n

n

n.

nI looked at Woo Jooin and then laughed with Eun Hyung. Ban Yeo Ryung truly had no sensibility. Yoo Chun Young, however, laid his eyes at Ban Yeo Ryung and asked with a low voice.

n“Doesn’t the son later become terminally ill?”

n“Huh? Yeah, what happened on yesterday’s episode was that the guy was given months to live or so. The girl was like crazily sobbing.”

n“Then they pray at the church and promise to make many memories for the next two months.”

n“Yeah, that’s right. That is why ‘Happy Time” is part of the title.”

nListening to Eun Jiho’s response to Chun Young, I realized the episode I watched earlier was a rerun. Yeah, that made sense. There would not be any new episodes on air at that time.

nThen I became curious.

nI asked, “Hey, but why is the title ‘Your Happy Time’ instead of ‘Our Happy Time?’ If the two people are building up memories together, then the letter ‘y’ should be removed, isn’t it?

n“…”

nWhat I said brought a sudden silence to the elevator that was once filled with different voices. They all became as quiet as death, so I was completely shaken up for a moment. What the heck? Why were they so serious?

nSoon Eun Jiho broke the ice. He murmured in wonder while looking up at the ceiling.

n“Oh, it really is. Why is it not ‘our’ but ‘your?’ What the heck, does that mean only your happiness matters?”

nEun Hyung, who stood next to me and in front of the elevator button, looked back and replied.

n“Maybe there would be a twist at the end? You know, TV dramas these days. For example, the girl actually doesn’t love that guy but approached on purpose to steal the classified documents from the rival company before the man dies. If so, it would be a happy time for the guy but not for the girl since the girl doesn’t love that guy.”

n“Wow, if that is the reason why then it sure is…”

nYeo Ryung mumbled in surprise from aside. So did I. How could he come to that conclusion in a blink of an eye? Though I already knew, Eun Hyung was truly an intelligent man as well. Woo Jooin and Yoo Chun Young remained silent for long; they seemed to be thinking something else.

nWas there anything the title embodied? While I tried to put my brain to work, the elevator arrived on the 13th floor.

nWe then got off and dashed to the front door. As I put in the passcode, the door opened with the access sound. I turned the doorknob and let everyone inside.

nIt was completely dark inside. I searched the switch on the wall and opened the living room lights. At last, we perched on the couch with a sigh.

nThe first one to sit on the couch at the most comfortable posture was Eun Jiho; Eun Hyung scolded him to take his coat off first before going ahead. Yoo Chun Young took off his jet-black coat and asked me where he could hang it. Ban Yeo Ryung just went inside my room and had her coat on the wall hook as usual. Yoo Chun Young soon followed her.

nWe sat in the living room at last. As if it was his house, Eun Jiho was almost lying on the couch while holding the remote control. He then pressed the buttons and soon, the TV flashed open with an empowered sound.

nWhat I saw at first was the guy wailing in the morning and the girl riding a bike together with him. In reality, the surrounding was still cold and the weather was hardly getting warmer even though it was already spring season; however, inside the TV, the trees were putting forth their young green leaves and butterflies were flying around the couple.

nThat is too surreal. As soon as I knitted my brows, Eun Jiho commented,

n“Hey, that butterflies are CG.”

n“Bwahaha!”

nI let my laughter slip out. Was it necessary to add butterflies with CG? Even though the background seemed quite surreal the guy driving the bike and the girl having her arms around his waist from behind while burying her face on his back looked quite romantic.

nAlthough he said the story was lame, Eun Jiho was focusing at the screen as if he had been watching it from the beginning. Ban Yeo Ryung was doing the same, which made me look around the others. Since they were all into the drama, there was no need to change the channel. I sat back comfortably and watched the screen relaxingly.

nJust as they said, the drama seemingly did not have anything special except for the outstanding visuals of the main actor and actress. Their acting skills also helped us stay focused.

nAs they drove the bike and arrived on a hill, both had delightful smiles on their face while looking at the beautiful scenery before them.

n“Is that scenery also CG?”

n“I don’t think so.”

n“Where in Korea does that beautiful place exist?”

nWhen the drama ends, I bet the term ‘YHT filming location’ would be all over internet search engines I said to myself apathetically. As I looked back to the screen, the scene changed.

nOn the hill where the couple was standing, there was a huge tree that looked at least 500 years old and had the thickness of 4 grown men having their arms around for it to fit in. The bike they rode were leaning against it.

nThe guy was looking under the hill smiling, but the girl stood behind the tree, hiding from the guy.

nShe looked up at the blue sky; slowly, her eyes reddened before she finally shed a drop of tear. Then she crouched on the spot and began to sob.

nThat was the end of the episode followed by the original soundtrack. It was as mellow and sorrowful as the story. We had continued to listen but then, Eun Jiho changed the channel with a nonchalant face. What was next on the screen was a recently launched TV show.

nEun Jiho lifted his body from the couch and swung the remote control around.

n“Anyone wants to see something else?”

n“Let’s just watch this.”

n“I’m fine with that.”

nAs Yoo Chun Young and Yeo Ryung replied in order, Eun Jiho said, ‘ok, then’ and threw the remote control at the corner of the couch. He then laid down comfortably. While watching the situation, we could hear Yoo Chun Young’s voice from behind. I turned my head to face him. He spat out his words in a calm tone.

n“I kind of get why it was titled ‘Your Happy Time.’ I mean, the drama that we just saw…”

n“Why?”

nIt was Yeo Ryung who exhibited her interest first. Yoo Chun Young dropped his light blue eyes on the floor before directing it onto me.

nHe continued, “In that drama, if the guy makes good memories for the two months before he dies… he would be happy. At least, he would feel happy until the moment he dies, but what about the girl who’s left after his death?”

n“…”

nThen at the very next moment, we were drowned in a bizarrely breathtaking silence. Yoo Chun Young, however, did not care about the ambiance and kept speaking while dropping his gaze to the floor.

n“For the guy, those memories will remain as happy as ever even after his death, but for the girl, who is left alone when he’s gone… The happy moments would turn into sad memories that would make her feel his absence. Such memories are delightful but dreadful at the same time.”

n“So that’s why…”

n“A happy time for the guy, but for the girl, it’s a happy but heartbreaking and painful time to even think about after his death.”

nMy mouth slowly dropped at a slow pace. Yoo Chun Young, who finished his words and kept his eyes on the floor, soon made another remark.

n“I don’t understand that guy.”

nHe then swept his blue-black hair with an exhausted motion. His beautiful eyebrows showed when his white hand passed by but was hidden once again behind his hair.

nHe blinked twice, indicating the tiredness he’s feeling, and continued speaking.

n“That guy would also know how much the girl will be knocking sideways after he left her alone. He would know how much she’ll miss him and the numerous nights she’d stay up at night crying her eyes out… He would definitely know.”

nThere was a wave of dim anger in his voice. I sat down blankly, listening to what he was saying.

n“If I were him… I would never appear in front of the girl by the time they notified me of my imminent death. Though I’d miss her, I would bear with it by myself, so she could forget me as soon as possible.”

n“…”

n“If I’d start thinking that the girl I love would cry out of pain every day as she felt my absence… that will be horrendous. Instead of reducing to tears because of me, it would be better to just forget me and stand by herself as soon as possible.”

nWhen his words ended, the silence returned and crawled around the living room. Yoo Chun Young seemed to be saying those words to himself rather than to tell us about his thoughts; however, I could hardly escape from Yoo Chun Young’s words.

n