Reboot the heyday

The elevator lights were so bright that the expressions on their faces were impossible to hide.

Wang Taika suddenly realized what was happening and laughed, "Sorry, I'm being inexplicably sentimental again. That's just how I am, and I need to gradually change this habit."

Ji-eun looked at Wang Taika without saying a word.

The elevator reached the underground parking lot, and the doors opened. Wang Taika stepped out first, walking a little faster than usual. Ji-eun followed behind, watching his back, and suddenly felt that this man's back was narrower than it appeared.

Get in the car, start the engine, and drive out of the parking lot.

The car was quiet. Ji-eun didn't play any music, and Wang Tai-ka didn't say a word. Outside the car window, Seoul slowly receded into the twilight, and neon lights lit up one after another, casting their faces in shifting light and shadow.

However, the two were no longer in a relationship where they needed to talk constantly to avoid awkwardness. So everything seemed quite comfortable.

Ji-eun tilted her head, looking at Wang Taika's profile. His jawline was sharp, and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly, giving him a somewhat fierce look when he wasn't smiling.

But Ji-eun knew that she had seen every expression on that face before: when she was smiling, angry, tired, sleepy, working seriously, and just now in the elevator when she said those words.

"I worry that these photos will become memories after we lose them in the future." When Ji-eun recalled this sentence, her heart suddenly felt like it had been clenched tightly by something.

It's not because the words are particularly hurtful, but because the person who said them genuinely believes this. It's not sentimentality, not artistic flair, not just a casual remark. It's that Wang Taika truly, deeply, and fundamentally believes that some things, if kept, become a burden.

This guy genuinely felt that he might lose.

Ji-eun suddenly wanted to say something, to give Wang Taika a definite answer. But some words got stuck in her throat.

Because she knew it was useless.

Wang Taika isn't someone you can coax with just a few words. He's too clever; so clever that any words of comfort are automatically interpreted as useless platitudes by him. This guy can't be put at ease with promises, because in his life experience, promises are the least valuable thing.

He had experienced heart-wrenching loss before, and once in a lifetime is enough.

And I, Ji-eun, have also suffered such wounds, haven't I? So I truly understand Wang Taika's inexplicable sadness.

Ji-eun suddenly laughed and said, "Terrorist, I think I've discovered your weakness."

Wang Taika had already recovered from his earlier mood and was now focused on driving, so he asked absentmindedly, "What? Don't try to act cute by pointing at yourself and saying you're my weakness. I'm very tough when I see you, I can't back down."

This is so annoying, is this some kind of inappropriate talk?
Ji-eun smiled, pursed her lips, and said, "No, it's a real weakness. Not the kind of obvious one, but a weakness that exists over a period of time. Hmm, you've hidden it very well! If I hadn't lived with you for a while and only had a simple understanding of you, I really wouldn't have discovered this problem."

Wang Taika's curiosity was piqued: "Then tell me, what are my weaknesses?"

Ji-eun laughed and said, "You're not afraid of anything except living a good life."

"Huh?" Wang Taika thought Ji-eun was talking nonsense.

Ji-eun's smile faded, and she sighed, "You're really afraid! Afraid that the good days will end, afraid that happiness is borrowed, afraid that every bit of sweetness now will turn into double the bitterness to be repaid later. So you dare not keep photos together, dare not keep evidence, dare not allow yourself to have too many things to remember. Because memories are wealth to others, but torture to you."

The car stopped at the red light.

Wang Taika gripped the steering wheel, his fingers tapping lightly on it unconsciously, momentarily speechless.

I really didn't expect that Ji-eun would understand me so well.

The youthful spirit is something that can never be regained! As he gained more experience, Wang Taika, who was once fearless, began to subconsciously try to avoid prophecies.

Leaving no memories is like another way of avoiding prophecy. It's as if as long as you don't face this possibility, it will never happen.

Ji-eun looked at Wang Taika's hands and remembered that these hands had once held a camera, a pen, a wine glass, her hand, and her waist. These hands had done many things, good and bad, but they had never trembled.

But at this moment, Ji-eun-chan felt that the owner of these hands was trembling inside.

“Terrorists,” Ji-eun said softly.

"Ok?"

"Turn right at the intersection ahead."

Wang Taika was taken aback: "Turn right? That's not the way home."

"I know," Ji-eun said. "I want to sit by the Han River for a while. Will you come with me?"

"I can actually choose for myself? Haha!" Wang Taika glanced at Zhi En, didn't ask why, turned on the turn signal, and turned right.

The parking lot at Hanjiang Park is located by the river, and there weren't many people there at this time, only a few cars.

Wang Taika parked the car and turned off the engine.

Ji-eun unbuckled her seatbelt but didn't get out of the car. She leaned back in her seat, looking at the gray-blue river outside the windshield.

Dusk had fallen, and the lights on the opposite bank were reflected in the water, shattering into fragments.

Ji-eun suddenly spoke up: "Actually, I used to really hate rivers like this. You didn't know that, did you?"

Wang Taika turned his head to look at Zhi En: "This is really the first time I've found out why."

“Because it was too big and too deep, and it was scary to look at.” Ji-eun paused for a moment, then said, “Later you told me a lot of stories, which were really fascinating. I thought to myself, you’ve seen so many things, while I’m afraid of even a river.”

"What and what?" Wang Taika laughed.

“Really, you’ve brought about a lot of changes,” Ji-eun continued. “So later on, I wasn’t afraid anymore. Not because the river in front of me had shrunk, but because my heart had grown bigger. Not because I wasn’t afraid of the depth, but because I knew that even if I fell in, someone would pull me out.”

Wang Taika revealed a proud expression: "That's right, that's him."

"Myself," Ji-eun interrupted, "In this world, only you can truly walk this path. No one can accompany you for a lifetime, not even your parents or your spouse."

Wang Taika waved his hand: "Wait a minute, when you made that turn, did you even consider my feelings? What you just said was really misleading. How should I look at it? Shouldn't I be the one responding? It turned out to be you?"

"People have to save themselves first before they have the value of being saved!" Ji-eun said. "That's why I'm always grateful to my past self for not giving up. Without that version of myself, I wouldn't have met you. I don't want to sink to the bottom of the sea, but there's someone who won't give up on me. Yes, this time it's right, the person who won't give up on me is you."

Wang Taika met Ji-eun's gaze, his lips twitched as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only gave a soft "hmm".

Ji-eun reached out and took Wang Taika's hand, their fingers intertwined tightly.

"So I won't abandon you either, you terrorist!"

"Never, never!" (End of Chapter)