Peninsula: Starting with a silly childhood friend!

Unfortunately, Hirai Momo was ultimately too late.

Liu Baiyuan and Park Jin-young had already walked towards the elevator entrance and arrived at the corner.

Hirai Momo stood at the door, quietly watching the figure, both unfamiliar and familiar, gradually disappear into the distance.

"Is it him...?"

She couldn't believe how different this figure from the boy she remembered was...

That's why she restrained the urge to chase after him and ask. She was afraid—afraid that if she caught up, she would find it wasn't him...

But the sense of familiarity she felt in that instant seemed genuine. At that moment, it was as if she really saw the brother who had 'abandoned' her back then!

"Momo xi? What are you doing standing at the door?"

The teacher, who had just come out of the restroom, looked puzzled when she saw Hirai Momo standing at the door.

When Hirai Momo heard the teacher calling her, she snapped out of her daze, gave her an awkward smile, and said:

"Ah, Ms. Miane, I...I needed to use the restroom!"

"Oh, then go ahead and go."

Without much thought, the dance teacher agreed to her "application" and then walked past Hirai Momo back to the practice room.

However, Hirai Momo bit her lower lip, looking conflicted. After glancing at the closed practice room door, she finally made her decision.

Regardless, she wanted to see if he was the person she remembered. If not, that would be fine, but if he was, she had so many questions she wanted to ask him.

Without hesitation, Hirai Momo took off running towards the elevator. In no time, she arrived at the elevator, but when she saw that the elevator was descending from the third floor, her heart sank.

Because the practice floor they were currently on was the third floor...

"Was it too late after all? I didn't even get a proper look at their face..."

Hirai Momo suddenly felt something slip through her fingers again...

Two minutes later, she returned to the practice room looking dejected, but Liu Baiyuan and Park Jin-young, who were completely unaware of what had happened, had just taken the elevator to the first floor.

"The company's premises are only so big, and it's almost noon, so we can't ask you to come down for lunch."

Park Jin-young looked at Liu Baiyuan with a slightly apologetic expression, while the latter smiled indifferently and said:

"It's okay, President."

As soon as Liu Baiyuan finished speaking, Park Jin-young corrected him again.

"Hey, don't call me president anymore. We're practically from the same school, and you're a future company director, so I'll just call you Brother Zhenying to be a little older!"

Liu Baiyuan was taken aback at first upon hearing Park Jin-young's words, but he quickly understood and smiled as he spoke:

"Yes, Brother Zhenying."

Park Jin-young chuckled twice and gently patted his arm. But it was this pat that made him suddenly realize how superior the 'younger brother' in front of him was in terms of physique and looks.

"Bai Yuan, with your figure and looks, it's a bit of a waste for you to be a producer."

He said this half-jokingly, but it was his true feeling. It's no exaggeration to say that if he had Liu Baiyuan's "modeling" back then, there might not be a JYP now.

Liu Baiyuan understood Park Jin-young's meaning almost instantly; he was being invited to debut as an entertainer...

Unfortunately, if it were seven or eight years ago, he might have had the mind to do so, but now... at least for the time being, his mind is not on this.

"I'm sorry, Zhenying, I don't have that plan at the moment..."

Upon hearing this, Park Jin-young didn't say much, but simply nodded. After all, the other party was a prospective director, so why should a company executive become an entertainer?

Unless they've had enough of the good life...

After saying goodbye to Park Jin-young, Liu Baiyuan changed from taking a car to walking.

He could take a taxi, but he doesn't come to Cheongdam-dong very often, so he might as well stroll around here and have lunch.

Time passed little by little, and before they knew it, it was noon. Inside the JYP building, TWICE's practice came to an end.

"Ah~ finally I can rest!"

"Dahyun~ What are you having for lunch?"

"What else can I eat? I have a performance in a while, and my manager said I've gotten a bit out of shape, so he's telling me to eat boiled vegetables for a couple of days..."

The group chatted casually, but one person seemed particularly distracted.

"Momo, what's wrong?"

Sana Minatozaki, being from the same hometown as Momo Hirai, was the first to notice her odd behavior. Mina Mōi, following closely behind, also curiously approached, acting like a quiet yet 'proud' kitten, though her gaze kept lingering on certain embarrassing spots...

Looking at the other two's, and then at her own, Mina realized that sometimes silence doesn't mean she doesn't want to talk, but rather that she has nothing to say...

Seeing the two girls looking at her with concern, Hirai Momo felt a warmth in her heart and forced a smile, saying:

"It's nothing, I'm probably just too tired. Let's go."

Seeing that the other sisters had already gone out, they followed closely after packing their personal belongings.

Although Hirai Momo said she was fine, she remained at the back of the line. Seeing that the people ahead of her hadn't noticed her, after much deliberation, she took out her phone and dialed a number...

beep!

A few seconds later, the call was connected, and a woman's voice came through the phone.

"Peach, what's wrong?"

"elder sister..."

Yes, the phone call that Hirai Momo made was from Hirai Momo's older sister, Hirai Hana.

However, her tone betrayed her disappointment.

As Hirai Momo's older sister, Hirai Hana naturally noticed the situation immediately. Her tone instantly changed from lazy to serious, and she frowned slightly as she asked:

"What's wrong, Peach? What happened?"

Hirai Momo bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and finally asked:

"Has Brother Bai... contacted you in the past few years?"

"..."

As soon as Hirai Momo asked the question, an eerie silence fell on the other end of the phone. After about ten seconds, Hirai Hana asked in a complicated tone:

"Why did you suddenly think of him again? It's been so many years since we last contacted each other. Stop thinking about him."

More than a decade ago, Hirai Momo's life underwent a dramatic change with the arrival of a family.

The family didn't speak much Japanese, but their English was surprisingly good. Hirai Momo's parents also had some basic English, so the two families communicated fairly smoothly.

Most importantly, that family had a son who was only two years older than Hirai Momo. As a result, Hirai Momo and the boy naturally became best friends. Later, when Hirai Momo and Hirai Hana went to Osaka to practice dancing, they would take each other with them.

At first, they didn't know each other's names, only a nickname-like one. She called him Brother Bai, and he called her Little Peach.

Later, after Hirai Momo learned to write her own name, they officially exchanged names.

That scene remains a painful memory for Hirai Momo to this day.

"Hello... my name is... Hirai Momo."

"Hello, Little Peach, my name is Liu Baiyuan!"