WIRHIHWS 03

Episode 3

Yun Yeon-woo, still dazed.
Numerous spirits approached him.

Their eyes sparkled as if they found something fascinating.
Their gazes were burdensome yet cute.
The pink rabbit covering its eyes with its ears, or the light green hamster rolling around due to its bulk.
Looking at the fluffy creatures, he felt a strong desire to hug them.

“Hey, don’t overwhelm him too much.”

That’s when it happened.
A voice tickled his ear.
Instinctively, he turned his head in that direction.

“Hello?”

“Ah, yes… hello.”

His eyes met with it.
In an instant, Yun Yeon-woo’s eyes widened in surprise.

A truly beautiful woman was standing there.
Her hair, shining with a faint silver light, reached down to her waist.
A red left pupil and a blue right pupil, with delicate, jade-like hands.
She was so beautiful, as if sculpted by a god, that she could debut as an idol right away.
That beauty also included a touch of cuteness.
However…

“You were thinking I’m short, weren’t you?”

“Hhaha…”

She was short.
About a head shorter than Yun Yeon-woo, who is 174 cm.
If he had a middle school-aged younger sister, she might feel like this.
And she felt strangely familiar.

“It’s a shame I’m older than a middle school sister. Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Yeon, responsible for this spirit world.”

“I am…”

“I know. You’re Yeon-woo, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. How do you know my name…?”

He hadn’t even told his name to those animals.
Was she reading his thoughts, perhaps because this is a dream?

“We actually met when Yeon-woo was young. You probably don’t remember, though.”

“Is that so…?”

As she said, he didn’t remember.
Even if it was childhood, he would surely remember someone as striking as her.
Unless Yeon also had the appearance of a little kid back then, which he might not recall.

“I’m glad to meet you again like this.”

Her long, thin lips curved upward as the corners of Yeon’s mouth rose.
He asked the faintly smiling woman.

“But why am I here…?”

“I’ll tell you that next time.”

Huh? What kind of irrelevant talk is that?

“What? Next time?”

“I’d like to tell you too, but unfortunately, Yeon-woo, you’re about to arrive at your hometown and will wake from the dream soon. It means we don’t have time for a long story.”

Yeon approached.
With her small hand, she stroked his hair.
For some reason, he couldn’t refuse that hand.
It was simply comforting.

“We are destined to meet again soon, so let’s share the stories we couldn’t finish now then.”

Smoothly.
He felt that warm touch.
That touch felt familiar, as if he had felt it before.
Simultaneously, a certain scene flashed through his mind.

‘An old countryside house?’

It was the appearance of a very familiar countryside house.
The detached house where his grandmother and grandfather lived when they were alive.
Running and playing with his older sister and the dog…

‘But… I don’t have an older sister? Ugh!’

With the gentle touch and old memories as the end, Yun Yeon-woo suddenly felt his body falling from the sky.

Jolt!
Just like suddenly jerking awake from dozing off during a school class.
Yun Yeon-woo unconsciously tried to rise from his seat.

Thump!
Fortunately, he was wearing a seat belt, so that bizarre act didn’t happen.

“Ugh…!”

However, because of the seat belt, pain shot through him.

[The next stop is Haenam County General Bus Terminal.]

Just in time, an announcement informed him of their arrival in Haenam.

Enduring the pain, he turned his gaze outside the window.
Despite having lived there for decades and being away for years, Haenam’s appearance remained unchanged.
Passing through the rotary, the vehicle turned half a circle.
Along that road, a gas station and a car repair shop came into view—scenes he had seen since childhood.
A restaurant that had been quite famous for a long time but he had never tried, a gym he didn’t know when had opened, and a pig’s trotter restaurant his family often ate at—passing by these, they arrived at the bus terminal.

“It’s been a while.”

Since he always told his parents and friends to come up to Seoul, it had been about 8? 9? years since he last set foot in Haenam.

“While things change in the blink of an eye up there. Here, it’s always the same.”

Sigh.
The unchanging appearance of the countryside unconsciously brought a smile to his face.

Getting off the bus, he entered the terminal.
There was a convenience store and a small hospital that had been there since long ago.

His throat a bit dry, he entered the convenience store.
Looking at the owner, it was the same person he had seen years ago, still running it.
A convenience store without a single event sticker.
In the past, he would have bought only cheap, 1+1 event products to save money.
But this time, he decided to spend a bit.

‘What the hell, a small carbonated drink costs 3,000 won? That’s a bit much.’

Even though he won the lottery, this was a bit much, don’t you think?
Thinking that, he left the convenience store.
The outside was also very familiar.

“There’s a mart nearby, so I should go there. Ah, it couldn’t have disappeared, could it?”

Could it have?
With that thought, he moved his steps.

Fortunately, the mart hadn’t disappeared.
It seemed to be doing well, with quite a few customers inside.
Not bustling like a large Seoul mart, but a moderate number of people.
He went inside.

“Where was the Korean beef…”

He was choosing a gift for his parents.
Since childhood, they said beef was expensive and only ate chicken or pork, so they didn’t have beef often.
Only occasionally, really occasionally, on Yun Yeon-woo’s birthday or when receiving gifts during Chuseok or Lunar, was there an opportunity.
So he wanted to gift them Korean beef.

‘They’ll like it, right?’

“Huh?”
“What?”

