Peninsula: Starting with the nation's first love, the white moonlight

In mid-December, Lee Ji-eun's next full-length album officially entered the production stage, with the title track being her self-composed song "You and I".

When the production director saw the first draft, he could hardly believe his eyes.

Such a high-quality piece of music is something that even renowned composers might not be able to write even one or two pieces like this in their entire lives, let alone a novice like her.

With this song as a safety net, the entire company was full of confidence.

Everyone knows that the next album will be a turning point for IU. If it is successful, she will definitely soar to new heights and rise directly to the ranks of top female singers.

Therefore, Li Zhi'en personally handled everything.

In the past, all she had to do was sing well, but now she has to personally control every detail, from instrument selection to mixing and production.

Aside from the recording studio, she visits Li Luran's place the most frequently every day.

In the recording studio, Lee Ji-eun and Lee Lu-ran listened to the first demo together. After the song finished playing, she took off her headphones, her brows slightly furrowed.

"I feel that the pronunciation of this lyric is not crisp enough. Can you listen to it for me?"

Li Luran took off his headphones and put them aside, leaning back slightly. "Ji-eun, you've done really well. Don't be so tense, relax a bit."

He had witnessed her intense work these past few days; this girl was practically a workaholic, completely forgetting that she had only just recovered from her illness.

Li Luran thought she would argue back, but to her surprise, she actually obeyed.

Lee Ji-eun stood up, stretched, and then plopped down on the sofa, swinging her little legs together.

"Li Luran," she said, kicking her toes, "go get me a glass of hot water, my throat is dry."

"Go yourself. You have hands and feet, why do you want me to go?" Li Luran wasn't going to tolerate her and completely ignored her unreasonable request.

But Lee Ji-eun pouted and drawled, "Go ahead..."

Li Luran got goosebumps from the sweet voice.

Left with no other choice, he got up, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to her.

"Here you go, and remember to take some throat lozenges."

Lee Ji-eun took the cup and instantly smiled, her eyes crinkling into crescents.

"Arasso".

……

It's 6:30 in the morning on the weekend.

In Seoul's winter, it gets light very late. Right now, it's still gray outside the window, and even the streetlights haven't been turned off yet.

The apartment door was pounded on loudly. Li Luran, dressed in pajamas, opened the door with a murderous look on his face.

Outside the door, Park Ji-hoon was wearing a black casual trench coat over a turtleneck sweater, and his hair was styled with hair gel, clearly having dressed up carefully.

As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and gold makes the Buddha.

Park Ji-hoon has a decent natural look, and with the help of makeup and styling, he actually looks quite presentable when he stands there.

"Lu Ran! Hurry up! Quickly wash up and change your clothes! SM's open auditions this weekend have people lining up since 8 AM!"

Park Ji-hoon breathed on his hands and squeezed into the entryway on his own.

"This weather is so cold, I'm freezing!"

Li Luran's lips twitched, and he reluctantly headed for the restroom.

"Hey bro, it's only 6:30. I've never seen you this enthusiastic during college interviews."

"What do you know! That's SM! I heard a lot of people sleep on the floor there the day before!"

Park Ji-hoon followed behind Lee Lu-ran and saw him casually grab a black hoodie and jeans, and immediately became anxious.

"Lu Ran! You can't go wearing this!"

Park Ji-hoon grabbed Lee Lu-ran's hand and earnestly advised, "Even though your face is a tiny bit more handsome than mine, you should still dress a little better! SM is known as a flower garden, full of handsome men and beautiful women. If you dress so casually and get outshone, it'll be so embarrassing!"

Li Luran shook off his hand and rolled her eyes at him.

Are you crazy?

Li Luran retorted while brushing his teeth:

"I'm just accompanying you, not going for a job interview. Why would I dress up so nicely?"

"We'll see."

Li Luran spat out the foam in his mouth, wiped his face with a towel, and a hint of mockery appeared on his lips:

"If I dress up properly and then steal your thunder when we get there, and the teacher doesn't want you but only wants me, you'll have nowhere to cry."

Park Ji-hoon's eyes darted around, glancing at the bare-faced Lee Lu-ran, then at his meticulously dressed self, and he instantly felt a sense of crisis.

"Pah! Pah! Pah! You jinx!"

