Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 147 Sherry stands before the door of the "truth" (6K 1826)

Something's not right. Ever since we came back from Beijing, whether it was when we met at the restaurant or last night, Yoona seems like a completely different person to me than she did in Beijing.

The unnie who would hold her while she slept, take her to drink soy milk, stand up for her against haters in public, and say "Just be yourself" and "I will always stand by your side" seems to have disappeared.

All the strange feelings she had felt before, like tiny streams, had now converged into a huge mystery, challenging her understanding.

"It's a lie, right..." Shirley cried silently in her heart, her heart starting to race uncontrollably.

An absurd yet audacious idea popped into my head uncontrollably:

Is the Yoona unnie in front of me the same person as the "Yoona unnie" from BJ? Or are they just in the same state?

She held her breath, observing Yoona's sleeping profile more closely. Her skin was smooth, her features delicate, and there was nothing unusual about her. Yet, she felt an urge...
I wanted to reach out and touch it to see if Yoona unnie's face was covered with an exquisite human skin mask.

Mystique...

The word flashed through her mind like lightning. She suddenly remembered the phone number that "Yoona unnie" had given her in Beijing, the one that was supposedly belonging to "Mystique".

Sherry carefully turned over, trying not to make a sound, took her phone from the bedside table, unlocked the screen, and with slightly trembling fingers opened her contacts, finding the number that was specially marked.

Should we call?

Her thumb hovered over the dial key, hesitant.

Then she remembered what Yoona unnie had said when she gave her the number in Beijing: "When you feel particularly tired or encounter danger, contact this number."

It doesn't seem like it's gotten to that point yet?

Besides, this phone call must be from Yoona's friend, right? If she calls to ask about her doubts without thinking, the other person might think she's crazy.

In the end, she sighed softly, turned off her phone screen, and thought, "Oh well, I'll observe it a little longer."

"Shirley, what are you doing?"

Just then, Yoona spoke with a sleepy, nasal voice. She had opened her eyes at some point and was looking at Sulli, who was moving somewhat stiffly, with a puzzled expression.

Shirley was startled, like a frightened little rabbit, and instinctively tried to cover it up by saying:

"Ah? No, nothing, just checking the time."

She paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her, and decided to try a different approach. She pursed her lips and asked casually:

"Yoona unnie... tell me, what is the meaning of human existence?"

"Mo?" Yoona was clearly taken aback by the sudden question. She rubbed her eyes, sat up, thought seriously for a moment, and then answered:
"Hmm... I think the meaning of human existence is to protect the important people and things."

She paused and added:

"Of course, that also includes making yourself happy and making the people you care about happy."

This answer is heartwarming and positive, full of a sense of responsibility and a yearning for a better life; it's almost flawless.

However, the moment Shirley heard this answer, a storm raged in her heart!

It's different! Completely different! Not only are the answers to the question different, but it seems like Yoona unnie has completely forgotten that she clearly asked this question before!
So, the current unnie and the BJ unnie are really not the same person? Or rather... not in the same state?
Could it be that Yoona unnie... has some kind of unspeakable illness? Amnesia? Alzheimer's? Or dissociative identity disorder?

The thought sent a chill down Sulli's spine. But she immediately dismissed the idea—she hadn't heard of Yoona having any memory problems, and after so many years in the group, if she had such a problem, it would have been discovered long ago, right?

Besides, even if Yoona unnie really disguised it well and the members didn't notice, how do you explain that inexplicable sense of familiarity with Kang Cheol oppa? It's impossible that Yoona unnie's split personality could actually be in a man's body, right?
This is ridiculous!! So Yoona unnie's memory is faulty? And it's a recent problem?
Sherry felt like her CPU was about to burn out completely, and her face was filled with shock and confusion.

Seeing that Sulli looked completely disoriented and her worldview had been shaken after hearing her answer, Yoona couldn't help but chuckle and patted her arm.
"Hey, what are you thinking about? It's so early in the morning, don't think about these complicated things, you'll ruin your brain."

"Ah! No, no!" Shirley snapped back to reality, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and forced out a slightly stiff smile:

"Unnie, what was the name of the restaurant you took me to last time? I thought the food there was pretty good."

"That place? I'll send you the address later." Yoona, unsuspecting, got out of bed as she spoke.

"Let's go wash up first."

Sulli quickly responded with a "Yes," but her tone was still somewhat unsteady. She quickly composed herself and followed Yoona to the restroom.

After the two finished washing up and came to the living room, the others also got up one after another. Sunny, with her slightly messy hair, yawned and walked out of the room.

Taeyeon followed behind like a little tail, still sleepy on her face. Kang Cheol had already brought out a simple breakfast from the kitchen—toasted bread, milk, and fried eggs.

