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

The man before her wore an extravagant casual suit, his eyes radiating an unsettling, sticky quality. He was Jae-ho, one of the instigators who, in the original course of his life, caused a tragic turning point in Choi Jin-ri's life.

While we can't blame everything on him—after all, Choi Jin-ri's psychological problems had been brewing for a long time—Jae-ho's selfish and self-centered behavior was definitely the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Li Mingye calmly downed the whiskey in his glass, the spicy liquid sliding down his throat and suppressing the anger in his heart. He strode over to the sofa in the corner.

"Jinri-ssi, you're a hundred times prettier than you are on TV..."

Before they even got close, they could hear Jaeho's overly solicitous voice. His tone was filled with extreme enthusiasm, almost to the point of being impatient, and his eyes roamed over Choi Jin-ri without restraint.

I don't know how others felt after hearing this, but Li Mingye had a preconceived notion that it was very annoying.

"I'm back."

Lee Myung-yeop smiled and returned to his seat, subtly placing himself between Choi Jin-ri and Jae-ho, cutting off Jae-ho's uncomfortable gaze. He glanced at Jae-ho, who was still talking incessantly, and asked indifferently, "May I ask who this gentleman is?"

Choi Jin-ri looked a little embarrassed. She was clearly not used to such a direct pursuit, so she forced a smile and introduced, "This is senior Jae-ho, we just met."

Krystal Jung sat to the side, a hint of displeasure on her face. Although she always maintained a cool expression, those who knew her well could tell that she was not in a good mood at the moment.

"So it's Senior Jae-ho." Lee Myung-yeop looked like he had just realized something, but he didn't bow like he would to a senior. He simply extended his right hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

At this moment, Jae-ho raised his eyebrows, his eyes revealing obvious displeasure. He was annoyed that Li Mingye had interrupted his pursuit of girls, and even more annoyed by Li Mingye's lack of courtesy towards him, his "senior."

However, rumors have been circulating in the industry recently about this kid's powerful background, so he couldn't show his anger on the spot. Instead, he pretended to be magnanimous and extended his hand to shake hands with Li Mingye.

The moment their hands clasped, Jae-ho suddenly tightened his grip on Lee Myung-yeop's knuckles, seemingly trying to retaliate in a childish way and give him a warning.

Feeling the force coming from his hand, Li Mingye's expression remained unchanged, not even the curve of his lips twitched; in fact, he found it somewhat amusing.

This person is even more naive than he thought.

Li Mingye didn't stand on ceremony with him. With a slight flick of his wrist, an even greater and more stable force surged back.

Zaihao's face flushed instantly, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He felt as if the bones in his hand had been crushed, so he quickly pulled his hand away and secretly stretched it out by his legs, trying to relieve the excruciating pain.

His eyes flashed with obvious anger and embarrassment. He was about to curse out loud, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that it was Kim Heechul's discharge party today, and Choi Jinri was also watching. Moreover, he didn't know much about the background of this kid in front of him. He didn't want to accidentally kick a hornet's nest.

Jae-ho swallowed the profanity that was on the tip of his tongue. His lips moved slightly, and he said in a low, menacing voice:

"You little brat... just you wait."

After saying that, he turned and left dejectedly, without even leaving a polite remark.

Li Mingye burst out laughing.

If this guy had shown some backbone on the spot, Li Mingye might have thought he was somewhat tough. But instead, he made some threats and then left in a cowardly manner.

If you're really that cautious, why not just be polite from the start? Why resort to this trick of shaking hands too hard, only to end up shooting yourself in the foot?

The result of not siding with either side is being stuck in the middle and feeling uncomfortable.

Li Mingye came with the intention of disgusting him from the very beginning; his goal was quite clear.

In other words, Jae-ho hasn't done anything openly yet, so Lee Myung-yeop can't force him to do anything. Otherwise, Jae-ho's hand pain would definitely be more than just what it is now.

"Hey," Krystal exclaimed, her face filled with confusion and surprise as she looked him up and down. "What were you two doing just now?"

Choi Jin-ri, standing to the side, was also a little stunned, her doe-like eyes filled with confusion.

Their actions just now weren't exactly subtle, and Li Mingye's attitude towards Zaihao was also quite clearly confrontational.

