Peninsula: I run a bed and breakfast on Jeju Island

Lee Ji-eun returned at 6 PM.

The sky was getting dark.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

She heard Xiao Hei's barking as soon as she approached the guesthouse.

"Little Black, it's me," she said softly.

The little black cat that had just run out of the house seemed to recognize Lee Ji-eun, wagging its tail and circling around her feet.

Lee Ji-eun squatted down and gently stroked its chin.

Little Black tilted its head back and twisted its body slightly.

Under the light, she saw her own shadow.

She remained squatting, stepping on her own shadow and then on Xiao Hei's shadow.

It's very inexplicable.

But she suddenly wanted to give it a try.

It's like when she's walking on a striped road, she suddenly asks herself how many lines to step over in one stride.

"Did you have meal?"

Lee Ji-eun looked up and saw Lee Ran standing at the door looking at her.

"I ate something on set." She nodded and stood up.

"Have you got a meal yet?"

"I'm doing it right now. I heard a noise and came to check." Li Ran scratched his brow.

"Can you still eat? Should I get you an extra bowl and chopsticks?" Li Ran asked.

Lee Ji-eun didn't refuse immediately, but instead asked, "What dish did you make?"

"Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, shredded potatoes with hot and sour sauce, stir-fried carrots with meat, and stir-fried green beans. Served with white rice."

As she listened to the names of the dishes, her mouth began to water.

Although they all sound like simple home-style dishes, just hearing their names makes them sound delicious.

She gently bit her lower lip, somewhat hesitant.

Li Ran glanced at her expression and nodded knowingly.

He offered a way out, "Come and eat some more? Consider it helping me out. I accidentally made too much."

"Sure!" Her eyes lit up, then she said a little shyly, "I only need a tiny bit."

"Just a tiny bit." She gestured.

Li Ran smiled and said, "Then you can go wait at the table. There's only one last dish left."

"It's true that timing is everything. If you had come back even half an hour later, I probably would have already finished eating."

Lee Ji-eun walked into the house, looked at the dishes on the table, and her nose twitched slightly.

She swallowed again.

Li Ran went to the kitchen to continue her work.

She glanced around and saw Brin nestled nearby. She pinched Brin's neck.

Li Ran was busy preparing the last dish, stir-fried green beans.

He removed the tough strings from the green beans beforehand and broke them into pieces, piling them up beside him.

Green beans must be thoroughly cooked before stir-frying, otherwise they can easily cause food poisoning.

This thing can be eaten raw or cooked, but it's definitely not safe to eat when it's half-cooked.

He had almost forgotten how he remembered this incident.

He cooked rice today, but not porridge.

I didn't make any soup or anything, just poured a bowl of plain water and that was it.

When Choi Jin-ri was around, all he could think about were the foods he found online that were suitable for people with depression, and he kept repeating them over and over.

As a result, I ate millet and pumpkin porridge for several days in a row.

In fact, Li Ran herself prefers to eat rice.

That kind of hard rice.

He doesn't really like being a kept man; he finds it sticky and doesn't taste very good.

Li Ran stirred the green beans a few times with a spatula and then put them on a plate.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Lee Ji-eun's voice suddenly came from behind, startling Lee Ran.

She seemed a little embarrassed being outside, and after washing her hands, she came over to see if there was anything she could help with.

He glanced back at the plate he was holding. "No need. It's just finished."

He glanced at the rice next to him, paused, and said, "Or you could take the rice cooker over there for me, so it'll be easier to serve the rice."

"Okay." She nodded and walked to the side to unplug the rice cooker.

Lee Ji-eun carried the rice cooker and walked behind him.

When she arrived at the dining table, looking at the several brightly colored home-style dishes, Lee Ji-eun swallowed again.

"Where should I put the rice cooker?" she asked, standing next to her with the rice cooker in her hand.

Li Ran placed the stir-fried green beans on the table and then said, "Just put them on the ground."

He brought out bowls and chopsticks from the kitchen and handed one to Lee Ji-eun.

"I don't know your exact appetite. Please serve yourself. I've made plenty of rice, so feel free to add more."

She took the bowl and chopsticks from Li Ran's hands.

She saw him use a rice scoop to cut the rice in the rice cooker into a square, then scoop it into a bowl and press it down with the scoop.

She raised an eyebrow.

She usually just scoops it out randomly, taking whichever piece she finds with her scoop.

"Here you go." Li Ran handed over the rice spoon.

She took the rice scoop, squatted down, looked at the missing square in the rice cooker, and followed suit, scooping out a square herself.

She carried the rice to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

She glanced at the dishes on the table with her chopsticks and picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with tomatoes first.

The sweet and sour broth coated the soft, tender egg, and Lee Ji-eun's eyes lit up. She picked up a few more bites of vegetables and a few more bites of rice.

His cooking skills are good; the food goes well with rice.

During the meal, Li Ran noticed a detail.

Lee Ji-eun's mouth remained closed.

She kept her mouth closed while chewing, leaving no gap at all.

Seemingly noticing Li Ran's gaze, she tilted her head and looked at him questioningly, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." He shook his head gently.

I always feel it's a bit impolite to stare at other people while eating, let alone observe their eating habits.

Lee Ji-eun raised an eyebrow as she saw him trying to mimic her chewing motions.

"I guess you want to ask me why I eat with my mouth closed the whole time?" She smiled.

"No, how could that be?" Li Ran denied somewhat guiltily.

Lee Ji-eun smiled and said, "What's the big deal? Lots of people have asked me that."

"This is something I've been used to since I was little. It's become even more so after I debuted. I have to eat quickly and keep up with other people's eating speed."

Li Ran blinked.

Lee Ji-eun picked up a piece of stir-fried green beans with her chopsticks and put it in her bowl. "You're a great cook! Did you get certified?"

She changed the subject.

"No way!" Li Ran shook her head.

Even though he knew that Lee Ji-eun was probably just being polite, the corners of his mouth still turned up slightly.

Lee Ji-eun continued chewing with her mouth closed, then slowly made eye contact with the little black guy next to her.

There were also vegetables in Xiao Hei's rice bowl.

The rice and vegetables were mixed together.

She looked around and realized that Xiao Hei had all the dishes she was eating in his bowl.

There were also some vegetables mixed in with the cat food in Brin's bowl next to it.

"Do they eat the same things as us?" She looked at Xiao Hei's food bowl.

Li Ran picked up a piece of green bean, nodded, and said, "Pretty much. I made a lot of dishes, so I just poured some out."

"Can Brin and the others eat tomatoes?"

"That probably won't work, so I didn't add scrambled eggs with tomatoes. I boiled two eggs, mashed them, and sprinkled them into the bowl."

"Xiao Hei can eat most of what we eat. Blin is a little more complicated. It mainly eats cat food."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Hei and the others again.

Little Black nudged the rice in the bowl, picked at the vegetables first, and only started eating the rice after finishing those.

"It even knows to eat vegetables first," Lee Ji-eun said, glancing at it.

Li Ran glanced at Xiao Hei, "It'll all finish it eventually anyway. It makes no difference."

Little Black seemed to sense that people were talking about it, and looked up at the two people.

After a while, it lowered its head and started eating again.