episode_0073

Sometimes it’s like that.

The line connecting one person to another is called a relationship.

Because humans are imperfect beings.

Various noises often interfere with this relationship.

The distorted relationship line, filled with distance and noise, tends to distort the voice of the person.

And the name of that distortion is misunderstanding.

Misunderstanding is just that.

Fundamentally, it arises only when one pays attention to another person, but still doesn’t fully understand them.

Mishearing the voice that person produces.

And despite that, mistaking it for something else, causing countless tragedies in the world.

-But isn’t there anyone here who could be considered my family? So, hey? Can’t we have some fun together?

“Huh.”

After ending the call.

Shin Ji-hoo let out a heavy sigh.

“Yeah. That’s right. This kid.”

Always cheerful and bright, he often forgot.

But looking back, Seo Yi-soo was a child who harbored an unhappy family history.

That’s why he often felt lonely at night.

That’s why he didn’t react sensitively to people’s emotions.

“Yeah….”

Shin Ji-hoo sighed heavily.

“Yeah. Today, can’t help it.”

With those words, Shin Ji-hoo left the KS Entertainment building.

It was December 31st.

The end of the year.

The streets were crowded with people, and the loud singing voices echoed around.

It was congested, and there were many cars driving around.

Shin Ji-hoo decided to use public transportation after a long time.

He was heading to a nearby large mart.

There, Shin Ji-hoo personally selected various cooking ingredients.

Steak, wine, cheese…

Ingredients perfect for celebrating the end of the year.

Shin Ji-hoo chuckled bitterly and muttered to himself.

“That guy should also have moments to feel the end of the year.”

It was a smile born out of sympathy.

Seo Yi-soo, not without family.

And lacking common sense.

So, if he didn’t take care of her like this, she wouldn’t even get to taste end-of-year food.

“So I have to take care of her.”

With such tender feelings, Shin Ji-hoo bought the ingredients and headed to Seo Yi-soo’s studio apartment.

“Oh, Seo Yi-soo. I’m almost there. Yeah. I’ll be there soon.”

He couldn’t help but worry.

During the final filming of “Predator of Crime.”

Shin Ji-hoo realized.

Seo Yi-soo shines brighter than anyone else, and she could shine even brighter than she does now.

To keep her shining, he shouldn’t just focus on acting, the means of emitting light, but also on other things.

He hadn’t realized that.

That’s why it wasn’t entirely comfortable for him, a man, to visit Seo Yi-soo’s studio apartment alone.

“….”

But still.

He couldn’t just leave Seo Yi-soo alone today.

Whatever happens, it’s inevitable today.

With that in mind, Shin Ji-hoo headed towards Seo Yi-soo.

He rang the bell.

Today,

He had been waiting in a tremendously complex state of mind for the world to open beyond this door.

And…

“Shin Ji-hoo! Are you here?”

And he heard it.

“Oh my, Manager-nim, you’re here now? Oh, you’re late because you brought cold dishes?”

A voice other than Seo Yi-soo’s.

“…?”

For a moment, everything stopped.

Why on earth could he hear another woman’s voice in this house, not Seo Yi-soo’s?

No, why?

For what reason?

It was confusing.

And the fear that he might have made a huge mistake crept up on him.

Shin Ji-hoo, with a creaking throat, managed to turn his gaze to the entrance of Seo Yi-soo’s studio apartment.

There were shoes there.

Two pairs.

One was Seo Yi-soo’s.

And the other was…

“Why did you bring so many things? Anyway, what are you waiting for? Come in quickly.”

It was Gil Hye-yeon.

“….”

Shin Ji-hoo turned back to Seo Yi-soo, creaking again.

And he said as casually as possible.

“…Oh, I guess I wasn’t the only one you called.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s the end of the year, you know. I invited all my favorite people.”

“I see…”

So that’s how it was.

It makes sense.

…But wait, did you at least mention that you also invited Gil Hye-yeon?

What were my thoughts and decisions coming here?!

“Sigh.”

Shin Ji-hoo felt a deep sense of disappointment.

That’s just how human relationships are.

Sometimes, noise interferes with relationships.

And that noise can lead to misunderstandings and communication breakdowns.

