You Are My Spring (너는 나의 봄)

When I ran over,

he wasn't there.

He…

was nowhere.

He was never there…

to begin with.

DECEMBER 1994, SEOUL

Their story

had already begun a long time ago in this town that seemed peaceful.

The child didn't receive any presents again last Christmas,

but she thought it was because she shed some tears while yawning.

All done.

She believed in Santa Claus.

Here's her father.

No one thought lowly of him besides himself,

but he never realized that, so he drank every day.

That's 800 won.

That's 2,000 won.

They don't look good.

I'll only take the soy sauce.

Here's the child's mother.

Everyone in the neighborhood knew

what she was going through.

But the mother had to put something else before her pride.

SANGJI GROCERY

Hey, you! You'd better stop right there!

My name is Kang Da-jeong.

I heard you're giving out food.

Like bread.

Books are much more valuable than bread.

They can satisfy your spiritual hunger.

God will save us through His words.

No way.

Da-jeong, what about the bread? -It was a lie.

Why didn't Santa Claus come to our house?

He did. He came, but he spat…

He suddenly had to use the bathroom, so he went to take a dump.

He really needed to go.

I see.

Let's hurry back.

Da-jeong, why is your face red?

What are you talking about? Be quiet.

Da-jeong, your face is bleeding.

Do you want your nose to bleed?

Mom.

The mermaid turned into bubbles. What does that mean?

THE LITTLE MERMAID

A princess who has the world at her feet falls for some guy she barely knows.

So she ditches her family and goes away.

But after going through so much hardship, she ends up…

She ends up dying.

I want another book.

THE HAPPY PRINCE

The bird really digs out the prince's left eyeball and gives it to a beggar.

The next day, it digs out the other eyeball and gives it to another beggar.

And the bird lies on the cold ground with its belly exposed

and dies.

SNOW WHITE

She's just so happy to receive the apple and eats it right away.

So she dies.

But the dwarfs weep because they don't want her to die.

THE FAIRY AND THE WOODCUTTER

A stupid fairy takes off her clothes and scrubs her body in another town.

And some thief steals her clothes and cuts a deal with her.

THE BLACK CAT

An alcoholic jerk kills his wife.

He puts her body in the wall and covers it up with cement.

So no one knows about it.

But a black cat that was also put in the wall with her body

meows when the police come.

So the jerk gets arrested.

I see.

The child read The Black Cat over and over again.

Because out of all the stories she could find in her world,

it was the most reassuring.

Please stop it!

Why must I live like this? Why?

It's all because of you.

My life was ruined because I ended up with a woman like you!

I didn't make you stay!

Just leave! Please!

Damn it.

What? You want me to leave?

Is that it?

After I put up with a stupid woman -I bought tangerines, kids!

like you? -Dad!

Please… -Come here!

Damn it. Hey!

How come those darned kids don't come out to greet their father?

Please don't… -Damn it. Come out!

Please. -Hey!

Don't you lay a finger on them,

or I'll kill you. -Fine.

You already ruined my life anyway.

Kill me.

Just kill me!

Da-jeong.

Her younger brother didn't know how to read,

and she had a knack for reinterpreting the stories.

So in their room, the plot of The Black Cat changed every night.

Once upon a time, there was a girl.

It turned out that her father wasn't her real father.

The man next door was her real father.

So they lived happily ever after.

The end.

Once upon a time, there was a girl.

The next-door neighbors turned out to be her real family.

So she lived happily ever after with them.

The end.

Read me another story.

A story with a prince.

Do you know what happens to you

if you like princes or princesses?

You'll turn into bubbles, get pricked by a needle,

or get poisoned to death.

Your eyeballs will be dug out and your clothes stolen.

THE LITTLE MERMAID

You're lying.

That's what Mom said.

UNDERSTANDING CLASSICAL LITERATURE

LITERARY AESTHETICS

Turning into bubbles means…

LITERATURE, DIALECTICS OF SYMBOLS

…that she chooses to dissipate

after her arduous attempt to make things better.

Nothing comes free in life.

LITTLE LOVE TWINKLES IN MY HEART

You give them a leg, and they take your tongue.

But in life…

I'll take the photo now.

One, two, three.

TO MY NATASHA, MI-RAN FROM CHAN

"Natasha, the White Donkey, and Me."

By Baek Seok.

"Tonight the snow falls endlessly

because I, a poor man,

love the beautiful Natasha."

In life,

there are some things you can't say no to despite your better judgment.

GRADUATION

They are dazzling, bright, and make you so happy

that you'd do anything if you could have them.

When these things bewitch you,

you willingly give yourself up to them.

Even when you get your hands on a knife,

the only thing you can stab is your own foot.

Like any other young and delicate being,

the child had dreams and looked for things to depend on.

The difference was that she didn't want to be a princess,

but dreamed of being her neighbor's daughter.

And she wasn't waiting for Prince Charming to rescue her,

but for a black cat who would meow for her in the scariest moment of her life.

Da-jeong. Get up and get dressed now.

Mom.

But the man next door… -Quiet.

The child thought that she had run far away

from her unfortunate seven-year-old self.

However…

DECEMBER 2020, SEOUL

Yes. I'm on my way there. After getting off the bus, do I turn right?

In the direction I came from?

EPISODE 1

I see.

In the direction the bus was going?

I know. I was just checking.

What are you talking about? My nickname is Kang GPS.

GUGU BUILDING 2ND AND 3RD FLOORS FOR RENT

You have the worst sense of direction.

How can you get lost there? How do you even go to work?

I didn't get lost.

I was just looking around my new neighborhood.

Are you really moving in here?

I'm signing the contract today.

Why? You don't want me to?

I like that it's a new building.

I'm going to start afresh with a clean slate.

You know I got mixed up with some weirdos.

Just weirdos?

You ought to be in the Olympics. You'd win a gold in collecting trash.

Don't exaggerate now.

What?

An alcoholic, a two-timer,

a pathological liar, and a bum who asked his girlfriend for money.

That was a long time ago.

That was this year.

I think only good things will happen here. You know my hunches are right.

No, your hunches are usually wrong.

This is nice.

Hey, cover yourself. Today's rainwater is dirty.

It's the smell of a new start!

I'm in Pungji-dong where the murder took place.

The building was recently renovated,

and some tenants were scheduled to move in starting today.

The entire building was empty at the estimated time of the murder.

The police began investigating

using the security and dashcam footage from around the building.

Generally speaking, an abandoned body means the culprit was flustered.

But in this case, it's the contrary.

By abandoning the body, the killer took it further.

After getting the answer they wanted by choking the victim,