Why would Peninsula want to date a lazy dog ​​like me?

Wei Wu stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the heavily shielded nanny van drive past below, his temples practically bulging out of their sockets.

This marks the seventh consecutive day that Choi Ye-na has appeared at his house. Jang Won-young, on the other hand, is like a haunting ghost, always arriving precisely within ten minutes of Choi Ye-na entering, carrying various "goodwill" supplies to "take care of her teammate."

"Beep beep - click."

The combination lock clicked again, and Wei Wu's body stiffened instinctively. He felt like a special agent lurking in enemy-occupied territory, constantly worried that his bunker would be blown up.

"PDnim! Look what I brought! It's the cheese ribs from that super hard-to-get-a-line place in Hongdae!"

Choi Ye-na's cheerful voice, like a small cannon, instantly filled the living room. Today, she wasn't in a wheelchair, but rather using a cane; her right leg could already bear slight weight. And following behind her was, as expected, Jang Won-young, with her standard smile but unfathomable eyes.

"PDnim, good morning. Today's coffee is made with decaffeinated beans because you went to bed late last night." Zhang Yuanying skillfully changed into slippers, put the shopping bag into the kitchen, and moved so lightly that she didn't make a sound.

Wei Wu turned around and looked at the two girls busy at the dining table.

In order to prevent Choi Ye-na from discovering the suffocating truth, Wei Wu had to take a deep breath and force a stiff smile onto his face.

"You're here. Yuanying, thank you for your hard work, always making you run around taking care of her."

Wei Wu's voice sounded somewhat dry, even carrying a sense of forced social interaction. But to Cui Yena, it was Wei Wu's approval of Zhang Yuanying.

Zhang Yuanying trembled slightly upon hearing Wei Wu's praise, a twisted elation flashing in her eyes. But she quickly lowered her head, replying in a humble, almost obsequious tone, "It's nothing, PDnim."

Wei Wu felt a wave of nausea wash over him at the sight of her, but he could only suppress it. He walked to the dining table and watched as Cui Ruina struggled to unpack her takeout, her brows furrowed deeply.

This cannot continue.

IZ*ONE is CJ ENM's crown jewel, the pinnacle of survival show groups. These days, the media and paparazzi are determined to dig up every detail of these twelve girls' private lives. If two core members were photographed constantly visiting a male producer's house, even Wei Wu, with ten mouths, wouldn't be able to explain himself.

More importantly, the longer Zhang Yuanying, this madwoman, stayed in his house, the more he felt that the air in the apartment was filled with some kind of morbid spores.

"Ruina." Wei Wu suddenly spoke, his voice steady but with a hint of coldness.

"Hmm? PDnim, do you want to eat the biggest piece of rib?" Choi Ye-na tilted her head back, a little sauce still on her lips, her eyes so clear that Wei Wu hesitated for a moment.

But reason quickly regained the upper hand.

"I just checked your leg. Although it's not fully healed, you can walk quite steadily with crutches." Wei Wu pulled out a chair and sat down, not looking into her eyes, but staring at the ribs on the table. "The training intensity for your comeback is high, but the company should have arranged special physical therapy for you. In that case, you don't need to come here every day anymore."

Choi Ye-na's chopsticks froze in mid-air, and the tempting cheese rib fell onto the plate with a thud.

"……Why?"

She stared blankly at Wei Wu, seemingly not understanding what he was saying, or rather, she was doubting her own ears.

"What I mean is, now that you're healed, you should go back to the dorm and stay there, or go to the practice room and help Eunbi with her dance practice." Wei Wu continued coldly, trying to make his tone sound more like a strict teacher than a heartless friend. "This is a private apartment, not IZ*ONE's support department. With so many people coming and going every day, if we get photographed, it'll be huge trouble for you, for the group, and for me. Understand?"

Choi Ye-na's lips moved, and her bright eyes quickly dimmed. She looked down at the fallen rib, her fingers digging into her plastic gloves.

"I...I understand." Her voice trailed off, filled with obvious grievance and panic. "I'm sorry, PDnim, I didn't consider these things and caused you trouble."

She felt like a child eager to share a treasure with a good friend, only to be doused with ice water and pushed along the way.

The feeling of being rejected was more painful than the wound on my knee.

Wei Wu failed to notice the subtle shift in Cui Yena's emotions. In his view, he had already made his reasons perfectly clear—for safety, for her future. As a rational adult, he believed Cui Yena should be able to understand and accept it.

He just felt relieved to have solved a big problem.

However, Zhang Yuanying, who was standing at the kitchen door, saw all of this.

Looking at Cui Yena's almost-crying yet forced-to-hold-back appearance, and at Wei Wu's matter-of-fact, straight-man face, she felt a morbid sense of pleasure welling up inside her.

Ah, so in PDnim's eyes, even this most beloved silly duck is nothing more than a part that can be discarded at any time because it's troublesome?

This discovery gave Zhang Yuanying a strange psychological compensation for the humiliation and torment she had suffered before—look, he wasn't targeting me, he's just as cold to everyone.

