Reboot the heyday

"That's really impressive."

Yoo In-na turned her head and looked at Wang Tai-ka's profile: "I really admire you now."

Wang Taika laughed and said, "Isn't it a bit late to start admiring me now? What do you think? Am I right?"

“Although it sounds like self-comfort, I understand,” Yoo In-na said. “Life can’t always be perfect. As long as the overall picture is good, it doesn’t matter if the details are a little off. Sometimes, focusing too much on the details can actually hinder the whole.”

Wang Taika said, "That's the idea, but not entirely. However, your understanding of the core concept is correct."

Liu Renna continued, "That is indeed a very correct principle. However, if you use this to explain your existence, to rationalize that you are the imperfect part of everyone's life, then it is very far-fetched. It's like saying that if you hadn't done those stupid things, we wouldn't be in this situation now. You can't be the yardstick for this."

Wang Tai paused for a moment and asked, "I don't deny your reasoning. But what's the point of you being so insistent on proving me wrong? You can't change anything. If you annoy me, you might even suffer the consequences."

“Aigoo, he’s starting to act unreasonably.” Yoo In-na shook her head.

Wang Taika laughed: "Okay, actually my core idea is very simple. Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise, and a blessing may be a misfortune in disguise. Do you understand?"

Yoo In-na shook her head.

“The good things you do now may turn into bad things in the future. The bad things you do now may turn into good things in the future,” Wang Taika said. “Don’t curse me yet. I know you’re trying to spout nonsense. It does sound like nonsense, but things in this world are sometimes just that illogical. So what I’m trying to say is that constantly pursuing perfection isn’t really that important.”

Yoo In-na thought about it, and it seemed to be true. Just like her ex-boyfriend who disappeared; even if he hadn't disappeared, they probably wouldn't have lasted.

Ultimately, it's all just obsession.

Liu Renna nodded: "Maybe you're right. I've come to understand it now. He left without saying goodbye back then, and whatever his reasons were, it was his choice. My years of remembering him are a way of repaying the debt of gratitude I owed him. We're even now."

"Hmm, that's good." Wang Taika tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Then let me ask you a question. Hmm, if there's a scale, with the disappearing matter on one side and our matter on the other, which do you think is more important?"

Yoo In-na looked at Wang Tai-ka and suddenly laughed: "Oh my god, are you starting to repent?"

Wang Taika shook his head: "I wouldn't say I'm repentant. I don't regret what I did, after all, you are really beautiful. But at that time, I wasn't quite mentally sound, and sometimes the things I did were hard to understand. I can't even empathize with myself for a second. So I just wanted to know what you think."

Yoo In-na laughed: "I was so happy when I was putting up sticky notes tonight that I suddenly felt that those things weren't so important after all."

The car stopped at the red light. Wang Taika turned to look at Liu Renna: "All cleared up now?"

Yoo In-na was stunned for a moment: "What?"

“You said you’ve let it go, that your ex’s gone without a word and you’re even.” Wang Taika looked at Liu Renna: “But what about me? It’s not even, is it?”

Liu Renna was silent for a few seconds, then chuckled softly: "Well, it's not fair. What you did was far worse than what he did. At least he didn't ruin anything for me, but what about you?"

Wang Taika touched his nose.

Before Wang Taika could answer, Yoo In-na continued, "I hated you, I hated you with all my might. But then I found that hating someone was too tiring, so I stopped hating. But not hating doesn't mean forgiving. I can stop hating those things, but I can't forgive."

Wang Taika remained silent for a long time, so long that the red light turned green, and the car behind him honked once. He stepped on the gas, and the car continued to move forward.

“Fortunately, I’m incorrigible and never expected forgiveness.” Wang Taika’s voice was calm: “Never from the beginning.”

Yoo In-na looked at Wang Tai-ka: "Really? You're not just saying that?" "Really," Wang Tai-ka said, "If you forgive something like this so easily, then you're really too casual. I can still give a neutral assessment of that. And even if I'm wrong, I won't regret what I've done."

Yoo In-na gave a soft "heh": "That's a really awful thing to say."

"I know."

"You knew it, yet you still told me?"

“Because it’s true.” Wang Taika’s tone was calm, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him: “If I could do it all over again, I would still do the same thing. Not because I think it’s right, but because…that’s just who I am.”

After a moment of silence, Yoo In-na suddenly asked, "So, do you think you were wrong?"

Wang Taika thought for a moment: "Wrong."

Yoo In-na found this outrageous: "You made a mistake, and you don't regret it? What gives you the right?"

“Making a mistake and regretting it are two different things,” Wang Taika said. “Many of the things I did were wrong, but if it weren’t for those mistakes, I wouldn’t be here now, you wouldn’t be here, and Jieun wouldn’t be the way she is now.”

Yoo In-na laughed: "Oh, so this is what you call the trap of partial perfectionism, right?"

Wang Taika nodded: "I know this sounds like a lie. But the truth is, if it weren't for those things, you would still be the polite and distant Liu Renna who has nothing to do with me."

Liu Renna's expression changed: "So what you just said wasn't to comfort me! You were really stating the facts, and now I understand. I think this is a bad thing, but you think it's a good thing because it will allow us to get to know each other?"

Wang Taika was actually quite embarrassed: "If we weren't this familiar, it wouldn't be fun."

If Yoo In-na knew how to use profanity, she would definitely say it to Wang Taika without hesitation, from the bottom of her heart, with utmost sincerity and in a loud voice.

Unfortunately, she doesn't.

"Wang Taika!" Liu Renna stared in disbelief, her tone complex: "My God, you've surpassed the limits of my understanding of human shamelessness. You've reached a new peak, you're a human being! You're amazing, I admire you so much. My only evaluation of you is this: human!"

This is a new term, but it feels like a very vulgar insult.

Wang Taika didn't ask further, pretending not to hear. Sometimes, deafness is a form of wisdom.

Yoo In-na was actually quite tired from being shocked: "Do you know what's most amazing about you? It's that no matter how shameless the words are, when they come out of your mouth, they seem... not so wrong."

Wang Taika raised an eyebrow: "Is that a compliment?"

“Yes.” Yoo In-na nodded seriously: “That’s a skill. Really! To be able to make shamelessness sound justifiable, to make people hate you but not completely, to make people know you’re a bastard but still think, ‘Oh well, let it be.’”

"Hiss," Wang Taika thought for a moment and said, "I don't know why, but what you said sounds familiar. Although the specific words should be different, I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."

Yoo In-na exclaimed in surprise, "What? There are victims too? And can this victim empathize with me? Think about it quickly, I really want to know who is in such a terrible situation!"

Wang Taika remembered; it was Noona's evaluation of him a long time ago. It still holds weight today.

For someone like Wang Taika, as long as he doesn't urinate or defecate indiscriminately, everything else can be forgiven. (End of Chapter)