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Chapter 5
“Ugh… Yeon-woo. Is your stomach okay?”
“Yes. Unlike how I felt while drinking yesterday, I feel perfectly fine.”
“Youth… purely youth….”
When I woke up early, I saw my father in the kitchen wearing an apron, preparing breakfast. My mother was reading the newspaper. It was a strange scene, almost the opposite of a typical household, and the corners of my mouth curled up.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Oh, nothing. It just feels like things are reversed.”
Back when I had just been discharged and was entering the workforce, my mother prepared breakfast and my father read the paper. Now, it was the other way around. In the meantime, my father had quit his job as a police officer and become a freelancer. He had always been interested in writing, even minoring in Creative Writing back in the day. He said that since he quit, he wanted to write, and my mother gave her permission on the condition that he work hard on the housework.
“Ugh. I’m glad you’re okay, at least. Anyway, come sit. I made the steamed eggs you like today.”
“You didn’t just make it because your stomach hurts, did you, Father?”
“Ahem, I made it all for you.”
“Right, let’s go with that. I understand.”
After the playful banter with my father, I sat down. The food on the table caught my eye.
Large beef and egg jangjorim (soy-braised) made with premium eggs. Green onion kimchi made with pungent scallions. Steamed eggs filled with finely chopped carrots, onions, and zucchini. Even seaweed freshly roasted this morning. It was a luxurious breakfast menu I couldn’t have even dreamed of while working at the company.
I scooped up a spoonful of the steaming eggs and mixed it into my five-grain rice. I took a big bite of the rice and eggs.
“Wow! This is delicious!”
“Really? Eat a lot.”
It was soft, salty, and perfectly seasoned. The texture of the well-cooked vegetables made it feel like a truly hearty meal. I took another large spoonful of the mixed rice, wrapped it in seaweed, and took a bite!
Crunch!
The seaweed crumbled, adding its unique savory flavor and aroma.
“Your dad is a better cook than your mom, right?”
“Totally. I guess the men in our family have ‘good hands’ for cooking through the generations. Grandfather was like that, Father is like that, and compared to Mother, it’s not even a—”
The words slipped out of my mouth before I realized it. Suddenly, I felt a murderous aura. Looking up, I saw my mother with “axe-eyes,” holding a spoon.
‘Ah.’
Thwack!
“Gwaaaaah!”
The spoon hit my forehead!
“You should say something nice even if you don’t mean it.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
I couldn’t really say anything back because I was in the wrong. No, but still…!
“You look like you want to say something. Do you have something to say?”
“A-ah, no. Nothing at all.”
In the end, it was Yoon Yeon-woo who backed down.
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After breakfast was over and I had finished washing up, my mother had already left for work. I suggested last night that she should relax since I won the lottery, but she refused. She said she finds fulfillment in the work she does now. Well, nothing I can do about that.
“You remember where it is, right? I wanted to go with you, but unfortunately, I have to go to the hospital, so I can’t drive you.”
“It’s okay. I’m not such a ‘bad son’ that I’d forget the country house. Oh, the roads haven’t changed or disappeared, have they?”
If the way there had changed, it might be a bit difficult.
“No, nothing like that. They just paved the roads a bit.”
The countryside is truly the countryside. It doesn’t change as often as the city. To put it nicely, it’s steadfast; to put it bluntly, it doesn’t evolve. But since that meant the way there hadn’t changed, it was actually a relief.
“Then, I’m off. It’s okay if I use the bicycle, right?”
“Sure. Go ahead. It hasn’t been used in a while, so if it feels strange, go get it repaired immediately.”
“Yes.”
I said goodbye to my father, slung my side-bag over my shoulder, picked up the bicycle outside the door, and went out. As soon as I stepped outside, the high sky caught my eye first. If it were the city, I would have seen buildings higher than the sky.
“The weather is great.”
Moderate clouds with the bright sun shining between them. That unique scent and cool breeze found between winter and spring. I got on the bike under the warm sunlight. Since it had been a long time since I rode, I wore a helmet and pads.
“Feels alright?”
Squeak, squeak. I stepped on the pedals and turned the wheels. For something that hadn’t been used in a long time, there was no noise when I pedaled. It moved smoothly, and the brakes worked well.
“Then… shall we go?”
It had been ages since I rode a bike. Living up north, public transportation was so good that I never needed to ride one. As I sat on the saddle and looked ahead, my heart began to thumping a little faster. It wasn’t because I was scared of the bike, but because I was excited to travel around my hometown on it.
Whirrr!
As I pedaled, the bicycle glided forward smoothly. A cool breeze swept through my hair.
Whoosh!
The cool, slightly cold, and dry wind cooled my body, which had warmed up from riding. Thanks to that, I didn’t sweat a single drop.
“Wow.”
The countryside doesn’t change quickly. I thought of what I had said earlier. Yes, because it doesn’t change, it doesn’t develop like the city. But because it doesn’t change, the countryside can remain the countryside.
The precious memories carved into me as a child. Most of them hadn’t changed, preserving the distant past.
The rice fields and scarecrows were in the same spots as always. The birds perched on top of them. The tall, old persimmon tree I used to climb often as a kid. Even the valley I went to every summer vacation with my friends. Everything was exactly where it used to be.
“That shop is still there. Is it still open?”
After riding for several tens of minutes, Yeon-woo reached the neighborhood of the country house and stopped in front of a snack shop he used to visit every time he went to the house as a child. Surprisingly, the lights were on. The unique smell of deep-fried snacks, tteokbokki, and sundae (blood sausage) wafted through the air.
