Peninsula: I'm being supported by a top idol.

Chapter 148

"Oppa, how about some spicy stir-fried pork as a snack with our drinks?"

"It's too salty, can you give me something else?"

"Is it too salty? How about we just make stewed chicken?"

"I don't like drinking chicken bath water."

"Pork rib soup?"

"Why are you eating pork rib soup so late at night? Do you want to gain weight?"

'

Seeing that he rejected her suggestion again and again, Shen Youna was speechless.

She swiped her finger across the phone screen again: "I can't exactly eat stir-fried rice cakes, can I?"

Cui Shi'an's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Hmm, this is good."

"Tch—" Shin Yuna rolled her eyes. "What kind of elementary school tastes are these—"

"You didn't graduate from elementary school that many years ago, did you?"

She stared at her intently, her eyes widening: "I graduated seven years ago, okay?!"

"Ten years," Cui Shi'an replied calmly.

"Tch—it's not like we're comparing who's older—I really don't know how Jimin unnie fell for you—"

The girl sat on the ground muttering to herself, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up in a smile; she was in a much better mood than before.

"Let's have seafood hot pot then, it's settled!" In the end, she tossed her phone aside, deciding not to accept Cui Shi'an's suggestion anymore.

Cui Shi'an smiled noncommittally: "Now you can tell me why you did that just now, right?"

Shin Yuna blushed slightly, looked away, and pretended to be nonchalant: "It's nothing, it's just—I had a little disagreement with the members."

After hearing this, Cui Shi'an didn't ask for the specific reason. He just looked at her calmly and called out, "Youna."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" She looked up.

Is becoming an idol your dream?

Shen Youna was taken aback for a moment, then nodded, her tone serious: "Yes."

"Now that your dreams have come true and you've achieved such great results," Cui Shi'an's voice was gentle, without a lecturing tone, "then why are you still so gloomy?"

She paused, then looked up at Choi Si-an, her eyes filled with curiosity, "Oppa? What's Oppa's dream?"

Without hesitation, Cui Shi'an replied with just three words: "Live on."

Shin Yuna blinked, puzzled. "If 'survival' is the dream—it doesn't seem so difficult, does it?"

Cui Shi'an looked into her clear eyes, smiled gently, and offered no explanation.

Because his "survival" means bearing more burdens, means climbing step by step to the summit of the mountain called "working hard until old age," and perhaps also fighting against some kind of "unhealthy" aspect of this land.

This topic is too grand and too heavy; it's not something a young girl who has just been wronged and needs to relax should bear.

A long silence fell over the living room.

Until the doorbell rang.

Cui Shi'an got up to open the door and brought in a steaming hot pot of seafood and stir-fried rice cakes, the aroma instantly filling the small living room.

The two sat cross-legged on the carpet in front of the sofa, enjoying food and soju, and the conversation naturally turned to the water-splashing incident at the last music festival.

Shin Yuna vividly described his dignified appearance after Liu Zhimin splashed water on him.

"So you just followed suit and splashed water on me too?"

"Just kidding~" She covered her mouth and giggled, "I just didn't expect Zhang Yuanying to splash you like that!"

Haha, that's hilarious!

Cui Shi'an rolled his eyes; even he himself hadn't expected this.

"But Wonyoung told me she knows about your relationship with Jimin unnie, is that true, oppa?"

"Hmm." Cui Shi'an raised his wine glass to his lips, recalling the scene at the time, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly: "She saw us backstage by accident."

"So it's true?" she asked with a smile. "Then, what were Oppa and Jimin unnie doing back then?"

Why should I tell you?

"Hey, what's wrong with saying this? It's just that—" She stopped abruptly, as if she had thought of something, and her cheeks involuntarily turned red.

When Cui Shi'an saw her unnatural expression, he guessed that she was thinking about Liu Zhimin's juice-bursting incident that morning, and he also looked a little embarrassed. He quickly picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

After a while, Shin Yuna's blush deepened. She put down her wine glass, leaned forward slightly, and stared intently at the person opposite her with her large eyes: "Oppa, about that thing you mentioned before—that thing about our past lives—can you tell me now?"

