Chapter 173: The Process of Choosing
After the party ended and he returned home, Kim Si-woo recalled Jung Pil-gyu’s advice.
“Well… now that things with Hae-soo are properly sorted out too. I need to give them an answer…”
The people Kim Si-woo had to answer to numbered a full six.
First was the actress he had cast after she boldly expressed her opinion for the first time: Kim Ji-hyun.
Second was Korea’s genius actress and national top star: Shim Ji-young.
Third was the top star who captured both singing and acting at once: Jung Se-yeon.
Fourth was the rising rookie actress: Hong Soo-yeon.
Fifth was the Japanese conglomerate heiress and national actress: Arimura Noa.
Sixth was the film director he had worked with the longest and most closely: Lee Yoo-jin.
Rejecting even one of them would be enough to earn him a barrage of stones from the public.
Yet Kim Si-woo still had to make a choice.
“Did I save the country in my past life or something?”
Even though he was a highly successful writer, he still couldn’t believe he had become this popular with women.
No matter how much he thought about it, the situation felt a little surreal.
“Hmm…”
After long deliberation, Kim Si-woo concluded that he simply didn’t know.
“What should I do about this…”
Prepared for moments like this, Kim Si-woo called the one person who knew him best.
Ring ring ring.
Ring ring ring.
After two rings, someone picked up.
– Hello? What’s up with you calling me?
“Hey. If multiple women confessed to you at once, what would you do?”
– What kind of nonsense is this?
“Just tell me first.”
The person Kim Si-woo had called was his friend since high school, Jung Dong-sik.
– I’d two-time them all, obviously.
“…”
When Kim Si-woo didn’t respond, Jung Dong-sik continued with another answer.
– Or I’d date the one I like the most.
“So how do you figure out who you like the most?”
– That’s something you’d know. How would I know? Did you get confessed to?
“…Sort of.”
– Oho~ Writer Kim~ Looks like you’re quite popular these days.
“Shut up and earn your 100 million won worth.”
– Hold on. I’ll ask the guys at the company and come back.
“What?”
Beep… beep… beep…
The call ended. Twenty minutes later, the phone rang again.
– Hello.
“So, did you find out?”
– Yeah. I got it. Very certain.
“What is it?”
– They said go on one date with each of them.
“What?”
– Date each one once and then decide.
“Haa… Alright, got it.”
After hanging up, Kim Si-woo clutched his head.
“Ugh… Well, going on dates is probably the most accurate way…”
He didn’t like the idea—it felt like he was sampling them—but there was no helping it.
Even he himself didn’t know exactly where his heart was leaning right now…
A few days later, Kim Si-woo made plans for dates with all six women.
The order of the dates followed the order in which he had first met each of them.
“First, I should start making the calls.”
Ring ring ring.
“Hello?”
Kim Ji-hyun picked up after just one ring.
– Yes, Writer-nim. Huff… huff…
“Ji-hyun-ssi? Are you busy right now?”
– Ah, no, no. I’m just working out. What’s the matter? Did a new project come up?
“No… it’s not about work. Are you free next Monday?”
– Yes?
“I was wondering if you have any plans on Monday…”
– No! I’m completely free. Totally open.
“Ah… Then would you like to meet for lunch?”
Kim Ji-hyun instantly realized this was Kim Si-woo asking her out on a date and quickly answered.
– Yes, I’d love to.
“Then I’ll text you the place and time.”
– Yes, Writer-nim.
After ending the call with Kim Si-woo, Kim Ji-hyun ran even more vigorously on the treadmill.
Having finished the call with Kim Ji-hyun, Kim Si-woo found his hands drenched in sweat—he must have been quite nervous.
“I’m trying to approach this rationally instead of my usual way, and now I’m unnecessarily tense…”
Treating them not as actors and a writer, but as women and a man, inevitably made Kim Si-woo nervous.
“Next up is Ji-young noona…”
Ring ring ring… ring ring ring…
Shim Ji-young seemed to be quite busy; she didn’t pick up even after several long rings, so Kim Si-woo moved on to the next person.
