Peninsula's Life Begins in 2016

Meanwhile, Jiang Yan was wolfing down a bowl of kimchi soup rice.

The afternoon recording session had taken a toll on his energy, and he had barely eaten anything since starting work. He was starving.

Although the kimchi soup rice was just average, the tofu was overcooked, and the pork belly was cut too thick, he didn't care and finished the bowl of rice in a few bites.

After finishing the last bite, he leaned back in his chair and took a sip of ice water.

Just then, my phone vibrated. It was a message from Ahn Jung-hwan in the department group chat: "Department dinner tonight after get off work, location to be determined. Received reply."

Jiang Yan wiped his mouth and was about to reply "Received" when another private message popped up at the top of the screen.

[Xiao Yan, Nuna is treating you to barbecue tonight. I'll send you the address later. Make sure you get there before 9 PM, there might be some Nuna waiting for you.]

Jiang Yan stared at the words "several angry ones," a question mark slowly appearing on his forehead.

He instinctively wanted to type a question asking who it was, but his finger, which had just touched the screen, was pulled back.

Who else could Tiffany have summoned? Probably just the members of Girls' Generation.

He put his phone back in his pocket and then walked quickly toward the SM building.

I still have work to do tonight, so I need to hurry up and finish it.

When he returned to the recording studio, Kenzie was listening to a string piece with headphones on. When she saw him come in, she pointed to the iMac next to her and said, "The third non-main project file is in there. Familiarize yourself with it first, and record it tomorrow."

"Yes." Jiang Yan sat down and put on his listening headphones.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the dense array of audio waveforms.

At 8 p.m., Kenzie took off her headphones, rubbed her sore neck, and stood up to stretch her shoulders: "Alright, that's enough for today. You should go now; Pani sent me three messages urging me to get started."

Jiang Yan awkwardly touched the back of his neck, saved and closed the project file, and picked up his coat.

"By the way, there's a dinner party tonight. Go back and take a shower first, and remember to do your best. You should know that Tiffany is helping you expand your network, right?" Kenzie reminded her gently.

Jiang Yan paused in putting on his coat, then nodded solemnly: "Teacher, I understand."

"Yes, go ahead, go ahead."

……

When Jiang Yan got home, he took a shower, changed into the black suit that Quan Minyu had put on for him, with a white shirt underneath, and stood in front of the mirror to straighten his collar.

The person in the mirror looked a few years older than their actual age. The well-tailored suit accentuated their broad shoulders and narrow waist, while the crisp collar of their white shirt made their jawline appear even more defined.

He looked at himself in the mirror for two seconds, made sure there was nothing wrong, picked up his keys and went out.

The dinner was held at a Korean beef specialty restaurant in Gangnam, not far from the SM building.

When Jiang Yan arrived, he immediately gave Tiffany's name. The waiter stared at him curiously for a moment, then led him through the lobby and pushed open the sliding door of the innermost private room.

The warm yellow light in the private room shone on the long wooden table, the grill was already set up, and the charcoal fire in the stove was burning brightly.

Tiffany sat facing the door, with Kim Tae-yeon sitting next to her.

Jiang Yan was stunned when he saw the person with his back to the door. Wasn't this the person he had brushed past at the elevator entrance this afternoon?

Is she from Girls' Generation?

As Jiang Yan approached, he immediately recognized the other person by looking at their profile.

It's Lim Yoon-a.

She is the visual center of Girls' Generation, the national girl group, and also one of the highest-paid female artists in the Korean entertainment industry.

"Xiao Yan, Da Fa, you're dressed so formally, but you look even more handsome than before."

As soon as he entered, Tiffany waved enthusiastically and patted the empty seat opposite her, "Please sit down, please sit down, we've been waiting for you."

Jiang Yan bowed slightly to the three seniors present, and then sat down next to Lin Yoona.

"I don't need to introduce her, right?" Tiffany pointed at Yoona, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You should know Yoona, the visual of Girls' Generation."

"Yes, hello, Yoona." Jiang Yan bowed respectfully.

Yoona's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then she smiled and said, "Hello, Kang Yeon-ssi, Tiffany unnie has been praising you all afternoon, and I'm really curious about it."

Jiang Yan's gaze swept over her smiling face, and he smiled politely: "Nuna, you flatter me. I just did what I was supposed to do."

At this moment, the waiter brought out the first round of Korean beef, interrupting the conversation between the guests.

After the waiter left, Tiffany picked up the skewers and skillfully flipped the meat slices, saying as she did so, "Let's skip the formalities. Today's meal is a celebration to mark the successful completion of the title track recording, and it's also a welcome dinner for Kang Yeon to officially welcome our youngest producer to the company."

Lim Yoona blinked, shifting her gaze from the grill to Jiang Yan, and deliberately asked, "The youngest? How old is Jiang Yan-ssi this year?"

"Twenty years old," Jiang Yan answered truthfully.

"At twenty, I became a full-fledged producer at SM Entertainment and even worked on Tiffany's solo title track." Yoona picked up her wine glass, tilted her head, and looked at Kang Yeon. "Nobody would believe this resume if they heard it out loud. People who didn't know better would think you were related to Lee Soo-man."

He said this half-jokingly and half-seriously, and Jiang Yan's gaze lingered on her face for a moment before shifting away.

Although it sounded like a senior teasing a junior, Jiang Yan always felt that Lin Yoona had a problem with him.

He hesitated for a moment, then released his senses and looked at Lim Yoona again. The next second, his pupils contracted sharply.

He swayed to the side in shock, his knee slamming hard against the table leg with a dull thud, causing the wine glass on the table to wobble.

Damn, is he really coming for me?!

Tiffany was startled, nearly dropping the tongs she was holding. "Oh, what's wrong?"

Kim Tae-yeon also sat up straight and looked at Kang Yeon.

"It's alright, it's alright. I'm sorry, Nuna. I slipped because I wasn't sitting properly." Jiang Yan quickly waved his hand, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and wiped the spilled wine with a tissue.

Then, still not believing it, he secretly glanced at Lim Yoona again, and the scene from before flashed before his eyes once more.

In his vision, there was almost no light or mist on Lim Yoona, but beyond her body outline, there was another Lim Yoona superimposed.

Jiang Yan was certain that this was neither a double image nor an illusion; there were indeed two figures.

The phantom hovered above Lim Yoona, staring intently at him with its doe-like eyes.

Jiang Yan thought there was something wrong with his eyes, and looked at Tiffany and Kim Tae-yeon again. The two of them were still surrounded by light and mist, and their figures did not overlap.

This discovery sent a chill down Jiang Yan's spine, the fabric of his shirt clinging to his back.

Damn it, what's the difference between this and seeing a ghost in the middle of the night?

He forced himself to shut down his senses, then looked away, picked up the glass in front of him and took a sip. The spicy sake slid down his throat, but he couldn't suppress the heart pounding in his chest.