The Uncrowned King of the Peninsula

Chapter 296 Men are all that pathetic.

Bae Yong-joon swallowed hard, looking at Lee Ji-eun's charmingly cunning eyes hidden beneath her oversized windbreaker.

"Hey, customer, I'm just a designated driver. Why do I feel like you're thinking about something rude?" Lee Ji-eun stood on one leg, with her other long, white leg stepping on his chest, her face showing an innocent expression.

"What's so rude about it? I was just wondering how someone with your small frame could possibly drive, whether they even know how." Bae Yong-joon raised his hand, pinched her small foot, and then slowly slid it up her smooth calf, feeling the soft skin in his palm. His large hand then slid down to the hem of her clothes.

"Guest, you don't need to worry about this." Lee Ji-eun smiled politely, but her foot was anything but polite, kicking Bae Young-joon's hand aside.

"You're drunk, driving is absolutely not allowed!"

With a powerful push of her snow-white thighs, she climbed onto the sofa and then sat on Bae Yong-joon's lap.

Beneath the oversized windbreaker, soft, bouncy buttocks rubbed against his thighs, sending a jolt of electricity through him. The warm, moist air teased his thighs, making him jump involuntarily.

Are you driving?

"Is it a designated driver or a designated rider?"

Bae Yong-joon leaned back on the sofa, looking at Lee Ji-eun with her hands on his chest, and teased, "I think you... ouch~"

Without saying a word, Lee Ji-eun turned her little bottom and drove off.

"Who cares what he's called? I'm the driver now, I can drive however I want. Who told Shirley to fall asleep?"

Her innocent little face was puffed out, and she was panting. Her braids had been undone, and her smooth, wavy long hair swept across his chest. The fragrance of a woman wafted over him, captivating his heart.

"So what if she knows? Let her come find you!"

"I am a bad woman, I'm only doing this for myself, is that wrong?!"

"Okay, I like it very much. I like you just the way you are." Pei Yongjun pinched her slender waist, feeling like he couldn't get enough of touching her.

"You scumbag!" Lee Ji-eun's big eyes were watery, her red lips slightly parted, and she lowered her head to shower Bae Young-joon with kisses. Then, panting, she straightened up. "Hoo~ Hurry up! Give me the fare for the designated driver!"

"What is the designated driver fee? How much is it?" Bae Young-joon asked while playing with her little orange.

"Hurry up and hand it over!" Lee Ji-eun's brain was throbbing, and she was babbling incoherently.

"Can you fit it all in?" Bae Young-joon was about to laugh, but then his lips twitched again.

"What's it to you?" Lee Ji-eun gave him a coquettish glare, then gritted her teeth and tightened her face.

She screamed as Bae Yong-joon flipped her over and pinned her down.

“The car is going too slow, let me help you speed it up.” Pei Yongjun grabbed her.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! You bastard!"

Li Zhi'en, a petty-minded designated driver, worked hard all night. Tsk, being a designated driver is really hard work.

More than ten kilometers away, Bae Yong-joon's black sedan was parked crookedly on the side of the road. He waited all night, but no two female drivers came to drive him away.

------

"Get out of here, don't touch me!" In her sleep, Lee Ji-eun felt someone touching her and impatiently pushed them away. "It's all swollen, are you even human?"

"Unnie, what's swollen?" A clear voice reached my ears.

She groggily opened her eyes, and there was Choi Sulli's puzzled little face right in front of her.

"Huh? Sulli?" Lee Ji-eun woke up with a start, but her brain was still foggy from just waking up. She didn't know that the person she was holding next to was Bae Young-joon, but when she opened her eyes, it was Choi Sulli.

"Unnie? Why are you sleeping in this clothes?" Choi Sulli, who had successfully extracted the essence last night, came downstairs in the morning feeling refreshed, only to find that Lee Ji-eun was no longer on the sofa.

She searched for a long time before finally finding Lee Ji-eun in the bedroom on the second floor. But she was wearing a strange windbreaker, covered with a blanket, and lying on the bed sleeping with her legs spread wide.

"Huh? I..." Lee Ji-eun stared blankly at Choi Sulli, not knowing what to say. Choi Sulli thought she was cold or something, and worriedly leaned over to touch her forehead.

"Unnie, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing. Um, I was a little cold in the middle of the night, so I came up." Lee Ji-eun finally remembered.

