A prequel of Watch Me From Afar.
In the city of Suwon, Gyeonggi 1976, when South Korea was a complete contrast of what it is today,
an unlikely friendship started from the least expected circumstances between 16-year-old Yoon Ji Oh, and 12-year-ol...
The field of Suwon city hall was filled with families and relatives of these men who had completed their compulsory military service of the army branch. The ceremony had just ended, and the men were officially discharged.
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Having spotted his father since early on, Ji-oh walked towards his father's warm, homecoming hug. After 20 months of being away – the longest he has been away from home, ever. He let his son know, "Your mother's preparing a homecoming dinner for you, let's get going."
During the drive home, his father was catching him up on things he believed his son needed to be informed on. For one thing, thanks to his brilliance as a student, the university had secured him a paid internship in the Samseong Electrics that would serve as his final project. Two weeks after his post-service rest, he'd be on track to finish his final project in three months, graduate, and land a permanent position.
He could tell how his father is proud of him, even without saying the words directly, from his enthusiasm phasing out his future plan.
And came the part he has been longing to find out. How his step sister is doing.
"One day, my secretary had an accident, she was hospitalized for a week. Hee-jin was helping me with the urgent documents I had to settle with this foreign contractor. And I didn't know how great her linguistic skill was up until that point.
So I convinced her to pursue that path. She was hesitant at first – knowing the tuition fee of liberal arts major in your campus. But I convinced her. I know she wanted it so much more than nursing school. And it took me long to convince her mother that she has this huge potential, and it could be helpful for our family business. But in the end, finally, she cancelled her enrollment in Suwon nursing school. So now she's on her third semester in Sungkyungkwan. It's a diploma programme, so in 2.5 years from now she will graduate."
It was comforting for Ji-oh to know, that after he ended things abruptly, leaving her brokenhearted, licking her wounds alone, at least she's got something good going on in life. Something she's been dreaming of.
Words can't describe how much he misses her. The closer they got to home, the stronger this longing. But now he knew his place. He knew the maximum he could expect. He'd take it in stride if she's still upset, or pushing him away. After all the miseries he's put her into, he knew she has all the rights. But he just wanted to see her. In flesh. Breathing. Alive.
He wouldn't lie, having ended things romantically with Hee-jin came with its own relief. He no longer is burdened with guilt every time his parents are around. Truth be told, his stepmother has grown on him. She takes care of him as though he was her own. His success is her pride. She came with his father on family visits, and brought him generous amount of her home-cooking, to cure his homesickness. He believed his late mother can rest in peace just from how his stepmother sincerely cared for him.
