Chapter 27

Ever since Park Eun-Soo accepted Choi Min-Woo’s marriage proposal, he had been especially happy every day. After he had lost his wife and daughter in an accident, not a single day had gone by without him having any nightmares. If only he had left the house ten minutes earlier or later that day...no, most importantly, if only he hadn’t driven off immediately after the traffic light had turned green, then such a tragedy would not have happened. 

Without ever knowing what had happened, he had lost consciousness and went into a short coma. By the time he regained consciousness, his wife and daughter’s funeral had already been over. Additionally, the doctor had told him that he would have to limp for the rest of his life. 

Having to limp wasn’t a big deal to him at all – he could still walk. It was somewhat uncomfortable for him to walk with a slight limp, but it was not the source of his pain. The memories and guilt towards his wife and daughter, who could no longer come back to life, had caused him to plunge into the depths of despair and wrecked his life. 

At one point, he had even considered committing suicide, but he could not bring himself to do it. After all, he was the child of his beloved parents, and he did not want to break their hearts. Furthermore, as the CEO of his company, he was responsible for the livelihoods of several employees, as well as their families. The moment he realized that ending his life was not the solution, he threw himself completely into work. 

However, three years ago, he saw Park Eun-Soo for the first time. His first impression of her was that she was a beautiful person, and after that, little by little, he could not take his eyes off of her. She was like a shining light that had appeared in his dark life. 

After hearing that she was divorced and that she lived alone with her two children, he started to harbor hope. However, he had given up repeatedly due to the increasing guilt he had towards his dead wife and daughter. Up until then, he had continued having nightmares while his feelings for Park Eun-soo grew stronger and stronger. 

Subsequently, he had overheard Park Eun-Soo’s superior talking about arranging a blind date for her, and that ended up triggering him. He spent a couple of days feeling as though he was on the verge of going insane. Much to his surprise, his heavy heart felt much lighter after he made up his mind. He visited his wife and daughter, and apologized to them, crying for quite some time. 

It might seem hypocritical, but he confessed his feelings to Park Eun-Soo, telling her that he wanted to be happy from now on. Strangely enough, he had stopped having nightmares ever since. After he had confessed to Park Eun-Soo and started dating her, he found out that the person her superior wanted to set her up with was none other than himself. He had laughed for quite a while when he heard that. He was genuinely happy; so happy that he was able to laugh out loud for the first time in almost a decade. 

“Woo-Jin seems to be getting more and more handsome,” said Choi Min-Woo.

The last time he saw Woo-Jin was six months, right after Woo-Jin had been discharged from the military. Woo-Jin appeared to look more handsome than he did back then.

“What about me!” asked Woo-Hee.

“Of course you look good too, Woo-Hee.”

The siblings resembled Park Eun-Soo and that made them more lovable. Most importantly, Woo-Hee was the same age as Choi Min-Woo’s daughter, who had passed away. Whenever he looked at Woo-Hee, he often wondered how things would have been if his child were still alive. It made him sad sometimes, but he was also certainly excited about becoming a father of another person, in place of his daughter.

While he was looking at Park Eun-Soo and the kids, he thought about how fortunate he was to have tried his hardest to continue living up until now. He was able to show a side of himself that he was not ashamed of, and thinking about how he would be able to take care of three people generously, financially speaking, made him happy. 

Even though it was an engagement dinner, as her children, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee did not interfere with their mother’s marriage. Hence, they merely listened to what both adults had to say. Choi Min-Woo’s parents had immigrated with their eldest son and couldn’t be present for the dinner. However, they were very pleased with the news of him getting married again since they had thought he would spend the rest of his life alone. That’s why they had decided to completely follow their son and Park Eun-Soo’s wishes regarding their marriage. 

Choi Min-Woo and Park Eun-Soo decided to have their wedding a month from now at a cafe they rented. It would be a small wedding where only their close friends would be invited. Their only problem was the house they were going to live in after they got married. 

Of course, Choi Min-Woo and Park Eun-Soo had been planning on living with the children, but Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee did not want to interfere with the newlyweds’ lives. 

“Getting married at this age, we’re not considered newlyweds. Don’t worry about it and just live with us.”

“You’re still newlyweds regardless of age, no? My opinion is that newlyweds should live like newlyweds.”

“That’s not what I’m saying right now.”

