Peninsula: Please, I only want to talk about ordinary people.

Chapter 48 What? You like her?

The music in the practice room stopped abruptly on the last beat.

"Kids, that's enough practice for today. Let's go eat."

Park Jihyo clapped her hands, panting, and the others gradually relaxed from their frozen poses, dispersing in twos and threes to find towels and water bottles.

Mina walked to a chair in the corner, sat down, and held a bottle of water in her hand.

After Park Jihyo's "love advice" last night, she finally had some direction in her mind, but the mess below was still not clear, especially—how to face Minatozaki Sana.

So for the entire morning, she didn't say a word to Sana, nor did she make eye contact with her even once.

"Minari~"

Sana Minatozaki's cheerful voice came from above.

Everyone else had practiced until their batteries were completely depleted, but her voice still had a rising tone at the end when she called out to people, like a battery that would never run out.

Minami paused for a moment as she twisted the bottle cap, then looked up and smiled back to her usual angle.

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

Sana Minatosaki smiled and sat down next to her, took the bottled water from her hand, opened it for her, and handed it back, a layer of worry rising in her eyes.

"Is your leg bothering you again? I saw you rub it just now—"

"----Um."

Minami took the water and took a small sip. Something tugged at her heartstrings.

She gently shook her head, dismissing the thought, and forced a smile.

"Yes, a little. I have a follow-up appointment tonight; we made it last time."

After going with Jiang Yongtai last time, she went again by herself. The old Chinese medicine doctor, while performing acupuncture, muttered, "Oh dear, why didn't you bring your boyfriend?"

She shook her head frantically, explaining that Jiang Yongtai was not her boyfriend.

The old Chinese medicine doctor gave an "Oh," his expression clearly saying, "Young people are just so stubborn," before slowly adding—

I'll bring him with me to the next follow-up appointment.

My next follow-up appointment is today.

Sana Minatozaki rested her arms on her knees, propped her chin on her hand, and looked at her, blinking.

"Really? Do you want me to go with you?"

"No need. I can go by myself."

Mina lowered her head, staring at the water bottle in her hand, not looking into her eyes which seemed to say, "I'm so worried about you."

"All right."

Sana Minatozaki didn't insist. She tilted her head and lingered on her face for two seconds.

"But what time did you get back from playing yesterday? You didn't look very energetic."

"It's not that late, I just have a bit of insomnia."

Mina looked up at her, and this time she didn't lie.

"How about you? Did you sleep well last night?"

"not good."

"What's wrong?"

"The production team sent me the edited final cut yesterday."

Sana Minatozaki leaned back and puffed out her cheeks.

"I originally wanted to ask you to watch it together, but you weren't here, so I could only ask Momo. But you know, Momo is just a pabo (a term for someone who is not good at social interaction) and can't give me any advice at all."

Mina screwed the bottle cap on and off repeatedly, her fingers unconsciously twirling the small plastic cap as she smiled.

"What advice can I give you? Sana, you're better at making shows than I am, your variety show skills are so good."

"No way~ I was just saying whatever came to mind."

Sana Minatosaki gave a smug snort and didn't continue the conversation.

She leaned against the wall, looked up at the light tube on the ceiling, was quiet for a moment, and then spoke again, her voice slightly softer than before.

"Minari."

"Um?

""

"Do you think it's possible for someone to suddenly find themselves thinking about things they shouldn't be thinking about at some point in time?"

Minami stopped twisting the bottle cap, and the sound was flat.

"for example?"

Sana Minatozaki was still looking at the ceiling, unaware of the pause in the hands beside her.

"For example—I keep getting distracted during practice lately, not thinking about the comeback, but thinking about random things."

Even though I know I shouldn't be thinking about it, my mind just won't cooperate.

As she spoke, she turned to look at Mina and smiled.

Am I weird?

Recently, Sana Minatozaki has been thinking about the day the recording ended, when Kang Young-tae was standing in the recording studio with a fever, and she touched his forehead with the back of her hand in front of so many people.

Even though it was already over, in that instant my hand had already reached out, faster than my brain, faster than any reason.

Mina met her eyes, those eyes that turned into an adorable Shiba Inu when she smiled.

She had seen too much in those eyes —

The curiosity they felt when they first met in the practice room, the tears when they won their first weekly championship, the red and swollen marks on her shoulder after their breakup—

And when she had to temporarily leave the team due to anxiety, Sana looked at her steadily and said gently, "You must get better."

Those eyes were looking at her, holding unspoken words and an honest desire to be understood.

