In Search of Our Destiny - Chapter 204

Reaching up to there, Su-Jin lowered her hand and placed her fingers on top of the photograph. Her face soon broke into a smile and she continued to speak fondly.

“After searching for almost an hour, our parents were so panicked that they almost called the police. Luckily, someone who lived near Jingwansa Temple, and who knew we’d be staying in the hanok village for the entire weekend, called the guesthouse we were staying at. That person told our parents that you had been spotted near the temple entrance. As soon as they heard that, our parents hurried in that direction. Perhaps they were feeling anxious that I might somehow disappear as well, because they also took me with them.”

“I have little recollection of this. I only remember sitting on the temple grounds when they found me.” Min-Jun said quietly, scratching the back of his head.

“It’s not difficult to imagine that. After all, you were very little back then.”

“You weren’t much older either, so stop bragging.” Min-Jun huffed, lowering his arm and looking away from the picture.

“It’s not that I remember everything clearly.”

Su-Jin stopped and pointed at the two adults in the photograph.

“It’s because our parents loved to recount this event whenever they could, always laughing at how their little boy was a small adventurer. I’ve heard the story so many times that I know it by heart.”

“It wasn’t something that extraordinary.” Min-Jun grumbled.

“Oh, but it was.”

Su-Jin outright laughed as she remembered.

“When the three of us arrived at the temple, you were sitting cross-legged in front of the main hall, right between the two stone pagodas. Based on what the monks said, apparently you were convinced that the pagodas formed a gateway to another world and you wanted to go there for a visit. No matter how they tried to convince you that it wasn’t true, you adamantly refused to budge from that spot.”

As she recounted this, Su-Jin gingerly caressed the photograph.

At this point, a crystalline laugh came from the doorway.

Mi-Suk was leaning against the doorframe, bent over and holding her stomach as she laughed hysterically. Even though she could barely breathe properly at that moment, Mi-Suk still insisted on speaking.

“That… Is… So… So … Like you… Min… Jun.” Her shoulders shook as she kept laughing harder. “So hilarious… I can’t…”

“Then shut up or you’ll choke to death.” Min-Jun snapped at her, his face setting into a scowl.

“But she’s right, you know.” Su-Jin chuckled.

She coughed loudly, trying to keep herself from bursting into a full out laughter.

“Back then, you were such an odd child. Some of the things you said or did were absolutely hilarious, while others were downright weird.” Su-Jin paused, giving her younger brother a once-over. Then, she concluded her words with a sharp nod. “Yep, not much has changed over the years.”

“Tsk.”

Min-Jun clicked his tongue and turned to leave his sister’s room. In doing so, he pushed past Mi-Suk, ignoring the stares filled with mirth the young woman was giving him.

Now that they were the only ones inside the room, Su-Jin and Mi-Suk quickly recovered from their amusement.

The latter nimbly walked towards the other side of the room, miraculously avoiding tripping on all the mess that was thrown on the floor. Then, she took a seat on the desk chair, pushing herself closer to the bed and waited.

Meanwhile, Su-Jin gave the photograph another longing stare, then put it aside on the bed together with the album.

“What were you looking for exactly?” Mi-Suk suddenly asked.

“Just now, while we were talking about star-crossed lovers and childish things I suddenly remembered a place I went with my parents. Unfortunately, I have little recollection of how the area actually looked at that time, so I wanted to see if there were any pictures I could use as reference.”

“Is this for the new concept your team is trying to create?”

“Mhm.” Su-Jin hummed. “At least I hope it might be helpful.”

She continued to go through the photographs, taking them out of the album, studying them carefully, only to place them back down on the side.

After a few minutes, Su-Jin was finally done. By now, there was a small pile of photographs nicely stashed next to her.

Next, Su-Jin turned to rummage through the cardboard box once again. After a moment, she took out a small, light blue box and pulled its lid up. The entire content was made out of pictures from all across the Hanok village.

Yet, what was different about these photographs compared to the ones inside the album who also had people in them, these were solely of landscape.

Su-Jin took them out and spread them next to her on the bed.

Craning her neck for a better view, Mi-Suk could see many other beautiful places apart from the temple. There were traditional houses, with tall, wooden gates and inner courtyards. Small alleyways snaked between the houses, creating something close to a maze. Sometimes, a modern looking building would suddenly pop out in a corner of a photograph, creating a strong contrast with the beautiful traditional buildings.

In the end, Su-Jin spent nearly an hour gazing at the pictures, sorting between them and putting back the ones she didn’t need.

Meanwhile, Mi-Suk stood there quietly, watching her friend at work. But seeing that Su-Jin didn’t show any sign of going back to the living room, Mi-Suk eventually went down by herself, leaving the other to her own devices.

Following all that, Su-Jin spent the entire night drafting a concept proposal based on the new idea she got. In her presentation, she wanted to show how a place like a hanok village could offer both tourists and locals many opportunities to have fun and enjoy their time with family and friends.

Based on her research during her college years, Su-Jin concluded that a place like Eunpyeong Hanok Village could be exactly the kind of setting they were looking for.. It was affordable and with lots of refreshing opportunities for both young and old.