Peninsula Cicada Song Diary

Pei Xiyan was very sensible from a young age.

Aside from sending money to Bae Joo-hyun's family every month, taking him on a trip for a month or two every year, and transferring him to a high school in Seoul, his parents didn't worry about anything else.

In this era where everything can be done "in the cloud," they had the foresight to realize cloud-based child-rearing more than a decade in advance, which made Pei Xiyan admire their vision.

Despite being sensible, Pei Xiyan's inherent conditions meant that his life would not be as stagnant as a calm pond.

During his school years, Pei Xiyan often got into fights with boys who were jealous of girls who liked him, and with hooligans who were interested in Pei Zhuxuan and would ambush her after school. Of course, he almost always won, and with his outstanding grades, the teachers always protected him. Occasionally, he would call his dad to subtly complain, and his dad would get a "good bet!" from him.

The time Pei Xiyan helped Jin Nanxi was probably the closest she ever came to getting into trouble.

His father was never afraid of his son causing trouble; what he feared was what would happen if something like this happened in the future and he didn't know about it immediately, and his son got into trouble.

Realizing this problem, he gave Pei Xiyan this contact information.

Before this, Pei Xiyan had never heard of An Zhixian's name. Later, she learned that he was the so-called "housekeeper" who managed the Peninsula assets for his father.

"...If you encounter the same trouble again, you can call this number to find Zhixian, and he will help you solve everything."

Pei Xiyan wasn't sure how broad the scope of "everything" her father meant. Could it be the same as the casual talk about assassinating Shinzo Abe?

But Pei Xiyan isn't a honey badger; she wouldn't be foolish enough to try it.

So even though he got this supposedly all-powerful contact method, his needs mostly remained at the level of trivial matters, which Ahn Ji-hyun always managed to complete quickly and well.

For example, the tickets for the S8 World Championship finals that Lee Myung-cheol went to with him were obtained from Ahn Ji-hyun, as were the tickets for Twice's showcase.

For example, the things he's preparing to do now, after thinking it over, Pei Xiyan feels that only he can do them.

Uncle An, I need a favor...

While he was focused on sending messages, the attacks on Park Chanyeol continued in the waiting room, as if they were trying to dig up every woman he had ever kept hidden.

"...Really, there aren't any more." After explaining for a while, Park Chanyeol finally shrugged helplessly, "Just those six you guys mentioned."

"Qinjia?" The others didn't believe it and remained highly skeptical.

At that moment, Kim Jongin suddenly clapped his hands. Everyone thought he knew something else and was about to reveal something, but unexpectedly, he said, "Xiyan, where's your hat?"

It was worth it for him to observe for so long; he finally discovered something was amiss.

"A hat?" Upon hearing his words, Pei Xiyan looked up and paused in surprise.

"Didn't you come wearing a baseball cap?" Kim Jongin pointed to the top of his head, describing the style of the cap, "It's blue, and it has the letters 'CB' written on it."

"Yeah, where's your hat?" The others realized as well.

It's raining today, but Pei Xiyan didn't bring an umbrella; she only wore a hat.

"I'm not wearing..." Pei Xiyan touched the top of her head, but it was empty, with only soft, fine hair.

He suddenly remembered that the hat was still on Sana Minatozaki's head, but neither of them had noticed it.

"Could it have been given to that girl?" Park Chanyeol's eyes were mischievous as he reached for a bottle of mineral water from a short distance away.

You were absolutely right. Pei Xiyan thought to herself.

"I lent it to that friend for now." He said calmly, without any emotion.

"Whoa—" But the commotion around them sounded like the piercing whistle of a train.

Pei Xiyan remained expressionless, because An Zhixian had already replied, "[Okay.]"

[Thank you, Uncle An.] After sending this message, Pei Xiyan looked out the window. It was still drizzling outside, the distance was hazy, and the streetlights shone through the light. The weather was actually quite nice, except that she could only tell the time with her phone.

"kakao~"

Noona: [Are you coming back for dinner?]

We can also rely on Bae Joo-hyun's information.

[Inside.] Pei Xiyan stood up neatly and nimbly, clapped her hands, and said, "I'm leaving now."

Fearing that he would be summoned by Sana Minatozaki to settle scores if the things he had prepared happened, he did not intend to stay.

"It's almost noon, aren't you going to have lunch before you leave?" Kim Junmyeon asked, somewhat surprised.

"I have Nuna cooking at home, why would I stay and eat takeout with you guys?" Pei Xiyan looked at him strangely.

