Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 92 Taeyeon's Surprise Attack (3.4k)

Time seemed to have been fast-forwarded.

Since that video call that night, Taeyeon seems to have truly lived up to her declaration of reducing contact. The KaKao Talk chat window has fallen silent, with no more late-night pop-ups of shares or silly emoji bombardments.

For the first few days, Jiang Che would occasionally open the pinned chat box and glance at it, sometimes even sending some silly jokes—but the only responses he received were usually very simple "hmm" or "oh".

Jiang Che felt inexplicably irritated:
"This taciturn personality of his is really... If you have something to say, just say it!"

He muttered to himself, but couldn't help worrying—would that sister really have brought up Yu Yu before? But she clearly didn't want to talk much, and he couldn't very well... pry her open her mouth.

One morning, Yoona hurriedly ate breakfast and vaguely informed him:
"By the way, the group is going to be busy lately. The filming and promotion schedule for the pre-release track 'Party' is full. I might be back very late tonight, so you don't have to wait for me for dinner."

Jiang Che nodded to indicate that he understood.

Yoona glanced at him and then said:

"Taeyeon unnie... seems to be really fine now. It's a bit quieter at the company, but practice and everything is normal. Sunny unnie and I haven't noticed anything unusual. It seems she's really come to her senses and has given up on that alternate personality of yours."

"That's good," Jiang Che said, but he wasn't at ease. If Taeyeon was truly happy and didn't want to contact him anymore, he wouldn't care, but she clearly wasn't.

Ultimately, his worries prevailed. After much deliberation, he made a difficult decision—to start learning music, not necessarily to become a musician.

At least we need to work out the song "I," and once it's finished, we can hand it to her and see how things go.

Then dark circles took root on his face, but progress was so slow it was despairing. The so-called grinding mostly consisted of him staring blankly at those tadpole-like musical notes.

Time slipped away amidst Jiang Che's constant back and forth and Girls' Generation's increasingly busy schedule, and before they knew it, it was July.

Girls' Generation made a strong comeback with their pre-release single "Party," and their music sales soared, quickly securing number one on the charts.

This is not only their first number one on this comeback, but also their 100th number one since their debut!
That evening, Yoona came home later than usual, but as soon as she entered the door, her face was filled with undisguised excitement.

"We're one!" She kicked off her high heels and practically jumped onto the sofa, her voice filled with joy.

"Party, number one! It's our 100th number one since our debut! Let's order fried chicken today!"

Jiang Che was staring blankly at the sheet music in his notebook, which was covered in scribbles. Hearing this, he looked up and smiled sincerely:
"It's good that you've made your decision. Congratulations, Yoona, you're one step closer to dominating the galaxy!"

"That's right! Our goal is the stars and the sea!"

Yoona proudly raised her chin, and after resting for a while, she seemed to suddenly remember something, and looked at Jiang Che and said:
"Oh, right, there's some good news. The company had a meeting today and it's basically confirmed that Taeyeon unnie will be going solo."

"Really? When?"

"The exact debut date hasn't been finalized yet, but the project has already started, and it'll probably be in the second half of the year," Yoona said casually, swinging her toes.
"The unnies are all very happy for her."

Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat.

'Solo...it's really coming, but the song he promised, "I"... He glanced at the sheet music in his notebook, which was covered in scribbles, and tears welled up in his eyes.

This song is so difficult to work on. The delivery deadline is fast approaching, but his small workshop is severely undercapacitated!
What if by the time Taeyeon officially goes solo, he hasn't even finished writing this song yet, but the original composer has already written it... that would be hilarious.

Meanwhile, in Kim Tae-yeon's apartment.

Having just finished her trip, she received a clearer notification from the company about the launch of her solo project. What should have been a moment of ecstasy and excitement felt like a thin mist had settled over her heart.

She opened her phone, stared at the lock screen, and incongruously, a melody someone had hummed that night long ago echoed in her mind, along with the clear words—"Unnie, your solo will be a hit, believe me..."

As if possessed, she clicked on the chat window that had been dormant for over a month. The last message was from a month ago—a silly emoji sent by the other party.

Her slender fingers hovered above the screen for a long time, her inner turmoil almost overflowing. She chose to distance herself from Jiang Che simply because she found a pair of men's slippers in Yoona's shoe cabinet that day, which were clearly not Yoona's size.

It was at that moment that she fully realized that the alternate personality was ultimately just an alternate personality, and could not be truly possessed. If Yoona had someone she liked, she wouldn't even have the right to stop her.

During the days of no contact, she tried to stay calm, then numbed herself with work, repeatedly telling herself it was just an unrealistic dream.
She had thought that time would heal all wounds, but after so much time had passed, she realized that time hadn't taken anything away.

The news about Solo is more like a key, reopening the box filled with memories and promises.

She checked the time; it was already past 11 p.m. After much hesitation, her emotions ultimately overwhelmed her reason. She decided to make a clean break and ask for an answer face-to-face.
Then she edited a message and sent it, thinking that if Jiang Che didn't reply, then she would just let it go.

【Are you there?】

After sending the message, she gripped her phone tightly and waited quietly for a reply.

Jiang Che was celebrating with Yoona at the dining table that their pre-debut song had won first place when his phone suddenly vibrated. He picked it up and saw the sender, which almost made him jump out of his chair.

