I Will Definitely Repay This Kindness
Had I met Se-rin before?
It was a fact that Park Geon-woo had completely forgotten.
He had assumed their first meeting was on Christmas Day.
Could it be?
As Park Geon-woo unraveled the threads of his memories, he finally recalled a moment he had buried deep in the past.
The scenes of the past began to play back behind his eyes.
It was winter, three years ago.
Inside a convenience store near Gangnam-daero, Park Geon-woo sat alone, staring out the window.
"Everyone lives such busy lives."
It was 8:30 AM, and office workers were rushing to work.
Watching them, Geon-woo looked somewhat bitter.
After his father's business suddenly went bankrupt, Geon-woo had become the breadwinner of his family. He had dropped out of film school and was focusing entirely on writing web novels.
"I hope the contract goes well. Whew."
The reason Geon-woo was in Gangnam today was that his web novel, which he had been publishing for free on a serialization platform, had received an offer from a publisher.
He was nervous since it was his first contract, but as the sudden breadwinner of his household, he was desperate.
"Let's eat first."
A triangular kimbap sat quietly on top of a cup of instant ramen.
Snap. Just as Geon-woo split his wooden chopsticks apart.
Chime. Someone entered the quiet convenience store.
"..."
Since the main entrance was right next to the window counter, Geon-woo's eyes naturally drifted toward it.
It was a high school girl in uniform, her face completely bundled up in a mask, a scarf, and a beanie.
Just as Geon-woo was about to look back down at his ramen and kimbap.
"Ex-Excuse me..."
"Yes?"
Before he knew it, the girl was standing in front of him, hesitating.
Yet, her eyes were fixed on the cup ramen and triangular kimbap on the counter.
"Huh?"
Only then did Geon-woo take a closer look at her appearance.
Aside from her covered face, she looked as though she hadn't been home in days.
She was shivering noticeably from the cold.
She ran away from home.
Geon-woo realized immediately that she was a runaway.
This is all the money I have for the week...
Geon-woo hesitated.
After buying the ramen and kimbap, he had about 25,000 won left.
It was his entire net worth at the moment.
"I-I'm sorry...!"
The runaway girl quickly turned to leave the convenience store.
After a brief struggle, Geon-woo stopped her.
"Wait a minute!"
"Y-Yes...?"
"Would you like to follow me?"
Geon-woo stood up and walked over to the convenience store shelves.
He picked out a cup of ramen, and after debating whether to get a triangular kimbap, he chose a thick roll of regular kimbap instead.
"Here. Eat this."
"I... I didn't ask you to buy me anything..."
Although he couldn't see her face clearly, the runaway girl seemed both apologetic and embarrassed.
Even though she was the one who had approached a stranger in the first place.
"I know."
"Then... why...?"
Peeking up, the girl asked why Geon-woo was showing her such kindness.
"Just... because I wanted to."
Geon-woo didn't want to hurt her pride.
"Th-Thank you..."
"Eat up."
And so, Geon-woo and the runaway girl sat side by side at the window counter, eating their breakfast.
She's eating well. She must have been starving for days.
As if famished, the girl devoured the ramen and kimbap.
Even though he had spent an unplanned 3,000 won—a significant sum for him at the time—Geon-woo felt at peace.
"I don't know what happened... but you should go home."
After finishing his meal, Geon-woo gently advised the girl.
"I don't want to."
"Pardon...?"
"Mister... you don't even know what my situation is like."
"W-Well, that's true."
Geon-woo was the one taken aback by her bold reply.
But he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
"But you see, student..."
"If you're just going to say the same old things without taking any responsibility like other adults, please don't. It won't work on me."
The runaway girl was like a hedgehog with all its quills raised.
Even so, Geon-woo didn't get angry.
He had learned the hard way, ever since his father's business began to fail, that everyone has their own painful story.
"..."
Instead, he felt sorry for the girl.
And he thought he understood.
She didn't want to show her thorns to anyone.
She didn't want to hurt anyone with her thorns.
That was why she had bundled her face up so tightly.
"Well... this is my story, but until recently, my job was being the youngest son."
"The youngest son?"
The runaway girl tilted her head.
His job was being the youngest son?
"A rich family's son."
"Pfft."
The girl, who had been as cold and prickly as a hedgehog, let out a small chuckle.
Geon-woo smiled warmly.
