Peninsula: The young master is poor and doesn't want to date.

Chapter 2 Interaction

Bae Joo-hyun wanted to slap herself.

But the words were already out, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow Li Zhengyi out of the convenience store, watching him pull down the shutter door and lock it before heading towards a dark stairwell.

There were no lights in the hallway.

Li Zhengyi took out his phone and turned on the flashlight.

The beam of light illuminated the peeling paint on the walls, the piles of cardboard boxes in the corner, and the suspicious stains on the steps.

"Be careful, it's a bit messy here."

He said it without turning his head.

Wearing those expensive lambskin ankle boots, Bae Joo-hyun carefully stepped up the cement steps.

You can smell the musty odor at every step.

Third floor.

Li Zhengyi opened an iron gate that looked older than the two of them.

The room was very small.

It's really small.

You can read it all at a glance.

A single bed, the sheets were clean.

A simple wardrobe, the door doesn't close properly.

A small table with a row of books and a laptop on it.

Several cardboard boxes were piled up in the corner.

It's probably less than ten square meters in total.

The window was open, and the night wind blew in, making it chilly.

Bae Joo-hyun stood at the door and didn't go in.

She suddenly realized that her plan might have been a mistake from the very beginning.

That's completely wrong.

"Come in! What are you doing standing at the door? Afraid I'll eat you?"

Li Zhengyi had already gone inside, tossed the keys on the table, and turned to look at her.

In the dim light inside the room, that face was surprisingly beautiful.

He's not the refined kind of good-looking; he has a roguish charm, bright eyes, and a perpetually smiling mouth, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes.

That kind of look where you know what he's up to, but you can never guess the specifics.

Bae Joo-hyun took a deep breath and went inside.

The door closed behind her.

Li Zhengyi leaned against the table, arms crossed over his chest.

"Alright, now that everyone's gone, come on over."

Lee Jung-il spoke with remarkable ease, while Bae Joo-hyun's toes seemed to have already pierced through the solar system.

My throat is dry.

My heart was pounding.

"I...I still think...it's too fast. We can start...be friends first, and take it slow..."

Li Zheng interrupted her.

"Bae Joo-hyun, in the middle of the night, you came to this run-down place, Kowloon Village, to find a poor guy who works the night shift at a convenience store, and said you liked him and wanted to date him, but you wouldn't even kiss him."

He tilted his head and looked at her.

"Are you kidding me?"

You could even hear fleas chatting in the room.

He wondered why a human woman had come to live in the home of a single man.

Bae Joo-hyun felt like she could fry an egg on her face.

She was afraid of being seen through, so she forced herself to look him straight in the eye.

"I'm not kidding you, I'm serious. But love... love shouldn't be like this, it should take time, it should..."

"What should we do?"

Li Zhengyi took a step forward.

Bae Joo-hyun instinctively stepped back, her back hitting the door panel.

"Should we go on a date first? Have dinner? Or see a movie?"

Li Zhengyi took another step forward, and now the two were almost touching.

He could see her trembling eyelashes and smell the faint scent of mint in her breath.

I guess she chewed gum before coming here to freshen her breath.

They're quite well prepared.

"I can't afford any of those."

"I just work at a convenience store, earning about two million won a month. After paying rent and food, I don't have much left. Where am I supposed to take you on a date?"

"Stir-fried rice cakes from a roadside stall?"

"I don't care about those things..." Bae Joo-hyun's voice trembled.

Li Zhengyi laughed.

"But I do care. I'm poor, I admit it, but I'm not stupid."

He raised his hand and gently touched her cheek.

Bae Joo-hyun shuddered, as if she had been electrocuted.

Li Zhengyi withdrew his hand, his smile deepening.

"Look, you're shaking like this when I touch you, and you still say you like me."

"I don't……"

"Then prove it to me."

Li Zheng interrupted her, staring directly into her eyes.

"Didn't you say you liked me? Didn't you say it was love at first sight? Then kiss me now, right now."

