Peninsula's Life Begins in 2016

Chapter 36 Little Detective Kim Min-jung

When Kim Minjung came out of the shower, Kang Yeonjung was sitting on the living room sofa, holding a tube of ointment and reading the instructions.

A cup of warm milk sits on the coffee table, its white steam rising and swirling under the warm yellow light.

Kim Minjung was wearing light pink pajamas, with a towel wrapped around her head and a few strands of wet hair sticking to her cheeks.

I still feel a bit hesitant to put weight on my left leg when walking, but the hot compress I just applied has made it much better.

"come over."

Jiang Yan patted the sofa cushion next to him.

Kim Minjung obediently sat down and carefully stretched out his left leg, placing it on the edge of the coffee table.

I bumped my knee and got a small bruise, but thankfully the skin wasn't broken.

Jiang Yan unscrewed the cap of the ointment, squeezed a little onto his fingertip, and gently pushed it outward from the center of the bruise.

The ointment felt cool and refreshing. Kim Minjung bit her lower lip and remained silent, but her calves trembled slightly involuntarily.

"pain?"

"Oh dear, it doesn't hurt, this is just a normal reaction."

Jiang Yan rolled his eyes at her helplessly, not bothering to call her out on her stubbornness. He simply lightened the pressure on her hands and said while rubbing her, "If it's swollen when you wake up tomorrow morning, don't go to the company. Just stay home and rest."

"Okay, that's right!" Kim Minjung refused without even thinking. "I made plans with Jimin unnie to practice vocalizations together tomorrow. The teacher said they'll be checking next weekend."

"Practicing vocalization is fine, but don't practice dancing."

"But……"

"Alright, I'll explain the situation to your teacher." Jiang Yan raised his hand and pinched her soft cheek. "You have to listen to me. If this injury causes you to have a chronic condition and you can't debut, it will be too late for you to regret it."

Kim Minjung pouted, but finally nodded obediently: "Okay, I'll be good."

Jiang Yan twisted the ointment back on and put it back in the medicine box. He got up and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. When he came back, he handed her the glass of milk: "Drink it, then go to sleep."

Kim Minjung held the cup with both hands, taking small sips, but his eyes remained fixed on Kang Yeon's back.

"Oppa".

"Um?"

"Was that person you saw today, the one you hadn't seen in a long time, a girl?"

Jiang Yan paused, closed the drawer, turned around, and leaned against the TV cabinet. "What, now you've learned to gossip about me?"

"Ani-yo." Kim Min-jung shook his head, holding his milk cup. "It's not gossip... it's just a guess, and I think my guess is definitely right."

Jiang Yan was amused by her serious yet slightly shy demeanor. He walked over to the sofa, sat down, and reached out to rewrap the dangling towel around her head. While drying her hair, he asked, "So, what else did you deduce?"

"I deduced..." Kim Minjung drawled, tilting his head as he thought for a moment, "That person must be very familiar with you, otherwise you wouldn't have been so distracted on the way back. And the fact that you said it wasn't a bad thing means that meeting him made you quite happy."

Jiang Yan paused for a moment. That statement wasn't wrong; he was indeed quite happy.

Kim Minjung noticed his pause, and her expression immediately turned smug. She added, "I also noticed something else. The shirt you draped over me had a slight acrylic smell. I used it in art class at school, and I could smell it right away. So I guess you went to paint with that person you haven't seen in a long time?"

Jiang Yan was truly stunned this time.

He looked down and smelled his cuff; sure enough, there was a very faint scent of turpentine mixed with propylene.

He had been in the studio for so long that he couldn't smell anything anymore, but he didn't expect Kim Minjung to have such a sensitive nose.

"Kotaro." Jiang Yan withdrew his hand and slowly squatted down, looking at her seriously. "If you don't become an idol in the future, you can consider becoming a detective."

"I don't want to be a detective." Kim Minjung finished the last sip of milk, placed the cup on the coffee table, and then carefully sat cross-legged. "So, Oppa, who is that person?"

Jiang Yan looked into her bright, sparkling eyes and remained silent for two seconds.

He didn't want to lie to her, but he couldn't explain in too much detail in a short time, so he thought for a moment and said simply, "It's Noona, whom I met at the orphanage when I was a child. I've known her for many years before you. Later, she came to Seoul, and we lost contact for many years. Today, we happened to run into each other at SM Entertainment, and we went to sit nearby tonight."

Kim Minjung blinked and said "Oh" thoughtfully.

She keenly noticed that Jiang Yan said "I've known you for many years longer than you," rather than "I've known you for a long time."

This is not a simple time description.

This is a sorting.

Kim Minjung rested her chin on her hand and asked softly, "So, is Oppa troubled today because of her?"

Jiang Yan neither denied nor admitted it.

He reached out and pulled the towel off her head, covering her eyes.

"Children shouldn't worry about adult matters. After drinking milk and brushing their teeth, they should go to sleep."

"Dear! Oppa!! I'm not young anymore!"

Kim Minjung pulled the towel off his face, his hair getting all messed up from the rubbing, and he protested softly with his cheeks puffed out.

"Nee, nee, nee, Arasso." Jiang Yan stood up perfunctorily, waved her hand, picked up her empty milk glass from the coffee table, and walked towards the kitchen.

"The ointment is in the medicine cabinet. I'll apply it again for you tomorrow morning. What would you like for breakfast tomorrow?"

When it came to food, Kim Minjung's attention was successfully diverted. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Hmm... I want to eat the egg toast you made last time, the kind with two slices of cheese. Make an extra one, I promised Jimin unnie I would bring it to her."

"You two seem to get along well. I'll remember that. Now go back to sleep."

"Inside!"

Kim Minjung slowly stood up, holding onto the sofa armrest, but she accidentally pulled her knee, causing her to gasp in pain. She then limped back to her room, leaning against the wall for support.

As she reached the bedroom door, she suddenly remembered something and turned back, watching Jiang Yan's back as he rinsed cups in the kitchen. The warm yellow light made his silhouette look very gentle.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately asked nothing and gently closed the door.

The warm yellow star-shaped nightlight on the bedside table was on, casting dappled light spots on the ceiling.

Kim Minjung crawled into bed, pulled the blanket up to his chin, and stared blankly at the light spots on the ceiling for a long time.

I met him at the orphanage when I was a child; he's someone I've known for many years longer than me.

I ran into Oppa at the company today, so he must be someone from the company.

And since she's older than Oppa, she's probably not a trainee; she could be a company employee or an idol who has already debuted.

She rolled over, buried her face in the pillow, and unconsciously picked at the puppy pattern on the blanket with her fingers. She closed her eyes and muttered softly, "Oppa knows so many people."