While pondering which Korean would be good, he turned his head at the sound of someone calling him.
There stood a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Eh? Hyun-jun
“You’re visible in Haenam? Am I dreaming?”

Jo Hyun-jun was one of his closest friends from elementary, middle, and high school.
Since childhood, he was oddly popular with girls due to his pretty face.
And it seemed that face hadn’t gone anywhere even now.
On top of that, he looked fit, as if he had been exercising.
Looking closely, his body seemed built more from heavy labor or manual work than exercise.

“What’s this, you came down without saying a word?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d come down in person for the first time in a while.”
“Brother my foot, I was born three months earlier than you, man.”

Sigh
The two laughed.

“You work at the mart?”
“Yeah, I’ve been working for quite a while. About 3 years? You?”
“So that’s why you haven’t been seen in the group chat lately. Me, well, I’m unemployed right now. I quit my job and came down.”

Yun Yeon-woo shifted his gaze.
Soon, he spotted a ring on Jo Hyun-jun’s finger.

“What’s this, you got married?”
“Yeah, about a year ago?”
“No, then you should have at least told me. Even if I couldn’t attend, I could have sent a congratulatory gift.”
“We didn’t have a ceremony, just got married. Haha. I’ll just accept your heartfelt wishes for the gift.”

Then Jo Hyun-jun laughed awkwardly.
Dark circles were full under his eyes.
Feeling it might be wrong to pry further, he didn’t ask more about the marriage.

“Ah, I should get back to work now. I’ve rested enough.”
“Yeah, go work. Let’s meet next time.”
“Yeah, I’m going, hyung.”
“brothermy foot.”

After chatting for several tens of minutes, the two parted ways.

“This place has changed a bit.”

Carrying a generous set of Korean beef from the mart, he walked down the street.
Perhaps because it was still early winter, it was quite chilly, yet the sunlight was warmer than expected.
He passed by the academy he attended as a child.
The playground, which was clearly dirt ground, had been replaced with artificial turf at some point.
On that turf, what seemed to be elementary school soccer team members, wearing over sized jerseys, were sweating profusely as they kicked a ball.
Nearby, a small movie theater had been built.

“It’s improved a lot.”

Back in my day, to watch a movie, I had to take a bus from morning to Mokpo or  Gwangju.
Thinking that, he looked around.
Passing by the elementary school, he checked the map for the apartment address and walked a bit more, and the house where his mother and father lived came into view.

“So this is the place.”

The apartment where a friend used to live.
They used to meet without setting appointments, just playing at the playground right next to the house.
Old memories vividly sprang to mind.

I wonder if that friend still lives here?
Since it was elementary school days, I’m not sure.
Maybe it would be nice to run into him while passing by.

“Ah! I don’t even know which building, and I don’t know the password!”

This apartment has Building A and Building B.
Based on the road, Building A is on the right, Building B on the left.
Which one is it?

“Hmm……”

Hurriedly, he took out his phone and opened the messaging app.

‘I think there was a photo they sent when they moved previously.’

Looking, he found the building number, floor, and unit number were recorded.
Based on that information, he arrived in front of the house.
But as they say, over one mountain lies another; an even greater obstacle awaited.

“Hmm… If I’m not careful, I might go to the police station before home.”

He didn’t know the door lock password.
Still, he could make some predictions.

“Let me try four times.”

He opened the door lock.
If it doesn’t work after four tries, I’ll call and ask.

First, his mother’s birthday.
Beep!

Nope. His father’s birthday.
Beep!

Then, Yun Yeon-woo’s birthday.
Beep!

“……”

This is a bit troublesome.
One last try. What should I do about this?

“Then……”

If it doesn’t work, there’s nothing I can do.
He tried entering the password by combining his mother’s, father’s, and his own birthdays.

Chirring!
Then, with a cheerful sound, the door lock opened.
The unique scent of home wafted out.

“Phew… I’m home.”

Taking off his shoes, he entered the house.
Immediately visible was a framed picture on the wall.

“……”

He gazed at the family photo.
His mother and father were standing, and a young Yun Yeon-woo was sitting alone on a chair.
And on his lap…

“As expected… I can’t see it.”

Clearly, there was something, but one entity was completely obscured by noise.
According to his late grandfather, it was a dog Yun Yeon-woo had raised as a child.
But he had no memory of it himself.
It seems that when he almost drowned in a river long ago, the strong shock erased it from his memory.
He’s not sure.
They said the dog he raised back then died saving Yun Yeon-woo.
He doesn’t even remember that.
His parents say they don’t remember at all.

“What did you look like?”

Even straining his memory, nothing comes to mind.
Surely, it must have been cute, or perhaps majestic.

“I’m sorry for not remembering you. And thank you, always.”

If it hadn’t saved him then, Yun Yeon-woo wouldn’t be here.
He closed his eyes for a moment.

Then, the dream he had on the bus earlier came to mind.
Spirits.
That word surfaced.

At first, he thought it was just a weird dream, but he could sense it feeling more like reality than a dream.
For some reason, he felt that if he delved deeper into those spirits, he might recall memories related to the deceased dog.

‘How can I go back to that place?’

There was a clue.
The old countryside house where he lived with his grandparents.

‘I wonder if they sold that countryside house.’

If they hadn’t sold it and still owned it, he could go there without issue.
But that’s not something he can do right now.

“It’s almost time for them to get off work… I’ll ask later. For now, let me prepare dinner.”

A family meal together after a long time.
Shall I prepare something?