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

Chapter 69 I liked you first

In Hannam-dong, Seoul, thick clouds hung over the afternoon sky, and it seemed the first snowfall predicted by the weather forecast was not far off.

Mina was wrapped in a down jacket, her beanie pulled low, leaving only her eyes visible on her face. Her hands were tucked into her pockets as she glanced helplessly at Sana Minatozaki, who was also fully bundled up beside her.

This friend was staring intently at Jiang Yongtai, who was queuing to buy drinks not far away, his eyes overflowing with affection, and he had no intention of hiding it at all.

Mina pulled her mask down a little, took a breath of cold air, turned her head and spoke softly.

"Sana, can I go back now? I really don't want to be a third wheel today, the game isn't over yet."

She finally got a break today, and last night she finally got to play the game "Super Mario Odyssey" that she had been longing for for so long, and played until dawn before finally putting down the game console and crawling into bed.

As a result, Minatozaki Sana dragged him out of bed at noon, shaking his shoulders and pulling at the blanket, begging him to go out with her.

Mina slapped away her mischievous hand, buried her face in the pillow, and asked groggily what it was that she had to be dragged into.

Sana Minato chuckled, leaned close to her ear, and became unusually shy.

"Jiang Yongtai asked me to go out to see the first snow~"

Mina gave an "oh," turned over, and pulled the blanket over her head.

"Then go ahead and go. Why are you asking me? I'm not interested in the first snow. Thanks for the invitation~"

Sana Minatozaki pressed herself against her and began to coax and plead with her.

"Mina~ You're the best! Come with me, otherwise it'll be hard to explain if I go out alone~"

So she was dragged out of bed, dressed, and pulled all the way to Hannamdong.

Standing on the street, Mina sighed as she looked at Sana's bright, sparkling eyes.

Sana Minatozaki turned her head and grabbed her arm, shaking it gently.

"Don't go back! We're already here, let's just hang out together!"

"It's fine on ordinary days, but didn't you say there would be the first snow today? What's with three people here?"

Mina rolled her eyes at her.

Ever since she accidentally stumbled upon their affair two months ago, Minatozaki Sana has become completely attached to her.

Every few days, he would use "going shopping with Mina" as an excuse to sneak out of the dormitory to date Jiang Yongtai.

Once or twice is fine, but if it happens too often, even if she tries to refuse, Sana Minatozaki will cling to her like a piece of chewing gum that she can't shake off.

He stared at her pitifully with those expressive eyes until she once again became an accomplice because of her soft heart.

"What's wrong with three people? One is my boyfriend, and the other is my best friend. You two can watch the first snow with me, how lucky are you! Don't you think so, PDnim?"

Sana Minatozaki turned her head and looked at Kang Young-tae, who was walking back with three cups of hot drinks, and winked at him.

Jiang Yongtai handed the hot cocoa and one of the hot Americanos to Minatozaki Sana and Mina respectively, then stood next to Minatozaki Sana with the remaining cup in his hand. He glanced at Mina's reluctant expression and looked somewhat puzzled.

"Does Mina want to go back?"

"PDnim, don't you want me to leave?"

Mina replied casually, picked up her coffee, and took a sip.

It was to my liking, so I added an extra shot of espresso. This "brother-in-law's" memory is pretty good!

"He dares!"

Sana Minato answered for Jiang Yongtai before he could.

She tightened her grip on Mina's arm, her eyes crinkling as she declared with an air of self-righteousness.

"Both of you are coming with me today, so come with me!"

Mina was pushed forward by her, and the coffee in her hand almost fell out. She looked up and saw that Kang Young-tae had already switched the coffee to his other hand. His free hand hung down naturally and held the fingers of Minatozaki Sana that were hanging at his side.

Sana Minatozaki turned her head and smiled at him. That smile was different from the one when she was clinging to him earlier; it was softer, like a Shiba Inu whose fur had been stroked.