Cui Shi'an paused slightly in his hand holding the wine glass, the smile on his face faded, and he fell silent.

Seeing this, Shen You-na's curiosity intensified, and she asked with a hint of confusion, "What's wrong? Is there something—that can't be said?"

Cui Shi'an shook his head, put down his cup, and hesitated slightly as he spoke: "It's not that I can't tell you, but—if I tell you, it might involve you in some—not-so-ordinary things, but if I don't tell you, perhaps my future path will have some unnecessary twists and turns, so I'm a bit conflicted right now."

He looked earnestly at the girl opposite him and said, "So, Youna, I want to ask you, do you really want to know?"

"Yes!" she said almost without hesitation. "I want to know!"

Even if knowing there might be danger?

This time she hesitated, but soon that hesitation was replaced by a brighter color.

The girl raised her face, her smile shining brightly under the lights, a confident and at ease expression of trust: "Isn't Oppa here? Oppa will protect me, right?"

Cui Shian quietly looked at her, at the unreserved trust in her eyes, and at the smile blooming on her slightly flushed cheeks.

A moment later, he gave a soft, affirmative "hmm".

Then, he picked up the wine bottle, filled his own glass, and added some to hers as well: "Just like I said, what you dreamed of was our past life. I was a general of the Tang Dynasty, and you—"

Choi Si-an handed her a wine glass, his gaze gentle yet resolute: "It was Hae Hwa-ryeon, a descendant of Baekje nobility. In that time and space, you were the one who saved me."

Shen Youna stared at him with wide eyes, as if trying to find any trace of a joke on his face.

But Cui Shi'an's expression was calm and serious, his eyes deep, without a trace of mockery.

After a long pause, she finally found her voice, which trembled with shock: "So—all those things in my dream—by the river, at the medicine hut—were—real?"

Cui Shi'an nodded: "Yes, it happened more than a thousand years ago."

Upon hearing this, Shen Youna looked surprised and uncertain, as if she couldn't process this overwhelming information.

She subconsciously picked up her glass and took a sip; the icy liquid slid down her throat, calming her mind a little.

Then she looked at Choi Si-an and asked the question that had been bothering her: "Then—how did Oppa know? How can you be sure that these are definitely—memories from a past life?"

As soon as she finished speaking, something suddenly occurred to her, her eyes widened again, and she almost blurted out, "Could it be—"

Could it be that Jimin unnie also—”

Choi Si-an did not hide anything and nodded again to confirm: "Yes, in her previous life, she was a princess of Silla."

This news seemed to shock her even more than the one before!

The girl stared blankly, mouth agape, before finally managing to utter a soft whisper: "This...this is unbelievable!"

This is completely beyond what she could comprehend in her twenty years of life and idol career.

Seeing her worldview seemed to be shaken, Cui Shi'an chuckled softly: "I found it unbelievable back then too, but now—"

He spoke casually, as if he were talking about something trivial, while his right hand casually gestured towards the living room window.

"Whoosh!"

The heavy curtains, which were originally open, seemed to be pulled by an invisible hand, closing perfectly and automatically, completely isolating the small living room from the outside world.

Shin Yoo-na's gaze unconsciously followed him, and even though it wasn't the first time she had witnessed Choi Si-an's "miraculous" abilities, she was still so astonished that she couldn't close her mouth.

She stared blankly at the tightly closed curtains, then at Cui Shi'an's empty right hand, and nervously swallowed.

Cui Shi'an's gaze returned to her face, filled with a complex mix of emotions: "However, I truly never imagined that in your past life, Na, you also had such a entanglement with me—"

He recalled how she used to be active in his live stream with the ID "ITZY is the best, You Na is the most beautiful," and he also remembered the day she came to his door because of the "Earthbound Spirit" incident. He also remembered the healing and companionship he received today because of her, and in the end, it all turned into a self-deprecating bitter smile on his lips: "Maybe—this is fate—".