“Exactly. Miss Eun-Soo is right. It’s a big house and your rooms will be nicely furnished and decorated. They’ll also be on the second floor, so you don’t have to worry about us and we can live happily together in the same house. We’ve already built a big house for our family to live together, how lonely would it be if the two of us are the only ones living in the house?” asked Choi Min-Woo. 

There was a difference of opinion between the two sides for some time, but eventually, they were on the same page since all of them wanted the same thing. The biggest reason why Choi Min-Woo and Park Eun-Soo had decided to get married was because they wanted their family to live happily together. Undoubtedly, Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee were a part of their family. 

Choi Min-Woo and Park Eun-Soo wanted everyone to live together, getting to know each other and growing to love one another, even if arguments were to happen at times. From the start, it was never meant to be a marriage where the two of them only wanted themselves to live happily ever after. Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee finally caved and agreed to the two stubborn people’s request, making their parents smile brightly.

The food was delicious and the conversation among the four people flowed naturally. When they brought up the topic about Woo-Jin signing a contract with DS, Choi Min-Woo reassured Park Eun-Soo, saying that he had already looked into the agency in advance, and that it was good. Step by step, they were starting to become a family, sharing their concerns and supporting one another. 

~

It had been a long time since Woo-Jin had gone to school. It was nice. There was a unique atmosphere that a place of learning could have; it was quite a different vibe given off by the vigorous youths and society. 

“This is the fragrance of youth,” remarked Woo-Jin.

“It’s the end of the semester, so there’s barely any students here.”

When Woo-Jin took a deep breath and immersed himself in his emotions, Jung Hyun-Min, who was next to him, cynically brought him back to reality. 

“Why. Did we. Choose today. Of all days. To submit our applications. For reinstatement!” Hyun-Min’s voice was full of dissatisfaction, as he spoke in fragments. 

Hyun-Min’s girlfriend was going to go back to her hometown in the countryside for summer break tomorrow. It seemed as though they had originally planned a little farewell where they would cry over her temporary departure. However, at this moment in time, Hyun-Min was grumbling to himself as if he could not believe the cold reality of him walking around the campus with his friend. 

The reason why Hyun-Min and Woo-Jin decided to do it today was because Woo-Jin said that he would be busy on other days. From tomorrow onwards, Woo-Jin had to take photos for his profile, and he had to go through a mandatory training program on how to act in social situations and interviews. They had to prepare a lot of things in a rush since they did not know what changes would be made to Woo-Jin’s schedule after the release of the movie. It would all depend on how well the public received the movie. In the end, today was the best day for them to complete their reinstatement applications to school before the release of the movie. 

Additionally, submitting their applications to the school wasn’t the only reason they met up today – it was actually just an excuse to have Woo-Jin’s photo taken in school. Since Hyun-Min knew about the real purpose of their meetup today in advance, he could not reject Woo-Jin cold-heartedly. That’s why he kept shifting his gaze to the manager who kept following them around. 

“Mr. Manager, you’re taking good photos, right?” asked Hyun-Min.

“I’ve done this more than once or twice, so they’ll turn out well.”

Most of the time, the photos of celebrities, especially rookies, that were taken as they went about their daily lives were deliberately taken by their acquaintances or agencies, who would upload the photos to the internet. It led the public to talk about these celebrities in a very natural manner. There was nothing more effective and sophisticated than having a total stranger who was completely unrelated to the celebrity generate buzz about them, pretending it was nothing but a coincidence. 

For that purpose, Kang Ho-Soo kept a distance from Woo-Jin and followed him from behind, taking candid pictures of Woo-Jin, making them look as natural as possible. Jung Hyun-Min was just a supporting actor, but he was also indispensable today. 

“My face won’t be seen in these photos, right?” asked Jung Hyun-Min. 

“Even if your face is in the shot, I’ll cover it up later on. Don’t worry,” responded Kang Ho-Soo. 

“But then again, I have to sacrifice myself for you. If I show my face, who’s going to pay attention to yours?” said Hyun-Jin, who flaunted as he tucked his short hair behind his ears. His mother had always called him her ‘handsome son’ as he grew up, so he had been brainwashed by her. 

“Yeah, you’re so beautiful,” said Woo-Jin.

“So you acknowledge it too, my friend!” 

