Cha Hyun-Seung found a familiar name under the economic column and subconsciously clicked on it. 

<XX Group’s Planning Director Park Ji-Hyuk returns to Korea with his wife after 8 years. Is this the beginning of a full-fledged succession battle?> 

The article started off with how Park Ji-Hyuk and his wife left to study abroad after their marriage and the numerous achievements he had accumulated at the New York branch. Due to these successful achievements under his belt, he was now transferred back to XX Group’s headquarters. Back during college days, he was not interested in the management of the group, but now, he had the look of an ambitious businessman. If the article did not have a photo of Park Ji-Hyuk, Cha Hyun-Seung would never have known that the ambitious-looking Park Ji-Hyuk was the Park Ji-Hyuk he knew. Also, the unfamiliar woman standing next to Park Ji-Hyuk was the granddaughter of a media conglomerate. 

All the articles that wrote favorably about Park Ji-Hyuk were from the conglomerate. 10 years ago, Park Ji-Hyuk and Na Mi-Yeon were certainly dating each other. Faced with strong opposition from his family, they had suddenly disappeared from school one day. After hearing the rumor about them eloping, 

he

 had not heard any other news about them. He did not try to seek their whereabouts, and nobody had talked about ‘so what happened to them after?’ but he now knew what had become of their elopement. Perhaps, their romantic fantasized escape had ended in failure. 

However, Cha Hyun-Seung’s thoughts had gotten cut short. After receiving a sudden phone call, the voice of the teaching assistant coming from his phone brought him back to reality. 

- Professor, the food here is really bad!

Upon hearing his assistant whine about the food, Cha Hyun-Seung smiled slightly. His assistant had gone down to the university in advance, where the seminar was held, to make some preparations. 

- “When you’re here, don’t come straight to the school. Have your lunch somewhere else. There are so many good restaurants in Busan. How can the food in this school taste so bad?”

The teaching assistant, who was also known as a gourmet, had memorized every single famous food in Busan. He had even urged Cha Hyun-Seung to fill their three-day-two-night seminar schedule with a food tour. He was amazed by the teaching assistant’s speech and behavior, which he could have never imagined himself doing back when he was a teaching assistant. He hung up the phone pondering about whether or not he was too easygoing. Light reflected from the wedding ring on Cha Hyun-Seung’s left hand as he put his phone back into his pocket. 

When he got off the train, he took a taxi to the university. After he had arrived, he suddenly remembered what his teaching assistant had said earlier. Hence, he decided to have lunch at a restaurant nearby. He was not craving any specific food, so he looked around and saw a pork and rice soup restaurant. Remembering that it was one of the must-eat foods in Busan according to the teaching assistant, he went into the restaurant without hesitation. 

“Welcome.”

It was after lunch time, so the restaurant was rather empty. A woman, who was either the owner of the restaurant or just someone who worked there, walked him to his seat. She was carrying a child on her back. 

“Table for one? Just one pork bone rice soup?”

Cha Hyun-Seung, who did not think too much initially, simply nodded his head before lifting it after hearing a familiar voice. He made eye contact with Na Mi-Yeon, who had a cheap perm. For a moment, he was not sure if she was Na Mi-Yeon herself, or just someone who looked like her. Just then, he heard her voice.

“Do you want boiled pork slices too?” 

After hearing her voice again, he confirmed that she was Na Mi-Yeon. Cha Hyun-Seung nodded slowly. She smiled brightly, and yelled towards the kitchen.

“One rice soup and one serving of boiled pork slices for table 2!”

After a while, he stared at Na Mi-Yeon, who had brought over some disposable dishrags and a cup. However, she did not recognize him. She merely treated him as one of her customers, like he was a complete stranger. 

When the food was out, Cha Hyun-Seung slowly ate while his eyes continued to follow Na Mi-Yeon around. Na Mi-Yeon sat down at a table; she held her baby and gave him a bottle of milk. The baby, who had not turned one year old, hurriedly drank from the milk bottle. Na Mi-Yeon looked happy as she watched her child drink milk, coaxing him. At that moment, a man came out of the kitchen. He was a short and plump man, who was neither handsome 

nor

 ugly, with an apron on. He had an ordinary face. He looked at Mi-Yeon and her child and smiled delightfully as he turned on the TV. 

The news was being aired on the channel he selected. It was about Park Ji-Hyuk returning to Korea today. He and his wife, as well as their 5-year-old son who was holding his parents' hands, were seen leaving the arrival hall. Shortly after, Park Ji-Hyuk was seen holding his son in one arm as he smiled brightly at the camera. At the bottom of the screen, the words written were: ‘Full-fledged succession battle of XX Group’. The news anchors were talking about it as well. 

“The little boy must be so lucky to be born into such a wealthy family. These days, we say that children like that were born with a golden spoon.” 

Looking at the 5-year-old boy instead of Park Ji-Hyuk, the man shifted his gaze to Na Mi-Yeon and the child she was holding. He looked somewhat sorry, and his pitiful gaze was full of love. 

“Watch something else,” Na Mi-Yeon suggested.

Na Mi-Yeon looked down as soon as Park Ji-Hyuk appeared on the screen. Even though she asked softly, the man, who appeared to be her husband, did not comply. 

“All the channels are the same. There is nothing to watch.”

