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The first time Jin-woo meets Go Gun-hee again, it's an experience, to say the least. The last he'd seen the man was when he'd been the Chairman of the Hunter Association, laying in a pool of his own blood with a hole through his chest. Jin-woo remembered the desperation he'd felt summoning the Elixir of Life from his inventory, clutching the bottle as if it was a lifeline. He remembered the cold, weakening grip of the Chairman as he'd gripped Jin-woo's hand, knowing that nothing could cure him from the clutches of death. He remembered the helplessness of seeing the Chairman die, and knowing that nothing – not even vengeance – would bring him back.
And yet here he was. Sick, weak, but alive. In a hospital gown, with numerous wires connected to him and machines beeping all around him. But there was no pool of blood, no gaping hole in his chest, and something Jin-woo thought he'd never see again – life in his eyes, a smile on his face.
It was moments like these that solidified Jin-woo's resolve over and over again. He could never feel sadness or regret over his decision, not when the people he'd wanted to bring back were here. That was his purpose all along; what would living have meant if it was on the basis of the thousands of lives lost? No, Jin-woo didn't feel an ounce of regret. Everything he worked and fought so hard for was staring at him with tears in his eyes.
Go Gun-hee didn't know who Jin-woo was. All he was to him in this life was a mysterious stranger offering him a few years to live. To live healthy. To spend his life with his family. And that was enough for Jin-woo; he didn't need anything more from Go Gun-hee. He just needed him to live.
So Jin-woo administered the Elixir of Life and left. He looked back once on the sidewalk as he walked away from the hospital. And then he kept walking.
He didn't regret his choices. But he'd be lying if he said it wasn't sometimes hard to live with them. He got his dad back, completing his family once more. He befriended Jin-ho again and, what's more, became his actual brother through Jin-ho's marriage to Jin-ah. He got to meet Hae-in and fall in love with her again. He even got more than he bargained for with Jin-chul, what with him remembering the past life.
So there was no reason for him to be greedy and try inserting himself into Go Gun-hee's life. It was more than enough for him if Go Gun-hee lived his life happily.
(If he repeated it enough, he'd eventually start believing it).
The second time Jin-woo sees Go Gun-hee in this life, it's to offer the Elixir of Life again to give him a few more years to live. Only – it's not what he wants.
"I've spent many years wondering if I'll see you again," Go Gun-hee says, face turned towards the sun.
Then, when Jin-woo voices his offer: "No. I want to know."
And so Jin-woo gives him back his memories, although not without much hesitance. He stills his hands so they don't shake, fingertips hovering over Go Gun-hee's hand in one last indecisive moment. And then he wraps his fingers around the man's wrist, letting the memories flow through the point of contact.
All the while his eyes don't leave Go Gun-hee's face. For the first time he'd look into Go Gun-hee's eyes and see recognition there, see that same look he'd always gotten in the previous life. It was something somewhat fatherly, a bond Jin-woo couldn't really explain. All he knew was that Go Gun-hee held a special place in his heart, and the traitorous muscle wished ardously for Go Gun-hee to remember. It was selfish – those memories were painful. They were not necessarily things Go Gun-hee would want to remember, even if he said he did. And yet despite all that, Jin-woo wished, in that small traitorous part of him, that Go Gun-hee would remember him and look at him like that again. That he'd smile at him in that same way that felt like a warm hug.
And when Go Gun-hee's eyes cleared, and he came back from where his mind played the memories on a reel, he got his selfish wish. Jin-woo felt his heart shake with emotion, felt his hand tremble when Go Gun-hee held it. And when he saw the Chairman's tears, he willed himself not to cry. This wasn't about him. The Chairman was experiencing a lifetime of emotions in one condensed moment, all on the verge of death. This wasn't about him.
So he offered a smile at the Chairman's parting words, held onto his hand until there was no grip left, and leaned over to close his eyes when there nothing left behind it. He allowed himself a moment to cry, to mourn this man a second time, and then he left.
After all, he was a stranger. Go Gun-hee's loved ones would be here soon, and it was their place to be around his bedside, not his.