CH21

As much as he wanted to say that he was on a wonderful vacation, in reality, he was no better than being unemployed, it was just a normal Sunday for a student who had taken a leave of absence from school.

"Woo-Jin! You got cast in Song Jae-Hee's movie this time?"

He hadn't been home for quite some time, so Woo-Jin had been sleeping in even though it was already rather late now. Ultimately, he had to get up because his younger sister shook him awake. The only thing he was seeing in his half-awake state was the face of his overly excited younger sister.

"Huh, what?"

"The day before yesterday, Song Jae-Hee posted a photo on her social media saying that it was from a get-together in Busan for the last day of shooting for her movie, and you were in the picture."

After hearing what his sister had said, Woo-Jin recalled the photo that Song Jae-Hee wanted to post on her social media for publicity purposes, before nodding absent-mindedly. Woo-Hee sighed as she watched her brother rub his half-closed eyes with his disheveled hair. She thought to herself about how other celebrities had editorial pictures of them waking up in the morning, but her brother was just an ordinary person.

"If I had known that you were shooting with Song Jae-Hee, I would have asked you to get her autograph for me! Now that the shooting is over, when will you see her again? When you see her again in the future, can you please get me an autograph~? Please?"

As a fan of Song Jae-Hee, Woo-Hee was very upset that she had missed such a good opportunity to get Jae-Hee's autograph. She even felt resentful towards her brother who never told her anything about the movies he was cast in.

"Ah, Jae-Hee unni! If I had known earlier, I could've seen her under the excuse of visiting my brother over the weekend. I've always wanted to cry out 'milky skin Song Jae-Hee' in front of her!"

Woo-Hee, who was always focused on unimportant things [1], buried her face in both hands, and fell to the side. Woo-Jin got up from his seat and glanced at his younger sister who was sobbing for her Jae-Hee unni. He walked over to his still unpacked carry-on bag and opened it. He took out the script, which was right at the top, turned the page, and pulled out a piece of paper before handing it to Woo-Hee.

"What's that?" Woo-Hee asked.

The moment her brother held out the paper, Woo-Hee noticed what it was. She smiled and made a baby voice, trying to sound cute. She quickly scanned the white sheet of paper that had Song Jae-Hee's autograph and some words written on it in her elegant handwriting. At the bottom of her autograph, these words were written: 'Study hard, Chae Woo-Hee! ^^'.

"It's truly amazing that you became a celebrity! Life is truly beautiful~!"

Woo-Hee took the paper with both hands and held the piece of paper with Song Jae-Hee's autograph to her chest as she smiled so brightly, feeling ecstatic.

"Do you want me to get you Kwon Sung-Min's autograph too?"

"No! I don't want it."

"Why not?"

Woo-Jin found it strange how his younger sister was not interested in Kwon Sung-Min when he was becoming more and more popular among female students.

"There are a lot of rumors about him being a player. Regardless of how handsome they are, I don't like guys like that."

Whether or not it was because of the trauma caused by her father, Woo-Hee had strict standards when it came to that. Be it male or female celebrities, she was prejudiced against celebrities with a dishonest image. The reason why she was exceptionally fond of Song Jae-Hee was because of her bright and clean image that the latter had ever since she was a child actress.

"Celebrities might be different from the rumors about them. Rumors alone don't tell you what a person is truly like," said Woo-Jin.

"So, Jae-Hee is different from the rumors about her?"

"Her personality is better and brighter."

"See!"

As expected, Woo-Hee, who was acting all proud for no reason, stroked the piece of paper and smiled, feeling content.

"By the way, where is Mom?" asked Woo-Jin.

Woo-Jin checked the time and asked about the whereabouts of their mother, who wasn't home for some reason. He worried as he wondered if she had to work on Sundays too.

"She went on a date with Uncle[2]," replied Woo-Hee.

"Ah, right. It's Sunday."

It was a great day to go on a date in this beautiful fine spring weather.

"Do you dislike Uncle?" asked Woo-Hee out of the blue.

"There's nothing to dislike. Mom is still young. If she happens to meet a good man, she should go out with him."

This was the first time their mother had officially dated after the divorce. They had known each other for a few years because of work, but they had started dating last winter after he confessed his feelings to her. That man had lost his wife and children in a car accident 10 years ago when a vehicle collided with them after running a red light. The accident had also left him with a leg impairment, but it was nothing compared to the death of his family. He struggled for a long time because of the shock and guilt of losing his family in a car accident where he was the driver. Woo-Jin had met him once. He was a good man who knew the importance of family.

"What would you do if Mom married Uncle?" Woo-Hee asked Woo-Jin.

"You know something, don't you?"

