Peninsula: Please, I only want to talk about ordinary people.

Zhao Meiyan's face under the mask was already bright red. Her hands moved faster than her brain, and she slapped him across the face.

"ah!"

Unfortunately, Song Yuqi had anticipated this and dodged to the side with a smile, so the slap only hit air.

Several customers who were shopping nearby were startled by the noise and turned around.

Zhao Meiyan sat stiffly, her neck turning bright red this time.

She didn't dare look at Jiang Yongtai, and lowered her head to tuck her stray hairs behind her ears several times, but the strands of hair just wouldn't listen.

What do you mean, "He was always praising me in the dorm"...?

She didn't! She only mentioned it occasionally!

After all, they were people who had helped me before, not just during the Idol Star Athletics Championships...

When Gidle first debuted, she went to "Music Bank" for the first time.

She was so nervous that when she went to the restroom, the second floor was full, so she ran to the third floor in a daze.

On the way back, I missed a step on the stairs and my knee hit the ground. The pain brought tears to my eyes.

There was no one around, and the corridor was empty. She squatted on the ground, pressing her scraped knee with her hand. She didn't know if it was from pain or panic, but tears were about to spill over.

Then a pair of sneakers stopped in front of her, and the person squatted down and handed her a band-aid.

"Can you get up? Do you need me to get you a doctor?"

She shook her head, her voice low and strained, tinged with grievance and sounding weak.

"No, no need, I'm fine. The stage recording time is almost here..."

"A newcomer? The newcomer's lounge is on the second floor, why did you come here?"

"Um...we're new here, and the second-floor restrooms are too crowded..."

She looked up to explain, and also wanted to see who had helped her, but at that time the brim of his hat was pulled down very low, and his facial features were not clear. She could only see that his name tag read "Assistant PD of Kang Young-tae".

Jiang Yongtai nodded and stood up.

"The restrooms on the second floor are indeed full right now. If you're okay with that, I'll go ahead and get back to work. I wish you the best of luck on your first stage performance."

After saying that, he jogged into the fire escape without even turning his head.

Zhao Meiyan watched his retreating figure and pursed her lips.

What? I thought he'd go and call someone...

She turned the band-aid over and looked at it; it had a Shiba Inu printed on it, sticking out its tongue in a silly way.

He put a band-aid on his knee, tried to stand up, and limped back to the rest room.

Fortunately, the stage was not affected that day. After the performance, the members excitedly discussed the stage in the dressing room and mentioned that Twice had won their third weekly championship.

She sat in the corner, looking down at the Shiba Inu on her lap, wondering how he knew she was on her first stage performance. Did he know about the new girl group, Gidle?

I was thinking that if we met again at SoundBank, I would definitely thank you properly.

But after that incident, she never saw anyone on Eulbin whose name tag read "Assistant PD Kang Young-tae".

Later, every time I went to Soundbank, I would subconsciously glance at the name tags in the corridor, but those four words seemed to have vanished into thin air...

Then came "Idol Star Athletics Championships," by which time the group had already been debuted for over a year.

She and Yuqi teamed up to participate in a bowling competition. When the camera crew came to film them during practice, the PD leading the team walked up to them. His name tag read "PD Kang Young-tae".

She looked up at him with surprise and saw his face without his hat. His eyes were bright and he was unexpectedly handsome.

My heart started racing. It turned out he hadn't resigned; he'd actually been promoted to Product Manager.

Jiang Yongtai started teaching her how to hold the ball and how to swing her arm... but she couldn't learn anything in this state.

He patiently taught her several times, his gaze always carrying the politeness of a stranger. He didn't recognize her at all; she had probably forgotten about it. It was just a band-aid he had casually handed her, but she had always remembered it…

……

"PD-nim! Yuqi was just kidding! You, you can't take it seriously..."

She didn't know why she was panicking, nor why, even though she was explaining that "Yuqi was joking," she felt more nervous than when she recognized him earlier.

Jiang Yongtai was still stunned by her loud "Ya" just now.

The lead singer's volume is no joke.

He smiled upon hearing this.