However, this coldness, within Zhang Yuanying's distorted values, has somehow become a captivating highlight.

She certainly noticed Choi Ye-na's unhappiness, and even sensed the momentary blow to Choi Ye-na's pride. But she made no attempt to remind Wei Wu of this.

She even wanted to laugh.

"Unnie, don't be sad. PDnim is doing this for our own good." Jang Wonyoung walked over and gently patted Choi Ye-na's back. Her voice was as sweet as honey, but her eyes were as cold as a snake. "Since PDnim is tired, let's leave after this meal. I'll take good care of you in the dorm from now on."

Choi Ye-na forced a smile, a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Um...PDnim, please eat more of this meal. I...I'm not very hungry anymore."

The atmosphere at the dinner table became incredibly strange after that.

Wei Wu ate the ribs heartily, feeling that as long as he could get rid of these two troublemakers, he could resume his efficient and solitary creative life.

Choi Ye-na sipped her soup slowly, her head bowed low, her long bangs obscuring her expression.

Only Zhang Yuanying, like a perfect housekeeper, constantly maneuvered between Wei Wu and Cui Ruina, adding soup, handing over tissues, and cleaning up the mess. Her movements were elegant and precise, each step perfectly in line with the obedience rhythm set by Wei Wu.

After finishing her meal, Cui Ruina didn't pester Wei Wu to play games as usual, but instead quietly picked up her cane.

"Well...PDnim, we'll be going now."

She stood at the doorway, her usually vibrant figure now appearing somewhat frail and forlorn. She turned her head as if she wanted to say something to Wei Wu, such as, "I haven't passed that game level yet," or "Can I sneak in next time?"

But when she saw Wei Wu had already lowered his head and started looking at his phone without even looking up, she swallowed all her words.

"Let's go, Yuan Ying."

"Yes, unnie. Slow down."

Zhang Yuanying helped Cui Yena out of the room. The instant the door closed, Zhang Yuanying turned back and gave Wei Wu a deep smile full of submission.

Wei Wu looked at the tightly closed door, finally collapsed onto the sofa, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

He thought he was driving away trouble.

Little did he know that he was pushing away the only genuine ray of sunlight in this cold, foreign land, sunlight that was free of any morbid taint.

The madman left in the shadows became even more insane because of the disappearance of this ray of sunlight.

……

Back in the van, Choi Ye-na leaned against the window without saying a word, watching the Seoul street scene rushing past outside.

"Unnie, are you alright?" Zhang Yuanying sat down next to her, asking knowingly.

"Wonyoung," Choi Ye-na said softly, her voice slightly hoarse, "Do you think the PD-nim really dislikes me? Does he think people like me are really annoying?"

Zhang Yuanying held Cui Yena's hand, her nails digging lightly into her palm, but her face showed a sympathetic expression.

"How could that be? PDnim is just too professional. He's an artist, and artists are always lonely. He doesn't need companionship; he just needs... obedience."

Zhang Yuanying's voice echoed in the dimly lit carriage, carrying a bewitching magic.

"As long as we listen to him and don't do anything unnecessary, he'll stay with us forever. Right, unnie?"

Choi Ye-na didn't answer. She just stared at her slightly haggard face reflected in the window, feeling empty inside.

Wei Wu was turning on his computer in the apartment, ready to start working.

He suddenly noticed that the bottle of banana milk that was originally on the table—which Choi Ye-na always brought when she came—was missing.

He glanced at the carpet instinctively.

The carpet was very clean; Zhang Yuanying had cleaned it until it was spotless before she left.

But the lively, chattering atmosphere that belonged to Choi Ye-na in the air also vanished completely along with the stain that was wiped away.

Wei Wu frowned, a strange sense of irritation rising within him.

He picked up his phone, intending to send a message to ask if they had arrived at the dormitory, but his finger hovered over the screen for a long time before finally pressing the lock screen button.

"trouble."

He muttered something, put on his headphones, and turned the volume up to the maximum.

The heavy metal electronic music instantly flooded the entire room, completely isolating him in the world he thought was safe and rational.

Zhang Yuanying, meanwhile, was patiently weaving an even larger net, one that would completely strangle him.

She no longer needs to forge imperial edicts.

Because she realized that when Wei Wu pushed everyone away, the only empty seat left beside him, a seat of utmost humility, could only be hers.

This is the "treatment" she wanted.

Wei Wu suddenly felt a bit cold.

He got up and turned up the air conditioner temperature, only to find that his hands were trembling slightly.

It wasn't out of fear, but rather a premonition-like tremor that he couldn't comprehend.

He sat back down in his chair, staring at the audio tracks flashing on the screen, his eyes gradually becoming vacant.

This song, "Violeta," was originally written as a song of hope for these girls.

But now it sounds like a grand funeral prelude.

He closed his eyes, his mind filled with the forlorn look in Choi Ye-na's eyes as she left, and the chilling smile on Jang Won-young's face before she departed.

"Grass."

Wei Wu cursed under his breath and slammed the laptop shut.