Peninsula Cicada Song Diary

As dawn broke and the distant sky began to lighten, a ray of morning light peeked into the bedroom through the gap in the curtains, stretching along the grain of the wooden floor and stopping at the edge of the bed.

Pei Xiyan was already awake on the bed, staring blankly at the pure white ceiling.

He had that dream again; he'd had it countless times since he was 18.

In my dream, I was with a girl, and we did many things together on and off over three years: watching the sea, watching the stars, watching the sunrise and sunset, and watching the tides rise and fall.

The girl's voice was beautiful, like the wind chimes tinkling. Her hands were soft, with a red string tied around her wrists. When he held them, her faint fragrance would waft into his nose, even masking the surrounding smells of the sea and earth. He could feel everything, like playing a perfectly realistic virtual game.

The only thing I couldn't see was the girl's face.

Her face remained blurry, and her hair length and color were inconsistent.

But that doesn't stop everything in the dream from feeling incredibly real, as real as...

"Within reach." Pei Xiyan reached out her hand and made a grasping motion in the air.

My hands are full of air.

He lowered his hand, feeling a sense of loss.

It's 7:30 AM in October 2018. Pei Xiyan is awake, but she longs to fall asleep again.

"kakao~"

The distinctive sound of a Kakao message broke Pei Xiyan's reverie through his pillow; at this hour, he knew without even thinking who it was from.

Pulling her phone out from under her pillow, Pei Xiyan tapped on the screen and saw that, sure enough...

Noona: [Remember to eat breakfast!!!]

One characteristic of Kakao is that once you click on a message and it shows as read, you can only reply as usual.

[Inner~]

[You absolutely must eat! Don't just say you'll eat but never do it! What's the point of your health if you skip breakfast?]

[Inner~]

[Also, don't think you've had breakfast just because you're eating a lollipop, okay? Eggs or bread are fine too.]

[Inner~]

[besides......]

Pei Xiyan's eyelids drooped, and she replied to him in a half-hearted manner. Ten minutes passed like this.

[Okay, I've arrived at the beauty salon, I'll chat with you later.]

[Yes, Noona, you've worked hard~]

Putting down her phone, Pei Xiyan sighed as she looked at the ceiling.

What's it like having a noona who likes to control you?

Pei Xiyan felt there were both good and bad aspects.

The bad thing is that she's really nagging. Although she's only 6 years older than Pei Xiyan, she feels like she has another mother who meddles in everything.

But she was truly good to her, taking care of her from childhood to adulthood with meticulous concern that surpassed even that of her biological mother who lived on airplanes. They were more than family; without her, Pei Xiyan felt she wouldn't have grown up. She was also present at her university graduation ceremony, having specially canceled her schedule to squeeze out a little free time. The two of them posed for a photo in front of the Yuan Du You Hall, holding their certificates. Wearing a mask, her eyes shone with undisguised joy and satisfaction.

One of her favorite sayings is, "I only grew shorter because I ate all the best food for you."

Pei Xiyan really wanted to refute, "Actually, Zhu Minnuna was partly to blame too!" But every time he got to the point, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Because she is the only Nuna.

......

Without lingering in bed any longer, Pei Xiyan threw off the covers, went downstairs to the kitchen, rummaged through the cabinet above the range hood, pulled out a bag of bread, took a picture and sent it to Nuna before putting it back.

Sending it out is the same as eating it.

After brushing her teeth in the bathroom, Pei Xiyan went to the living room, took out a lollipop from under the coffee table, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth. She walked to the French windows in the living room, drew back the indigo curtains, and saw the Han River outside, bathed in warm sunlight, creating a breathtaking view that could only be seen in Hannam-dong.

Pei Xiyan blinked gently, crushed them, and then opened her eyes again.

Judging by the weather, it looks like it's going to be unbelievably good.

After watching for a while, as the candy slowly melted in her mouth, Pei Xiyan threw the paper stick into the trash can and went upstairs with a mouthful of sweetness.

Pushing open the door closest to the stairwell, a spacious production table comes into view, complete with recording equipment, a mixer, and a computer, along with microphones, sound cards, headphones... The walls are adorned with music posters and album covers, ranging from six girls in school uniforms to a logo made of leaves and flowers, a logo made of diamonds, to five girls walking towards a world of fruit, the silhouette of a red-clad woman with a crown at the back of the villa, and five black shadows against a crimson background...

This is Pei Xiyan's private studio.

He is a well-known music producer.

perhaps?

......

The rising steam from the teacup blurred the face; someone blew on it, and the steam dispersed, revealing a face resembling a gorilla.

Park Jin-young took a sip of tea and continued to look through the resume in his hand.

Having passed the infamous New Sand Cave Tiger, Brave Brothers, Double Kick, Black Eyes Will Win... he arrived at the last page of his resume.

Compared to the detailed introductions with photos of the people on the previous pages, this page only contains names.

[Cicada, representative works: "Time Passes," "The Eve," "Ko Ko Bop," "Red Flavor," "Peek-A-Boo," "Bad Boy," "Power Up," etc.]

Looking at the list of familiar works on his resume, Park Jin-young shook his head.

"As expected of 'Cicada hidden in the treetops'."

Cicada, Kenzie's prized protégé, began to emerge in 16. He has been the primary producer of the main singles for EXO and Red Velvet's albums in recent years. On the surface, he is a protégé of SM Entertainment, but in reality, he is a free agent. In his early years, he also wrote songs for other girl groups such as GFriend. He is incredibly talented yet very mysterious. Because he doesn't like to show his face, few people know what he looks like.

Park Jin-young did learn some information about him through various channels. For example, he was born in 97, he graduated from the Department of Music at Yonsei University (his junior), and he's a sister-complex...

Ignoring the last piece of news that came from who-knows-where, Park Jin-young felt that compared to the producers he had seen before, he had one characteristic: although he didn't produce a lot of work, every single piece was a masterpiece.

And they are very young. Youth is an asset, representing unlimited possibilities.

If he were to produce the new girl group...

Park Jin-young tapped the pages lightly, mentally weighing the pros and cons of these producers.

The steam from the teacup gradually dissipated as he pondered, and the cooled tea tasted even more bitter. After a while, Park Jin-young took a sip of tea, then calmly took out his phone, found a number, and carefully dialed it.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

There was a response after the bell rang three times.

"Oh? Zhenying?" A cheerful female voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Yes, it's been a long time, Teacher Moon-hyun," Park Jin-young greeted kindly. "How are you feeling?"

"I can live for a few more years."

Dozens of kilometers away, Yonsei University in Sinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, is draped in a patchwork of red, yellow, and green foliage bestowed by the season. In an office shaded by the trees, music professor Lee Moon-hyun pushes up his glasses and jokes, "Maybe this is the last time you and I will talk on the phone."

"If Teacher-nim only has a few years left to live, then I reckon I won't make it past next year," Park Jin-young chuckled. "Teacher-nim is someone who's going to live into the next century."

"Haha, you!" Li Wenxian said, both amused and exasperated. "You don't come here without a reason. Just tell me what you want to see me about today."

"Yes, teacher, I do have something I'd like to ask." Park Jin-young carefully chose his words. "Perhaps you know Cicada?"

"Cicada?" Li Wenxian thought for a moment. "You mean... Xiao Pei?"