"I didn't expect Miyeon to be such a good lead vocalist. I didn't really teach her much, considering Miyeon's subsequent achievements..."

He paused, carefully choosing his words.

"...Ahem, it's my teaching that's the problem."

Zhao Meiyan looked up at him, the color that had just faded from her ears quietly returning. She wanted to defend her motor skills, but felt that anything she said would be like adding insult to injury.

"No! PD-nim taught me very well, it's just that I don't have much athletic talent..."

The voice trailed off, the last few words almost disappearing into the cotton fibers of the mask.

Let's not talk about this anymore.

Jiang Yongtai changed the subject, and there was an air between the two of them that was hard to define as awkward or something else. He decided to cross it first.

"How did Miyeon and Yuqi come up with the idea of ​​coming here?"

Song Yuqi knew she couldn't add fuel to the fire now. That was enough; if it happened again, Zhao Meiyan would probably smother her with a pillow when she got back to the dorm.

"We want to buy a game console to play in our dorm, since it's not very convenient to go out these days."

Jiang Yongtai nodded in understanding and sat down in front of the demo machine, keeping a proper distance from Zhao Meiyan.

He picked up a handle, turned his head to look at her, and smiled.

"If that's the case, I can try teaching Miyeon again. I hope Miyeon won't mind."

Zhao Meiyan visibly stiffened after he sat down, and her face, which had finally regained its composure, turned red again.

"...Uh, no, thank you, PD-nim."

She quickly picked up the other controller, sat up straight, and stared intently at the screen without looking at Jiang Yongtai, as if waiting for some sacred knowledge to be imparted.

Jiang Yongtai smiled and picked up the controller as well.

"Let's begin. This is the chopping button, and this is the pick-up button... Mi-yeon-ssi, try chopping the tomato first..."

……

Minami glanced at the little boy waiting beside her.

He was clutching a lollipop in his hand, candy stains smeared on half of his mouth, and staring longingly at the handle in her hand.

She glanced again at the character on the screen still waving the insect net, sighed silently, and handed over the controller.

"Come on in."

"Thank you, Auntie!"

The boy's eyes lit up, and he took the handle and climbed onto the chair, but his short legs couldn't reach the seat cushion no matter how many times he tried.

Mina's lips twitched.

aunt?!

She bent down, scooped the boy up from under his arms, placed him on a chair, and gently corrected him.

"I'm Nuna, not Auntie~"

"Yes! I understand, Auntie. Thank you, Auntie!"

The boy's attention was glued to the screen, and he continued to call out "Auntie" in a reckless manner.

Mina straightened up, maintaining her "gentle smile," and pointed to the screen.

"There's honey over there, hurry over and get some."

The boy nodded vigorously, pushed the joystick forward, and the character scurried off toward the tree with the beehive hanging from it.

He raised a branch and poked at the tree trunk repeatedly. The beehive shook twice and fell down.

A swarm of wasps surged out like a burst of smoke and dust, instantly engulfing his figure.

The screen went gray, the character lay face down on the ground, and a ring of stars appeared above their head.

The boy froze, his lips began to turn down, and the tears welled up in his eyes at a visible speed.

Mina smiled and patted his head.

"Remember to call me Noona next time~"

After saying that, she turned and left the Animal Crossing demo area with satisfaction.

Behind him, the boy finally pouted to the point of tears.

Hmph! Kids are so annoying!

Minami nodded smugly and decided to go find Kang Young-tae.

The way he was spacing out on "Overcooked" just now was quite satisfying.

After all, she presented Sana's matter as a trophy; it would be too boring if he remained completely unmoved!

Now it's almost time to check out the follow-up work.

She looked in the direction she had just been looking at, then frowned.

Jiang Yongtai was still sitting in the demo area, but he was no longer alone.

He was accompanied by two girls, both wearing masks and hats, typical idol outfits for going out.

One of them was sitting next to him, and the two of them each had a controller.

Something must have happened on the screen. The girl said something, and Jiang Yongtai turned his head and replied. The two of them laughed at the same time.

Mina stood there, squinting, trying to shake off the sense of victory she felt from "educating" the kids in Animal Crossing.

Yongtai-san... seems really happy~