Peninsula: My cheat code is unscientific

Chapter 161 Eating
"Send a message quickly! Remember to include me! I want to go too!"

Tzuyu glanced helplessly at her sister, who was even more excited than her, took out her phone, opened her chat with Yoona, and typed with slight hesitation:
[Good morning, Yoona unnie. My manager oppa said we'll be appearing on the show "Mini TV Station" together, is that true?]

After the message was sent, a long wait ensued. Chou Tzu-yu glanced at her phone every now and then, and seemed somewhat distracted during practice.

Lim Nayeon noticed her anxiety and comforted her:
"Relax, relax, the seniors must be very busy. They may not have seen it yet, but they will definitely reply later."

After a while, her phone finally chimed with a crisp "ding." Tzuyu immediately unlocked her screen; it was a reply from Yoona:
Yes, it's true! Sunny unnie will also be participating! I'm looking forward to seeing Tzuyu again.

Seeing this kind reply, Chou Tzu-yu finally felt relieved, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

"I told you to reply! I knew the seniors would definitely reply when they saw it. What did they say?"

Lim Nayeon eagerly leaned her head closer.

"Yoona unnie said it's true, and she's really looking forward to meeting you." Tzuyu showed her phone screen to Nayeon.

"Great! Let's strike while the iron is hot and invite them to dinner!"

Chou Tzu-yu nodded and sent over a revised version of Lim Na-yeon's previous statement:

[Yoona unnie, if it's alright... do you and Sunny unnie have any free time recently? Nayeon unnie and I would like to treat you to a meal, and we'd also like to ask you unnies for some advice on variety show experience.]

The reply came very quickly this time.

[Yoona: Oh, I see. I'll talk to Sunny unnie and get back to you later.]

Meanwhile, in Sunny's apartment.

The dining table had been cleared, and Jiang Che was sprawled on the sofa digesting his food, while Sunny was scrolling through the news on her phone.

"Ding-dong-"

A notification sound rang out.

Sunny opened the message and saw it was from Lim Yoona. She quickly skimmed through it, then glanced at Jiang Che, who was sprawled on the sofa, and gave him a look of anticipation: "Cousin."

Jiang Che jumped: "What?"

Sunny shook her phone, her smile growing even brighter:

“Your ‘third meeting by fate,’ little sister, Chou Tzu-yu, invited me and Yoona to dinner.”

"so?"

"So?" Sunny shrugged matter-of-factly.

"Of course you should go! You reap what you sow. Isn't that just common sense?"

Jiang Che looked at her speechlessly:
"Aren't you afraid... I'll use your face to spout nonsense again?"

"What am I afraid of?" Sunny shrugged indifferently.

"Anyway, the more debts you owe, the more you'll have to pay back. Besides, Yoona is here this time, how much more outrageous can you get?"

Jiang Che: "..."

His lips twitched, and he finally sighed resignedly:
"Okay, okay, I'll go."

"That's more like it!" Sunny nodded in satisfaction, picked up her phone, and quickly replied to Yoona's message.

Upon receiving the reply, Yoona opened her phone and saw the message:

[Sure, I can go, but Jiang Che will go in my place. Remember to keep an eye on him, okay? Don't let him use my face to spout nonsense! Cute.jpg]

Yoona looked at the message and sighed, rubbing her forehead in exasperation—just as she expected, she knew it would turn out this way. She tapped her finger lightly and replied with a simple "OK".

Then, she switched back to her chat with Chou Tzu-yu and typed a reply:

[Tzuyu, Sunny unnie and I have already agreed, no problem! You guys decide the time and place, just let unnie know when you've decided.]

In the JYP practice room, Tzuyu, upon hearing the notification tone, immediately checked her phone and finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Yoona's reply.

"So, so, did the senior agree?" Lim Nayeon asked from the side.

"Yes! I agree!" Chou Tzu-yu's lips curled into a smile:
"Yoona unnie said that we can decide the time and place."

"Yes!" Lim Nayeon's face lit up with a big smile:

"Great! Then let's decide... um... what should we eat?"

Chou Tzu-yu thought for a moment and tentatively suggested:

"Unnie, shall we go eat barbecue? It seems like this is a common choice for group meals."

"Barbecue? Sure!!" Lim Nayeon immediately agreed:

"Let's find out which store is better now!"

The two girls immediately huddled together and began carefully selecting their options.

"How about we go to Kang Ho-dong oppa's shop?" Lim Nayeon suggested, and Chou Tzu-yu nodded in agreement.

On the evening of the day of the appointment, Yoona arrived at Sunny's apartment building on time. After knocking on the door, it opened a few minutes later, and Kang Cheol looked utterly dejected.

