Become a Star

As he scrolled, Cha Hyun-Seung found a familiar name under the economic column and subconsciously clicked on it.

<XX Group’s Planning Director Park Ji-Hyuk returns to Korea with his wife after 8 years. Is this the beginning of a full-fledged succession battle?>

The article started off with how Park Ji-Hyuk and his wife left to study abroad after their marriage and the numerous achievements he had accumulated at the New York branch. Due to these successful achievements under his belt, he was now transferred back to XX Group’s headquarters. Back during college days, he had not been interested in the management of a financial group, but now, he had the look of an ambitious businessman. If the article did not have a photo of Park Ji-Hyuk, Cha Hyun-Seung would never have known that the ambitious looking Park Ji-Hyuk was the Park Ji-Hyuk he knew. On top of that, the unfamiliar woman standing next to Park Ji-Hyuk was the granddaughter of a media conglomerate.

All the articles that wrote favorably about Park Ji-Hyuk were from said conglomerate. It was strange since 10 years ago, Park Ji-Hyuk and Na Mi-Yeon were certainly dating each other. Faced with strong opposition from his family, they had suddenly disappeared from school one day. After hearing the rumors about them eloping, he had not heard any other news about them. Nobody had talked about ‘so what happened to them after?’, and he had never asked about their whereabouts, but he now knew what had become of their elopement. Perhaps, their dream-like “romantic” escape had ended in failure.

However, Cha Hyun-Seung’s thoughts were cut short by his phone ringing. As he took the call, the voice of his teaching assistant forcefully shoved him back into reality.

- Professor, the food here is really bad!

Upon hearing his assistant whine about the food, the corners of Cha Hyun-Seung’s mouth upturned slightly. His assistant had gone down to the university where his seminar was to be held in advance to make some preparations.

- When you’re here, don’t go straight to the school and have your lunch somewhere else. There are so many good restaurants in Busan. How can the food in this school taste so bad?

His teaching assistant, who had a reputation as a gourmet, began to recite every single famous food in Busan. He had even urged Cha Hyun-Seung to fill their three-day-two-night seminar schedule with a food tour. As he was amazed by the teaching assistant’s speech and behavior, which he could have never imagined himself doing back when he was a teaching assistant, he hung up the phone and pondered about whether or not he was too easygoing. As he put his phone in his pocket, light reflected from the wedding ring on Cha Hyun-Seung’s left hand.

When he got off the train, he took a taxi to the university. After he had arrived, he suddenly remembered what his teaching assistant had said earlier and decided to have lunch at a restaurant nearby. He was not craving any specific food, so he looked around and saw a dwaejigukbap [1] restaurant. Remembering that it was one of the must-eat foods in Busan according to his teaching assistant, he went into the restaurant without hesitation.

“Welcome.”

It was after lunch time, so the restaurant was rather peaceful and empty. A woman, who was either the owner of the restaurant or just someone who worked there, walked him to his seat carrying a child on her back.

“Table for one? Just one serving of pork bone rice soup?”

Not thinking much, Cha Hyun-Seung simply nodded his head until he realized the voice sounded familiar. Lifting his head, he made eye contact with Na Mi-Yeon, who had a cheap perm. For a moment, he was not sure if she was Na Mi-Yeon herself, or just someone who looked like her. In his unsureness, he heard her voice again.

“Do you want boiled pork slices too?”

It was definitely Na Mi-Yeon. As Cha Hyun-Seung nodded slowly, she smiled brightly, and yelled towards the kitchen.

“One rice soup and one serving of boiled pork slices for table 2!”

As Na Mi-Yeon brought over some disposable dishrags and a cup, he gaped at her, still in shock. However, she did not recognize him and merely treated him as one of her customers, like he was a complete stranger.

When the food was out, Cha Hyun-Seung slowly began to eat while his eyes continued to follow Na Mi-Yeon around. She was sitting down at a table, holding her baby and giving him a bottle of formula. The baby looked less than one year old, and hurriedly drank from the milk bottle. Na Mi-Yeon looked happy as she watched her child drink milk, coaxing him. At that moment, a short, plump man with an apron came out of the kitchen. He was neither handsome nor ugly, just plain, from top to bottom. As this ordinary man turned on the TV, he looked at Mi-Yeon and her child and smiled delightfully.

The channel he stopped on after some time seemed to be the news, specifically the news about Park Ji-Hyuk returning to Korea today. He and his wife, as well as their five-year-old son who was holding his parents’ hands, were seen leaving the arrival hall. Shortly after, Park Ji-Hyuk was seen holding his son in one arm as he smiled brightly at the camera. At the bottom of the screen, the words written were: ‘Full-fledged succession battle of XX Group’. The news anchors were talking about it as well.

“The little boy must be so lucky to be born into such a wealthy family. These days, we say that children like that were born with a golden spoon in their mouth.”

Looking at the five-year-old boy instead of Park Ji-Hyuk, the man shifted his gaze to Na Mi-Yeon and the child she was holding. He looked somewhat pitiful as he gazed lovingly upon the two of them.

“Watch something else,” Na Mi-Yeon suggested.

Na Mi-Yeon looked down as soon as Park Ji-Hyuk appeared on the screen. Even though she asked softly, the man, who appeared to be her husband, did not comply.

“All the channels are the same. There is nothing to watch.”

“Why are you watching the news about other people who have nothing to do with us!” yelled Na Mi-Yeon.

