episode_0057

Gil Hye-yeon and Seo Yi-soo.

As soon as the filming was over, the two headed towards the city center.

Since there was no need to drive two cars for their outing, they decided to ride in Gil Hye-yeon’s car together.

Their destination was a department store known for its luxury goods.

It was a place where celebrities frequented, so it was relatively quiet for Seo Yi-soo and Gil Hye-yeon.

As they made their way to the department store, Gil Hye-yeon thought about many things.

“Teaching how to buy gifts is not the end of it.”

Seo Yi-soo was still ignorant of many things.

Picking out her favorite candy as a thank-you gift was just a small part of Seo Yi-soo’s ignorance.

So, Gil Hye-yeon wanted to teach Seo Yi-soo as much as possible during this opportunity.

In the underground parking lot of the department store, as they got out of the car, Gil Hye-yeon said, “Isu-ya, since we’re out, let’s start with something delicious. How about it?”

“Something delicious? Sure, sounds good. I’m good with anything. Let’s go.”

Seo Yi-soo couldn’t refuse the offer of eating something delicious.

She nodded eagerly with excitement in her eyes.

Gil Hye-yeon took Seo Yi-soo to an Italian restaurant inside the department store.

And she ordered the most delicious dish on the menu.

She wanted to treat Seo Yi-soo to something nice.

But she also had another purpose.

“Isu-ya, don’t spill it like that. You shouldn’t eat too quickly by yourself. And no talking while eating.”

Gil Hye-yeon acted like a tutor.

Just like Doe-yeon told Hae-soo what she should and shouldn’t do.

Gil Hye-yeon wanted to teach Seo Yi-soo what she shouldn’t do one by one.

She didn’t find Seo Yi-soo’s behavior unpleasant or embarrassing.

Rather, she found it cute as an older sister.

Neither Seo Yi-soo’s manager, Shin Ji-hoo, nor Gil Hye-yeon would see anything Seo Yi-soo did as wrong.

But…

Gil Hye-yeon knew.

“People can’t all be like us.”

It means that the world is not always beautiful and full of good intentions.

It doesn’t mean there are many bad people.

But there are certainly many people who are not kind.

They don’t know others well.

And they don’t worry much about not knowing.

Thinking they understand.

They often speak their minds freely.

And being a celebrity makes them more vulnerable to such comments.

“…If she encounters such things, Isu will be hurt.”

Gil Hye-yeon looked at Seo Yi-soo, who was innocently eating pasta, with a somewhat pitiful look.

Seo Yi-soo would definitely be hurt by such honest and blunt comments.

Perhaps, the more innocent she is, the harder it will be for her to endure.

Even if Seo Yi-soo becomes a little more sensible, the bad comments won’t disappear.

Still, Gil Hye-yeon hoped that Seo Yi-soo would be hurt less by thoughtless words.

“You eat well. You look good. Try what’s on my plate.”

“Yeah, thanks. The food here is really delicious. It’s like my taste buds are melting.”

Gil Hye-yeon offered her plate to Seo Yi-soo.

And Seo Yi-soo, with a brighter and more innocent smile than anyone else, accepted it.

They finished their plates clean.

“If you’re done eating, shall we start exploring the department store?”

And so, they began their department store adventure.

***

Gil Hye-yeon took Seo Yi-soo to various stores.

Among them were not only stores for choosing gifts.

“This is pretty. Isu-ya, should I buy this for you?”

They bought beautiful jewelry.

“Gil Hye-yeon, why on earth are you painting your nails? Is there some kind of mystical meaning to it?”

“Haha, what are you talking about?”

They visited a nail art shop.

“Books… Gil Hye-yeon, to be honest, I’m not really close with letters.”

“What is this kid who has to live his whole life reading scripts talking about?”

She also went to a bookstore.

And there, Gil Hye-yeon bought a gift.

It wasn’t for Shin Ji-hoo.

It was for Seo Ee-soo.

“This is my gift.”

“…Isn’t it a book?”

“Don’t worry. It’s not a book with words. It’s an album.”

Gil Hye-yeon’s gift was a blank album for inserting photos.

She said, “Ee-soo, you feel lonely when you’re home alone.”

“…”

“In fact, it’s not just you. Celebrities, they all struggle with loneliness in their own ways. This is a gift I received from a senior I used to admire.”

She talked about her choice of gift.

“I know that just picking and collecting photos doesn’t solve the problem. But still. When you collect and look at photos of moments shared with someone, it somehow feels a little less lonely.”

She explained the reason for choosing the gift.

“This is a gift I chose hoping that you would feel a little less lonely, Ee-soo.”

She explained the meaning of a gift.

“Do you understand? A gift is, that. It’s not about choosing something you like, it’s about thinking about the recipient and putting in time and effort for them.”

So, if you have to choose a gift, it should be something that Shin Ji-hoo would like, not Seo Ee-soo’s favorite candy.

Gil Hye-yeon said so.

In other words, Gil Hye-yeon’s gift was a kind of demonstration.

If Ee-soo were to choose a gift for Shin Ji-hoo, she should choose it in this way.

