Instead of going to a regular high school, he went to a village school in Mt. Jiri, naturally losing contact with her. Hojoon was also absorbed into studying at that time, as he had to take the state qualification exam while attending the village school.
When she turned 20, she suddenly confessed to him during her summer vacation. Just discharged from the army, Hojoon felt a bit ill at ease when he saw her, all tall and grown-up. He treated her just like his younger sister. She didn’t contact him, apparently feeling resentment at his attitude. Over time, both lost track of each other.
According to rumors, she went to the United States to study. She came back as a beautiful flight attendant.
But all these were behind them now, and Hojoon received her wedding invitation card recently.
“Haven’t you ever regretted not dating me?” asked Yuyoung over the phone.
“Oh my… you’re getting married. Watch your language!”
“Well, I just wish you could have said you did.”
“Would you want to marry me if I regretted it?”
“Why not?” she said, jokingly.
“I know you’re joking. The best thing I did in the world was to not date you. That way, I could see you, my sis, all my life. If I got married to you and divorced later, you and I are going to be lifetime enemies, right?”
“If you get married, I think I will be pretty jealous.”
“Really? By the way, when are you going to introduce your groom-to-be to me?”
“You’re really curious about him, aren’t you?”
Hojoon was curious, of course. He wanted to know what kind of man this smart woman chose. But he didn’t express his curiosity to her.
“I can see him on your wedding day. Do you need anything I can give you?”
“Nope. Are you sure you’re coming to my wedding?”
That was the last conversation he had with her over the phone.
And then he slept on it.
He felt that in some respects, this project could be a special gift for her.
“A woman that I’m very close to is getting married soon,” said Hojoon after some hard thinking.
“Wow, that’s good! We’d really appreciate it if you contact her.”
Arum pressed on him to contact her right now.
Saying that he would be back quickly after his phone call with Yuyoung, he went out of the conference room. Standing in the hallway, he called her number on his cell phone. Usually, it was Yuyoung who called first because of her unpredictable flight schedule.
“Hi, brother?” Though she answered the phone gladly, she was surprised. “What’s up, brother?”
“Oh, you are in Korea, not abroad!”
“Actually, I switched to a short-distance flight job because I have to prepare for my wedding. By the way, you called me first this time. Any urgent matter?”
He explained to her why he called in detail.
She gladly accepted his offer.
“I love it. In fact, the house interior work was the biggest headache for me. You know I’m pretty clumsy at doing housework. By the way, which magazine is it?”
“.”
“I know reporter Arum Yang is pretty famous for her love column.”
“Really? Actually, she is in charge of this project.”
“Wow! I definitely want to participate in the project. When I was about to split with my boyfriend, I sent her a letter on my episode. She gave me a kind advice, as if she were my older sister. I might have split with him forever without reporter Yang’s advice.”
Hojoon didn’t know Arum was an entertainment reporter.
“She is the woman to whom I feel really thankful,” Yuyoung said.
He felt relieved to know that Arum was the reporter that Yuyoung wanted to see.
He went back to the conference table.
“What did she say? Did she say she would participate?”
That’s what Arum was curious about the most.
“Yes, she agreed. By the way, she said that she is a fan of reporter Yang. She said that she enjoys reading your counselling segment on love.”
Hojoon’s comment boosted Arum’s pride.
“Wow! You’re joining the ranks of counselling mentors!’ said Manager Kyong with pleasant surprise.
“Okay, let me have a meeting with Yuyoung. Please give me her contact number. Do you happen to have her photo?”
Hojoon showed Arum a photo of her dressed in flight uniform.
“She is a professional woman. Looks great!”
“Yuyoung says she feels indebted to you. She said that she was about to break up with her boyfriend, but you gave her some kind counselling, just like an older sister would. Thanks to your counsel, she met him again. Do you remember it?”
She couldn’t, of course. She gave so many young women lots of advice. When she was in charge of the love counselling segment, she thought, ‘They’re going to take care of their own problems anyway. Who is going to take my segment seriously?’
But she now realized she saved this woman, Yuyoung, from her possible breakup.
‘I think I have to be prudent in writing love pieces from now on.’
While repenting within herself, she finished the meeting.
Arum went down the lobby to see him off, smiling along the way.
“It looks like you have good news,” he asked lightly.
Her face beaming brightly, she said bashfully, “Konsu called me this morning. Thanks for getting me connected with him again. I’m sorry I got angry at you before.”
“You don’t have to thank me…let alone apologize to me,” said Hojoon in a businesslike manner. And then, he turned away.
This was the first time he felt so bad when something good had happened to his customer.
***
On his way back to his company, Famed House of Geomancy, Hojoon stopped before the red traffic light and forced a smile.
“No matter how hard I think, Konsu is not Arum’s match. I can’t understand her taste in men.”
Though he vowed he would not care about others, he couldn’t.
On that day, Hojoon looked at Arum through the window of the second floor of the coffee shop. She was the happiest woman in the world when she was returning after meeting with Konsu. She was excited, just like a child.
‘Are you that happy?’
Murmuring to himself, Hojoon cast a glance at Konsu, because the guy who entered the entrance of the metro station came out the exit on the opposite side.
‘What? He might as well cross the street.’
Of course, Konsu had a reason for that. He met another woman. Hojoon could only see her back. She held his waist with both hands and then let him go. Obviously, they were lovers. They disappeared, holding hands together.
‘Oh my god…’
Hojoon was dumbfounded to see that.
At that moment, Arum just came in the coffee shop in excitement.
Hojoon couldn’t bring himself to tell her, ‘Your ex-boyfriend whom you just met has a girlfriend.’
Everybody has a unique situation of their own. Maybe Hojoon could be wrong. So, Hojoon decided to be prudent. But he got upset when he saw Arum just beaming happily without knowing what’s going on right under her nose.
In the end, his meeting with Arum ended up in a quarrel.
Now, the traffic light changed from red to green.
‘How come Konsu contacted Arum when he is dating another woman?’
Hojoon felt bad about it. But he had no hard evidence. Besides, it had nothing to do with him.
“Dang it! It’s none of my business.”
But he didn’t realize that he was already deeply involved in Arum’s matters.
***
Soran Cho is the chief of the strategic planning team of Sola Electronics.
The company’s products became popular among the middle-aged and old people only a few years ago.
The typical perception of its products was ‘old-fashioned’ or ‘grandma’s electronics.’
At that time, Soran was in the thick of the worst period of her life. Expelled from her high school, she went to America to finish her studies. She was rumored to have taken drugs, lived with a boyfriend, and exposed her naked body.
Fortunately, she flew to Paris in France to buy some brand-name things and suddenly indulged herself in design. Nobody knew what happened to her at that time, but she appeared before her grandfather as a different woman.
“Please give me another chance. I don’t want anything more.”
After that, Sola Electronics’ products based on her designs became hits. Though the company changed the design of existing products only, it was back to its heyday, attaining a record of the biggest sales.
She got promoted to the chief of the design room immediately, and won the top position of the strategic planning team earlier this year.
And then she showed her old habit again. She openly called Hojoon to Sola Electronics on the pretext of holding a meeting.
Arriving at Sola Electronics, Hojoon got on the elevator. He thought he would rather see her at the company.
But that was his delusion.
When he arrived at the meeting room, his jaw dropped at the strange scene before his eyes.