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

Chapter 33 Curse Little Sister

"Brother, I'm going home now."

After seeing Lee Ki-beom off, Kim Sung-woo returned to the conference room, put the notebook on the table into his backpack, and looked up at Kang Young-tae.

This guy was sitting in a chair, mimicking Gendo Ikari's classic pose, his eyes on the cover of the proposal in front of him, but he was clearly not looking at it.

"……Um."

Jiang Yongtai lowered his arm, looked up at him, and said, "Cheng Yu, thank you for your hard work. Go back now."

Kim Sung-woo trembled, his backpack strap slipped off his shoulder, and he turned to stare at Kang Young-tae, his voice trembling slightly.

"Brother... what did you just say? Don't scare me!"

He had known Jiang Yongtai for so long, but he had never heard him say "Thank you for your hard work" to him.

What happened? Has my body been possessed?

Jiang Yongtai rolled his eyes at him. Some people are just more uncomfortable when they are treated nicely.

He stood up and picked up his coat, which was draped over the back of the chair.

"Let's go home. This project is urgent, so be prepared to work overtime continuously."

"...Okay, I got it. I was thinking of finding a girlfriend after the last show ended, but it seems like that's not going to happen now...tvN owes me a girlfriend!"

Kim Sung-woo sighed, slung his backpack strap back over his shoulder, and walked out of the meeting room.

Jiang Yongtai chuckled as he listened to his mutterings. For people like them who work day and night and are always called back to revise plans, it is indeed difficult to have a stable relationship.

He tidied up the things on the table, turned off the lights in the conference room, and walked down to the parking lot.

When I pushed open the side door of the building, a cold wind rushed in my face; it was much colder outside than in the morning.

He opened the car door, grabbed the spare thick coat from the back seat, put it on, started the car, and drove out of the parking lot.

As I passed an intersection, I caught a glimpse of the words "Yeouido Park" on a road sign.

He thought for a moment, then turned the steering wheel at the next intersection and headed in that direction.

It takes about 20 minutes to get from Sangam-dong to Yeouido Park. We arrived at almost 10:30.

He parked his car, wrapped his coat tighter around himself, and went inside.

There used to be many people jogging here at night, but perhaps because of the sudden drop in temperature today, the walkway along the Han River is deserted, with not a single person in sight.

He spent four years at KBS and knows this place very well.

Exiting from the back gate of the KBS Annex, it's just two blocks away from Yeouido Hangang Park, less than a ten-minute walk.

During breaks, he would always come here to sit and daydream. The wind by the Han River could blow away the smell of smoke brought from the editing room and dispel the stuffiness from a whole day of meetings.

Now that he's on tvN, it's not on his way here, but he wanted to come and sit for a while tonight.

He found the bench and sat down under the streetlight.

The wind by the river still carried the chill of late March. In front of me was the Han River, and to my right in the distance was the golden outline of the 63 Building. Occasionally, a bicycle would ride by behind me. The surroundings were so quiet that only the sounds of the wind and the water could be heard.

He exhaled, and the white mist quickly dissipated into the air.

So much happened today: Li Minghan's betrayal, Nan Shenghao's attempts to win him over, and the meeting with Minatozaki Sana—all on the same day.

The 63 Building across the street is the same as it was four years ago when I first joined the company, and it's the same as it was when I was with Sana Minatozaki.

On the few nights she could sneak out, she would ask him to sit on this bench while he was still working overtime.

She leaned on his shoulder, wrapped in a down jacket, and pointed to the golden building across the street, saying:

"When I hold a concert in the future, that building will have my name displayed!"

"That building is a financial center; they don't display celebrities' names."

She punched him lightly. "How do you know? What if?"

Her name is no longer lit up in the buildings in Yeouido, but her GG sign has been hanging in Myeongdong for a long time, much brighter than the 63 Building.

In fact, in the first few months after the breakup, Jiang Yongtai would occasionally come to this bench to sit and stare at the building for a few minutes.

He couldn't tell what he was waiting for, until her name actually lit up on that building.

No, that's not right either. She doesn't need this building to prove anything anymore...

A gust of cold wind swept in from the river, seeping into the collar of his coat. Jiang Yongtai shrank his neck, zipped his coat up to the maximum, but still couldn't stand up.

He leaned back on the bench, looking at the lights still on on the floors of the 63 Building, and remained silent for a long time.

Why was he so determined to break up with her back then? It wasn't some melodramatic story about Sana Minatozaki's career—he wasn't that noble.

His talent is a weapon in the workplace, but a curse in relationships...

That's what initially attracted Sana Minatozaki to him.

Everyone only saw the radiant Sana on stage, but he saw her exhaustion as she huddled in the corner of the waiting room after she stepped off the stage.

That was where their relationship began...

But being "seen" is a double-edged sword. When someone can see through you, it means you can no longer pretend in front of them.

Sana Minatozaki is someone who needs to pretend. This isn't hypocrisy; it's part of her nature. She doesn't want others to bear her negative emotions.

She didn't want anyone to think "Sana is unhappy," because she wanted to be "someone who makes everyone happy."

