Reboot the heyday

Wang Taika spent the whole day at the company.

It was supposed to be about handling some matters, but really nothing much happened. Everything is back on track.

Wang Taika sat in his office, mostly lost in thought, occasionally replying to a few emails, answering a couple of phone calls, flipping through some documents, and then watching movies on the company computer until evening.

Finally, I feel like an office worker again, finally getting down to business.

As darkness fell outside the window, the office lights began to illuminate the building. Wang Taika glanced at the time; it was almost seven o'clock. He shut down his computer, grabbed his coat, and prepared to leave.

The corridor was quiet; most employees had already left work at this hour, though some were still working overtime at their desks.

Wang Taika didn't disturb them and walked along the corridor towards the elevator.

When the elevator reached the ground floor, Wang Taika turned a corner and suddenly stopped.

On one side of the company's first floor, a girl was standing there, holding a water cup, talking to someone next to her with her face turned to the side. Her profile was soft, she had her hair tied in a ponytail, and she was wearing a loose sweatshirt; she looked quite ordinary.

But the outline of that face.
Wang Taika paused for a moment, looked closely, and was startled.

The person seemed to sense something, turned around, and glanced at Wang Taika. They were a bit far apart, and it was getting dark, so their expressions weren't clear. She only saw Wang Taika's face clearly in the lamplight for a few seconds before turning back to continue talking to the person next to her.

No, it's not her.

Wang Taika realized something and remembered that there was another person named Song Ercai in the company.

That must be Song Ercai. Goodness, I almost forgot about that. That side profile just now really startled Wang Taika.

By the way, what was this guy's real name again?

Wang Taika thought for a long time but couldn't remember her real name. It seemed like her surname was Li, but what was Li's surname?
Forget it, it doesn't matter.

Wang Taika still remembers what he was thinking when he signed her: it was simply because she looked too much like Song Xiangcai.

They're not exactly the same; even their individual features are quite different. But when put together, the spirit, the temperament, and the feeling that makes your heart skip a beat are remarkably similar.

Wang Taika felt at the time that this person had to be signed to the company. It wasn't for any other reason than an inexplicable obsession.

It's as if keeping her by my side means that things that have already gone far away haven't completely disappeared.

Looking back now, it seems pretty naive.

Moreover, it's absurd.

“I always manage to do stupid things like this,” Wang Taika shook his head.

But I couldn't help but take a second look. Song Ercai seemed to have lost some weight since she first joined the company. Her jawline was more defined, and her smile didn't look quite like Song Ercai's.

It's just that at a certain angle or at a certain moment, it can make your heart skip a beat.

Of course, this feeling is not one of being moved, but rather a post-traumatic stress disorder.

But this feeling comes and goes quickly.

Wang Taika watched for a while but didn't go forward. It wasn't because he didn't want to, but because he didn't know what to say if he went up; it was all rather inexplicable.

You can't just meet someone and say, "Hi, I'm your boss. I signed you because you reminded me of someone I know!"

Wang Taika is mentally ill, but not stupid. Some things, once said, are unfair to everyone.

Afterwards, Song Ercai and the person next to her chatted and laughed as they entered the elevator on the other side of the company building. That elevator led directly to the practice room, presumably for practice.

"No wonder it's this time."

Wang Taika smiled, turned around and instead of walking towards the door, he turned into the stairwell next to it. He remembered that when he first arrived in Korea, whether it was with Noona or Choongah, whenever they met at SM Entertainment, it was always in the stairwell.

Because this is a blind spot for surveillance cameras, it's convenient to say anything here.

Wang Taika walked in at this time, just hoping to find that feeling from back then.

The stairwell was quiet, except for the motion-sensor light that turned on when Wang Taika opened the door. The pale light shone on the gray walls and felt a bit cold.

Wang Taika leaned against the wall, somewhat regretting that he didn't smoke, so much so that when he was feeling down, he couldn't find anything to do.

If you smoke, the nicotine can numb you. But just spacing out like this brings back a lot of memories from the past.

I think about how we met, how we parted ways, and how our lives became two parallel lines. I think about those years traveling the world, the photos I took, the roads I walked, the drinks I drank, and the words I spoke.

He recalled those details that Wang Taika thought he would remember forever, but which are now becoming increasingly blurry.

Time is a bastard.

It won't tell you when to forget; by the time you realize it, you can no longer remember.

But this is not love, and there is no such thing as being unable to forget someone.

This is just post-traumatic stress disorder!

Those things that are in the past and should be let go should not be brought up again, lest they disturb everyone's peace.

Wang Taika suddenly had an idea: why not fire Song Ercai?

It's not just about being fired; it's best to blacklist her from the entire industry. Make sure she can never appear on the big screen again, never debut in her lifetime. Let her become an ordinary person, working odd jobs, earning money, and growing old and faded from the hardships of life!

That solves the problem!

Great idea! Great thought! If this had happened a few years ago, Wang Taika probably would have actually done it. There's a twisted sense of satisfaction in wantonly destroying a kind person's life.

But now, we can't do that anymore.

"It seems I'll continue to be a scoundrel as always."

Wang Taika smiled and made a gesture of stubbing out a cigarette. Although there was no cigarette, he still needed to make a gesture to mark the end of his brief moment of affectation. It was a kind of ritual.

"Your melancholy is over. You pretty boy, you're so damn gentle!"

Wang Taika made a few self-deprecating remarks and prepared to leave.

Just then, footsteps came from the stairwell. They were walking very hurriedly, thumping as they approached.

The next moment, a figure darted in from the stairwell, moving quickly as if afraid of being discovered. She had her head down, the hood of her hoodie pulled up over her head, the earphone cord hanging down from her collar, and her hand clutching her phone.

Even though I tried to be as quiet as possible, my footsteps still echoed in the empty stairwell.

The man didn't see Wang Taika. He simply walked down a few steps quickly, then stopped, leaned against the wall, took out his phone, and started typing rapidly.

Wang Taika stood there, looking at the person in front of him. The stairwell light shone on her hat, revealing a small section of her chin and lips. Her skin was very white, and her lips were tightly pressed together, as if she were doing something shameful.

This girl is a trainee at the company, and not just any ordinary trainee, because Wang Taika knows her. It's more than just knowing her. What's her name again?

Oh, I remember now.

Ahn Yoo-jin. (End of Chapter)