Peninsula: Starting with a silly childhood friend!

Chapter 109 Caught in the Act?

That evening, a BMW pulled up in front of a Chinese restaurant in a very "Sherlock Holmes-esque" manner.

As soon as the car door opened, a sporty-looking man stepped out. His attire wasn't fancy, but it looked very comfortable.

Dressed in casual clothes with a sun-protective jacket over them, his thin-rimmed brown glasses did not hide his good looks; on the contrary, they added to his handsome face.

As Liu Baiyuan got out of the car, the girls around him who had noticed him because he had just started driving all covered their mouths in unison.

Their gazes began to scrutinize his face closely.

Isn't this handsome man a celebrity?

But if someone with that kind of face debuted, it's impossible for them not to remember him!

Just as they hesitated, wondering whether to ask for his contact information, Liu Baiyuan had already entered the restaurant and disappeared into the street.

The restaurant... well, to put it simply, it seemed a bit strange to Liu Baiyuan, a Chinese person.

It's not that the style doesn't resemble Chinese style, but rather that this restaurant has too many Chinese style elements, to the point of being overflowing.

Red lanterns, Chinese knots, and paper window decorations, and so on.

It has a feeling of... Chinese New Year.

Liu Baiyuan took out his phone, looked at the private room number sent by Pei Zhufa, and went straight to the second floor.

The second floor consists entirely of private rooms, while the first floor is the main hall. Given Pei Zhufa's status, if she were to dine out, she would definitely have access to private rooms to choose from.

If you're alone, that's fine, but if you're having dinner with a man, you definitely need some privacy, otherwise you might get posted online the next day.

As for Liu Baiyuan entering without being led by staff, it can only be said that it was lunchtime, and Liu Baiyuan standing there alone was not very conspicuous, so it just so happened that no staff paid attention to him.

However, this didn't matter to Liu Baiyuan; it was even more convenient for him to be alone.

Following the room number, Liu Baiyuan easily found the room that Pei Zhufa had sent him. After knocking on the door, he pushed it open and went inside.

Inside the private room, Bae Joo-hyun sat alone by the window, one hand resting on her crossed legs, the other hand propped on the table, supporting her beautiful face as she quietly gazed at the street scene outside.

"Nunna Nao Muyebo".

Looking at her profile, Liu Baiyuan couldn't help but smile.

When Pei Zhufa heard Liu Baiyuan's voice coming from the doorway, she slowly turned her head. When she saw Liu Baiyuan's figure, a smile unconsciously appeared on her lips.

Are you singing?

"Huh? What do you mean?"

This wasn't the first time Liu Baiyuan and Bae Joo-hyun had met, so Liu Baiyuan didn't seem very reserved. On the contrary, he seemed quite familiar with her, sitting down opposite Bae Joo-hyun with a smile.

"You haven't heard a song by one of our company's senior colleagues?"

Bae Joo-hyun's tone carried a hint of surprise. "SHINee's debut song, 'Noona So Pretty,' was a huge hit among young girls back then."

Five energetic and sunny young men surrounding you singing "Sister is So Pretty"—honestly, the impact on female fans can be described as devastating.

Against this backdrop, the song performed quite well.

As their debut song, this song earned them their first number one spot in just twenty days. Not to mention the era when all achievements had to be earned bit by bit with real money, even now, it's still an astonishing speed.

How could Liu Baiyuan have never heard of such a song?

"Hmm...I think I vaguely remember it."

Before coming to the peninsula, Liu Baiyuan wasn't particularly interested in K-pop. The few K-pop groups he knew were T-ara, which was known as the "Chinese girl group" because they had been cultivating the Chinese market for many years. So, Liu Baiyuan inevitably learned about them.

Then there's Girls' Generation, whose song "Gee" became a hit across the country, which is how Liu Baiyuan got to know this girl group.

As for the others, I've only heard their songs, but I don't know who they are.

Just as Liu Baiyuan finished speaking, a song suddenly started playing from the hotel's speakers, and Bae Joo-hyun's eyes lit up as she listened to the intro.

"Oh my, you're in luck! The song playing now is 'My Sister Is So Pretty'."