The third was Jung Se-yeon.
She was probably the busiest among everyone he was calling.
Jung Se-yeon answered in a hurried voice just as the ringing was about to cut off.
– H-hello? Writer-nim?
“Ah, Se-yeon-ssi. Are you busy right now?”
– No, I just finished an ad shoot. I can talk.
“That’s a relief.”
Kim Si-woo took her words at face value since it was just a phone call.
Unbeknownst to him, Jung Se-yeon had hurriedly halted the shoot the moment she saw his name on the caller ID.
– So, what’s the reason for the call?
“Um… when are you free?”
– Yes?
“Would you like to go hang out on a day when you don’t have any schedule?”
– J-just a moment.
Jung Se-yeon quickly called over her manager to check her schedule.
– This week looks tough. But next Wednesday, I’m completely free.
“Then let’s meet on Wednesday.”
– Got it. Can I… look forward to it?
“Y-yes?”
When she asked if she could look forward to it, Kim Si-woo stammered, and Jung Se-yeon replied in a playful tone.
– I’m kidding. Why are you so startled?
“Sorry. I’m just… not used to this at all…”
– Anyway, see you on Wednesday.
“Yes, Se-yeon-ssi.”
After the difficult call with Jung Se-yeon ended, Kim Si-woo felt all the strength drain from his body.
“Maybe I should save the next calls for tonight?”
To recharge, Kim Si-woo ate a meal and immediately went to bed.
When he woke up after sleeping for a long while, he stretched with a refreshed feeling.
“Sleep really is the best medicine.”
It was already 9 p.m. when Kim Si-woo got up. He cleared his mind and continued making the calls.
“The fourth one is…”
The fourth person he called was Lee Yoo-jin.
Since the movie screening, Lee Yoo-jin had been even busier than Kim Si-woo.
With the title of “beautiful director” now attached to her, advertising offers had been pouring in from everywhere.
“Hello?”
– Yes. Writer-nim.
“You’ve been really busy lately, haven’t you, Director Lee Yoo-jin the beauty?”
– Come on, even you’re saying that now? It’s embarrassing.
She had been called “beautiful director” so often by so many people that just hearing the word “beautiful” made her feel shy automatically.
– So, what’s up?
“It’s nothing else… Are you free next week? Let’s grab a meal together.”
– Hold on. Hmm… sure. When do you want to meet?
“On whatever day your schedule opens up.”
– Then how about Thursday?
After setting the appointment with Lee Yoo-jin for Thursday, he immediately called Hong Soo-yeon next.
“Soo-yeon-ah.”
– Yes, Oppa.
“Are you free any day next week? Want to meet?”
– Yes… I’m free on Saturday.
“Alright, then I’ll come pick you up at home over the weekend.”
Hearing Kim Si-woo’s reply, Hong Soo-yeon felt a pang—thinking this date might be the one that pushes them further apart—so she couldn’t feel purely happy about it.
“Two left now…”
Kim Si-woo walked over to Arimura Noa, who was lying on the living room sofa watching TV.
“Noa-ssi.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go on a date.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I said, let’s go on a date.”
“W-wait a second. I’ll go change my clothes real quick.”
At Kim Si-woo’s words, Arimura Noa dashed into her room in a flurry. Kim Si-woo quickly stopped her.
“No, I don’t mean right now… I mean, let’s set a day…”
“Ah…”
Arimura Noa returned to the living room sofa with a deflated expression and flopped back down.
“When do you usually get days off?”
“I’m an office worker, so… weekends.”
“Then let’s do Sunday. A date.”
“Sounds good. Then on Saturday I’ll just sleep out somewhere. That way the Sunday date will feel even more special.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Having made plans with every woman except Shim Ji-young, Kim Si-woo sent her a text since she still wasn’t answering calls.
The reply only came at 2 a.m.
[Asleep?]
Seeing the message, Kim Si-woo called Shim Ji-young.
“Hello?”
– What’s up?
“Nothing much… just thought, it’s been a while—want to grab a meal together?”
