Chapter 48: Those Destined for Greatness

With Geum-soon, who could become paralyzed at any moment due to spinal issues, and Park Geun-hyung, who suffered from brain cancer and kept it a secret from his daughter until his dying breath...

In the film *Picnic*, veteran actors presented audiences with a collective portrait of contemporary elderly individuals facing the lonely journey toward the end of life.

Perhaps it was only when Geum-soon and Eun-shim held hands that they finally found the resolve to face the unknown, the fear, and the solitude together.

Yet even as they drank wine by the sea, strolled along the shore, and took a lovely excursion in the countryside, the audience could never truly pull away from the heavy atmosphere of sorrow to simply appreciate each other's beauty in that fleeting moment.

Looking at the girl nestled against his chest, Xia Xing wrapped an arm around her shoulder and tried to comfort her.

Her tears had slightly dampened his shirt, leaving a warm, damp patch.

"What do you think we'll be like when we grow old?"

Watching the remaining audience members slowly file out of the theater, Xia Xing parted his lips, initially intending to say something pragmatic, but changed his mind at the last second.

"Just like the movie says, life is a picnic, and whatever is destined or unknown is all part of the scenery."

"So, when we grow old, I will hold your hand tightly and appreciate the beauty that the passage of time leaves on your face."

"You pabo... People get wrinkles when they get old..."

Her hand gently tugged at his suit lapel as she wiped away a tear that had slipped down the corner of her eye.

"Wrinkles on your face are just another form of beauty."

He spoke in a remarkably earnest tone, his warm breath brushing softly against her forehead, bringing an unexpected sense of reassurance.

"If you know how to say things like this, say them more often in the future."

The girl let out a long breath, composed herself, put her mask back on, and took Xia Xing's hand as they walked out of the cinema.

Their original date had actually been planned for the weekend, but unable to suppress the urge to see each other, they had impulsively added a movie night on Friday.

Shin Yu-na had originally expected the two of them to act all affectionate in the theater, but as the plot unfolded, her easily moved tear ducts quickly dragged her into the sorrowful atmosphere woven by the director.

Still, tonight hadn't been a complete loss.

When she reached out for popcorn in the pitch-black darkness of the theater, she had most definitely, completely by accident, brushed against...

Inside the elevator, where only the two of them stood, Shin Yu-na glanced at Xia Xing's slightly disheveled suit jacket, her gaze drifting restlessly over him.

"You shouldn't wear light-colored pants, you know?"

Caught completely off guard by Shin Yu-na's sudden remark, Xia Xing looked at the girl in bewilderment. "Is it because they don't look good?"

"It's just that... they tend to... stand out... they look too good."

"You know the saying about not flashing your wealth, right?"

Her voice grew softer and softer, and her palms were starting to sweat faintly. At twenty years old, being curious about such things was entirely normal, right?

It shouldn't seem too strange, should it?

"What stands out?" Xia Xing, suddenly catching on, gripped the girl's hand tighter. "That's because you were being restless. Who goes around looking at things like that for no reason?"

"But... it was just way too obvious."

She took a deep breath through her mask, struggling to calm her flustered emotions.

In the past, Shin Yu-na had never quite understood why people called gray sweatpants a man's ultimate temptation.

The girl cast a sideways glance at his black suit trousers, hardly daring to imagine what he would look like in a pair of gray sweatpants.

"Besides, I didn't do it on purpose," she muttered softly, a hint of appreciation underlying her nervous tone. "Though, now that I think about it, you really are cut out for greatness."

-----------------

Scalding hot water cascaded slowly down the lines of his muscles, washing away the exhaustion of a busy day.

After taking a refreshing hot shower, Xia Xing returned comfortably to his bedroom.

Though he hated parting with Shin Yu-na, the thought of spending an entire day together tomorrow made tonight's separation feel a little less agonizing.

Lying in bed, he began scrolling through the messages he hadn't yet had time to check.

Others who messaged him for work or trivial matters usually stopped after three or four texts at most.

But that "Rebellious Milk Tea" contact had kept bombarding him with messages all the way until seven in the evening.

Because he had been tied up in meetings all afternoon and gone straight to the cinema after getting off work, his phone had been set to Do Not Disturb, automatically blocking notification sounds from apps like KakaoTalk.

That was why Xia Xing had missed so many messages.

99+ was simply the upper limit for unread chat room counters, not the limit for the number of messages Yoo Ji-min could send.

Clicking them open and reading through them slowly, Xia Xing could tell that she had been studying business-related knowledge with absolute sincerity.

Truth be told... if she had simply acted as an internal informant when their scandal broke, helping to find out who was giving orders to SM and Dispatch, she already would have helped Xia Xing immensely.

Yet perhaps dissatisfied with her current situation and realizing there was so much she needed to learn, she had thrown herself into studying things she didn't even need to know.

In reality, as an idol simply following the routine of comebacks, tours, and fan signs, she could already earn plenty of money.

However, since Yoo Ji-min had sent so many messages all at once, Xia Xing genuinely didn't know where to begin replying.

So he deleted the business-related explanation he had initially typed out in the chat box.

"I was a bit busy today and didn't get a chance to check my messages."

A few seconds after the message went out, it showed as read, but the other party took a long time to reply.

Was Yoo Ji-min expressing her displeasure at his failure to reply? The thought of her lightly biting her lower lip and frowning at the screen amused him deeply.

"How was your day?"

Ever since returning to the dorm, Yoo Ji-min, feeling weak and listless from a cold, had collapsed straight onto her bed without even taking off her hoodie.

Her dizzy head made it difficult for her to tell whether she was dreaming or awake.

Feeling the phone buzzing incessantly beside her, she forced her eyes open, only to find her eyelids weighed down by unbearable heaviness.

Resisting the urge to sleep, Yoo Ji-min unlocked her phone and saw the message Xia Xing had sent her.

Really now, she had sent him so many messages.

And he had completely ignored them.

Carrying a hint of grievance, her usual sharp and playful demeanor suppressed by her throbbing temples, Yoo Ji-min blurtingly sent two voice messages.

"Pretty... pretty terrible."

"Having a cold is really miserable..."

However, what she failed to realize was that, being utterly exhausted, she had completely missed pressing the record button for the second voice message, and only the first one had actually been sent.

The faint, muffled voice coming through the phone filled Xia Xing with a trace of guilt.

He really needed to issue a formal apology to Yoo Ji-min.

After all, anyone left hanging for an entire day would feel upset.

Without overthinking it, he switched to the call screen and tapped on the number saved under the name "Yoo Ji-min."

The phone ringtone suddenly blared, acting like a nasal decongestant that instantly snapped Yoo Ji-min out of her stupor.

Seeing the name displayed on the phone screen, the girl bolted upright, grabbed the phone, and bolted toward the balcony.

"Why are you calling me in the middle of the night?"