Peninsula's Life Begins in 2016

Chapter 97 The Little Girl Who Will Always Stand By My Side

Seoul Station Exit.

Jiang Yan stood in the crowd of people waiting to pick up passengers, his hands in his pockets. He peered over the throng of people and quickly spotted that familiar little figure.

Since it was still quite cool at night, Jin Zheng wore a jacket on top and a dark blue school uniform skirt on the bottom.

As soon as she stepped out of the turnstile, she started looking around. When she saw Jiang Yan, a bright smile immediately appeared on her face, and she ran through the crowd towards him.

"Oppa!"

Jiang reached out and took her backpack, then habitually ruffled her hair with his other hand: "Are you hungry?"

"I'm hungry." Jin Can looked up at me with her little face. "Oppa, I want to eat fried chicken today. My classmates at school said there's a fried chicken shop in Gangnam that's really delicious. They say it's honey butter flavored. I want to try it."

"Okay, fried chicken it is today."

"Wow, Daebak! Oppa, did something good happen to you today?"

Jin Zheng looked at him incredulously. "Whenever I say I want to eat fried chicken, you always say that fried food is unhealthy, and then you make me a pot of soybean paste soup."

"Can't you eat fried chicken unless it's something really good?"

"It's not that I can't, it's just that he's different from the usual oppa."

"So, are you going to eat it or not?"

"Eat, eat, eat!" Kim Min-jung nodded hurriedly, afraid that he would change his mind, and even quickened his pace.

As Jiang Yan watched her bouncy little figure, the smile on his lips deepened.

Once in the car, Jin Zheng fastened his seatbelt and began to ramble on about school matters.

She said her math teacher has changed, and that the teacher speaks more gently than the previous one. She also mentioned that there will be a monthly exam next week, and she's a little nervous, afraid she won't do well.

Jiang Yan listened while driving, occasionally responding with a few words.

As the car crossed the Hanjiang Bridge, the neon lights on both banks painted the river surface with vibrant colors.

Kim Min-jung leaned against the car window and looked at the night view for a while, then turned around and said, "Oppa, you're so quiet today. Are you too tired from work?"

"A little," Jiang Yan replied casually. "We had a meeting today, it lasted a long time."

"Oh, so do I need to work overtime tonight after the meeting?"

"No, thank you."

"That's good." Kim Minchan nodded his little head in satisfaction. "By the way, Oppa, Jinri unnie messaged me today, and she also told me about Yoona unnie's Kakao."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yan was somewhat surprised. Was Lin Yoona acting so swiftly? This added Min-jeong's Kakao to the mix.

"Oppa, Yoona unnie said she's going to Jeju Island next month to shoot a pictorial, and asked if I'd ever been to Jeju Island. I said no, and she said she'd take me there when she's free during summer vacation."

After Kim Min-jung finished speaking, she looked at Kang Yeon with a hint of inquiry in her eyes, "Oppa, are you close with Yoona unnie? Why did she think of taking me to Jeju Island?"

Jiang Yan really didn't know how to answer this question.

Deep down, he didn't want Kim Min-jung to contact them right now. When Tiffany gave Kim Min-jung a gift before, he only said that she was a senior colleague at the company.

He only wanted Jin Zheng to grow up pure and safe, and didn't want her to meet so many people too early.

"Oppa, drive carefully, I won't ask anymore, don't get distracted!" Kim Jung said, his face full of panic as he watched the front of his car getting closer and closer to the taillights of the car in front. He grabbed his seatbelt.

Jiang Yan snapped back to his senses, swerved the steering wheel to the right, and narrowly missed the taillights of the car in front of him as he turned back into the lane.

His heart pounded, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. He quickly glanced at the passenger seat and asked, "Are you alright?"

Jin Zheng's face turned pale with fright. He gripped the seatbelt tightly with both hands, his lips pressed into a thin line, and he remained silent for a long time.

Jiang Yan slowed down the car and gently patted her head with one hand: "Mianye, it's Oppa's fault, I was distracted just now."

Kim Min was stunned for several seconds before letting go of his hand. "Oppa, you scared me to death—"

Seeing the self-reproach on Jiang Yan's face, she quickly added in a low voice, "I'm not blaming Oppa. I just asked too many questions. Oppa, please drive carefully. I won't ask anymore."

Hearing her tone—clearly frightened yet reluctant to let go, and feeling a warmth in his heart—Jiang Yan perked up and focused on driving.

The car drove smoothly into Jiangnan. Following the navigation, Jiang Yan turned into a narrow road, which was lined with restaurants and cafes on both sides.

The sign for the honey-fried chicken was easy to spot. Jiang Yan parked the car, and the two found a small table in the corner, where they ordered the signature honey-fried chicken and two Cokes.

After a short wait, the food was served.

Kim Min-jung put on disposable gloves, eagerly broke off a chicken leg, took a big bite, and mumbled an exclamation: "Daebak, it's so delicious, Oppa, you have to try it!"

Jiang reached out and took a chicken wing, then took a bite.

"Oppa, how is it? How is it?"

"Mmm, delicious."

"Just a 'hmm'? Every time you say 'hmm,' you're just brushing me off." Kim Min-jung pouted in dissatisfaction, then broke off another chicken leg and put it into Kang Yeon's bowl. "Oppa, did something really happen to you this week? You're acting really strange today."

Jiang Yan picked up his cola and took a big gulp. Looking at the chicken leg in his bowl, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Min-sung."

"Inside?"

"What would you do if I left SM Entertainment one day?"

Kim Min stopped chewing abruptly, looked up, and stared straight at Kang Yeon with her round eyes. Her lips were still smeared with honey butter sauce, making her look a little silly.

"Oppa, what did you say?"

"I said if—for example, if I switch to another company, or start my own studio, and leave SM."

Jin put down the chicken leg in his hand, took out a tissue to wipe his mouth, and then stared at Jiang Yan for a long time.

"Oppa".

"Um?"

"Did you get into an argument with someone at work?"

Jiang Yan almost choked on his cola at those words. "Why do you think I had a fight with someone?"

"Because every time you finish arguing with someone, you use that nonchalant tone to talk about something very important."

Kim Min-jung gave me a look that said, "When you were little, after you had a fight with the convenience store clerk, you used the same tone to tell me what would happen if you couldn't buy anything from this convenience store anymore. The next day, you made up with the clerk and even got two bottles of milk for free."

Jiang Yan coughed twice and took a tissue to wipe his mouth.

How come this little girl even remembers this?

"It wasn't an argument, it was a normal job change."

He crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the trash can next to him. "The profession of producer is inherently unstable. Today you may be at SM, tomorrow you may be at YG, and the day after tomorrow you may be working on your own. It's normal."

Kim Min-sung narrowed his eyes, still somewhat doubtful. "So, which company is Oppa going to work for next?"

"It's not decided yet, we're just considering it."

"Oh." Kim Minjung picked up the chicken leg again, took a bite, chewed and swallowed, then looked up as if he suddenly remembered something, "So you're not in SM anymore, does Jinri unnie know?"

"They probably don't know yet, but they'll find out soon."

"Does this mean you haven't told her yet? Oppa, you need to tell Unnie first, otherwise she'll be angry."

Jiang Yan paused, holding the cola cup. "Yes, Arasso, I'll talk to her about it."

Kim Minchan nodded his little head, then picked up the chicken leg again, looking into Kang Yeon's eyes as he said, "Changing jobs is normal. My classmate's oppa also changes jobs often. If oppa is unhappy at work, he can just change jobs. Anyway, no matter which company you go to, as long as oppa can come back after I debut, that's fine."

>