Chapter 47

The sun is setting when Joshua and Carla went out of the rope course. A few meters from there, they found a river that reflects the orange rays of the sun setting in the west. Carla seems to be mesmerized by the calming effect of the setting sun. She gazed at it, and Joshua was compelled to stop as well and watch the setting sun with her. They stayed like that for a while – Carla trying to absorb the soothing rays of the sun, Joshua not knowing how to break the ice that started after the zip line incident. He doesn't know what he can say to make Carla feel totally okay again. He decided to use the view as a starter to their conversation. 'Han River." Carla looked at him. Joshua felt her looking at him, so he looked back to her with a smile. 'I guess this is this park's version of Han River." Carla looked at the river again. Joshua can't do anything but imitate what she did. 'I wonder if this is man-made, or it's a real river," Joshua said. Carla did not react, so Joshua felt stressed as he struggled to find the words to say to make them talk again. In the end, he just decided to face the problem. 'I'm sorry about what happened back at the zip line," Joshua started. That made Carla look at him. Joshua turned to face her. 'I didn't know that you're scared of... falling," he added. 'I'm sorry about the horror train," Carla said. 'I should have sensed that you're afraid of zombies." 'It's okay," Joshua told her. 'So... I guess we're even?" Carla nodded. 'You can say that." Joshua smiled. 'Thank you." Carla smiled back, then continued watching the setting of the sun. Joshua imitated what she is doing, and they stayed like that until the sun totally set on the horizon. 'Let's go?" Carla asked after. Joshua nodded. They started walking again by the side of the river to their next destination. 'Are you really okay now?" Joshua asked Carla. 'Of course," Carla answered. 'Let's just say that I'm very used to stressful scenes." Joshua understood what she said. 'Although, I guess your hospital stress is more fulfilling than the zip line scare." Carla smiled. 'Maybe…" 'We shouldn't have had coffee." Carla finally laughed. Joshua was so glad it made him smile. He realized that she is really okay now. At the end of the river is a tall tower. The round structure is surrounded by trees and various plants. At the top of the straight tower, there is a fence that encircles the tower. 'No way…" Joshua said. Carla looked at him. 'Huh?" Joshua looked at her. 'Is that Namsan Tower?" Carla does not understand what Joshua is saying. She just watched him as he went closer to the white tower. Joshua examined the tower for a while before looking back at Carla. 'It really is the Namsan Tower!" he said to her. Carla went closer to him. 'What is that Namsan Tower?" she asked. 'Why don't we go up?" Joshua asked instead. They went inside the tower. The first floor looks like a souvenir shop that sells various Korean-related items. There are traditional Korean clothes, Korean paper products, figurines, stationeries and other stuff with Korean design. There are also stuffed and plush toys from popular Kdramas, such as those in Descendants of the Sun and Goblin. There is also a food court at the first floor, but since they are not yet hungry, Joshua and Carla did not stay there. They went straight to the second floor, where they saw various sit-down dining options. But what caught their attention is the Locks of Love. 'Love padlocks?" Carla said as they went to the padlocks attached to the fence that goes around the tower. 'Yup! Just like in Paris," Joshua answered. He then looked at the view below. 'The view is as beautiful as that in Korea." Carla joined him looking at the view. 'You seem to have seen a lot of places in SoKor," Carla said to him. Joshua looked at her. 'Yes, but I really appreciated this place after I watched a certain Kdrama." Carla also looked at him. 'I thought you don't watch Kdramas?" Joshua turned to face her. 'There was this one Kdrama that I watched before. I was offered to try out to be the lead on the Filipino adaptation of that series. Long story short, I didn't get the role. But, I guess it's okay. I was offered another role, and the movie was a blockbuster hit… A Perfect Wedding, if you've heard about it." Carla smirked. Of course, she heard about it. It was a hit even before it was adapted into a movie. It was one of Ria Nelmida's bestsellers. But in all fairness, the movie adaptation is really very good. Joshua has the right to be proud about it. 'You know what I did? Twenty episodes in three days! That's how dedicated I was to learn the story of the Kdrama. But, that's what happened. God has other plans for me," Joshua said. 'What is that Kdrama?" asked Carla. 'My Love from The Star," Joshua answered. 'You know that?" 'I guess I heard it before… I'm not sure," Carla said. 'It's a story about an alien trapped here on Earth because he was left by the spaceship that will take him back to the star where he's from. He stayed here for 400 years, waiting for his chance to go home because the comet that will take their spaceship on the same orbit will arrive after 400 years. During his 400th year here on Earth, he met this actress whose reputation was ruined because the fans deemed her as the cause of a fellow actress' suicide. So everyone hates her, except the alien guy who's not a fan of showbiz. But because of that, he doesn't know her so she is just a nobody to him," Joshua narrated. 'Sounds interesting," Carla commented. 'It is," Joshua said. 'The alien guy has superpowers – telekinesis, extra sensitive hearing and teleportation, and he could also stop the time. I just find that role very cool." 'So, he became like her knight in shining armour?" asked Carla. Joshua nodded. 'Yup. And the conflict is, aside from the fact that he is an alien who constantly changes identity every ten years because he does not age like humans, he is bound to leave because if he didn't, he'll die." 'But is it a happy ending?" Carla asked, getting more and more interested with the story they are talking about. 'It's kind of vague," Joshua said. 'He left, he came back, but it was not permanent. There's this concept about wormholes… I don't know…" He kind of remembered that spacetime warp that happened to him when he met Destiny. The wormhole concept is as complicated as that to him. 'And you really watched and analyzed it just for the role," Carla said. 'I think you would not remember all the details if you didn't put your heart into analyzing it." Joshua nodded. 'Yeah… I am always like that when I am given a role. I do research... There was even this one time when I asked Mark to allow me to be his employee for three months just to know how it is to be an employee working in an office." Carla felt impressed with Joshua's dedication in his craft. She realized he really deserves the recognition he receives for his craft, and the title of the blockbuster king because of his love for his job. If ever he became a doctor, he would be that one where patients line up for a consultation. He's not just very good, but he is also kind and he really cares for his patients because he really wants to help those in need of medical assistance. That's the kind of doctor that she aspires to be. 'There was a scene where the alien and the actress put a love lock at the Namsan Tower," Joshua continued. He held a lock and examined it. 'Don't worry. Even if you did not have the chance to do that on the remake, someday, you'll get the chance to lock your love here," Carla said to him. Joshua smiled. 'I guess so…" Carla smiled back at him. They looked at the locks for a while before they decided to have dinner.