Peninsula: From a supporting actor to the best actor in Chungmuro

Chapter 284 Kicking out of the group, kissing, and morning reflection

Chapter Summary:
[Yoona intended to subtly flaunt her "girlfriend charm," but accidentally derailed Girls' Generation's friendship, and... it capsized.]

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

With wine still clinging to his eyelashes, Kang Jae-hoon's vision blurred as he saw Im Yoon-ah's upright back—the eternally gentle and poised national ideal type, now standing before him like a mother leopard protecting her cubs.

The script I had rehearsed in my mind was completely useless.

Based on his understanding of Lim Yoona, she should have been the elegant mediator in the conflict, gently wiping him away and defusing the awkwardness with a well-timed joke:
"Next time, will it be a heavily pregnant woman showing up at the door?"

But the reality is——

That glass of white wine, which was meant to accompany the meal, became a weapon in her hands to defend her territory.

A soaked shirt sticking to your skin should be uncomfortable.

But Kang Jae-hoon felt that something was burning hot beneath that coldness—the feeling of being cared for was more addictive than he had imagined.

My gaze went past Yoona's shoulder and landed on Jessica Jung's wet face.

Wine dripped down her meticulously styled hair, mascara smudged into faint black shadows, and her usually domineering face revealed a touch of poignant beauty, like a begonia shattered by rain.

This absurd association made him shake his head violently.

"enough."

Kang Jae-hoon quickly stood up and blocked Lim Yoon-ah's way.

however--

The expected hysterical counterattack did not materialize.

Jessica Jung simply raised her hand and slowly brushed the strands of hair that were stuck to the side of her neck behind her ear.

This action, which should have seemed fragile, was performed by her with a proud sense of regrouping.

Yes.

where is this place?
The only Michelin three-star restaurant in South Korea is surrounded by corporate executives and the families of political figures.

Her fashion empire is rising.

BLANC & ECLARE had just established itself in New York, and its collaboration with Li-Ning was just beginning to open up the huge Chinese market.

If news were to spread now that "Jessica lost control at a restaurant and splashed drinks on her former teammates," how would those discerning buyers and shopping malls she works with view her?
If the image of a "fashion queen" is damaged, the resulting commercial losses will be disastrous.

Faced with the choice between immediate gratification and the greater good of the business, Jessica Jung's choice required almost no hesitation.

She took a deep look at Lim Yoon-ah, who was being protected by Kang Jae-hoon, and suddenly gave a cryptic smile:

"What a memorable team camaraderie."

The designer friend immediately understood and quickly stepped forward to take her arm.
"Jessica, we should go."

"This is not over yet."

Jessica Jung turned and left after saying those words. The sound of her high heels on the marble floor was heavier and colder than when she arrived.

"Inside~"

Yoona smiled and made a phone call gesture:

"Unnie, I haven't changed my phone number, call me anytime~"

Jiang Jae-hoon: “…”

Anyone who didn't know better would think they were close sisters who went shopping together on the weekend.

After the sound of high heels completely disappeared, when Lim Yoona looked back, there was still a lingering sharpness in her eyes, but the corners of her mouth had already put on the familiar gentle curve.

This contradictory beauty made Kang Jae-hoon's Adam's apple bob—

He suddenly had a strong urge to kiss her in front of everyone.

And in fact, he did just that.

The moment their lips touched, suppressed gasps rose from all around.

Yoona opened her eyes wide in surprise, but when she tasted the lingering aroma of wine on his lips, she unconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck.

Three seconds later.

Yoona gently pushed him away, her fingertips touching his damp chest:

"Alright," the sharpness in her eyes had subsided, "let's continue eating."

Kang Jae-hoon was somewhat taken aback: "Aren't you leaving?"

"Walk?"

Yoona tilted her head, a mischievous glint in her doe eyes:

Are you afraid Crystal will come looking for you?

Jiang Jae-hoon: “…”

Yeah.

This is the Yoona he remembers.

He can always say the most heart-wrenching things to him in the gentlest tone.

