Peninsula: I run a bed and breakfast on Jeju Island

Choi Jin-ri changed into her pajamas and lay down on the bed.

She stared at the ceiling, pursed her lips, and seemed lost in thought.

After a while, she glanced at the time and took a white plastic medicine bottle out of the bedside table drawer.

The medicine bottle is short and square, with rounded corners, making it a perfect fit in the hand.

The bottle cap is also pure white, with a fine vertical groove around the top and a concave curve on the front. It is a push-button safety cap commonly found on Peninsula prescription drugs, which can only be opened by pressing it.

It's been more than two months since I last opened the bottle cap.

She has been taking antidepressants for more than three years.

Later on, she even felt that eating it was useless, so she simply stopped eating it.

But the remaining medicine was left at home and not thrown away.

When she was packing her luggage to come to the guesthouse, she happened to see this medicine bottle and casually threw it into her bag along with a bunch of other things.

Choi Jin-ri shook the bottle, listening to the clattering sound of the pills inside.

Her index finger gently traced the surface of the bottle, and she suddenly recalled the events of the entire day:

Ask Li Ran if he can bring Brin over, eat clams together, share Ji-eun's songs with him, exchange phone numbers, teach him Korean, and bathe Xiao Hei together...

And she was mistaken for Li Ran's girlfriend by Aunt Jin, who suddenly arrived.

Her lips curled up slightly, a hint of a smile on her face.

For some reason, her mind was unusually calm.

It seems that being with Li Ran makes it easy for me to calm down.

Choi Jin-ri looked down at the medicine bottle in her hand.

She unscrewed the cap and poured out a pure white pill.

She held the oval-shaped pill in her hand, and could clearly see the finely engraved "Pfizer" lettering on one side.

Turn it over, and a shallow cut in the center splits the pill in half.

The cut marks are marked with "ZLT" above and "100" below.

Her fingertips brushed against the engravings, and she could feel the subtle texture of the grooves.

Having taken medicine for so many years, she had never really examined the pills so closely.

A moment later, she put the pill back in.

Choi Jin-ri stuffed the entire medicine bottle into her pocket, got up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water to take the medicine.

She went to the kitchen, picked up the teapot, and poured a glass of warm water.

She took out a medicine bottle from her pocket and poured out a pill.

She swallowed the pill with warm water.

She wasn't sure if it was just psychological, but she felt even more sleepy after taking the medication.

Choi Jin-ri yawned and walked back to the bedroom.

……

Li Ran put the large basin back into the storage room, dimmed the yard lights, tidied up the things outside, and then went to the kitchen to get a drink of water.

Upon entering the kitchen, his gaze fell upon a white, cylindrical medicine bottle.

One of the English words above caught his attention.

Sertraline.

He felt like he had seen it on a video before.

Li Ran took out her phone and searched.

[Sertraline is a commonly used antidepressant and anti-anxiety medication in clinical practice, belonging to the SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) class.]

He pursed his lips as he looked at the encyclopedia entry on his phone.

He glanced in the direction of Choi Jin-ri's room, then his gaze returned to the medicine bottle in front of him.

He paused for two seconds, then picked up the disposable cup next to him and poured himself a glass of water.

He drank it all in one gulp.

He then left the kitchen as if nothing had happened.

Only the medicine bottle with "Sertraline" printed on it remained standing quietly on the table.

The next morning, the porridge he cooked was softer than usual, and the pickled vegetables were replaced with lightly mixed tofu. He also warmed a cup of milk.

The note read, as usual, "Eat it while it's hot."

However, today there was an extra line of small print: "If you wake up at noon, come find me in the kitchen and let me show you my cooking."

When Choi Jin-ri came to the kitchen around noon, Lee Ran was chopping vegetables.

"What do you want to eat today?" he asked without looking up.

"I'm fine with anything." Choi Jin-ri rubbed her eyes.

"Then let's make millet and pumpkin porridge, and for the dishes, let's keep it simple with steamed sea bass, stir-fried broccoli, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and stewed duck with winter melon."

These were all results he found online: dark green leafy vegetables, eggplants, root vegetables, eggs, lean poultry, deep-sea fish, soy products...

She raised an eyebrow. "We didn't eat that much food yesterday. Why are you making so much today?"

"Is someone else coming over today? Why did you suddenly make so many dishes?" She blinked.

Li Ran shrugged. "I already told you to try my cooking, so I definitely won't just do a half-hearted job!"

"I'm just in a good mood today, otherwise I definitely wouldn't bother cooking. Try to eat as much as you like."

"It's okay if we can't finish it all, we still have Xiao Hei!" he added.

"What's making you so happy?" Choi Jin-ri asked curiously.

Li Ran paused slightly. He had just made up an excuse to cook; who knew why he was so happy?

"Uh, my favorite author just started a new book. I was so happy that I just gave them a tip. The cooking was just a bonus," he casually replied.

Choi Jin-ri nodded somewhat blankly.

Is that so? Why are you happy that you've lost your money?

However, she didn't ask any further questions.

Light streamed in from the windowsill, and the kitchen was quiet except for the sound of a cleaver hitting the cutting board.

Her gaze wandered aimlessly before finally settling on the table next to the water dispenser.

Her body stiffened slightly.

The medicine bottle from last night is still there.

She glanced at Li Ran's retreating figure.

He didn't stop chopping vegetables, nor did he turn around.

Choi Jin-ri pursed her lips, got up, walked over, and put the medicine bottle back in her pocket.

Even through the fabric of the hoodie, the outline of the medicine bottle rested on the palm of my hand, making its presence felt.

She gripped it tightly in her pocket.

She shifted her gaze to Li Ran's back.

He was still cutting winter melon.

The cleaver landed on the cutting board with a steady "duang duang duang," neither too fast nor too slow, without the slightest pause.

He seemed completely oblivious to her actions just now.

But Choi Jin-ri's heart was still hanging in suspense.

Last night, after taking my medicine, I went back to my bedroom and even left the medicine bottle in the kitchen.

He must have seen it, right?

Perhaps he doesn't even recognize this medicine?

A sliver of hope rose in her heart.

It was just an antidepressant, but her reaction was far too exaggerated.

She seems to care too much about what other people think.

Choi Jin-ri loosened and tightened her grip on the medicine, then remained motionless.

Li Ran suddenly turned around and looked at her. "Why don't you come over and give it a try?"

"Huh?" She was a little stunned.

"I asked you if you wanted to come and try it?" he repeated.

"Isn't it more fulfilling to eat lunch that you're involved in?"

"Okay." She nodded and quickly moved closer.

Li Ran casually handed her the knife, raising an eyebrow. "Can you slice it into strips? If not, thin slices are fine too, it's not a problem."

"You underestimate me too much." She pouted.

"That day was purely an accident!"

Choi Jin-ri held a knife, stood by the kitchen counter, and slowly chopped ginger with her head down.

The feel of the blade rubbing against the ginger flesh was very real, cutting away the slight awkwardness from before.

She secretly glanced at Li Ran and saw that he was cracking eggs.

There was no abnormality on her face; she looked exactly the same as before.

Choi Jin-ri breathed a sigh of relief.