There's no cafeteria to eat at when performing on music shows, so artists have to order takeout themselves. Even though Bae Joo-hyun can only cook a few dishes at home, Bae Hsi-yen thinks it's still much tastier than takeout.

His words provoked public outrage.

"Hey, you little brat! You're making it sound like everyone has noona." Park Chanyeol, who was drinking mineral water and had a dry mouth from explaining, put down his water bottle indignantly.

"Yeah, what's wrong with the takeout?" Wu Shixun shouted loudly as well.

"Xiyan, you must eat a lot of takeout yourself." Even Do Kyungsoo, who rarely speaks, started to complain. "The amount of takeout you eat in a year could probably circle Seoul."

"If you're going to leave, then leave. I'm annoyed just looking at you!" Byun Baekhyun completely turned his attention away from the game and waved at him dismissively.

The wind shifted faster than the blink of an eye, and the verbal attacks that were previously directed at Park Chanyeol suddenly landed on Pei Xiyan.

"Then I'd like to wish you all a happy card in advance."

Pei Xiyan wasn't annoyed. He smiled, offered a blessing, and left the waiting room.

......

"Why is unnie wearing a hat?"

On the other side, Kim Da-hyun noticed something different as she watched Minatozaki Sana enter.

"What hat?" Sana Minatozaki asked, reaching out to touch the brim of the baseball cap. The image of Pei Xiyan pulling the cap over her head flashed through her mind, and her eyes trembled slightly.

She then pinched the brim and took off the hat, which was a blue baseball cap with the artistic letters "CB" written on it.

"The hat's quite nice," Yoo Jeongyeon said curiously, crossing her legs. "Did Sana run into anyone when she went to the restroom?"

Like Pei Xiyan, Minatozaki Sana's reason for going out was to go to the restroom.

"CB?" Lim Nayeon rolled her eyes. "Is it an initials for someone's name?"

"Which surname starts with C in Romanization?" Park Jihyo put down her phone.

"It doesn't seem like it..." Hirai Momo looked up, seemingly deep in thought.

"No, not at all." Sana Minatozaki quickly changed her mind and laughed it off. "I just happened to run into a stylist I know in the restroom. I thought it looked nice, so she gave it to me."

"I'll go return it to her later, haha."

Because of her personality, Sana Minatozaki had a good relationship with many staff members, and this wasn't the first time something like this had happened, so the others quickly stopped paying attention to the origin of the hat.

Only Son Chaeyoung, who was watching Mina play the game, grinned, revealing her two signature tiger teeth, looking mischievous.

"What's wrong?" Mina blinked her watery eyes, thinking there was something wrong with her game controls.

"Ani, I was just thinking about something happy." Son Chaeyoung nudged her shoulder. "Unnie, keep playing."

Holding her hat, Sana Minatozaki sat back down on the sofa, absentmindedly stroking the brim of her hat with her fingers, the scenes that had occurred in the stairwell flashing before her eyes.

He pulled the hat over his head, moved closer, and the orange scent of detergent wafted into his nose...

It's true that she's very outgoing, but she only allows physical contact with people she's familiar with. When Pei Xiyan approached, she felt no aversion at all and accepted it naturally... as if she had been with him many times before.

Where does this inexplicable sense of familiarity come from?

Sana Minato couldn't figure it out, but she subconsciously looked at her right wrist.

"Unnie, is this Cicadaxi's hat?" A question suddenly came from beside me, and the little tiger sat down without me noticing.

"Because Cicadaxi's surname is Pei, and Cicada Bae, it's CB." She reasoned logically, completely understanding the meaning of the letters.

"Probably." Minatozaki Sana didn't intend to hide anything from Son Chaeyoung, who had read the entire chat history. She looked away from her wrist and nodded at her.

"Is this a love token from Cicadaxi to unnie?" Son Chaeyoung's eyes widened slightly, and Minatozaki Sana could see the flame of gossip burning in her eyes.

"What?!" She was both amused and exasperated. "He gave it to me by accident. I'll go return it to him later."

"Oh, what's he doing here? Is he here to take pictures for unnie?" Son Chaeyoung remembered the photos she had seen last time.

"What are you thinking about?" Sana Minatozaki placed the hat on her lap and tapped her forehead with her finger. "They're here to support their friend."

"Isn't Unnie his friend?" Son Chaeyoung didn't understand her meaning. "Who else is his friend?"

"It's EXO." Sana Minatozaki shook her head. "It has nothing to do with me."

"I almost forgot." Son Chaeyoung suddenly realized, "Cicadaxi is an SM Entertainment producer."

