Peninsula: My e-sports dream shattered, I chose to become an actor.

"Nayeon, sometimes she really worries us. Once, she..."

Listening to Park Jihyo and Yoo Jeongyeon's back-and-forth "exposing each other's shortcomings," Lee Myung-yeop let out a deep sigh, picked up his water glass, swirled it, and joked, "You guys must have had a tough time. Living with her must have been exhausting, right?"

"ah!"

Upon hearing this, Lim Nayeon instantly bristled. Disregarding her image, she kicked Lee Myung-yeop under the table, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster hoarding food. She protested indignantly, "I'm clearly the eldest sister! How can you say such things about me?"

Seeing Lim Nayeon's resentful little expression, Yoo Jeongyeon and Park Jihyo exchanged a smile.

"Although it can be a little tiring to be together sometimes, Nayeon is still very reliable when it matters," Yoo Jeongyeon said seriously, putting away her teasing expression.

"That's right, she has the demeanor of a big sister, very responsible." Park Jihyo nodded and added.

Although they enjoyed joking with Lim Nayeon, they still had to maintain their eldest sister's image in front of Lee Myung-yeop, an "outsider."

Hearing their praise, the resentment on Lin Nayeon's face instantly vanished, replaced by a delighted expression. She pouted slightly, revealing a smug look of "of course," and even secretly glanced at Li Mingye, seemingly waiting for his approval.

Looking at her adorable appearance, which seemed to brighten up at the slightest bit of sunshine, Li Mingye couldn't help but tease her with a smile:

"You get all cocky after just a couple of compliments? You're practically wagging your tail in the air."

"I didn't!" Lim Nayeon's eyes widened, like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on. She lightly patted his shoulder. "Eat your food! You can't shut your mouth!"

Looking at Lim Nayeon's face, which was so close to his and slightly flushed with anger, Lee Myung-yeop smiled even more brightly, unable to hide the joy in his eyes.

Watching the two interact, Yoo Jeongyeon suddenly said softly, "But to be honest, being with Nayeon really makes me very happy."

"Huh?" Li Mingye was taken aback.

"She's like a tireless little sun," Yu Jung-yeon said gently. "No matter how tired I am from practice, just hearing her infectious laughter or seeing her do something silly and nonsensical makes me feel better for no reason. That kind of happiness is pure and makes you forget the pressure."

Park Jihyo nodded in agreement: "That's right. Although it can be noisy at times, the dorm would be unbearably quiet without her."

Hearing these honest words that she rarely heard, Lim Nayeon's cheeks flushed slightly. Although she muttered "Of course," she couldn't suppress the smile on her lips.

……

After silently paying the bill, the lively dinner party finally came to an end.

Stepping out of the restaurant, the night breeze was slightly cool.

"I've got the car, let me take you back to your dorms," ​​Li Mingye said, shaking his car keys.

They didn't drink tonight, mainly because Park Ji-hyo is still a minor.

Yoo Jeongyeon looked a little embarrassed and was about to decline, not wanting to trouble him too much, when she heard Lim Nayeon beside her speak up readily.

"Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony with you. This will save me the taxi fare."

Li Mingye led the three to the parking lot. He had given Kim Hyun-seok a day off today and drove himself there.

Lim Nayeon hesitated for a moment, her eyes darting around, before finally opening the passenger door and getting in. The other two tacitly sat in the back.

Soft ballads filled the train carriage, and everyone chatted about all sorts of things along the way, from the latest fashion trends to funny stories from the company. Before long, they arrived at the JYP trainee dormitory.

Goodbye, let's hang out again next time.

Li Mingye did not rush to leave, but got out of the car and stood by the roadside waving goodbye to the three people.

Lim Nayeon and the other two smiled and waved goodbye to him before turning and heading back to their dormitory.

As Lin Na-yeon, who was walking at the very back, seemed to sense something at the last moment before stepping into the dormitory, and turned around as if possessed, looking at the figure under the street lamp.

Li Mingye remained standing there, one hand in his pocket, leaning against the car door. The dim streetlights cast a long shadow of him, and a faint smile played on his lips as he gazed at her with sincere and focused eyes.

Then, he raised his hand, made a "six" gesture, and shook it near his ear—that's the gesture for making a phone call.

At that moment, Lim Nayeon felt that his figure gave people an unparalleled sense of warmth, as if the whole noisy world had quieted down, leaving only him and that warm yellow street lamp.

A gentle spring breeze brushed past, brushing a stray strand of hair from Lim Nayeon's forehead to her lips, the slight tickling bringing her back from her daze.

