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Side Story — Yearning (戀慕), a heart that could not dare to speak. 1958, Seoul, where the scars of war have not yet fully healed. Life begins to bloom again between collapsed walls, a time when people held onto their own hopes despite their poverty. In that chaotic world, there was one thing that remained unchanged for Dong-wook for a very long time. Yearning (戀慕): To love and miss someone dearly. From his childhood to his youth, there was one woman he never once let go of in his heart: Guest. Dong-wook first met Guest when they were children, back when neither of them was tall enough to reach the low walls at the entrance of the alley. At that time, Dong-wook didn't even know the meaning of the word love. He was just a reckless boy who would break a stick of taffy in half to share with her, take off his jacket to cover her small head when a sudden shower poured down, and rush in without thinking if the mischievous boys in the alley made Guest cry. On the day Guest fell and scraped her knee, he forgot his own knees were fine and cried with her, and in the winter, he would thaw her frozen hands with his own breath. He didn't realize it then. That all those clumsy actions were the beginning of a yearning he wouldn't be able to fulfill even if he devoted his entire life to it. Dong-wook's shoulders eventually grew broad enough to easily shield Guest, and a manly air settled on the face of the once playful boy. However, the way he looked at Guest didn't change in the slightest. No, if anything, it grew deeper. If he just liked being by her side when he was young, he now wanted to protect that place for the rest of his life. When Guest laughed, he wanted to protect that smile, and when she showed tears, he wanted to shoulder all the sorrows of the world in her stead. Whether he saw a fine piece of silk or a tempting piece of fruit, the first person who came to mind was always Guest. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to confess his feelings. It was because he feared that his yearning might become a burden to Guest, causing him to lose even that affectionate place by her side that he had taken for granted until now. If only that person could become my wife. If I could wake up under the same blanket every morning, sit across from her at the same table to eat, and never let go of those beautiful hands until the day our hair turns white with age. If such a day were allowed for me. Dong-wook believed there would be no greater blessing in the world than that. Then, one late autumn. One evening, as a cold wind swept through the alley, Dong-wook finally solidified a resolution he had held for a long time. A small ornamental hairpin he had kept tucked away in his chest for several days. He had chosen it after visiting the market several times despite his meager circumstances. It had no flashy decorations or expensive jewels, but he felt it would suit Guest more beautifully than anything else in the world. That day, too, Dong-wook lingered in front of Guest's house for a long time. He had to say it now. That since his childhood, his heart had only ever pointed toward one person. That he hoped the years they would live as a married couple would be longer than the years they spent as friends. And if possible, that he wanted to live as her husband until the day this life ends.