Soyu looked at Jinwook. She was curious about what he had said to make her clingy child coolly send them off. Jinwook merely shrugged his shoulders with a gesture suggesting he knew nothing, without explaining. Curiosity filled Soyu’s face as she watched her son doing a fist bump with Jinwook. Yeoul said to Jinwook, 

“Dad, please protect Mom instead of me now.”

“Got it. I’ll protect her extremely well.”

“Ah! Now I can rest easy.”

Both Soyu and Jeongeun chuckled at the child’s precocious words. Jeongeun asked, 

“Yeoul, why are you relieved?”

“I’ve been protecting Mom all this time, right? Now I’ve decided to pass the guardian role to Dad. With Dad, I can feel at ease.”

Jinwook rubbed the child’s head affectionately.

“Well done, my son. You’ve really grown up.”

“I was always grown up. I’m just small in size and young in age. But if Dad makes Mom sad, then I’ll step in again.”

Jinwook raised his right hand and swore to Yeoul’s threatening words, 

“I swear! Dad will protect Mom well and never make her sad!”

Soyu smiled wryly at the playful scene between them. Yet somehow, it made her heart feel full and secure.

When Saturday morning arrived, Jinwook and Soyu were seen off by Yeoul and Jeongeun. Soyu, who initially seemed fine, became extremely anxious about separating from her son for the first time.

“Yeoul, listen well to Grandma.”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

“Don’t eat too many sweets.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Make sure to brush your teeth before bed.”

Yeoul heaved a deep sigh.

“Mom, I’m not a baby, you know? How about trusting me a little?”

“Huh?”

“I said trust me a little. I’ll be doing fine, so go have fun with Dad. Enjoy yourselves.”

Soyu’s cheeks turned slightly pink at her son’s mature words. She seemed to be the only one panicking. Jeongeun also said, 

“Don’t worry. I’ll contact you right away if anything happens. Besides, Hyunwook and Taeseop are nearby too.”

Jinwook added, 

“I’ve told the guys too. They’ll check in.”

Yeoul urged, 

“Mom, hurry up and go already!”

“Um… Mom’s going.”

“Yes.”

“I’m really leaving.”

“Yes. Have a good trip, Mother. I love you.”

Tears welled up in Soyu’s eyes at her son’s words. She hugged him tightly and said, “Mom will be back tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

After being sent off by her son who even waved his hand, Soyu left through the front gate and got into the car. When Yeoul didn’t come out to see them off, her face was filled with disappointment.

“Yeoul seems happy to be away from me.”

Jinwook smiled and took her hand.

“That’s not it. He’s being considerate. Telling you to have a good time with Dad.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. We had our deep conversation, remember?”

“What did you really say to make Yeoul change so drastically?”

“I just told him the truth.”

“What did you say?”

Jinwook started the car and explained, 

“I told him you were my first love. That I’d been pining for you for fifteen years and now we’re finally getting married. That there are so many things I want to do with you.”

Soyu’s face turned red.

“What did he say to that?”

“He said he’d help. He told me to let him know whenever I want to date you. He said the same to you, didn’t he?”

Soyu sighed.

“He’s really grown up.”

“Only his body is young. His mind is mature.”

“It’s probably because I couldn’t be with him much since he was little.”

“He knows how hard you worked.”

“He does?”

“Yes. He said he wants his mom to be happy now without any hardships. I even got threatened.”

Soyu’s eyes widened.

“Threatened?”

“Yes. He said he wouldn’t stand by if I made you struggle. Jang Soyu, you’re lucky. You have such a reliable backup.”

When Soyu’s eyes grew moist, Jinwook squeezed her hand slightly and said in a profound voice, 

“You raised him well. It must have been hard raising him alone. Now leave everything to me and relax.”

“I didn’t raise him alone… It would have been difficult without Mom.”

“Leave Mother to me too. I’ll take good care of her.”

His smile felt reassuring.

The couple arrived not at a hotel but at Insadong. Since they had plenty of time before check-in, they decided to tour Seoul first. After parking in a public lot, they walked toward Insadong. Soyu’s expression was bright as she held hands with Jinwook. This was their second date since watching the movie last time.

Insadong was packed with both foreigners and locals enjoying the weekend. Despite having to squeeze through crowds, both Soyu and Jinwook smiled brightly. Soyu said in an excited voice, 

“This is my first time visiting Insadong.”

“Mine too.”

“After graduating, we both went abroad to study without having time to come here.”

“Right. Why are we doing things now that we should have done when we were younger?”