She frantically brushed the strands of hair from her cheek, bit her lower lip, and tried to suppress the pounding heartbeat in her chest. With trembling hands, she made the same telephone gesture to her ear.

Then, as if trying to hide the blush that was about to spill over her face, she quickly turned around and fled into the gate without looking back, as if some ferocious beast was chasing her.

Lee Mingye watched Lin Nayeon's figure disappear completely before turning his gaze away. He slowly raised his hand, gently pressing his fingers against his chest, feeling the intense throbbing there.

"Oh no, it's the feeling of falling in love."

How long has it been since we last had it?

His smile deepened.

"The plan has changed."

"We absolutely have to pursue it now!"

……

"Are you really okay? She's been like this for over an hour!"

In the dormitory, Park Jihyo covered her mouth, lowered her voice, and looked at Yoo Jeongyeon with a surprised expression.

"She kept rolling around on the bed with her phone in her hand, and every now and then she'd let out that... creepy laughter. I started to wonder if she was possessed by a ghost or some kind of evil spirit!"

Yoo Jeongyeon glanced helplessly at Lim Nayeon, who was lying on the bed, covering herself with the blanket and grinning foolishly, revealing her two rows of rabbit teeth, and said with a hint of novelty in her tone:

"She's probably caught up in the ambiguity, but I've never seen her like this before. Looks like she's really in trouble this time."

"No, don't worry." Yu Dingyan said firmly, "She's very clear-headed about this. When it comes to work, she's more serious than anyone else."

Suddenly, Lim Nayeon, who had been twisting and turning on the bed, sprang to her feet, grabbed her phone, rushed to the balcony, and answered a call.

"Feed~"

The voice was sickeningly sweet, with a rising tone at the end that seemed to draw out silk threads.

"Huh~"

Yoo Jeongyeon and Park Jihyo simultaneously made disgusted noises and rubbed the goosebumps on their arms.

……

The next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains.

Li Mingye spat out the foam in his mouth, rinsed his mouth, and took out his phone to send Lin Nayeon a "Good morning" emoji.

They talked on the phone until almost midnight last night, and after hanging up, they chatted on Kakao until after 2 a.m. If it weren't for the fact that they had to get up early for training tomorrow, they probably would have talked until dawn.

Yesterday, his relationship with Lim Nayeon progressed rapidly. He clarified his feelings and gained a much better understanding of Lim Nayeon.

Nayeon's attitude towards him became much warmer, and her words were filled with a romantic and ambiguous atmosphere.

He had another dream yesterday, and he dreamed about TWICE again. They were radiant and incredibly charming on stage.

But to my shame, the one who left the deepest impression on him in his dream was not Lim Nayeon, who was in the center position.

It was Minatozaki Sana.

Remembering Sana's cute and charming appearance singing "shy shy shy" in his dream, Li Mingye vigorously rubbed his face with water.

This dream is so uncooperative; it's clearly corrupting his resolve.

But then he thought about it again, and there was no point in him and Lim Nayeon having any plans yet, so there was no need for him to feel guilty.

After drying his face with a towel, Li Mingye looked at his clean and handsome face in the mirror, his expression hesitant.

Then, he took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind, and raised his fists to both sides of his face, mimicking a cute pose.

"Shy shy shy?"

Then immediately, as if he were disgusted by himself, he braced his hands on the sink, buried his head deeply, and wished he could flush himself down the drain right then and there.

"Let Sana do it," he thought.

……

As evening fell, Li Mingye, having finished his classes, did not choose to go home immediately.

Today, he suddenly felt like having dinner at JYP's cafeteria, hoping to run into some acquaintances.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, they found that there were already quite a few people, with only a few trainees eating in a corner.

He looked around with his tray, but didn't recognize anyone. It seemed the timing wasn't right; everyone had already gone back to practice or rest.

He didn't pay any attention, picked up his plate, found a relatively open spot, and started eating.

"Not bad," Li Mingye thought to himself as he finished the last bite of his meal.

After dinner, Li Mingye decided to walk around a bit more to digest his food, hoping to bump into Lin Nayeon and Sana in the hallway.

As Li Mingye reached the stairwell, he was about to head up when he suddenly stopped.

"Inhale...inhale..."

I could hear very faint, intermittent sobs.

In the past, he definitely wouldn't have been able to hear it, but now his auditory acuity has undergone a qualitative leap, so he can accurately capture such tiny, deliberately suppressed sounds.

The sound was coming from a corner of the stairwell.

"Who is it?"

Li Mingye's curiosity was instantly ignited. He tiptoed quietly toward the source of the sound.