While he waited in front of the arrival gate, Gihwan kept checking his watch. It had already been thirty minutes since Korean Air flight KE1822 had landed, but Sophie still had not appeared.
Since he had arrived at the airport two hours earlier than the scheduled arrival time, he had already been waiting for nearly three hours. Gihwan looked down at the bouquet in his hands.
‘What if Sophie feels burdened by this? We’re not even dating yet... Should I just throw it away?’
Gihwan fidgeted with the bouquet as he thought.
‘Maybe she has a lot of luggage. Or immigration is taking a while. Surely nothing happened, right?’
After arriving at Incheon Airport from Charles de Gaulle Airport, Sophie had to transfer again from Gimpo Airport to Gimhae Airport, so he worried that something might have happened somewhere along the way.
‘Or maybe she changed her mind and took a different flight? Or maybe she decided not to come at all?’
Anxiety crept in.
It was then.
“Kiuwan!”
A familiar voice rang out. When Gihwan turned his head, Sophie was coming out through the arrival gate, pulling her suitcase behind her.
Sophie waved at him with a bright smile.
In that instant, all of Gihwan’s anxiety vanished. Sophie was just as beautiful as she had been when he saw her in Brest, and her smile still warmed his heart.
“Sophie.”
As Gihwan approached her, Sophie let go of her suitcase and took his hand.
“Did you wait long?”
“No. I just got here too. Thank you, truly, truly, for coming.”
Gihwan’s voice trembled. Seeing him like that, Sophie gave him an even warmer smile.
“I’m so happy to see you again like this.”
“Me too. Let’s go outside now. There are so many things I want to show you.”
Sophie noticed the bouquet in Gihwan’s hand.
“Oh my, what’s this?”
Sophie pointed at the bouquet in surprise. Gihwan was flustered for a moment.
“Ah, this is, just... as a welcome...”
When he stammered, Sophie smiled brightly.
“It’s so beautiful! Thank you, Kiuwan.”
Sophie naturally accepted the bouquet and smelled the flowers.
Gihwan felt relieved at her natural reaction. He was glad she did not seem burdened by it.
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Of course! Receiving such beautiful flowers really makes me feel welcomed.”
Sophie said as she held the bouquet to her chest.
In the car, Sophie gazed curiously at the Korean scenery passing by outside the window. The mountains stretching along both sides of the highway, the small villages visible between them, and even the sea far in the distance.
“It’s really beautiful. It has a different charm from France.”
“This is your first time in Korea, right?”
“Yes. When I told my colleagues I was going to Korea on vacation, they were incredibly jealous.”
“Ah, really?”
“Do you know how many people want to visit Korea these days? K-pop, Korean food—Korea is very popular in Europe.”
“Sophie, are you hungry right now?”
“A little. The airplane food wasn’t very good.”
Sophie answered with a laugh.
“Actually, I prepared lunch.”
“Really?”
“Yes. You said you wanted to try Korean home cooking, Sophie. So I started preparing yesterday.”
Sophie looked touched.
“Really? You cooked for me yourself?”
“It’s nothing much.”
Gihwan said modestly, but in truth, he had spent the entire day carefully preparing it.
“What kinds of food did you make?”
Sophie asked with curious eyes.
“Mm. I’ll show you when we get home. But you’re okay with spicy food, right?”
“I like spicy food! I often ate Asian food in France too.”
Sophie answered confidently.
Gihwan grew even more excited.
“The kimchi at our house is homemade too. Last winter, I made kimjang with Director Kang Taeho and Deputy Director Park Suhyeok.”
“Kimjang? What’s that?”
“It’s when you make a large amount of kimchi all at once for the winter. It’s a Korean tradition.”
“Wow, then that kimchi is a year old? It must be really well fermented!”
“That’s right! It must be full of lactic acid bacteria now. That makes the flavor deeper too.”
“I’m really looking forward to it. It must be similar in principle to French sauerkraut?”
“Similar, but more complex. Kimchi has jeotgal in it too, as well as various seasonings.”