Since Woo-Hee was Park Eun-Soo's daughter, Park Eun-Soo used to talk to her about personal things that she could not talk to her son about, especially when it came to anything related to the affairs of the heart. It must have been more difficult to talk to a son about things like that.

"Mom said that Uncle proposed to her not too long ago," answered Woo-Hee.

"Did Mom give him an answer?"

"It seemed like she was hesitating for a variety of reasons. Uncle told her that she didn't have to answer right away."

Park Eun-Soo was distrustful of men because of her ex-husband's affair; she was also worried about how her inflexible father, who was already disapproving of her divorce, might not accept her remarriage; and lastly, she was worried about her children. Those were probably the reasons why she was not able to readily accept the proposal. However, if Woo-Jin were to consider things from his mother's point of view, it was really rare for her to find a marriage partner with the same qualifications as that man's. He was 48 years old, the same age as his mother. He looked personable and handsome, and he was also well-educated. He had a luxury jewelry company that had a solid structure and was financially stable. Hence, his mother wouldn't have to worry about finances. Besides, his mother had already known him for a couple of years because of work, thus, she was certain of his personality and sincerity.

Previously, Park Eun-Soo had only dated three months before marrying, so she was extremely cautious after what happened with her ex-husband, but she told Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee that the Uncle was a good person.

"If Mother wants to get married to him, I don't object to it," said Woo-Jin.

"Me too."

"In that case, tell Mother not to worry about us. You should be the one telling her instead of me. She will feel less awkward that way too," replied Woo-Jin.

"No, it's better for you to tell her. If you tell her first, Mom will feel more at ease. What I'm trying to say is that she's been walking on eggshells around you when it comes to this."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

If Woo-Hee said that, it must be true. He had not thought about the fact that it was more difficult and embarrassing for his mother to talk to her own son about this, as compared to talking to her daughter. Hence, his mother would have no choice but to be cautious and walk on eggshells until Woo-Jin brought it up first.

After Woo-Jin nodded and agreed, perhaps Woo-Hee felt relieved, she decided to do something nice for him.

"Should I prepare some food for you?" asked Woo-Hee.

"It's not exactly the time to have breakfast though," responded Woo-Jin.

"You will never skip your lunch, right? In that case, I'll make you a sandwich with a lot of tomatoes and lettuce."

Woo-Hee left the room, with her precious autograph from Song Jae-Hee in her hands, and Woo-Jin followed behind her. Now that he had woken up, he wanted to wash up before eating anything.

"By the way, what are those rag-like slippers? Is it a movie prop?" Woo-Hee asked as she pointed to the worn-out slippers while preparing the ingredients.

A pair of slippers that were held together with tape and strings were placed in the corner of the hallway. She was going to get rid of it because it smelled bad, but she left it there just in case he still needed it.

"Of course not. I saw an old man wearing those slippers at the subway station last night. I was kind of worried for some reason, so I switched shoes with him."

Yesterday, he went to a photoshoot for a commercial. On his way home, he happened to see an old man picking up waste papers at the subway station. Looking at the slippers tied with strings that barely held them together, Woo-Jin approached the old man and suggested to him to wear his slippers. Fortunately, their feet were the same size, so Woo-Jin came home wearing the old man's slippers instead.

"Wow~ are you that kind?"

"It's not that I'm kind… I'm just doing that to go to heaven."

It was neither sympathy nor compassion. Woo-Jin had realized how cold-blooded and cruel his soul was after remembering his past lives. His soul basically had a cold heart that had no compassion for humans. Fortunately, he was no longer like that in the present day. However, was he heartless, or indifferent? Fundamentally speaking, he was not interested in anybody except his friends and family.

Compared to his past lives, if one were to argue that these emotions had evolved, it could be said that Chae Woo-Jin was kind. However, he was still lacking a lot of compassion. Hence, he decided to make a conscious effort in becoming more attentive and considerate towards other people. Since he kept getting reincarnated, he could not be sure if there was heaven or hell, but if they existed, he was worried that he might end up going to hell. He had never committed any major sins in his current life, but if he were to take all the sins he had committed throughout his past lives into account, his soul was bound to go to hell.

'I have to lighten my negative karma, even if it's by a little!'

For all he knew, perhaps he might end up being dragged in front of the king of the netherworld without reincarnating after he died for the thousandth time. That's why Woo-Jin was determined to do a lot of good deeds in this lifetime. Giving his sneakers to an old man who was collecting waste paper was only the beginning. Fortunately, he had been donating to charities by chance since a few years ago, he wasn't starting from zero in terms of accumulating points to go to heaven.

"You're getting old. You're worrying about the afterlife," commented Woo-Hee.

