Peninsula: I run a bed and breakfast on Jeju Island

Li Ran stood up and took two steps closer. "I didn't even notice when you got on."

He hadn't noticed it before.

It was an extremely simple and loose bird's nest, built in the corner of the vegetable garden greenhouse.

It's not the complete bowl shape you'd normally imagine; it's more like a bunch of twigs hastily piled together, and the nest is very thin.

A bird was perched on the nest; it was a bird with a ring of black and white spots around its neck.

Its overall plumage is a soft grayish-brown, with a grayish head, a short, black beak, and round eyes.

"What kind of bird is that?" Choi Jin-ri tiptoed and glanced at the bird's nest, asking curiously.

"It should be... a turtledove?" he said uncertainly.

He searched online and found a picture of a turtledove to compare.

Choi Jin-ri also came over and glanced at the pictures on Lee Ran's phone.

Then she took out her phone and looked through the encyclopedia.

"It really is!" Her gaze darted back and forth between the photo and the bird's nest.

"This is a spotted dove." Li Ran glanced at the encyclopedia. "Everyone says it's rather perfunctory in building its nest. Now it seems that's indeed the case."

"It's pretty bold, not afraid of people at all. We're right next to it, and it doesn't move an inch." Choi Jin-ri stared at it.

"It's probably incubating its eggs right now, so it's not moving much. It'll probably run away if we get too close."

The dove on the nest seemed to have heard Li Ran and the others' discussion. It turned its neck slightly, blinked its eyes, but didn't move its body at all.

"I read in the encyclopedia that they have high requirements for environmental safety. The fact that they can build their nests here means that they feel safe here, which is a blessing," she said with a smile.

Li Ran raised an eyebrow. "Then I really have to thank it for its approval."

"I remember seeing a bird's nest on the balcony when I was a child," she said, putting her phone back in her pocket. "Then one day it suddenly disappeared."

"Was it carried away by a cat?"

"I don't know," Choi Jin-ri shook her head, "They've just disappeared."

Li Ran blinked, somewhat confused by the sudden mention of "bird's nest".

He observed her expression but didn't ask any further questions.

They watched the turtledove for a while, then looked away.

"By the way, didn't I just say that if you teach me how to take care of tomatoes, I'll teach you Korean?"

"What are you waiting for? It's time to study!" Choi Jin-ri snapped out of her reverie and said to him with a smile.

"You've already gotten into character so quickly, Teacher Cui?" Li Ran scratched her eyebrows.

"Yes." A smile appeared on her face.

"Okay, I'll go back and get the book." He nodded.

On her way back, Choi Jin-ri glanced back at the direction of the greenhouse.

The evening glow turned red and fell on the rooftop.

"How about we put a rain shelter over the bird's nest? It's windy by the sea, and the nest might get washed away in a heavy rain."

Li Ran glanced at it as well, then nodded. "I'll find a plastic sheet later and put it over the table when it goes out to find food. Otherwise, it might scare it."

Back in the living room, he handed the Korean language book under the coffee table to Choi Jin-ri.

"How does Teacher Cui plan to teach me?"

She took it and flipped through it casually. The cover showed some signs of wear, but the second half inside was still new.

"Looks like you didn't really look at it much either!" She showed the brand-new half to Li Ran and said with a smile.

"I also watch it directly on my phone some of the time!" Li Ran argued.

Choi Jin-ri smiled and shook her head.

She sat down on the sofa next to her and laid the book open on her lap.

Her fingertips lightly touched the most basic Korean vowel chart. "Read it once first, and I'll listen to see where you pronounce it wrong."

In order to see the vowel chart clearly, Li Ran sat down next to her.

Choi Jin-ri turned to the side and brought the Korean language book closer. The faint scent of laundry detergent wafted over from her.

It should be laundry detergent, right?

Li Ran's attention inexplicably drifted for half a second.

"Cough cough," he rubbed his nose, recovering his senses.

He cleared his throat, looked at the vowel chart in the book, and forced himself to read on.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before Choi Jin-ri interrupted her.

"Oops, I misread this part."

She smiled slightly, "No wonder your Korean accent is so strong. It turns out you even have some problems with the most basic vowel chart."

She tapped the syllable lightly with her index finger, then touched her lips. "Look at my mouth shape. Your tongue should be pressed against this spot. It's not like the Chinese 'oh,' just a light touch..."

Li Ran looked at her face, her gaze following her fingertips to her lips.

Her lips were soft and full, like a peach moistened by morning dew.

"Gulp." He swallowed hard, the saliva seemingly appearing out of nowhere, and quickly lowered his head to read it twice, following her pronunciation, before finally getting the sound right.

I looked up and met her bright eyes, with a smug smile on her face. "Li Ran is very talented, but she's easy to get distracted in class."

"Uh, cough cough. Korean is something that depends on each person's talent and stuff. Teacher Cui, please bear with me." Li Ran scratched his eyebrows awkwardly, somewhat at a loss for words.

Choi Jin-ri just looked at him, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Okay. Let's start by correcting the pronunciation of some commonly used sentences."

She stopped teasing him and turned the pages of her Korean book to the section on everyday conversation.

She picked out a few commonly used phrases: "Have you eaten?", "Please speak slowly", "See you tomorrow", "The porridge is ready"...

Li Ran read along with her.

If she accidentally mispronounced a word, she would smile with her eyes crinkled, and instead of directly saying it was wrong, she would slow down and read it again.

Li Ranfa realized that she really had the potential to be a teacher. At least her patience was off the charts.

Midway through, Choi Jin-ri's phone rang twice in her pocket. She took it out, glanced at the screen, hesitated for a moment on the power button, and finally just pressed the mute button before putting it back in her pocket.

Li Ran pretended not to see it, got up and poured two glasses of warm water, handing one to her.

"Teacher Cui, you've worked hard. You must be thirsty after teaching for so long, take a break."

Choi Jin-ri took the drink, sipped it, and glanced out the window.

The sky had already turned black. The last traces of red from the sunset lingered on the edge of the sea.

"It's time for dinner. What would you like to eat?" Li Ran glanced out the window as well, then asked.

"Have some pumpkin porridge. After you finish eating, give Xiao Hei a bath." Choi Jin-ri looked at Xiao Hei, who was sticking out its tongue and was about to rub its head against Li Ran.

"Eek~" Little Black whimpered twice and then slipped away in no time.

Choi Jin-ri and Lee Ran exchanged a glance and smiled.

"Looks like I have no choice but to take a shower today!" Li Ran rubbed her chin, a slight smile playing on her lips.

……

Pumpkin porridge cooks very quickly.

Li Ran served two bowls and put them on the table. She then took out half a plate of leftover pickled vegetables from the refrigerator and made a tomato and egg stir-fry. She also heated up a few steamed buns.

Choi Jin-ri was already sitting at the table, resting her chin on her hands, staring out the window in a daze for a while.