Peninsula: Please, I only want to talk about ordinary people.

Chapter 8 Farewell, Cage

Jiang Yongtai stood up from his workstation, holding the newly printed resignation letter in his hand.

The office where he used to whisper to each other was very quiet today, just a few days ago.

His situation is nothing special at KBS. He's a PD whose pilot program was canceled. Whether he stays or leaves, he's not even a topic of conversation in the break room for more than two days.

Only Kim Sung-woo, with a slightly swollen hangover, looked up from his workstation, scratched the back of his head, and grinned at him, implying "I embarrassed you last night, bro."

Jiang Yongtai nodded to him and walked straight to the deputy minister's office.

He knocked twice, pushed the door open, and bent down slightly to hand over the letter in his hand.

"Minister, this is my resignation."

The deputy minister looked up from the pile of documents, without correcting the title. The word "deputy" is never omitted in the context of KBS unless you have been in that position long enough.

He opened the envelope, pulled out the paper, and glanced at it.

"Please sit down."

"No."

The deputy minister glanced at him, his gaze different from when he had looked him up and down a few days ago. Back then, he was looking at a subordinate who needed to be appeased; today, he was looking at someone who had already taken one step forward.

He placed the resignation letter on the table, tapped it lightly twice with his fingers, and then stopped.

"You've met with Na Young-seok."

This wasn't a question, so Jiang Yongtai didn't respond.

The deputy minister leaned back in his chair, nodded, and didn't seem to want to confirm anything with Jiang Yongtai.

"Regarding the liquidated damages and non-compete agreements, the higher-ups said they're no longer needed."

Jiang Yongtai paused for a moment.

He had thought that this money would be negotiated, that a bunch of additional clauses would be signed for installment payments, and that there would be an even more difficult non-compete agreement.

I didn't expect it to be resolved so easily...

The deputy minister's tone was indifferent, neither like he was bestowing favors nor making things difficult.

"You've done a lot during your years at KBS, so this is the station's intention."

He put the resignation letter in the drawer. "Do you still have any work to do? Let me hand it over."

Jiang Yongtai shook his head. "That's all, Minister."

The deputy minister grunted in agreement. "That's fine then. The paperwork will be completed soon."

After pausing for a moment, he spoke again with a hint of awkwardness in his tone.

"It's a pity. In the future, when you're out there... don't embarrass KBS. Say hello to Young-seok and Myung-han for me."

Jiang Yongtai lowered his eyes; he understood the meaning of those words.

"Thank you, Minister."

After bowing in farewell, he turned and walked out of the office. The door closed behind him, and he stood at the door for two seconds. His resignation went more smoothly than he had expected.

People without connections can't get ahead at KBS, and leaving is the norm, but waiving the breach of contract penalty and non-compete agreement is not normal.

Although he told Luo Yingxi last night that he could handle it, Luo Yingxi still went to Li Minghan.

The elevator doors opened, he stepped inside, and pressed the button for the first floor.

As he descended, he felt an invisible weight peeling away from his shoulders, layer by layer.

All that was accumulated by sleeping on the floor in the editing room in the early hours of the morning, by nodding and smiling in the corridor, and finally sealed in the deputy minister's office with a "do it again in the second half of the year" statement, is now leaking out of my body little by little as the floor numbers change.

The elevator reached the first floor, the doors opened, and sunlight streamed into the KBS lobby through the glass curtain wall.

He stepped out of the elevator, stood in the white light, took out his phone, and opened Kim Sung-woo's KakaoTalk.

"You can submit your resignation now."

Jin Chengyu replied instantly.

"Brother!! I'm all ready!! Now I'll hand it over to the team leader!!"

Several exclamation marks were used to describe how restless he looked at his workstation, even through the screen.

Jiang Yongtai looked at the line of text, smiled and shook his head. This kid had probably been waiting for this moment ever since the show was canceled.

He exited the chat window and clicked on "Miss" Kakao.

"I'm free this afternoon. Where should we meet?"

After sending the message, he glanced at the time. It was just past noon. Knowing his gaming partner as he did, he figured she was probably still buried in her pillow at this hour.

He put away his phone, walked to the coffee shop next to the lobby, found a seat by the window, ordered an iced Americano, and opened Kakao with Li Youting.

I sent the proposal as soon as I got to work this morning, and they've already accepted it.

He wasn't worried that his project would be "taken" before he even joined the company. He worried that such a thing might be reasonable in other teams, but not for Li Youting.