When Liu Baiyuan heard Pei Zhufa's words, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. Just now, he heard the store's speakers playing Chinese songs, so how come they changed to Peninsula songs as soon as he finished speaking? Did his words become law?

But since he'd already listened, he did manage to recall something, but that was about it...

He doesn't listen to many boy band songs. The few he has listened to are Ex0's "Growl" or BIGBANG's "FANTASTIC BABY" and "BANGBANGBANG," which are very popular and widely sung.

While listening to the music, Liu Baiyuan noticed the menu on the table and asked Bae Joo-hyun, "Has Noona ordered yet?"

Bae Joo-hyun shook her head: "No, I just arrived too. I was waiting for you to come and order. I heard that the Chinese food at this restaurant is very authentic, so of course I want you, a true Chinese person, to order."

Let genuine Chinese people order genuine Chinese food so that my meal can be considered authentic. I have to say, Bae Joo-hyun's idea... isn't entirely wrong.

"Then let me take a look."

Upon hearing her words, Liu Baiyuan smiled slightly and reached for the menu.

As for Pei Zhufa, she sat quietly in front of him, looking at him with her gaze gently fixed on Liu Baiyuan.

His hands were very fair, with slender fingers. When he gently pinched the menu, you could even see the bony texture at the slightly bent joints.

Because it was summer, he was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, and you could vaguely see the muscles hidden through it. This wasn't the kind of bulky physique that people from the peninsula deliberately built up in the gym.

Rather, it's a balanced, robust physique; perhaps not large in stature, but aesthetically pleasing.

Pei Zhufa's gaze shifted from his body to his face, and that somewhat serious face came into Pei Zhufa's view. The first thing she noticed was Liu Baiyuan's eyes. His brown eyes looked exceptionally deep, while his clean, reflective glasses seemed to cast a subtle sense of distance over them.

"What are you looking at?"

Before he knew it, Liu Baiyuan's gaze had drifted away from the menu. He looked at Pei Zhufa, who was staring at him blankly, and wondered if there was something dirty on his face that was making her stare at him like that.

As soon as Liu Baiyuan asked the question, Bae Joo-hyun seemed to snap out of her daze. A blush instantly rose on her fair cheeks, making this "cabbage" look even more shy. However, she suppressed her shyness and pretended to be calm, saying, "It's nothing, I just spaced out for a moment and was thinking about something else."

Bae Joo-fa gave a vague answer, but perhaps because she couldn't lie, her words sounded soulless. Her gaze darted around, her posture stiffened, and she unconsciously fiddled with the cutlery, trying to give the impression that she was very busy.

Liu Baiyuan hadn't studied lie detection, but he figured that given Bae Joo-hyun's performance... well... she probably didn't need to have studied it to tell the difference.

After all, this woman practically had "I'm panicking" written all over her face.

"Noona, lying is not a good habit."

Liu Baiyuan's lips curled slightly, his gaze no longer falling on her. He simply looked down at the menu and said this to her with a faint smile.

Upon hearing his words, Bae Joo-fa's face flushed instantly, but she still stubbornly retorted, "What did you just call me?"

"Nuna."

"So, are you criticizing Nuna by doing this now?!"

Bae Joo-hyun isn't someone who likes to use her age to intimidate others. Just like how she's always played the role of a "mother" in the group, she mainly cares for the younger members. It's just that her aura is too strong, and the younger members are a little intimidated when she gets angry.

But if it's the current situation... then it wouldn't be wrong for her to use her own age.

Liu Baiyuan was taken aback by Bae Joo-hyun's sudden change of attitude. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he could only let out a helpless smile and nodded as if he had compromised, saying, "Choi Song Amida Nuna, I was wrong."

He knew, of course, that the older woman was joking because he had just called her out on it. Since that was the case, he decided to let it go and give her face.

"Do you have any dietary restrictions?"

"Hmm...everything else is fine, I just don't eat chicken."

Liu Baiyuan nodded. Regardless of whether the food was authentic or not, the menu certainly looked authentic.

Soon, Liu Baiyuan ordered the dishes, but they were all "children's dishes", such as sweet and sour pork and candied sweet potatoes.