“Jeotgal?”
Sophie searched for jeotgal on her phone, then her eyes sparkled.
“Oh! Jeotgal! Then it isn’t simply lactic acid fermentation, but a complex fermentation system!”
“That’s right! As the amino acids from the jeotgal and the sugars from the napa cabbage ferment together, they create a complex flavor.”
“Wow, then besides Lactobacillus, a variety of strains must be involved. Especially when you consider the proteolytic enzymes coming from the jeotgal.”
“Exactly! In particular, the glutamic acid from anchovy jeotgal creates umami, while the allicin in garlic and ginger has an antibacterial effect that prevents harmful bacteria from multiplying.”
As Gihwan explained passionately, Sophie was amazed.
“Then it’s a perfect synergy system where natural prebiotics and probiotics work at the same time! That sort of thing is difficult to implement even in modern pharmacy...”
“Right! That’s why I often refer to kimchi lactic acid bacteria in my immunology research too. Their immune-regulating effects are especially good.”
“Oh, that’s interesting.”
“Kimchi lactic acid bacteria improve the gut microbiota and help balance Th1/Th2. They also have the effect of suppressing allergic reactions...”
“Then they would help with allergic diseases like atopic dermatitis or asthma!”
Gihwan was startled by Sophie’s inference.
“How did you know? Our research institute is actually studying that very thing!”
“I knew it!”
Sophie clapped her hands.
“I’ve seen similar research in France too. It was about the immune-regulating effects of fermented foods. But this is my first time hearing of a fermentation system as complex as kimchi.”
Gihwan was moved that Sophie understood his field of research so accurately. He felt a satisfaction he could not feel when talking with ordinary people.
“Then have you researched fermentation as well, Sophie?”
“A little. During my doctoral program in pharmacy, I studied probiotic drug delivery systems. It was research on using lactic acid bacteria as carriers to safely transport drugs to the intestines.”
“Wow! Then do you happen to know about pH-resistant coating technology too?”
“Of course! You mean enteric capsule formulations, right? Ones that don’t dissolve in stomach acid and are only released in the intestines. Kiuwan, then does the TNF-alpha inhibitor protein you developed use that kind of delivery system too?”
At Sophie’s question, Gihwan hesitated for a moment.
“Mm. That’s a somewhat complicated system. If I can show you at the research institute later, I will.”
“Ah, I’m sorry! I was too hasty.”
When Sophie apologized, Gihwan hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, not at all! I’m actually happy you’re this interested. Most people don’t really understand even when I explain my research.”
“When we worked together in Brest, I learned a lot from watching your intuitive approach. I had thought pharmacy was a systematic and logical discipline, but seeing you made me realize how important creative thinking is.”
Gihwan’s heart warmed at Sophie’s sincere praise.
“You’re truly amazing too, Sophie. I was really impressed by the process of analyzing that complex virus structure and finding a treatment.”
“That was something we did together. It would have been absolutely impossible alone. It was possible because your immunological insight and my pharmaceutical knowledge came together.”
As the two of them chatted excitedly, the car had already reached the entrance of Geumsan-ri.
The old buildings had recently been repainted throughout the village, transforming it into a snug little village in pastel tones.
Sophie seemed to like the sight very much.
“Wow. It’s really beautiful. It looks like a village from a fairy tale.”
“Then shall we go in and have lunch first? You must be hungry...”
“Yes! I’m really looking forward to it!”
When they got out of the car, the village residents looked at Sophie with curious eyes.
An old woman smiled and said,
“Oh my. Dr. Seong’s gone and brought such a pretty young bride with him.”
“Annyeong haseyeo!”
Thinking the woman was speaking to her, Sophie greeted her loudly.
“Well now, will you be treating us to noodles this autumn?”
The old woman nodded with a smiling squint.
Sophie asked Gihwan with a smile,
“What is she saying?”
“Ah, she asked where such a pretty young lady came from. Haha.”
