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

At the edge of the beach, on the boardwalk leading to the resort hotel.

Kim Tae-yeon quickened her pace, walking rapidly towards the hotel.

Just thinking about how that guy laughed made her furious.

After silently cursing under her breath, she suddenly stopped, then realized something was off.

"Why should I run? It's clearly that guy's fault!"

"Looks like a decent human being, but how can someone be so wicked! Humph!"

Kim Tae-yeon muttered something to herself in frustration, then continued walking towards the hotel.

Since that guy ruined my good mood for the day anyway, I might as well go back and take a nap to rest for a while.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

The familiar yet annoying voice came from behind her, in English, but she could still understand the simple sentence.

Kim Tae-yeon was startled. When she turned around, it was indeed the man she had met on the beach, and he was still relentlessly chasing after her!

Kim Tae-yeon felt a pang of panic and looked around again, but there was no one there.

"Did that guy recognize me? Or is he actually a sasaeng fan?"

Kim Tae-yeon imagined some scenes from TV dramas. In short, something was wrong, so she quickened her pace and even started jogging.

However, Kim Tae-yeon was a total paper doll. Although her legs were well-proportioned and looked quite long, they couldn't compare to the tall guy behind her who was over 1.8 meters tall.

Less than three seconds later, Li Luran easily overtook her and stood in front of her.

"What...what do you want to do?"

Kim Tae-yeon was so frightened that she took several steps back, hugged her chest with both hands, and stared at him warily.

"I'm warning you, don't come any closer! Otherwise, I'll call the police!"

Kim Tae-yeon was very nervous and spoke haltingly, but Lee Lu-ran understood her.

Li Luran sighed helplessly. Instead of moving forward, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Relax, I'm not a bad person."

Seeing that Kim Tae-yeon still looked unconvinced, Lee Lu-ran pointed to the row of wooden houses behind her.

"My room is right there. I'm just going back to my room. That shouldn't be illegal, right?"

"ha?"

Kim Tae-yeon was stunned and looked in the direction he was pointing.

That's my room! This guy is definitely making up lies to fool me again!

However, when she looked closer, she realized that the guy was referring to A-204, while her room was A-203, which was right next to hers.

To prove he wasn't lying, Li Luran took out his room key from his pocket and swiped it to open the door to room A-204 with a "beep".

He leaned against the door, twirling the room key in his hand, and looked at the short, blond man who was still standing there in a daze, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"So, this very vigilant neighbor lady..."

"I wasn't lying, so you don't need to call the police now, right?"

The air grew quiet again, and the sea breeze blew, making Kim Tae-yeon's hair look messy.

Looking back on the past two days, every time she went out or stood on the balcony to enjoy the breeze, she could feel as if someone was watching her.

She even thought she was being followed by obsessive fans!

After all that effort...

Is this the guy?

"I'm saying, aren't you going to tell me anything?"

Hearing the sound, Kim Tae-yeon snapped out of her daze and slightly raised her head.

Li Luran had already taken off his sunglasses, and only then could she see the man's face clearly.

He has beautiful features, a straight nose, a refreshing temperament, and looks very sunny. Perhaps because he is young, there is still a youthful innocence in his brows.

"Hey miss, you just said it was impolite for me to stare at your legs, so isn't it also impolite for you to stare at me like this?" Li Luran's teasing voice rang out again.

"I'm so sorry..."

Kim Tae-yeon lowered her head, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Her voice was very soft, and even though she was wearing sunglasses, Li Luran could imagine that she must be terrified at that moment.

Seeing her timid and adorable appearance, Li Luran's lips unconsciously curled up slightly.

Perhaps even he himself didn't realize that his heart, which had been frozen for two months, was beginning to loosen for the first time.

"It's okay."

This time, he didn't use English, but Korean, and said very solemnly:

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my grumpy neighbor."

Hearing the familiar language spoken by the man, Kim Tae-yeon suddenly raised her head, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"You...you can speak Korean?"

In the sunlight, the boy's smile was clean yet sly.

