“My first impressions of the theater were literally the worst. The seats were cramped, the air was damp, and there were even some cracks on the wall, making me feel uneasy. But what could I do? I had no choice but to go there since that girl was there.”

Joongjin faintly smiled.

“On my first day in Daehak-ro, I met Haejoo, and after that, I followed her to Yecheon. The small theater that I thought I would never get used to made me realize that smaller theaters had their own charms after I went there a few times. Going to that building where Yecheon was after work and filling an empty seat - this became my schedule every weekend. I watched the same play over and over again, and I naturally got to know the people of the troupe as well. I wasn’t that social, though, so most of the time I went back home after watching. Of course, the reason I went there is also because of Haejoo. But as I said earlier, I wasn’t honest with my emotions. That’s why I made up an excuse. I told them that I wanted to help them because I liked the theater troupe so much.”

“How romantic.”

“It might sound like that, but I was actually just afraid. I sort of realized that I would get hurt if I approached that girl and got rejected. The reason I probably didn’t choose to take the straightforward path was perhaps because I was afraid of getting hurt. Back then, I didn’t know what it meant to clash head on and get kicked. I told you before, right? That I hate the word genius. However,...