Peninsula Cicada Song Diary

Formal matters are usually quite dry, with a jumble of miscellaneous items mixed together, like you're working on a math problem that requires many formulas to solve.

Pei Xiyan never really liked math. In school, he forced himself to cram all the knowledge into his head for the sake of his grades, but now that he's graduated, he's swallowed it all back.

Fortunately, his song doesn't require so many formulas to solve.

Because... "No need to shoot a music video, no need for too much promotion..." Pei Xiyan took another piece of candy, "From this perspective, all we need to do is set a release date."

It's as simple as casually posting an update on social media.

"Yeonjung and I have discussed the release date," Lee Soo-man stated, announcing the result of their discussion: "December 3rd."

"Does it have any special meaning?" Pei Xiyan asked while unwrapping the candy.

"December 3, 2013." Lee Soo-man added a year before the date.

Pei Xiyan immediately understood, popped the candy into her mouth, and smiled, "I was quite happy that day."

That day, SM ROOKIES' first project member made her public debut online. According to the information, she is from Daegu, has been a trainee with the company for 5 years, and will have a catchy stage name in the future - Irene.

"I hope you're just as happy this time, Xiyan," Lee Soo-man said with a smile. "The song will definitely achieve great results."

"Actually, grades don't really matter to me." Pei Xiyan nodded slightly. "But thank you anyway, Uncle Man."

There were still some other miscellaneous things left, and the two talked about them in bits and pieces, making it seem more like they were chatting than discussing business.

"...Then let's leave it at that." When they finished talking, Pei Xiyan had a lot of candy wrappers piled up on the table in front of him. He glanced at the time and realized that it was almost noon.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" Lee Soo-man asked.

"Okay." The food at SM's cafeteria is pretty good. Pei Xiyan grabbed a handful of candy wrappers and threw them into the trash can, then grabbed a handful of candy and put them in her pocket. "I'll tell Noona first."

"Isn't Xiyan afraid of getting cavities?" Lee Soo-man teased, looking at the jar that was almost completely emptied.

"I go for dental care every month," Pei Xiyan said, looking down at the screen.

Bae Joo-hyun naturally had no objections.

An old man and a young man left the office.

The corridor on the eighth floor was lined with photos of celebrities, from H.O.T. and S.E.S. to Girls' Generation and more recently NCT, like a journey through SM Entertainment's history. Lee Soo-man looked at the photos and muttered to himself, "There's a monthly audition for trainees this afternoon..."

"Who were invited to be the examiners this time?" Pei Xiyan asked, hands in her pockets as she followed beside him.

"This time, we invited Taeyeon and Kibum."

"No wonder," Pei Xiyan suddenly realized.

He wondered if he had run into Kim Tae-yeon because of his schedule, since this noona was even more of a homebody than him. If she didn't have a schedule, there was no reason for her to be at the company. She was either at home playing games or at home playing games with Zero.

"Is Xiyan interested in going to take a look?" Lee Soo-man asked.

With nothing much to do in the afternoon, Pei Xiyan thought for a moment and said, "Anything is fine with me."

He made some friends among the trainees, but hadn't seen them for a while.

"Taeyeon or Kibum?" Lee Soo-man repeated the names. One name represented the female trainee assessment, and the other represented the male trainee assessment.

"Taeyeon noona." Pei Xiyan said without hesitation.

It's not like playing a video game; he wouldn't be interested in a group of guys. The key is that he knows far more girls.

"502," Lee Soo-man said, pointing to a room number. "They're taking their assessment there."

......

The company cafeteria is on the third floor, and the trainee department is on the fourth and fifth floors. The floors are next to each other. After finishing her meal, Pei Xiyan went straight up the stairs to the fifth floor.

Following the door number given by Lee Soo-man, he walked to the corresponding practice room and knocked on it with his fingers.

"Please come in." A voice came through the door, sounding crisp and clear, like the tinkling of a spring.

Pei Xiyan recognized whose voice it was.

He pushed open the door; the practice room was empty, with only the floor lights illuminating the space. Pei Xiyan wasn't surprised; he had just come from the cafeteria and knew the trainees were still eating there.

The only girl in the practice room responded.

She sat in the corner, her body thin and small, with shoulder-length short hair, like a little mushroom growing in the corner.

Pei Xiyan knew her; they were quite familiar with each other because of someone else. The girl was stunned when she saw him, staring with her round little eyes, speechless for a long time.

"Don't you recognize me?" Pei Xiyan gently closed the door.

"Xiyan oppa." The girl realized what was happening and quickly stood up to greet him.

"Why are you here so early? Have you eaten anything?" Pei Xiyan asked with concern.

"I ate. I ate very quickly because I wasn't very hungry," the girl replied obediently.

"Don't stand, sit down first."

"Yes." The girl obediently sat down again, her gaze fixed on Pei Xiyan the whole time.

"You really don't recognize me?" Pei Xiyan walked over to her and found an empty seat to sit down.

"It's just...it feels like I haven't seen oppa in ages," the girl said.

"About three months." Pei Xiyan leaned against the wall, estimating the time. The last time they met was when he was at the company producing "Power Up" for Red Velvet.

"Isn't three months a long time?" The girl puffed out her cheeks. "I've only been practicing for two years, and three months is almost...almost..."

She scratched her head, then looked down and started counting on her fingers.

"One-eighth," Pei Xiyan answered for her.

"Yes." The girl raised an eyebrow after receiving the answer. "Isn't one-eighth long enough?"

"This is only one-eighth of two years. What if it's three, four, ten, or even twenty years?"

"It has been a long time indeed." Pei Xiyan smiled slightly. "Mian ah nei." He said softly.

"Oppa, you don't need to apologize." The girl's originally aggressive questioning voice softened instantly, and an embarrassed smile appeared on her cheeks, which were just as soft as her voice.

"Here." Pei Xiyan pulled out some candy she had stolen from Lee Soo-man's office from her pocket. "An apology gift for Min-jung."

"Oppa still loves sweets so much." Kim Min-jung took the candy, tore open the wrapper, and put it in her mouth.

"Because sweetness makes people happy."

"Maga." The sweet taste filled her mouth, and the girl's lips curled up in a happy smile.

During the conversation, the door was pushed open again and again, and more and more trainees who were going to be assessed walked in.

They are all young and beautiful girls, SM's future treasure trove.

Pei Xiyan joined the company in 13 and studied under Jin Yanzheng, so she naturally got to know many people.

Kim Chae-hyun, Lami, Go Eun...

Their expressions when they saw Pei Xiyan were all different, but the only thing they had in common was a respectful yet distant greeting.

They couldn't ignore the incident in 17. Kim Min-jung, standing beside her, was one of the few trainees whose attitude towards Pei Xiyan hadn't changed.

Of course, it also has something to do with a certain person.

That's quite a bold person. Even after the incident in 17, he still dared to wait outside the recording studio, dragging Kim Min-jung along like a little shadow, and calling him "oppa" in a very familiar way.

"Xiyan oppa?!"

Hearing that familiar voice, Pei Xiyan knew that person had arrived.

She practically ran over, her shoes slapping loudly on the practice room floor.

"Jimin unnie." Kim Min-jung greeted her, her voice still a little muffled because she had candy in her mouth.