Kang Jin-Ho cautiously raised his voice. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Choi Yeon-Ha coolly nodded. “Of course. Actually, I welcome it.”

Kang Jin-Ho quietly fake-coughed. “Mm... I understand most of what you're telling me, but I'm still having some difficulty figuring out why others are being influenced by my actions. Why do you say that was…”

“That's because you shine so much,” Choi Yeon-Ha cut Kang Jin-Ho off first.

“I... shine? What?”

“Yes. More correctly, I'd say you... Rather than shine, you stand out a lot, Mister Jin-Ho. You're very noticeable, you know? Doesn't matter what you're doing, you just stand out like a brilliant light bulb. When I'm looking at you from the sidelines, I keep getting this... feeling? It's like, Aha, that man is fearlessly walking on the path of life he has set for himself. Something like that.”

“M-my path of life?”

“Yes, that.” Choi Yeon-Ha nodded. “You don't get distracted, you don't even look back, and you don't have any regrets... It's always forward, forward and forward with you.”

“...”

“I'm not trying to be sarcastic, Mister Jin-Ho. That's what you're really like, after all. Since that's the case, people start thinking, 'Aha, which means all I gotta do now is follow that guy.' If that's not it, then they might go, I gotta get myself a goal, too, and put more effort into my life.”

“Mm...”

“I can't speak for other people, but me? I definitely belong to the latter category. I always thought I was unwaveringly striving...