Chapter Text
People who are meant to be together find their way back. They may take a few detours, but they're never lost - Unknown
Sol could feel the stare and hear the whisper that started as soon as she stepped inside her workplace, Bon Variety Network.
She saw her reflection inside the reflective glass installed on the side of the stairs and saw nothing out of the ordinary with her appearance, no hair rollers on her bangs, no smudged lipstick, her clothes were not inside out. She discreetly sniffed her clothes and didn’t smell any unpleasant odor.
Finding no answer, Sol shook her head, continuing her walk up the stairs, when Lee Hyun Joo, her best friend, colleague and also her sister-in-law almost ran into her.
“Sol!” Hyun Joo exclaimed, looking panicked. “I've been looking for you! Your video went viral!” her loud voice inviting more looks thrown their way.
“What video?” Sol frowns. Her new project hasn’t even started yet.
Hyun Joo didn’t answer, instead she pulled her all the way to her desk.
“Lee PD, stop for a moment!” she protested, “Hyun Joo-ya, what is it?”
There, her other colleague, Choi Jung Hoon, stood. His eyes fleet between her and the computer screen, a look of wonder settled in his eyes before he whistled. “I never realized that girl was you, Sol,”
“What you talking about, Sunbae?” she asked, looking at Jung Hoon in confusion,”
“Look,” she felt Hyun Joo holding both sides of her head, turning it towards the computer screen.
A song played and a text ‘School Life Playbook’ pop up in typical 2008 font.
“No,” she muttered in horror, seeing the video of her youth, the one she tried so hard to forget played for anyone to see. A shocked gasp came out of her mouth seeing the views and the likes for the video.
‘Hello, my name is Im Sol’ she saw her younger self smiling at the camera. ‘I’m 19 years old and in my senior year at Jagam high school. I'm in class 3-1,’
Pushing Jung Hoon to the side, she reached for the mouse and scrolling down to see the comments.
-Omo! Young Seon Jae is so cute-
-I didn’t know he was such comedianㅋㅋㅋㅋ-
-If someone said this was Seon Jae new movie, I would believe it-
-Oppa is so cool-
-Anyone know who the girl is?-
-Imagine my surprise seeing our Seon Jae here-
-I think I fell in love with... Im Sol-
-Ah!!! I see In Hyuk Oppa too-
-Oppa, I love you-
-Why are they so funny? ㅍㅎㅎ-
-Our Seon Jae, why are you so sweet?-
-Unnie, you are so pretty!-
-Take this Noona’s money, I want a sequel!-
-Sol’s friend is kinda handsome-
-Second season, please!-
-Their chemistry is insane!!!-
-Isn’t that Im Sol PD?-
-Sequel! Sequel!-
-Im Sol PD? Who is she?-
“Ah, you see that already!” the cheery voice of her boss was suddenly heard, effectively stopping her from reading through the comments. She looked up to see Lee Kyung Ja, BON Variety Network's CEO, smiling widely. “You will do it, right?”
Sol frowned. “Do what, Daepyonim?”
“Jung Hoon-ssi, didn’t you tell her yet?” Lee Kyung Ja asked, brow raised.
She watched Jung Hoon sweating a little when answering. "I'm about to tell her,"
"Forget it," Lee Kyung Ja said, waving his hand dismissively before turning to look at her. "The second season of school life playbook of course," she laughed, patting Sol on the back. "Work life playbook. That will be a suitable title. You will do it, right?"
"Why?" Sol breathed out, half in horror and half in incredulity.
"It's trending! Hot topic!" Le Kyung Ja exclaimed, positively grinning. "This will be good for our station,"
At that moment, Sol remembered this documentary was one of BVN's projects, and the PD for that project was Kim Young Soo, her senior, who now smiled at her in sympathy. They all know nothing could stop their CEO if she wants something.
No... Sol shook her head. She wouldn't do it... She can't...
"Even if I want to do it," she diplomatically answers, "Which I don't," she added after seeing the glimmer of hope in her CEO's eyes. "Ryu Seon- even after all these years, she still got choked up when she said his name, it's stupid, really -Ryu Seon Jae-ssi wouldn't do this. He is a top star-
"I would do it," a voice she was so familiar with was heard, cutting off her words. Sol turned her head so fast she almost got whiplash. Her heart dropped to her stomach. Longing, regret and pain hit her like a wave.
There stood him, with aviator sunglasses covering his eyes and a half-smile on his lips, like no time had passed at all since the last time she spoke to him, and the tangled memories of that summer began to unravel in her mind.
