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

Chapter 34 Can you bring me medicine? Yes.

Jiang Yongtai had just changed into slippers when he got home when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and glanced at the caller ID—Ming Jingnan.

He raised an eyebrow. The two of them usually either used voice chat in the game or sent text messages; she had never taken the initiative to call him.

"Nan-chan, why are you calling me?"

"Yongtai-san, you've made your ex-girlfriend angry!"

Minami's voice came through the receiver, with the sound of wind whistling in the background.

Jiang Yongtai walked to the sofa, sat down, sank into the cushions, and rubbed his temples with one hand.

"What did Sana say to you?"

He didn't think he had done anything to Minami Sana tonight that warranted a call from Mina to hold him accountable.

Mina chuckled softly, tucking her wind-blown hair behind her ear as she recalled the scene she had witnessed when she entered Sana's room.

Sana Minatozaki hadn't changed her clothes and was lying face down on the pillow like a corpse. She only turned around when she heard the door open and saw Mina. She immediately launched into a tirade against Kang Young-tae.

"Blind man!" "You jerk!" "You big idiot!"...

Fortunately, Nayeon, who shared a room with them, wasn't there, otherwise the entire Twice would have known that Sana had been secretly dating behind their backs.

"Sana just got back and almost suffocated in bed, she kept saying you're such a big idiot~"

She hunched her shoulders; the wind on the balcony was really strong.

Jiang Yongtai gave a wry smile. "I didn't do anything to her. Let her curse if she wants to."

"Is this what Nan-chan called me about? Kakao works too, right?"

What am I supposed to do if you only reply to my text message tomorrow...?

Mina pursed her lips, lowered her voice, and muttered something under her breath.

The background noise was so loud that it mumbled the rest of her sentence, and Jiang Yongtai didn't hear it clearly.

"Nan-chan, what did you just say?"

"...It's nothing."

Mina took a breath and brought the topic back.

"I just wanted to ask you, Sana said you only found out this afternoon that you're the PD of this show, is that true?"

Although she had already heard it from Sana, she still wanted to ask again, otherwise all her resentment towards Jiang Yongtai yesterday would have been for nothing.

Jiang Yongtai sighed, knowing that Minatozaki Sana wouldn't easily believe him.

"It's true. I just received this project this afternoon, and I didn't expect her to be the MC."

"What happened? Did something happen to the PD we chose before, and that's why Yongtai-san had to step in?"

Mina frowned and asked, "In the normal course of a program, it's impossible to decide on the PD at the last minute."

"……No."

Jiang Yongtai's voice unconsciously lowered as he thought about the unpleasant things that happened that afternoon.

"Nan-chan, it's hard for me to explain to you all at once..."

Mina keenly sensed his emotions. Kang Young-tae rarely spoke to her in this tone, so it seemed that something had indeed happened at work.

She softened her voice, "Then we'll talk about it when Yongtai-san wants to."

"Hmm... okay, next time, I'll tell you next time we meet."

Jiang Yongtai smiled, turned over, and made a promise that he himself didn't know when they would meet again.

Mina paused for a moment, then suddenly changed her tone, her voice carrying a mocking tone that seemed to imply she already knew the answer.

"Yongtai-san~ Does Sana look good today?"

Jiang Yongtai paused for a moment, and the image of Minatozaki Sana taking off her trench coat in the conference room that night involuntarily flashed through his mind.

"...Did she tell you to ask this?"

"How could that be? If Sana finds out I'm still in contact with you, she'll beat me up, and I can't beat her up!"

Mina deliberately spoke in a weak voice, resting one hand on the railing.

The coolness of the railing seeped through the thin sleeves of her pajamas onto her arms. She frowned slightly but didn't move away.

"She knew she was going to see you today, and she tried on clothes for a long time to prove that she was doing better than you."

Jiang Yongtai smiled and changed his position on the sofa.

"What's there to prove? She was more successful than me."

"So... is Sana pretty?"

Mina followed up, not knowing why she absolutely needed to know the answer.

"...She's beautiful, isn't she? Who can say she's not?"

Jiang Yongtai thought for a moment and then answered honestly.

Mina didn't speak, but pursed her lips. She had received an answer, but she was inexplicably annoyed.

A gust of wind blew in from the side of the balcony, penetrating the thin nightgown she was wearing, and she couldn't help but sneeze.

"Um?"

Jiang Yongtai frowned. "Nanjiang, where did you call me from?"

"……balcony."

"It's so cold outside, are you on the balcony?"

Mina rubbed her nose. "What an idiot! With so many people in our dorm, how can he call Nagata-san if he doesn't come to the balcony?"

Jiang Yongtai chuckled and said, "Then send it to Kakao. I'm hanging up now, go in quickly."

Otherwise, if Nan-chan catches a cold because of me and her comeback is affected, Once fans will kill me.

"Then please continue to bring me medicine, Yongtai-san~"

Mina blurted out the words, but as soon as they left her mouth, she realized her mistake and quickly tried to take them back.

"What I mean is, what does Yongtai-san take Once for? They wouldn't..."

"Sure," Jiang Yongtai's voice came through the receiver, tinged with amusement.