Last night, she finally earned tens of millions in chauffeur service fees, but the drunk driver insisted that the service was too good and wanted to give her an extra few hundred million in tips. He then carried her upstairs and gave her a good thrashing.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Lee Ji-eun kicked and punched Bae Young-joon out of the room, then collapsed into bed from exhaustion, only to be discovered by Choi Sulli this morning.

"Are you really alright?" Choi Sulli looked Lee Ji-eun up and down. "You didn't bump into anything last night, did you?"

"No, no." Lee Ji-eun waved her hands repeatedly, sat up and was about to get out of bed. "Let's go, let's go, I'm awake, let's go downstairs."

"Oh, okay." Choi Sulli nodded, straightened up, and walked out with light steps, only to hear a cry of pain behind her.

She turned her head and saw Lee Ji-eun kneeling by the bed, her face contorted in pain.

"Hey, unnie?" Sulli quickly ran over and helped Lee Ji-eun up. "What happened?"

"I, I'm fine, it's just, I guess I bumped into something last night?" Lee Ji-eun hadn't felt anything while lying down, but as soon as she took a step, she felt her legs go weak and her calves were swollen and chafed badly. Her legs gave way and she knelt down with a thud.

"Where?" Choi Sulli reached out to lift her clothes with concern, but she quickly stopped her.

"It's okay, I just need to rest for a bit." Lee Ji-eun had no choice but to sit back down on the edge of the bed.

"Then I'll find you some clothes." Choi Sulli ran around the room, preparing clothes for Lee Ji-eun.

Looking at the energetic Choi Sulli, Lee Ji-eun felt it was so unfair. They were both men, so why was she so lively and energetic while she was like this?

Is the gap between people so big?
"Shirley, did you feel unwell last night?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Huh? Last night?" Choi Sulli stopped abruptly, her cheeks flushed, and she looked at Lee Ji-eun, stammering, "Unnie, last night, what happened last night?"

Did Unnie overhear something in the car last night?
No way?
Choi Sulli felt a wave of embarrassment. "W-you didn't hear anything, did you?"

"What?" Lee Ji-eun was taken aback, then realized what she meant and shook her head repeatedly. "Huh? I didn't hear anything. Did you hear anything?"

"No, I didn't hear anything." Choi Sulli shook her head. "I went to sleep as soon as I got back last night, and I didn't hear anything."

"profound."

The two stared at each other, one pretending to be stupid, the other looking bewildered, neither of them knowing whether they had heard anything or not.

"So, unnie, are you having breakfast? I'll have oppa bring it up."

After a brief eye contact, Choi Sulli, being too shy, quickly slipped away.

Lee Ji-eun finally let out a long breath, leaning against the headboard, feeling the soreness all over her body. Thinking of Bae Young-joon's merciless treatment last night, she felt a surge of anger, grabbed a pillow from the side, and started hitting it wildly. "Bad man, stinky man..."

She was grumbling and venting her morning grumpiness when she heard two crisp knocks on the door, which startled her. She quickly threw her pillow aside.

Bae Young-joon stood at the doorway, holding a coffee and a tray, with a half-smile on his face.

"What are you doing? Who are you hitting?"

"I'll hit you!" Lee Ji-eun glanced at him and saw that no one was behind him, then rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Why did you hit me?" Bae Young-joon looked innocent, placing the things in his hand on the bedside table. The coffee smelled rich, and the plate contained fried eggs and sandwiches.

"I heard you can't walk anymore? Are you alright?"

He looked concerned.

"It's all your fault! Hey, why is Shirley okay? Are you being biased?"

"You don't care about me at all."

Lee Ji-eun was still a little resentful.

"You still doubt me?" Bae Young-joon chuckled.

"What? No way?" Lee Ji-eun's body was still weak, but her mouth had already hardened.

“You only had one time with Sulli, but how many times with you? Can they be the same?” Bae Young-joon brought the coffee to her lips. “Have some, and then eat something.”

Lee Ji-eun looked embarrassed upon hearing this and silently accepted the coffee.

"If I have to say who's biased, it's you, right? Hmm, my designated driver." Bae Young-joon patted her hair and asked with some anticipation, "But what are you planning to act in next?"

"A little curious."

"Next time? Do you like?" Lee Ji-eun looked at him.

"Of course." Bae Young-joon nodded, his face serious. "I'll help you hone your acting skills so you can win the Baeksang Arts Awards as soon as possible."