Jiang Yongtai looked down at her with gentle eyes, then, as if sensing something, he raised his eyes to meet Mina's gaze and smiled shyly.

"A new bagel shop just opened nearby, wanna go check it out?"

Mina looked away from their clasped hands and took another sip of coffee.

"It will be all right."

The phone kept ringing relentlessly, trying to wake the two people who were still lazing in bed past noon.

Mina recognized her phone from the ringtone, but still refused to open her eyes. She snuggled closer to Kang Youngtae, patted his waist, and mumbled indistinctly, "Youngtae-san—phone—give it to me."

Jiang Yongtai had also been woken up by the ringing bell, but like Mina, he was reluctant to move. However, when he heard her speak, he resignedly opened his eyes a crack.

The sunlight filtering through the curtains startled him, causing him to furrow his brow slightly. Before removing his hand from her waist, he unconsciously stroked her silk nightgown, eliciting a soft moan of dissatisfaction from the person in his arms.

He smiled and reached for his phone on the bedside table behind him.

Before her fingers could even reach it, she swept the still-vibrating phone onto the floor with a loud thud.

"Uh—Nan-chan, you dropped your phone."

"Honestly, you can't even do this little thing right, Nagata-san~"

Mina pouted and finally opened her eyes reluctantly.

What came into view was a large expanse of bare chest, wheat-colored skin, and several red marks below her collarbone that had not yet completely faded, marks left by her fingers unconsciously scratching herself last night.

She stared blankly at the marks, her mind going blank as images from last night uncontrollably flooded back.

Last night, after Jiang Yongtai carried her from the living room into the room, he put her on the bed, smiled and said, "I'm going to take a shower first," before turning around and going into the bathroom.

She quickly wrapped herself in the blanket, leaving only her face exposed, her eyes fixed on the bathroom door.

The sound of rushing water filled the room. As she listened to the sound, her heart pounded faster and faster, and her fingers gripped the blanket tightly.

She regretted it.

She regretted showing up in front of him in that lace slip dress, and regretted saying without thinking, "We can sleep together."

What should I do?! I'm not ready yet, am I really going to get to that point so soon?

But they're not even officially boyfriend and girlfriend yet—no, it can't be this fast!

But—if I refuse, won't Yongtai-san be very disappointed?

Mina's face scrunched up as she bit her lower lip, struggling with her inner turmoil under the covers. Before she could come up with a solution, the bathroom door was reopened.

Jiang Yongtai was only wearing a pair of athletic shorts, and he walked out while drying his hair.

The water droplets on his bangs hadn't dried yet, and they trickled down his neck, across the outline of his chest muscles, across the clearly defined lines of his abs, and finally disappeared at the waistband of his sweatpants.

Mina stared blankly, swallowing involuntarily.

She snapped back to her senses and covered her face, but her fingers involuntarily parted, and her gaze peeked out through the gaps, fixed on him, her voice trembling slightly.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?!"

Jiang Yongtai paused in drying his hair, his tone lacking genuine apology, instead suppressing a laugh.

"I forgot to bring my pajamas in, so I'm wearing pants."

He casually draped the towel over the back of the chair and turned to walk towards the bed.

The bedroom light wasn't fully on, and he was backlit, so Mina couldn't see his expression clearly. But the brightness in his eyes made her uneasy, and she unconsciously shrank back, her body trembling slightly.

Seeing her looking so alarmed, Jiang Yongtai raised an eyebrow, then lay straight on the other side of the bed, reached between the two of them, grabbed a cushion, placed it neatly in the middle, and patted it, as if drawing a "38th parallel".

After doing all this, he turned his head and glanced at her, his tone carrying a feigned confusion.

"Nan-chan, why are you so nervous?"

But the smile that he couldn't suppress at the corner of his mouth completely betrayed him.

Mina blinked blankly, her mind going blank for a moment.

Just a moment ago she was worried about what she would do if Yongtai-sang forced himself on her, but his current attitude only made her angrier.

"----I!"

She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat, and she couldn't say them no matter what she did.

