Peninsula: My mentor Kim Tae-yeon

Chapter 113 Notebook (5k)

"That's weird," Taeyeon muttered to herself as she returned to the waiting room.

She didn't know why she suddenly had the brain fart to come to the Golden Disc Awards and ended up staying for the whole afternoon. Wouldn't it have been better to just stay at home and play on her phone?

This time she only won one prize, which is something she wouldn't have done in the past.

But she still came.

"Ugh."

With a sigh, I thought, "Since we're already here, what else is there to say?"

I sat down on the sofa and put down the bag I was carrying.

I was about to take my iPad out of my bag and play with it for a while. The red carpet event had just ended, and the official opening of the Golden Disc Awards was still some time away, so there was no rush.

She was carrying a Hermès shopping bag today, which is much larger than a normal luxury bag and can hold quite a lot of things.

When she saw her iPad, she reached for it, but the next second, Taeyeon realized something was wrong.

He took out the pure white notebook next to the iPad.

The notebook is pure white with no text on the cover, resembling an A4 sheet of paper, but its texture is quite unique.

"Xiao Jin, who put this in my bag?" Taeyeon asked her assistant, holding the notebook in her hand.

To everyone's surprise, the assistant looked at Taeyeon with a blank expression.

"What is unnie saying?"

Taeyeon frowned and shook the notebook in her hand.

"Whose notebook is this? How did it get in my bag?"

"Unnie, what are you talking about? You don't have anything in your hand!" Xiao Jin was even more confused.

Is this woman just teasing her?

I have nothing in my hands.

Taeyeon was taken aback. There was nothing there?

But she was clearly holding a notebook in her hand.

Taeyeon seemed to have thought of something, and casually tossed the notebook to the ground. The expected crashing sound did not occur; only the notebook lay quietly on the floor.

A sense of absurdity and horror washed over Taeyeon.

A notebook that only she can see?

"Come here." Taeyeon tried to remain calm and beckoned to Kim.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jin quickly walked over.

"Move over here." Taeyeon pulled Kim to stand on top of the laptop.

The next second, Taeyeon's pupils suddenly contracted.

He went through it—he went through it?!

If we could explain it away by saying that Xiao Jin was teasing her, then this object actually passed right through Xiao Jin's body!

Either Xiao Jin is a ghost, but she just touched Assistant Jin.

Either there's something wrong with this laptop!

Supernatural items?

Is it haunted?

Taeyeon stared in horror at the notebook on the ground, gripped by a deep sense of panic.

"Unnie? Are you alright?" Assistant Kim asked with concern, looking at Taeyeon's changed expression with a blank expression.

Taeyeon has to go on stage later, so she can't afford to have any problems now.

"It's nothing." Taeyeon forced herself to remain calm and waved to Assistant Kim, "You can go back to your work."

"Oh." Assistant Kim glanced at Taeyeon with concern, then walked away.

Taeyeon stared intently at the motionless notebook on the floor. After hesitating for a long time, curiosity finally overcame her fear of the unknown, and she reached out and picked up the notebook that only she could see and touch.

Turning to the first page, a whole page of densely packed text immediately comes into view.

[You were startled, weren't you? (scratch that)]

The Chinese text in the first line that Taeyeon couldn't understand was crossed out, and the text that followed changed back to the Korean she was familiar with.

[I'm getting used to writing in Chinese.]

[Let me introduce myself. My name is Kim Tae-yeon. Kim is Kim, Tae is Tae, and Yeon is Yeon. Yes, you guessed it, I am you, you from another world.]

Upon seeing this, Taeyeon was so startled she almost dropped her notebook.

But she held back.

Having just accepted the premise that only you can see and touch the notebook, it's not so hard to accept that a parallel world version of yourself suddenly appears, right?

Keep looking down.

[Don't rush to throw away the laptop. You're 35 years old; you need to have some self-control.]

Taeyeon's face darkened.

So what if I'm 35? Did I eat your rice?

[You're probably thinking, "What's wrong with being 35?" It's okay, I'm 41, sis (∩△∩)]

"?"

At forty-one years old, if the birth time remains the same, that would be 2030, six years from now?

So, this is me in the future?

Taeyeon looked at the words strangely.

A 41-year-old calling a 35-year-old "old man"?

