1RomanceEB Chapter 72, "Model Taxi," the finale.
Chapter 72, "Model Taxi," the finale.
On the day the last two episodes aired, Su Yu wasn't at the company waiting for the ratings.
He was at home. Cai Xiubin stewed pork ribs, cooked rice, and stir-fried two side dishes. Fruit and beer were laid out on the coffee table, and the TV was tuned to SBS, waiting for the premiere at nine o'clock that evening.
Cai Xiubin was wearing Su Yu's gray hoodie, the sleeves of which were a bit too long, covering half of the back of her hand. She had her hair tied up in a bun, and sat cross-legged on the sofa, constantly changing channels with the remote control, switching around and then coming back.
"Don't change it." Su Yu took the remote control away.
"I'm nervous." Cai Xiubin tucked her hands into her sleeves. "More nervous than the first time it aired."
"It's not the first time."
"The last time was different."
Su Yu glanced at her, pulled her hand out of her sleeve, and held it in his own.
"No matter the ratings, you've already won."
Cai Xiubin looked at him, her eyes a little red.
"When did you become so eloquent?"
"Always."
Why didn't you say so before?
"You hadn't won before."
Cai Xiubin was confused by his words, but she laughed and leaned on his shoulder. The TV was showing "GG," and they played the same fried chicken gag three times, but she didn't find it annoying.
At 9:00 AM sharp, episode nine of "Model Taxi" began.
This is the penultimate episode. Ahn Go-eun finally finds the people who bullied her sister, but they are too powerful, and even the police have been bribed. Kim Do-ki decides to solve the problem in his own way—he drives his model taxi and takes those people one by one to "where they belong."
Cai Xiubin looked at her face on the screen and couldn't help but comment—"The expression here is too much," "The crying there isn't real enough," "My face looks so round from this angle." Su Yu listened to her rambling for ten minutes, then reached out and covered her mouth.
"Just look. Don't say anything."
Cai Xiubin glared at him, but didn't say anything more.
After episode nine finished airing, the screen displayed the message "Stay tuned for episode ten, the finale." During the time it was time to leave, Cai Xiubin went to the kitchen, brought over two bowls of soup, and Su Yu checked the online reactions on her phone.
The top trending topic was "Model Taxi," followed by "Ahn Go-eun," and then "Kim Do-gi." Discussions have already surpassed one million, double the number from the previous episode.
"Someone posted that Ahn Go-eun should win this year's acting award." Su Yu handed her his phone to show her.
Cai Xiubin glanced at the phone and put it down. "Don't look at it anymore, it'll only increase the pressure."
Su Yu put his phone away, picked up the soup bowl, and took a sip.
"Is it good?" Cai Xiubin asked.
"Um."
"Just one word?"
"It tastes great."
Cai Xiubin smiled and took a sip himself.
At the beginning of episode 10, Cai Xiubin took the initiative to reach out and hold Su Yu's hand.
The finale's plot was even more tightly paced than the previous episodes. In court, Ahn Go-eun identified the perpetrator, and Kim Do-ki arrived at the last minute, delivering crucial evidence. One by one, the villains were sentenced, and Ahn Go-eun stood at the courthouse entrance, sunlight shining on her face; she smiled.
That was the first time Ahn Go-eun genuinely smiled throughout the entire series.
Then Kim Dodge left.
There was no farewell, no message, just a permanent absence. The model taxi sat on the street corner, its windows covered in a layer of dust, as if no one had driven it in a long time.
The final shot shows Ahn Go-eun standing on the banks of the Han River, holding the rubber band in her hand—the one Kim Do-ki left in the car when he first rescued her. She ties the rubber band around her wrist, the wind blowing through her hair, and she looks into the distance, her eyes filled with relief and anticipation.
The image freezes.
The end credits song began to play.
Cai Xiubin didn't speak. Su Yu didn't speak either.
The credits rolled across the TV screen, and Su Yu's name appeared in the producer's column. She had always thought that name was beautiful, but today she thought it was exceptionally beautiful.
"Su Yu".
"Um."
"Will we always be together?"
Su Yu turned to look at her. Cai Xiubin's eyes were glistening with tears, it was hard to tell if they were for the character or for herself.
"meeting."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
After the end credits finished playing, the viewership ratings appeared on the screen—16.8%.
Cai Xiubin stared at the number for three seconds, then screamed.
Su Yu was startled. "What's wrong?"
"16.8! It's broken 16!" Cai Xiubin grabbed his arm, her nails digging into it. "Did you see that? 16.8!"
Su Yu looked at the number, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved up.
He picked up his phone; the company group chat was buzzing. Kim Dong-wook sent a long string of exclamation marks, Choi Min-soo sent three clapping emojis, Kim Eun-sook said "Bonuses next week," and Park Jung-hyuk posted a picture of himself opening a beer. Yoon Shi-yoon sent several voice messages in a row: the first was "Ahhhhh," the second was "16.8, guys," and the third was "Su Yu, where are you? I want to buy you drinks."
Su Yu didn't reply and put her phone aside.
Cai Xiubin was still excited, so he jumped up from the sofa and walked around barefoot on the floor.
"I acted in a drama with a 16.8 rating!" She raised her hands as if she had just received a trophy. "I'm not a newcomer anymore! I can choose my scripts! I can..."
Before she could finish speaking, Su Yu grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the sofa.
Cai Xiubin fell into his arms, still laughing.
Su Yu looked down at her; her face was flushed with excitement, and her eyes shone like stars.
"What are you doing?" She felt a little embarrassed by his gaze.
"It's up to you."
"What's so interesting about it?"
Everything looks good.
Cai Xiubin's ears turned red, and she buried her face in his chest.
"Don't look at me like that, or I'll become arrogant."
"Then be proud."
