Extra Story - 2. Destined Encounter (1)

“So, did you ask that girl her name?”

The laughter-filled question was full of affection for his son’s story.

During dinner with his parents, Jun-woo was engrossed in talking about the female student he had seen last week. A smile never left Hae-in’s face as she listened to her son’s story.

Before they knew it, Jun-woo had grown up and was already twenty-two years old.

In other words, it had been 22 years since she had married Soo-hyun. Watching her son talk about a girl he had fallen for at first sight on campus, she couldn’t stop smiling.

She was both amazed and proud of her son. And she felt grateful to her husband, Soo-hyun, who had built this family.

Soo-hyun never forced anything on their children. He told them not to take over the company if they didn’t want to. Rather, he said it would be better to hire professional managers and step down from the front lines than for an incompetent owner family to take over and ruin the company.

Because their father was like this, the children worked even harder on their own.

In Jun-woo’s case, Hae-in was the one who had to chase after him, telling him not to study so much. Hae-in was grateful that her well-raised son, even as a university student, would tell his parents about a girl he had fallen for at first sight.

“I don’t even know her name, how am I supposed to find her? I must be an idiot. I should have chased after her there and asked for her number.”

“Well, what did you do instead of asking?”

Soo-hyun, picking up a piece of braised short rib with his chopsticks and removing the bone, placed it on Hae-in’s rice before asking. He was always consistent in taking care of his wife before their son and daughter.

Jun-woo’s gaze followed his father’s chopsticks, and one corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

“Well, I don’t know what I did. Ah, Father. Shouldn’t you leave some of that for me?”

“Huh?”

At his son’s sudden chiding, Soo-hyun looked blank.

Perhaps because they had raised him freely, Jun-woo was unusually unreserved when dealing with his father compared to other children from wealthy families his age. And Soo-hyun and Hae-in were quite proud of that.

Children who confided in and consulted their parents about everything, and parents who listened to everything.

It was a family unlike those around them. Especially in the world of chaebols where there were many authoritarian parents.

“Jun-woo seems a little upset. Jun-woo-yah, I’ll give you some of mine.”

“Nah. How can I eat what Father personally debones and gives to Mother? I’ll get sick, I’ll get sick.”

Jun-woo shook his head, feigning upset with a playful expression. It seemed he had been teasing again.

“This kid, he can’t even ask for a girl’s name in front of her, but he’s so loud with me.”

Soo-hyun also chuckled, playfully retorting.

After a bout of hearty laughter, Soo-hyun, perhaps still mindful of his son’s words, called the server and asked for more braised short ribs.

A full, steaming pot of braised short ribs was placed back on the table. The glossy brown sauce dripped down the thick pieces of meat. This time, Hae-in removed a bone and placed the meat on Jun-woo’s rice.

Jun-woo swallowed the meat his mother had given him in one bite and continued the conversation.

“Ha, seriously, how am I supposed to find her? I don’t know her name or her year.”

At his son’s sighing words, Soo-hyun said one thing.

“If you really don’t know, why don’t you ask the department office?”

“The department office? I’m in the International Studies department, and the class I took today was a general education course...”

“Tsk tsk. Well then, you’ll have to wait in front of the stairs all day.”

“Hey, how can I wait all day?”

“Why not? I did.”

“You did?”

At Soo-hyun’s casual remark, not only Jun-woo but also Hae-in looked surprised.

“Did you, honey?”

When Hae-in turned to Soo-hyun with wide eyes, a gentle smile spread across Soo-hyun’s face.

“Yeah. When I missed you too much, I did. I would go and sit on the stairs whenever I had time. Thinking, maybe she’ll pass by today.”

“Oh my.”

Even though it was a love story from over twenty years ago, Soo-hyun’s past always touched Hae-in’s heart whenever she heard it. Hae-in quietly reached under the table and held her husband’s hand tightly. Soo-hyun’s large hand, which her own couldn’t completely cover, had become a little rougher than before, as if time had settled on it.

Hae-in fiddled with the necklace around her neck with her other hand. The necklace Soo-hyun had bought her for the first time during their courtship was still the accessory Hae-in wore most often.

“You two, save the romance for when I’m not around.”

Turning her head at her son’s words, Hae-in saw Jun-woo narrowing his eyes at his parents like a flounder.

“A born solo weeps. Mother, Father.”

“Pfft. Okay, Jun-woo-yah. Sorry, sorry.”

Hae-in burst into laughter at Jun-woo’s words and laughed for a while.

“Don’t just laugh, please think of a solution. Your son is serious right now.”