Last night, while he was still in the car on his way home, Na Young-seok and Lee Myung-han had already made arrangements with KBS.

They have no need to steal an idea from a junior.

Jiang Yongtai sighed silently. He hadn't even stepped inside tvN's door yet, and he already owed them a favor.

But there's nothing to worry about. The fact that they're willing to let him owe them says something.

He scrolled to Luo Yingxi's chat box and typed three words.

"Thank you, brother."

After sending the message, the coffee arrived. He stirred the ice. Luo Yingxi was probably busy and didn't reply to the message, but he wasn't in a hurry.

My phone vibrated; it was from Minami.

"I'm awake. Don't I have to go to work this afternoon?"

Jiang Yongtai put down the straw and replied.

"No need, I'll tell you when we meet. Where should we meet?"

The input prompt on the other end flashed a few times, stopped, and then flashed again.

"Okay... wait for me in Hongdae. I'll send you the location soon."

"it is good."

……

Standing at the entrance of the Hongdae Switch pop-up store, Kang Young-tae looked at the giant Mario in the window giving him a thumbs up and immediately understood why Mina had asked him to come out.

Among her teammates, there were indeed few who were interested in games, and she was probably the only one willing to accompany her to places like this.

Seoul at the end of March hadn't fully warmed up yet; the wind blew in from the alleyway, carrying a lingering chill of winter.

He adjusted his coat collar and looked down at his phone.

Luo Yingxi finally replied with two words: "You're welcome," followed by a pat on the shoulder emoji.

He smiled at the expression and was about to type when someone patted him on the shoulder from behind.

Jiang Yongtai turned around.

A woman stood behind him, wrapped in a long black trench coat, revealing a beige knitted sweater turtleneck underneath. A black mask covered half of her face, leaving only her eyes visible, and she held a hot latte in her hand.

She tilted her head and looked at him.

"Have you been waiting long? Paratrooper One, xi~"

Jiang Yongtai was stunned for a moment, then recognized him.

"...Can I not use my game ID, like 'Young Lady'?"

Minami rolled her eyes at him.

"You were the one who called me that first. I've told you many times to change the nickname."

"Yes," Jiang Yongtai replied calmly.

Mina glared at him, knowing he was still planning to "knowingly do the wrong thing," and decided not to continue the conversation with him at the pop-up store entrance.

"Let's go in. There are several new games I haven't bought yet, so I'll take a look today."

She glanced at the not-too-crowded crowd in the pop-up store, then turned to walk towards the door.

"Wait a moment."

Jiang Yongtai reached out and grabbed her sleeve, then let go.

Mina paused for a moment, then turned to look at him.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Yongtai raised his hand, took off his baseball cap, and put it on her head, the brim pressing down to just cover the area above her eyebrows and eyes.

Her hair was a little messy from being pressed down, with a few stray strands sticking out from under the brim of her hat.

"After being an idol for so many years, you don't think people won't recognize you just because you're wearing a mask, do you?"

He pointed to her eyes.

"I knew it was you just by looking here, Nan-chan."

Minami subconsciously raised her hand to touch the brim of her hat. It was a bit too big, and the inside of the brim still carried a warmth that hadn't belonged to her a few seconds earlier.

She pulled down the brim of her hat to cover her eyes, but then thought the action was too obedient, so she looked up and glared at him.

"Yongtai-san is still so kind to girls~"

Jiang Yongtai chuckled.

"I just don't want to cause a stir, and then I'll have to pretend to be your assistant or agent."

"Really?" Mina blinked. "I thought you were afraid that Sana would see the news and recognize you."

Jiang Yongtai raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't Nan-chan also lie to her 'teammates' to get where she is?"

Mina choked for a moment.

Before leaving the house, Sana Minatozaki did ask her where she was going. Standing in the entryway, tying her shoelaces, she said without changing her expression, "Going to the bookstore."

Sana Minatozaki hummed in response without asking any further questions. She guiltily tied her shoelaces and ran out.

Fortunately, two people walked out of the pop-up store. One of them was holding up a Pokémon flash card he had just drawn and was talking to his companion about it.

"Let me tell you, this card is already worth a million on the secondhand market!"

Mina grabbed Kang Young-tae's sleeve and pulled him towards the door.

"Hurry, hurry, I want to try out Animal Crossing... I already told Sana last night if you want to send it."

Jiang Yongtai paused for a moment, then smiled, said nothing, and followed her into the store.