Peninsula: Starting with a silly childhood friend!

"This is our artist practice floor. All the company's artists practice in the practice rooms on this floor. However, they are all interconnected. For example, today a boy group might practice here, and tomorrow a girl group might come in."

"That's the restroom."

"This is..."

Park Jin-young personally brought Yoo Baek-won to the artist training area, ostensibly to accompany him on a work inspection, but it was obvious to everyone that this was the only talent the entertainment company had to offer. Otherwise, would he really bring a future company director to watch employees typing away at their keyboards?

Who would watch that...?

Liu Baiyuan readily agreed. Although he wasn't ready to meet that "little fool" yet, he would be happy to see him.

Soon, Park Jin-young led Liu Baiyuan to the outside of a practice room. He looked inside to make sure they were in the right place, then stepped aside and said to Liu Baiyuan:

"Hey, this practice room is where TWICE is. Want to go in and take a look?"

Liu Baiyuan chuckled and shook his head, saying:

"Never mind, President, I'll just observe from outside and won't bother them."

As he spoke, Liu Baiyuan looked through the glass window in the middle of the wooden door and saw that the group of people were still lying on the floor, chatting and laughing.

Liu Baiyuan's gaze, however, fell on the person surrounded in the middle, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. "He seems even more 'wise' than on TV. He's still the same after all these years."

Park Jin-young heard Liu Baiyuan's mutterings, but he just narrowed his eyes and didn't say anything more.

Soon, Liu Baiyuan noticed the girl next to the 'little fool' who looked very... 'cute', and stared at her. "That must be Minatozaki Sana... The clothes are the same, it really is her."

He hadn't forgotten what happened at the dessert shop not long ago, and the strange voice's mention of Minatozaki Sana now seemed to have been confirmed. Although Minatozaki Sana wasn't wearing a mask or hat this time, her familiar clothes still gave her away.

Just then, a flash of white light appeared before Liu Baiyuan's eyes. The intense light blinded him, and he instinctively raised his arm to shield himself. However, this action seemed rather inexplicable to Park Jin-young.

From his perspective, Liu Baiyuan was watching perfectly fine when suddenly he put his hands in front of him, as if he was blocking something.

"Liu Baiyuan? What's wrong?"

Upon hearing Park Jin-young's question, Liu Baiyuan slowly opened his eyes. After glancing at Park Jin-young's handsome face, which resembled a gorilla, he knew that everything seemed to be alright.

"Cough cough, it's nothing, it's nothing. I just don't know what jolted me."

Upon hearing this, Park Jin-young nodded but did not reply.

Liu Baiyuan looked into the practice room again, but this time, there seemed to be a slight difference in his eyes...

"This is..."

Liu Baiyuan's eyes widened. At this moment, there was a thin, long strip on the top of Minatozaki Sana's head, and the strip was empty.

"Could this be the...progress bar that the voice was talking about?"

Such a supernatural scene left Liu Baiyuan stunned on the spot. However, Park Jin-young seemed quite satisfied with it. He didn't know what Liu Baiyuan had gone through. Looking at Liu Baiyuan's dazed appearance, he thought that he was completely captivated by his nine children.

"It seems...we can let them interact more in the future..."

After muttering a couple of things, Park Jin-young called out to him, "Yoo Baek-won-ssi?"

Having just witnessed such a supernatural scene, Liu Baiyuan had closed his eyes and taken two deep breaths, seemingly to calm himself. Upon hearing Park Jin-young's voice, he slowly opened his eyes, turned his head, and gave Park Jin-young a smile, saying:

"It's nothing, it's just that my eyes are a little tired."

Upon hearing this, Park Jin-young nodded and said:

"In that case, let's go back first."

Liu Baiyuan hummed in agreement. He was still thinking of giving her a surprise later, so of course they couldn't meet now.

Thinking this, Liu Baiyuan turned his head, preparing to take another look at that 'little fool' before leaving. But this one glance made Liu Baiyuan pause, because the progress bar had actually turned off!

Ok? ? ?

What does that mean?

You didn't turn it off when I was racking my brains trying to figure it out, but now you've turned it off for me?

Liu Baiyuan recalled his actions just now. He didn't think he had done anything special; he had just closed his eyes for a moment and sighed.

Let's try them one by one.

Without hesitation, Liu Baiyuan slowly closed his eyes through the door, waited a second or two, and muttered to himself, "Open!" Then he opened his eyes and eagerly looked at Minatozaki Sana inside.

This time, his eyes widened instantly, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up. Liu Baiyuan had finally found a way. Looking at the empty progress bar that was once again floating above Minatozaki Sana's head, a faint look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

It doesn't work with his eyes open, but it works with his eyes closed. Although he found the correct method, he couldn't quite understand it. The only explanation... might be because... this inexplicable progress bar is 'loading'?

However, it's always good to find the right way to open it.

Perhaps it was because Liu Baiyuan had been standing at the door for too long and his gaze was too "intense," but at this moment, Minatozaki Sana, who was separated by a door, suddenly felt something and looked towards the door.

But what she saw startled her – the person standing at the door was none other than the same person she had bumped into downstairs not long ago!

"Ah! It's that person!"

Sana Minato patted Tzuyu next to her, and the latter immediately looked in the direction Sana Minato pointed. Although their movements were not big, they were still noticed by Liu Baiyuan at the door.

Seeing that the two seemed to recognize him, Liu Baiyuan quickly turned his head, and at the same time, Minatozaki Sana and Hirai Momo next to Chou Tzu-yu were also there.

However, Hirai Momo only saw a back view, or to be more precise, only the back of a head...

But even though it was just the back of her head, she was completely stunned. Her thoughts drifted uncontrollably back to many years ago, and she seemed to hear that voice from that day again...

"Peach, I'm leaving."

"Hmm? Oh, see you tomorrow then."

"Haha, we won't be able to meet tomorrow. I'm going back to my country tomorrow, so... this should be the last time we see each other for a while."

Hirai Momo stared blankly for two seconds with her mouth slightly agape, until she suddenly came to her senses and watched the 'back view' disappear. Only then did she remember to go and check on it.

So she rushed to the door and flung open the practice room door.