episode_0101

“Yes, yes. I’m fine with it. Do Yeon, at a convenient time for you. Yes. Then, see you then.”

After ending the call, Lee Youngwoo put down his phone and was about to start writing again when he suddenly noticed the time displayed in the corner of the screen.

“I should start getting ready now.”

He moved his hand from the keyboard to the mouse. After saving his work and shutting down the computer, Lee Youngwoo got up from his seat.

His expression seemed quite bright. Just moments ago, he had been frowning at the blank page before the phone call.

These days, for Lee Youngwoo, meeting with Joo Doyeon was one of the significant pleasures in his life. Perhaps due to his profession as a writer, or maybe because of his aloof personality, there weren’t many people around him he could comfortably talk to as friends.

His personality had hardened even more after his divorce, and now, at best, he had only a few writer friends he had met through school or his writing career. Even among them, there were not many he saw frequently or felt close to.

But having someone he could talk to comfortably like a friend every week had injected a considerable amount of vitality into his life.

Realizing that being able to talk freely with someone about a topic he enjoyed could bring such peace of mind made him regret not being more proactive in forming human relationships.

Well, he didn’t think it was too late even now, but when it came down to it, he found it challenging to do well in front of people.

Anyway, Lee Youngwoo got up from his seat with a pleasant smile on his face.

After changing his clothes and tidying up a bit, he stepped out of the bathroom, only to return to the mirror to make sure everything was in place before he could feel at ease.

As he emerged from the bathroom looking neat, he met eyes with his son coming out of the room.

“Where are you going?”

His only family. The biggest evidence that his late wife had existed was asking him.

“I have dinner plans. Why, do you forget? I have plans every Saturday.”

For over two months now, his son had known that Lee Youngwoo had plans every Saturday evening.

“Dinner… now? It’s only 3 o’clock.”

“It got pushed up unexpectedly. Oh, here.”

He took out a card from his wallet and handed it to his son.

“Anyway, since Dad will probably eat out tonight, use this to order something.”

It made him feel sorry to eat with someone other than his child on a rare weekend. So, at first, he had doubts about it, but one day his son had said something.

“Dad, is something good happening these days?”

“Why?”

“Your expression looks happy. Is it because of that person you meet every Saturday?”

“No way. Besides your mom, there’s no one… ”

“Is it a woman? Well…”

“Hey, you little rascal! Are you trying to interrogate your old man?”

“Huh? I didn’t mean to interrogate… Well, anyway, I support you. Do your best. Haha!”

It seemed like he was supporting the meetings rather than questioning them.

Of course, there were absolutely no personal feelings involved. It was just about alleviating human loneliness, not progressing into a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. Although she was too beautiful, almost unreal, so maybe that’s why he didn’t feel that way.

“Father, enjoy your meal and have a good time.”

With that, Lee Youngwoo left the house, nodding his head in farewell, to his son who was laughing openly, not with any hidden meaning.

After a while, he arrived at the promised meeting place, 30 minutes earlier than the time he had agreed with her. Perhaps it was due to a somewhat obsessive belief that the man should come out first.

Anyway, although he arrived too early, he was relieved that the meeting place was a café. He ordered a cup of coffee at the counter and found a seat in a suitable place.

While waiting for his coffee, he took out his laptop from his bag and spread it out on the table. He had been receiving help from her regarding the scenario of the movie he was currently writing, saving up questions about the parts where he was stuck for a week to ask her. He wanted to organize and ask questions about the parts he would work on this week, as well as the parts he would ask her about.

-Tock!

When he took out his laptop from his bag and placed it on the table, something fell out of the bag along with the laptop and dropped to the floor.

It was a red envelope, with a logo that said OX Film beautifully embossed in gold on the outside.

“Oh, right… I had this.”

He picked up the fallen envelope and checked its contents, finding two tickets inside. They were preview tickets, given to him by the production company that was going to turn the scenario he was writing into a movie.

Moreover, the person who directed this movie was also familiar with him. Well… they weren’t exactly on friendly terms. Maybe that’s why he had forgotten about the existence of these preview tickets.

What should he do with this? Should he throw it away?

Even though he had taken out his laptop to write, he found himself staring… no, glaring at the preview tickets.

Perhaps that’s why he didn’t notice the presence of someone nearby.

“What’s this?”

At the sudden voice, he was startled and turned his head in the direction of the sound, only to see…

***

-Growl.

His hungry stomach had been demanding something to eat since earlier, almost begging now.

“Ugh… I’m hungry….”

He knew this would happen, so instead of stubbornly holding back, he should eat when Dayoung tells him to eat something with calories.

“Even though it’s a cheat day after months of dieting (excluding the occasional cheating), I don’t want to fill my stomach with a calorie bar.”

“Ugh, are you being stubborn or determined? Well, do as you please. It’s your hunger, not mine.”

With that, Dayoung went into her room. Dabin sighed deeply, shaking his head. Leaving a message for the kids, he left the house as the meeting time approached.

Feeling gloomy due to hunger, his mood began to improve as he neared his destination, knowing he could eat something soon.

Finally arriving at the café, it was a place that also served Italian cuisine. It felt like a mix between a café and a bistro. Well, these types of restaurants were quite common these days.

Anyway, he parked his car in the empty parking lot and waited for the elevator to the store. Although walking up a floor would have been faster, he didn’t even have the strength to climb that one floor. No, was it strength or energy? Anyway.

After a while, he took the elevator to the café. As he entered and looked around for the author Lee Youngwoo, a dapper-looking man who seemed to be a staff member approached him.

“Welcome. Shall I show you to your table?”

“Um… I’m with someone.”

With that, she pushed him aside and led him deeper into the cafe. There, in a secluded corner by the window, she could see him staring intently at something with a serious expression. At first, she thought he was having trouble with his writing. But then she noticed the laptop on the table, which explained it.

However, as she got closer, she saw that what he was looking at, or rather glaring at, was a red envelope. With “OX Film” written on the surface, it seemed to be related to a film production company.

The author Lee Young-woo seemed so focused that he didn’t even notice me approaching right next to him.

Normally, it would be polite to greet him first, but I couldn’t contain my curiosity and asked before anything else.

“What’s this?”

This startled Lee Young-woo, who quickly turned his head and even jumped back in surprise, looking quite taken aback.

“Ha, sorry. I should have greeted you first, but you seemed so focused.”

“Oh, no. I should have noticed first. I’m sorry.”

“By the way, what is this? It looks like it’s from a film production company.”

At that, Lee Young-woo awkwardly smiled and hesitated to answer. Seeing that he was uncomfortable giving a direct response, and not wanting to be too pushy or rude, I just chuckled and sat across from him.

“Well, anyway, what did you order? I’m so hungry I could eat a rock right now. Ha ha.”

“Are you overdoing it at your age? A body profile, that’s something I can’t even imagine.”

As he said that, Lee Young-woo patted his bulging belly. It was truly a middle-aged belly, reminiscent of my past self. Perhaps that’s why I felt a sense of familiarity with him at first sight.

“Ha ha, I thought so too, but once I started, it worked out. Of course, it wasn’t easy.”