After everyone was seated, Sunny ate a sandwich while talking about the upcoming schedule; Taeyeon sipped her milk and occasionally chimed in; Yoona occasionally chimed in from the side.

Shirley seemed to blend perfectly into the harmonious atmosphere, nodding when she was supposed to, smiling when she was supposed to, and occasionally adding a word or two.

But her gaze would always drift uncontrollably towards Jiang Che sitting opposite her.

At this moment, she no longer cared much about the complicated yet harmonious relationship between Kang Cheol oppa, Yoona unnie, and Taeyeon unnie.

Because a bigger, more astonishing secret, like Pandora's box, awaits her to open—she must first know what the truth is!
As Jiang Che listened to the others talking, his keen intuition told him that he felt a persistent gaze. He looked up and saw Shirley quickly look away as if she had been burned.

That self-deceptive behavior only piqued his curiosity. 'What's wrong with this girl? Why is she staring at me like that? Could it be because she told Yoona what I said at the gym yesterday?'
Then what did Yoona say to her? He subconsciously glanced at Yoona next to him, who looked calm and showed no sign of anything amiss.

Before he could sort out his thoughts, Sunny, sitting next to Shirley, also noticed Shirley's unusual behavior. Her eyes darted between Shirley and Jiang Che, a playful smile curving her lips as she deliberately drew out her words:

"Aigoo—Sherry, why have you been peeking at Jiang Che like that??"

"What?! Annie annie! Nothing like that!" Shirley flinched like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, waving her hands frantically. "I just... I was just a little distracted! Yes, I was distracted!"

Upon hearing this, Yoona's gaze swept over, lightly passing between Kang Cheol and Sulli. A ripple of emotion stirred within her, and she muttered to herself:
'This guy... does he really have some kind of unseen charm aura? How come even Sherry is...' But looking at Sherry's completely flustered expression, she felt it was unlikely.

Taeyeon also turned her head curiously, looking at the flustered Sulli, then at Kang Cheol who seemed completely unconcerned, and blinked.
Then, as if he had thought of something interesting, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile that suggested he was looking forward to a good show, and he remained silent.

Seeing Sulli being teased by Sunny and receiving stares from Yoona and Taeyeon, Jiang Che quickly stepped in to defuse the situation, trying to steer the conversation to a safer direction:

"Sunny, stop teasing her. Maybe Shirley is wondering when she can come over for another meal, but she's too shy to ask, that's why she keeps looking at me."

Shirley quickly climbed down the pole, nodding in agreement:
"No! Kang Cheol oppa's cooking is so delicious! I'm just wondering... if there will be another chance..."

Sunny watched the two of them bantering back and forth, too lazy to delve any deeper. After all, it was just a joke, so she shrugged.

"Alright, alright, just let me know in advance if you want to come over for dinner."

"Yes, I understand, Sunny unnie," Shirley replied softly.

Breakfast ended peacefully, with everyone having their own thoughts.

After packing up, everyone went their separate ways. Sunny, Taeyeon, and Yoona went to the company, while Kang Cheol continued his stay-at-home routine. Sulli had no plans for the day, so she prepared to return to her apartment.

On the way to the company, Sunny was the driver, while Taeyeon and Yoona sat in the back. Yoona gazed out the window at the rapidly receding street scene.
Her mind was still replaying the strange look Shirley gave Jiang Che during breakfast. Just then, her phone vibrated, and the screen lit up with a KakaoTalk message from Jiang Che.

[Yoona, did you and Sulli chat while you were sleeping last night? What did you talk about?]

Yoona looked at the message, raised an eyebrow, and quickly replied with her fingers:
【What's wrong? Why are you so interested in our late-night chatter? Being so gossipy isn't good (￣^￣)】

Shortly after the message was sent, Jiang Che's reply arrived:

[It's not gossip... I just felt that Shirley's gaze towards me was a little strange this morning, and I'm a little worried that I might have said something wrong yesterday.]

Seeing that his tone was serious and not joking, Yoona also put away her teasing thoughts, carefully recalled the scene from last night, and replied:
[Nothing special in the conversation... Oh, right, she did say something like, that you and I gave her a similar feeling, but I just brushed it off. Otherwise, I didn't notice anything unusual.]

On the other side, Jiang Che frowned slightly as he looked at Yoona's reply.

'It feels so similar? Could it be that Sherry really sensed something just by feeling? But she's not a Saint Seiya, where would she get a sixth or seventh sense...'

While it's unclear where things might have gone wrong, judging from Yoona's reply, since she said she's already covered it up, Sulli probably only has suspicions at the moment, without concrete evidence. After all, no normal person would think of something like "transformation."

