Side Story 5. A Midsummer Night's Letter (1) Prologue: A Lover's Story (2)

Second, Han Tae-un's story.

Among the three newlywed home candidates, the house Soram chose was the most expensive one.

But it wasn't an impossible amount, given that he had carefully considered and shortlisted the candidates including that one. He had diligently saved money, and he also had a stable job that he was unlikely to lose. When buying the first house, he would need help from a civil servant loan, but if he reduced consumption and increased side income, he could pay off the loan in about 5 years.

When he had just moved to Seoul, saving money wasn't urgent, so he hesitantly rejected all advertisements. But as the time to start a family approached, he couldn't afford to be picky. He deeply empathized with the reason why athletes who had just gotten married hit their career highs under the name of 'formula power'.

The future plans he had carefully laid out step by step crumbled a few days later. Thanks to Soram paying for the house in full in one lump sum.

'How could this be...'

Although he tried to act calm in front of Soram, when he was alone in his room, he sat down helplessly in front of his 5-year economic plan.

Although he was annoyed when teased for being a potato, he was indeed a country boy to the bone.

A country boy who had dreamed of preparing a picturesque nest on green pastures and entering it holding the hand of his beautiful love...

It was his own brand of innocence and romance, even if old-fashioned. But that scene he had longed for had changed to the shabby image of him following Soram with just a spoon in hand.

'...No. The wedding preparations aren't over yet..., since Soram took care of the housing, I can take care of the rest.'

He thought of the wedding suit to dress the slender body that looked good in formal wear, properly custom-made wedding rings, furniture and interior to decorate the newlywed home, and the beautiful wedding hall to enter with Soram.

After finishing his thoughts, Tae-un neatly smoothed out the slightly crumpled 5-year economic plan and modified parts of it.

But while Tae-un was moving more meticulously behind the scenes, Soram went ahead and bought all the options. At this rate, he was facing a crisis of going to get married not just without a spoon, but completely empty-handed. This wasn't just a metaphor, because Soram had recently been caught rummaging through the drawer containing Tae-un's underwear and socks.

There was only one big element left for the wedding.

The honeymoon.

Fortunately, this was an area Soram hadn't been conscious of, as there hadn't been much discussion between the two about it.

He would make sure Soram couldn't get ahead on this one.

However, he couldn't just choose any place. Unlike buying several wedding suits, the two of them with limited time couldn't go to all travel destinations. The picky scholar inside Tae-un – which he now acknowledged himself – conducted zealous research until the whites of his 1st-grade hunter eyes turned red, finding the best travel destination candidates. He also thoroughly maintained secrecy, chasing Soram away whenever he peeked in asking what he was working on so hard.

'If possible, I'd like to do a preliminary check before taking Soram...'

But he wasn't in a position to easily go abroad.

While pondering, he came across a certain post.

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<Seoul City Civil Servant Essay Contest>

First Prize – 3 nights 4 days overseas trip (1 person)

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'This could work...'

Tae-un immediately started searching for past winning entries and related information. The results of his search led him all the way to the civil servant board of an office worker community. There were already several posts discussing the contest.

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[Title: ᄏᄏ No fool seriously preparing for the contest, right?]

Author: Private illililo

They're doing that shitty social event again this year ᄏᄏ

ᄂ Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education q11y34: Someone in our team wanted to do it, so I stopped them today

ᄂᄂ Private illililo: Why not let them taste the bitterness of society

ᄂ Civil Servant 211201: Hello. I came across your post while searching for the essay contest. Has there been any issue with the fairness of the contest so far?

ᄂᄂ Private illililo: ᄏᄏ As expected, there was someone... No long talk, just take a vacation and go

ᄂ Civil Servant 211201: I'm in a position where that's difficult, so I'd appreciate any information help.

ᄂᄂ Private illililo: Even if you write a masterpiece that moves the world, pretending to be the top scorer in the state exam, you'll only get 2nd place. 1st place is always from within the department hosting the contest or an acquaintance of the department head

ᄂ Civil Servant 211201: So you're saying there's a predetermined winner for the first prize.

ᄂᄂ Private illililo: Yeah.. Don't get your hopes up only to be disappointed over something that won't happen anyway

ᄂᄂ Private illililo: Your way of speaking reminds me of my father..