Yoona looked at him, a sly smile flashing across her face. She cleared her throat, deliberately drawing out her words, and said respectfully:
“Let’s go—'Sunny unnie'.”

Jiang Che couldn't help but complain:

"Yoona, who did you learn this from? How come you're getting worse and worse!"

Yoona smiled without saying a word, but her eyes clearly said: Who else can I learn from?

At this moment, Sunny peeked out from the living room and waved to Jiang Che with a grin:

"Go on, go on! Have fun, cousin!" After saying that, he didn't forget to remind Yoona:
"Yoona, keep an eye on him for me, don't let him do anything weird with my face! I don't want to hear about 'Nayeon, our fateful third meeting' again."

"Yes, unnie, don't worry," Yoona replied with a smile.

Jiang Che said to Sunny in an annoyed tone:
"That was an accident before, but this time I know for sure, cousin! You just stay home and take care of yourself."

After saying that, he focused his mind—and in the next second, he had already transformed into Sunny's appearance.

“Wow!” Sunny exclaimed.

"No matter how many times I watch it, I still find it amazing."

"All done? Let's go, unnie," Yoona said with a smile, linking her arm with Kang Cheol's. The two got into Yoona's car and drove towards the agreed-upon barbecue restaurant. Inside the car, Kang Cheol leaned back comfortably in his seat, while Yoona glanced at him every now and then, a smile always playing on her lips.
Upon arriving at the pre-booked barbecue restaurant, Jiang Che stared at the prominent human-shaped billboard at the entrance and asked in surprise:
"Isn't that Kang Ho-dong?"

Yoona smiled and nodded:

"Yes, Kang Ho-dong oppa also runs a BBQ restaurant. Let's go in, Sunny unnie."

Jiang Che clicked his tongue in amazement, and thinking of Jiang Hudong's physique, he couldn't help but wonder if the store would go bankrupt by eating all of Jiang's money.

Upon entering, the waiter guided them to the private room reserved by Chou Tzu-yu and her companion. As soon as the door opened, Chou Tzu-yu and Lim Na-yeon, who were already waiting inside, immediately stood up and bowed respectfully in greeting.
"Good evening, Yoona unnie, Sunny unnie!" Tzuyu's voice was filled with undisguised joy.

Lim Nayeon greeted them with a bright and energetic smile:
Good evening, Yoona sunbaenim and Sunny sunbaenim!

"Tzuyu-ssi, Nayeon-ssi, good evening. Have you been waiting long?" Yoona asked with a gentle smile and a soft tone.

Seeing this, Jiang Che quickly went through Sunny's usual behavior patterns in his mind, tried his best to imitate her tone, and waved his hand with a smile:

"Oh dear, we're all acquaintances, don't be so polite, please have a seat!"

Seeing Sunny unnie's easygoing demeanor, Chou Tzu-yu's smile relaxed as well. Lim Na-yeon then playfully chimed in:

"We didn't have to wait long, the unnies were very punctual!"

The four sat down, and the atmosphere in the private room quickly warmed up. Lim Nayeon was the first to raise her glass full of drinks and sincerely said:
"Yoona sunbaenim, Sunny sunbaenim, I'd like to raise a toast to you both to thank you for taking care of us before!"

Chou Tzu-yu quickly raised her glass and nodded earnestly in agreement:
"Yes! Thank you so much, unnies!"

"Aigoo, why are you being so polite!" Jiang Che waved his hand heartily, feeling himself getting more and more into the zone.

"Our Tzuyu is so cute, and Nayeon is so energetic, any senior would take care of her, right? And Nayeon, you can call us unnie too, right, Yoona?"

As he spoke, he casually nudged Yoona, who was standing next to him, with his elbow.

When Yoona was touched by him, she thought about what Jiang Che had said and realized it wasn't anything strange, so she nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Nayeon-ssi, don't be so formal. Just call us unnie from now on."

"Yes! Yoona unnie! Sunny unnie!" Lim Nayeon readily complied, immediately changing her address, her smile becoming even brighter.

At this moment, the waiter brought out the pork belly, and everyone began to grill the meat. The sizzling sound of oil and the tempting aroma of meat instantly filled the entire private room.

Seeing that the meat was almost cooked, Yoona naturally picked up a lettuce leaf, took a piece of fragrant pork belly, dipped it in sauce, added some kimchi, skillfully wrapped it up, and naturally offered it to Kang Cheol's lips with a gentle smile on her face.
"Try it."

"!!!"

Jiang Che's body stiffened slightly when he saw the "feeding" that suddenly appeared at his lips. He then smiled at Yoona and opened his mouth to take it.