Cai Xiubin laughed in his arms for a while, then suddenly fell silent.
"Su Yu".
"Um."
"Thank you."
Su Yu gently patted her back. "What are you thanking me for?"
"Thank you for casting me as Ahn Go-eun. Thank you for believing in me when I was nothing." Her voice grew softer and softer. "Thank you for making me who I am today."
Su Yu remained silent for a few seconds, then rested his chin on the top of her head.
"You did it yourself. I just gave you a chance."
"The opportunity wasn't given to me by you; I couldn't even get close to it."
Su Yu didn't say anything, but hugged her tighter.
The phone vibrated again. This time it was a call from Yoon Shi-yoon. Su Yu answered, and Yoon Shi-yoon shouted, "Come out for drinks! It's on me. We have to drink until dawn!"
Su Yu glanced at Cai Xiubin in his arms and said, "I'm not going today."
Why?
"Something's up."
"What's more important than celebrating?"
Su Yu didn't answer and hung up the phone.
Cai Xiubin looked up and asked him, "Why aren't you going?" Su Yu replied, "I don't want to go out." Cai Xiubin asked, "Do you not want to go out, or do you not want to go out for drinks?" Su Yu answered, "I don't want to leave you." Cai Xiubin stared at him wide-eyed, then smiled.
"You really did drink fake alcohol today."
"I didn't drink it."
"Then why are you so clingy?"
Su Yu didn't answer, but buried her face in her neck.
Cai Xiubin shivered from the tickling and laughed as she pushed him away.
After playing around for a while, they were both tired. Cai Xiubin nestled in Su Yu's arms, watching the rerun on TV. Episode ten was playing again, and looking at herself on the screen, she suddenly said something.
"The smile that Ahn Go-eun gave at the end was something I came up with myself. The script said 'a faint smile,' but I felt that wasn't enough."
"so what?"
"So I laughed for a long time, until the director said, 'That's enough, that's enough.'" Cai Xiubin looked up at him. "Because I felt that Ahn Go-eun had waited too long, and she finally got to this day, so she should laugh to her heart's content."
Su Yu looked at her. "You've been waiting a long time too."
Cai Xiubin was stunned for a moment. "What?"
"You've been waiting a long time too," Su Yu said. "From being 500 yuan short at the convenience store to now, you've been waiting a long time."
Cai Xiubin's eyes reddened again.
"You're here again."
"What's coming?"
"You say things like that." Her voice was a little hoarse. "Every time you say something like that, I feel like crying."
"Then don't cry."
"You think I'll stop crying just because you tell me not to?" Cai Xiubin wiped away her tears, laughed, and playfully punched him. "You really are something else."
The two of them snuggled up on the sofa, the TV on, neither of them changing the channel. The replay finished, and then the late-night news switched to broadcast the news that the finale of "Model Taxi" had broken 16% viewership, saying it was the highest-rated miniseries of the year and predicting it would win the year-end acting awards.
When Cai Xiubin heard her own name in the news, she felt a little unreal.
Six months ago, she was just a struggling actress, without even an agent, and had been rejected countless times during auditions. Now, her face is in the news, her name is being read aloud, and the show has a 16.8 rating.
She turned to look at Su Yu.
He was looking at his phone, his profile sharply defined under the light. He was several years younger than her, but sitting next to him, she never felt like he was her younger brother. He was always calm, always thinking ahead and acting first. It was as if no matter what happened, as long as he was there, nothing would go wrong.
"Su Yu".
"Um."
"What do you want to do in the future? I mean, the company is already so big, and the show is a hit, what do you want to do next?"
Su Yu put down his phone and thought for a moment.
"make money."
"Why make so much money?"
"I'll take care of you."
Cai Xiubin was taken aback by his answer. "Can't you have a bigger goal?"
"Isn't this big enough?"
Cai Xiubin stared at him for a few seconds, then couldn't help but laugh.
"It's big. It's very big."
Su Yu's lips curved slightly.
The Han River flows quietly outside the window, the lights on both banks reflected on the water, shattering into pieces of gold. In the distance, a cruise ship passes by, its colorful lights making it look like a moving star.
Cai Xiubin leaned on Su Yu's shoulder and slowly closed her eyes.
"Tired?"
"Yeah. I was too excited today, I'm exhausted."
Go to bed.
"No. Right here."
Su Yu didn't try to persuade her anymore, and pulled the blanket up to cover her.
His phone vibrated again. He picked it up and saw it was a message from Park Jiyeon.
"Congratulations, Representative Su. 16.8, that's amazing."
Su Yu typed a few words: "Thanks. How's the filming going on your end?"
"Not bad. No mistakes today."
"very good."
"Representative Su."
"Um?"
"It's nothing. I just wanted to say that you're really amazing."
Su Yu looked at the message and felt a little strange, but didn't think much of it. "Focus on filming, and I'll give you a better role in the next project."
Park Jiyeon replied with an "Mm".
Su Yu put down her phone.
Another earthquake struck. This time it was Sherry.
"16.8. Is there anything you, a man, can't do?"
Su Yu glanced at Cai Xiubin, who was already asleep in his arms, and typed a reply: "Go to sleep early. You have a schedule tomorrow."
Shirley replied with an eye-rolling emoji, then sent another message: "Got it. Boss Su. Goodnight."
Su Yu did not reply.
He put his phone on silent, placed it on the coffee table, and looked down at Cai Xiubin's sleeping face.
As she slept, her mouth was slightly open, her breathing was light, and her eyelashes fluttered occasionally. She was without makeup, her hair was a little messy, and she was wearing his hoodie, curled up in the blanket like a sleeping cat.
Su Yu stared at her for a long time.
Then he said something softly.
"16.8. You deserve it."
Cai Xiubin heard something in her sleep, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.