Peninsula Cicada Song Diary

Trees are planted in front of the SM Samseong Building and on the street opposite. The lush green branches of spring and summer are now bare branches. The withered yellow leaves fall to the ground, and girls in autumn school uniforms walk on them. The swaying hem of their long skirts looks like flowers growing with the nutrients from the leaves.

This is a common sight at the entrance of SM Entertainment.

There is no shortage of fans in the world who have the money and time to travel all over the world with their idols' tours and autograph sessions, and there is also no shortage of student fans who have neither, but skip class to wait for their idols just to see them.

Through the car window, Pei Xiyan didn't understand their decision to abandon their studies to wait for them, but he respected it. Not wanting them to be disappointed, he drove past them with practiced ease and entered the building through a side entrance.

"Good morning, Cicadaxi," the receptionist greeted politely.

"Good morning." Pei Xiyan nodded and walked to the elevator to wait for it.

The striking red numbers on the wall descended from the sixth floor to the first. The elevator door opened, and Pei Xiyan saw two figures inside.

One was not very tall and had light eyebrows, while the other was tall and slender with gentle features.

Pei Xiyan recognized them, and because he recognized them, his pupils shrank, and he turned around to try to avoid them.

"Hey, Pei Xiyan, stop right there!" A loud shout came from inside the elevator. Kim Tae-yeon, with her short legs, ran out of the elevator and grabbed his arm tightly.

"I've finally caught you!"

Pei Xiyan turned around helplessly, looked at the sulking Kim Tae-yeon in front of him, and sighed, "I guess I'm just unlucky."

He really hadn't expected such a coincidence; he'd run into Kim Tae-yeon as soon as he arrived at the company. "I should have checked the almanac before leaving," Pei Xiyan thought.

"What do you mean by bad luck? Is meeting me such a bad thing?" Kim Tae-yeon asked, her eyebrows seemingly non-existent.

Pei Xiyan shrugged, then ignored Kim Tae-yeon and greeted the tall girl.

"Long time no see, Yoona noona."

"Long time no see, Xiaoyan." Lin Yoona stepped out of the elevator, her delicate face beaming with a smile that was adorable and captivating.

"Xiaoyan promised to give me a song, but then she went back on her word." Kim Tae-yeon turned to her and complained, like a child looking for her parent.

"Noona's ability to lie is just as good as your singing ability." Pei Xiyan dragged Kim Tae-yeon a few steps, placing one foot in the middle of the elevator door to prevent it from closing.

"Isn't that right?" Kim Tae-yeon said fiercely.

"..." Pei Xiyan didn't want to answer; the bitter expression on her face said it all.

"Why did you come to the company today?" Lim Yoona smiled and helped change the subject.

Aside from album production, Pei Xiyan rarely comes to SM Entertainment, so the chance of running into him is comparable to catching a shiny Pokémon.

"I had a talk with Uncle Man about something," Pei Xiyan said without hiding anything, "about the song's release."

"Who did you write a song for this time?" Kim Tae-yeon loosened her grip, crossing her arms aggressively.

"Myself."

"You're releasing a song?" Kim Tae-yeon and Im Yoon-a exclaimed in unison, showing their perfect understanding after being members for over ten years.

Those who know Pei Xiyan know that he rarely steps into the limelight; even at the year-end awards ceremony, it was Pei Zhuxuan who went on stage to accept the award for him.

"Is today April Fool's Day?" Kim Tae-yeon reached out as if to pinch his cheek.

"I just suddenly had a change of heart." Pei Xiyan leaned back to avoid him. "Besides, if today is April Fool's Day, then Taeyeon and Noona are another year older, aren't they?"

Kim Tae-yeon, born in March, was speechless. Unable to refute the fact, she could only vent her anger by pinching Pei Xiyan's arm, "Ugh, oh my god!"

She didn't use much force; it was like scratching an itch.

On one side, Lim Yoona smiled broadly, "Luckily I was born in May."

After Kim Tae-yeon finished venting, Pei Xiyan stepped into the elevator. "I'll go up first." He didn't want to block the elevator door for too long, as there might be other people waiting to sit upstairs.

"What's the song called? I'll help you promote it later," Kim Tae-yeon suggested.

"Me too." Lim Yoona nodded gently.

"No need," Pei Xiyan chuckled. "Some things are better left to their own devices."

He released the song not for popularity, but mainly because Bae Joo-hyun said she wanted to hear it.

He pressed the close button on the elevator, waved, and said, "Goodbye, Nuna."

"goodbye."

The elevator doors slowly closed, the numbers started to go up, and Kim Tae-yeon pulled out her phone.

"What is unnie doing?" Im Yoona stared at her movements.

"Someone definitely knows what her name is," Kim Tae-yeon said, scrolling through her contacts on Kakao.

"Didn't Xiaoyan say she didn't want to advertise?"

"Whatever he says goes? I'm Noona, you know!" Kim Tae-yeon's main characteristic is her rebelliousness.

[Joohyun, do you know the name of Xiaoyan's new song?]

[Traffic Lights.] Having just finished her morning Pilates workout, Bae Joo-hyun wiped the sweat from her brow and replied casually.

......

Pushing open the office door, Pei Xiyan saw Li Xiuman sitting in front of her desk.

He had been to Lee Soo-man's office many times. It was about the size of four Park Jin-young's offices. The decoration style was more formal, with pure white walls and uniformly colored furnishings, which gave it an air of authority.

Going into a leader's office is actually the same as going into your homeroom teacher's office when you're in school. You'll always feel a little nervous when you go in, and then you'll start to frantically think about whether you've done anything wrong recently.

But Pei Xiyan never had such thoughts; he usually went into the office to receive praise.

"Uncle Man." Pei Xiyan pulled out the chair opposite the desk, sat down, and leaned back in the soft chair, feeling relaxed as if she were back home.

"Would you like something to eat?" Lee Soo-man pushed a snack jar on the table, which was filled with candy.

"Kamsahamida." Pei Xiyan picked up a candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

"Yeonjung played that song for me a few days ago." Lee Soo-man clasped his hands together, his expression extremely amiable, as if an elder were looking at a promising nephew or niece in the family. "It's really well written."

"This is a song that definitely deserves to be at the top of the charts."

"But why did you decide to release your own song?" Lee Soo-man pushed up his glasses, his movements seemingly nonchalant, but no one knew how excited he was when he heard the news from Kim Yeon-jung; he almost dropped his glasses.

"Uncle Man, have you ever heard this saying?" Pei Xiyan said softly, "Mountains and continents are actually changing their shapes at an extremely slow pace."

People always change.

He didn't say it was because he couldn't resist Bae Joo-hyun's gentleness.

"People always change..." Lee Soo-man pondered these words, then nodded. "Xi-yan, you're absolutely right."

Everything changes.

Perhaps reflecting on the past few decades, Lee Soo-man's expression held a hint of reminiscence and remembrance, but it was only for a moment before he returned to normal.

"Let's talk about the song's release now."