Taeyeon?! Has the sun risen in the west? This girl actually messaged me first? Ever since I entered the period of silent treatment, her Kakao Talk avatar in my contact list has been like it's been offline for a century.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

【Unnie?!】

Taeyeon's heart raced as she read the reply:

Yoona, I'm going to go solo.

Jiang Che was taken aback, not understanding what this woman meant, and quickly followed up:
Wow, congratulations unnie! We've finally waited for this!

Taeyeon looked at the screen, her lips unconsciously curving slightly, but she quickly straightened them again. She tentatively asked:
"Then...the song we talked about before...?" Jiang Che felt a pang of guilt, thinking of the half-finished product with questionable completion, and forced himself to boast:

Of course! I'll definitely keep my promise to you, unnie! I'll definitely give it to you when you have your solo performance!

Seeing his affirmative reply, Taeyeon felt some of the gloom in her heart dissipate. She then thought of the promise they made later:
So... does our promise to go to New Zealand to see the stars still stand?

Jiang Che recalled the promise he made during that late-night video call, his eyes softening unconsciously, and he quickly replied:

[It counts! Of course it counts! We pinky swore! (Nodding seriously.jpg)]

Upon seeing these words, Taeyeon's urge to meet them intensified once again.

Then the last question was asked:
So what are you doing right now?

In the apartment, Jiang Che looked at the question and then glanced at the table across from him—Lim Yoona was eating a chicken leg without any regard for her image. He thought about taking a picture and sending it to Taeyeon, and honestly replied:
[Having a late-night snack at home]

Message sent successfully.

And then... that was it.

The chat window fell silent again, as if the brief interaction just now was merely his illusion.

"Huh? What's going on?" Jiang Che scratched his head, looking completely bewildered at his phone.
"Why is she disappearing again? We were having a great chat and she suddenly dropped the connection? Is this girl's signal connected to Schrödinger's WiFi? Whose problem is this anyway?"

As he was muttering to himself, Yoona, who was eating a chicken leg across from him, gave him a suspicious look and asked:

"Taeyeon unnie?"

"Yes, she came to me to tell me about her solo project, and then asked me what I was doing."

"Taeyeon unnie?" Yoona slowed her chewing, put down the clean chicken bone, took a tissue, slowly wiped her hands, and got up to walk to the liquor cabinet.

He took out two bottles of liquor, slammed them on the table, and flashed a benevolent smile.

"Jiang Che, let's have a drink to celebrate this hundredth number one."

Jiang Che looked at the wine on the table, then glanced at Yoona's kind smile, and felt a little uneasy. He tentatively asked:
"Drinking is fine, of course... but what are the rules? We can't just drink straight, how about we play some games?"

Yoona skillfully opened the bottle, took out two glasses, and filled them with a few thuds. She pushed one glass in front of Jiang Che, picked up the other glass herself, and said:

"No games today, let's keep it simple, I'll have one drink, you have two."

After saying that, without waiting for Jiang Che to refute, he tilted his head back and downed his glass in one gulp, then showed the bottom of the glass and continued to stare at him with a kind look.

Jiang Che: '??? No, what kind of decent person drinks like that...'

But after looking into Yoona's eyes, he hesitated for a moment, 'Never mind, I'm the 100th crown winner today, I'll give this lady some face.'

So the two of them started drinking, and just as the bottle was about to be empty, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Both of them froze simultaneously, exchanging bewildered glances. Who would come at this hour?
Yoona put down her wine glass, walked suspiciously to the door, and looked out through the peephole.

After just one glance, her expression instantly became incredibly interesting. She turned around abruptly and whispered to Jiang Che:

"It's Taeyeon unnie! What's she doing here?!"

Jiang Che thought to himself, "Damn it!" He had just been disconnected online, and now they were launching a surprise offline attack.

"How...how would I know?"

Yoona panicked too, quickly walked back, and lowered her voice:

"Why did she suddenly come? What did you just say to her?"

"I told you I was having a late-night snack at home!" Jiang Che felt more wronged than Dou E.

Yoona thought for a moment, then pointed at Kang Cheol and then at the bedroom, meaning you should hide quickly.

Just as Jiang Che was about to get up, Yoona stopped him again.

Yoona glanced at his phone with a complicated expression, immediately understanding seven or eight tenths of the situation—he wasn't here to see me, he was clearly here for someone else! She then pressed Jiang Che back onto the sofa and said:
"She's probably here to see you! Go and greet her!"

"Me?!" Jiang Che's eyes widened in surprise.
"How can I receive you? I'm a man!"

"Change back! Hurry up!" Yoona grabbed her phone without waiting for a reply, glared at Jiang Che, and whispered irritably:
"I'm going to hide in the bedroom. Call me if anything happens! Be smart, don't give myself away! Don't call me unless it's important! And definitely don't call me if something happens!"

After saying that, she darted into the master bedroom like a startled fawn and gently closed the door.

Jiang Che watched her disappearing figure and sighed deeply. What a mess this is!
He took a deep breath, focused his mind, and became Im Yoona again. He walked to the door and looked through the peephole to confirm—it was indeed Kim Tae-yeon standing outside, her head down, her expression unreadable.

After mentally preparing himself several times, Jiang Che finally turned the doorknob.

Outside the door, Kim Tae-yeon stood there with her head slightly lowered. Hearing the door open, she looked up, her face showing a hint of hesitation and nervousness, but the moment she saw Kang Cheol…

I still tried to put on a smile, and my voice was softer than usual:
"surprise~"

(End of this chapter)