Just then, the costume designer appeared at the perfect moment, holding a neatly folded white shirt in his hands:

"Mr. Jiang, we have prepared a change of clothes for you."

Kang Jae-hoon took the shirt and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow—

No wonder it's a Michelin three-star restaurant. With service like this, it would be a shame not to top up your account with 20 million won tonight.

……

When Kang Jae-hoon returned to the dining table after changing into a clean white shirt, the crystal glass had already been refilled.

The restaurant's pianist had switched to Chopin's Nocturne at some point, and the notes soothed the tense atmosphere like flowing water.

Chilled oysters were served.

The refreshing scent of lemon dispelled the lingering sour smell of alcohol in the air.

"I thought you wouldn't have a conflict with her."

Kang Jae-hoon swirled the freshly poured wine, his gaze sweeping over her calm, expressionless face.

As Lim Yoona deftly separated the oyster meat with a silver fork, she heard this and fed the plump oyster meat to Kang Jae-hoon's lips, smiling as she said:

"It seems President Jiang still doesn't understand women~"

Jessica Jung didn't throw alcohol at all; she threw a challenge.

In full view.

If Yoona (Lim Yoon-ah) had simply wiped the clothes gently and handled the situation politely, it would have been seen as cowardice and tacit consent by others.

Those lurking in the shadows will see this silence as a signal of abdication.

and so.

Some battles must be fought on the spot.

Some wines must be poured on the spot.

Even if the other person was her sister who had taken care of her before.

Kang Jae-hoon opened his mouth and bit into the oyster she offered, the sweet juice bursting on his tongue:

"Won't she cause you trouble? Maybe I should..."

"This is between me and her."

Yoona shook her head and dipped the other oyster into lemon juice: "You don't need to worry about it."

In fact.

He really couldn't do anything to Jessica Jung.

After all, we also need to consider Krystal Jung's feelings.

It was certainly not his wish to put that child in a difficult position between his sister and his lover.

Kang Jae-hoon suddenly realized that what Lim Yoon-ah had thrown away was not just wine, but also all the dilemmas she had taken for him.

"Thank you."

This expression of thanks is more mellow than the wine of Burgundy.

"Just thank me with words?"

Lim Yoona rested her chin on her hand, gazing at him; the candlelight flickered like a galaxy in her deer-like eyes. As she forked her way to the second oyster, Kang Jae-hoon was already bracing himself for some kind of sensual hint—

"Come with me to the movies."

"what?"

Kang Jae-hoon was stunned, then burst into laughter.

I had expected a more romantic demand, but instead it turned out to be such a pure and innocent invitation.

"Your Name. It is said that it also has a gender-swap setting, which is a good reference for the performance of Queen Cheonin."

A wave of guilt suddenly washed over me.

Lately, he has been so engrossed in the financial gambler in "The Day the Nation Goes Bankrupt" that he has forgotten that she is also secretly working hard for the Empress who has traveled through a thousand years.

"Actually, I prepared some reference materials for you, I'll give them to you tomorrow."

Kang Jae-hoon spoke without changing his expression, his left hand already blindly typing a message under the table.

[To Hanna: Urgent! I need a cut of the "Secret Garden" soul-swap scene, including all the interactions between Gil Ra-im and Kim Joo-won. It will be delivered to Yoona's house tomorrow morning.]

……

The twilight flowed slowly like melting dark chocolate, spreading from the gilded entrance of the Michelin three-star restaurant all the way to the movie theater.

The neon lights of Seoul cast trails of color like ribbons on the car window, casting flickering light and shadow on the two people's profiles.

The midnight screening of "Your Name" was 90% full, with the sweet aroma of popcorn and the whispers of young couples filling every corner of the theater. Kang Jae-hoon and Im Yoon-a, wearing black masks, sat down like two dark elves who had wandered into a fairy tale world.

On the screen, Taki Tachibana wakes up in the morning light, looks down at the soft curves of her chest that don't belong to her, and reaches out to knead them in confusion and shock—

"puff……"

Laughter erupted from all around.

