Peninsula: A Max-Level Forward's Leisurely Life

Faced with Kim Tae-yeon's direct and blunt question, Im Yoona's heart, which had been calm just moments before, began to race. After all, if we were to talk about who in Girls' Generation is the most suspicious and sensitive, the little Kim in front of her would definitely be in the top three.

"Unnie, please don't say anything like that!" As if to encourage herself, Lim Yoona quickly straightened her back and waved her hands vigorously in front of her chest, signaling her not to talk nonsense. "If I were really in a relationship, I would definitely tell my girlfriends in the dorm right away. Why would I need to be so secretive and hide it?"

To make herself appear more innocent, Yoona started making small gestures while explaining herself, habitually tucking stray hairs behind her ears with her fingers and blinking her clear eyes.

Kim Tae-yeon crossed her arms and shook her feet on the ground. Her seemingly righteous defense slightly reduced the suspicion in the short leader's heart.

"It would be best if it were like you said." She still squinted her small eyes, constantly scanning Yoona's rosy face. Yoona felt uncomfortable under her gaze and could only force a dry laugh while standing frozen in place. The two of them began their classic probing stare-down in the spacious and bright practice room.

At this moment, Yoona was frantically screaming for help in her heart. Just as this agonizing stalemate was reaching its climax, the practice room door was pushed open from the outside again. Accompanied by a burst of chattering noise, Sunny, Seohyun, Hyoyeon, and the others rushed in from the corridor.

"Taeyeon, Yoona."

Before Sunny even reached the middle, she was already yelling at the top of her lungs, "What are you two arguing about?"

"We heard Taeyeon yelling at someone from outside in the hallway. Yoona, tell me if you're yelling at her, and I'll teach this little Kim girl a lesson." After saying that, he patted his slightly voluptuous chest and winked at Yoona.

Hearing that familiar voice, even after all this time together, Lim Yoona had never felt it was like heavenly music. She looked expectantly at her best friends who had pushed open the door to enter.

It was as if even God was smiling upon her. She was just about to take advantage of Sunny's words, casually making up some excuse about her schedule to quickly end this torturous interrogation.

Before Kim Tae-yeon could react, the leader suddenly bent down, grabbed the paused iPad from the ground, and held the screen high above her head, loudly announcing this earth-shattering gossip to the entire group.

"My children, something terrible has happened!"

"Yoona was just secretly swooning over that Bayern Munich star! I seriously suspect she snuck off to Germany a few days ago to meet a guy!"

This gossip announcement immediately perked up the group of women.

"Great!"

"Really?"

The members immediately gathered around, craning their necks and chattering, all eager to find out the details of what had happened.

Dali Yun had a bad feeling and immediately stepped forward, baring his teeth and claws, trying to use his height and strength to snatch the hot plate back from the little guy's hands.

"Unnie, stop spreading rumors and give it back to me!" But she was no match for these gossipy women.

Sunny and Hyoyeon, positioned on either side, seized the opportunity. Like wolves drawn by blood, they quickly surrounded the nation's visual center in front of the large full-length mirror.

They left her no way out at all, and every now and then they would turn around and shout, "Sisters, look! We're blocking the way!"

Even the usually well-behaved Seohyun had a look of excitement on her face, peeking out from the gaps in the crowd and staring curiously at the man on the screen.

Yoona was so crowded that she felt dizzy and helpless. She leaned against the edge of the mirror and couldn't help but complain to a certain man in Germany.

Li Chixun, what a terrible troublemaker!

This man plays football in Europe, tens of thousands of kilometers away. A random street interview video can make these usually dignified female celebrities in Seoul lose all their composure.

"Tell me the truth, what exactly happened!"

"They mentioned in the interview that they have a partner named Peach. Yoona, you wouldn't be secretly having an affair behind our backs, would you?"

"This mixed-race basketball star is indeed incredibly handsome, but you can't be this depraved."

Faced with the members' barrage of questions, Lim Yoona felt utterly speechless and prepared to play dumb.

"What do you mean, 'three'? It's not what you think. I really just happened to go there to watch the game with the brand representatives—"

"Keep making this up!"

"Hey! Don't try to play dumb."

Hyoyeon pinched Yoona's oval face, interrupting her, "To be honest, did you meet some mysterious man during your sneaky trip to Germany? If it was just to watch the game, how do you explain those top global luxury brand endorsements that CEO Kim personally handed to you this morning?"

Barbie Q is in a terrible mood now. This morning, the company was treating her like a Buddha, thanks to Lee Chi-hoon's tacit warning. She was so happy then, but now she's feeling incredibly miserable.

These unexpected joys, unfortunately, became solid "ironclad proof" of being kept by a sugar daddy in the eyes of these women.

Everyone stared at her with eyes that seemed to say, "You've really made something of yourself, managing to hook up with such a multinational tycoon."

Seeing that the blame was getting heavier and heavier, and that it was about to be completely welded to her reputation, Lim Yoona gritted her teeth, silently apologized, and decisively adopted the excellent tactic of shifting the blame. She laboriously took out her phone from her pocket and made a video call to Choi Sulli.