"How disrespectful."

After tossing the smelly slippers in the trash bag outside, Woo-Jin washed his hands and walked towards the piano in the living room. Originally, the piano was supposed to be in Woo-Jin's room, but Woo-Hee wanted to learn how to play it too so it had been placed to one side of the living room instead. Their mother, who was very good at playing the piano, had been very delighted and was having a lot of fun teaching Woo-Hee how to play these days.

"Do you have a song request?" asked Woo-Jin.

"Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata! The sound always expresses its essence, hehehe!" answered Woo-Hee.

As she was holding the knife she was cutting the tomatoes with, Woo-Hee smiled insidiously.

"I get the Moonlight Sonata part, but what do you mean by the second half of your sentence?"

"There's a manhwa in which the male protagonist is a very talented pianist. That's what the side character says when she sees the male protagonist play Moonlight Sonata."

"Ahh~"

It seemed like the cause of Woo-Hee's sudden interest in piano could be found in one of the manhwa books occupying her bookshelf. Woo-Jin sat down and started playing Moonlight Sonata without the sheet music.

Even though Woo-Hee had requested the song, she did not think that Woo-Jin was actually going to play it. As they were siblings who shared the same childhood, she knew that Woo-Jin had only started learning the piano recently. Furthermore, when she saw him trying to play the song without looking at the sheet music, she lamented that her brother was going to continue bluffing to that extent. However, when Woo-Jin started playing the first movement, Woo-Hee stopped cutting the tomatoes and looked at her brother.

It might be different for others, but when Woo-Hee listened to Moonlight Sonata, she was reminded of the gentle hand of the moonlight as it made its way through the dark night. It tried to open the window that was tightly shut, carefully and covertly, before attempting to lovingly persuade it to open. In the end, it would lose control of its emotions and shake violently. She had listened to the song after reading about it in the manhwa because it had piqued her curiosity. When she heard it, the illustrations of the scene in the manhwa overlapped with the music making her feel a surge of emotions. She was unable to do anything for a while as she listened to Woo-Jin's piano playing, which was as good at stirring emotions as other pianists.

"Where is my sandwich?" asked Woo-Jin, who looked behind at Woo-Hee after playing all three movements.

Woo-Hee, who was still standing still holding onto a knife, snapped out of her trance and came to her senses.

"Hang on. It's almost done. By the way, how are you playing the piano so well even without sheet music? I definitely know all about your past. You never learned how to play the piano, did you?"

Woo-Jin and Woo-Hee were in the same situation, where they did not have the luxury of time and money to learn an instrument as they were busy trying to survive. Even if Woo-Jin started slightly earlier, it was impossible that he could play this well in such a short span of time.

"Even though I just started learning not too long ago, I've been practicing how to play the piano in my head before that. As I did that, I ended up memorizing the sheet music."

This was a more realistic justification than saying that he used to be a musician in his past life and that he had suddenly remembered every detail of all his past lives when he woke up one day.

"How is this fair? We have the same genes, but I can't do it!" complained Woo-Hee.

"That's the difference between dominant and recessive genes," replied Woo-Jin.

TL/n - You should try this punch line. 

"Are you dissing me?"

As Woo-Hee was quibbling about how ludicrous it was, she was still holding on to the knife. She had not thought about letting go of that knife at all.

"I'm saying that I have the recessive gene," responded Woo-Jin.

"So why can't I do it?" asked Woo-Hee.

"That's because geniuses have always been arrogant and don't make any effort."

"I'll take that! I guess I've been a little arrogant these days."

Seeing Woo-Hee contemplating things while holding on to her knife, Woo-Jin asked her when he could have his sandwich in a cautious manner. After many twists and turns, Woo-Jin finally went into his room to eat the sandwich that Woo-Hee had made for him. He checked his phone for any missed calls and texts that came while he was gone. He blinked. He had a missed call from an unknown number, but after he had looked at the text message that came from the same number, he realized that it was not unknown at all.

[This is Kwon Ji-Ah, the casting director of DS Entertainment. I tried calling you, but you didn't answer, so I decided to send you a message instead. DS is very interested in working with you. That's why we contacted you first to discuss moving forward together in the future. Please send us a text message with your availability so we can contact you accordingly. We can also do a video call if you'd like.]

TL/n - 

1. The original Korean idiom used was 제사보다 잿밥에 which is directly translated as focusing on the ritual's food rather than the ritual itself. It means to focus on the useless personal interest rather than the important tasks 

2. This is 아저씨, which is a middle-aged man. A man close enough to be called 'uncle' but of no blood relations. Can also be used as a general address for middle-aged men.