"Tch~ Forget it." Lee Ji-eun gave him a coquettish glare, and when she thought of how Bae Young-joon had tormented her last night, a strange kind of joy couldn't help but rise in her heart.

"Next time, next time depends on my mood."

She grumbled and said something before kicking Bae Young-joon out of the room, "Go on, go downstairs and go find your Sherry."

cut~
A mere man, and he calls himself a club president? That's all the ambition he has. You can't take him seriously.
Lee Ji-eun sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, sipping her coffee in the morning light, and unconsciously began to hum a little tune.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

[Latest news on Produce 48: program coverage will be jointly conducted by Hanjiang Sports and CJ Entertainment. According to sources, this is Kakao Group's latest move to promote its diversified development in the entertainment field...]

[The Hanjiang Sports Newspaper is undergoing a profound transformation. Experts point out that this shift from entertainment news to a comprehensive entertainment group presents it with tremendous opportunities for development...]

[Hanjiang Sports will take over the initial coverage of Produce 48. Insiders at the newspaper revealed that the website will be completely updated to provide better service, and a dedicated reporting section may be established...]

The voting channels for Produce 48 will be more convenient; fans can vote directly through the Kakao app for the winners…

Industry insiders say Hanjiang Sports may have the authority to interfere with the fairness of matches, urging the Kakao Group to carefully consider this...

In just a few days, Produce 48 swept across the entire peninsula like a whirlwind, thanks to the Kakao Group's overwhelming promotional campaign.

Hundreds and thousands of trainees in Seoul are eager to seize this opportunity and realize their dreams of becoming stars.

After all, the trainees spend their days in a monotonous and hopeless way, all for the sake of debuting one day.

Debuting on such a high-profile stage would undoubtedly be a guarantee of success.

Fame and fortune are alluring, especially when they are packaged in a dazzling cloak called dreams. Young girls dream of their future.

The various talent agencies, of course, were not so naive and saw through the strangeness behind this collaboration.

Rumors circulated that Hanjiang Sports received strong support from Kakao Chairman Kim Bum-soo, forcing CJ Entertainment to ultimately yield. The two parties eventually agreed that all promotional and broadcast traffic would be driven through Hanjiang Sports' portal website, with the revenue shared between them.

It's important to understand that even the arrangement of contestants' photos on the promotional page has a crucial impact on popularity. Hanjiang Sports will undoubtedly be able to get a share of the pie from this super talent show, and a very substantial one at that.

Many agencies are already inquiring about how to get in touch with Bae Yong-joon so that he can take care of them in some way.

In SM's practice room, Kim Minjung looked at the overwhelming news about Produce 48 on his phone, feeling like ants were crawling all over him.

"Unnie, do you think we have a chance too?" She stood up, leaned on the table, and moved closer to Yoo Jimin, holding her phone. "This feels so great!"

She chuckled to herself, secretly plotting to use her Yongjun oppa's connections to get her a job, feeling like she had already reached the pinnacle of her life.

Easy debut, dominate the peninsula!
"Don't be silly, the company won't let us participate." Liu Zhimin, who was engrossed in her phone, glanced at Kim Minjung and immediately condemned his childish fantasy.

"Huh? Why? Didn't you say that many entertainment agencies were going to participate?" Kim Minjung's eyes widened.

“These are all for small companies, how could our company possibly go?” Liu Zhimin said.

"But in the first season, that one, didn't JYP's Somi participate? Maybe our company will participate this time too?" Kim Minjung was still not giving up.

“Look at Somi, didn’t she have a big falling out with JYP? I guess even JYP won’t be participating this time.” Yoo Jimin saw things very clearly.

After Somi's great success at IOI, her participation in JYP's new debut project seemed unreasonable or, to put it another way, disobedient.

“We have many excellent trainees in our company. If they don’t behave, we’ll just replace them. So, you shouldn’t overthink it.” Liu Zhimin scratched Jin Minzheng’s chin.

"Just practice honestly."

"Okay..." Kim Minjung listlessly let Yoo Jimin scratch his chin, "But when will we debut~"

"Almost there, almost there," Liu Zhimin replied, glancing at her phone screen again.

Hanjiang Sports...

Ugh, there hasn't been a soul in sight these past few days, damn it.

She pouted and reached out to ruffle Kim Minjung's hair haphazardly.

If you don't show up soon, I'll rub your Minjung sister bald!
Liu Zhimin puffed out her cheeks.

(End of this chapter)