“Other things have nothing to do with us either. Why are you getting upset though?”

“How is asking you to watch something else being upset?”

She raised her voice initially, but it became softer and more cautious towards the end of her statement.

“Mommy, Daddy, I’m back from school.”

Just as the atmosphere in the restaurant was growing awkward, a boy, who appeared to be under ten, walked into the restaurant carrying a bag.

“Why are you only coming back now? Have you had your lunch?” asked Na Mi-Yeon’s husband.

“I’ve already had lunch at a friend’s house.”

“You should have called then! Do you know how worried your mother was?” The man chided the boy.

“Honey, why are you being like this?” asked Na Mi-Yeon.

Na Mi-Yeon tried to calm her overly angry husband down and secretly glanced at the boy, hinting at him to go inside. The boy, seeing his father’s face, hurriedly walked past the table Cha Hyun-Seung was seated at before disappearing inside. When the boy walked in front of him, Cha Hyun-Seung saw — the moment where the boy’s face and Park Ji-Hyuk’s face on the screen were side by side in front of him, and how similar the two looked. He could not bring himself to pick up his chopsticks anymore.

Na Mi-Yeon was trying to appease her husband while holding a babbling baby. As her husband subconsciously called the boy an illegitimate child and complained to Na Mi-Yeon, asking why he had to raise somebody else’s child, she noticed Cha Hyun-Seung’s presence in the restaurant, being the only customer left in the restaurant. Feeling ashamed, her face turned red. However, it was because he was a stranger witnessing a private argument. She still could not remember who he was.

Cha Hyun-Seung got up and went to the counter. As he did so, Na Mi-Yeon came over and calculated the bill. Cha Hyun-Seung deliberately wrote his name clearly on the signature pad, and she looked at the name written at the bottom of the receipt, but gave the receipt to Cha Hyun-Seung without much thought and smiled. To think about it, she could not remember his face; there was no way she could have remembered his name.

Cha Hyun-Seung left the restaurant with a sad smile, and ended up loafing around the entrance, staring blankly at the sky. It was the same season as that hot summer ten years ago, and the sweltering heat of Busan made his body feel even more sticky from all the perspiration. After loosening his tie slightly and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Cha Hyun-Seung looked around the restaurant for the final time. Na Mi-Yeon was there. She had become the wife of someone else, and not Park Ji-Hyuk.

What made him endure that hot summer at that time? Whatever it was, it was not for this; he had not been that patient or endured that much just to look at her current plight. His trembling eyes were filled with regret. Letting out a deep sigh, Cha Hyun-Seung closed his eyes and slowly opened them again, his gaze slowly firming. He stretched out his left hand to look at the wedding ring on his finger. Now, he had someone by his side that he needed to love and protect.

To Na Mi-Yeon, he was a person without a name or a memory. Who was he to speak about her life or feel sorry for her? Whether he lacked courage, or that he was too patient, his love was a cry beyond reach; it had come like a shower on a summer day which then disappeared without a trace. Because he was the only one who had loved, missed, and regretted, he had to be the one to end this love by himself. He did not know whether or not Na Mi-Yeon was in love with her husband right now. He hoped that she experienced a love that she did not regret, and was still loving a person she did not regret right now. Just like his current self.

Just then, as if the heavens were answering him, he got a call from his wife. The moment he saw the word ‘Wife’ pop up on his phone, the edges of his mouth relaxed.

- Honey, did you get to Busan safely? I wanted to call you right when you arrived, but I had forgotten about it while I was working. That’s the way I am, though. It’s very hot there, right? Have you had lunch?

Upon hearing the voice of his wife, who was rambling on, asking several questions, Cha Hyun-Seung had a complex look on his face, as if he was both smiling and crying. He was not one of those people who spent his entire day thinking about his wife. He would think of her when he was not working or thinking about other thoughts, and he assumed the same for his wife. However, while his wife was thinking about him, he was thinking about Na Mi-Yeon. It was not even a previous relationship; it was an unrequited love. However, that did not mean that it was not love. As he mentally declared the end of his love, closing a long-overdue chapter on his youth, Cha Hyun-Seung apologized to his wife in a very soft voice. He did not know whether or not she heard him, and the only people who could see Cha Hyun-Seung mouthing his apology were probably the viewers.

Unable to hear his soft apology, his wife asked him to repeat what he had just said.

- Hmm? What did you say?

“...”

This time, instead of saying he was sorry, he said something else. Once again, the viewers were able to tell what he was saying by reading his lips, instead of hearing his voice. However, his wife, who could not see his lips or even hear his voice, replied to him happily, as if she knew everything he said.

- I already knew that. I love you so much too.

Cha Hyun-Seung was finally able to smile with that answer. His summer was still as hot as ever. As hot as it was, the shower that previously came was wet and cold. However, he was no longer alone in the cold rain that came with life.

“Okay, cut!”

Finally, they were done shooting the final scene of the movie. Woo-Jin, who was briefly immersed in the emotions left by Cha Hyun-Seung came out of it slowly. After letting out a long sigh and relaxing his body, Woo-Jin was able to smile brightly. The feeling of sadness and a sense of accomplishment that came with completing something strangely made him excited.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Everybody clapped for Woo-Jin as the latter bowed to Choi Yi-Geon and the staff.

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1. 돼지국밥, or pork and rice soup <i class="far fa-hand-point-left">