomed in Shin Yuna's heart. This oppa was definitely worth keeping as a friend!

Before long, the dance instructor arrived right on time. She was an in-house choreographer from JYP Entertainment. Right off the bat, she had Yoon Yunhui perform a few movements to assess his physical coordination.

The good news was that he seemed like a moldable talent. The even better news was that his learning capacity was remarkably strong; he could easily grasp and comprehend her instructions.

Next, the instructor played the choreography for *Any Song*. For Shin Yuna, it was a piece of cake. After watching it just once, she was already mimicking the general movements quite decently.

Since their training goal was stage performance—especially with an absolute beginner actor in the mix—they had to start with dancing. Dancing required time to master the movements and build muscle memory. When it came to singing and dancing simultaneously, the body first needed to get used to the choreography and stay on beat, before the brain could spare the bandwidth for singing. If worst came to worst, live-plus-pre-recorded tracks could cover the vocals, but the dancing could never be phoned in.

Yoon Yunhui felt a mild sense of urgency. Shin Yuna had learned the routine in a single viewing while he had just been standing by watching.

"Oppa, don't worry. That's just the baseline for dance teachers here. We'll progress step-by-step, matching whatever pace you can comfortably handle," Shin Yuna said, offering comforting words to Yoon Yunhui, whose expression had grown increasingly serious.

At that moment, she was utterly thrilled. Yoon Yunhui was five years older than her, yet here he was, obediently following her lead!

"I'll do my best."

Yoon Yunhui quickly shifted into the zone. Since his physical stamina was solid, he figured he would just practice a few more times. If that still wasn't enough, he'd practice dozens more times.

Acting like a little teacher, Shin Yuna earnestly set about helping Yoon Yunhui improve.