This is a solid label attached to Pei Xiyan in the public eye. Apart from producing "Time Passes" for Gfriend as the first producer, he has focused all his attention on SM groups, and more specifically, on EXO and Red Velvet.

That's why he didn't participate in either Red Velvet's or EXO's comebacks, which is why it sparked such a huge discussion. The trending topic "Where did Cicada go?" is still on the list.

"Cicadaxi is so familiar with EXO's seniors, she must be quite familiar with Yerin and the others too." Son Chaeyoung clapped her hands, feeling that this was very likely.

"Probably," Sana Minatozaki replied indifferently.

"I'll ask her sometime," Son Chaeyoung decided, then pressed on, "What else did Unnie talk about with him?"

"No, everyone else is busy too," said Sana Minatozaki.

Without permission, she couldn't just casually reveal the embarrassing story of Pei Xiyan's bet.

"It's a bit boring." Son Chaeyoung was either summarizing or complaining.

"That's how chatting is, right? What else would you like to hear, Chaeyoung?" Minatozaki Sana asked, looking at her.

"For example, Cicadaxi admitting to unnie that he is a vampire." Son Chaeyoung suddenly became excited.

Having been teammates for three years, Minatozaki Sana knows Son Chaeyoung's personality all too well; any idea she casually comes up with could be used to write a fantasy story.

So when she heard these words, Sana Minatozaki wasn't surprised at all; she just remained calm and collected, and discussed it seriously.

"If he really is a vampire, then I would have been bitten when I tried to talk to him."

Especially since my body is so weak, and I'm in that secluded and dimly lit stairwell, it's like a lamb entering a tiger's den, with no way to escape.

Actually, the way he pinned himself against the wall really made it look like he was about to bite her next, Minatozaki Sana thought.

If he bites me, will I fight back?

She was actually a little unsure.

"Knock knock."

"No word on the delivery yet." Hearing the knock on the door, Jung Min-ho muttered as he went to open it.

A staff member wearing a work badge was standing outside the door.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked politely.

"I'm here to see Sanasi," the staff member said directly.

Without the door to conceal his words, they could be heard clearly in the waiting room.

"I thought it would be Cicadaxi," Son Chaeyoung said with regret.

"Okay, please keep this for me." Sana Minatozaki smiled and pinched her cheek, handing her the hat. Then she got up and went to the door, nodding slightly to the unfamiliar staff member in front of her.

"Hello, I'm Sana."

"Please come with me, Sanaxi. I need your help with something." The staff member was extremely polite.

"Okay." He didn't say what it was about, but Sana Minatozaki nodded in agreement.

After all, this is a TV station, and no staff member would approach her for no reason.

"Can I come with you?" Jung Min-ho asked, somewhat worried about Minatozaki Sana's health.

"Of course." The staff member nodded. Apart from Sana Minatozaki, there was no mention of a limit on the number of people in the orders he received.

Led by staff, Sana Minato and Minho Jung took the elevator to the second floor of KBS Hall.

"Please wait here for a moment." The staff member led the two into an office, closed the door, and left.

This is a very ordinary office.

"Is it about the show?" Jung Min-ho guessed casually, looking around the office.

"Oppa, you'll find out when the time comes," Sana Minatozaki said dismissively.

A few minutes later, someone came in. It was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, carrying a box, the contents of which were unclear.

"Annyeonghaseyo." Minatozaki Sana and Jung Minho stood up and greeted each other.

"Annyeonghaseyo, you must be Miss Sana." The middle-aged woman walked straight up to Minatozaki Sana, studied her face for a few seconds, and nodded as if she had figured something out.

"Come over here." She then led Minatozaki Sana to sit down at the desk.

"Give me your hand," the middle-aged woman said across the desk.

Sana Minatozaki obediently extended her hand.

"Hmm." The middle-aged woman examined her hand from side to side, then said, "Stick your tongue out so I can see."

"?" Sana Minatozaki looked puzzled, hesitated for a moment, and then did as she was told.

"Your health is not good." After observing her sticking out her tongue for a while, the middle-aged woman said, while opening the box she was carrying and taking out a stethoscope and putting it on, under the surprised gaze of Minatozaki Sana.

"Could the gentleman please step aside for a moment?" the middle-aged woman instructed Zheng Minhao, who was standing not far away.

"Excuse me, what brings you here?" Although she already had some guesses in her mind, Sana Minatozaki still asked tentatively.

"I'm a doctor." The middle-aged woman pushed up her glasses, a kind smile on her face.

"We're here to help Miss Sana with her medical treatment."

"Huh?!" "What?!"