Yes, that’s true.

But the problem is that this issue won’t just end with Shin Ji-hoo feeling disappointed.

*Sigh.*

“…!”

Shin Ji-hoo heard Gil Hye-yeon chuckle mischievously as she looked at him.

“…Um, Actress?”

“Heh, heh. What is it?”

Shin Ji-hoo observed Gil Hye-yeon’s reaction.

The way she looked at him with a sly gaze.

And the way she smirked while looking at the two servings of year-end cooking ingredients and a fancy wine bottle he brought.

This lady-like actress.

She definitely caught on.

Shin Ji-hoo gritted his teeth.

“Actress?”

“Heh, heh. Yes. What is it?”

With a wicked smile, a fixed expression on her lips, and using only her vocal cords, she spoke.

“Will you keep the secret?”

“Well, we’ll see, won’t we?”

“Tell me what you want.”

“Ah, this is something the thirsty one should propose first.”

“….”

It seems like he’s caught in a bind.

“Haah….”

Shin Ji-hoo let out a deep, desolate sigh.

And he wondered why today’s situation had become so awkward and embarrassing.

“Why did I assume that I was the only one invited? I should have asked.”

What kind of confidence was that?

He regrets it now.

But it’s inevitable.

People tend to hear what they want to hear.

There was some noise in the communication between Seo Yi-soo and Shin Ji-hoo.

And thus, in this tragic, empty world filled with tragedies, another slightly embarrassing incident was added.

Shin Ji-hoo tasted bitterness.

But then, Seo Yi-soo wasn’t hesitating and fidgeting for nothing.

“Shin Ji-hoo.”

“Yeah, Seo Yi-soo.”

“I… Oh, thank you so much for coming today.”

“….”

“Lately, you seem to be keeping your distance from me. You don’t treat me as naturally as before. So I was worried you wouldn’t come today.”

Seo Yi-soo seemed genuinely scared.

She spoke while fidgeting with her fingers and looking at Shin Ji-hoo.

Shin Ji-hoo looked at Seo Yi-soo.

“I see.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to today.”

After all, she came, so everything is fine now.

Seo Yi-soo smiled brightly.

She seemed genuinely looking forward to the day.

Like a child.

And thanks to that, Shin Ji-hoo eventually felt a bit better.

What’s wrong with being a little embarrassed?

Shin Ji-hoo smiled broadly.

“Yeah. I hope it’s fun.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Look at this.

Seo Yi-soo is so happy.

Let’s have a joyful end of the year.

Shining, but also a bit bitter, let this girl have a day she will never forget.

That’s the gift.

“Let’s eat first. I’ll grill some steaks.”

“Steak? I-Is that… meat? The one you eat at a meat restaurant?”

“It’ll be even more delicious than that.”

Shin Ji-hoo confidently grilled the steaks.

Sizzle! As the meat sizzled loudly, Seo Yi-soo swallowing her saliva in anticipation was amusing.

The three of them shared the steak like that.

Of course, it wasn’t enough.

Shin Ji-hoo only prepared enough for two servings.

So Seo Yi-soo called in the big guns, the delivery food list.

Today, there were a whopping three people.

“Uhuhu.”

As usual, she wasn’t alone.

So, feeling excited, she ordered a bit more food.

She pulled out all the stops and ordered the food she usually enjoyed.

The food arrived one after another at Seo Yi-soo’s small studio.

First, tteokbokki.

“Try it once. It’s a bit spicy, but it’s a revolutionary taste.”

Next was pasta.

“Try it once. It’s a bit heavy, but such an exquisite taste. I eat it once a week.”

Next was pizza.

“Try it once. The cheese flows like a waterfall.”

Next was pig’s feet.

“Try it once. It’s savory and chewy, it’s hard to resist.”

And then…

“Wait, is this going to keep coming?”

“Huh?”

Unable to bear the endless feast of delivery food, Shin Ji-hoo exploded.

“My stomach is going to burst. How long do we have to keep eating?”

“W-well… wasn’t the amount a bit lacking? There are three people. There’s still fantastic chicken left. Stop complaining and try a little more.”

What is this?

What’s so great about eating together?

Seo Yi-soo said gently to try a little more.