Kang Jae-hoon glanced to the side, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Im Yoon-ah sitting upright, her eyes, visible above her mask, curved into crescent moons, with a fascinating arc at the corners.

Light and shadow shift and change.

A comet streaks across the sky over Itomori Town, an encounter and forgetting at dusk, time and space connected by kuchikame sake... The 120-minute dream ends with Taki and Mitsuha reuniting on the stairs through their tearful eyes.

……

The streets on the way back were sparkling clean from the rain.

Kang Jae-hoon took five steps before suddenly realizing that Lim Yoon-ah was not beside him.

As I turned around, I saw her standing at the edge of the streetlight's glow, her long hair being tossed about by the night breeze—

"Your name is?"

She recited that line with such nuance and intensity, her eyes more misty than the night fog over the Han River.

Kang Jae-hoon paused, then suddenly strode back and grabbed her wrist in the damp air:

“Jiang Zai Xun, 26 years old, occupation is…” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “the thief who stole Lin Piao Liang’s heart.”

The rain suddenly intensified, enveloping the two in a misty curtain of water.

Yoona smiled and nestled into his arms, water droplets from her hair falling onto the hollow of her collarbone, much like the comet that fell into the heart of a lake in a movie.

……

The morning light is dim.

The dewdrops condensing on the windowsill reflected the rising sun.

Inside the apartment.

Scattered clothes meandered from the entryway to the bedroom like a beautiful star trail, recording the couple's "immersive study" of "Your Name" last night.

When Yoona woke up looking radiant, the calico cat was already squatting at the door, its tail tip impatiently patting the floor.

She gently kissed the forehead of the sleeping Kang Jae-hoon beside her, then floated off the bed like a feather.

Begin your morning ritual—

The porcelain bowl clattered as I poured cat food, the water flow was turned down to the lowest setting while I washed up, and finally I brewed a pot of barley tea, then curled up on the sofa with a copy of "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty" in my hands.

When she turned to the entry about "the Queen's drunken misbehavior in the palace," she suddenly put the book down as if she remembered something.

The fingertips hovered in mid-air, hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved towards the chest—

Then it suddenly drooped down as if deflated.

"Hey……"

A soft sigh drifted away in the morning light.

Some moves really do require "extraordinary talent" to perfectly replicate.

She picked up her teacup reluctantly, suddenly wanting to drag out her past self who had said "refer to the performance" last night and give her a good scolding.

Amidst the fragrant aroma of tea, my phone suddenly rang.

Yoona picked up her phone and glanced at it; it was a screenshot of the DC forum posted by Choi Sooyoung in the Girls' Generation group chat.

With a tap of the fingertip, the title of the anonymous post popped into view:
[Shocking! Two women embroiled in a fight over a man at a Michelin three-star restaurant; the woman involved in the wine-throwing incident is suspected to be a former member of a top girl group!]

The post used extremely cryptic language, yet every word contained a hidden meaning:

"Last night at Restaurant X, I witnessed a rising star from Chungmuro ​​(the area around Chungmuro) having dinner with two top actresses. For some unknown reason, a conflict erupted during the meal. First, the fashion brand owner angrily threw white wine at someone, then the girl group's star calmly retaliated. The scene was like a soap opera. The relationship between the three parties involved remains a mystery..."

Just as Yoona was about to put her phone down, the group chat window suddenly started flooded with messages—

Choi Soo-young: "Could this rising star of Chungmuro, born in the 90s, be someone we know?"

Seohyun: "Judging from the description, it seems so. If we follow the formula, the visual center should correspond to Yoona unnie."

Kim Hyo-yeon: "Who is the owner of that fashion brand?"

Lee Soon-kyu: "I just checked Instagram and a certain 'rich and beautiful' girl checked in at that restaurant last night."

Kim Tae-yeon: "So the three of them acted out 'Temptation of Wife' at the restaurant last night?"