Kim Tae-yeon stood there, her toes slightly curled, so embarrassed she could have dug a three-bedroom apartment out of her.

If there were a crack in the sand on the beach, she would definitely crawl into it without hesitation and bury herself in the sand.

"Um..." Kim Tae-yeon swallowed hard, not daring to look him in the eye. "I... I thought you were one of those..."

"A stalker?" Li Luran leaned against the door, naturally picking up where she left off.

"No, that's not what I meant." Kim Tae-yeon hurriedly waved her hands, trying to salvage what little image she had left.

Li Luran didn't press her any further, but instead carefully examined the woman in front of him.

Although he doesn't have any special advantages, his experiences since childhood have made him more perceptive than any of his peers.

The woman in front of me, though very guarded, is not a bad person at heart; in fact, she's even a little adorably timid.

"Don't worry, I have no interest in stalking others."

Li Luran stretched and said in a relaxed tone, "However, being called a 'shiba' for no reason still caused quite a bit of trauma to my fragile heart."

"I'm so sorry! I'm really so sorry!" Kim Tae-yeon immediately bowed at a 90-degree angle.

"No need for an apology." Li Luran pointed to a beach bar not far away. "It's fate that we met. How about this grumpy neighbor buys me a drink to calm my nerves?"

Kim Tae-yeon hesitated. Reason told her that as an idol who had been in the industry for many years, going to a bar with a strange man in a foreign country was a very dangerous thing to do.

But looking into his clear eyes, and then thinking back to how I had acted like a shrew just now, I realized...

"Okay, fine." She finally nodded.

The beach bar was playing soothing country music, but since it was still daytime and there were hardly any customers, it felt rather deserted.

The two chose a corner by the sea to sit down.

Li Luran ordered a non-alcoholic mojito, while Kim Tae-yeon ordered a cocktail.

The bar was dimly lit, but Kim Tae-yeon was still wearing sunglasses and looked tense, clearly a little uncomfortable.

"Can't your eyes stand the light?" Li Luran stirred the ice in his glass with a straw, looking at her still fully armed, and couldn't help but laugh and tease her.

Kim Tae-yeon stiffened and subconsciously touched the edge of her sunglasses.

"I...I'm a little shy around strangers." She made up an excuse, trying to change the subject. "Your Korean is really good, you don't have any accent at all. Did you study in the Korean Peninsula?"

"I'll be reporting to Seoul next month," Lee Lu-ran replied simply.

"So you're a soon-to-be college student." Kim Tae-yeon breathed a sigh of relief, picked up her glass, and took a sip. "So... what's your name, soon-to-be college student?"

"Li Luran." Li Luran readily gave his real name, then looked at her, "And you?"

Kim Tae-yeon subconsciously squeezed her wine glass.

Name? Can I tell you?

Even if the other person is a Chinese student who has just graduated from high school, the name Kim Tae-yeon from Girls' Generation is just too well-known.

If he takes out his phone and searches, my precious holiday will be ruined.

"I..." Kim Tae-yeon bit her lower lip, looking at Lee Lu-ran, "I don't want to say my real name."

"Oh?" Li Luran raised an eyebrow, showing no anger but rather interest.

"You can call me X," Kim Tae-yeon forced out a single letter. "Just think of me as an unemployed bum, or a mysterious person who fled to New Zealand to escape debt."

Looking at the girl in front of him who was trying hard to appear mysterious but was actually a bit clumsy, Li Luran couldn't help but chuckle.

He didn't ask any further questions, but picked up his glass and gently clinked it against Kim Tae-yeon's glass.

"Alright. Since you're X."

"Then, to go along with you, I'll have to reluctantly call myself O."

"X and O?" Kim Tae-yeon was taken aback.

"Yeah, those are the two most classic buttons on a game controller, a perfect match, aren't they?"

Hearing Li Luran's lighthearted tone, Kim Tae-yeon suddenly relaxed.

He doesn't know me, this Chinese boy, he really doesn't know me at all!

I am X, and he is O. Meeting such an interesting person in a foreign country seems to be a very good experience.