But these two were meeting for the first time, so where did Li Mingye get such hostility?

"I hate him."

Li Mingye didn't change the subject. His expression was calm, and he said directly, with an undeniable coldness in his tone, "I've heard some things about him in private. He's not a good person. You should also be wary of him."

Then, he turned and looked directly at Choi Jin-ri, his eyes becoming unusually serious, even carrying a hint of barely perceptible concern: "Especially you, Jin-ri, you must be careful, he has ill intentions towards you."

Then he looked away, his tone softening: "It's not appropriate to talk about his affairs here; it's too offensive to the ears. I'll send it to you when we get back."

He was also worried that his abrupt reminder would provoke their rebellious attitude, so he had already collected a lot of dirt on Jae-ho as evidence to let the two girls see his true colors.

Jung Soo-jung frowned, sensing that things weren't so simple, but seeing that Lee Ming-yeop clearly didn't want to say more, she suppressed her doubts and said, "Let's not worry about that for now, let's drink."

At this moment, Choi Jin-ri's face flushed quite a bit, though it wasn't very noticeable under the cover of alcohol and the lights.

She sipped her low-alcohol cocktail slowly while secretly watching Li Mingye's smile return to normal.

When we first sat down to chat, he seemed like just a handsome, pleasant-speaking boy next door.

But when he confronted Senior Jae-ho just now, he seemed like a completely different person. His eyes were indifferent as ice, and his tall stature exuded an oppressive aura that was impossible to ignore.

Choi Jin-ri didn't suddenly feel any pressure; instead, she immediately felt the boy's fatal attraction.

"I must feel incredibly safe with him," Choi Jin-ri couldn't help but think, her heart skipping a beat.

Moreover, she felt that the reason why Lee Myung-yeop was so hostile to Jae-ho was not just because of Jae-ho's scandals.

Thinking of Jae-ho's enthusiastic advances and Lee Myung-yeop's undisguised hostility, a strange, secret feeling welled up inside her. Choi Jin-ri's face turned even redder, and she lowered her head slightly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Jinri, why is your face so red?" Krystal asked, noticing the obvious blush on Sulli's fair face.

"...This liquor is stronger than I thought." Choi Jin-ri shifted the blame to the alcohol, her voice barely audible.

"Oh, then you should drink less."

……

After the party, Krystal Jung and Jinri Choi returned to their dorm.

"Truth, look at this guy, he's a complete scumbag!"

Jung Soo-jung showed Choi Jin-ri the evidence of Jae-ho's misdeeds that Lee Myung-yeop had just sent her, her face filled with indignation and displeasure. The chat logs, photos, and even his "achievements" in toying with people's feelings were all shocking.

Given her personality, she would despise this kind of scum the most.

Choi Jin-ri took the phone and glanced at it. Her previously dazed eyes instantly cleared, and she revealed an indignant expression, saying, "Judging from his appearance, I really didn't expect him to be this kind of person... He's terrifying."

Krystal Jung complained about Jaeho with a resentful look on her face, occasionally gritting her teeth.

Choi Jin-ri carefully observed Jung Soo-jung's expression, and during a gap in Jung Soo-jung's speech, she casually asked:

"Soojung, are you and Myungyeop on good terms?"

"Hmm?" Jung Soo-jung was a little puzzled by the sudden question, but still answered truthfully, "We have a pretty good relationship."

"Well..." Choi Jin-ri looked a little shy and said, "What's he usually like? Can you tell me?"

A flicker of wariness flashed in Jung Soo-jung's eyes as she looked at Jinri's eager expression, hesitating to speak. She immediately connected Lee Myung-yeop's behavior today with what he had said when he asked Kim Hee-chul for his contact information.

"That kid, no way..."

A slight displeasure welled up in Krystal Jung's heart.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Krystal narrowed her eyes, her tone carrying a hint of interrogation.

Choi Jin-ri lowered her head even further, her heart pounding as she recalled the look in Lee Myung-yeop's eyes.

That look in her eyes wasn't the usual admiration or passion she was used to; it was a look she'd never seen before.

It seemed to carry a mixture of heartache and concern...

Just like the "father" she imagined, he was profound and warm.