Reboot the heyday

Wang Taika suddenly remembered a night he spent in Africa many years ago.

It was in a small village in Kenya, with no electricity, no signal, and countless stars overhead. He sat alone outside his tent, looking at the stars, and suddenly felt his own insignificance.

At that time, Wang Taika thought that this was probably how his life would be. One person, one camera, traveling the world, taking countless photos, and then growing old and dying alone.

Wang Taika never imagined that in the future, there would be more than one girl looking at him with such earnest eyes, knowing full well what kind of person he was, yet still willing to stay by his side.

The two walked hand in hand in the night.

No one recognized them, no one took pictures, no one screamed. Like countless ordinary couples in this city, they walked quietly, occasionally exchanging a few insignificant words, occasionally glancing at each other and then laughing.

Suddenly, Ji-eun realized that this was the life she wanted.

It wasn't a grand, dramatic event, nor was it the center of attention. It was just like that—ordinary, quiet days with him by my side.

"Terrorists." Ji-eun let out a long sigh. "Thank you for spending time with me today."

Wang Taika squeezed Ji-eun's hand: "What's there to thank me for?"

"Of course I want to thank you," Ji-eun said earnestly. "Because you didn't have to come with me. You're so busy, with so many things to do, but you put everything aside to go to the movies, go grocery shopping, and cook for me. It's not something to be taken for granted, so I have to thank you."

Wang Taika was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Jie Eun-chan, when did you become so good at talking?"

Ji-eun laughed: "I learned it from you. Aren't you the best at saying these sentimental things?"

Wang Taika smiled helplessly.

Ji-eun said, "Let me be sentimental like this. Actually, I like it. As long as it's with me, I feel okay. We need to create memories together. We can't run away from it."

"You mean a group photo?" Wang Taika sighed. "I'm not afraid, I'm just worried you might accidentally slip your hand."

Hmm? How did we get to this point?

Honestly, Wang Taika wasn't deliberately trying to cause trouble; it just suddenly came to mind and he blurted it out.

Although it wasn't out of malicious intent, it was objectively true that such an inappropriate thing was said.

Ji-eun wasn't angry. After all, they'd been together for so many years; they were like an old married couple, what was there to be angry about? Even if Ji-eun had really done something back then, Wang Taika didn't even know her! Besides, nothing really happened, so there was nothing to say.

Even if we take a step back and say that Wang Taika's mess was a billion times worse than a slip of the hand, Ji-eun never seemed to care, did she?
Love is not about being together because of each other's good qualities, but about choosing to be together even after seeing each other's bad sides.

People change, too.

Ji-eun said, "Terrorist, I actually had countless times the urge to accidentally post our relationship information. But I always managed to hold back."

Wang Taika said, "Now I can stand in the sunlight, but once some things are exposed, there will be more trouble. At the very least, we probably can't stroll around like this anymore; it will cause problems."

Ji-eun laughed and said, "Actually, it's because of something else, which is the question of who is number one. I wanted to be the first person to reveal it to you, but unfortunately, there is no longer a number one, so I don't feel that urgency anymore."

Wang Taika looked at Ji-eun and realized, "Oh, right, it's really over." Several years ago, for some reason... Anyway, to resolve a problem, when Wang Taika was the president of XB Entertainment, he and Secretary Hwang had already officially announced their relationship once.

After the matter was resolved, news of their breakup surfaced, effectively burying the incident. Wang Taika has since used various means to obscure the events of that year.

Searching online for those events now yields no photos of Wang Taika. Only scattered reports from back then mention that Girls' Generation's Tiffany was dating a mysterious non-celebrity.

Ji-eun didn't bring this up for no reason, nor was she dredging up old grievances. Instead, she said, "You see, what happened back then will always remain online; that's what we remember. Even if you resist searching for it, you'll know that it exists."