“How about you? That manager. What does he need usually? Or what would he like to have? Anything like that?”

“…”

And Seo Ee-soo thought deeply.

What Shin Ji-hoo would like to have…

Suddenly, something came to mind.

“Respect for me?”

“…?”

“Well, it seems like Shin Ji-hoo doesn’t know much about that. About how great of an actor I am.”

“…Are you going to get in trouble?”

“Oh, no. Just tried to make a joke.”

A topic that didn’t seem like a joke at all.

Seo Ee-soo avoided Gil Hye-yeon’s gaze, calling it a joke.

And this time, she thought seriously.

What Shin Ji-hoo would want…

“…”

And suddenly.

A cold night from the past came to mind.

Crossing over November.

So, on a night when the air was cold and chilly when it became night.

The memories of that night in front of Seo Ee-soo’s studio door.

That night.

Shin Ji-hoo, who had drunk a lot while fighting for himself, ended up falling asleep on the floor.

The night air was still cold without any warmth.

Coldness seeped from the floor.

Although there was no unfortunate incident of catching a cold due to warming the surroundings with her magic…

Anyway, the strange feeling she felt that day remained deeply in Seo Ee-soo’s mind.

“…”

Unknowingly, Seo Ee-soo flicked her fingers.

Tick, tick, the sound of her nails hitting each other.

Gil Hye-yeon chuckled.

“Looks like something came to mind.”

“It’s nothing special. Just…”

At this point, a month had passed.

The month had changed to December.

It was winter.

Every day, as time passed, the air continued to get colder.

As if Shin Ji-hoo couldn’t be with her in all her time.

In all of Shin Ji-hoo’s time, she couldn’t use her magic to warm him up in all his cold moments.

So Seo Ee-soo thought.

Even on normal days. Even on days when she wasn’t there. Even in moments when Shin Ji-hoo was alone.

She wished there was warmth for him.

“What’s wrong with you? Say something.”

Seo Ee-soo, with a slightly reddened face, looked up at Gil Hye-yeon.

“It’s really nothing special. I just wish Shin Ji-hoo would be a little warmer. Isn’t it getting cold?”

Right.

Gil Hye-yeon raised her eyebrows, admiringly.

It was impressive how quickly Seo Yi-soo picked up on how to choose gifts.

They were almost there now.

Gil Hye-yeon, like a detective, asked a new question to draw out the answer.

“So, what should we choose for the gift?”

“Because we need warmth….”

Something that provides warmth.

What could that be?

Fortunately, Seo Yi-soo was becoming quite knowledgeable and sophisticated.

It meant that she was becoming more knowledgeable.

If it was something warm, she had encountered it a lot on set recently.

Seo Yi-soo confidently answered, “Hand warmers?”

“….A scarf, right?”

Hand warmers, really?

How is that different from a candy wrapper?

Reflecting on her past arrogance of thinking they were almost done, Gil Hye-yeon provided the correct answer.

Anyway, yes. That’s it.

Once the specific gift was decided, the two of them wandered around the department store, choosing a scarf.

It was a famous and upscale department store.

It was spacious and had a wide range of products.

Seo Yi-soo had to wander around for quite a while.

“What about this one? The color seems like it would go well with the manager.”

“Hmm….”

But….

Gil Hye-yeon asked, “How do you think this scarf would look on Shin Ji-hoo?”

Seo Yi-soo began to imagine accordingly.

Shin Ji-hoo wearing this item around her neck.

Shin Ji-hoo wearing something long and dark-colored over there….

So that’s why.

Even though she tried on many, Seo Yi-soo’s legs didn’t hurt at all.

Even though she kept looking at scarves, it wasn’t boring.

It was that kind of time.

And the scarf Seo Yi-soo finally purchased was a gray-toned item with a stylish embroidered pattern of a suitable length.

Gil Hye-yeon asked, “How about this one? Will this do?”

“Yes, yes. I like this one.”

Answering Gil Hye-yeon’s question,

Seo Yi-soo ran her fingers over the surface of the scarf she had bought.

This was the scarf that Shin Ji-hoo would wear around her neck.

A scarf that would touch Shin Ji-hoo’s neck.

Thinking about that made her feel strange.

It was definitely chosen for its good appearance, but somehow this scarf looked prettier, more luxurious, and somehow cooler.

That day.

Gil Hye-yeon escorted Seo Yi-soo to her studio apartment.

It would have been nice if she could stay the night again, but unfortunately, she couldn’t due to her schedule the next day.

“Gil Hye-yeon.”

Jumping out of Gil Hye-yeon’s high car,

Seo Yi-soo turned back to look at Gil Hye-yeon.

“What’s wrong, Yi-soo?”

“About today.”

Reflecting on the day,

Seo Yi-soo honestly spoke her mind.

“I’m really grateful. For showing me so much. Is that why you took me to the department store?”

“….Hmm.”

There were some foolish aspects to her, but that didn’t mean Seo Yi-soo was unintelligent.

She was simply ignorant.

About the world.

About civilization.

About people.