With that thought in mind, he temporarily set aside his doubts and sent Yoona a message:
Okay, I got it. Hope your work goes well. Let's have dinner together again next time. As a way of thanking you, I can cover your shifts again so you can get some rest.

Of course, even close brothers need to keep clear accounts, but I can give you a 20% discount.

Yoona looked at the new message that popped up on her phone screen, especially the words "close brothers" and "20% off," and couldn't help but burst out laughing, which made Taeyeon look over curiously.

"What laughing?"

"It's nothing," Yoona said, her smile lingering.

"Someone's just clowning around."

She paused, tapped her finger lightly, and replied with a simple: 【Mm.】

Sherry, who returned to her empty apartment alone, was far less carefree than Jiang Che.

She kicked off her shoes, walked straight to the living room, threw herself onto the soft sofa, hugged a cushion, and kept comparing the details of "two Yoona unnies" and "one Kang Cheol oppa" in her mind.

Driven by a strong thirst for knowledge, she immediately took out her phone, unlocked the screen, paused for a moment on the search bar, and then solemnly typed:

Symptoms and causes of amnesia

Symptoms of Alzheimer's disease

Typical characteristics and diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder

A flood of medical information popped up, and she carefully browsed through them one by one, her brows furrowing more and more as she read.

It seems that some of the descriptions do match up, but the most important thing is that there is a strange sense of familiarity with Kang Cheol oppa that cannot be explained. Could it be that his soul has left his body?

Shirley scratched her hair in frustration, feeling like she was stuck in a dead end. She put down her phone, leaned back on the sofa, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

'Could it be... that I'm overthinking it?'

No, that's not right, an out-of-body experience?! She suddenly sat up straight on the sofa, a glint of light flashing in her eyes.

I quickly picked up my phone again, my fingers trembling slightly with excitement. I deleted the previous medical keywords and started typing in new content.

After the page loaded, she stared blankly at the screen, lost in deep thought.

Meanwhile, in a practice room at JYP Entertainment.

The smell of sweat mixed with tension and anticipation filled the air as nine vibrant young girls rehearsed their final sprint for their upcoming debut stage.

Chou Tzu-yu danced to the rhythm of the music, sweat trickling down her forehead and wetting her hair.

She forced a sweet and energetic smile in front of the huge floor-length mirror, but a hint of dazedness lingered in her clear eyes.

Joy, tension, excitement, fear... a tangled mess of emotions swirled in her mind.
Amidst this turmoil of emotions, an untimely figure emerged—Yoona, the senior who had predicted her debut and offered her her blessings.

"Should we... tell Yoona unnie?"

The thought popped up again without warning.

But the next second, she forcibly pressed it down again.

'Yoona unnie must be very busy, how could she possibly come to see the debut stage of a rookie who hasn't even officially debuted yet... It's so rude of her, and it's such a trouble for her.'

She subconsciously dismissed the idea and continued to focus on the dance moves, trying to completely dispel that unwarranted expectation.

The rehearsal came to a temporary end. Chou Tzu-yu, slightly out of breath, walked to a corner and picked up her water bottle.

At this moment, Lim Nayeon, who was also covered in sweat, wiped her neck with a towel while looking at Chou Tzuyu in the corner. Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had thought of a good idea, and she skipped over to her.

"Tzuyu," Lim Nayeon gently nudged Zhou Tzuyu with her arm and asked in a low voice:

"Do you think... we should invite Yoona to watch our debut stage?"

"What?!"

Chou Tzu-yu's eyes widened instantly, like a startled little rabbit, and she shook her head like a rattle drum.

"Ani! Unnie! This is too presumptuous! You can't do this!"

Seeing her like this, Lim Nayeon chuckled:
"Where is my presumption? You've been so restless these past few days, haven't you? I've been observing you for a while now. I wonder who it is that keeps staring blankly at that autograph book all the time."

She winked mischievously:
"Or is it that you actually don't want Yoona to come?"

"Anita!" Chou Tzuyu quickly denied, her fair cheeks flushed with a blush from exercise and shyness, and she explained softly:

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just... it just feels like this is really inappropriate, it would bother Yoona unnie, and... what if I get rejected, how embarrassing would that be..."

She was mainly afraid of being rejected, and also worried that her invitation would seem abrupt and leave a bad impression on the other party.

Nayeon, however, didn't seem to mind and patted Tzuyu's shoulder forcefully.

"Aigoo, our Tzuyu is overthinking things! If Yoona sunbaenim felt disturbed, she wouldn't have been so kind as to take us to the dressing room backstage, and she certainly wouldn't have proactively added you on her own, right?"