"But honestly, with your physical attributes, you'd be more than qualified to be a trainee. It's a waste that you're not in the entertainment industry."

"Stop talking nonsense. Let's go."

Li Luran put on a hoodie, picked up a long down jacket, grabbed his keys, and went out the door.

"Go for it! SM, here I come! I hope I can run into Girls' Generation's noonas today! Hehehe, Yoona, your Jihoon oppa is here to see you!"

Park Ji-hoon's cheerful laughter echoed down the corridor.

……

Eight o'clock in the morning, at Seongsu Cave.

A long line had already formed in front of the SM Entertainment building, and almost all of them were teenagers.

Outside the main entrance on the other side of the building, dozens of fans gathered, some holding banners and others carrying professional equipment—the so-called "staking out" fans.

Although Li Luran had seen this kind of scene at LOEN, it was obviously much more exaggerated at SM.

He accompanied Park Ji-hoon to get his number and stood at the end of the line.

"Wow, Lu Ran, look! That girl is so pretty!"

Park Ji-hoon suddenly tugged at Lee Lu-ran's sleeve excitedly and pointed to the company gate.

Li Luran looked in the direction he pointed and saw a girl wearing a long black down jacket walking out of the company building with her head down.

Although she wore only light makeup and looked somewhat tired, her cold yet slightly broken face instantly overshadowed the surrounding crowd.

Even Li Luran couldn't help but show a hint of amazement in his eyes.

The girl seemed to notice the gazes around her, pulled up the collar of her down jacket a little, and quickened her pace.

Just as she was walking through the crowd, Li Luran happened to turn sideways, and their shoulders brushed against each other.

Li Luran subconsciously took half a step back, making room for him.

The girl kept her head down, not looking at him, and simply whispered, "I'm sorry."

Soon, her figure disappeared into the crowd.

Just then, two black vans drove up and stopped right in front of the company.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"

"It's Girls' Generation! It's Girls' Generation's car!"

The fans who had been waiting for a long time rushed towards the van, and the scene became very chaotic.

"Holy crap! My Yoona!" Park Jihoon's eyes lit up, and he shoved his bag at Lee Luran. "Luran, hold this spot for me! I want to go see what's happening up front!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he plunged into the crowd.

Li Luran didn't join the crowd; he hated crowds and even more so, irrational idol worship.

He silently took a few steps back, retreated to the foot of a sycamore tree, put on his headphones, and immersed himself in the music.

The door of the van opened, and several stylishly dressed girls stepped out.

There was the tall and slender Yoona, Tiffany squinting as she greeted fans, and Kim Tae-yeon walking ahead with a smile on her face.

She was wearing a short white down jacket today, and her hair was simply tied in a ponytail.

She seemed to be in a good mood today. Facing the shouts of fans and the flashing lights, she did not lower her head to avoid them as she usually does, but instead smiled and waved to the crowd on both sides.

"Taeyeon unnie! Look here!"

"Ruan Ruan looks so beautiful today!"

The shouts of the fans rose and fell.

Taeyeon bowed with a smile as she walked toward the company gate, escorted by security guards.

Just as she stepped onto the steps, for some reason, as if sensing something, she stopped and turned to look across the street.

The crowd was packed at the company entrance, while the area across the street was empty.

Under a sycamore tree, a man wearing a black down jacket with a hoodie on his head stood quietly, with earphones hanging from his ears, seemingly listening to music.

With just that one glance, Kim Tae-yeon felt her heart skip a beat.

so similar.

Even if they are separated by a street, even if the other person is wearing a hat and you can't see their face.

"Is it him?"

Kim Tae-yeon was eager to see his face clearly, but as soon as she turned around, her manager grabbed her arm.

"Taeyeon, stop daydreaming! It's too cold outside, come inside!"

The agent grabbed her hand and hurriedly led her into the building.

"Wait a minute! Unnie, let me see what's happening on the other side..."

Taeyeon was so anxious that she tried to shake off her manager's hand.

But seeing the fans surging towards her, Kim Tae-yeon had no choice but to go inside the building first.

However, when she looked at the area under the sycamore tree again,

The place was now empty; that person was no longer there.

It was as if what I had just seen was a phantom that didn't exist.

Kim Tae-yeon stood blankly in the hall, her eyes inexplicably dimming.