Peninsula: I run a bed and breakfast on Jeju Island

Li Ran looked at the wooden board in her hand, pondering what shape it should be sawn into.

"Do you have any sketching paper?" Choi Sulli asked suddenly, sitting on a recliner and resting her chin on her hand.

"Um?"

He thought for a moment, "There should be. I remember there was a roll in the storeroom that was used to pad things before. I don't know if it got crushed."

"Do you have any pens? Pencils or ballpoint pens are fine."

"Let me look for it." He put down the saw and walked towards the storage room.

Not long after, he found half a roll of sketch paper, two pencils with broken nibs, an unopened ballpoint pen, and a writing pad in the storage room.

"I couldn't find a pencil sharpener, how about these?" Li Ran handed her the items.

Choi Jin-ri took it and nodded. "That's enough."

She sat on the recliner and lowered her head, the ballpoint pen slowly moving across the paper.

Li Ran stood by and watched for a while, glanced at the time, and then turned around to saw the plank.

The sound of the saw being pulled could be heard from time to time.

She was engrossed in drawing and didn't look up.

As time went by, the sketch gradually took shape on the drawing paper.

The first painting is... a turtledove?

Choi Jin-ri's lines are not realistic; her strokes are very casual, and in a few places she overdid it, leaving a deep mark.

The bird's outline is a little crooked, and its feathers are made of dense, short lines, which look a bit messy. It doesn't look like a model in a textbook, but rather like something is pressed down underneath and showing through.

She didn't stop after finishing her drawing; she flipped out a second sheet of sketch paper and continued drawing.

This time, I drew Brin.

Hairless cats are inherently difficult to draw, and she didn't intend to make them look like real cats. She simply relied on her memory to transfer the wrinkled head, thin ears, and oversized eyes onto the paper.

She paused halfway through the drawing, then redrawn Brin's eyes, deepening the outline.

When Li Ran returned after sawing the boards, he passed by her and glanced down at the two pieces of paper on her knees.

"What are you drawing?" He scratched his eyebrows.

"Take a guess?" She looked up and turned the drawing board around to show him.

"Your cat?" he asked tentatively.

"You guessed right!" Choi Jin-ri smiled.

"How did you figure that out?" She looked at her painting, then at him.

"It looks wrinkled and rather ugly."

"Brin is cute, okay!" she said, disgruntled.

Li Ran shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

"By the way, what's your other drawing?" He looked at the one underneath.

"This one!" Choi Jin-ri took it out and handed it to him. "It's that turtledove from earlier!"

"You even drew the dove, but you didn't draw Little Black? It'll be sad then." He raised an eyebrow.

Choi Jin-ri glanced guiltily at Xiao Hei, wrinkled her nose, and said, "Don't talk nonsense! I plan to draw it next."

"Even Xiao Hei has a portrait, but my friend doesn't. I'm even more heartbroken!" Li Ran said with a smile as she returned the painting to her.

Choi Jin-ri was slightly taken aback.

"You want one too?"

"What? Is it not okay? Then I'm really going to be so sad." He wiped away non-existent tears from his face.

She rolled her eyes. "I take back what I said earlier. You're actually quite suited to be an actress."

She gently bit her lip. "I haven't decided how to draw you yet."

"Oh?" Li Ran blinked. "What's there to think about? I'm right here, I can just draw it directly, right?"

"Do you think I drew these pictures directly from a copy?" She waved the two sheets of paper in her hand.

Li Ran stared at the two somewhat abstract paintings and nodded. "They really don't look like them."

"I draw based on my first impression and overall impression," Choi Jin-ri added.

"So what was your first impression and overall impression of me?" he asked curiously.

She opened her mouth slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then uttered two words: "Secret."

Li Ran pouted, "I don't want to hear it anyway!"

Choi Jin-ri smiled and said, "I'll tell you when I finish drawing it."

"Alright then." Li Ran didn't delve any further and continued to examine the wooden board in her hand.

He had no idea exactly what he should do.

Doves belong to the Columbidae family and are naturally inclined to nest only in open, unenclosed platforms.

Even if a fully enclosed birdhouse with an opening provides excellent rain protection, it will most likely be abandoned immediately.

Therefore, it can't be made too closed off. But if it's too open, it won't block out much rain, so it's as if it's not closed at all.

Choi Jin-ri rested her chin on her hand and looked at it for a while, then lowered her head and continued drawing.

She held the ballpoint pen, spread out a new sheet of sketch paper, and glanced at Xiao Hei next to her.

The little one was curled up on the side of the recliner, sleeping on his back with his belly up, his pink tongue sticking out.

She held the ballpoint pen and first sketched a round outline on the sketch paper.

The brushstrokes were much softer than when drawing doves and burls.

She changed her style, making it more like a simple line drawing.

After a while, Little Black seemed to realize that someone was watching it, and it opened its eyes groggily.

It looked around, its gaze settling on Choi Jin-ri, and then it came running over.

It brought its wet nose close to the drawing paper, leaving a faint mark.

"Hey, Little Black, stop fooling around."

Choi Jin-ri smiled and gently pushed its head away.

The little guy lay down on the ground and made a gurgling sound in his throat.

Li Ran was drawn by the sound and looked over as well.

He raised an eyebrow when he saw Xiao Hei lying on the ground.

"Are you done drawing?"

"More or less." She nodded.

"What about you? Have you finished sawing?"

Hearing her words, Li Ran's lips twitched. "Ahem, almost there."

Choi Jin-ri stood up, glanced at the wooden plank on the ground, and suppressed a laugh.

"It seems the progress is worrying!"

"That's called slow and meticulous work, okay?" he stubbornly insisted.

She shook her head.

"If all else fails, try buying it online. I'll pay for it."

Li Ran's eyes lit up. "You sell this online? Why didn't you say so sooner?"

He'd been squatting here, hammering away at a piece of wood for almost two hours, and had completely forgotten about online shopping.

"You didn't ask!" Choi Jin-ri shrugged.

Li Ran took out her phone and searched for bird nest-related products.

It turned out that there was a shop selling racing pigeon nests nearby.

"It's not that I can't make it, it's just that the size I bought is more standard, so I don't waste my time sawing it crookedly," he explained.

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right." Choi Jin-ri suppressed a laugh.

Li Ran rolled her eyes and gave her the middle finger.

Choi Jin-ri returned the favor with one.

He looked at the half-saved plank on the ground, decided to give up, moved the plank to the storage room and leaned it against the corner, and swept away the sawdust that had accumulated earlier.

"I was planning to buy cat food and cat litter this afternoon anyway, so I'll just buy them on the way."

"I'll go with you." She looked at Li Ran.

Li Ran shook her head violently. "Forget it. I'm afraid we'll be surrounded as soon as we go out."

Choi Jin-ri's expression darkened.

Noticing her low spirits, Li Ran felt a pang of anxiety and pursed her lips. "However, I don't think being fully armed is a bad idea."

"It's a bit odd, maybe that will attract more attention. Are you going to prepare?"

"Wait for me a moment!"

Before she finished speaking, Choi Jin-ri rushed to the bedroom.