“Because we lived such intense lives.”

“That’s true. We were pretty intense. But this is nice, coming out like this.”

“They must sell food here too, right?”

“Let’s eat something light.”

Everything was fascinating. Although franchise stores had moved in, Insadong still retained its traditional charm. They would buy snacks when they felt like it and enter galleries to appreciate paintings when they saw them. They also bought art supplies that Yeoul would like. Then Soyu entered an accessory shop and carefully examined a ring. As she stared at a blue jade ring as if entranced, Jinwook asked, “Is it pretty?”

“Yes. It’s beautiful.”

The rings were a matching pair, and Jinwook immediately asked the owner, 

“Do you also have cords to wear these around the neck? Something like a knot would be even better.”

“We have knots. Would you like to see them?”

“Yes.”

When Soyu looked at him, Jinwook smiled brightly and slipped one of the rings onto Soyu’s finger. The ring fit perfectly on her fourth finger.

“My first gift.”

Soyu spread her fingers wide and smiled brightly, clearly pleased.

“Are you going to wear yours around your neck?”

“Yes. This one doesn’t fit me.”

Jinwook hung the ring on a red knot the owner brought, wore it around his neck, and said, 

“Don’t take it off.”

“Let’s use these as our wedding rings.”

“These? No way. We’ll get something fancy for our wedding rings.”

Soyu shook her head.

“I like these better than diamonds.”

Soyu seemed sincere. Jinwook gazed at her intently and asked, 

“Do you really want to use these?”

“Yes. I want these.”

Jinwook chuckled and said, 

“I’ve already had rings custom-made. Let’s use those as wedding rings and wear these too.”

“You’ve already paid?”

“Of course. I went with diamonds, no less. What a waste. To think diamonds would lose to jade.”

Soyu laughed at his playful response.

“Then I’ll wear them all.”

“Didn’t you say you don’t like rings? That they get in the way when you work?”

She had once mentioned they were cumbersome when he asked, and he remembered. Soyu spread both hands wide and said, 

“I want to wear them now. I might as well wear them on all ten fingers. You can put them all on for me.”

She seemed like a lively teenage girl, not her usual self. Jinwook smiled brightly at her changed demeanor.

“Jang Soyu, you’ve got spunk!”

“What are you saying?”

“Do you have other sides of you I don’t know about? I’m getting excited here.”

After laughing heartily, she cleared her throat, narrowed her eyes demurely, and said, 

“Look forward to it. I’ll show you the part of me I’ve kept sealed away.”

Jinwook’s eyes widened.

“Yu-ya, I really can’t get used to this.”

“Get used to it. I’m going to change now.”

“Change a lot?”

“Well, maybe.”

When they first met at Grand Park, she had been calm with a certain coldness about her. Now she laughed easily and even made jokes. Jinwook grinned.

“I should prepare to be surprised.”

Soyu laughed cheerfully as she and Jinwook left the store. The blue jade ring gleamed between his shirt buttons.

The couple moved from Insadong to Gyeongbokgung Palace, and despite walking until their legs ached, they continued to smile brightly. While touring the palace, a foreigner approached Jinwook.

“Film Director Kim Jinwook?”

When the foreigner recognized him, Jinwook responded graciously.

“You know me?”

“Yes. You’re the film director, right?”

“Yes, I am Film Director Kim Jinwook.”

The foreigner was overjoyed at Jinwook’s confirmation and introduced himself as Bill.

“I’ve watched all of your films without exception.”

“All of them?”

“All of them.”

Bill mentioned all of his short films. This surprised Jinwook more than anything.

“I never thought anyone would have seen all my works. That’s amazing.”

“Oh my. You don’t know how famous your works are?”

“Really?”

“I belong to a group where we watch films. You’re a celebrity there. Everyone around me knows you.”

Jinwook became extremely embarrassed. With his ears turning red, Bill requested a photo.

“Everyone will say it’s a miracle that I met you. They might even say I’m lying. Could I possibly take a picture with you?”

Bill was very polite. Jinwook readily agreed.

“Of course.”

Bill looked at Soyu and asked, 

“Is she your lover?”

“She’s my fiancée. We’re getting married next month.”

Bill was very surprised and couldn’t hide his delight.

“Oh! Congratulations. Meeting you is truly a gift from God. I’m glad I came to Korea. Actually, I chose Korea as my travel destination partly because of you. The homeland of Kim Jinwook.”

Jinwook took a picture with him, and Bill parted ways wishing for God’s blessing upon both of them.