Is that correct?

[Given my personality, I'm probably in a state of skepticism right now. Well then, let me present some evidence to prove I'm you.]

[You didn't want to come to the 2024 Golden Disc Awards, but suddenly you felt you should. That's because I guided you here, because I have a very, very important thing that I need you to do at the Golden Disc Awards.]

Taeyeon's pupils contracted.

No wonder she suddenly wanted to come to the Golden Disc Awards. Why would she want to come to an awards ceremony where she's in jail?

[And then it's————]

In her notebook, Kim Tae-yeon listed many things from her childhood. These things weren't only known to her, but only to her family.

Her mother, Kim Ji-yong, and Kim Ha-yeon clearly do not have this ability.

Taeyeon was already mostly convinced of the identity of the person who wrote the contents of the notebook.

[After saying all this, you probably believe I'm another version of you, so let me tell you about this notebook.]

[After some experimentation, I've discovered that this notebook allows us to communicate, although the flow of time in the two worlds might not be the same. I need you to send me a message after you see the notebook, indicating your current time. You don't need to write anything; just think about writing something here. By the way, the notebook won't be thrown away; it will automatically reappear in your hand when it's five meters away from you.]

Taeyeon raised an eyebrow. "It even has an anti-loss function?"

However, now is not the time to worry about that.

Following the method taught by Kim Tae-yeon, Tae-yeon silently recited the mantra, and the next second, something miraculous happened.

"It's January 7th, 2025 at this time—hmm—" Taeyeon picked up her phone and glanced at it, "2:53 PM."

The next second, a line of text appeared on the notebook, along with a vague feeling that told her the notebook had new content.

It even has a message notification function?

[That was only ten minutes or so after I left? A whole month has passed for me, what kind of bizarre time flow is this?]

Taeyeon frowned.

About ten minutes after she left?

What was I doing ten minutes ago?

She had just returned backstage after walking the red carpet when she ran into Lawyer Su at the entrance. After exchanging a few words with him, she—

Ok? ? ?

Attorney Su?

"Do you know Su Xia?" Taeyeon asked tentatively. She was quite curious about this strange man.

[Yes, I know him. He's my student.]

As if afraid that Taeyeon would misunderstand, another line of text appeared.

[This isn't the Su Xia from my world; it's the Su Xia you know, my student.]

"???"

Taeyeon's eyes widened immediately.

Aren't you from another world? How come you were able to come into my world without my knowledge and even take on a student?

[This is a long story, I—]

Through Kim Tae-yeon's explanation, Tae-yeon gradually understood what had happened.

No wonder Su Xia is so similar to me, and Jessica Jung suddenly contacted her last year. It turns out that the root of everything is Kim Tae-yeon in this other world.

"So, the reason I came to the Golden Records this time is because you're preparing to leave?"

[Yes, after seeing that Su Xia had a serious friend and a budding romance, I also felt it was time for me to leave.]

As she went through the initial desire to leave, to the later reluctance to leave, and finally the determination to leave, she felt the world's rejection. At the same time, she gained the ability to influence Taeyeon. It was she who influenced Taeyeon to participate in the Golden Disc Awards and send herself away.

Taeyeon was speechless.

"Why does it sound like a mother raising a son to me?"

[At my age, I could probably still give birth to him.]

—"

It really is.

Kim Tae-yeon is seventeen years older than Su Xia, so she could definitely give birth to the child.

[How much time has passed in your area during this conversation?]

Taeyeon glanced at the time again.

Five minutes.

[Me too. It seems the only difference was the timeline of laptops' emergence, after which they tended to converge?]

"That's not important."

"Since your world is my future world, you must know some things, right?" Taeyeon asked impatiently.

[Of course, they are largely the same, but since your world has been affected by Su Xia, it's uncertain whether the things that were originally supposed to happen will still occur.]

"Didn't you try your best to avoid the butterfly effect?"

[But Su Xia's very existence is the biggest butterfly effect; in my world, there is no such internet celebrity with millions of followers.]

"That's true." Taeyeon nodded. Kim Taeyeon had no choice but to train Su Xia in order to go home. She couldn't just leave him hanging for the rest of her life, could she?

What if Su Xia dies?

Will Kim Tae-yeon die too?

