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

Music Bank studio.

With just a few minutes to go before Lee Ji-eun's performance, many fans in the audience were already excitedly waving their light sticks.

Li Luran stood in a corner at the edge of the stage, adjusting the DV camera. He would occasionally glance up at the stage, as he couldn't miss the moment when Li Zhi'en appeared.

"Um... this young man."

A young girl holding an IU support banner glanced at him several times before finally leaning closer with an excited smile. "Are you here to see IU unnie's first stage performance too?"

Li Luran stopped what he was doing and nodded politely: "Mm."

Upon hearing his affirmative answer, the female fan's eyes lit up instantly, her smile widened, and she immediately started talking non-stop.

"Wow! You have a lot of male fans, but it's really rare to see someone as handsome as you! Is this your first time watching a music show live? Which of your songs is your favorite? I've been queuing up since 5 a.m. this morning..."

The female fans kept asking questions, their smiles never fading.

Li Luran kept an eye on what was happening on stage, but out of politeness, he simply answered the female fan's question.

Just as Li Luran was dealing with this enthusiastic female fan...

On stage, the lights remained dim.

Lee Ji-eun had already quietly led her backup dancers onto the stage, checking their positions and the locations of the props.

The audience was already packed with people, and she was deeply moved by the enthusiasm of her fans.

More importantly, this is Li Luran's first time seeing her perform live, so everything must be done perfectly.

"Hey, where did that guy hide?"

While adjusting her in-ear monitor, Lee Ji-eun quickly glanced at the audience, but still couldn't see Lee Lu-ran.

Is it still in the background and hasn't come out yet?

But the next second, her gaze shifted to the side and she saw a young and beautiful female fan standing next to Li Luran, laughing heartily while saying something.

Although Li Luran's expression was indifferent, he actually turned his head to acknowledge her!

Lee Ji-eun's eyes widened instantly, and she unconsciously bit her lower lip, pouting even more.

"Well, you're something else, Li Luran!"

Lee Ji-eun gritted her teeth in anger, "You promised to come see my first stage performance, but you actually flirted with female fans behind my back?"

"No, that's not right! It's openly flirting with female fans!"

"Hmph, wait till we get back to the waiting room, you'll be sorry!"

At that moment, Li Luran was listening to a female fan recommending support slogans to him when he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

He instinctively looked in the direction of the murderous aura, and saw a petite figure on the dimly lit stage, one hand on her hip, staring straight at him.

Li Luran's left eyelid twitched.

His intuition told him that if he continued to stand there chatting with female fans, he would definitely be in trouble later.

"Excuse me, I have some work to take care of, please excuse me."

He decisively interrupted the female fan's incessant chatter, casually made an excuse, and moved to another corner.

Lee Ji-eun took in his will to survive.

"Hmph! You're smart to know what's good for you!"

She gave a haughty snort, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned.

At that moment, she heard the director's countdown in her earpiece. She took a deep breath, banished all distractions, and her eyes instantly became focused.

"3, 2, 1, lights on!"

"Bang!"

The spotlights above the stage suddenly lit up, revealing a giant gear to everyone.

As the intro began, a deafening roar of cheers erupted from the audience.

"Lee Ji-eun! You and I! Daebak!"

Li Luran stood below the stage, his gaze fixed on the girl in the black dress on stage.

He watched intently. This was the first time he had truly experienced a live performance by IU.

He had listened to the dry recording of this song countless times in the recording studio, but at this moment, he finally understood why so many people were so captivated by the live performance.

The energy and charisma of the live performance, combined with the lighting and dance, is something you simply can't experience through headphones.

On stage, Lee Ji-eun is a far cry from her usual innocent and charming self. Every glance and every movement she makes captivates the entire audience.

Under the spotlight, she was radiant.

At that moment, Li Luran finally realized that this girl was born for the stage.

Only when she stands under the spotlight is she truly radiant, the IU.

The three-and-a-half-minute debut performance came to a close amidst the cheers of the entire audience.

After watching this amazing performance, the performances of the other new groups seemed rather uninteresting.

Li Luran lost interest in watching any further and turned around to return to the waiting room.

After her performance, Lee Ji-eun did not immediately return to the waiting room. According to the rules of music shows, all singers who perform must attend the award ceremony for the winner, and even if she is not involved in the scoring during the first week of the show, she cannot leave early.

Li Luran returned to the waiting room alone. The room was quiet, and the television screen was showing a live broadcast of the stage, but he had no interest in watching it anymore.

Gradually, his eyelids began to droop, and he drifted off to sleep on the sofa.

I don't know how much time has passed.

"Lu Ran, Lu Ran."

My shoulder was gently shaken twice.

Li Luran opened his eyes and saw Lin Xiuying standing next to the sofa looking at him.

"Ah, Sooyoung noona. Sorry, I accidentally fell asleep." Lee Luran quickly stood up.

"It's okay, it's just that getting up too early in the morning makes me sleepy." Lin Xiuying smiled. "The live stream is about to end, I should wake up. Zhi'en told us to wait for her at the exit."

Li Luran nodded, picked up his coat and DV camera, and followed Lin Xiuying out of the waiting room.

At this point, the live stream was coming to an end.

On the stage of the studio, the announcement of a new member is underway.

As Li Luran walked to the exit at the back of the stage, he overheard the host announcing this week's champion.

This week's number one spot goes to Girls' Generation (TTS)'s "Twinkle"! Congratulations!

Fireworks exploded in the sky above the stage, and Lee Ji-eun stood at the edge of the crowd, smiling and applauding her seniors.

As the encore music began, the three members of TTS, who had won first place, remained in the center of the stage.

Many singers have begun to leave the stage one after another, while some newcomers are still standing on the stage, not missing a single second of screen time.

"The twinkle, twinkle..."

A highly recognizable voice suddenly rang out from the stage.

Li Luran suddenly stopped and looked towards the stage.

Amidst a sky full of colorful ribbons, a blonde woman in a yellow dress was singing, holding a trophy and a microphone.

Although they were far apart, that unique voice seemed to open a long-sealed door for him.

Li Luran subconsciously took two steps back, wanting to get closer to the stage for a better look.

However, Lin Xiuying noticed that he hadn't followed, so she came up from behind and gently patted his arm.

"Lu Ran, it's almost over. Zhi En is already waiting for us at the van. There's a book signing tomorrow, so we need to hurry back."

Hearing Lin Xiuying urging him on, Li Luran had no choice but to stop.

He looked up again at the blond figure bathed in light on the stage, but ultimately shook his head.

Maybe I've mistaken her for someone else. How could it be her? Maybe I'm just being too sensitive.

"Let's go, Noona. Don't keep Ji-eun waiting."

Meanwhile, in the center of the stage.

Kim Tae-yeon looked down at the audience while singing her encore.

Finally, we found the figure turning away in the employee passage at the back.

Colorful confetti rained down on her blonde hair. Kim Tae-yeon gripped the microphone tightly, watching the receding figure until he disappeared into the corridor.

"He..." Taeyeon murmured softly.

"Did you recognize me just now?"