Hwang Mi-young: "OMG! Yoona, are you okay?"

……

Lim Yoona, holding a cup of barley tea, slowly typed: "Wow, it's a shame you guys don't open a detective agency~"

Choi Soo-young replied instantly: "Really?"

"certainly."

Lim Yoona deliberately paused for three seconds before posting the next message:
"Yes."

The group chat instantly exploded.

Seohyun: "Unnie really spilled wine?!"

Choi Soo-young: "Did Jessica Jung strike first?"

Lee Soon-kyu: "Who won??"

Hwang Mi-young: "What caused it? Was it because of Kang Jae-hoon?"

With a flicker of her eyelashes, Im Yoon-a had already prepared her explanation:

"It's related to him, but it's mainly because of myself. It's kind of... an explanation."

The moment the message was sent, the group chat suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

quite a while.

Huang Meiying suddenly asked, "Aren't you afraid she'll pull your hair?"

Lim Yoona's lips curled up slightly, and her typing speed increased a few notches:
"Jaehoon was right next to me at the time, so I wasn't scared~"

"..."

The Girls' Generation members on the other end of the phone fell silent again—why did this gossip suddenly lose its appeal?

The calico cat jumped onto the sofa and rubbed its head against her arm.

Just as Yoona was about to pet her cat, a system notification popped up on her phone—

You have been removed from the group chat "Girls' Generation ~Forever 1~"

Yoona stared at the screen for two seconds, then burst into laughter and collapsed onto the sofa. Morning light shone through the sheer curtains onto her trembling shoulders, and the tea in the cup shimmered with tiny golden glints.

really.

Some truths are like carbonated drinks; shake them and they'll explode and get all over your face.

……

Kang Jae-hoon was awakened by Lim Yoon-ah's clear, bright laughter.

As he rubbed his sleepy eyes and walked out of the bedroom, the morning light was illuminating her waistline as she laughed on the sofa.

The calico cat immediately betrayed him, meowing and hopping towards his slippers with tiny, quick steps.

"What are you so happy about?"

He bent down and scooped up the cat, rubbing his chin against its fluffy head.

Im Yoona shook her phone screen, tears of laughter still glistening in the corners of her eyes:

"I'm chatting with my girlfriends."

"Oh."

He carried the cat and strolled towards the bathroom, the buzzing of the electric toothbrush soon mingling with the cat's purring.

Lin Yoona walked barefoot across the cold floor, leaning against the frosted glass door frame as she watched him with his mouth full of foam.

"Are we going to the TV station to sell dramas today?"

“Hmm,” he mumbled as he rinsed his mouth, “I went to KBS in the morning and tvN in the afternoon.”

Amid the sound of flowing water, Yoona suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her cheek against his back.

"Go wear the dark blue suit I bought you."

"...It's summer."

She reached out and adjusted the ends of Kang Jae-hoon's hair that were sticking up; the mirror reflected their intertwined figures.
"Director Park of the ratings department loves seeing male celebrities in formal attire."

Kang Jae-hoon looked at her through the mirror, then suddenly turned around and carried her to the sink.

The coldness of the ceramic startled her, causing her to gasp softly. The calico cat meowed in dissatisfaction, its tail sweeping angrily across Kang Jae-hoon's calf.

"Does Yoona even know the preferences of KBS's ratings department?"

"Of course you need to know yourself and your enemy!"

Yoona's legs dangled in the air, swinging slightly, her ankles brushing against the edge of his pajama pants. As he leaned closer, she suddenly pressed her fingertips against his lips:
"But President Jiang, if I find out you're using this trick to flirt with the producer..."

The unfinished words turned into a soft laugh.

Jiang Zai Xun opened his mouth and bit her mischievous fingertip. Amidst the cat's scratching at the door, the beauty of the morning was crushed in their intertwined breaths.

"Congratulations, President Jiang."

Lin Yunre murmured between breaths, "Sell 'Queen Cheren' for an astronomical price~"

"Lend your auspicious words."

(End of this chapter)