Considering that Bae Joo-hyun likes to drink cola or juice, she should like this kind of "kids' food".

The two chatted while waiting for their food, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Bae Joo-hyun chatted with him about her recent situation, the fun things that happened during their practice, and her anticipation for the concert next month that unconsciously showed in her tone.

Liu Baiyuan also talked about some of the fun he had with the members of TWICE. Of course, what he didn't know was that it was precisely because of Liu Baiyuan's sharing that a subtle connection was formed between TWICE and Red Velvet.

Of course, this line will only appear when they meet again.

As the dishes were served one by one, the two began their dinner. Unlike their lavish meals, TWICE's dinner tonight was rather meager.

Because it was during filming, the company didn't provide them with meals, so the nine of them could only eat some lettuce leaves to fill their stomachs; they didn't even have salad.

Because that stuff is high in calories and can easily make you gain weight...

"Momo, do you think it's really okay for us to sneak out for a meal like this?"

"It's okay, don't worry!"

Why are you so sure?

"This isn't the first time I've done this."

In a convenience store on a street in Seoul, Momo Hirai and Mina Mani were sitting inside, with a bowl of instant noodles in front of them—or rather, ramen.

However, Mina was clearly not as composed as Momo. Her eyes were filled with struggle, a mixture of longing and fear...

It's not hard to tell from their conversation that they were actually out having a secret tryst.

Because they only ate some vegetable leaves for dinner, that was hardly enough to satisfy their appetites. Unable to bear the hunger any longer, Hirai Momo dragged Mina to the convenience store outside after returning to the dormitory after recording.

Using the excuse of going out to buy things, the fact that it was close by so as not to bother the agent, and the promise that they would be back in half an hour, they finally got the chance to go out alone.

As for the result... it's already out in the open.

Seeing that Mina was still hesitant, Momo Hirai gave her the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"Oh well, at worst I'll just get a scolding, and with my brother here, the manager and the company won't say anything."

Hirai Momo's tone was full of confidence. Although it was indeed their fault, she estimated that the company would not do anything to them because of Liu Baiyuan.

At most, they'll just reprimand them and that's it.

But so what if she gets scolded? It's no big deal. This isn't the first time she's cheated on someone. Do you think this is the first time she's been scolded?

As expected, when Mina heard Hirai Momo's words, a hint of struggle flashed in her eyes. But after thinking about it, she realized that it was indeed true. Moreover, given how close she was to Liu Baiyuan, she might not even need to go through Hirai Momo's connections.

Now that she had figured out her way out, the last bit of struggle in Mina's heart vanished instantly, replaced by anticipation.

Although she was somewhat worried beforehand, she didn't hesitate when buying things; she bought only what she liked to eat and didn't deprive herself at all.

While Mina was still pondering, Momo Hirai had already picked up her chopsticks and started to eat heartily. As the spicy noodles entered her mouth, the bland vegetable leaves from dinner seemed to have served as a prelude to this moment.

The subtle sweetness of the vegetables in her mouth, combined with the spicy broth, ignited a strange expression on Hirai Momo's face—an expression of pure satisfaction.

Seeing this, Mina no longer hesitated and picked up her chopsticks to start eating quickly, since they only had half an hour of leave.

After lunch, Hirai Momo and Mina bought some things from a convenience store and started walking back to their dorm. However, as they passed an intersection, Hirai Momo suddenly stopped and said to Mina, "Mina, how about we go for a walk before heading back to the dorm? It'll help us digest our food!"

Upon hearing Hirai Momo's words, Mina blinked, thought for a second or two, and then nodded in agreement.

"OK!"

As they spoke, the two walked in another direction. However, what Hirai Momo and Mani Mina did not know was that this small change led them to discover some...unknown things.

Hirai Momo and Mina walked and looked around, and soon came to a street with the Han River on the left and a row of restaurants on the right.

Of course, that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that Mina suddenly saw a familiar car on the sidewalk...

"Momo, this car... looks like Ni-chan's."

"what?"

Hirai Momo approached Mina and looked at the BMW parked by the roadside. She then began to search around, her gaze sweeping across the street to the second-floor window, where her pupils suddenly contracted.