Peninsula: A Max-Level Forward's Leisurely Life

The very next morning, Lee Chi-hoon was idly watching an old football match, his cheek resting on his hand.

Choi Sulli was lounging on the sofa, eating iced watermelon, and everything looked harmonious and pleasant.

Unexpectedly, the faint sound of high heels came from outside the door. The owner of the shoes sounded anxious and quite angry. Immediately following was Lee Ji-eun's loud voice: "Peach, are you in there? Come out quickly!" Upon hearing this voice, Choi Sulli quickly put down the watermelon she was holding and threw it to Lee Ji-hoon, wiping the watermelon juice from her mouth.

Muttering to herself, "Oh no, oh no, why did they come so fast?" She then rummaged around on herself, looking herself up and down, realizing she looked exactly like the miserable scene she'd described to Ji-eun on the phone. Seeing her anxious expression, Lee Chi-hoon couldn't help but chuckle. He casually put the chilled watermelon she'd just had into the fridge; the little idiot would definitely want some later. He then came out and said, "So what if they're here? What's the panic? It's not like the police are conducting a stopover."

"It's all your fault for making it sound so easy yesterday, that I really thought nothing was wrong."

Lee Chi-hoon raised his hand: "Okay, it's my fault."

"Try to stop looking like you're watching a show."

"It's difficult."

"Shut up." Choi Sulli glared at him, then looked down at herself to check if her "down-on-her-luck tenant" look was pitiful enough.

He wore an oversized old T-shirt, baggy sweatpants, and his hair was deliberately tousled. He even had a light layer of shading applied to his face, just as the two of them had agreed beforehand, making him look considerably more haggard.

The problem is, she's just too good-looking. Even if she deliberately makes herself look a bit disheveled, she still looks like the leading lady who just finished filming a scene of distress and is about to appear on camera the next second.

Li Chixun glanced at it and couldn't help but complain, "Your version of being down on your luck is only worth two days without beauty sleep at most."

"Hey, Oppa, shut up!" Choi Sulli muttered angrily, so angry she wanted to pinch him. The doorbell finally rang, and Choi Sulli's arrogant attitude immediately deflated. She stopped pinching him, and under Lee Ji-hoon's smiling gaze, Choi Sulli puffed out her cheeks in anger, but finally resigned herself to running to open the door.

He dawdled and reluctantly walked to the door and opened it.

A petite girl stood outside the door, bundled up tightly in a hat, mask, and sunglasses.

She was carrying two large bags, one of which looked like health supplements and the other like snacks, making her look like she had just robbed a supermarket.

"peach."

The girl took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of round eyes. She first looked up and looked around, then peeked inside twice: "When you sent me this location, I almost thought you'd been kidnapped."

She glanced back at the alley again: "This place looks just like a transaction scene in a movie."

Choi Sulli chuckled twice and quickly pulled the person inside, saying, "Come in, come in, keep your voice down."

Lee Ji-eun was still looking around as she entered the room.

I first looked up at the unmarked, distressed oak door, then at the unusually quiet alleyways on both sides, and my whole body was filled with question marks.

However, seeing Peach standing at the door to greet her, she stopped wondering. Lee Ji-eun, carrying things in one hand, reached out with the other to hug Choi Sulli. Choi Sulli even said, "Tired? Hehe, Ji-eun, let me carry it, let me carry it." As she said this, she tried to take the things. As Choi Sulli's best friend, didn't she know Peach's personality? Something was definitely amiss, so she dodged immediately.

Sulli stood there awkwardly, so she had no choice but to lead her into the bar, to the ridiculously tall man behind the bar.

She paused, stunned for a moment. Sulli had only said on the phone that she was hiding, but hadn't mentioned that there was a man with her.

Moreover, she's the type of person who, once she stands there, is hard to miss.

Lee Ji-eun's eyes shifted, then returned, finally settling on Choi Sulli's face, her expression already showing signs of trouble. Her gaze was direct, the meaning clear: I desperately need an explanation.

Sulli understood immediately, and her ears burned instantly.

Without saying a word, she first pressed Lee Ji-eun down onto the sofa, then rushed over and hugged her arm: "Ji-eun, don't glare at me, listen to me, I really didn't mean to lie to you."

Lee Ji-eun pushed her forehead away: "Stop it, every time you act cute first, something big is bound to happen later."

"This time it wasn't particularly big."

"You have a man next to you, and you call that a big deal?!"

Choi Sulli was speechless for a long time after hearing her retort.

Li Chixun stood not far away, quietly watching the two best friends tug at each other, and suddenly felt as if he had accidentally wandered into an interrogation room.

"Sit still."

Lee Ji-eun pushed Choi Sulli aside and deliberately put on a stern face: "From now on, I'll ask you a question, and you'll answer it."

Sulli immediately shrank her neck and sat up straight. But as soon as IU shifted her gaze to Jihoon, Sulli couldn't hold back any longer.

She knew that dragging it out would only make things more complicated, so she simply told everyone what had happened.

From being chased by paparazzi that night, to accidentally stumbling into a bar, to hiding here these past few days to recover, I've told you everything from beginning to end.

When talking about how she was tricked into going to Gangwon Province, Choi Sulli's voice became noticeably softer.

"I just didn't want you to worry." She pouted and looked over cautiously. "Don't be angry with me."

Lee Ji-eun originally had a lot of grievances to settle, but as soon as she heard that paparazzi were blocking her way, her expression immediately changed.

"They've gone this far?"

"Mmm-hmm-hmm."

"What about the company? What is the company doing?"

Choi Sulli bit her lip. Although she didn't say anything, Lee Ji-eun immediately understood SM's nature. Her expression darkened, and she looked very angry.

"Damn it, these guys are really sick."