Gihwan’s face turned red as he answered awkwardly, then hurriedly led Sophie up the stairs to the third floor.
***
When the door to the residence on the third floor of Geumsan Clinic opened, Sophie stopped in her tracks for a moment. Natural light streamed in through the wide window, brightly illuminating the cozy space, and on one wall, children’s drawings were prettily displayed.
“Wow. It feels really warm.”
Sophie looked around and marveled. Just then, a little girl who had been drawing on the sofa lifted her head.
“Hayul!”
When Gihwan called her happily, Hayul put down her crayon and stood up. Then she looked at Sophie with curious eyes.
Sophie immediately bent her knees and met Hayul at eye level.
“Hello, little friend.”
When Sophie spoke in English, Hayul tilted her head.
“Owl Uncle, who is she?”
“This is Sophie. She’s Uncle’s friend from France.”
Gihwan answered with a smile.
“France?”
Hayul repeated, as if fascinated. Sophie’s heart melted at the girl’s clear eyes.
“Bonjour!” (Hello!)
After greeting her in French, Sophie took a gift box out of her bag.
“This is a present I brought from France.”
Hayul looked at the box with curious eyes, then looked at Gihwan. When Gihwan nodded, only then did Hayul carefully accept the gift.
“Open it.”
When Sophie explained with gestures, Hayul carefully opened the box.
“Wow!”
Hayul’s eyes grew round.
Inside the box was a doll. It was a girl doll dressed in the traditional clothing of Brittany, France, wearing a black velvet dress adorned with white lace. A white coiffe sat on its blond hair, and the front of the dress had traditional embroidery, with a small apron tied around the waist over it.
Beneath the doll was a picture book, with famous French landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Museum drawn inside.
“Do you like it?”
Sophie asked, and Gihwan translated.
Hayul nodded repeatedly.
“Yes! Thank you!”
Hayul suddenly approached Sophie and hugged her tightly.
“Oh, mon dieu...”
Sophie murmured in a moved voice as she gently hugged Hayul back.
Just then, Taeho came up the stairs.
“Oh? You’ve already arrived.”
Taeho greeted Sophie warmly.
“Sophie, welcome to Geumsan-ri.”
“Doctor Kang! It’s so good to see you.”
As Sophie stood up and greeted him, Taeho saw Hayul holding the new doll.
“Hayul, you received a present?”
“Yes! Auntie Sophie gave it to me! It’s pretty!”
As Hayul excitedly showed the doll to Taeho, Taeho looked at Sophie with gratitude.
“Thank you so much for preparing a gift for Hayul too.”
“Not at all. Kiuwan told me so much about Ayul that I really wanted to meet her.”
Sophie looked at Hayul again as she spoke.
“She’s such a smart and lovely child. I understand why Kiuwan bragged about her so much.”
Hayul quickly sat down beside Sophie.
“Look at this!”
Hayul showed Sophie the drawing she had been working on. It was a picture of the sea and a hospital.
“Wow, you drew this really well!”
As Sophie looked closely at the picture and asked about it, Hayul began to explain excitedly.
“This is our hospital, and this is the sea! And this is...”
Taeho watched all of this with satisfaction. Sophie mingled naturally with the child, and Hayul seemed to have completely accepted her as well.
‘At this level, she really is the perfect talent. Expertise, character, and even teamwork...’
“Sophie, are you also interested in traditional Korean medicine?”
“Of course! In fact, that’s one of the reasons I wanted to come to Korea. I wanted to see for myself the roots of Eastern medicine that I had only read about in books. I’m especially curious about how Korean medicine and Western medicine are integrated.”
Taeho’s eyes flashed. This was it. This kind of passion and curiosity from Sophie was exactly what Geumsan Research Institute needed.
“Then you’ve really come to the right place. Here in Geumsan, we’re conducting special research where tradition and modernity meet. You said you plan to stay for a week, right?”
“Yes.”
Taeho nodded.
I’ll have to make sure you make your decision within that time, Sophie.