This series of smooth interactions once again raised questions in Chou Tzu-yu's mind.

Her gaze shifted subtly between "Sunny unnie" and "Yoona unnie," a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes.

'Why is this... ambiguous feeling coming again?' Zhou Ziyu muttered to herself.

'Didn't everything seem normal last time? Why are they feeding her by hand again...? Are the unnies from the Korean Peninsula really this close? Is this normal?'

She subconsciously turned to look at Lim Nayeon beside her, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

Nayeon noticed her gaze and assumed Tzuyu had seen Yoona feeding Sunny and wanted to be taken care of like that too.
So she immediately followed suit, wrapped up a piece of meat, and smilingly held it to Chou Tzu-yu's lips, saying in a doting tone:

"Come on, Tzuyu, eat more! Ah—"

Chou Tzu-yu stared blankly at the "Unnie's" heart-shaped barbecue that had suddenly appeared in front of her. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she shyly opened her mouth to take it, muttering softly:
"Thank you, unnie..."

As she chewed, she secretly glanced at the two unnies across from her, who were interacting naturally.

'So... I guess I was overthinking it again? Nayeon unnie does the same thing, doesn't she? Maybe this is just normal intimate interaction between girls on the peninsula?'

Thinking about this, her confusion seemed to dissipate considerably. So, she wrapped a piece of pork belly dipped in sauce in a lettuce leaf and shyly offered it to Lim Nayeon.
"Unnie, you eat too."

Nayeon was focused on flipping the meat on the grill when she saw Tzuyu actually feeding her. Her eyes instantly curved into crescents, and she stuffed a mouthful into her mouth, puffing out her cheeks as she praised her:

"Thank you, Tzuyu! You're such a good girl!"

Seeing Nayeon looking like a little hamster, Tzuyu couldn't help but chuckle. She shook off the jumbled thoughts in her mind, then wrapped up two pieces of grilled meat and handed them to Yoona and "Sunny" unnie.

"Thank you, Tzuyu." Yoona smiled and accepted it.

Seeing Zhou Ziyu's quick imitation, Jiang Che found it a bit funny and subconsciously glanced at Yoona next to him.

Although Yoona didn't know what Jiang Che meant by looking at her, she had a feeling that he was up to no good, so she immediately kicked him lightly under the table and rolled her eyes at him in return.

Jiang Che didn't show it on his face, but he also smiled at Zhou Ziyu:
"You should eat too, don't just focus on us."

"Yes, unnie." Tzuyu nodded obediently.

Seeing the maknae suddenly realize something, Lim Nayeon felt playful and joined the "feeding army," wrapping up two more pieces of meat and handing them to Yoona and Kang Cheol respectively.

"Thank you, Nayeon," Yoona continued to express her gratitude.

Jiang Che silently complained to himself:

'How did this meal turn into a feeding frenzy?' But she still smiled and accepted Lim Nayeon's kindness.

After a chaotic feeding session, Chou Tzu-yu remembered her business. She put down her chopsticks and asked seriously:
"Unnies, about that show 'Little TV Station'... I've never participated in one before, so I'm a little worried. Are there any special things I need to pay attention to during the recording? Will there be a lot of improvisational parts?"

Yoona thought for a moment and patiently replied:

"Don't be too nervous. Variety shows are different from stage performances. There aren't as many strict rules. Even if you occasionally say something wrong or react a little slowly, the post-production editing will help to fix it. The most important thing is to be your true self."

Nayeon also chimed in, encouraging the maknae (youngest member):
"That's right! Don't worry, Tzuyu, Sana and the others are here too! Don't worry too much."

Chou Tzu-yu nodded, but a hint of apprehension about the unknown journey could still be seen in her eyes.

Jiang Che listened from the side, looking at Zhou Ziyu's clear yet slightly apprehensive eyes, and thinking about the controversy that would follow the variety show, he felt a little conflicted.

'Should I just give away the plot?' This thought lingered in his mind.
'Although with our own intervention, we certainly won't let history repeat itself, but... let's still give a heads-up and offer a roundabout reminder.'

So he cleared his throat:
"Tzuyu, as an artist working in a foreign country, in addition to variety show performances, there are some more basic things you need to pay special attention to."

He paused, and when he saw Chou Tzu-yu looking over, he continued:
"Especially in public places or when participating in programs, you must be extra careful when dealing with sensitive topics or items."

Chou Tzu-yu seemed to understand but not quite, not quite grasping what "Sunny unnie" meant, but she could sense the concern in the other person's words, so she obediently nodded:

"Yes, Arasso. Thanks for reminding me, Oni. I'll remember."

(End of this chapter)