"But it's best if Nan-chan doesn't get sick, I'll worry about her."

Mina paused for a moment, her heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason, she gripped her phone tightly, and her voice became a few decibels more hurried than before.

"I'm hanging up now, I'm going inside. It's so cold outside, goodnight!"

"Okay, goodnight."

Upon hearing his final response, Mina hurriedly hung up the phone, opened the balcony door, and returned to the living room.

She clutched her phone to her chest, her heart pounding even faster than before.

Minami, you hung up the phone without saying goodnight! And what was with your reply, Kang Young-tae?!

She became angry at herself and Jiang Yongtai at the same time, raised her hand to pat her face, took a deep breath, and walked towards the room.

In the living room, Hirai Momo peeked out from behind the sofa, a potato chip still dangling from her mouth, her face full of confusion.

What was Mina doing just now? Did she have a fight with her family? And then she got angry with herself and hit herself?

Unable to figure it out, she shrugged and refocused her attention on the potato chips and TV programs.

……

Mina returned to her room and closed the door.

She was alone in the room; her roommate, Park Jihyo, had gone out on a date again and she didn't know when she would be back.

She looked down at the call log on her phone screen, her finger hovering over Jiang Yongtai's name for a moment.

Actually, there was another question I didn't have time to ask about Jiang Yongtai—

"Did Sana's stockings hit Yongtai-san's sweet spot?"

Unfortunately, a sneeze steered the conversation off course.

She pursed her lips, sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked down at her legs.

The legs of the pajama bottoms rode up a bit from sitting, revealing a section of shapely calves with slender ankles and skin that gleamed faintly in the warm light.

She studied ballet, and the proportions and lines of her legs are the result of years of training.

Putting aside the question of who looks better, Sana or myself, if we're just talking about legs, mine should be better than Sana's, right?

But when she thought about how Jiang Yongtai had mocked her for having dirty feet, she couldn't help but pout.

That idiot, didn't Sana say he liked this? Why did you comment on the soles of her feet?

She thought angrily, then froze.

No... why did I think of that! What he likes is none of my business!

"kaotalk"

Her phone beeped with a Kakao notification. She opened it and saw a message from Jiang Yongtai.

"Nan-chan, would you like to be the first guest on the show? Although it's an online variety show, it's also my first official show as the main PD."

Mina's emotions were interrupted as she looked at the message, and she blinked blankly.

What does he mean? Does he want him to be Sana's first interviewee?

To be honest, I'm a little tempted...

I want to go to the studio and see what it's like to work as the main PD, Kang Young-tae, and I also want to be Sana's first guest as her best friend...

But thinking about the effect she would have on the variety show, she pursed her lips and typed a reply:

"Does Yongtai-san want to ruin the first episode? He should find someone else."

"Are you angry?" Jiang Yongtai replied to the message almost instantly.

Mina frowned, wondering how he had come to this conclusion and what was wrong with her words.

Why should I be angry?

"Oh, I thought Nan-chan was angry because I said she was pretty earlier."

Mina's heart skipped a beat, and her fingers flew across the screen, typing out a line of text.

"Yongtai-san! We're just friends!"

Before she could press send, Jiang Yongtai's message popped up.

"Sorry, Nan-chan, don't misunderstand. Don't you girls usually get angry when someone compliments another girl's looks?"

Mina stared blankly at the screen, then deleted the line she had just typed.

She bit her lower lip and started typing again, the words cooling down along with her mood.

"No, Yongtai-xi is overthinking it. I'm going to sleep."

She angrily put her phone on the bedside table, turned over and lay down, grabbed the innocent penguin pillow next to her, and punched it in the face.

"Damn it... don't say things that could be misunderstood!"

The penguin's face sank in, and its expression became somewhat aggrieved.

Mina snorted twice, threw it aside, and pulled the blanket over herself completely.

Lying in bed, she gritted her teeth and decided that next time they met, no matter what, she would definitely kick him first.

As she thought this, the image of Jiang Yongtai's bewildered and pained expression suddenly appeared in her mind, and her mood inexplicably improved.

A very soft chuckle came from under the covers.

Neither she nor Jiang Yongtai expected their next meeting to come so soon...

……

Four days later, Kang Youngtae stood in front of JYP Entertainment, looking up at the new building that TWICE had built brick by brick.

The glass curtain wall on the exterior wall reflected the hazy afternoon light, and the JYP logo on the rooftop lit up quietly.

"PD Kang Young-tae, nim."

Lee Ki-beom walked out of the gate, his face mask covering the lower half of his face, his eyes curving slightly.

He quickly came to greet him, extending his hand, "I'm sorry to have troubled you to come all this way."

Jiang Yongtai turned his gaze away from the rooftop and looked at him.

"We meet again, Kibum-ssi."

He didn't take the hand, shaking his head slightly. "The pandemic is serious right now, so let's forget about it."

Lee Ki-beom withdrew his hand, unconcerned, and smiled, saying:

"PD-nim is right. The epidemic is getting more and more serious. Now everyone has to have their temperature checked when entering and leaving the company, and they have to do a nucleic acid test every three days."

