Peninsula: 72 Hours of Blind Dates

After sending the message, Han Xijun did not look at his phone or wait.

He thought Wu Haiyuan was still sleeping, since Wu Haiyuan was still on vacation and it was only around 8:40 a.m.

People seem to be the same: the hotter the weather, the harder it is to fall asleep; the colder the weather, the more comfortable it is to sleep wrapped in a blanket.

Han Xijun is alright; he gets up without hesitation when the alarm rings, regardless of the weather outside.

Or perhaps he has a biological alarm clock that automatically wakes him up around 7 a.m. every morning, then he spends some time in the bathroom before getting ready for work.

I turned on the computer.

The AI-powered vehicle infotainment R&D project at KG Group was handed over to another team for primary responsibility.

He is still in charge of the high-end memory chip R&D project with SK Hynix.

Han Hee-joon had previously promised Chairman Jung of Hyundai-Kia Group about the development of AI integration in the new flagship vehicle. Although Hyundai-Kia Group had not yet officially cooperated with Kakao Group, the development of AI-powered vehicle systems was the same, and Han Hee-joon wondered if he should remind Chairman Jung.

As a professional, he shouldn't have said that KG Group and Kakao Group hadn't signed a confidentiality agreement regarding their collaborative research and development; otherwise, it wouldn't have appeared in the news reports before.

I'm a bit conflicted.

Buzz. The phone vibrates.

Wu Haiyuan replied to the message.

It's also a photo plus a piece of text information.

In the photo, Wu Haiyuan is lying in bed with his right hand over his eyes as if blocking out the light.

But just like that, the ring on his right ring finger was captured in the shot.

The text message said that she was about to get up, and that she had arranged to go back to her middle school with Jiang Huiyuan to visit their teachers, and then go shopping at Fuping Market to see if there were any good value items she needed to buy.

Han Xijun replied to Wu Haiyuan's message, reminding him to remember to eat breakfast.

Wu Haiyuan replied with a cute "I understand" emoji, and that ended their morning communication.

The timing was truly impeccable.

Before I could even put my phone down, my chief secretary called.

The first meeting after the holiday was held in the new year, and Han Xijun was notified to go to the 35th floor.

On the other side, Wu Haiyuan, who had placed his phone on the pillow next to him, really didn't want to get out of bed.

The person woke up.

He rolled around a few times, clutching the blanket, letting out a low growl.

click

The door was pushed open.

Wu Haiyuan stopped rolling.

At the doorway, Mom looked at Wu Haiyuan, who was lying on his side with the blanket between his legs, looking up at her, and said, "What's wrong with you so early in the morning? I thought you fell off the bed."

Wu Haiyuan said in a spoiled tone, "Mom, I don't want to get up."

Mom said, "Then don't get up. I never intended for you to come with me to buy groceries."

"Buying groceries?"

"Otherwise, your dad and sister both go to work. Are we supposed to stay home and not eat?"

Wu Haiyuan sat up halfway and muttered, "I really wanted to go grocery shopping with Mom, but I made plans with Huiyuan to go back to the middle school and then go shopping for some things." "I wasn't planning on having you come with me. Since you're up, go wash up and come out for breakfast."

"Is there breakfast?"

"Miso soup"

"Asa, Mom's pork miso soup is the best I've ever had. Do you have any stir-fried anchovy side dishes? I'll wash up right away."

At the dining table, Wu Haiyuan took photos first.

My mother sat in the chair opposite me, saying, "You and Hee-joon are at the happiest time of your lives right now."

"What?!"

"Didn't you take these photos to show Hee-joon?"

"No, I took the picture and showed it to the members after I got back to Seoul. My mom's cooking is better than any fancy restaurant."

Very useful.

The cheerful mother asked, "Hye-won has gone to Seoul alone, so please take good care of her. She's different from you; she's focused on her studies and inevitably neglects herself in daily life."

"Also, did she get a scholarship? The tuition for Seoul National University's law school and the cost of living in Seoul are not low. It's not easy to get into law school. If she has to work part-time, it will put too much pressure on Huiyuan." Wu Haiyuan continued, "I've thought about all of this. The pressure in Seoul is much greater than in Incheon. It's all invisible pressure, especially in university life. Everyone is very competitive. Those who can get into law school are all very good students."

"The first thing to solve is the problem of daily life, Han Xijun, he..."

The mother interrupted, "What do you mean, 'Han Xijun'? You've always just called him by his name?"

Wu Haiyuan took a sip of soybean paste soup, glanced at his mother, and muttered, "No, it's not like that."

"What's your nickname?"

"What?"

"Don't young people these days all have nicknames for each other when they're dating?"

Wu Haiyuan continued to mutter, "I don't know."

"It feels so awkward to keep calling you by your name, like 'Aigi'? 'Darling'? Don't you and Hee-joon have that?"

Feeling embarrassed by the cheesy way he addressed her, Wu Haiyuan shook his head and said, "We would never call each other that."

"So you're pregnant? What?"

"Well, well, he asked me for five hundred yuan."

Mom paused for a moment, then laughed, "Isn't that your nickname from middle school?"

"yes"

"What did you call him?"

"genius"

"Haha, your nicknames for each other are quite unique. It's good to have nicknames, but don't always call me Han Xijun. Now I know that if you say 'genius,' I know it refers to Xijun. It's okay."

This is not the point.

Wu Haiyuan quickly steered the conversation back to the previous topic: "Anyway, he'll look for a house near Seoul National University first."

"Looking for a place to live?"

"Yes, buy an apartment. The apartments near the university are all old ones, and the price is around 2 million. Buy one, hire someone to clean and tidy it up, and let Huiyuan move in."

The mother listened attentively to Wu Haiyuan's plan with Han Xijun.

After listening, the mother gave a thumbs up and said, "As expected of my daughter, and as expected of my future son-in-law, he is truly the kindest, most considerate, and most caring person I have ever met." Wu Haiyuan was very embarrassed by the praise.

This was the first time I'd ever heard my mother praise me like this.

When I debuted as the leader of the group nmixx, my mother never said, "You are my daughter."

It actually depends on the person.

If that person wasn't Jiang Huiyuan, Wu Haiyuan wouldn't have gone to so much trouble, and Han Xijun would never have spent so much money to do so many things.

Wu Haiyuan's mother still asked with concern, "Won't it be a burden for Xijun to buy back the old apartment?"

Wu Haiyuan blurted out, "He also plans to buy a luxury apartment, and his mobile banking balance is 11 figures."

"How many?"

"11-digit number"

"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, million, ten million, hundred million, billion, billion son-in-law"

"Mom, what are you saying?"

"Hee Joon-jae has already earned billions in just two years of work?" The tone was genuinely shocked.

When Wu Haiyuan first saw the balance, his reaction was almost exactly the same as his mother's.

Now, pretending to be very calm, he said, "Mom, he is the head of the most core department of Kakao Group, in charge of research and development. He also receives stock options and project bonuses from the company. His annual income is about 70 billion H yuan."

"My daughter, you must have saved the country in your past life, it's true."

Wu Haiyuan said speechlessly, "I'm excellent too, okay? Although I can't earn that much money now, I'm sure I can in the future."

"Yes, yes, yes, it's definitely possible. By then, my two daughters and sons-in-law will be outstanding talents who can earn more money in a year than we could in a lifetime."