"Then tell me your thoughts, it'll be good for me to have something to refer to."

Okay, go ahead and ask.

When did Yoona win the Best Actress award?

[End of 25 years.]

"???"

She just asked casually, but she didn't expect to actually receive it, and at the end of this year no less?

"Azure Dragon? Great Bell? Or Baishang?"

[————？]

[Ask yourself honestly, does your sister have this ability?]

Taeyeon smiled somewhat awkwardly.

Even with resource exchanges, it seems unlikely that she would win Best Actress at one of the three major film festivals.

[Stop guessing, she's a Shunsa Film Queen.]

One of the three little ones, not bad.

Taeyeon nodded.

"I----"

Taeyeon and Taeyeon were silently looking at the bills for the future in their notebooks. Even though many things might not happen, Taeyeon still wanted to learn more about the future from Kim Taeyeon.

Besides things about the future, there are also some things about Su Xia.

She was eager to get to know this student who would become her student in the future.

Students—they're really interesting!

Just as Kim Tae-yeon and Tae-yeon were having a "passionate" conversation, Su Xia leisurely returned to the hotel.

Having achieved her goal, Su Xia did not stay at the Golden Records event.

Kim Tae-yeon's departure is a done deal, and all Su Xia can do now is accept this fact.

He wasn't a sentimental person, but even the most unpretentious person would find it difficult to accept the loss of an important mentor in a short period of time.

In the hotel room, Su Xia lay on the bed, quietly staring at the ceiling.

In the past, at this time, Kim Tae-yeon would be beside him scrolling through music notes, laughing out loud at those short videos, watching funny videos every day, so that Su Xia couldn't even see any pretty girls glimpsed, as he was directly eliminated by big data.

Thinking of this, a smile quietly appeared on Su Xia's lips.

Are you sad?

A little.

Are you sad?

There is a little bit.

But mostly it was calm.

An eerie calm.

After witnessing the emotional turmoil of Kim Tae-yeon's departure, all that remains now is a strange calm.

Kim Tae-yeon has left; it must be goodbye forever.

He should be wailing and crying right now, but he can't feel the slightest bit of sadness; all he feels is confusion.

He didn't seem that sad?

As she pondered, drowsiness overcame her, and Su Xia's eyelids drooped as she drifted off to sleep.

The phone, which was on silent, lit up and then went dark, then lit up again, but it didn't wake Su Xia.

Time passed slowly, and around 7 or 8 p.m., the 39th Golden Disc Awards officially came to an end.

Back in the waiting room, Liz couldn't wait to take out her phone and send a message to Su Xia.

Although Liz didn't see Su Xia on stage, she felt that Su Xia was probably watching them from somewhere.

Su Xia wasn't invited to the Golden Disc Awards this time, but he still came. Perhaps he came because of me?

But the message didn't get a reply as quickly as she had expected. Liz found it strange. If Su Xia was there, she should have known that the show was over and that she should have been able to get her phone by now.

"Liz, time to change your clothes," came Rei Naoi's voice.

"Oh, you're here."

Liz suppressed her doubts, put down her phone, and went to the changing room to change her clothes.

When she came out after changing her clothes and picked up her phone again, the message was still unread.

This puzzled Liz greatly. Could it be that Su Xia had already left?

"Are you chatting with Attorney Su again?" Jin Qiutian asked with a smile.

"He didn't reply to me," Liz said, puzzled.

"Isn't Attorney Su here?" Jin Qiutian said with some surprise upon hearing this.

That's exactly what I meant.

Liz sent another message, but there was still no response; it remained unread.

After thinking for a moment, Jin Qiutian called over the staff of Golden Records.

"Hello, have you seen Attorney Su Xia?"

"Who is this?" The staff member looked at Jin Qiutian with a blank expression. Wasn't this person one of the invited guests tonight?

"I know," another staff member chimed in, and Liz and Kim Qiu looked at her. "When we were walking the red carpet, Attorney Su went to Taeyeon's waiting room, and then we don't know anything about her."

It's common knowledge that Taeyeon made a rare appearance at the Golden Disc Awards. There's a main award every year, but Taeyeon rarely attends unless she wins another award or the grand prize.

But this time she came out of nowhere, which surprised many people.

