Peninsula: The Great Producer

Lee Ji-eun pretended not to hear anything and pulled her suitcase toward the dressing room.

Yoo In-na excitedly hummed a song and skipped back to the kitchen, as if she were the one moving to a new house instead of Lee Ji-eun. The gloom she had felt before, envying Lee Ji-eun's company for giving her a new dormitory, had also disappeared.

More than an hour later.

After tidying up their new home, Lee Ji-eun, Bae Jong-han, and Yoo In-na sat on the living room sofa watching a TV series.

Pei Zhonghan shifted his position and said, "Should I leave first?"

Lee Ji-eun grabbed Bae Jong-han and said, "No, Oppa can't leave. We have to eat together tonight."

Yoo In-na chimed in, "Actually, I want to leave too."

Lee Ji-eun grabbed Yoo In-na's hand again and said, "No, unnie can't leave either."

Yoo In-na teased Lee Ji-eun, saying, "It's inconvenient if the two of us are here."

Pei Zhonghan nodded and said, "That's right, it's not like we're in a restaurant or a tented carriage outside."

Speaking of this, Bae Jong-han recalled the scene of eating udon noodles in a tented carriage near Lee Ji-eun's former dormitory.

The two weren't particularly affectionate, but Pei Zhonghan always felt like he was superfluous, or to put it bluntly, a third party.

I couldn't join in any conversation; I just sat there like an idiot, watching and listening.

Lee Ji-eun could sense that Yoo In-na was deliberately teasing her, but Bae Jong-han definitely wasn't, so she wouldn't budge no matter what she said, even if Yoo In-na kept teasing her.

"Ji-eun, let's go first. If you receive a special surprise later, our presence might really spoil the atmosphere."

Lee Ji-eun said, "No, we agreed to have dinner together tonight. Oppa must have bought a lot of ingredients. If you guys leave, Oppa will be disappointed when he comes back."

But in her mind, she was imagining what kind of gift Qi Yaojiu would give her this year.

Is it really a diamond jewelry piece, like Yoo In-na said? A ring?
19, not 20. It's a pity today's birthday isn't a coming-of-age ceremony. If it were, the gift wouldn't matter; it would definitely be perfume, then I'd receive roses from Qi Yao Jiu, and finally…

Bae Jong-han watched as Lee Ji-eun's fair face turned pink.

She slowly shook her head; without a doubt, she was imagining some embarrassing scene in her mind.

Yoo In-na suppressed a laugh and continued, "Does Ji-eun want us to stay and be witnesses? We're not reporters, are we? Maybe she wants us to upload photos of your birthday today to the internet?"

Lee Ji-eun snapped out of her daze and stammered, "No, I just wanted to have dinner together. After all, today is the day I move into my new house."

“Ji-eun, strictly speaking, today is the day you move into your new dormitory. This is not a house you rented or bought yourself.”

Lee Ji-eun was speechless, but at the crucial moment, Ki-Yao-Jiu returned.

Carrying two bags of groceries, she entered the house and exclaimed, "You've got everything ready so quickly?"

Upon hearing Ki Yo-gu's voice, Lee Ji-eun released Yoo In-na and Bae Jong-han's hands and jumped up from the sofa, replying, "Oppa's back."

"Well, I'm back."

"I'll help you."

As he spoke, he walked towards the entrance.

Yoo In-na and Bae Jong-han, who remained in the living room, showed no intention of getting up and leaving.

The two sat on the sofa and turned to look in the direction of the living room corridor, as if watching a play, witnessing Lee Ji-eun carrying a bag of groceries in front, and Ki Yo-gu carrying another bag in one hand behind.

Lee Ji-eun went straight to the kitchen, and Ki Yo-gu exchanged a few words with the two of them as he passed through the living room.

For the next hour or so, it was Qi Yaojiu and Lee Ji-eun's kitchen show stage.

It didn't seem like the two of them were preparing food together in the kitchen for the first time.

After putting down the bag, the first thing Lee Ji-eun did was help sort out everything in the bag.

Without Qi Yaojiu's instructions, prioritize putting the wine and drinks that Qi Yaojiu bought back into the refrigerator.

Then, back at the kitchen counter, Qi Yaojiu put the vegetables and side dishes he had prepared into a basket and put them in the sink to wash.

Qi Yaojiu took out a stew pot and a wok from the cabinet. Liu Renna had already cleaned them. After filling them with water, he put them directly on the stove to start cooking.

Various ingredients were continuously added to the water, and every now and then Qi Yaojiu would chat with Li Zhien about the meaning of the cooking steps.

In front of the sofa, Yoo In-na asked Bae Jong-han in a low voice, "I-Eun really has never been to the kitchen?"

Pei Zhonghan nodded and said, "No, the cleanest place in that dormitory used to be the kitchen. The cleaning lady would come and clean it once a week, and that's what she always said."

"But looking at..."

"Maybe it's because I help my parents with chores at home."

"Does that mean PD Qi fires a lot?"

Bae Jong-han frowned slightly and said, "I don't know about that, but PD Ki is so busy with work every day, he probably doesn't have much time to fire a gun."

“Producer Qi is obviously a good cook. Although he is very fast, he does each step in an orderly manner.”

Bae Jong-han looked at Yoo In-na and asked, "In-na-shi, do you cook for yourself too?"

"Yes, I cook for myself."

"That's why I could see so much, impressive."

Yoo In-na waved her hand and said, "I'm not amazing. Ji-eun is amazing. Someone who never goes into the kitchen can actually help PD Ki with his assistant. I even suspect that she has secretly practiced in the dormitory."

"practise?"

"Yes, practice helping out, like washing vegetables, peeling garlic, preparing various sauces and handing them to PD Ki at any time."

Bae Jong-han wasn't that he couldn't understand, but rather that he couldn't feel it.

Bae Jong-han could imagine that Lee Ji-eun practiced singing or even dancing in the dorm. Who would practice cooking in the kitchen all the time? How boring! You'd be tired all day and not get a single bite to eat. Would Lee Ji-eun do that?
kitchen.

Qi Yaojiu joked, "You started a fire in the dorm by yourself?"

"No, why would Oppa say that?"

“Before, when you came to my house for dinner, you didn’t know how to help in the kitchen. Today, you seem to be able to do everything with ease. It’s different.”

Lee Ji-eun stammered, "Really? Maybe it's because I've grown up."

Qi Yaojiu didn't hear clearly, so he nudged Li Zhi'en with his elbow. Before he could say anything, Li Zhi'en handed him the soy sauce bottle.

"You knew I wanted this?"

"Didn't Oppa say that?"

"I said it?"

"Ah, I heard that."

Qi Yaojiu smiled.

He definitely didn't say that.

But it feels really amazing.

Telepathy does exist.

It's true that two people who have a good understanding of each other can do everything with ease.

This was the first time Qi Yaojiu had ever felt this way.

Lee Ji-eun has really grown up.

"Go and rest. Leave this to me. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour."

Lee Ji-eun then looked up at the living room and noticed that Bae Jong-han and Yoo In-na were staring at the kitchen. Her pretty face flushed red, and she lowered her head and whispered, "I'll just help Oppa here. There's nothing on TV anyway."

Qi Yaojiu turned to face the stove and started operating it, teasing Li Zhi'en with a remark: "Even if you don't act like this, I'll still give you a gift. Don't worry, I bought it, it's on me."

Lee Ji-eun subconsciously glanced at Ki Yo-gu.

On him?

You can't see anything on him at all.

Could it really be a very small box, and inside...? (End of Chapter)