Peninsula Cicada Song Diary

I didn't dream last night.

Pei Xiyan thought it was normal; after all, the dream wasn't a TV drama where it would automatically pick up the plot every night when she fell asleep. Sometimes it wouldn't happen even once every week or two.

Pei Xiyan was good at waiting. He had been waiting for summer and winter vacations since he was a child, because his parents, who traveled all over the world, would only remember that they had a son during these times. They would then take him all over the world during the holidays, and send him back to Daegu when school started, repeating the cycle like the annual Cowherd and Weaver Girl.

Of course, the most common thing is to wait for Bae Joo-hyun to get out of school, when the setting sun casts a long shadow over her, and then run over to pick her up and get a lollipop.

After drawing back the curtains and tidying up the room, Pei Xiyan went downstairs.

There was movement in the kitchen. Through the half-open kitchen door, Pei Xiyan saw Pei Zhuxuan busy inside. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail and hung down on the bow of her apron, swaying together with her movements.

Good morning, Noona.

"What?!" The sudden voice behind her startled Bae Joo-hyun so much that she almost dropped the spatula.

She turned around and glared at Pei Xiyan, who was standing by the door, with an annoyed look. "Go brush your teeth and wash your face. Breakfast is ready!"

"Nei~"

Pei Xiyan smiled, yawned, and went to the bathroom.

Bae Joo-hyun is easily frightened; he did it on purpose.

After washing up, breakfast was already laid out on the table.

A freshly baked whole-wheat bread and a golden fried egg, paired with a bottle of yogurt, provide a balanced and nutritious meal.

Bae Joo-hyun is a master at frying eggs and making seaweed soup—it's all thanks to practice.

When she was little, her aunt and uncle were often busy with their careers, so Bae Joo-hyun had to take on the responsibility of getting up early to make breakfast. Bae Seok-yeon still remembers when, at the beginning, he and Bae Joo-min looked at the blackened fried eggs and burnt bread on the plate and wondered if they would die if they ate them.

"I've already contacted them in the group chat," Bae Joo-hyun said, taking small bites of her fried egg. "They should arrive around ten o'clock."

Pei Xiyan nodded and quickly poured yogurt onto the bread, spreading it evenly. After spreading it on two slices, she sandwiched a fried egg between them, ready to start eating.

"So what should we eat for lunch?" He suddenly thought of a very serious question.

"I told them to buy it on the way, and bring their own ingredients if they want to eat it." Bae Joo-hyun took a sip of yogurt, a ring of white foam on her lips, "so we don't have to worry about it."

"Okay." Pei Xiyan reached out and wiped the milk foam from her mouth.

The homemade sandwiches tasted pretty good. After breakfast, the siblings sat on the sofa and watched TV.

Today is another sunny day, with sunlight lazily streaming in through the French windows.

Pei Xiyan sat while Pei Zhuxuan lay down, her head resting against a cushion at the other end of the sofa, her bare, white feet stretched out onto his thigh. Pei Xiyan massaged her with one hand while pressing the keys on the virtual piano in the Ableton app on his tablet.

After thinking about it before bed last night, he has decided to write a song around the theme of "dalla". Therefore, the style of the song should also be bolder than "dalla", striving to break away from the existing conventional musical forms.

Time ticked by as I pondered.

"Ring ring ring," the doorbell rang precisely at eleven o'clock, an hour later than the agreed ten o'clock.

"They should have arrived by now." Bae Joo-hyun rubbed her foot against Pei Xiyan's arm, her meaning quite clear.

Pei Xiyan made a fist, the meaning clear: "Rock-paper-scissors?"

"What are you guessing for?" Bae Joo-hyun kicked him a few times aggressively. "Hurry up!"

"Nuna is so boring." Pei Xiyan shook her head and stood up.

As I stepped into the entryway, the chattering outside reached my ears. I opened the door, the noise stopped, and a refreshing, minty smile unfolded before me. The person smiling waved cheerfully, their chestnut hair swaying by their ears.