You can't exactly tell this jerk, "Are you even human? I'm dressed like this, and you just sleep like this?!"

"It's nothing, go to sleep. Share some of the blanket with me. Goodnight~"

Jiang Yongtai pulled a small section of the blanket from her side and draped it over his stomach, then closed his eyes, as if he were really preparing to fall asleep.

Mina frowned, exhaled a puff of hot air from her nostrils, and kicked him from under the covers.

"You, go sleep outside! I regret it!"

Jiang Yongtai opened his eyes, turned to his side, looked at her puffed-out cheeks, and said in a soft, slow voice, full of innocence, "■"

"What's wrong? Didn't I do everything Nan-chan said? My hands were outside, I didn't hug you, and I didn't touch you. Wasn't that good enough?"

Mina was so angry at his innocent yet cunning appearance that she couldn't speak. She bit her lower lip and glared at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

Seeing her expression, Jiang Yongtai couldn't help but laugh.

He snatched the annoying pillow between them and threw it at the foot of the bed. He reached under the covers and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his embrace with a little force.

Mina bumped into his chest unexpectedly, her hands instinctively bracing against his chest. Beneath her palms, the thumping of his chest rose and fell, just as fast as her own.

"—So Yongtai-san was nervous too~"

She looked up at him, her eyes bright, a smile playing on her lips; her earlier temper had completely vanished.

Jiang Yongtai did not deny it, but lowered his head and pressed his lips to her forehead, his voice muffled.

"Yeah, that's why I put a cushion here. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with what Nan-chan said about not moving around." Mina's eyelashes gently brushed against his chin twice. She didn't reply. Her hand, which was pressed against his chest, slowly slid up, her fingertips tracing his collarbone and hooking the back of his neck.

Jiang Yongtai's breathing suddenly became heavier.

He lowered his head, his nose touching hers, and they exchanged a light kiss, their lips only inches apart.

Her breath broke into tiny fragments, all landing on his lips. Suddenly, she leaned forward half an inch, swallowing the last bit of distance between them.

When she pulled her tongue back, she gently licked his lower lip, as if it were a test or a tacit consent.

Jiang Yongtai's fingers, which were clasped around her waist, tightened involuntarily, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

He looked into her eyes, his gaze becoming intense.

"Nan-chan, if you keep doing this, I'm really going to be naughty~"

Minami lay on her side on the pillow, her long, light golden hair cascading down her side. She raised her hand, her fingertips gently tracing across his brow bone and bridge of his nose, finally landing on his lips.

"Then Yongtai-san can be a little naughty~"

Suddenly, all her previous thoughts seemed unimportant, the moment she felt his heartbeat—

Jiang Yongtai stared at her for several seconds, then lowered his head at her soft gasp and his lips landed on her collarbone.

Mina held his head, her fingers digging deep into his hair, feeling the sensation on his collarbone, and tightening her grip.

After a long while, he raised his head again, pecked her lips, and restrained himself, his voice becoming low.

"Fine, Minami-chan isn't ready yet—but once Minami-chan becomes my girlfriend, I won't let you off the hook."

Mina shook her head, trying to shake off the blush-inducing images from last night.

She propped herself up, trying to reach past Jiang Yongtai to pick up her phone, but noticed a gaze peering into the neckline of her nightgown.

She glanced down at the loose neckline, then slapped him across the face in annoyance, covering his eyes tightly.

"Don't look around!"

"I didn't see anything—"

Jiang Yongtai, blindfolded, muttered something weakly.

Mina was stunned for a moment, then became even more embarrassed and angry, and kicked him off the bed with all her might, blanket and all.

"Didn't see it, huh? Well, who's going to see it?"

She covered her collar, also concealing the red marks on her collarbone that he had pecked at the night before.

Seriously, I'm going back to the dorm soon, what if Sana sees this?!

Jiang Yongtai rolled onto the ground wrapped in a blanket, rubbing his sore bottom as he looked up and smiled sheepishly.