She paused, grabbed Chou Tzu-yu's arm, and continued to urge her:

"Just try mentioning it, it's just a message. Yoona is so busy, it's normal that she can't come, but what if she actually does?!"

Chou Tzu-yu was somewhat tempted by what she heard, but her long-standing obedient nature and aversion to troubling others made her hesitate. Her pink lips pouted slightly, clearly indicating that she was engaged in a fierce internal struggle.

Seeing that Tzuyu was still hesitating, Lim Nayeon decided to use her trump card, shaking her arm and acting cute:

"Don't you still owe Yoona a meal? This is a perfect opportunity! You can take advantage of the invitation to watch her debut stage performance and treat her to a meal together!"

She glanced at Chou Tzu-yu, her eyes flickering, and continued to push the issue further:

"Just think about it, it's their first stage performance, how meaningful is that! And if Yoona actually comes, Dahyun and Sana will be so happy! That would be a super big surprise!"

Under a barrage of verbal and emotional attacks, Chou Tzu-yu's psychological defenses completely crumbled.

“Surprise…” Chou Tzu-yu murmured, imagining the shock and excitement the members might feel when they saw Girls’ Generation seniors come to support them.

She remembered the encouragement Yoona gave her when she looked into her eyes and said confidently in Chinese, "You will definitely debut."
Looking at Nayeon unnie's expectant gaze and her teammates around her who were still practicing hard and full of hope for the future... her inner desire finally overcame her fear and worries.

"Okay... alright, I'll give it a try." Chou Tzu-yu took a deep breath, as if she had made a major decision.

She walked to the wall where her belongings were, picked up her phone, unlocked the screen, and opened the KaKaoTalk chat window that she had recently added with the nickname "Yoona Unnie".

My finger hovered above the screen, I typed a few words and then deleted them; I rewrote the words, but felt they weren't right and deleted them again... After repeating this several times, a small knot formed between my brows.

Nayeon watched anxiously from the sidelines, but didn't know how to intervene, so she could only silently cheer her on. After carefully considering her words, Tzuyu finally typed out a line.

[Yoona unnie, this is Tzuyu. I'm so sorry to bother you. I wanted to tell you some news. My debut stage is scheduled for next Tuesday afternoon on Ment TV.]

If... if Unnie happens to have time that day, I wonder if I could invite you to come and watch? [Rabbit bowing.jpg]

After finishing writing, she checked it carefully again, then showed her phone screen to Lim Nayeon with a questioning look in her eyes:

"Unnie, is this... okay?"

Lim Nayeon quickly glanced at it, her eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly:

"Sure! Absolutely no problem! Tzuyu did a great job! Post it now!"

After receiving confirmation, Chou Tzu-yu took a deep breath and pressed the send button. The moment the message was successfully delivered, she breathed a long sigh of relief, as if she had completed an extremely important task, feeling both nervous and expectant.

In a practice room at SM Entertainment, Yoona, who had just finished a dance practice session, was resting when a new KakaoTalk message popped up on her phone.

She casually swiped to view it, but when she saw the sender and the content, she visibly paused for a moment.
"Zhou Tzuyu...invited me to see her debut stage?" She looked at the polite yet somewhat cautious words on the screen, a little surprised.
'This girl…wasn't she quite introverted and shy last time? How come she's suddenly so brave?'

This move was indeed unexpected.
She subconsciously moved her finger and took a screenshot of the chat interface, then casually threw it into the group chat called "Girls' Generation and Temporary Workers," and specifically tagged Jiang Che.

[@JiangCheJiangChe, what do you think?]

Shortly after the message was sent, Jiang Che's reply popped up.

That's just my opinion. Go ahead and do it.

Yoona looked at the reply, pursed her lips, and her fingers flew across the screen:
Aren't you going?

After the message was sent, there was a pause on the other end before a slow reply was given:
【No, I won't go. I won't get paid, and I'll have to practice "silence meditation" and not say anything. It's too much trouble.】

On the other end of the practice room, Yoona looked at the words "no money" and "trouble" on the screen and almost laughed in frustration. She had a lot of complaints in her mind but didn't know where to begin. She was too lazy to waste any more words arguing with that "money-grubber."
I was tempted to refuse, but then I thought again—after all, I was the one who asked her to call me "unnie," and it wouldn't be appropriate to refuse right after she called me that.

She looked up at the positions of the members in the practice room, then continued to directly @ the other two members in the group on her phone.

[@sunny @Taeyeon unnies, are you going?]

Taeyeon, sitting next to Tiffany, looked up at Yoona, then looked down and replied:
I have a lot of things to take care of after my solo performance, so I can't make it and won't be able to go.

(End of this chapter)