"Xiaoyan!"

"Victory over Noona," Pei Xiyan greeted.

After Son Seungwan, Kang Seulgi, whose hair was the same color as the sunlight, solemnly handed over the bag in her hand, "Yeon, this is our gift, please accept it."

"?" Pei Xiyan took it with a puzzled look, and couldn't help but twitch her lips after seeing what was inside.

Is this pork belly and rice cake a gift?

"Xiyan oppa." Kim Yerin smiled like a Squirtle, handing over the bag in the same manner, but with a more eager expression. "Please take care of me today."

Her bag contained seaweed, cucumber, carrot, pork floss...

"Make the sushi yourself," Pei Xiyan said calmly.

"Wei?!" Kim Ye-rin's eyes widened, her expression one of disbelief, as if to say, "Oppa, how could you do this to me?"

"Just kidding." Pei Xiyan chuckled.

"Oppa, really." Kim Ye-rin gave him a resentful look.

Make way for the entrance, and three "uninvited guests" enter the house, skillfully rummaging through the shoe cabinet to find their slippers.

They had been to his house many times, and were so familiar with it that it was practically their second dormitory.

"Unnie!"

Bae Joo-hyun felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, and then a figure pinned her firmly to the sofa.

"Ugh, get up! You're so heavy!"

"How could you say that, unnie?" Kim Yerin looked aggrieved. "Don't you love me anymore?"

"If you crush me to death... then no one will love you anymore." Bae Joo-hyun struggled to push away the person on top of her, and breathed heavily after escaping.

Kang Seulgi pushed the stiff-looking Son Seungwan to the sofa, forcibly giving her the side closest to Bae Joohyun, and then spoke to Bae Joohyun across her awkward expression:

"Unnie looks like she slept really well last night, she's in great shape!"

"What does Seungwan think?" Kang Seulgi's ability to start a conversation was exceptionally poor.

"..." Son Seungwan smiled, but the smile was somewhat perfunctory.

"Hmph." Looking at the expression on her face, Bae Joo-hyun snorted inwardly.

"Is lunch just stir-fried pork belly, stir-fried rice cakes, and sushi?" Pei Xiyan asked as she walked through the living room carrying two hands full of groceries.

"Yes~"*4, the four of them said in unison that they had no objections.

You can tell what they like to eat just by the ingredients they brought. Kim Yerin loves sushi, Kang Seulgi loves stir-fried pork belly, and the other two are absolute fans of stir-fried rice cakes, but...

Thinking of this, Pei Xiyan stopped in her tracks, her eyes shifting between Pei Zhuxuan and Son Seungwan. If the two of them were usually a harmonious fruit platter, today they were like ice cream with chili added, creating an awkward and jarring contrast.

"We might need two people to help in the kitchen." Pei Xiyan had an idea and winked at Jin Yilin. "I can't manage by myself."

"Seulgi unnie and I love helping out the most!" Kim Yerin, quick-witted and clever, pulled Kang Seulgi, who was still confused and hadn't even settled in yet, and Bae Seok-yeon towards the kitchen.

"?!" Bae Joo-hyun looked surprised, thinking to herself, "How come I didn't know you guys were so eager to help?"

"I can help too..." Son Seungwan realized something and quickly got up, wanting to follow.

Wouldn't it be more convenient for four people?

"Unnie, you should spend more time with Unnie." Kim Ye-rin immediately stopped halfway, pressed her back onto the sofa, and hurriedly followed.

With the kitchen door closed, only the two of them remained in the living room.

Only then did Bae Joo-hyun realize Bae Seok-yeon's feelings.

The air seemed to freeze, and no one spoke in the eerie atmosphere. The two didn't even look at each other. Bae Joo-hyun pouted and cursed Bae Xi-yan in her heart while looking down at her phone, while Son Seung-wan crossed her arms and turned to look at the courtyard.

For a time, all I knew was the television, echoing in the lonely, stubborn silence.