In Search of Our Destiny - Chapter 234

The object fell with a clatter. The lid flew open, and the entire contents spilled on the wooden floor.

The instant he saw this, Ji-Won let out a gasp and immediately moved from his spot.

First, he stretched sideways, picking up Su-Jin’s bag and placing it back on the table. Next, he turned to look at the rest of the mess.

The small container was upside down half a meter away from their table. At a glance it seemed to be in one piece, but everything inside had been scattered on the floor between their feet.

“I’m so sorry!” Ji-Won apologized earnestly.

Wearing a mortified expression, he bent down to pick up the photographs.

Just like fire being doused by cold water, seeing her boss look so flustered, determined Su-Jin to quickly change her mind. Thus, her previous disgruntled attitude swiftly turned into a willingness to reassure the man that nothing was wrong.

Not once did she stop to think that, besides the multitude of landscape photographs, there were also a few she had selected with her family. Nor did she realize that, among all of those, there was also a special one, pertaining to a certain dark-haired man, who was currently crouching next to their table.

Therefore, Su-Jin casually waved a hand in the air, acting as though it didn’t matter to her.

“It’s alright, Director Kang, don’t worry about it. Nothing broke, and we can always put the pictures back.”

As she said this, Su-Jin moved from her seat in order to help him gather everything and place them back inside the box.

Meanwhile, Ji-Won had moved a little further away. But after merely two seconds, he paused abruptly. As his eyes became glued on one of the photographs, his entire demeanor suffered an unexpected change.

With the speed of lighting, Ji-Won’s face lost all trace of embarrassment and, instead, it took on a look of amusement.

“Miss Park, is this you?” he asked quietly, pointing at something on the floor.

Su-Jin slowly turned her head and glanced in that direction. As soon as she saw the image Ji-Won was staring at, she felt all the air being knocked out of her chest.

Blushing a furious red she moved to snatch away the picture.

But Ji-Won moved faster. In a split second he pinched the corner of the photograph and had it dangling in the air above his head.

“Not so fast, Miss Park.” He showed a wide smile.

Su-Jin was stunned silly.

With that smile curving his lips, that odd flash in his eyes, not to mention his overall attitude, it almost seemed as though Ji-Won was… Teasing her?!

‘Is the world coming to an end today, or is he dying? If Director Kang ended up resembling Deputy Director Kim’s unruly character, then I see no other possible explanations. So, it’s either that we’re all about to die, or it’s just him who’s changed suddenly on the brink of death1.’

Unaware that his end had already been written, Ji-Won brought the picture closer to his eyes. He continued to stare at it in silence, until Su-Jin couldn’t bear it any longer.

“If you stare so much you’ll make a whole in it.” She said in a low grumble.

“Hm, curious.”

“What is?” Su-Jin’s forehead creased in a light frown.

Instead of replying, Ji-Won merely smiled. The subtle curve of his lips gave his expression a rather mysterious air.

He carefully returned Su-Jin’s picture to her, while gazing down at the stack of collected photographs.

“And I presume this is your brother, Min-Jun?” Ji-Won asked all of a sudden, pointing at another picture.

Su-Jin followed the trail of his finger and saw a picture of Min-Jun taken at Jingwansa temple.

The small boy was captured just as he was sitting crossed-legged in front of an imposing looking temple hall. A tall man, presumably his father judging by their resemblance, was standing next to him. With the child’s serious expression and the man’s exuberant smile, the two of them made quite a contrast.

Seeing her brother and father showing such familiar expressions brought a melancholic smile on Su-Jin’s lips. She couldn’t help but reminisce about that day.

But her mind didn’t stop there, though.

She also remembered how happy her family used to be, how much they laughed whenever they were together and what fun they used to have.

Ever since she was very young, Su-Jin had felt extremely grateful and blessed for having such loving and wonderful parents.

Thinking about all this, Su-Jin felt a twinge of pain in her chest. Truth be told, she was always the most sensitive around this time of year. With the approaching anniversary of her parents’ death, she found it more difficult to think about them without feeling an acute feeling of loss.

All of a sudden, Ji-Won’s deep voice pulled Su-Jin out of those recollections.

“What was Min-Jun doing there?” Ji-Won asked, picking up the picture and studying it attentively.

Su-Jin cleared her throat with a light cough, making sure her voice wouldn’t shake before she replied.

“Ah, for some unknown reason, he firmly believed that he could somehow travel to another world if he sat in front of the temple hall, right between those two stone pagodas.”

“Oh…”

Ji-Won brought a hand to his lips, squinting at the picture. Then, as though reaching a conclusion, he nodded.

“As strange as it might sound, I find that to be very believable. Especially if it’s coming from a young Min-Jun.”

Su-Jin began to laugh.

“But please, don’t ever tell him I said that.” Ji-Won hurried to ask.

At that, Su-Jin’s crystalline laughter became even louder.

“You’re not the only one who thinks that, though.” She said between giggles. “Our father, for example, always used to go along with his strange ideas. That time at the temple we even managed to capture it. Hm, it should be somewhere around here…”

Su-Jin paused her words and, under Ji-Won’s watchful eyes, began fumbling through the stack of photographs.