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

Chapter 93 A Heart Full of Gratitude

Winter nights come particularly early in Seoul. As darkness falls, the streets outside the window are already dotted with neon lights.

Lee Ji-eun, dressed in a pink cartoon outfit, lay sprawled on the bed without any regard for her image, her two little feet, clad in fluffy socks, swinging back and forth in mid-air.

She rested her chin on one hand and held her phone in the other, the screen displaying her chat with Li Luran.

She pouted and poked hard at the familiar profile picture with her finger.

"What a jerk, you blockhead! You never even bother to reach out to me!"

"I wonder where she's off to. It's been almost half a day, and I haven't received a single message." Lee Ji-eun muttered to herself as she looked at her phone screen.

Feeling a bit tired from lying down, she rolled over and lay on her back, holding her phone in mid-air and opening the phone's photo album.

The album contains many photos that Li Luran took for her. The girl in the photos is always glamorous, especially when she is singing on stage, as if she is radiating dazzling light from head to toe.

In his lens, everything around her seems to be overshadowed by her.

Lee Ji-eun looked at her energetic self in the photo and nodded vainly.

With a gentle swipe of your finger, the next photo is a group photo taken during the filming of the music video.

In the photo, Li Luran is forced by her to make a peace sign with her, and his unwilling expression is hilarious.

As she looked around, she instinctively reached into her pocket.

Soon, she pulled out a piece of chocolate. Just as she unwrapped it and was about to put it in her mouth, Li Luran's somewhat helpless voice suddenly rang in her mind.

"Ji-eun, you shouldn't eat too much chocolate."

"When I have time, I'll make some low-sugar desserts for you to enjoy."

Lee Ji-eun looked at the chocolate in her hand, sighed, and finally reluctantly rewrapped it, stuffed it into her pocket, and then pouted again.

"Hmph, fine, I don't want it. Who cares about your dessert anyway?"

Lee Ji-eun gave a haughty hum and continued to swipe her finger across the screen.

Her gaze was fixed on the last photo, the one showing the two of them taking their final picture.

In the video, Li Luran has his arm around her waist, his body a little stiff, while she nestles in his arms, looking up at him with a flushed face.

"Pfft—" Lee Ji-eun couldn't help but laugh, gently touching Lee Lu-ran in the photo with her fingers. "You naughty guy, you were so nervous when you hugged me, but you still had to pretend to be calm."

Looking at the photo of them embracing tightly, her earlier gloom vanished instantly, and her mood seemed to improve.

"Li Luran".

She stared at the man in the photo, her voice soft.

"You actually—like me too, don't you?"

"Knock knock knock!"

Suddenly, someone knocked loudly on the door.

Lee Ji-eun was startled, her hand trembled, and her phone almost fell and hit her face.

"Noona, Mom's calling you out for dinner." A knock came from the door, followed by Lee Jong-hoon's loud, irritating voice.

"Knock, knock, knock." The knocking continued.

Lee Ji-eun clutched her chest and reluctantly got out of bed.

She shuffled to the door in her slippers and yelled at the door, "Damn it! What's with the rush? I'll chop your hand off if you knock again!"

A few minutes later, the family of four sat neatly around the dining table.

Lee Ji-eun held a rice bowl in her hand and used a spoon to slowly sip rice into her mouth.

Her cheeks were bulging, and she ate very slowly, just like a little hamster hoarding food.

"I know I'm grateful."

Seeing her daughter's absent-mindedness, Li's mother put down her chopsticks with some concern.

"You've been busy with music promotions and appearances lately, is it tiring? Is the pressure too much?"

"Don't worry, Mom!"

Before Lee Ji-eun could even swallow the rice in her mouth, Lee Jong-hoon spoke first.

He picked up a piece of kimchi and stuffed it into his mouth, glancing at his older sister with an ambiguous look in his eyes.

"Noona flirts with that guy at the company every day, she must be so happy."

"I bet she's still upset that we're holding her back—"

"Ouch!"

Before Lee Jong-hoon could finish speaking, he let out a scream.

He stood up abruptly, almost dropping his chopsticks on the table.

"Noona, why did you kick me!" Lee Jong-hoon hugged his leg, looking at Ji-eun across from him with a wronged expression.

Lee Ji-eun's eyes widened, and she kicked Lee Jong-hoon again without any mercy.

Li's father, who had been eating silently, looked at the siblings and asked, "Zhongxun, what did you just say? What happened at the company? Who were you flirting with?"

Just as Lee Jong-hoon was about to speak, he saw Lee Ji-eun open her mouth in front of him.

Although she didn't make a sound, Lee Jong-hoon instantly understood her meaning thanks to their years of tacit understanding.

She said: Next month's allowance will be completely deducted!

Lee Jong-hoon immediately backed down: "Dad, it's nothing."

He chuckled dryly twice, then quickly tried to salvage the situation: "What I meant was that Nuna is very happy at work every day now, and Dad, you don't know, Nuna is super popular right now."

"Many of my classmates are die-hard fans of Pink Nurarihyon."

Mr. Li nodded thoughtfully, but did not ask any further questions.

Lee Ji-eun secretly breathed a sigh of relief and silently withdrew her foot.

After dinner, Lee Ji-eun helped clear the table before slipping back to her room.

She had just sat down at her desk when the door was gently pushed open, and Li's mother came in carrying a plate of sliced ​​fruit.

"I know I'm grateful."

Li's mother placed the fruit on the table, walked behind her, and tidied her slightly messy hair: "You're a big star now, so you should pay more attention to your image at home."

Lee Ji-eun sat obediently in the chair, letting her mother comb her hair.

"Ji-eun—you'll be an adult soon. Tell your mom, have you met any boys you like?"

"N-No!"

Lee Ji-eun was startled when her secret was exposed. She waved her little hands wildly in the air, "Mom, why are you suddenly asking this?"

She lowered her head guiltily, not daring to look at her mother.

Li's mother grabbed her hand, "Look how anxious you are. I was your age once too. It's perfectly normal for a young girl to have feelings for someone and like a boy. What, do you think I'm some kind of old-fashioned person?"

"No, no, really no—" Lee Ji-eun's face flushed slightly. She had just been complaining that Lee Lu-ran never contacted her, but when she was suddenly asked this question, she felt incredibly guilty.

"Really not?" Li's mother looked at her with a half-smile. "I remember, your scandal caused quite a stir not long ago."

"Oh my god, those rumors have all been clarified!" Lee Ji-eun hurriedly interrupted, trying to cover up the truth by explaining, "Well,..."

He's just an ordinary colleague; everyone's just spreading rumors.

"Hehe, when are you going to bring your ordinary colleague home to meet my mom?"

"Mom!"

Ji-eun stomped her foot in embarrassment, her face flushing.

Just then, her phone rang.

Lee Ji-eun felt like she had found a lifeline and hurriedly grabbed her phone. At first, she thought it was Lee Lu-ran finally having a change of heart and calling, but when she saw who was calling, she was stunned.

The person who called was Peach!