Thanks to her, Shin Ji-hoo flinched for a moment, but no matter what, her stomach was too full.

If she ate more, she was sure to get an upset stomach.

Shin Ji-hoo firmly rebuked Seo Yi-soo.

“No. I can’t eat anymore. Besides, it’s the end of the year, we should do something fun. How can we just keep eating like this?”

She wanted to give Seo Yi-soo a good day.

But with her just eating without thinking, it was frustrating.

Seo Yi-soo was also disappointed in her own way.

It was fun playing with the three of them.

And she wanted to show the people she liked the delicious food she enjoyed.

So she ordered a bit more food.

But to pick a fight over that, she couldn’t be upset.

“W-well…”

Maybe that’s why.

Because she was upset with Shin Ji-hoo.

Because she didn’t want to lose in an argument.

So, Seo Yi-soo said something she would never have said before.

“Women naturally get excited when they eat delicious food!”

From Shin Ji-hoo’s perspective, it was a trivial remark.

“Oh, really? Do women do that?”

It was just a typical response.

“…”

But the person who actually said it, Seo Yi-soo, was extremely embarrassed.

Wasn’t she a dragon?

She wanted to be human, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be a woman.

To avoid losing in an argument with Shin Ji-hoo, she said such embarrassing words.

It seemed like a very embarrassing thing to say.

But she couldn’t take back what she had already said.

In any case, Shin Ji-hoo’s reaction to her words made her feel that way.

“W-well, that’s it. Shin Ji-hoo, you really don’t know anything, you just have a loud voice.”

With a bright red face, she babbled.

“But hey, Seo Yi-soo. Why is your face suddenly so red?”

“You, you don’t need to know! Stay away from me!”

Seo Yi-soo avoided Shin Ji-hoo, who was coming closer, saying she needed to cool down, and ran around her small studio for a while.

Anyway, they filled their stomachs without any fuss, chatted, and then, as the night grew late, they sat side by side on the sofa and watched TV.

There wasn’t anything special on, they just wanted to watch the bell-ringing ceremony at midnight.

Seo Yi-soo in the middle, Shin Ji-hoo on the right, and Gil Hye-yeon on the left.

“Uhuhu.”

Seo Yi-soo quite liked this arrangement.

On both sides, the people I love the most in the world are sitting.

When I turn to the right, there is Shin Ji-hoo.

And when I turn to the left, I see Gil Hye-yeon.

Just by turning my head, I can see the people I love.

This fact somehow felt strangely miraculous to Seo Yi-soo.

It felt like a miracle.

Knowing that such a thing was possible, he felt an infinite sense of security.

“Ugh.”

“Yi-soo, are you sleepy? I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go, so do you want to sleep a little?”

Gil Hye-yeon’s voice could be heard.

But Seo Yi-soo didn’t respond.

The comfort of being between the two people naturally relaxed him, making him drowsy.

“No… I won’t fall asleep….”

Seo Yi-soo resisted the drowsiness that was creeping in.

He didn’t want to fall asleep.

It was because he didn’t want this day to end.

But he also had a feeling that his struggle wouldn’t last long.

Dragons were not a race known for their self-control.

And the body Seo Yi-soo had transformed into was fragile and would tire quickly.

And knowing that there was someone he trusted and relied on enough to entrust everything to on both sides.

He felt too relieved in his heart, making it difficult to resist the drowsiness.

“Shin Ji-hoo…, Gil Hye-yeon….”

Seo Yi-soo mumbled in his drowsiness.

At the sound, both people on either side looked at Seo Yi-soo.

Seo Yi-soo pursed his lips as he mumbled.

“Today, I really enjoyed it. Always…… But, thank you so much.”

Mumbling.

Seo Yi-soo felt that this time was truly precious.

And he was engulfed in a distant emotion.

Seo Yi-soo knew better than anyone.

That time is a series of moments.

And that a moment passes by in an instant and never returns.

What might be waiting beyond that moment.

No one knows.

Even a dragon couldn’t know that.

He didn’t even know if despair might strike tomorrow.

He didn’t know if the person he loved might suddenly disappear.

Fate is just a secondary issue of probability.

And so what was precious today might not exist tomorrow.