“Well, Jun-woo-yah.”

Perhaps thinking he should respond a little more seriously, Soo-hyun looked at his son and said kindly, “Why don’t you try going to places where that female student might often pass by a few times? Like the student union or the library.”

“The library is huge, how am I supposed to find her there?”

At Jun-woo’s grumbling, Hae-in retorted, “If not, you might meet her in the next class. Aren’t you taking the same class anyway?”

“I thought so, but she didn’t come to the next class. I don’t know if she was auditing or what. She definitely had the textbook for that class.”

Soo-hyun, who had been listening, put his arm around Hae-in’s shoulder and said, “Your mother was always easy to find because she was always at the library. Always in the same spot.”

Hae-in also placed her hand over Soo-hyun’s hand that was around her shoulder and said, “That’s right, Jun-woo-yah. If you’re meant to meet, you’ll meet anywhere. If you can’t forget that female student so easily, don’t be too impatient and just wait. As much as you want to meet her again, wouldn’t you run into her at least once?”

“I guess so.”

Jun-woo listened to Hae-in’s words and put down his spoon. A sigh escaped him over the cleanly emptied rice bowl.

Having grown up watching his always affectionate parents, Jun-woo tended to have romantic ideals. Thanks to that, he hadn’t had a proper romantic relationship yet, but he had no regrets.

It was because he had a firm belief that he would one day meet his perfect match, just like his parents.

________________________________________

It was two weeks later that he found the girl.

Jun-woo found the female student sitting in a corner of the library and laughed in disbelief. It was because that was the only place Jun-woo hadn’t considered looking.

He hadn’t even glanced at the Business School library, who knew she would be there.

Moreover, the fourth floor was a place students didn’t frequent often because the air conditioning occasionally broke down. It was a time when the scent of autumn was becoming noticeable, so he had come up on a whim, and when he spotted the familiar back view, Jun-woo knew immediately.

The girl he had encountered a few weeks ago was there.

‘If you’re meant to meet, you’ll meet anywhere.’

Since it wasn’t a completely accidental meeting, he didn’t entirely agree with his mother’s words, but since they had met, maybe it was half right.

Jun-woo first sat down at the desk directly behind the female student.

He wanted to approach her right away and strike up a conversation, maybe even hand her a note, but he decided to organize his thoughts first, worried that he would have no way out if he was rejected.

His heart was also beating too wildly to go straight to her.

Perhaps because he had spent weeks searching here and there, his chest was heaving intensely just at the fact that she was right in front of him.

What should he say? Excuse me, I’m a bit interested in you.

Jun-woo briefly considered the classic approach but quickly shook his head. Thanks to his natural good looks, he had been popular since he was young, so he had never approached a girl first.

He didn’t use social media at all, and he hadn’t revealed his family background to his friends, so no one around him knew about Jun-woo’s family. Yet, perhaps because of his innate aura, his friends easily guessed that Jun-woo came from a fairly wealthy family.

His friends always called him, and he always sat in the center when they went to gatherings. Girls confessed their feelings to him frequently, and it was something he had taken for granted.

Thus, Jun-woo was more accustomed to rejecting than being rejected.

What should he say so that that girl would be less wary of him and give him her number? Wouldn’t this be okay?

After pondering for a long time, looking at the female student’s back, he suddenly realized one thing.

The female student in front of him was sitting and concentrating on her studies without ever losing her posture.

He had a feeling that if he went to talk to her, her concentration would be broken. Jun-woo himself, who had studied rigorously during his time abroad, knew best. There was nothing more annoying than someone interrupting you when you were focused.

After thinking it over, Jun-woo first bought a drink from the vending machine and placed it on her desk while the female student was briefly away. He also wrote a short note that said, “Fighting!” and left it with the drink before leaving the library.

He intended to wait until the female student finished studying. Fortunately, Jun-woo had also finished all his classes for the day.

[Jun-woo-yah, what are you doing? If you’re still at school, call me.]

Messages from his friends poured in, but Jun-woo replied briefly, “Later,” and closed his phone.

It was almost 10 PM now. It was time for the library to close.

When it was time for the library to close, students who weren’t staying up all night came out of the building one by one. Jun-woo waited for the female student, half in doubt.

What if she’s staying up all night? Should I stay up with her? Is it right to approach her and talk to her when she’s tired from staying up all night?

Jun-woo’s mind became confused by the hesitation he had never felt before in his life.

In the midst of all this, Jun-woo saw the female student he had been waiting for walking out among the other students. Jun-woo quickly followed her.