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

"Yoona!" Sunny stretched out her short leg and gently kicked Lim Yoona, then winked at the sofa.

Yoona immediately understood. As the mood-maker of the group, she couldn't stand seeing Kim Tae-yeon shoulder everything alone.

She put down the water bottle, tiptoed behind the sofa, and suddenly hugged Taeyeon's neck from behind.

"Unnie..."

A sweet, Yoona-like voice startled Kim Tae-yeon.

"Yoona, speak properly! You're scaring me half to death." Taeyeon rolled her eyes at her, annoyed.

Yoona didn't let go; instead, she went around to the front of the sofa, sat down next to Taeyeon, and shook her arm.

"What are you doing sitting here all alone, unnie? Could it be..." Yoona blinked her bright eyes, "unnie is also wondering who IU's rumored boyfriend is?"

"What?"

Taeyeon paused for a moment, turned around, and said incredulously, "You mean IU, the one who sang 'Good Day'? She has a boyfriend?"

Taeyeon actually has a pretty good impression of Lee Ji-eun. She was a guest on her radio show before, and they met a few more times when promoting their songs. She is a very polite junior.

Judging by her age, that girl must have just turned 18 this year, right? And she's already in a relationship?

Seeing Taeyeon's skeptical look, Yoona immediately handed over her phone.

"Unnie, look! This is today's biggest headline! It's dominating the charts on almost every major website!"

The screen displayed the top trending news on Naver: "[Nation's Little Sister Spotted Strolling Under the Moon with Mysterious Man Late at Night, Suspected Relationship Exposed!]"

Taeyeon took the phone, glanced at the exaggerated headline, and instinctively felt a hint of doubt.

"You can't believe all the news like this." She scrolled through the photos on the screen, her tone calm. "You know what kind of paparazzi are from the Peninsula. They start with a picture, and the rest is all made up. They can write a whole TV series just by taking a picture of two people together."

Despite saying that, she still zoomed in on the photo and looked at it carefully.

Although she was wrapped up tightly, her figure and the half of her face that was exposed did indeed resemble Lee Ji-eun by about 80-90%.

However, she and Lee Ji-eun were only nodding acquaintances; they had never even exchanged phone numbers, and had no interaction in private.

She dared not draw any conclusions based on just a few blurry night photos.

"Unnie, you also think this girl is IU, right?"

Yoona leaned on Taeyeon's shoulder and pointed to the man walking next to IU in the photo.

"Unnie, help me analyze this! Who do you think this guy is? Judging from his figure and demeanor, I can smell the aura of a handsome guy. My intuition tells me he must be an idol!"

"Stop making wild guesses. What idols or not, it has nothing to do with us. It's just gossip, don't take it too seriously."

Although Taeyeon didn't pay much attention, her gaze still unconsciously drifted to the man in the photo.

He wore a long black coat and a hat, and tilted his head slightly.

At first, she just glanced at it casually.

"what?"

The more Kim Tae-yeon looked at him, the more something seemed off; she looked so familiar!

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

This figure from behind, this height, this build—it's exactly the same as the black-clad figure I saw under the sycamore tree that day!

Kim Tae-yeon instinctively clutched her chest, her heart starting to race.

"Could it really be him?"

Taeyeon's eyes widened, and her breathing became rapid.

The scenes from those three days resurfaced in my mind once again.

Under blue skies and white clouds, on a clear blue sea and sandy beach, the two sat on a yacht, enjoying the sea breeze and fishing.

On the meadows of Glenorchy, he led his white horse and gave her a sunny smile.

That was the most beautiful dream she never wanted to wake up from since her debut.

"Is that you?"

Taeyeon stared intently at her phone screen, her hands unconsciously clenching tighter and tighter until the veins on her hands bulged out.

"Oh, is it really you? Why are you with IU?"

The immense shock left Taeyeon's mind blank.

"Unnie? Unnie? What's wrong?"

Yoona noticed Taeyeon staring intently at her phone, her face looking quite pale. She waved her small hand in front of Taeyeon's eyes, "Unnie, are you alright?"

suddenly!

Taeyeon suddenly turned her head and grabbed Yoona's wrist tightly.

"Yoona!"

Taeyeon's voice trembled slightly, and the urgency in her eyes made Yoona feel a little scared.

Do you have IU's contact information? Or do you know anyone in our company who has her phone number?

Taeyeon's sudden loss of control startled Yoona.

She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but Taeyeon was holding it too tightly.

"Ouch... Unnie..." Yoona winced in pain, looking at her pitifully, "You hurt me..."

Hearing Yoona's tearful voice, Kim Tae-yeon snapped out of her daze and quickly released her wrist.

"I'm sorry, Yoona, I'm so sorry." Taeyeon apologized hastily, her mind a complete mess.

At this moment, Sunny, who had heard the commotion, hurriedly came over.

"Taeyeon, what are you doing?"

Sunny frowned as she looked at Yoona rubbing her wrist and Taeyeon looking distracted.

"It's just online gossip, why are you getting so worked up? Are you going to take the photos to IU herself to confirm whether she's dating or not? We're not even close to her, it's too rude of us to pry into such private matters."

Sunny sighed, her tone softening slightly: "Just take it as entertainment, don't take it too seriously. News in this industry is a mix of truth and falsehood; who can really tell?"

Sunny's words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the flame in Taeyeon's heart.

Yes.

Taeyeon sat blankly on the sofa, her eyes gradually dimming.

The photo was blurry, and she couldn't even be 100% sure that the person was him.

Even if that man really is an Omega, what does that have to do with Kim Tae-yeon?

There wasn't even a formal goodbye between them. There were no promises, no way to contact each other, and they didn't even know each other's real names.

Those three days were merely a fleeting dream shared by two souls escaping reality in a foreign land.

Now, the dream is over.

He has his own life now, and perhaps he really is dating a young and beautiful "national little sister".

She is the leader of Girls' Generation, someone who carries the fate of nine people on her shoulders.

"Kim Tae-yeon, it's time to wake up."

Taeyeon gave a wry smile and handed the phone back to Yoona.

"I'm sorry, Yoona. I was just... probably because of the pressure from the sub-unit, and I suddenly felt a bit irritable." Taeyeon forced a smile and made up an excuse to cover it up.

She stood up, walked to the center of the practice room, and gently clapped her hands.

"Alright, break's over. Everyone, get ready for rehearsal."