Though he said “meal,” Shim Ji-young immediately understood what he really meant and accepted without hesitation.
– I’ll check my schedule and text you.
“Okay.”
– Good night. Dream of me.
With those words, the call ended. Kim Si-woo let out a small chuckle and lay down on his bed.
***
The following Monday, Kim Si-woo drove to the appointed place for his date with Kim Ji-hyun.
He picked her up in front of her house and headed to the reserved restaurant.
“I watched the movie. It was really good.”
Before the food arrived, while sitting at their reserved table, Kim Ji-hyun brought up the film, and Kim Si-woo naturally joined the conversation.
The date, which he had worried would feel awkward, flowed surprisingly smoothly.
After finishing the meal, Kim Si-woo headed to a department store with Kim Ji-hyun.
He had originally planned to go to the aquarium first, but at Kim Ji-hyun’s suggestion, they came to the department store instead.
Upon arriving, Kim Si-woo noticed that Kim Ji-hyun looked especially slender today.
She was already quite tall, and wearing high heels made her eye level almost the same as his—even though he was wearing shoes with a slight lift.
“Ah…”
Realizing their eyes were now level, Kim Ji-hyun looked flustered.
In truth, she had simply been so excited about the date with Kim Si-woo that she dressed up as much as possible and chose the tallest heels without thinking.
But Kim Si-woo didn’t seem to mind at all, and that made her like him even more.
“Let’s go quickly.”
“Okay.”
Kim Ji-hyun headed to the perfume section together with Kim Si-woo.
“I finished the perfume I used to wear. So… could you pick one for me, Writer-nim?”
“Sure.”
At her request, Kim Si-woo sprayed various women’s perfumes onto tester strips and sniffed them one by one.
While he was busy, Kim Ji-hyun also started looking for a men’s fragrance. Thirty minutes later, they each came back holding one bottle.
“I’ll pay for this.”
“Ah! Let me buy it for you.”
“No, it’s fine. You already paid for the meal.”
In reality, the restaurant bill had been easily twice as expensive as the perfume.
“Well… then I’ll gratefully accept it.”
“Please wear this scent whenever we meet from now on.”
“I’ll make sure to put it on often.”
Kim Si-woo had said it casually out of gratitude for the gift, but Kim Ji-hyun misinterpreted it as him implying they would meet much more frequently. Her face flushed red.
“Writer-nim, really… Anyway, let’s head to the aquarium now.”
“Right…”
After that, they toured the aquarium, had dinner, and then parted ways.
Kim Ji-hyun had suggested having drinks, but Kim Si-woo firmly declined.
He was determined not to make any mistakes by drinking on this date.
“Then go inside safely.”
“Yes, Writer-nim, you take care too.”
After parting with Kim Ji-hyun and returning home, Kim Si-woo quietly reflected on the date.
Kim Ji-hyun was younger than him but felt like a comfortable friend.
She was tall with a great figure—even when wearing a mask and hat to cover her face, people’s eyes still followed her.
From the way she adjusted to him and her choice of clothes, she didn’t seem like someone who enjoyed luxury.
Their sense of humor matched well, and their tastes in food were similar too.
“But… am I really allowed to be analyzing her like this?”
Thinking back on the date with Kim Ji-hyun, he suddenly felt pathetic for evaluating her like some checklist.
“Don’t judge—just remember how it felt in the moment.”
Good food, good company, good place—there was no way he could have felt bad.
“Haa… Let’s put her on hold for now.”
Kim Si-woo decided to postpone any final thoughts about Kim Ji-hyun and began preparing for the next date.
He still had five more dates ahead.
The next one was the day after tomorrow—Wednesday.
“With Se-yeon-ssi, we’ll have a meal and then go watch some busking…”
Considering that Jung Se-yeon was a singer, Kim Si-woo had mostly planned music-related activities.
The next day.
Kim Si-woo finished getting ready and stepped out of the house.
“Ah…”
The sky, which had been clear, was now overcast. The moment he arrived in front of Jung Se-yeon’s house, heavy rain began pouring down.