"A few months ago, my father's business went bankrupt. So things are really hard for me right now too."
"..."
"But they say life is a constant cycle of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. So I try not to get too sad or overwhelmed even when things are tough. Because eventually, good things will come again. So... whatever it is, just hang in there and wait a little longer."
These were words Geon-woo was saying to himself as well.
Right then.
Drip. Drip.
It wasn't rain.
The runaway girl's tears were dripping onto the convenience store table.
"Actually... I fought with my friend... She said she has no idea what I'm thinking. But what can I do? I just can't trust people."
The runaway girl—Han Se-rin—wept sorrowfully.
Having started her career in entertainment as a famous child actress at the age of six, she had entered an agency as a girl group trainee early that year at the age of nineteen.
And there, she was having conflicts with the other girls in the debut lineup.
There was only one reason.
Se-rin refused to form any personal relationships with the other trainees.
She drew a strict line.
Having worked as a child actress since she was six, Se-rin had seen far too much of the adult world, which was entirely driven by self-interest.
And ultimately, after her parents divorced over money, she had resolved never to trust anyone again.
After all, humans were creatures who always put their own interests first.
"You can't trust people..."
Geon-woo repeated the nameless girl's words.
"That's not entirely wrong."
Geon-woo had experienced something similar.
Back when he was a rich kid whose "job" was being the youngest son, Geon-woo was always surrounded by people.
Even after returning to college after his military service, he had always been popular.
But the moment his father's business collapsed, the first thing that changed was the people around him.
His relatives, college classmates, seniors, and juniors all turned their backs on him.
"But you know, while people are the ones who hurt you, they are also the ones who heal you. When my house was foreclosed and auctioned off, my parents, my sibling, and I had nowhere to go. We were about to be thrown out onto the streets. At that moment, grasping at straws, I reached out to my high school friends. Friends I hadn't even considered myself that close to."
Geon-woo recalled the memory of that summer.
In front of the foreclosed apartment, three high school friends he had lost touch with showed up.
And they handed him envelopes of cash.
One had taken out a loan.
One had broken his savings account.
And the last one had emptied out all the savings he had carefully gathered.
This was a profound shock to Geon-woo, who had been deeply wounded by the betrayal of others.
They were friends who had always avoided his calls, claiming to be busy, so he hadn't expected anything from them. Yet, they reached out with warm hands.
"Try trusting people. Of course, you might get hurt, but that's not your fault, is it? There are definitely people around you who are trustworthy. You just don't know it yet. So, have courage. Who knows? Maybe those trainees will become great friends to you."
"..."
The runaway girl stared blankly at Geon-woo.
"Hang in there. Oh, and take this."
Geon-woo fumbled around and pulled out his wallet.
He emptied out his entire fortune of 22,000 won, down to the last coin, and handed it to the girl.
"If you give me all your money... what about you, Oppa...?"
Looking at his empty wallet, the girl worried for Geon-woo.
Hearing his story, she knew he was going through a lot himself.
"It's fine."
"How is it fine...?"
"Because you're a student, and I'm an adult."
"...!"
The runaway girl, Han Se-rin's eyes shook violently.
Because I'm an adult.
Because I'm an adult.
A sense of security—something she had never felt from the adults she had known since her child actress days, nor from her parents who had abandoned their responsibility over money—gently wrapped around Se-rin's thorns.
"No adult... has ever told me something like that before..."
"You'll meet plenty of them in the future. So make sure to go home. I'll be off now. I have an appointment."
With a warm smile, Geon-woo stepped out of the convenience store.
"Ex-Excuse me! Oppa!"
"Huh? Oppa?"
Opening the convenience store door, Se-rin called out to stop him.
"I will definitely repay this kindness! Please give me your name and phone number!"
"You're a minor. How can you just give your number to a stranger when you don't even know what kind of person I am?"
"But you're a good person."
"Am I? I'm not so sure. Ah, in that case, read my story instead. I'm a web novel writer."
"A web novel writer?"
It was Se-rin's first time hearing of web novels or web novel writers.
"Yes. My pen name is Park Geon, and I'm serializing a work called Regression Manager. Please read it if you have time. I'm late for my appointment, so I have to go! Make sure you go home!"
"Park Geon... Park Geon..."
Watching Geon-woo walk away, Se-rin repeated the pen name over and over.
And that was the first meeting between Park Geon-woo and Han Se-rin.