ᄂ Civil Servant 211201: Thank you for your help.^^ I'm not old enough to have a child who's a civil servant.

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'...Surely not, even so.'

If Soram had heard Tae-un's inner thoughts, he would have advised, "The adult world is just that dirty!" But Tae-un still found it hard to believe that there could be such a huge corruption in a government agency.

Nevertheless, just in case, he posted a question on the Seoul City public board.

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[Title: Is there a predetermined winner for the Seoul City Essay Contest?]

Author: **Moon

I heard that for contests like this, they usually have a predetermined winner from someone close to the organizers.

This is disheartening news for someone preparing to put their whole heart into it.

I hope you will conduct the contest fairly and anonymously.

Thank you.

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Tae-un's post didn't receive any replies. But without his knowledge, it was reposted on various SNS platforms under the title 'The sad struggle of a civil servant uncle desperate for an overseas trip'. It was accompanied by his question comment from the office worker board.

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–Shit, it seems like a civil servant in difficult circumstances was happy to have hope for an overseas trip ᅲᅲ You bastards, let that person go

–ᄏᄏᄏ Is there corruption even in such a tiny contest ᄏᄏᄏ There's nothing to trust in this world

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Of course, some high-ranking Seoul City official raged, "Wasn't this written with a civil servant ID? Find out who it is and delete it immediately!" But the account owner's information was tightly hidden, inaccessible even with considerable authority.

Unable to do anything, a few days later the organizing department announced that they would only accept essays without any personal information. They would select the winning entry and even the judges would only confirm the winner at the award ceremony.

Unaware of the small storm that had blown on SNS, Tae-un was relieved that his worries had been unfounded, and wrote down an epic of emotion matching the submission requirement of 2,000 characters. It was a masterpiece where not a single sentence was written carelessly.

With his original personality, he wouldn't have pushed such an outlandish thing this far. But when Tae-un became quiet, the clothes, rings, watches, etc. that arrived three or four times a day as if to show off completely paralyzed his reason.

Finally, on the day of the contest award ceremony.

"The first prize essay is a work that wrote about the hardships and difficulties of a civil servant working at the Rift Phenomenon Management Agency, and the moving process of overcoming them with a sense of mission."

The most desperate person among those who had bet their lives on the 3 nights 4 days overseas trip turned out to be a 28-year-old civil servant living in Seoul.

Amidst the halfhearted applause filling the award ceremony hall, the person who submitted the winning entry stood up and walked forward. As his face was revealed, the applause died down and everyone screamed in a different meaning from cheers.

"Con-congratulations. Hunter Han Tae-un...?"

"Yes, thank you."

Tae-un, who had bowed his head deeply, opened his mouth.

"When can I go on the overseas trip?"

Tae-un, who was packing his luggage into his carrier to leave for the hard-won vacation, remained dignified even when Soram, who had followed him into the dressing room, lay on the floor and threw a tantrum.

"No! You can't go! The chief didn't give permission! You can't leave the country!"

"Seoul City gave permission."

"Uwaaaang!"

It was the same when he had a personal meeting with Kwon Jung-oh.

"...Han Tae-un, you, you bastard, haah..."

"Please approve it."

"You're worse than Jin Soram who openly causes trouble, you bastard who stays quiet and then hits hard from behind!"

Kwon Jung-oh's last remaining trust was shattered, piercing through the floor, but Tae-un had a more important goal.

Finally, he stood at Incheon Airport, pulling his carrier. Knowing Soram would surely interfere, he had slipped out of the dormitory early while Soram was sleeping. Just as he entered the departure hall, his phone rang loudly.

–Hey! Han Tae-un! Are you really running away? Because I keep not listening and buying this and that?!

"No. I'm going to do a preliminary survey of honeymoon destinations."

"I'm going to prepare everything for the honeymoon from start to finish. You can't touch this either. I'm going to plan the course and make reservations in advance this time. Everything from accommodations, meals, to tourist spots."

–...You're not crazy, are you...

To think he would hear such words from Jin Soram, it seemed that Han Tae-un of principles and common sense was now completely finished.