Man In the Painting

Letter

Later that day, Jooyeon begrudgingly made his way to the storage room, where he had been tasked with cleaning up the clutter. As he sifted through the various items, his attention was caught by an old jewelry box that seemed out of place. Curiosity piqued, and he opened it to find a stack of letters tucked inside instead of the expected jewelry. Intrigued, Jooyeon selected one of the letters and settled in to read its contents.

Dear General Oh,

Thank you, General Oh, for your unwavering support and guidance. Your leadership is truly exceptional. Your ability to inspire and motivate those around you is truly remarkable, and it is evident in the way our team operates cohesively and efficiently under your leadership. Your wisdom and expertise have been invaluable in navigating complex challenges and achieving our objectives with precision and effectiveness. The compound is currently housing numerous injured soldiers whom we have been diligently attending to. I eagerly anticipate the day when this war will finally come to an end, allowing these brave soldiers to return to their loved ones and resume a sense of normalcy in their lives. I have said it before, and I will say it again: in this scenario, the war is like your spouse, while I'm your mistress. I will patiently await your safe return, my love. Your dedication to protecting our country fills me with immense pride, but please remember to prioritize your own well-being as well.

Love,

Jooyeon

Upon reading the letter, Jooyeon was taken aback by its contents. He couldn't understand why his great-grandfather possessed letters from the general. With his grandmother's passing the year before, Jooyeon had little knowledge of his great-grandfather's history, aside from the fact that he was a medical practitioner during the war and shared the same name as him. The revelation left Jooyeon feeling perplexed and eager to uncover more about his family's mysterious past.

Then Jooyeon tweeted, "This is a lot more complicated than I thought."

J messaged Jooyeon and said, "Joo, your boyfriend has been complaining and whining to me lately that you're too busy these days."

Jooyeon replied. "Shit, I get busy these days."

J replied. "What do you mean busy if you don't really do much in the hospital?"

Jooyeon replied. "Hehe, sorry about that."

J replied. "What are you up to these days anyway?"

Jooyeon replied. "I have been finding some information about General Oh Seungmin since he caught my attention."

J replied. "Eh? The painting on your house?"

Jooyeon replied. "Yep. So, let's go to the museum some other time."

J replied. "Okay, but you have to make it up to your boyfriend first, haha, before we dig in for some information."

Jooyeon replied. "Right."

Then, a message comes from Jooyeon's boyfriend, Minjae. "Babe, J, you said you've been busy lately.

Jooyeon responded apologetically to Jae, explaining that he had been preoccupied but had promised to make it up to him with a date later. He added a playful "hehe" to indicate his excitement about the prospect of spending time together.

Minjae replied. "Sure, babe! I missed you so much."

Jooyeon replied. "I missed you too."

The pair decided to spend some quality time together and ventured out for a romantic evening, enjoying each other's company on a date.

"So, what have you been up to these days?" Minjae asked his boyfriend.

"Just some errands at the hospital, then searching for information about this person," Jooyeon replied as he munched on his food. It peaked interest since it was suspicious that his boyfriend was searching for some information about someone.

"Who are you looking for?" Minjae asked curiously.

"It's General Oh Seungmin. A strange occurrence took place while I was tidying up the storage room earlier today when I stumbled upon a stack of letters from the general addressed to my great-grandfather. Despite knowing very little about my great-grandfather, aside from the fact that he was a medical practitioner during wartime and shared the same name as me, I couldn't help but wonder what the connection was between him and the general. This curiosity sparked a desire within me to delve deeper into the history and uncover the mysterious link between the two individuals," Jooyeon said.

"Don't bother yourself too much with those things," Minjae responded in a dismissive tone, advising his boyfriend not to expend too much energy on trivial matters. His jealousy simmered beneath the surface as he observed his partner's preoccupation with unimportant tasks.

Then Jooyeon tweeted, "What did I do to have this sudden cold treatment?" Jooyeon posted a crying emoji.

J. and Qian replied to Jooyeon's tweet with laughter, teasing her and suggesting that he deserved the situation he found himself in. Qian also pointed out that it seemed like Jooyeon had been preoccupied with something else.

Minjae expressed his dissatisfaction with a simple "Tsk" in a tweet on social media.

Seungmin messaged Gunil again, saying, "The letters made me so emotional." The words within the letters evoked a strong emotional response in Seungmin, leaving him feeling moved and overwhelmed.

Gunil replied. "Are you reading letters now?"

Seungmin replied. "I haven't finished it, but I missed Jooyeon so much."

Gunil replied. "We'll find him, hopefully."

Seungmin replied. "Hope so. Anyway, what age did you die before?"

Gunil replied. "I'm 40 on a battlefield, and I actually have a scar on my chest."

Seungmin replied. "Oh, really?" Gunil responded in affirmation, confirming with a simple "yes" in response to the question posed.

Seungmin replied. "Then what happened to Jungsu?"

Gunil replied. "I don't know what happened to her after my death, but of course he's sad knowing about it."

Then Seungmin tweeted, "Will I ever find you?"

Gunil also tweeted, "Hope to see you too, KJS."