"Watch closely, I'll find you a victim to confront right now!" The video call was connected after only a few rings. As soon as the screen appeared, the girls all widened their eyes and crowded in front of the screen. The crowd that was still making a fuss was completely stunned.

On the small screen, Peach, who had been subjected to cyberbullying and controversy recently, was sprawled casually on a familiar sofa, her two delicate white feet propped up on the coffee table without any regard for her image. She held a coffee in her hand and was sucking on the straw with relish.

If it were just the scene itself, the group of girls wouldn't think there was anything wrong with it, but the most important thing was the familiar sofa, background, and surrounding decorations.

Isn't this Lee Soo-man's office, the one they've always respected and feared?!

The girls looked at each other, their minds collectively going blank.

No one could believe that the youngest member of this group would dare to act like an emperor emeritus in the office of the tyrant Lee Soo-man.

When Peach saw that it was Yoona unnie calling her, she assumed there was something important to discuss and didn't notice the atmosphere on her end. She greeted them with a smile, "Hello everyone, Yoona unnie, what's up?"

Yoona rolled her eyes in annoyance, like a wronged scapegoat, and with a mix of grievance and indignation, she complained to Peach on the other end of the phone about the unfounded suspicions she had just suffered.

"Truth, please save me!"

"They all insisted that I went to Munich to date some wealthy old man, and that those exorbitant lifetime endorsement deals were resources I secretly obtained."

After listening to this grievance-filled complaint...

"Pfft, hahaha—"

Sulli on the other side of the screen was stunned at first, then immediately broke down, laughing so hard she almost spilled her coffee.

She raised her hand and hastily wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, then openly brought her face close to the screen.

"Taeyeon unnie, you guys have really misunderstood!"

This young lady readily appeared in court to testify, not only clearing Yoona of all suspicion but also arrogantly declaring her ownership on the spot.

"Those luxury brand endorsements were all paid by my oppa to Yoona unnie as a thank you for watching the game with me."

"It was all arranged by my oppa specifically for me; it really has nothing to do with Yoona unnie's private life."

This clarification was so blunt it was almost infuriating.

The internal public relations crisis that nearly ruined Yoona's reputation has finally been completely resolved.

As if she were completely exhausted, Lim Yoona slid down the wall to the floor and let out a long breath.

However, the atmosphere around them took an eerie turn.

The women who were denouncing her just a moment ago were all stunned by her information-packed words and instantly turned into curious children with shining eyes.

"Wow! Zhenli, what kind of powerful background do you have? You can even tame the stubborn old man in our company?"

"A casual tip for a favor is enough for several top luxury brand endorsements? That's incredibly powerful!"

"Sherry, your unnie is always nice to you, so please remember to take me with you next time you go to Munich!"

Sunny leaned closer, her face flushed. "Is he good to you? Who usually cooks at home?"

"How about we decide this way?"

Hyoyeon slapped the floor hard, "When we're on vacation, we'll make a group and have Sulli accompany us."

This group of women, who are always lawless and shameless, have already openly started planning how to find an excuse to fly to that German villa as a group during the next long weekend.

Listening to the carefree, relaxed laughter that once again echoed in the practice room.

......

Lim Yoona bent her legs and placed her hands on her knees.

For some reason, the subtle pressure that had been building up in my heart due to the vast difference in power had largely dissipated at that moment.

To celebrate this shocking revelation, a few crazy girls dragged Lim Yoona close to the phone camera.

"Come on, everyone, look at the camera."

As the shutter clicked, they took a funny group photo of themselves in front of the screen and asked Shirley to forward it.

At the same time, on the other side of Eurasia.

Night had quietly fallen in Munich.

Lee Chi-hoon had just finished showering when the glass door to the bathroom was pushed open, and he walked out with his muscular upper body bare, accompanied by a light mist of steam.

He dried his short hair with a towel as he walked to the bedside table.

He casually swiped to turn on his phone screen, which was now lit up, and opened the new message that Choi Sulli had just sent.

Upon clicking, you'll find a clear, funny group photo.

In the video, all the members of Girls' Generation squeezed together at the very front of the camera, making various distorted peace signs.

Lin Yoona, sandwiched in the middle of the crowd, had slightly disheveled hair and a look of utter despair on her face. Her pitiful appearance made it seem as if she had just been ravaged by this group of women.

A short voice message was attached to the photo.

"Oppa! Yoona unnie was almost subjected to a barrage of attacks by the unnies, who mistook her for your little sweetheart, but I bravely stepped in and rescued her!"

Hearing the smug, boastful voice coming through the receiver, Li Chixun looked at the comical scene and chuckled with amusement.

This girl has become increasingly unrestrained since returning to Seoul.

Just as I was about to press the voice recording button on the screen to retort with a couple of sarcastic remarks, an encrypted black email unexpectedly slid out of the system notification bar at the top of the screen.

[Boss, we've figured out the underlying details of that car accident in Seoul ten years ago. The old guys at Hyundai Group have been making new moves lately.]

Li Chixun's smile faded as he gazed out the window, his eyes not focusing on anything, but rather staring blankly into the depths of the night.