Wang Taika laughed heartily: "Jie-eun, you're really good at speaking tactfully. I didn't expect you to come back to this. But that makes sense. Not liking to leave yourself with lingering thoughts is essentially a form of escapism. You think that if you don't think about something, it won't happen, and you won't have to face it. Now I understand why teenagers are always carefree, but as adults, they subconsciously want to avoid things. It's not about courage, it's just because you understand the preciousness of the present moment too well."

"Your thinking is wrong, but I won't try to persuade you any further. I know there are many reasons for all this, but now, promises are useless. Only time will tell if we will stay together forever!" Ji-eun hugged Wang Taika, her heart aching with heartache.

Some things are like scars; some have scabbed over, while others still ache faintly. That's why people are like this—they never bring them up, and they never cry out in pain. They just habitually protect themselves from new wounds in a way that's almost self-destructive. They don't hold onto any lingering thoughts, and they don't give themselves anything to "remember later."

Wang Taika is that kind of person. He's not sure if he can keep what he has, so he simply doesn't try to have too much from the start. He's afraid of losing, so he doesn't even dare to put in too much effort when he gains something. He's afraid of parting, so he doesn't even dare to take meeting someone too seriously.

Just by holding Wang Taika, Ji-eun felt her heart breaking.

"Terrorists, even without photos, those things still happened. Even without evidence, some people are still in your heart. Can you delete photos, can you delete memories?" Ji-eun asked.

“I can’t delete them.” Wang Taika finally spoke, his voice a little hoarse: “That’s why I didn’t want to keep any more. But now that I think about it, I’m actually a little regretful.”

"You're always making yourself suffer in advance for your future self." Ji-eun said, word by word, "You think that your current self-control will make things easier for your future self. But have you ever thought that your future self might not need you to suffer for him at all?"

Wang Taika was stunned for a moment.

Ji-eun continued, "You're afraid of losing, so you dare not possess. You're afraid of pain, so you dare not think too much. You're afraid of parting, so you dare not meet. You're now doing everything you can to protect what you already have. But terrorists, have you ever thought about it? Maybe, just maybe, you won't lose anything at all?"

Wang Taika opened his mouth as if to say something, but Ji-eun didn't give him the chance.

“Maybe we’ll be together forever?” Ji-eun’s voice was soft, but every word was like a nail, piercing Wang Taika’s heart: “Maybe the things you’re worried about won’t happen at all? Maybe your current restraint is just mortgaging your future happiness?”

Ji-eun stood on tiptoe, reached out, and gently cupped Wang Taika's face: "Whether there's a photo together or not, whether I have any lingering feelings or not, I'll be here. Not because you left evidence, but because I want to be here. Not because you have so many kidneys, pfft!"

At this point, Ji-eun couldn't help but laugh: "It's because you are you. No matter what you think, I won't leave. Not because of a promise, not because of responsibility, not because of habit. It's because I want to. It's because being with you makes me feel alive. It's because the days I spent with you were the happiest days of my life."

Wang Taika laughed and said, "How old are you? What do you know about 'this life'? There are still many days ahead! I won't be so negative anymore. Sigh, it's so upsetting. After all this time, I haven't changed at all. I'm still so pretentious! It's infuriating."

“Terrorist, listen up,” Ji-eun said, enunciating each word clearly. “You can let go of your illusions, you can continue being your sentimental fool. But you can’t change one fact: you are mine. You are in this life. You will be in the next. You can’t get rid of me even if you want to.”

"Ji-eun, I really want to swallow you whole." Wang Taika slowly wrapped his arms around Ji-eun's waist and pulled her into his embrace.

In the first half of my life, I've seen the African savanna, the European snow-capped mountains, the North American canyons, the South American rainforest, and the Australian islands. I've experienced betrayal, false accusations, despair, collapse, and rebirth. I've met many people, lost many people, and missed many people.

How far must one travel in this lifetime to reach another person? Even with love, though one may traverse countless mountains and rivers, facing countless hardships to get closer to someone, there's still the worry that the other person might be bored or weary from waiting. (End of Chapter)