June 2008
Sol keeps fidgeting on her seat, hands fiddling with the hem of her skirt. The feeling of the cameras pointing at her made her nervous.
"Don't be nervous, Sol," the kind voice of Kim Young Soo PD made her look up. He was smiling at her. "You are doing great!" he made a hwaiting pose with his hand that made her smile.
"I will do my best!" she exclaimed and made the same hwaiting pose.
All around her, the crew was busy placing lights and arranging the cameras.
She looked around, and her attention went to the boy who would be her partner in this documentary, a gold medal - winning swimmer, Ryu Seon Jae. His eyes were closed, arms crossed over his chest, and leaning back against his chair without a care in the world. She wished she was half as calm as him.
Despite going to the same school, she was almost sure she had never seen him before, and except for the polite nod she exchanged with him when they were introduced to each other, they were strangers.
"You guys ready?" the sound of Kim PD's voice pulling her attention back to him. She straightened her back and smiled.
School Life Playbook : Episode 1 'Hi! This is me!'
"Hello, everyone!" a girl and a boy in school uniform waving to the audience. They are sitting in their respective chairs in a classroom.
-Please introduce yourself-
(The camera focused on the girl).
"Hello, my name is Im Sol" the girl smiled shyly and gave a small bow "I’m 19 years old and in my senior year at Jagam high school. I'm in class 3-1,"
(The camera then panned at the boy as he began speaking).
"Hello, my name is Ryu Seon Jae," the boy said and gave a small bow. "I'm a senior at Jagam high school, class 3-6. I'm 19 years old,"
(The camera panned out to both of them).
-Do you know each other?-
"No," the girl answered. "We are in different class, so maybe that's why we don’t know each other," she then glanced at the boy. “We never met before, right?
“We had met,” the boy said, eliciting a shocked gasp from the girl.
“Really, where?” the girl asked almost eagerly, curiosity could be seen clearly in her eyes as she twisted in her seat to look at the boy.
“Not in school. I rarely go to class because I have to practice,” the boy answered.
The girl frowned. “Not in swimming pool, right? I don’t think I ever go there,” she trailed off, brow creased deeper as she thinking hard.
“Forget it, you don’t remember anyway,” the boy retorted, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.
“But- the girl protested.
-Next question is for Sol. What is it like to be a top student?-
(The camera focused on the girl).
"Hmm,” the girl glanced once again at the boy before she looked back at the camera and chewed her lips as she think. “It's a little daunting because everyone expects me to always get a good grade - she laughed sheepishly at something a crew said -It’s true - her face turned serious again- I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. So, I will use this top student title as motivation for myself to do my best. Eomma, Halmeoni I will try my best!” she exclaimed, hand raised in hwaiting pose.
-Next question is for Seon Jae. What is it like to be a top athlete?-
(The camera focused on the boy).
“I don’t think I can be called a top athlete yet. There are still so many competitions I have yet to win. So wait for me until I get that, and I will tell you what it felt like,” the boy answered coolly and winked at the camera.
(The camera panned out to both of them).
-What do you think you’ll be like in fifteen years?-
“A successful person,” the girl grinned. “In work and in life. I like that,”
“A successful and decorated olympian like Michael Phelps,” the boy answered confidently, smiling a little.
“One thing I know for sure is that we will be good at what we do,” the girl added, as she turned to look at the boy and smiled.
Present Day, June 2023
Time stood still as Seon Jae walked towards her, step by step, erasing the distance between them, slowly but surely.
Is this how deer felt in the headlights? Couldn't move, couldn't escape.
A breath passed, and he stopped in front of her.
Another breath passed, as he, with a flourish he never quite got at 19 but seemed to be perfected at 34, took off his aviator sunglasses and look at her with the eyes she missed so much. No picture nor video that could capture the true essence of his stare.
Sol willed her mouth to say something, anything, but he beat her to it.
"Long time no see, Sol-ah,"
Six words, his voice, his half-smile, and she let out the breath she didn’t realize she’s was holding.
Entertainment industry is small and the probability of meeting him was high, but in all the scenarios she had running inside her head, Sol never thought this was the way they met again, after fourteen long years of radio silence on her part, in her workplace, while the video recorded when they were nineteen playing in the background.
It was summer when they first met.
It was summer when they fell in love.
It was summer when she broke his heart and shattered hers in the process.
It was summer… when they met again.