That’s why she wanted to give a candy wrapper as a gift.

To thank Shin Ji-hoo.

To repay that gratitude.

The conclusion she came to was that she would give what she liked the most.

Seo Yi-soo could come up with such a naive conclusion because she didn’t know much about gifts.

That’s what she thought.

And just because she didn’t know, Seo Yi-soo could also understand what Gil Hye-yeon wanted to teach her.

And so,

“Gil Hye-yeon.”

“Yes.”

Seo Yi-soo made one request to Gil Hye-yeon.

“Shall we take a picture?”

“A picture?”

“You gave it to me as a gift. This.”

Seo Yi-soo showed Gil Hye-yeon the album she had given her.

The first page of this album, I wanted it to be our photo. The photo, I asked Shin Ji-hoo to make it tomorrow.”

Seo Yisoo thought to herself.

She was grateful to Gil Hye-yeon.

She wanted to let her know that she wanted to repay that gratitude by revealing the conclusion.

Just like how I like Gil Hye-yeon.

It seems like this person cares about me too.

In that case.

Following the ‘way to choose a gift’ that I learned from Gil Hye-yeon.

Wouldn’t this also be a gift?

Seo Yisoo said those words to Gil Hye-yeon.

As she spoke, she shyly smiled.

It was late at night.

There were stars in the sky.

And the streetlights were twinkling on the ground.

So Seo Yisoo’s eyes were also sparkling with those lights.

“….”

Gil Hye-yeon, looking at Seo Yisoo like that.

“Yeah. Let’s do that. Thank you.”

She smiled brightly.

She thanked Seo Yisoo for the gift.

***

“Shin Ji-hoo! Are you here?”

The next day.

Seo Yisoo went out to see Shin Ji-hoo with a full heart.

She had carefully wrapped a scarf in a thick coat pocket.

She felt really good.

Yesterday was really enjoyable.

It seemed like it would be even better after giving a gift to Shin Ji-hoo.

With that in mind, Seo Yisoo went outside.

And.

“….Shin Ji-hoo. What are you carrying right now?”

“Huh? Oh, this? It’s gotten colder these days. So I got one.”

Shin Ji-hoo adjusted the scarf around his neck.

“….”

Was it because Shin Ji-hoo was a conglomerate?

Even the scarf he wore looked extremely expensive to Seo Yisoo, who had no knowledge of brands or luxury goods.

“….”

Seo Yisoo recalled the scarf she had bought yesterday.

She had definitely chosen a really pretty one.

But giving that expensive scarf to Shin Ji-hoo as a gift made her feel awkward.

“Why are you like that?”

“….It’s nothing.”

Seo Yisoo sulkily adjusted her coat hem.

The touch of the scarf box in her pocket felt uncomfortable.

She felt bad for some reason.

She didn’t know why, but she really felt bad.

“….”

“No. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Seo Yisoo glared at Shin Ji-hoo’s scarf with a grimace.

She didn’t like it.

Seo Yisoo thought that the scarf Shin Ji-hoo wore looked really ugly.

The pattern was tacky, and the color looked cheap.

Shin Ji-hoo, who brought such a strange scarf, seemed really foolish.

For some reason, she felt angry.

Her body moved on its own.

“Hey! Seo Yisoo! What are you doing?!”

Shin Ji-hoo had to look at Seo Yisoo with a bewildered look.

Seo Yisoo had grabbed Shin Ji-hoo’s scarf with both hands.

Of course, Seo Yisoo was in the wrong.

“Why did you bring this kind of scarf? Anyway, you have no taste!”

“….Ah, really. This girl is getting weirder day by day.”

And so, Shin Ji-hoo was bewildered as Shin Ji-hoo.

Seo Yisoo started a disappointing and unjust morning.

“….”

Seo Yisoo thought with tears in her eyes.

Yeah. Today is not the day.

On the day when Shin Ji-hoo didn’t wear that damn scarf.

Let’s give the gift properly then.

It could be possible.

Because it’s winter.

She thought that.

But….

It was winter.

It was cold.

“….Is it today again?”

The next day.

“….It’s today again.”

The day after that.

Shin Ji-hoo appeared every day wearing a scarf.

And eventually.

“….How long are you going to wear that damn scarf?!”

“What, what damn scarf? What is this girl talking about?”

A pitiful situation unfolded.

“Seo Yisoo. You’re really going too far. I wanted to dress warmly for a bit. Is it so unbearable to look at? Just wait and see. Even if I feel wronged, I will definitely wear a scarf every day, no matter what.”

A trivial misunderstanding led to a petty and insignificant discord.

Shin Ji-hoo never missed a day without wearing the newly bought scarf.

Sometimes, when he absentmindedly left the house.

“Oh right! The scarf!!”

He would turn the car around, grit his teeth, grab the scarf, and head out……

It seems like it will take some more time for Seo Eui-soo to properly deliver a thank-you gift to Shin Ji-hoo.

Oh well.

That’s just how these two are.

It’s okay.

They’ll be able to exchange gifts someday.

After all, winter still has a long way to go.