Su Xia and Taeyeon have a "master-disciple" relationship online, and Su Xia has always wanted to meet Taeyeon. IVE knew this, so neither of them was too surprised when they heard that Su Xia had gone to see Taeyeon.

"Thank you," Jin Qiutian said with a smile to the staff.

"It's okay." The staff member shook his head. "I happened to pass by and noticed that Attorney Su was talking to Taeyeon. But Attorney Su was acting strangely. He seemed to be looking at something while talking to Taeyeon and wasn't actually looking at her."

""

"Maybe he was too excited. Su Xia oppa and I both idolize Taeyeon sunbaenim," Liz said with a smile.

"Possibly!" The staff member nodded in agreement.

Jin Qiutian frowned.

Is Su Xia's idol Taeyeon?

She sensed something was wrong.

In particular, the staff member's comment, "If you're not watching Taeyeon, who knows what you're watching?" gave Jin Qiutian a sense of déjà vu.

Su Xia often looks into the air.

Jin Qiutian didn't say these words aloud; he just kept them to himself.

Liz spoke only after the workers had left.

"Unnie, shall we go too? Su Xia oppa is probably with Taeyeon sunbaenim," Liz speculated.

Jin Qiu nodded.

Pack your things and head back to the hotel.

The Golden Disc Awards program team arranged accommodations for all invited artists. Artists could choose to stay in one place or stay in another; it was all arranged for them.

Celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry usually stay at the same hotel. However, the Chinese entertainment industry categorizes celebrities into different hotel classes based on their star power, while K-pop...

Like other hotels, they also categorize celebrities based on their star power, but the difference is that this categorization is done within the same hotel, with higher-profile celebrities staying in suites and lower-profile celebrities staying in standard rooms.

Starship, being such a stingy company, would naturally not provide readily available free hotel accommodations for its artists, but would instead arrange separate hotels for them.

As for Taeyeon, she said that there were very few people at the Golden Disc Awards with a higher status than her. As soon as she arrived, she was given the best room. Even if she went out to find a hotel herself, she might not be able to get a better arrangement. Naturally, she would stay in a hotel arranged by the organizers.

In addition, the Golden Disc Awards had just concluded, and the artists went back together, so—

"Taeyeon sunbaenim!" All six members of IVE bowed and greeted Taeyeon, whom they had just bumped into.

If it were her old self, she would most likely have returned the greeting and left.

But the world is the same now.

After spending five or six hours going over the accounts with Kim Tae-yeon, Tae-yeon learned from her about the huge losses she had suffered, including the relationship between the six girls in front of her and her cheap student.

Especially————

Taeyeon's gaze fell on Liz, and an interested smile appeared on her face.

Hello.

"Lizi."

"Yes!" Liz was called upon by Taeyeon, and thankfully she raised her head excitedly.

Su Xia is a fake fan, but she is a true fan.

"I've heard Su Xia mention you before, you're so pretty."

Liz's face turned red instantly.

Yese knew it was because Taeyeon mentioned Su Xia, or because her idol had praised her to her face.

Looking at Liz's flushed face, Taeyeon remembered something Kim Taeyeon had mentioned.

Liz's singing skills were personally trained by her; in other words, this child can be considered half of her student.

As for Ahn Yoo-jin, who also studied vocal music with Su-ha (Kim Tae-yeon), she selectively ignored her.

Sigh, Shi is her fan, Shi is important!

"Take good care of yourself." Taeyeon glanced at the bustling underground parking garage, didn't say much, just offered a word of encouragement, and then looked at the other members of IVE.

"You too."

"Inside!" 6.

Taeyeon smiled, turned around and left.

As Taeyeon walked away, the other members quickly surrounded her.

"I didn't expect Attorney Su to mention our Liz even when meeting Taeyeon-senpai." Ahn Yu-jin hugged Liz and teased her.

"Yes, it's true love," Zhang Yuanying said with a click of her tongue.

"Ahem, stop." Jin Qiutian coughed lightly, stopping everyone. "This is not the place to talk about these things."

After her reminder, everyone realized that with so many people around, it was indeed a good place to talk about this kind of thing.

"Let's go, let's go back to our room."

The group followed Taeyeon onto the elevator, preparing to go back to their room for a proper chat.

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