In Search of Our Destiny - Chapter 223

After washing and changing into casual clothes, Ji-Won entered the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Instead of having just that, he should have also eaten something. But his stomach still felt queasy. That has always been an aftermath of his nightmares.

While crossing his apartment, Ji-Won happened to walk by the floor-to-ceiling windows. He took a glance outside and noticed with surprise that the weather was overcast. The beautiful, dazzling blue sky from yesterday was now covered in a thick layer of dark gray clouds.

“I hope it doesn’t rain.” He said quietly.

Staring out the window at those clouds, Ji-Won thought they looked just as gloomy as he was currently feeling inside.

But that wasn’t the time to be morose. He had a long day ahead of him.

Before going to bed the night before, Ji-Won checked a more detailed map of Eunpyeong Hanok Village. After a couple of hours of carefully going over the surrounding area, he was able to find a small road that bypassed the village. This road passed by the vicinity of ‘Summer Triangle Villa’ and went straight up for Samcheonsa Temple.

Now that he thought about it, Ji-Won vaguely remembered that long ago he and his family had reached the guesthouse by car. If it was possible to do that so many years ago, it must still be possible even now. Or at least that’s what Ji-Won hoped. That would allow him and Su-Jin to reach their destination faster. It would also be much more comfortable than having to walk.

Furthermore, they wouldn’t have to depend on daylight when returning home, making it possible for them to stay there for as long as they wanted.

The only aspect Ji-Won hadn’t taken into account, not even for a second, was a drastic change in weather.

As the old saying goes, man proposes but God disposes. Regardless of what Ji-Won had planned for the day, heaven didn’t want to listen to his wish.

The moment Ji-Won drove the car outside the parking space, it started raining.

In the beginning, there were just a few small drops of water hitting the windshield at regular intervals. But in a matter of minutes, it started pouring. Heavy rain came crashing down, enveloping the car in a thick drape of water. This not only reduced the visibility, but it also gave the driver an oppressive feeling.

Although Ji-Won found it more difficult to drive during the rain, he decided not to give up on his plans.

Therefore, he sucked in a deep breath and drove off in order to pick Su-Jin up.

When he got there, Su-Jin was surprisingly awake. Not only that, but she was already dressed and almost ready to leave.

Right before Ji-Won got to the door, Su-Jin was standing in front of her desk. For a while now, she had been pondering over a serious matter.

Should she bring with her the pictures her family had taken at the Eunpyeong Hanok Village’ all those years ago?

On one hand, they might help in convincing the owners of ‘Summer Triangle Villa’ to accept their business offer. Su-Jin naively thought that, after seeing those smiling faces, as well as the pure joy that had been captured in those photographs, the owners might feel more inclined to return to business.

On the other hand, those pictures might come in handy if they failed to obtain their target.

‘Summer Triangle Villa’ was, without a doubt, the place she wanted to contract the most in that village. However, considering the diverse touristic offers their team wanted to create, it wouldn’t hurt to consider adding other guesthouses on their list as well.

After all, there was more than just one festival in a year. So, in the future, using just one guesthouse might not be very efficient.

Staring at the small blue box filled with so many precious memories, Su-Jin kept stalling.

Then, her eyes unexpectedly fell on the photograph of the boy and his mother. This one had been taken out of its previous container and placed separately on the desk. The white handkerchief was neatly folded and placed right next to it.

“Should I take this one as well?” Su-Jin whispered.

She stretched out her fingers and touched a corner of the photograph.

“Since it was taken at that place as well I might try asking around, see if there is any chance of finding its owner. Who knows, maybe someone actually remembers these people.”

Su-Jin paused in her musings, gazing deeply at the photograph.

“No matter how I look at their faces, they still seem eerily familiar. Like I’ve seen them somewhere before.”

As she thought about that, Su-Jin’s fingers unconsciously slid across the picture. She first touched the boy’s hair, following the line of the raven black strands, and ultimately stopping on his dark eyes.

The instant Su-Jin’s fingertips touched that pair of eyes, she felt like she was about to remember something. However, that piece of memory was very vague, merely a foggy image on a white background.

At the same time, the face of someone else, someone she did know well, popped inside her head.

“Should I really ask Director Kang about it?” Su-Jin asked herself in a daze. “It would be crazy, but what if…”

Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang, breaking Su-Jin’s train of thoughts.

Her hand flinched violently, almost causing the picture to fly off the desk.

There was a bustle on the ground floor, followed by her brother’s loud voice.

“Park Su-Jin, hurry up and come down!” Min-Jun shouted from the base of the stairs.

“I’m coming!” she replied just as loudly.

Taking a deep breath, she turned to pick up the blue box. She hesitated for a second longer, then ultimately shoved both the picture of the boy and the handkerchief into the small container.

With one last glance in the mirror, Su-Jin finally left her room.

Just as she was walking down the hallway, her brother gave another call.

“Would you hurry up, you slowpoke!” Min-Jun urged.

With a glance towards the front door, he added another sentence, emphasizing on the first word.

“‘Your’ Director Kang is here and waiting for you.”