Behind The Ship

The Rendezvous

Yoo Jin Woo leads me to the outdoor area, where we can enjoy Seoul's city night lights. There are two hanging egg-shaped wicker chairs placed side by side, perfect for the casual time, hanging out with friends. The area is spacious enough to throw a small party, even there's a small stage where a DJ could take place at.

"Your place- wow, this is so cool. Did you also hold private parties here?" I ask.

"Nah, I didn't bring people to my place. It's my residence, and I'm big on privacy."

"Are you?" I laugh, "you've just exposed your personal life to the world, even engaged with what the internet thought about us, entertained their shipping agenda."

He avoids my eyes, sipping his soju. "the main goal is exposure for our business. It's merely a marketing gimmick. As it happens, throw my personal life, and yours sold down the river. To be honest, I'm done with it, engaging in a romantic relationship."

I chuckle, recalling that night the first time we were met. This man was clear about what he wanted, but it wasn't his lucky day. I wasn't that desperate.

"But see the bigger picture, Jin Ah. A human's mind is full of things our hearts do not understand. It's intriguing."

"Tell me?"

"What's the first thing people do when they wake up? Bet most of them checking on their phones. Social media, to-do list, agenda, today's news. We're shoved by information, not filtered because we're naturally curious minds, we just want the latest, sometimes the truth is damned."

Well, I'm intrigued by how he starts this conversation. Leaning comfortably embraced by the egg-shaped chair, I'm lost in his eyes as he continues explaining, that people believe what they want to believe. In the midst of the world's chaos, people still love the idea of love. The fire incident in J-One was chaos, but it's part about him and me, it was a right mix of something beautiful.

Again, the idea of love. Beautiful chaos. Bestseller idea for visual art, music, poetry, fiction. Easy.

He's done with the relationships. I'm helpless on finding something called true love. Perfect match for a crazy idea about whatever we bring to the table, for the sake of fortune. Because maybe, after all, love is just a fantasy.

"So because you're done with love, you thought it's okay to make your private life- in this thing, your love life, to be public?" I ask.

"Not every part of your private life needs to be public. I just need people to know us, so they will look for us on the internet, which will lead them to both J-One and Deja Brew. But in fact, they know nothing about us."

His adam apple moves as he drinks down the soju. I hold my breath and close my eyes as I finally breathe again.

"Have you been happy, Yoo Jin Woo?"

"I have, and funny that I've never been happier. I think the divorce was, I mean, both divorces were smart moves rather than staying with the wrong person. Who cares? Life is pretty awesome. What about you? You seemed loud about your past relationships. I went through your old pictures."

I shake my head, "liar. I deleted them all."

"Not from your page. Your friend's. You're tagged. I say don't waste your time, Jin Ah, life is too precious."

Feeling a bit offended, I defend myself, "my past relationships weren't such a waste of time. They didn't give me what I want, but taught me what I didn't want."

"So you're happy, I guess?"

"Well, I'm happy being single, until I see a perfect couple," I laugh bitterly.