SVT: Starlight Shining Bright

The story begins with a fresh-faced cherry arriving at the bustling Incheon Airport to welcome a dear friend who has crossed oceans to weather every storm with him; with a gentle rabbit hearing the tender echo of another heart from across the shore, after many long years spent building himself a quiet haven; with a little deer full of nervousness and anticipation dragging a suitcase down the steps of an international flight, finally embracing, in the winds of a foreign land, the dear friend from home with whom he can let go of all his awkwardness.

From the time he could remember, Zhou Yumu’s life had been meticulously mapped out along a predetermined track. His elite private school schedule was packed, from financial theory and horseback riding etiquette to business negotiations and multiple languages. Every step followed the “optimal solution” laid out by his parents. He had once been certain that his future would follow this path: on to an Ivy League campus, then a Wall Street office, where he would wear an immaculate suit and close deal after lucrative deal in boardrooms, with nothing unexpected and no excitement.

But fate has a way of defying expectations. A chance trip to Korea, originally planned by his mother as a “cultural enrichment course,” became the first crack in the script of his life. No one could have predicted that this seemingly ordinary trip would bring him face-to-face on the streets of Seoul with someone whose smile was like the warm spring sunshine, or that the sea breeze on Jeju Island would let him hear a passionate heartbeat completely unlike his own. Only then did he realize that beyond the life laid out for him, there was another way to live, one that burned with passion.