She usually speaks softly, so when she uttered this swear word, even Choi Sulli was taken aback.

Lee Ji-eun grew angrier the more she thought about it, and didn't even bother to unpack the bag: "I knew it! That's why you weren't answering your phone the other day. Turns out you were driven to this state by these lunatics."

She turned and grabbed Choi Sulli's hand: "Are you hurt? Did anyone touch you?"

No, no.

Choi Sulli quickly shook her head: "It's just a little scary."

"a little?"

Lee Ji-eun almost exploded again: "I've forced you to hide, and you call that a little bit?"

As she spoke, she became so angry that she started muttering to herself, "Don't let me find out which guys took these pictures, or I'll really want to go and yell at them one by one."

When Choi Sulli heard that she was angry on behalf of her, she gradually felt relieved.

What she feared most was that Ji-eun would blame her for lying. But she didn't even stray from the point; all she could think about was whether Ji-eun had been taken advantage of.

She truly embodied the meaning of "best friend" today.

Sulli's nose tingled, and she leaned her head against him, nuzzling him: "Jie-eun, you're so kind."

Lee Ji-eun slapped her hand dismissively: "Stop being so mushy, I haven't forgiven you yet."

She said that, but she didn't pull her hand away.

The atmosphere in the room finally eased up a bit.

Lee Chi-hoon spoke up at the opportune moment: "Would you like something to drink?"

Lee Ji-eun then remembered that there was still a living person at the scene.

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze slowly drifting to Li Chixun, a smile that seemed anything but innocent creeping onto her lips.

"Oh, right." She drawled, "And who is this gentleman?"

"It can't be..." She deliberately left the rest of her sentence unfinished. Choi Sulli's face flushed red.

"Don't talk nonsense."

"What nonsense did I spout?"

Seeing her reaction, Lee Ji-eun laughed even more broadly: "If you have nothing to hide, why are you blushing?"

"Am I not hot enough?"

"The air conditioning in this room is even stronger than in a recording studio."

Sulli was completely speechless.

She herself couldn't figure out what their relationship was now. If they were just ordinary friends, their recent interactions were clearly more than that.

They're not really dating, but neither of them has brought it up seriously. It feels like they're stuck in the middle, mainly because they both seem to enjoy their current relationship.

She stammered for a long time, but couldn't come up with a decent introduction.

Seeing that she was almost bursting with pent-up emotions, Li Chixun put down his cup and walked over a little.

He extended his hand to Lee Ji-eun with a respectful attitude: "Hello, my name is Lee Ji-hoon."

"This shop is mine. I happened to run into her a few days ago and she seemed a bit off, so I told her to hide here for a while."

He paused, then added, "You can think of me as a landlord who's somewhat reliable for now, or a bartender, it doesn't matter."

Lee Ji-eun looked at him for two seconds, then reached out and touched his hand.

"Lee Ji-eun." She blinked. "She's reliable for now, which is quite an understatement."

Lee Ji-hoon smiled and said, "It's our first meeting, so I can't be too sure of anything." Upon hearing this, Lee Ji-eun's first impression of him immediately improved.

Lee Ji-eun felt that at least this man didn't seem pretentious or greasy, and most importantly, he was handsome. (Lee Ji-eun is quite picky about looks, damn it, she's a sucker for good looks, sob sob~)

The three people behind them simply sat together, opened a bottle of low-alcohol liquor, and unpacked the snacks that Lee Ji-eun had brought, eating and chatting at the same time.

Lee Ji-eun originally wanted to observe him more, but as they chatted, she found that this man was not quite what she had imagined. This man's demeanor and temperament seemed extraordinary, but he was completely unpretentious during the conversation and was even quite interesting.

For every sentence Choi Sulli said, he could easily reply with three, two of which were teasing her. What's even more outrageous is that Choi Sulli actually fell for it and was practically hooked on his rhythm.

Lee Ji-eun, holding her cup, glanced at this man, then at that one, her heart already sounding alarm bells. She was secretly pleased that Taozi had met this kind of man; after all, she'd observed Taozi was noticeably more lively lately. But she couldn't help being wary. This man was outstanding in every way; she couldn't believe no woman was pursuing him. She feared he was a seasoned player, deceiving Taozi's feelings, or perhaps just a player who was nice to everyone. Taozi was so vulnerable right now, easily misled. Thinking of this, Ji-eun seemed to see Taozi's future miserable state and quickly shook her head.

Thinking of this, Lee Ji-eun's eyes darted around, and she suddenly slapped her forehead. "Oops."

Choi Sulli turned to look at her: "What's wrong?"

"I just left the vitamins I brought you in the car," she said seriously. "And the honey grapefruit tea is in the trunk too."

Choi Sulli was taken aback: "Didn't you just bring up both bags?"

"I took the heavy stuff, but forgot the light stuff." Lee Ji-eun said without batting an eye, "Go get it for me. It's that black car parked at the alley entrance, easy to spot."

Sulli asked skeptically, "Really?"

"Really." Lee Ji-eun shoved the car keys into her hand. "Go quickly, and get some fresh air."

Choi Sulli looked at her, then at Lee Ji-hoon, and felt that something was off.

But she didn't think much of it and got up to walk towards the door. Halfway there, she turned back and said, "You two, you're not allowed to talk bad about me behind my back."

Lee Chi-hoon leaned back in his chair: "Don't worry, we'll try to talk about it face to face."

"Hey!" Choi Sulli glared at him, but in the end, she still pushed open the door and went out.

As soon as the door closed, inside the room, Lee Ji-eun put down her wine glass, and the smile on her face slowly faded.

She turned her head and looked at Lee Chi-hoon across from her with a serious expression. "Mr. Lee, can we have a serious talk now?"