Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 59 Another Knock on the Door
Jiang Che lowered his voice, his tone filled with a sense of absurdity:

"She thinks I'm your awakened second personality! A secondary personality! An enhanced version of Im Yoona 2.0!"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Yoona's voice came through, sounding like she was trying to suppress a laugh:

"...Huh? A secondary personality? Taeyeon unnie... really... but thinking about it carefully, it makes sense."

Yoona was indeed relieved. Although the misunderstanding was absurd, it was still a million times better than having her identity exposed.

"What about Sunny unnie? Didn't she react at all?"

Yoona pressed on, saying that compared to Taeyeon's quirky imagination, she always felt that Sunny unnie, with her amazing insight, was harder to fool.

Jiang Che's mind immediately flashed back to Sunny's meaningful glances and teasing remarks. His lips twitched, and his tone became somewhat weak:
"Sunny...she probably hasn't noticed anything, right? Maybe she just thinks I'm...uh...extra lively today?"

He quickly changed the subject, saying:
"Since Taeyeon already considers me her alternate personality, what do you think about using this reason to convince Sunny?"

On the other end of the phone, Yoona almost lost control of her expression:

"Hey! Don't do anything weird! Sunny unnie hasn't noticed, why are you going out of your way to cause trouble..."

Jiang Che pursed his lips, thinking to himself, "Who knows what Sunny's situation is now? Anyway, you said don't blame me if something happens in the future." But he still replied aloud:

"Alright alright."

Then the conversation changed again:

"Hey, stop talking about me! What about you? Did you have a blast being home alone today? Did you sneak out for a fancy meal while I was out? Did you eat properly?"

On the other end of the phone, Yoona was sitting cross-legged on the living room carpet, a half-eaten bowl of instant noodles in front of her. Looking at the empty, unusually quiet house, she instinctively retorted stubbornly:

"Of course I'm doing great! I had a lavish meal, watched a movie, I couldn't be more comfortable."

She paused, then asked casually, "When...are you coming back?"

"I'll just stay here for a day and then go back tomorrow," Jiang Che replied matter-of-factly.

"...Why do we have to play all day?"

Yoona's tone carried a hint of complaint, "What's so fun about Macau...?" She was actually a little unaccustomed to the quietness of the house.

Although he always annoyed her when he was around, it was indeed... lively. But now that he's not here, even instant noodles seem a bit bland.

Jiang Che spoke with righteous indignation:

"Of course I'm going to get some fresh air! It's not easy to get out here! Don't worry, I'll definitely use my own face... oh wait, I don't think I even have my own face anymore... Anyway, I'll definitely keep a low profile!"

Yoona's heart softened as she listened to his words. Considering that he hadn't gone out much except for the radio show and this time on Running Man, it didn't seem like such a big deal for him to spend a day out.

She then pursed her lips, her voice softening slightly: "...Do you have enough money?"

Jiang Che's eyes lit up instantly upon hearing the word "money":

"Money? Of course I don't have enough, I need hundreds of millions."

Yoona was speechless on the other end of the line and almost crushed her phone:
"Get lost! Hundreds of millions? Are you trying to use that as seed money at the Lisboa Casino? I meant some pocket money for daily expenses!"

“Oh… daily expenses…” Jiang Che’s tone plummeted from its peak to its lowest point, but every little bit counts! “Then… twenty million won?” he tentatively quoted a number.

"Go ahead and try to steal it! There's nothing there! I'm hanging up!" Yoona was so angry she almost laughed.

"No, no, no! Well, you can give me whatever you think is appropriate, it's just a small token of your appreciation..." Before Jiang Che could finish speaking, a series of urgent knocks sounded on the door.

"dong dong dong"

Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat. Who could it be so late?
Yoona, on the other end of the phone, also heard the knocking and asked alertly:
"Who?"

Jiang Che tiptoed to the door and cautiously peeked out through the peephole—he saw Kim Tae-yeon standing outside, her small face showing an expression that seemed a little embarrassed but also expectant.

Jiang Che gasped, covered the receiver, and whispered in a panicked voice to the person on the other end of the line:
"It's Kim Tae-yeon! What do we do?!"

Yoona on the other end of the phone: "???"

She paused for a second, her tone becoming wary:

"Why would she contact you so late? What did you say to her?"

"I didn't say anything, sis!" Jiang Che covered the phone, her voice extremely low.
"I told you about the situation as soon as I got to the room. I don't know why she wanted to see me, but she wouldn't want to sleep with me, would she? Maybe she wanted to see the main personality?"

Yoona took a deep breath on the other end, seemingly thinking rapidly. Taeyeon unnie had just confirmed the existence of the alternate personality, and now she was trying to chat with it late at night? Yoona felt completely unable to fathom Taeyeon unnie's thought process.

"Sleep my ass!" Yoona's voice carried a hint of annoyance.
"You better behave yourself! Keep pretending to be Yoona's alternate personality, don't talk nonsense or do anything weird! See what she's up to, and then get rid of her as soon as possible! Do you hear me?"

"I……"

"Dududu-"

Before Jiang Che could finish speaking, Yoona abruptly hung up the phone.

"Damn it..." Jiang Che swallowed back a curse as he looked at his busy phone. What was this? It felt like being caught by a mistress while chatting with the wife.

The knocking on the door started again, this time a little louder and with a hint of hesitation.
"Yoona? Are you asleep? It's me, Taeyeon unnie."

Jiang Che scratched his head—should he just pretend to be asleep?
But seeing her like this, what if something urgent happened? He thought it over and over, and finally sighed resignedly. Then he quickly composed himself and opened the door.

At the doorway, Kim Tae-yeon's hair was loosely draped over her shoulders. Her clean-cut face was raised, and her eyes flickered with a mixture of embarrassment, anticipation, and a hint of... annoyance and confusion that Jiang Che couldn't understand.

"Unnie?" Jiang Che turned into an obedient Yoon:

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

Taeyeon bit her lower lip, her voice softer than usual:
"I... can't sleep, my mind is all jumbled up, can... can we talk?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, those images that he couldn't shake off while tossing and turning in the room resurfaced once again—"You jump, I jump" before jumping from the Macau Tower, the warm words he heard as he fell from the sky, and those eyes as clear as the sky at that time.

There was also the time during the tug-of-war when Yoona's alternate personality led everyone in chanting "This is Girls' Generation," her incredibly bright eyes and amazing cohesion... All of this had been swirling in her mind, making her more and more confused and unable to sleep.

She desperately wanted to figure out if the feeling of helplessness she was experiencing was the so-called suspension bridge effect, or... something else entirely? And all the answers lay with the alter ego in front of her.

　Newbie seeking everything

　　
　
(End of this chapter)