"Who can I look at? Nan-chan, don't talk nonsense!"

He turned to the side to pick up her phone, but his gaze suddenly stopped. A photo booth picture had fallen out between the phone case and the phone body, landing face up on the floor.

He reached out and picked it up, a slow smile creeping onto his lips.

"Nan-chan, have you been hiding this photo behind your phone case all this time? So you've liked me for a long time, huh~"

He held up the photo booth picture and raised an eyebrow at her mischievously.

Mina paused, looking at the photo of herself that she had kept hidden in her phone case for almost a year, and her blush deepened.

She immediately lunged forward to snatch it, her voice cracking with urgency.

"I just casually put it there! Give it back!"

Jiang Yongtai dodged his hand, lowered his head and looked at the photo booth picture again, his brows furrowing slightly as if he were searching for memories.

"This looks like it was filmed in 17, right? When was that again?"

When Mina saw that he couldn't remember, she pursed her lips and said sullenly with her cheeks puffed out.

"It seems that Yongtai-san has already forgotten about the day of the first snowfall—"

In the photo booth picture, Jiang Yongtai makes a standard peace sign at the camera, laughing carefree, while she simply pulls her mask down a bit, revealing her nose, which is red from the cold wind of 4 degrees Celsius that day, and stands next to him expressionlessly.

There was a visible distance between the two people, which was quite fitting for the special effects in the photo booth.

She was framed as a cool, aloof cat, while he was the silly dog ​​next to her, sticking out his tongue.

Jiang Yongtai paused for a moment, then remembered.

On the first snow of 2017, he went on a date with Sana Minatozaki, and Mina Mina was also there.

The three of them sat in the newly opened bagel shop for a while. Minatozaki Sana saw the photo booth across the street and excitedly dragged the other two over.

First, there was a group photo of the three of them, then a couple photo of Sana Minatozaki and her boyfriend, followed by a photo of the three sisters as best friends.

He thought that was the end of it, but Minatozaki Sana insisted on pushing Mina next to him, saying with a grin, "You guys take a few pictures too."

Then she leaned close to his ear and whispered that she hoped his relationship with Mina could improve, because Mina was very useful to them.

He just chuckled at the time, finding it amusing that Minatozaki Sana treated Mina as a "tool" for their date, and obediently stood next to Mina.

The camera flashed several times, and Mina barely smiled throughout, only managing to pull down her mask to reveal half of her face.

After taking the photos, she casually stuffed the photo booth pictures into her pocket and said in a nonchalant tone that she was going back first and wouldn't disturb them while they were watching the first snow.

He thought she had thrown the photo away long ago, but he didn't expect her to put it behind her phone case.

"I remember."

He flipped the photo booth picture over, placing it face down in her palm, a smile playing on his lips, but his voice remained very soft.

"Thank you, Nan-chan, for not throwing it away yet. But when did you put it there? Last year?"

Mina clutched the photo booth picture, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

He reached out and tucked a strand of hair that was loose on the side of her face behind her ear, his fingertips brushing against her burning earlobe.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Do you have any more of these photos? I want one too."

Mina turned her face away, pouting, and said sullenly, "That's all. The others were lost when you and Sana broke up. This one somehow ended up in a compartment of the suitcase and that's how it ended up here—"

She immediately turned her face back, angrily bent down, reached out and pinched Jiang Yongtai's cheeks, squeezing his mouth until it pouted, and shook it from side to side.

"Let me make this clear! I didn't fall for you when you were dating Sana. At that time, I just thought Yongtai-san was annoying!"

So I'm not a bad woman, I haven't fallen for my friend's boyfriend! Got it? If you do, blink twice!

Jiang Yongtai's face was pinched, his lips were pouted into a strange shape, but his eyes softened and he blinked obediently.

Mina released her grip with satisfaction, but immediately poked his nose with her index finger, her voice trying to sound tough, though her eyes were slightly hot from a surge of inexplicable emotions.