“An old grandmother used to run it back then. I wonder if she still does?”
The thought crossed his mind, but he knew better. Childhood was 20 years ago. Still, just in case, should I go in?
Rattle!
“Ah, it’s closed.”
He tried the door, but unfortunately, it was locked.
“Is it prep time because it’s still morning?”
They say morning comes early in the countryside, but actually, it’s not that early. Especially in places where many grandmothers and grandfathers live, the morning is a bit slow. It’s not like the city where people wake up at dawn to take public transport to work. In the countryside, unless you’re commuting to another region, it doesn’t take more than 20 minutes to get anywhere. And usually, jobs are near the home.
“Tsk, that’s a shame.”
It seemed this snack shop was the same. Since it was a two-story building, the first floor was the shop and the second floor was likely the residence. The owner probably went upstairs for something while preparing.
“I’ll come back later. There will be plenty of chances.”
He had to go deeper along this road anyway.
“Hmm-hmm~~.”
Humming a tune, he pedaled again. After Yeon-woo disappeared, a young woman came out of the snack shop.
“Did I hear wrong? I definitely thought I heard someone rattling the door….”
She had come out because of a sound, but no one was there. Did the wind blow a small stone against it?
“There’s nothing here. Hmm… I must have misheard.”
In front of the shop, there wasn’t even a leaf, let alone a stone. This was thanks to her waking up at dawn to clean the front.
“Ah! Right, the fish cakes!”
She remembered the fish cakes she had forgotten because she really had to use the bathroom. Han Ji-min rushed back into the shop.
“Ah, thank goodness. Phew….”
She hurriedly checked the fish cakes; they weren’t burnt. However, the wooden sticks were slightly scorched by the fire.
“How did Grandmother do this every morning for over 30 years?”
Her grandmother had passed away a few years ago. Originally, they were going to sell the building, but she asked her mother and quit her job to come down. She didn’t want the place her grandmother protected to disappear. And she wanted to taste that flavor again. Han Ji-min was a fairly well-known chef in the industry and was confident in her cooking, but she couldn’t replicate her grandmother’s taste.
“I feel like I’ll get it if I try just a little more….”
But it was hard to recreate the taste she had back then. Still, it was okay.
“It’s hard, but this is nice too.”
She liked being in the spot where her grandmother used to be, looking at what her grandmother used to see.
“Alright! Let’s work hard today too!”
Even though only about ten customers a day might come, unlike the restaurant she ran until recently, she liked the emptiness. She had already made enough money to last a lifetime. Besides, for the first time in a while, there were no gazes of jealousy or envy, so it felt like a true healing experience in her hometown.
Yeon-woo rode his bike for about 10 more minutes, heading further in. The road got rougher the further he went, but conversely, nature was well-preserved. On the way, he saw several water deer and squirrels. He even saw a crow hitching a ride on the back of a sleeping cat. Unfortunately, the crow flew away when he tried to take a photo.
“There shouldn’t be any wild boars, right?”
The thought occurred to him, but since he’d never heard of anyone seeing a boar around here when he was a kid, he figured he could relax.
“Hah! Ah, I finally found it.”
After pedaling and pedaling, he arrived at the country house. The rough road had made it difficult, so he was relieved.
“Gwaaah!”
He struggled to get off the bike, forced strength into his trembling thighs, and lay down on the pavilion across from the house. Perhaps because it was old, the paint was peeling and the wood looked a bit shabby, but he liked that feeling.
“Wow, that’s tiring.”
Even as he said that, his face was full of smiles. Perhaps because he had moved so hard for the first time in a while, he felt the blood circulating quickly through his body. His heart was thumping, making him realize he had actually exercised.
When he was working, he hated wasting physical energy like this. But exercising while feeling the pleasant breeze and breathing fresh air after so long made him feel great.
“This place really hasn’t changed.”
Once he caught his breath and his heart rate returned to normal, he looked around. Tall trees stood nearby, and the shadows they cast coolly surrounded the area. The only spots where sunlight reached were the pavilion he was lying on and the house itself.
“Wait, it’s managed better than I thought? Did Father take care of it?”
Looking at the house, it was very well-maintained.
“Anyway… how do I get back to that place?”
He had come to the country house following the hint. But how was he supposed to enter that other world? Did he have to sleep here?
‘Let’s go inside first.’
The place with the spirits was important, but he had to check this house first anyway.
Clank!
He inserted the key and opened the door. It was a bit stiff from age.
“Cough!”
As he opened the door, a dry smell and dust rushed out.
“I need to ventilate the place.”
Perhaps because it hadn’t been aired out at all, black mold and dust had accumulated in various parts of the building.
‘Still, it’s not as bad as I expected.’
First, let’s take pictures of this and send them to Father.
Click! Click! Click!
He took photos of the living room, ceiling, walls, rooms, and bathroom while looking around.
‘It really is an old house.’
The interior was decorated with dark wood that would have been considered elegant back then. But now, it showed the wear and tear of time, with cracks here and there.
‘I’ll have to replace everything except the frame.’
While he was contemplating the remodeling and interior design.
Thud!
Suddenly, he heard the sound of something falling in a room.
“Did something fall because of the wind?”
He grabbed the doorknob of the room where the sound came from and turned it. At that moment, it felt so natural that he forgot one thing: that room was the one his grandfather had kept locked, calling it a storage room.
Creak!
He opened the door and stepped inside. There, he saw something he had never seen as a child.
