Peninsula Cicada Song Diary

I didn't go to bed early yesterday, but Bae Joo-hyun and the others left very early.

When Pei Xiyan woke up, the bedroom next door and the guest room on the first floor were empty. The blankets were neatly folded, and the sheets were wrinkle-free. The empty wine bottles had been taken away, as if yesterday's excitement was just a dream.

[We're leaving now; we need to prepare for the group's variety show live stream tonight.]

[Remember to eat properly! Otherwise, I'll confiscate all your lollipops!]

Looking at Bae Joo-hyun's message on her phone, Bae Xi-yan found some old photos of bread in her album, sent them over, and replied:

[I'm already eating.]

Putting down his phone, Pei Xiyan got busy on the computer in front of him again. He already had some ideas for the melody of the new song. And once an idea is formed, inspiration will flow like water droplets, gradually gathering into a stream within the software.

In the midst of his busy work, he lost track of time. Soon after, the stream was successfully completed, and Pei Xiyan was preparing to continue his efforts, wielding his hoe to widen the stream into a channel large enough to hold more water, when a sudden bell rang, cutting off his inspiration from upstream.

"Nancy".

Looking at the contact name on his phone, Pei Xiyan paused for a moment, then considered whether he should hang up. But thinking about the consequences of hanging up—not only would he be bombarded with calls, but he might even be confronted at his door—he ultimately decided to answer the call.

After the call connected, Pei Xiyan didn't speak. Just as he expected, the boy's loud voice boomed out.

"The big producer is still holed up at home?!"

"Where am I if I'm not home?" Pei Xiyan pulled her phone away.

"The weather is so nice today, let's go out and have some fun."

"I'm not as free as you, Mr. Jin Nanxi," Pei Xiyan said. "I just recently took on a new song."

"Then I definitely need to go out and find some inspiration!"

"Want to go to bars and nightclubs to find inspiration?"

"Hahaha~" The person on the other end of the phone was either chuckling or chuckling with pride, but Pei Xiyan thought it was most likely pride. After laughing for a while, the person on the other end said, "Not today, it's about Mingzhe."

"Mingzhe?" Pei Xiyan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"But..." He glanced at the time, "Today is Monday. When did NAVER start giving people Mondays off?"

"Mingzhe isn't some lowly employee anymore; he was recently promoted to supervisor, so he took a day off today to celebrate with us," the other person explained.

"Mingzhe is really amazing," Pei Xiyan exclaimed, admiring her friend.

"Then what will you say?"

"Wait for me," Pei Xiyan replied succinctly, then promptly hung up the phone.

......

The old place is a Chinese restaurant near Yonsei University. When Pei Xiyan last came, the maple leaves at the entrance of the restaurant were still green, but now they are completely red, looking like a blooming firework.

The owner was an acquaintance of his. He saw him beaming with a smile of joy as he led him to the private room, exchanging pleasantries as he did so, "Hey, Xiao Pei, you've gotten even more handsome. You're much more handsome than those TV stars."

"But you look a bit thinner, you need to gain some weight."

"We've recently added a few new dishes to the menu; I'll bring one over for you later..."

The boss was very talkative, but Pei Xiyan didn't dislike his rambling; he knew that being talkative meant he cared.

Just like Bae Joo-hyun's nagging.

The owner escorted him to the private room door and then turned to leave. As soon as Pei Xiyan pushed open the door, an arm suddenly grabbed her neck from behind. The assailant was a tall, muscular young man with slicked-back hair.

"It's not easy for a big producer like you to go out even once!"

"If you had shouted in a more respectable way." Pei Xiyan didn't break free, and with her hand behind her back, she closed the door and followed his force to her seat.

"Isn't that indecent?"

"If such places were respectable, then there would be no improper places in the world."

"Xiyan." Across the table, a handsome young man wearing glasses nodded to Pei Xiyan.

"Impressive." Pei Xiyan gave a thumbs up after sitting down.

"Of course." Li Mingzhe pushed up his glasses.

"I'm not bad either, okay?" The slick-back-haired man swaggered into his seat and boasted, "I became a junior manager in less than six months."

Pei Xiyan glanced at him and said, "Whatever makes you happy."

The two men in front of her were Pei Xiyan's best friends from university. The one with slicked-back hair, Jin Nanxi, was her university roommate and the second son of the Guidu Lami Boiler Company, a technical representative for Peninsula Boiler. Because of his interest in the entertainment industry, he was assigned to SBS after graduation. The one with glasses, Li Mingzhe, was a computer science genius with an IQ of 150 who joined Naver after graduation.

The food had been ordered before he arrived, and the three of them started chatting while the food was being cooked.

"Didn't you say on the phone that you'd accepted a new song?" Kim Nancy asked curiously, "Whose? Your noona's?"

"It's JYP's new girl group," Pei Xiyan said frankly.

"Qinjia?" Jin Nanxi's eyes lit up. "What do they look like? Are they pretty?"

"Can you reduce the amount of lewd content in your head?" Pei Xiyan asked seriously.

"A normal person's brain is pink," Li Mingzhe said casually. "Nancy's is yellow."

"I just asked if it looked good," Jin Nanxi protested, spreading her hands. "Did you have to go through with this?"

"Your drool is practically dripping from your eyes," Pei Xiyan pointed to his eyes.

"Is it that obvious?" Kim Nancy composed herself. "Actually, you all know that I like someone more mature."

"But that doesn't contradict the fact that you're the kind of teddy bear who flirts with every pretty girl you see." Li Mingzhe poured tea into a cup and handed it to Pei Xiyan.

"What's wrong with teddy bears?" Kim Nancy shrugged. "They're so cute, girls would definitely be unable to walk past them."

"Kim Tae-yeon only raised one, didn't she?" he quickly added.

"Then it was the VIPs' turn." Pei Xiyan took the teacup and took a sip. "I guess Taeyeon and Noona have also discovered the downsides of the teddy bear."

"Hey! Aren't these two the same kind of dogs?!" Jin Nanxi was furious.

"You actually knew?" Li Mingzhe seemed very surprised.

This is the routine of most of their gatherings—joking and bantering.

Amidst the banter, the dishes were served. Mapo tofu, braised pork, pork rib soup... the aroma of the dishes was as enticing as their appearance. One of the dishes was stir-fried pork blood sausage with cured pork. This famous Hunan dish was probably the new dish the owner had mentioned. Pei Xiyan and her parents had tried it during their vacation in Hunan, and found it quite delicious with its savory and salty flavor.

Pei Xiyan initially liked to eat at this restaurant, and then she brought two other people to eat there, and they also came to like it.

"...We're going to Suwon in a few days." After finishing her meal with gusto, Kim Nang-hee skillfully and cheerfully took out a toothpick and started picking her teeth.

"Go find your ex-ex-ex-girlfriend?" Pei Xiyan took a sip of tea.

"It could be something like 'before, before, before, before'," Li Mingzhe interjected.

"They're all ex-girlfriends, pretty much the same." Kim Nang-hee waved her hand. "Although I do have one in Suwon, it's not about this."

"BBQ Fried Chicken did a variety show concert with our TV station, and my department sent me over to supervise it."

"You can actually do things now?" Pei Xiyan exclaimed in surprise.

"It's just as unbelievable as your choice to support Korea University." Lee Myung-cheol shook his head.

"When have I ever supported Korea University?" Kim Nam-hee sat up straight and argued. "Myung-cheol, you're slandering me! Didn't I bring glory to Yonsei University and date a lot of girls from Korea?!"

"?!" Li Mingzhe's eyes turned as cold as ice in an instant.