Sana Minato didn't say what she was thinking, but Mina didn't need her to finish.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Sana seems a little different from what I thought—has she really completely let go of Yongtai-san?

She lowered her eyes, gently placed the water bottle on the ground, reached out, and took Sana's hand.

"It's not surprising." Mina's voice was very soft, as if she were saying it to herself.

"People tend to think about things they shouldn't."

Sana Minatozaki grasped her hand in return, tightening her grip slightly, without saying a word.

As the others finished packing up and prepared to go to the cafeteria, they glanced at the two women as they passed by and saw them looking very affectionate and sisterly. They all tacitly refrained from making a sound to disturb them.

Soon, only the two of them were left in the practice room.

Mina looked down at their clasped hands. Sana's newly painted nail polish was a soft nude pink, which made her fingers look white and beautiful.

She suddenly wanted to say something, perhaps a simple "No matter what happens, I'll be there," or a question, "Who are you thinking of?"

But it seems she has no right to say either of these two sentences.

The former is because she herself is doing something behind Sana's back that she can probably not forgive.

The latter—she didn't want to hear that name come out of Minatozaki Sana's mouth.

It wasn't that he was afraid Sana Minatozaki still liked him; it was that he was afraid that if he heard this, he would take back the little bit of determination that had finally surfaced last night.

She squeezed Sana Minatozaki's hand a little tighter, swallowing back the words that were about to come out.

Sana Minatosaki felt the sudden increase in pressure on Mina's hand, turned to look at her, smiled slightly, then pulled her hand away and gently patted the back of Mina's hand.

"Let's go to the cafeteria, I'm so hungry!"

She stood up, reached out and pulled Mina from her chair, and took out her phone with her other hand.

He glanced down at the screen, frowned slightly, and muttered, "Jiang Yongtai? Why is he calling me?"

Mina gripped the towel even tighter.

The name slipped lightly from Sana Minatozaki's lips, yet it felt like a pebble thrown into the still waters of a lake she had barely managed to stabilize.

She lowered her head, pretending to wipe the sweat from her neck, and buried her face in the towel.

Sana Minatozaki didn't notice, tilted her head and thought for a moment, then dialed the number back. It was answered after two rings.

"Moshi moshi, Kang PDnim, I was practicing just now and didn't answer. Is something wrong?"

Jiang Yongtai's voice came through the receiver on the other end of the phone. In the quiet practice room, Mina next to him could just make out the outline of it.

"—Tonight is our production team's dinner party. Writer Soo-bin asked me to inform you—you're the MC, so you have to come to the first dinner party."

"A get-together? Sure, where?"

Sana Minatozaki held Mina's slightly sweaty hand, speaking casually.

The voice on the phone was giving out an address. Her gaze drifted to the side, where Mina was looking down, wiping her neck with a towel.

Sana Minatozaki glanced at her again.

How many times is Mina going to scrub it? It's going to get all muddy if she keeps scrubbing like this.

Before she could finish thinking, the phone rang again.

"————Um, Sana."

""

"Um?

""

"If your teammates are free, they are also welcome to come over."

Sana Minato raised an eyebrow slightly, and subconsciously glanced again at the person who was supposedly Jiang Yongtai's "friend," a smile playing on her lips.

"Okay~ I'll tell them, but PD-nim, you want me to bring your friend over, right?"

"—What?"

"It's nothing, seven o'clock, right? I'll be there."

Sana Minato hung up the phone, stuffed it into her pocket, and turned to look at Mina Mina.

Mina stopped what she was doing; the skin on her neck was slightly red from rubbing it.

Minari.

"7

"----Um?"

Mina raised her head, her expression calm, even with a perfectly appropriate hint of doubt.

"The production team is having dinner tonight, are you coming with me?"

"I'm not going." Mina quickly shook her head, then added another reason to herself.

"I'm going for a follow-up appointment tonight."

"Oh right, I almost forgot."

Sana Minato slapped her forehead, then sighed regretfully, "What a pity. He specifically said he welcomed the teammates, but I think he just wanted to see you. How long has it been since you two last saw each other?"

Mina paused for a moment, then pulled her towards the door, replying casually, "I haven't seen you recently. You've been busy practicing and haven't played many games."

He's probably referring to Jeongyeon unnie, right? Wasn't it Jeongyeon unnie who appeared in the first episode?

Sana Minatozaki nodded, didn't ask any further questions, put the matter aside, and followed her out of the practice room.

Mina walked ahead, secretly pouting.

Yongtai-san discovered that he had been blocked and couldn't find me, so he invited Sana, hoping she would take him there?