"And also—don't think you can be so smug just because I was the one who liked you first, understand, Yongtai-san!"

Jiang Yongtai reached out and grasped the hand that was poking his nose, rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand.

"Yes, I know, I will love Nan-chan very much~"

Mina nodded, pouted, pulled her hand out of his palm, and held it out in front of him.

"cell phone----"

Jiang Yongtai smiled and picked up the phone from the ground, placing it in her palm.

Mina tapped the screen to see who had been calling so persistently so early in the morning, but her pupils contracted slightly.

Sana

"What's wrong? Who is it?" Jiang Yongtai asked, noticing her strange expression.

"It's nothing, just your ex-girlfriend."

Mina pursed her lips, not wanting to talk any more. She didn't call back immediately, but got off the bed, stood barefoot on the floor, and gently nudged Kang Young-tae, who was still lying on the floor, with her toes.

"Yongtai-san, go out. I need to change my clothes and go back to the dorm."

Jiang Yongtai frowned slightly.

Saka? Why did she call Nan-chan so early in the morning?

He glanced at Mina's expression and knew that even if he asked her, she wouldn't say much, so he put on a pitiful expression.

"Going back so soon? I only started work this afternoon, we can stay for another two hours—"

Mina ignored him, pulled two pieces of clothing from her suitcase, hugged them to her chest, and walked towards the bathroom. When she reached the door, she turned back and gave him a sweet smile.

"Get up and get ready for work. I'll come see you again when I get back from Jeju Island~"

Jiang Yongtai watched her walk quickly into the bathroom, then looked down at his empty hands, somewhat stunned.

Nan-chan seemed a bit off just now —

He frowned at the closed bathroom door, then suddenly stood up and walked over. He didn't knock, but just leaned against the wall next to the door frame, making a soft sound that the person inside could hear.

"Nan-chan~"

"—What? I need to change my clothes."

"It's nothing, I just want to tell you one thing—"

Do you remember when you were recuperating in Hyogo last year, you played video games with me every day for a while?

There was silence inside the door for a few seconds, then a muffled "I remember" came from inside.

"Back then, we would play games with you until the early hours of the morning every day, and I still had to go to work the next day."

Kim Sung-woo asked me why my dark circles were getting worse every day, and I told him I was playing Splatoon. He thought I was crazy.

He paused, leaned the back of his head against the wall, and slowly curled up the corners of his mouth.

"But I still contact you every day. At first, it was because you suddenly got sick, and as a fan and a former friend, it was nice to be there for you in this way when you were feeling down, to give you a little bit of strength."

But later I also had my own selfish thoughts. During the day, I was constantly being scolded by my seniors at KBS, and the show I was working on was still pending. But when I got home at night and heard your voice, I felt like that day wasn't so bad after all.

The bathroom was quiet for a long time. He reached out and pressed back the small piece of paint that had been rubbed off the wall at some point, and continued speaking.

"So I probably started liking Nana-chan even earlier than she started liking me, so much so that I don't even know when it happened~"

You asked me why I played so many games with you, and I said I was bored anyway—that was a lie!

He smiled, as if mocking himself.

"I just wanted to hear your voice and know if you were doing well over there. Those were the hardest days for you, and you were there for me during that time. Although you probably don't know, you only felt that you needed a safe space to confide in, but I was the one who treated you like a safe space."

He withdrew his hand from the wall, stood up straight, as if he were talking about something that could finally be taken out.

"So, Minami-chan, there's no question of who came first or who came first. You're someone I never expected to fall for~"

The door lock turned and opened a crack. Mina stood in the doorway, her clothes only half changed, wearing only a tank top, her eyes red-rimmed, looking at him.

"Yongtai-san, what time do you say you start work?"

"We can stay for another two hours this afternoon."

"—Come here."

She reached out, grabbed his collar, and pulled him into the bathroom.

The door closed behind him, and a nasal "Baka!" came from inside, followed by a muffled thud as something hit the wall, and then silence.

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