"Yu-ri, is something wrong?"

"No..."

"Then why the face lately? Are you seeing someone? You're going to wear a hole in that phone. Waiting to hear from a man?"

"Dating, at my age? I'm too old for that."

Even as she said it, Son Yu-ri felt a pang.

Lately, waiting for his messages had become a habit.

One or two a day, at most.

A few days ago, she'd practically forced him into a date.

They'd gone to Hongdae and she'd made sure they had spaghetti.

Being with him was fun, somehow.

He had a free spirit.

He was loaded, yet he dug into street food without a second thought.

And it didn't look awkward or out of place on him, either.

On top of that, he knew art and music inside out.

And his talent as a performer and a painter was star-level.

A man who knew everyone and could do anything. (TL Note: The Korean is 마당발, "courtyard feet"—feet as wide as a yard, for someone who gets around and knows everybody.)

His grasp of politics, the economy and society in general was something else, too.

When she listened to him, she got pulled right in.

Son Yu-ri's heart fluttered at the mere mention of him.

"Too old? Is there anything you won't say in front of your mother? A college junior shouldn't talk like that! When I was your age, I was the hottest thing around."

"It's a different generation, Mom. Party through college these days and forget a job—you won't even graduate."

"Tell me about it. College kids these days don't know what romance is. They forget they're adults and study like high schoolers! You should be dating and traveling. It's the only youth you'll ever get."

Son Yu-ri gazed out the living room window, lost in thought.

A penthouse in a huge residential-commercial tower that only the top 0.01 percent in Korea could live in.

The view of Seoul spread out below looked bleak today, for some reason.

"Mom, I do have a talent for painting, right?"

"What's gotten into you? Top of your department…