Jiang Yongtai's presence deprived her of this buffer.

She seemed to never need to speak in front of him; this tacit understanding was precious in the early stages of a relationship, but it became a kind of oppression in the long run.

She lost the freedom to "not say anything."

So she began to fear facing him. In his presence, she was always a completely transparent person, someone who was fully understood, even though she was already transparent enough to the outside world...

Fortunately, as she became increasingly busy, Jiang Yongtai gradually retreated from her world to a marginal position.

When they met again, Jiang Yongtai could still sense her fatigue, her tension, and her occasional absent-mindedness...

But he began to find that he had less and less to read.

It wasn't that his intuition had failed him; it was that Sana Minatozaki's signal source itself was weakening.

This discovery frightened him, not because he was afraid of losing her, but because he was afraid of becoming someone who would become anxious because he "couldn't understand her."

He's seen that kind of person, so he doesn't want to become one.

He proposed breaking up, anticipating that if he didn't, he would eventually react even worse due to this anxiety.

He would rather she think he had backed down than let her know that he was defeated by his own fear, because it was his pride.

……

Kim Tae-yeon looked at the man sitting on the bench and pursed her lips.

The only outdoor spot I frequent is now occupied...

She just returned from Jeonju today, having run away from that home where everyone else was grieving, yet they were unusually careful only towards her.

Feeling suffocated by the overwhelming concern, she left her mother a text message, turned off her phone, and drove back to Seoul alone.

But when she opened the door, she found that the house, where she could usually stay for a whole day or even a month, was so cold that it frightened her tonight.

That's why she decided to come out and sit somewhere that belonged to her for a while. Although she was still alone, the feeling was always different.

I thought that at this time of day, and in this cold weather, there wouldn't be anyone around, but when I got here, I found that there were already people sitting on the benches, and it seemed like they wouldn't be staying for very long.

She sighed, the heat from her mask blocking her breath, which landed on her dry lips. Only then did she realize that she had only taken a sip of water at a rest stop along the way.

She turned to look at the vending machine not far away, walked over, and looked at the drinks inside, feeling puzzled.

Coffee, juice, carbonated water—my fingers slid down the glass, row by row, until finally landing on the beer at the bottom.

In this weather, having a can of this seems like a good idea...

She bit her lip and pointed at it with her finger.

"Taeyeon, don't you say you can't drink alcohol? Let's choose something else."

"What my father said to me is completely unconvincing, okay?"

Kim Tae-yeon didn't even look up, muttering to herself while touching the pockets on her body.

found it!

Her eyes lit up, and she took out a few coins from her pocket that she had casually slipped into her pocket when she bought something at the service area. She looked up at them.

Her father leaned against the vending machine with one hand, tilting his head to look at her, a familiar smile on his face.

"Dad, can you please stop showing up so suddenly? I'm starting to suspect I'm sick!"

She pouted, her eyes filled with disdain for her father.

"Taeyeon, how can you talk to Dad like that..."

Mr. Jin showed a hurt expression after being rejected by his daughter, then his eyes became serious, and he said gently:

"You are not sick, I only appeared because you genuinely wanted to see me."

Kim Tae-yeon nodded, a hint of pain flashing in her eyes beneath the brim of her hat.

"Okay, I understand. Your mom misses you a lot too. Why don't you go see her?"

Dad Jin chuckled: "Who said I didn't go see your mom? It's just that the one she met was very young."

It's a pity, Dad was very handsome when he was young, you'll never see him~

Kim Tae-yeon sighed and turned her gaze back to the vending machine.

"Okay, okay, Dad's probably thinking that if he wasn't handsome, how could he have given birth to someone as good-looking as me?"

Mr. Jin smiled, said nothing, squatted down, and pointed to another row of drinks in the vending machine.

"Choose this one, choose this one! Don't you love soy milk the most?"

"Shut up, Dad! It's no big deal to have a beer once in a while. I'll call a designated driver."

She stubbornly retorted and stuffed a few coins into the coin slot.

Jiang Yongtai heard the vending machine behind him click a few times, and more coins fell out.

He turned his head and saw a fully armed woman standing in front of the vending machine, wearing a hat and mask, only her eyes were visible.

She took the coin out of the coin dispenser and put it back in, but the machine swallowed it and still didn't respond.

She stared blankly at the machine, as if confronting a living being.

Jiang Yongtai stood up, walked over, and kindly reminded him:

"This vending machine doesn't accept coins, only cards."

Kim Tae-yeon was startled by the sudden sound and turned her head to the side.

It was the man who had been sitting on the bench earlier.

She pulled her mask up a little, her voice muffled, "It used to be collected."

Jiang Yongtai smiled as he looked at her reaction.

"It's been replaced; the previous one was broken."

He looked at her, seemingly troubled, standing in front of the vending machine, and after a moment's thought, asked:

"Didn't you bring your card? Let me buy you a drink."

Kim Tae-yeon subconsciously took half a step back and looked up at Kang Young-tae.

His expression was normal; he probably didn't recognize him and didn't have any ulterior motives. He just saw someone struggling with the vending machine and kindly offered his help.

