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

"Beep-click." "Beep-click."

The combination lock clicked softly, as if it were coming home.

Wei Wu didn't turn around, nor did he stop what he was doing. At this point in time, the only one who could push open this door in this way was that silly duck who had already made this place his "secret base".

"PDnim, I bought the new charcoal-grilled meatballs and cheese milk tea!"

With her cane in hand, Choi Ye-na deftly "airdropped" herself onto the carpet. Her movements were now so skillful that she could even place the takeout bag precisely on the coffee table while maintaining her leg balance, without Wei Wu's help.

Wei Wu took off his headphones, turned his chair around, and looked at the girl who was covered in sweat but looked radiant. He couldn't help but twitch his lips.

"Are you really not afraid of dying? Don't your managers check on the dorms at this hour?"

"Hmph, you wouldn't know this, would you?" Choi Ye-na raised her little face smugly. "Eunbi unnie went to a company meeting, and Sakura is playing games in the dorm. As long as I'm quick enough, no one will notice. Besides, I'm 'injured' right now, so I have the privilege of resting early."

Wei Wu got up, took a bottle of chilled mineral water from the refrigerator, and handed it to her.

"Have some water, look at you, you're covered in sweat. If the paparazzi take pictures of you, I won't be able to explain myself."

"Tch, if I get photographed, I'll just say I came to learn composition from you. With PDnim being so strict, isn't it normal for a bad student like me to have late-night tutoring?" Choi Ye-na took the water and gulped down most of the bottle, then sighed contentedly.

Actually, Choi Ye-na has had a much easier time these past few days than she imagined.

Since that confrontation, Wei Wu's attitude towards her has undergone a strange transformation.

Although he still has a sharp tongue that makes you want to punch him, he no longer kicks people out at the drop of a hat, and even occasionally indulges Choi Ye-na when she acts unreasonably at home.

This indulgence gave Choi Ye-na a strange sense of security.

"Hey, PDnim," Choi Ye-na mumbled, chewing on her rice ball, "Have you... noticed anything's off these past few days?"

Wei Wu raised an eyebrow: "Apart from the fact that you come here every day to freeload off the air conditioning, I think everything is normal."

"That's not what I meant." Choi Ye-na swallowed her food, her expression turning serious. "I meant Won-young. She... has already taken two days off. Her manager said it was because of some family matters, and she was told to go home and rest for a few days. But I just felt something was off. The way she looked at you when she left that day... it was like she wanted to devour you."

Upon hearing Zhang Yuanying's name, Wei Wu's back involuntarily tensed for a moment.

He had indeed been on guard these past two days. He had anticipated that Zhang Yuanying would come and bang on the door, that she would hide in a dark corner and go crazy, and even that she would threaten him by self-harm.

But unexpectedly, the whole world fell silent.

Jang Won-young seemed to have vanished into thin air; there were no phone calls, no text messages, and even according to Choi Ye-na, she disappeared from IZ*ONE's group activities.

"She had some family matters to attend to, so isn't it normal for her to take leave?" Wei Wu replied calmly, sitting back down in his chair. "The intense preparations for her comeback might have put too much pressure on her. Going home to rest at this time would be good for her."

Although he said that, he knew very well that for someone who had awakened a morbid possessiveness, the word "rest" did not exist.

Such people will either rot in silence or evolve in silence.

"Yeah, she seems perfect most of the time, but she's still the youngest member after all." Choi Yena shook her head carelessly. "But the air in the dorm seems a lot lighter when she's not here. PDnim, you don't know, she's been so obedient these past few days that it's scary. She just nods to anyone who talks to her, her eyes are empty, it gives you the creeps."

Wei Wu's eyes flickered, but he didn't reply.

"If you can't figure it out, then don't think about it." He threw a tissue at Choi Ye-na's face. "Finish eating and go back quickly. I still need to finish arranging some music."

"I'm not leaving!" Choi Ye-na sprawled on the sofa like a spoiled child. "On my way back, I saw some suspicious figures downstairs at the dorm. They must be sasaeng fans. With my leg like this, if I get surrounded, I won't be able to run away. PDnim, please, have mercy and let me stay until dawn. I promise I won't bother you. I'll just stay there and read."

