Reboot the heyday

Wang Taika drove into the empty streets at midnight.

Streetlights flashed past the car window one after another, casting flickering light on Wang Taika and Liu Renna's faces.

Liu Renna leaned back in the passenger seat, still smiling. It wasn't the unrestrained laughter from before, but a gentle smile with a slight curve at the corners of her mouth and bright eyes, as if the afterglow of the prank hadn't yet faded.

"Seriously," Yoo In-na said, her voice still tinged with laughter, "Are you like this with Ji-eun all the time?"

Wang Taika asked, "What?"

Yoo In-na pursed her lips: "That's how childish I am."

Wang Taika thought for a moment and said, "Occasionally. Actually, I'm quite mature. Most of the time, she's more childish than me."

Yoo In-na shook her head: "I didn't notice."

“That’s your problem,” Wang Taika said. “Besides, isn’t Ji-eun childish?”

Yoo In-na laughed: "That's because you spoiled her. Besides, a mature person wouldn't think of a name like 'Ji-eun-chan,' even though it sounds nice."

“Right?” Wang Taika said, “It all happened by accident. I didn’t expect it at first, but it’s so easy to say. If you like it, you can call me that from now on. I won’t charge you any royalties.”

Yoo In-na broke out in a cold sweat.

Why? Because she had just subconsciously assumed that Wang Taika would call her "Inna-chan," an extremely cheesy name, just because she liked it. After all, the phrase "If you like it, then from now on you..." was quite startling.

"Why do you look so upset?" Wang Taika asked.

"It's okay," Yoo In-na said. "Alright, it's rare that we've reached a collaboration, and I also think calling her 'Ji-eun' is cuter."

Wang Taika certainly didn't refute, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

The car was quiet for a while. Not an awkward silence, but the kind of silence where neither of them felt the need to speak.

The car stereo wasn't on; all that could be heard was the low rumble of the engine and the rustling of the tires rolling over the road.

Looking at the receding street scene outside the window, Yoo In-na suddenly said, "I used to really hate driving at night."

"Why?" Wang Taika asked curiously, "Isn't this a good thing? I love driving at night."

“Because it feels like the whole world is asleep, and I’m the only one awake.” Yoo In-na paused. “That feeling… isn’t good.”

Wang Taika didn't say anything, but rolled up the car window a little to prevent the night wind from blowing directly on Liu Renna.

Liu Renna noticed this detail and her heart softened, but she didn't say anything.

The car drove across the Han River Bridge, the lights on both banks reflected on the water, shimmering in the sunlight. Looking at the lights, Yoo In-na suddenly spoke, "Wang Tai-ka, there's something I should thank you for."

Wang Taika was surprised: "I don't think I've ever done anything good for you, have I?"

Yoo In-na was so angry she laughed: "You actually know that?!"

"So what are you thanking me for?" Wang Taika said. "You're not thinking of grabbing the steering wheel and taking me down with you, are you?"

"Please, just act like a normal person, okay?" Yoo In-na was truly exasperated.

Wang Taika laughed: "Okay, okay, tell me, what's wrong?"

"Actually, it's nothing much, it's just about those things I did before," Yoo In-na paused, "I think I've let it go."

Wang Taika nodded thoughtfully and said, "Right? What I did before was indeed wrong. But now that you're at peace with it, I'm relieved." Liu Renna said, "I really suspect you're pretending to be stupid!"

Wang Taika tapped his finger lightly on the steering wheel, but didn't reply.

Yoo In-na continued, "It's that person... who left without saying goodbye. Did I thank you after you told me about it last time?"

Wang Taika couldn't remember at all and said, "It was so long ago, I really forgot. What do you want?"

"Actually, I've forgotten too." Yoo In-na pursed her lips. "Although I wasn't seriously ill at the time, I really got sick after I got back. After I recovered, I felt like my memory had gotten worse. I couldn't remember many things from before. I also forgot many people that I thought I would never forget. But this is a good thing, I only recently realized that."

Wang Taika nodded, a rare expression of approval: "It is indeed a good thing."

Yoo In-na spoke very softly, as if she were talking about something that was long ago and insignificant.

"So thank you, Wang Taika, for putting an end to my regrets. You know, I used to always think, if he hadn't left, would we have gotten married, would we have had children, would we have lived like ordinary people? I thought about it for many years, and in the end, I couldn't tell whether I missed him or that kind of 'normal life'."

Wang Taika paused for a moment, then said, "I think I've had a similar experience."

Yoo In-na had only a vague understanding of Wang Taika's past, but she roughly understood what he meant, so she said, "It's still different, at least I'm not a simp."

Wang Taika slammed on the brakes, took a deep breath, and asked, "Who told you that? I need revenge, otherwise I really can't let this go! Tell me who it was, and I'll do it right now."

"Your Ji-eun-chan".

Wang Taika started the car, his expression unchanged: "What were you saying just now? The previous topic."

"If I had your thick skin, I'd be more successful than Ji-eun. I really admire you; you can turn the page on things like it's water." Yoo In-na wasn't joking; she was genuinely scrutinizing Wang Tai-ka.

But this feeling was never quite right, so Wang Taika had to explain, "Jie-eun, it's understandable that she said that about me. There were a lot of things I didn't handle well back then. But the problem wasn't with me, it was that everyone was so nice, so I couldn't choose, and every choice I made would be wrong. So now that I think about it, maybe I'm the only one who was wrong, which is fine too."

These weren't just empty words; they were Wang Taika's true feelings. When you're caught up in something, you become blinded by your own situation and always try to find the best answer.

Looking back, you might find that the worst choice you made back then was actually the best outcome.

Just like Wang Taika's past as a "simp," he genuinely believed he was enduring humiliation and even knew he was wrong. He was using everyone's feelings and hurting everyone's feelings, all for the sake of revenge against one person.

So back then, that was a mistake. But with the passage of time, looking back now, would things be the way they are today without those events? Thinking about it this way, things seem better now.

Wang Taika was deeply moved. He sighed and said, "Do you know what the best thing to do if you are in a life-threatening emergency, such as being trapped on a snowy mountain and about to freeze to death, or losing your mind due to blood loss, and rescue cannot arrive immediately?"

Yoo In-na thought for a moment and said, "Let's keep waiting."

Wang Taika wasn't joking and revealed the answer: "It's breaking your own finger."

"What?" Liu Renna was stunned: "What kind of intelligence test is this, or a brain teaser, or a test to test for mental abnormality?"

Wang Taika said, "If your heart is going to stop beating immediately, you have to break your own finger so that the pain will stimulate your heart to beat."

Yoo In-na seemed thoughtful: "Sometimes, you have to be willing to give up some things in order to gain something more important, is that what you mean?"

Wang Taika said, "It's not just that, there's something even more important: don't fall into the trap of partial perfectionism. I didn't understand this principle back then, so I was blindly confident in that initial relationship. In my eyes, we were a match made in heaven, and I even thanked God for his favor. Every detail of that relationship was perfect. But in the end, it ended tragically. This problem has tormented me for countless years. I can't understand it, I can't understand why, when everything was so good, so perfect."

Liu Renna listened intently and couldn't help but ask, "Is this wrong? Everything is fine, so why would we actively seek trouble?"

Wang Taika shook his head: "If you want to survive, you have to break your own fingers when necessary. It's like, if you try to ensure that every part is perfect, the whole thing will definitely fail."

"This is the trap of partial perfectionism." (End of Chapter)