𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐎𝐎 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋 ── 𝒃𝒂𝒆𝒌 𝒚𝒊𝒋𝒊𝒏

ooo......CRUEL SUMMER.......

chapter zero. cruel summer.

BAEK JI-EUN WANDERED AIMLESSLY AROUND HER HOUSE, a spacious and beautifully decorated home in the heart of Gangnam-gu. Her mother, Cho Jiwoo ── a woman who didn't seem to age, was sitting on the couch, called out to her, "Yah! Baek Ji-eun! Why aren't you studying? Your midterms are coming soon!" 

"I already finished studying for the day!" Ji-eun yelled back, "I have nothing else to do!"

Jiwoo sighed at her teenage daughter, sometimes she wished Ji-eun had stayed a baby forever, "Why don't you go outside or hang out with your friends?" Jiwoo suggested, she turned to her 10-year-old son, Sung-jin and pulled him closer to her, "Promise me when you grow up you won't be like your sister," she whispered to her son who laughed

Ji-eun returned to the living room, "I don't have any friends. I'm too busy with my studies to hang out with them anyway," she told her mom, "I don't really like any of them anyways,"

Her mom stared at her, "You know when I was your age I was out wreaking havoc with my friends. You should live your life well ── you're only a teenager for a few years," Ji-eun rolled her eyes, her mom was always like this, telling her about her younger days and blah blah blah. Jiwoo sighed and got up, "C'mon, follow me," she said, walking out of the living room and into the hallway. 

Ji-eun, now curious, followed her mother. Jiwoo entered her study as her daughter followed behind her. Jiwoo went to her desk, knelt down while pulling out the bottom drawer and she began to dig around before she pulled something out. It was a book. She handed it to her daughter who stared at it in surprise, "I thought I've read all of your books," Ji-eun stated

"That book was the one that catapulted my career ── It's hard to find a copy nowadays. Since you finished studying and don't want to go outside and live, you might as well read," Jiwoo replied, "Read it and tell me what you think about it," 

Ji-eun nodded, "I'll read it later. Aren't we going to the holiday house soon?"

Jiwoo nodded, "Yeah, go pack your things we'll leave in the afternoon,"

Ji-eun nodded and returned to her room before she began to pack her things, making sure she brought the book her mom had given her. 

        The afternoon came faster than expected and Jiwoo, Ji-eun, and Sungjin were all seated in the Porsche Cayenne and driving to Jiwoo's childhood house. Ji-eun looked off into the distance watching as they passed other cars and trees, her little brother's voice in the background as he happily talked to their mom. 

"Is dad going to join?" Ji-eun spoke up ── she had always been more close to their dad than their mom. And their parents' divorce had taken a toll on her, but her paretns had decided to stay friends and co-parent together, it had bothered her ── unlike most divorced couple, they were still friendly to one another, it made no sense. 

"I'll tell him to come if he can ── your dad is busy," Jiwoo replied, not taking her eyes off the road.

   After a few hours, they arrived and the three of them began to unpack and settle into the home. Ji-eun lay in her mom's old room and let her eyes wander around at all of the vintage items her mom owned. The silence was interrupted when the door to the room opened and in came her aunt, Cho Ji-na, Ji-eun grinned and sat up from the bed. 

"Ji-eun, how have you been?" her aunt asked, sitting down next to her, "Is studying for exams hard?"

"No, not really," Ji-eun replied, "Why are you here, Auntie?"

"Your mom invited me over," Ji-na smiled, "She tells me all you do nowadays is study and go on your phone, is that true?"

Ji-eun shrugged, "There's nothing better for me to do. Well, I'm going to start a new novel soon,"

Ji-na smiled, recalling a past memory before rubbing Ji-eun's back, "Alright, you should start it soon," and with that, Ji-na left the room. After her aunt left, Ji-eun pulled out the novel and began to flip through the pages. 

All Too Well, the Autumn Where We Fell In Love. 

WU JIWON, a newly Seoul University Graduate, graduating with top marks and as valedictorian had found herself completely and utterly burnt out. For all her life, she had been perfect, she worked until her nose bled and she would faint out of exahstion, her award certificates had been hung all around her family's large home. She had everything one needed to be successfull; a good family background, a good amount of money, the looks, the wits and smarts, everything. Yet, she found herself going in a circle.

All her life, she had known four things; study, eat, and sleep, then study again. and now that she couldn't go back to studying, she found herself lost. unable to get a proper job, unable to find the motivation, unable to do anything. And so, she left her apartment in Seoul and returned to her childhood home where she began to search for her muse, and sure enough, she found him.

BAE WOOJIN, once a wealthy boy had lost everything ── the money he was set to inherit, the stable home he grew up in, and his bright future. dropping out of univeristy, he found himself back to where he started and this time, not alone. Wu Jiwon had been his high school sweetheart ─ the love of his life. They were meant to get married and spend the rest of their lives together until they were old and frail.

But after his father's company had gone bankrupt, he dropped out of univeristy, broken up with Jiwon and began to set out to the real world. But it had led him nowhere, there had been no progress, no sign that his hard work was paying off. And slowly, his hope chipped away ── until she came back into his life.

   AND TOGETHER, they helped each other through the hell that was life and in the end, there did seem to be the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Ji-eun, hooked by the first page began to hurriedly flip to the next page where she quickly read what would happen next.