Bae Joo-hyun's mind went blank.

She looked at the face before her, at those eyes, at that faint smile.

She suddenly realized that she might have made a huge mistake.

This person was not at all the down-on-his-luck tycoon's son she thought she could easily manipulate.

He was not a lifeline at all.

He's the kind of person you jump into the water to grab onto a straw, only to find that you've grabbed a shark instead.

He was a hunter.

A hunter who appears destitute, but whose true nature is unknown.

But there is no turning back when the bow is drawn.

She remembered the helpless face of her agent.

I recalled the meaningful words spoken by the company's senior management.

She recalled the way the second young master of the CJ family looked at her.

That look in their eyes when they see a toy, a look of absolute determination to get it.

She had no way out.

"Okay, let's kiss."

Bae Joo-hyun took a deep breath, made up her mind, then stood on tiptoe, closed her eyes, and leaned closer to Lee Jung-il's face.

The movements are very slow.

Very stiff.

They were simply carrying out a difficult task.

It's just a task.

But at the last moment, she stopped moving.

Her eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings, her lips were pressed together until they turned white, and her whole body was taut like a fully drawn bow.

Li Zhengyi looked at her.

Looking at her fearless expression,

Then he laughed.

I was genuinely amused.

"Alright, I was just kidding."

He took a step back, creating some distance.

Bae Joo-hyun suddenly opened her eyes, completely bewildered.

Li Zheng waved his hand, turned around, walked to the bedside, sat down, picked up the cigarette box on the table, knocked out a cigarette, and lit it.

He took a drag of his cigarette, the smoke rising in the dim light.

"Look at your expression, it's like you're going to the execution ground."

"I don't force people, especially those shorter than me."

"You said you like me, okay, I believe you. You said you want to date, okay, I agree. So from now on, we're officially a couple."

He spoke very casually.

Bae Joo-hyun was still leaning against the door, not yet reacting.

Li Zheng flicked the ash from his cigarette, which fell into the instant noodle cup.

"But there are some things I need to say upfront. First, I'm poor and can't give you much. Second, I'm busy; I sleep during the day and work at night, so I don't have much time to spend with you. Third..."

He looked up at her.

"If you regret it, you can say so anytime. I don't care."

Bae Joo-hyun took ten seconds to process this statement.

Then she slowly straightened up, adjusted her coat, and returned to being the composed entertainer Bae Joo-hyun.

Although her face was still a little pale.

"I don't regret it. So... so we're dating now?"

"Sure, why do I need to sign a contract and put my fingerprint on it?"

Bae Joo-hyun didn't respond to that.

She walked to the table and took her phone out of her bag.

"Okay, let's add each other's contact information: KakaoTalk."

"OK."

Li Zheng put a cigarette in his mouth and took out his old Samsung phone with a cracked screen.

The two scanned the QR code and became friends.

Bae Joo-hyun's profile picture is a photo of herself, smiling sweetly amidst flowers.

Li Zhengyi's head resembles the butt of an orange cat.

Bae Joo-hyun stared at the cat's rear end for two seconds, then silently noted it down: Lee Jung-il.

"Well, I'm quite busy with work and have a lot of schedules, so we might not be able to meet often. Also, it would be very troublesome if the company or fans found out. So..."

Li Zheng waved his hand.

"I understand. Don't contact me unless it's absolutely necessary. If you do, pretend you don't know me, right? Don't worry, I know the rules."

He was too cooperative.

Their coordination made Bae Joo-hyun feel uneasy.

She tried to explain, "That's not what I meant. It's just... it's better to be careful. After all, I'm an idol now, and a lot of eyes are watching."

"clear."

Li Zheng nodded, finished his last puff of cigarette, and stubbed it out in the instant noodle bowl.

"Is there anything else you need to explain?"

Bae Joo-hyun thought for a moment, then took her phone out of her bag.

"Um, can we take a couple photo?"