Seo Yi-soo had experienced that for over a thousand years.

That’s why he knew that nothing was as precious as a moment.

That’s why.

“So,”

Seo Yi-soo knew that he couldn’t miss this moment.

In his drowsiness.

Seo Yi-soo continued to speak.

“I really like the two of you. I want to see you tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, in a year, in a hundred years. I want to continue seeing you.”

Even as they faced each other now.

Even in a future where they might not be able to do so.

Seo Yi-soo confessed that he would continue to want to see the two of them, perhaps forever.

It was a confession soaked in Seo Yi-soo’s experience.

That’s why it made the listener feel wistful.

That’s why it was a confession that warmed the listener’s heart.

Seo Yi-soo offered such a year-end greeting.

“……”

“……”

The two of them fell silent for a moment, feeling what Seo Yi-soo was saying to them.

But Seo Yi-soo was already in a deep sleep.

With no more strength to resist in his drowsiness.

He fell asleep right away.

And when Seo Yi-soo opened his eyes again.

“……Ah, hmm.”

The studio apartment was shrouded in darkness.

Looking at his phone, it was 3 a.m.

Unfortunately, it seemed he hadn’t kept his promise to wake up on time.

Seo Yi-soo groggily looked around the room.

There was no trace of Shin Ji-hoo.

Instead, Gil Hye-yeon was sleeping next to Seo Yi-soo on the bed, holding him tightly.

Perhaps after the event ended, Shin Ji-hoo, the man, had cleaned up the apartment and gone home, leaving Gil Hye-yeon to watch over the sleeping Seo Yi-soo.

“……”

Feeling the warmth in Gil Hye-yeon’s embrace, Seo Yi-soo smiled for a moment.

Then he carefully moved away from her embrace and got out of bed.

Squeak-

He opened the drawer and took out a small box.

“I still haven’t given it to him. I really am beyond help.”

That was the scarf that Seo Yisoo had purchased to give to Shin Jihu during the filming of .

And yet, even now, with the arrival of the new year, she still hadn’t been able to give it to him.

Sigh–

Seo Yisoo emerged into the villa corridor, holding the gift box in her arms.

“…….”

It was winter.

It was dawn.

The surroundings were quiet, with only her own breath audible.

It was cold.

It was dark.

All that could be heard was Seo Yisoo’s breathing.

“Haah….”

Seo Yisoo let out a long breath, still holding the gift box in her arms.

Frost formed white along the path of her breath.

Seo Yisoo thought winter was fascinating.

Just like this.

Wasn’t winter a season that showed the direction of breath?

She thought that sometimes winter showed things that were originally invisible to human eyes.

“Shin Jihu.”

Seo Yisoo called out to the nonexistent, invisible Shin Jihu.

And she said,

“You said you treat me well because you’re my ‘temporary’ manager.”

There was a time when he said that.

It wasn’t a long time ago.

On the day of the wrap party.

Shin Jihu had said those words.

“So, I won’t give you this gift as a ‘temporary’ gesture.”

At first, Shin Jihu couldn’t bring himself to give her the scarf.

But at some point, even Seo Yisoo herself was being held back by emotions she didn’t fully understand yet.

So she couldn’t give the gift.

She had a feeling.

At this point, if she were to give this gift.

If she did, Shin Jihu would probably accept it happily.

But that would likely be all.

She had a feeling.

So Seo Yisoo was waiting for this ‘temporary’ period to pass.

She was hoping for the day to come when she could give this gift to Shin Jihu.

She didn’t know when that would be.

She knew more about what she didn’t know than what she did.

But since the future becomes the present at some point.

The day Seo Yisoo gives the gift to Shin Jihu will eventually come and appear in the present.

She had a premonition.

“I hope that day comes soon.”

It was winter, cold.

It was dawn, dark all around.

Quiet as it was, with only Seo Yisoo’s traces felt.

The end of the year had passed, and so the moment the new year began.

“Hehe. I can give it before this winter ends, right?”

Holding the gift that had yet to be delivered, in anticipation of the day it would be.

In that moment, anticipating the future.

Seo Yisoo smiled with excitement.

It was a moment when Seo Yisoo, who had become a dragon, turned 21.