She glanced again at the machine that didn't accept coins and hesitated for a moment.

"...Thank you. If possible, please give me your account number, and I'll transfer the money to you when I get back."

Jiang Yongtai smiled and waved his hand, "No need, it's just a drink. What did you want to choose just now?"

He took out his wallet and turned to face the vending machine.

Kim Tae-yeon took half a step closer to him, maintaining her distance, and pointed down.

"Um, soy milk."

Jiang Yongtai nodded, swiped his card to buy two bottles, and handed one of them over.

Kim Tae-yeon took the soy milk, its faint warmth reaching her palm through the plastic bottle.

She lowered her eyes and said very softly:

"Thanks."

Jiang Yongtai nodded, took another bottle of soy milk, sat down on the bench, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

Kim Tae-yeon watched his retreating figure, took a deep breath, and walked over.

Jiang Yongtai felt the light beside him dim slightly. He looked up and saw her standing next to the bench with a slight smile on her face.

"Would you like a seat?"

She nodded. "...Is it convenient?"

Jiang Yongtai raised his hand in a gesture and moved to the side.

Kim Tae-yeon sat down at the other end of the bench, with a distance between them.

She unscrewed the bottle, glanced to the side, and noticed that Jiang Yongtai was looking at the river and not at her. Only then did she pull her mask down a little and take a sip.

"Is it delicious? Life always gets sweeter, fighting!"

Jiang Yongtai suddenly turned his head and smiled at her.

Upon seeing that smile, Kim Tae-yeon shrank back, almost jumping off the bench.

Did he recognize her? Why is he saying this to me?! Did my voice give me away? Or did he see her face while I was drinking?

Seeing her reaction, Jiang Yongtai realized that he had frightened her.

Indeed... at this hour, by the Han River, with no one around, if a strange man suddenly tells you "life will get sweeter," anyone would want to call the police.

He lowered his voice and apologized sincerely.

"I'm sorry, this was too sudden."

Kim Tae-yeon stared at his face, but seeing that he didn't look at her much and didn't seem to recognize her, she hesitated for a moment before asking the question.

"Why...why did you just say that to me?"

Jiang Yongtai turned his head to look at the river and gave a wry smile.

An emotion, darker than the Han River in front of him, was so close that it was impossible not to notice it.

He sighed. "It's nothing. Maybe I sensed you were in a bad mood. It's so late and you're all alone, with only a few coins on you..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I was too talkative, I'm sorry."

Kim Tae-yeon frowned as she looked at him.

That's it? She didn't know whether to say he guessed correctly or not...

After a moment of silence, she finally said, "Thank you, but I'm fine."

Jiang Yongtai smiled and nodded, "It's alright."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Hmm... just think of me as an old fogey. Let me say this: everything will pass with time, little sister."

Little...little sister?!

Kim Tae-yeon's lips twitched, her face turned cold. She didn't ask his age, but simply put down her soy milk and replied in a flat voice:

"...Yes, thank you, 'Uncle'."

Hearing her call him that, Jiang Yongtai was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

"I may sound like an old man, but I'm not old enough to be called an uncle yet."

"The things you say are the kind of things only an old man would say, so it's not wrong to call you uncle."

Kim Tae-yeon's lips curled into a slight smile, and she inexplicably retorted to the kind person who had helped her.

"...Fine, call me whatever you like."

Jiang Yongtai was speechless. He shook his head, stood up from the bench, and smiled at her.

"It's getting late, I should go now."

A gust of wind blew by without warning, lifting Kim Tae-yeon's hat off and sending it rolling several times to the side.

She froze for a moment, and her first reaction was not to chase after the hat, but to cover her face.

Damn it, I hope I won't be recognized!

She bit her lower lip, her heart pounding instantly.

If someone finds me here in the middle of the night without any money, they'll probably think I'm crazy, right?

Then all sorts of rumors will start circulating online...

Kim Tae-yeon wandered alone in Yeouido Park in the middle of the night, penniless!

Ignoring her chaotic emotions, Jiang Yongtai immediately turned around and chased after her. After running a few steps, he bent down, picked up the hat from the ground, dusted it off, and walked back to hand it to her.

Here, your hat.

Kim Tae-yeon awkwardly covered her face with one hand, while reaching out from the corner of her eye with the other to take the hat, praying that he hadn't recognized her as Kim Tae-yeon.

"Thank you... I'm sorry to trouble you."

Although Jiang Yongtai was surprised that she suddenly became so nervous, he ignored it and just smiled.

"It's alright, I'll be going now, little sister, go home soon."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the parking lot.

Kim Tae-yeon put her hat back on, pressed it down, and watched his figure walk further and further away, then pouted.

She had seen his face clearly when they were at the vending machine; he was younger than her.

This guy must have thought she was younger than him because of her height!

If I had known he was going to call me that, I would have shown my face to him so he could see who I was and see if he would still dare to call me "little sister"!

She turned her head, picked up the soy milk on the bench, and took a sip.

It's really sweet, but unfortunately, she's not...