Peninsula: I run a bed and breakfast on Jeju Island

Chapter 66 Hypnosis

She went into the kitchen and found the bag of peanuts in the corner.

Lee Ji-eun carried the bag directly to the living room.

She was about to sit on the sofa to peel them, since there was a trash can right next to the sofa where she could easily throw the peanut shells in.

She nudged the trash can with her foot, making it closer to her.

After adjusting to the right angle, she untied the bag on the ground, took out the peanuts, and started peeling them.

Lee Ji-eun peeled one open and threw it into the large bowl on the coffee table.

After several attempts, Lee Ji-eun discovered that peeling peanuts wasn't as easy as she had imagined.

She pressed her thumb against the ridge in the middle of the peanut shell, squeezed it hard on both sides, and the shell cracked along the ridge.

Although it didn't seem too difficult at first, my thumb started to hurt a bit after a while.

She rubbed her thumb and forefinger together.

The television in the living room was still playing, serving as background noise.

It seems to be a variety show, it's very noisy.

As time went by, the peanuts in the large bowl gradually piled up higher.

Lee Ji-eun shook her hand and leaned back on the sofa to rest for a while.

"Aren't you done yet?" she called out, peeking into the kitchen.

Li Ran had been fiddling around in the kitchen for a while, and the sound of the faucet could be heard from time to time.

"The kitchen dishwasher seems to be a bit broken; I'm looking at it now," he replied.

After a while, he shook his wet hands, walked to the coffee table, took out a tissue, and wiped his hands.

"You peeled them so fast?" He raised an eyebrow, looking at the peeled peanuts.

On the coffee table, peanuts in a large bowl were piled up into a small mound.

Red skin, white kernel, glistening with an oily sheen.

Lee Ji-eun lifted the bag of peanuts up a little and heard a rustling sound coming from inside.

"Is this considered fast? How long does it normally take you to peel all these peanuts?" She rubbed her slightly sore fingers again.

ummm

Li Ran gave an awkward smile.

"Anyway, there's enough to eat. Didn't you want to be hypnotized? Come on."

"Okay." Lee Ji-eun moved the bag to the side.

"What should I do?"

Li Ran glanced at her feet and said, "Why don't you take off your shoes first? You can just lie down on the sofa."

Lee Ji-eun paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow.

"When I heard your first words, I thought your foot fetish was acting up again." She smiled slightly and glanced at him.

Li Ran rolled her eyes. "I'm not a foot fetishist at all, okay? Li Zhi'en, that's slander! Slander, okay!"

"What's so interesting about feet?"

She shrugged, dangling her feet in the air. "If you say it's not, then it's not. Why are you reacting so strongly?"

"Are you going to continue or not?" he asked, pursing his lips.

Lee Ji-eun smiled, kicked off her sneakers, and leaned back on the sofa.

She was wearing white cotton socks, with a few fine wrinkles at the top of her socks above her ankles.

After kicking off her shoes, her heel landed on the edge of the sofa cushion, and her toes curled slightly.

"And then?" She blinked and looked at Li Ran.

Find the position that feels most comfortable to you.

Li Ran walked to the window and drew the curtains. The room immediately became much darker.

"Lie down the way you usually sleep."

She thought for a moment, then moved back a little, finally ending up in a side-lying position.

Her head was resting on the sofa armrest, her legs were curled up, and her ankles were crossed.

Li Ran handed over a thin blanket.

She took it and then covered herself with it.

"Let me make this clear beforehand: I'm not a professional hypnotist. I don't know how effective it will be."

He was giving a heads-up again.

"I know. You've said it so many times." Lee Ji-eun shook her head.

Li Ran turned off the TV.

The laughter from the variety show abruptly stopped, and the living room fell silent.

In the stillness, only the occasional snoring of Brin could be heard.

As for Xiao Hei? Who knows where he's off playing.

Anyway, he noticed that Xiao Hei had been going out a lot lately.

However, as long as she didn't leave the hospital, Li Ran didn't care about it.

"Close your eyes," he said, looking at Lee Ji-eun's face.

She obediently closed her eyelids.

"First, let go of that tension in your mind. If you're too tense, nothing I say will make a difference."

His voice became a little lower than before, and his speaking speed slowed down.

"You don't need to think about anything deliberately, and you don't need to try not to think about anything deliberately. Just pretend you're lying on the sofa right now, and what's happening outside has nothing to do with you," Li Ran said softly.

Lee Ji-eun's breathing gradually became longer.

Her shoulders, which had been slightly hunched, now relaxed.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a long, thin dappled pattern on her face.

Li Ran hesitated for a moment, then reached out and gently placed her hand on her arm through the thin blanket.

Lee Ji-eun paused slightly.

He patted her arm gently at a steady pace.

His mouth never stopped; he kept talking.

What Li Ran said was vague and irrelevant, like telling a story without beginning or end, or just reciting random thoughts that floated through her mind.

His voice was very low, and he spoke at a moderate pace.

Lee Ji-eun's breathing became even and deep again.

Li Ran stopped and looked at her for a few seconds. Then he stood up, tiptoed to the window, and closed the curtains a little more.

Lee Ji-eun lay on her side, her head still resting on the sofa armrest.

Her mouth was slightly open, and her breath came in and out between her lips, very slowly and steadily.

A thin blanket covered her shoulders, revealing half of the edge of her white socks underneath.

Her ankles were still crossed, and the white cotton sock on one foot was rubbed a little crooked, revealing a small section of skin on the inside of her ankle.

The spot of light that had just fallen on her face was gone, and her entire face was now in soft shadow.

Feeling the tranquil atmosphere in the room, Li Ran scratched his eyebrows.

It's probably not as comfortable for Lee Ji-eun to sleep on the sofa as it is to sleep in bed.

But there's nothing we can do about it.

It just feels weird to let Li Ran hypnotize her in her bedroom.

Lee Ji-eun might also have to get on her nerves.

After all, the bedroom is too private.

He selectively ignored the fact that he had been to Choi Jin-ri's bedroom several times.

Li Ran yawned and glanced at the time.

It was already 4:20 PM.

He glanced at Lee Ji-eun, who was fast asleep on the sofa, and prepared to go back to his bedroom for a nap.

He then noticed that the thin blanket on Lee Ji-eun's body had somehow slipped down from her shoulders and was bunched up at the elbows.

Li Ran reached out and pulled the blanket up, covering her shoulders again.

He paused when his fingertips touched the edge of the thin blanket, making sure he hadn't woken her, before withdrawing his fingers.

As he passed the coffee table, he casually pushed the peanut bowl towards the center of the table to prevent Brin from jumping up and knocking it over.

He went into the bedroom and left the door slightly ajar.

The curtains weren't fully drawn, and a sliver of light peeked through the gap in the middle, landing directly on the blanket at the foot of the bed.

Li Ran ignored it.

He took off his slippers and lay down on the bed.

The pillow was a little cool, so he turned to his side and pulled the blanket up a bit.