Even though Hyun-Min did not know whether Woo-Jin was complimenting him or being sarcastic, he was still proud. Hyun-Min had also taken a leave of absence from school with Woo-Jin and had gone to the same training camp, but ended up in a different unit. Today, he was sacrificing some of his precious time to submit his application to the school with Woo-Jin. He acted like his time was precious and emphasized the favor he was doing for Woo-Jin, that he cherished his friendship so much he had picked his friend over his girlfriend. 

Despite complaining, Hyun-Min ultimately did everything he could for his friend. He did not block Woo-Jin from the sunlight so he could get good lighting. However, the sunlight in June was far from being a reflector – it was a heater. Hyun-Min hid in Woo-Jin’s shadow and muttered.

“It’s hot.”

“It’s hot? I feel hotter.”

“Who am I here for again?” 

“Okay, I got it!”

Woo-Jin kept his mouth shut because there was no point in arguing. The school hadn’t changed much over the past two years, but there were some small changes. The building that was under construction had been completed; the interior of the cafe on campus had changed; and so did the tree landscaping. Additionally, there were no familiar faces.

The process of applying for reinstatement was simple. Once they had finished it without much difficulty, they looked at each other for a moment wondering what they should do now. They had completed their external goal, but their true purpose had not been fulfilled yet. However, the two simple men were baffled, not knowing what to do to steer their actions towards the direction of their actual goal. 

“Woo-Jin?”

When a familiar voice called out to him suddenly, Woo-Jin was startled but he tried his best not to show it as he turned around. On the other hand, when Hyun-Min saw the face of the woman who called out to Woo-Jin, he could not hide his emotions and frowned. She was Lee So-Hyun – Woo-Jin’s first love; the woman who kicked him when he was down in the dumps. Hyun-Min was even more irritated because she still looked beautiful after two years. 

The reason why Woo-Jin was able to keep his cool even though he did not expect to see her was because he had already imagined this situation when he filmed the last part of Glooming Day. At that time, Woo-Jin had been determined to act as indifferently and naturally as possible, for the sake of his own self-esteem, and her peace of mind. Fortunately, he was able to greet his classmate in a polite and ordinary way, without showing any emotions. 

“It’s been a while,” greeted Woo-Jin.

“Yeah it has really been a long time. The same goes for you too, Hyun-Min.”

“Ya.”

Since they were classmates in business school, Hyun-Min couldn’t completely ignore her, and simply replied curtly.

“I heard that you were discharged from the military. Are you applying for reinstatement?” asked Lee So-Hyun. 

“Yeah. Come to think of it, you’re a senior, huh? How’s your preparation for job hunting?” 

“No, actually, I also came to apply for reinstatement today. I went abroad to study a language.”

“Oh, really? That must have been great. In that case, we won’t hold you back any further. See you when school starts.”

Woo-Jin let So-Hyun through and casually said goodbye to her. However, after taking a couple of steps, she stopped in her tracks. 

“You changed your number.”

“Huh? Ah… I lost my phone previously, so I decided to change my number as well when I got a new replacement for my phone.”

When he had handed his phone over to TM's CEO, he covered it up by telling other people vaguely that he had lost his phone. A few days after that, he had gotten a message from So-Hyun that she wanted to break up. He had been beside himself, and changed his number when he had gotten himself a new phone. 

The only reason he hadn’t sent Lee So-Hyun any drunk texts in the middle of the night, asking ‘Are you sleeping?’, was because he did not have a phone. He was surprised that So-Hyun had called him later on, but Woo-Jin did not ask her why. Instead of saying goodbye, he gave her a slight nod. This time, he really turned around and left. Fortunately, she did not say anything to him after that.

“She’s still looking at you,” Hyun-Min spoke to Woo-Jin as he glanced back. However, Woo-Jin pretended not to hear what he had just said. 

After leaving the building, Woo-Jin sighed and looked back. A look of relief and disappointment appeared on his face when he could not find any familiar faces among the passersby. Upon seeing his facial expression, Hyun-Min frowned. 

“Are you still not over Lee So-Hyun?”

“If I were already over her, I wouldn’t be this hung up on her.”

“In that case, continue doing that. Judging from So-Hyun’s facial expression, it seems like she’s not over you either. Go on and make your love last forever~! You’re going to make a movie, right?” 

He had no intention of arguing about other people’s romantic feelings, but when Lee So-Hyun dumped Woo-Jin, it was the worst period of Woo-Jin’s life. Hence, it was only natural for Hyun-Min to be sarcastic whenever her name came up in conversations.