Don't even think about it! Of all the people you could ask, why did you have to pick Sana?!

Are you really going to apologize to me in front of her for what happened last night?

Mina seemed not to have considered that, apart from Sana Minatozaki, Jiang Yongtai didn't know anyone else who had her contact information.

Hirai Momo looked curiously at the barbecue restaurant outside the car window, then turned her head to look at Minatozaki Sana, who was texting Jiang Yongtai to ask him to come out and pick her up.

"Sana, you said you'd treat me to barbecue, but it turned out to be a dinner party for your show?!"

As soon as practice ended at noon, she returned to her dormitory. She was texting the older man about whether or not to go on a date when Sana Minatozaki suddenly barged into her room and invited her to dinner that night.

Just then, the reply came that they were busy recording a show and didn't have time, so she agreed.

When they arrived, Sana Minatozaki told them there was an entire production crew, all strangers.

Hirai Momo's face immediately scrunched up, her expression screaming "I've been tricked."

Sana Minatozaki looked up, flashed her a bright smile, blinked, and feigned ignorance, saying, "Yeah! Didn't I tell you? It's okay~ You eat yours~"

She actually asked Yoo Jeongyeon first, and Yoo Jeongyeon replied, "I'm on a diet, I'm not going." Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to trick Hirai Momo, who usually doesn't like socializing with strangers, into coming out.

Hirai Momo pouted and could only console herself.

Since we're already here, I'll just focus on eating and leave the rest to Sana!

The door of the barbecue restaurant opened from the inside, and Jiang Yongtai came out. He immediately saw the familiar car parked in front and walked over.

Hirai Momo caught a glimpse of him through the car window, turned around and informed Minatozaki Sana.

"Your PDnim has arrived."

"What?! He's just the PD of my show! Momo, if you can't speak properly, then shut up!"

Sana Minatozaki rolled her eyes at her, instinctively refuting what Momo Hirai had said.

Ping Yatao was startled when she was scolded for no reason, and her expression was very innocent.

Where did I say something wrong? What's the difference between "your PD" and "your own PD"?

Seeing Jiang Yongtai approaching, the car window rolled down, and Minatozaki Sana leaned out of the driver's seat and waved to him.

"We can't find a parking spot."

"You can't stop here. Go to the alley behind and I'll wait for you there."

Jiang Yongtai bent down and spoke a few words into the car window. His gaze swept across the passenger seat and the back seat, and he only saw Hirai Momo nodding at him.

A slight disappointment crossed his mind, but he straightened up and pointed towards the alley entrance.

Sana Minatozaki glanced at him, and the corner of her mouth turned slightly dark.

Is he looking for Mina?

The car stopped, and two men got out and walked toward him.

Tonight, Sana Minatosaki wore a dark gray camisole as an inner layer, covered by a dark brown fluffy short jacket, paired with a light gray sheer skirt, and carried a bright red mini bucket bag.

Her hair wasn't tied up; it was loose over her shoulders. Although she said she was there for a dinner party, she looked like she had dressed up carefully.

Ping Yatao was dressed much more simply, in a beige sweatshirt and a baseball cap, following behind her, her expression now showing the restraint one would show when facing a stranger.

She bowed slightly, "PDnim Kang, we meet again."

"Oh, I didn't expect Momoi to come. It's nice to meet you."

Jiang Yongtai returned the greeting with a smile.

"Alright, we've said hello, let's go."

Sana Minatozaki gestured with her chin toward the shop door.

The three of them walked to the entrance of the barbecue restaurant. Suddenly, Ping Ya Tao touched her pocket, her expression changed, and she realized that she had left her phone in the car. She hurriedly turned around and ran back.

Jiang Yongtai smiled as he watched her retreating figure.

"Has Momoi always been this obsessed?"

Most of the time, I guess.

Sana Minato crossed her arms, glanced at him sideways, and looked at him with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"Aren't you disappointed? Your friend didn't come~"

Although she told Ming Yanan that she didn't mind that night, seeing how Jiang Yongtai and Ming Yanan had become so familiar with each other, she still felt a little uneasy.

Jiang Yongtai was stunned for a moment and couldn't respond.

He glanced at Sana Minatozaki and sighed.

"—A little."

He did hold a sliver of hope that Sana would be brought over by Niming Yanan.

However, it seems that Nan-chan doesn't want to see him yet.

Sana Minatozaki originally thought he would laugh it off or simply brush it off, but to her surprise, he admitted it.

She turned her head to look into his eyes, her anger flaring.

"A little? That surprises me. What, you like her?"

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