“Why are you watching the news about other people who have nothing to do with us!” yelled Na Mi-Yeon.

“Other things have nothing to do with us either. Why are you getting upset though?”

“How is asking you to watch something else being upset?”

She raised her voice initially, but it became softer and more cautious, as if she was afraid. 

“Mommy, daddy, I’m back from school.”

Just as there was an awkward tension in the restaurant, a boy, who appeared to be under 10, walked into the restaurant carrying a bag. 

“Why are you only coming back now? Have you had your lunch?” asked Na Mi-Yeon’s husband. 

“I’ve already had my lunch at a friend’s house.” 

“You should have called then! Do you know how worried your mother was?” The man chided the boy. 

“Honey, why are you being like this?” asked Na Mi-Yeon.

Na Mi-Yeon tried to calm her overly angry husband down and secretly glanced at the boy, hinting at him to go inside. The boy studied his father’s face and hurriedly walked past the table Cha Hyun-Seung was seated at before disappearing inside. When the boy walked in front of him, Cha Hyun-Seung had seen it - the moment where the boy’s face and Park Ji-Hyuk’s face on the screen were side by side in front of him. Their faces looked awfully similar to each other’s. He could not eat anymore. 

Na Mi-Yeon was trying to appease her husband while holding a babbling baby. Her husband subconsciously called the boy an illegitimate child and complained to Na Mi-Yeon, asking why he had to raise somebody else’s child. She noticed Cha Hyun-Seung’s presence in the restaurant. He was the only customer left in the restaurant. Feeling ashamed, her face turned red. However, it was because he was a stranger witnessing a private argument. She still could not remember who he was. 

Cha Hyun-Seung got up and went to the counter. Na Mi-Yeon then went over and took his credit card from him and calculated the check. Cha Hyun-Seung deliberately wrote his name clearly on the signature pad. She looked at the name written at the bottom of the receipt, but she gave the receipt to Cha Hyun-Seung without much thought and smiled. She could not remember his face; there was no way she could have remembered his name. 

Cha Hyun-Seung left the restaurant with a sad smile. He could not leave for quite some time. All he did was look up and stare blankly at the sky in front of him. It was the same season as that hot summer ten years ago. The sweltering heat of Busan made his body feel even more sticky from all the perspiration. After loosening his tie slightly and wiping the sweat from his forehead, Cha Hyun-Seung looked around the restaurant for the final time. Na Mi-Yeon was there. She had become the wife of someone else, and not Park Ji-Hyuk. 

What made him endure that hot summer at that time? Whatever it was, it was not for this; he had not been that patient or endured that much just to look at her current plight. His sad eyes were filled with regret. Letting out a deep sigh, Cha Hyun-Seung closed his eyes. When he had slowly opened his eyes again, he had a calm and firm gaze. He stretched out his left hand to look at the wedding ring on his finger. Now, he had someone by his side that he needed to love and protect. 

To Na Mi-Yeon, he was a person without a name or a memory. Who was he to speak about her life or feel sorry for her? Whether he lacked courage, or that he was too patient, his love was a cry beyond reach; a heatwave that came like a shower on a summer day which then disappeared without a trace. Because he was the only one who had loved, missed, and regretted, he had to be the one to end this love by himself. He did not know whether or not Na Mi-Yeon was in love with her husband right now. He hoped that she experienced a love that she did not regret, and was still loving a person she did not regret right now. Just like his current self. 

Just then, he got a call from his wife. It came just in time. The moment he saw the word ‘Wife’ on his phone, the edges of his mouth relaxed. 

- Honey, did you get to Busan safely? I wanted to call you right when you arrived, but I had forgotten about it while I was working. That’s the way I am. It’s very hot there, right? Have you had your lunch?

Upon hearing the voice of his wife, who was rambling on, asking several questions, Cha Hyun-Seung had a complex look on his face, as if he was both smiling and crying. He did not spend his entire day thinking about his wife. He would think of her when he was not working or thinking about other thoughts. That was the same for his wife. However, while his wife was thinking about him, he was looking at Na Mi-Yeon. It was not even love between two people - it was an unrequited love. However, that did not mean that it was not love. After declaring the end of his love, which was a chapter in his youth, Cha Hyun-Seung apologized to his wife in a very soft voice. He did not know whether or not she heard him. The only people who could see Cha Hyun-Seung mouthing his apology were probably the viewers. 

His wife, who could not hear his soft voice that confessed his sins, asked him to repeat what he had just said. 

- Hmm? What did you say?

“...”

This time, instead of saying he was sorry, he said something else. Once again, the viewers were  able to tell what he was saying by looking at his lips, instead of hearing his voice. However, his wife, who could not see his lips or even hear his voice, replied to him happily, as if she knew everything he said. 

- I already knew that. I love you so much too.

Now, Cha Hyun-Seung was finally able to smile. His summer was still as hot as ever. As hot as it was, the shower was cool. However, he was no longer alone in the rain. 

“Okay, cut!”

Finally, they were done with the final shooting of the movie. Woo-Jin, who was briefly immersed in the emotions left by Cha Hyun-Seung came out of it slowly. After letting out a long sigh and relaxing his body, Woo-Jin was able to smile brightly. The feeling of sadness and a sense of accomplishment that came with completing something strangely made people excited. 

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Everybody clapped for Woo-Jin who bowed to Director Choi and the staff.