As she spoke, she pulled a thick book on basic music theory from her bag.

Wei Wu looked at the book, then at her leg, which was still in a brace, and sighed helplessly.

"Choi Ye-na, your shamelessness is now so thick you could apply for a Guinness World Record."

"Thank you for the compliment, I think so too."

The two reached a tacit understanding in the apartment late at night.

Wei Wu put on his headphones and immersed himself in the ocean of audio tracks, while Cui Yena, like a true "cohabitant," huddled in the corner of the sofa, reading a book by the dim light of a table lamp.

Occasionally, Wei Wu would stop writing and turn to look at the sofa.

She was reading very intently, and her focused expression gave Wei Wu a fleeting illusion—as if they weren't producers and idols, but an ordinary man and woman finding solace in each other in a foreign land.

This idea startled even Wei Wu himself.

If he indulges in this warmth, what awaits him is an abyss of no return.

But when he saw Choi Ye-na, unable to resist her drowsiness, nodding her head like a woodpecker until she finally fell asleep completely on the pillow, he still stood up, walked over, gently removed the book from her arms, and brought out a blanket from the bedroom.

When the blanket was placed over Choi Ye-na, she subconsciously shifted, muttering, "...bad guy..."

Wei Wu's hand, which had been hovering in mid-air, stopped.

"They're really just bored and have nothing better to do," he muttered under his breath, but there was no malice in his tone.

He walked to the window and opened it a crack. The cool night breeze dissipated the warmth in the room and also cleared his feverish mind a little.

"PDnim..." came Choi Ye-na's dreamlike voice from the sofa.

Wei Wu turned around and saw that she had kicked over the blanket, revealing her heartbreakingly injured leg.

He went over and covered it up for her again.

Wei Wu suddenly realized that the reason he did not violently expel Cui Ruina as he had done to Zhang Yuanying was not because Cui Ruina was more obedient than Zhang Yuanying.

Rather, it's because he doesn't need to be the "doctor" or the "master" in front of Choi Ye-na.

She only saw him as a man named Wei Wu.

Even if this man is selfish, mean, and hates trouble.

The next morning, Choi Ye-na woke up to an alluring fragrance.

She rubbed her sleepy eyes and found herself covered with a thick blanket.

"Awake? Go wash up, breakfast is on the table."

Wei Wu was wearing a gray loungewear shirt and holding a pot of steaming pork rib porridge.

Choi Ye-na stared at him blankly.

The morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains, bathing Wei Wu in its warmth and softening his usual gloom and aloofness. He appeared so domestic and peaceful.

"PDnim..." Choi Ye-na's voice was soft and sweet, as if she had just woken up, "You... really are like a good husband."

Wei Wu paused in his porridge-serving motion, then looked up and glared at her.

"I think you got your brain damaged by a book last night. Hurry up and eat. After you finish, I'll take you to the back door of your dorm. I don't want to be blocked at the door by your manager."

"hey-hey."

Choi Ye-na, leaning on her cane, went into the restroom.

The atmosphere became increasingly awkward during breakfast.

No one mentioned the cold, hard warnings from yesterday, nor did they mention the missing Zhang Yuanying. They talked about the latest popular music and Cui Yena's embarrassing moments in the practice room.

Wei Wu discovered that he could actually smile at this girl.

It wasn't for commercial purposes, nor was it mockery; it was a genuine sense of relaxation.

"PDnim." Choi Ye-na put down her bowl and suddenly looked at him seriously, "If... I mean, if your contract expires, will you still stay here?"

Wei Wu remained silent for a while.

This was the question he had been avoiding. He came to South Korea to make money and to escape the annoying trivialities back home. He originally planned to return home once he had earned enough money.

But now, looking at the girl in front of me with such expectant eyes, the thought of "returning home" has become somewhat blurred.

"Who knows?" Wei Wu looked away, his tone somewhat evasive. "The kind of person I am, I go wherever there's money."

"Then I'll earn lots and lots of money in the future, and you can be my exclusive producer, okay?" Choi Ye-na tilted her head and smiled brightly.

"Then you need to make sure your voice isn't ruined by these high-calorie snacks."