He sighed, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes above the mask.

"The current environment is very difficult for us."

"We are the same."

Jiang Yongtai's voice also lowered a few decibels.

As the pandemic worsened, various TV programs were forced to stop airing, especially travel programs, which were all canceled.

Springtime has arrived, but the entertainment industry is still in the dead of winter...

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Lee Ki-beom smiled again.

"Let's go inside first. The kids are still practicing. PD-nim, you can come with me to take a look."

He turned to the side, gesturing for Jiang Yongtai to follow him.

Jiang Yongtai nodded and followed behind him through the temperature check before entering the JYP building.

The lobby had a high ceiling, and the JYP logo was embedded in the background wall behind the reception desk. A faint aroma of coffee wafted in the air.

The two walked towards the elevator when Lee Ki-beom suddenly remembered something and turned to ask him.

"By the way, PD-nim, isn't it usually the writers who do the pre-interviews? Why are you here in person today?"

Jiang Yongtai sighed, "None of the three writers are available, so I have to come by myself."

In the past few days, the production team has finalized the entire process of "Refrigerator Interview" and the studio is ready.

Because Sana Minatozaki was preparing for her comeback, she had little time to go to tvN. So, the main writer, Park Soo-bin, brought Kim Sung-woo to have a small meeting with her after practice.

Jiang Yongtai had other things to do and couldn't come, so the two didn't see each other again after that night.

I came to JYP today to conduct a pre-interview for the first guest. Park Soo-bin was supposed to come, but there was a problem with the subtitles at the end of the "Heartbreaking Trip" edit, so she and Choi Min-young were called back by Son Chang-woo.

Since Kim Sung-woo had taken leave, Kang Young-tae had to make the trip himself.

Lee Ki-beom nodded to indicate that he understood, and the elevator doors opened, with the two of them walking in one after the other.

"PD-nim, Sana doesn't know that Jeongyeon is her first guest. Should we keep it from her?"

Lee Ki-beom remembered something else.

For the first guest on "Refrigerator Interview," JYP Entertainment required the selection to be made from within their company. After discussions between Kang Young-tae and the production team, they ultimately decided on Yoo Jeong-yeon, who was from the same group.

He had considered Mina before, but Mina's self-assessment was accurate; in terms of variety show appeal, there were many people in TWICE who were better than her.

Although Jiang Yongtai wanted to choose her, the production team didn't have the final say on the matter. After considering all factors, Yu Dingyan was the most suitable.

She is cheerful, has a sense of humor, is good at talking, and can have a great interaction with Sana Minatozaki.

Jiang Yongtai shook his head, "No need. The script will be made based on the interview content after the pre-interview. Sana-xi is the MC, so she will know before the recording."

"That's good. I was just wondering if I should find an excuse to call Jeongyeon out later."

Lee Ki-beom smiled. "We've arrived."

The elevator doors opened, and Lee Ki-beom led him out, smiling as he spread his hands.

"PD-nim, is this your first time at JYP? Let me introduce you." He walked and pointed.

"This building has ten floors above ground. The first and second floors are open to the public as an organic cafe and public area. The 'Soul Cup,' which fans often visit, is located downstairs."

There are nine dance practice rooms on the third to tenth floors, and no practice rooms are set up on the tenth floor and above.

The basement houses parking and equipment rooms, while the rooftop features an organic cafeteria for employees and a garden.

He chuckled and added:

"Everyone in Korea knows that our CEO loves organic food. PDnim, you can try it if you're interested later."

Jiang Yongtai couldn't help but laugh when he thought of that "Korean Leonardo DiCaprio," and nodded in agreement:

"Okay, I also want to try the organic food that President Park so highly recommends, and see if it tastes good."

The two arrived at the entrance of Twice's practice room as they talked.

Hearing the music coming from inside, Lee Ki-beom turned his head and said to Kang Young-tae:

"This is our title track for our next comeback. What do you think, PD?"

Jiang Yongtai stood in front of the small window, looking at the nine girls in the practice room through the glass.

Many people changed their hair color for this comeback, but only two people caught his eye.

Sana Minatozaki's orange curls billowed in the air as she tossed her head, her waist twisting gracefully to the beat, and a smile lingered on her lips as her fingers slid down her cheeks.

The other was Mina, who amazed him with just one photo that night.

She had long, light blonde hair that flowed over her shoulders like water when she turned around.

Her movements were more restrained than Sana's, but every step was perfectly timed, and when she glanced at the mirror, her gaze carried a certainty completely different from when she was tormented by anxiety.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Lee Ki-beom smiled, assuming that he was just engrossed in watching.

"PD, we can go in and watch. Practice time is almost over."

"...Won't this disturb them?"

"No, just keep quiet."

Lee Ki-beom pushed open the door and led Kang Young-tae inside. The two leaned against the wall by the door, waiting for the song to end.

Two more figures appeared in the mirror, but the TWICE members didn't even flinch.

Lee Ki-beom and the others were already used to it, and no one paid any attention to the strange man wearing a mask next to the manager.

Apart from Minatozaki Sana and Mina.

What are you doing here, Yongtai Sang?

What the hell is that idiot doing here?!