Peninsula: I run a bed and breakfast on Jeju Island

Choi Jin-ri rubbed her eyes and came out of the house.

She glanced at the time; it was already 12:30 in the afternoon.

Li Ran should have already caught the clams and returned?

She walked toward the kitchen and saw him wearing an apron, cooking in the kitchen.

"Awake?" He wiped his hands and turned around.

"Yes." Choi Jin-ri nodded. "These are the clams you caught?"

She glanced into the basin. A bunch of clams were soaking in lightly salted water, spitting out sand.

Li Ran's lips twitched slightly, and she gave an awkward laugh. "Who knew you needed a permit to catch clams here! I didn't have one, so I just went to the market and bought some."

"Actually, I might not get caught even if I secretly catch a few. But I'd better be careful." He pursed his lips.

Although the probability is not high, what if someone who sees it reports it?

Inheriting a guesthouse suddenly was already eye-catching enough.

Li Ran could easily buy it at any seafood market, so there was no need for her to go through all that trouble.

"How long will it take to make?" Choi Jin-ri asked curiously.

"I just soaked them in lightly salted water for over an hour. Later I'll make stir-fried clams with scallions and ginger, and then clam noodle soup."

He made a rough estimate and then replied, "About twenty minutes."

Are you hungry?

Choi Jin-ri shook her head. "Not bad. By the way, what did you do before? A chef? It seems like you know a lot of dishes."

He scratched his eyebrows. "It's not that many. If I encounter a dish I don't know how to make, I can look it up online."

"My parents passed away when I was in junior high school. I usually cook for myself to save money."

"After graduating from university and finding a job, I would occasionally order takeout when I was too lazy to cook."

"I'm sorry." Choi Jin-ri pursed her lips, looking like she had said something wrong.

"What's the big deal?" He shook his head.

He had long since accepted the fact that he had been a member of the Qidian Orphanage in both his previous lives.

"So I was quite surprised when I found out that I had a great-aunt who even left me an inheritance."

Choi Jin-ri gently bit her lower lip, her gaze sweeping around the kitchen.

"Do you need my help? It's kind of awkward for me to just stand here like this."

"Why are you embarrassed if you paid for it?" Li Ran was both amused and exasperated. "Let's make this clear first, even if you help out, the room fee won't be refunded!"

Choi Jin-ri wrinkled her nose and gave him a light glare.

He smiled. "Could you wash the vegetables for me while you're at it? They're in that basket over there. Scallions and ginger."

She nodded and ran over in small steps.

She pulled a handful of green vegetables from the pile in the corner and then picked out a few pieces of ginger.

She put it in the basin, poured water on it, and carefully scrubbed it.

Li Ran drained the clams from the basin and set them aside. Turning her head, she saw her serious expression.

Sensing that the kitchen had quieted down again, he said, "If you're bored, you can put on some music or something."

"Do you want to listen to a song?" Choi Jin-ri blinked.

"I don't care. I don't usually listen to music much. I might not even recognize what you play. It's just a bit awkward when it's too quiet."

Hearing his words, Choi Jin-ri nodded slightly, a hint of a smile in her eyes. "I see!"

"Then should I put my phone there?"

"Go ahead and put them down. Let me see how well you washed the vegetables." Li Ran walked over.

She shook her hands, casually wiped herself down, and then took her phone out of her pocket.

"A woman with a blank expression"

"That woman everyone hates"

You know that woman, right?

"That poor woman"

……

Accompanied by upbeat drumbeats, a young woman's voice came from the phone.

"The tone of voice sounds quite nice." Li Ran raised an eyebrow.

His gaze casually swept over the vegetables in the bowl, then, upon closer inspection, a slight smile played on his lips: "You must have taken the wrong one?"

Choi Jin-ri, who was in a good mood while listening to the song, looked completely bewildered.

"I meant scallions, you took garlic sprouts instead." He smiled.

"Huh?" She blinked and grabbed one from the basin.

"It looks like a scallion to me? How did you tell the difference?"

"Onions have more white at the bottom. Garlic sprouts have more green at the top. Also, look at the leaves. If you break them open, if they're round, it's an onion; if they're flat, it's a garlic sprout."

He also took a garlic sprout from the basin, broke off a piece, and showed it to her.

"But the two do look quite similar, and I often mistook them at first too."

She tore the garlic sprouts in her hand in half and pouted slightly.

"But actually, there's not much difference between the two when you make them. It might even taste a little better with garlic sprouts," Li Ran added.

"Today is a good day to try it."

"By the way, the song you played earlier was pretty good!" he changed the subject.

Hearing his words, Choi Jin-ri's eyes lit up. "Of course! It's sung by IU. She also wrote it!"

"What's the song called?" Li Ran didn't know who this "Zhi En" was, but he personally liked her voice and would listen to it later.

"Red Queen is my favorite song. It was released in 15."

"She said she came to my house and saw my paintings, which inspired her," she said with pride.

"You can draw too?"

"I know a little." Choi Jin-ri's previously high spirits suddenly dropped.

Li Ran wisely refrained from probing further, instead asking, "You and she have a good relationship?"

"Of course!" she replied decisively.

"Most of the music playing in my car is her songs."

To be honest, in 2012, IU wrote a song called "Peach" specifically for her.

It was a song written from a male's perspective, describing his love for Choi Jin-ri.

Judging from the lyrics alone, Lee Ji-eun is practically a crazy fangirl who's obsessed with Choi Jin-ri.

However, she really liked the song and even changed her Kakaotalk avatar to a peach.

"Okay, I'll listen to it more later." Li Ran nodded.

He turned his gaze back to the dishes.

He glanced at it briefly, then said, "It's almost done. Go sit on the sofa for a while, and I'll call you for dinner when it's ready."

Choi Jin-ri looked around and realized that she really couldn't be of much help, so she simply nodded and returned to the sofa.

The living room sofa is not far from the kitchen, and the song "Red Queen" is still playing on my phone.

Choi Jin-ri leaned back on the sofa and listened quietly for a while.

After that song finished playing, she changed to another one.

They are still grateful.

The sizzling sound of oil being poured into a pan came from the kitchen.

Then came the crackling sound of clams hitting the oil.

The aroma of garlic sprouts and ginger wafted out.

She glanced toward the kitchen.

Li Ran is currently facing away from her.

His apron was tied a little crookedly, making it look loose and baggy.

However, he was quite skilled at flipping the pan.

She looked down at her phone screen again.

There wasn't anything I particularly wanted to see, so I simply closed my eyes, put my phone next to me, and quietly listened to music.

After an unknown amount of time, an enticing aroma wafted over.

"It's done," Li Ran's voice came through.