Episode 19: Friend
"Don't you get bored living alone in the countryside?"
Suhyeon asked, and I had indeed worried about that before coming down here.
I hadn't had any close friends, and when I first arrived, I barely knew anyone.
I had moved for my health, but I had worried that living alone might lead to depression.
But once I actually started living here, I didn't think that way at all.
It was because I had met new people and formed connections, and because Nabi welcomed me joyfully every day.
Besides, a life where I took walks in the morning, worked in the afternoon, and finished the day eating something delicious and watching TV was nothing but enjoyable.
"No, I'm having fun."
"Really?"
"Leaving boredom aside, I'd be scared... I went there before, and your house is totally isolated in a valley..."
Seongil said, recalling old memories; he had once visited my house.
I had gotten used to it, but our house stood alone with no neighbors, and there were no streetlights nearby, so it was even scarier at night. Seongil said he had been terrified seeing the place in the dark.
"I've gotten used to it, so it's fine. I even have a roommate now."
"You live with someone?"
"Yeah, I'm raising a cat named Nabi."
"A cat?"
I took out my phone and showed my friends the pictures I had taken of Nabi from time to time.
"Oh, it's cute."
"Where'd you get it? Did you adopt it?"
"It's a stray cat, but it decided to live with me."
All my friends said Nabi was cute, but suddenly Geonhyeong made a serious face and said,
"Minwoo, you should be careful."
"Careful?"
"Haven't you heard? They say cats can see ghosts. If a cat stares intently at something at night, there's a ghost there."
Geonhyeong had suddenly brought up ghost stories; he had always loved horror and thrillers.
"Is that real?" "I saw it on TV."
"Damn it, I told you not to tell stories like that."
Seongil was scared by Geonhyeong's words, but I wasn't the type to believe in superstitions, so I wasn't very frightened.
If I were scared of such things, I wouldn't be living alone in a countryside house.
"Once you actually live there, it's not that scary. Don't be like that—come to my house during summer vacation and stay a few days."
"At your house?"
We had traveled together every summer since we were twenty.
We made memories at various places like beaches and valleys, and this was part of why we had grown especially close.
"Yeah, we'll eat good food at my house, and since there's the sea in Haenam, let's go there too."
"That sounds good."
Everyone agreed with my suggestion.
I had said I wasn't bored, but having my friends visit, sharing the crops I grew, and eating delicious food together seemed like it would be truly fun.
"Come to think of it, my mom talks about Haenam a lot, so I've wanted to visit."
"Your mom?"
"Yeah, my mom is a fan of Gang Sujin. She said Gang Sujin's hometown is Haenam?"
"Gang Sujin? Who's that?"
I was curious since it was the first time I had heard the name, but my friends looked at me in disbelief.
"You don't know Gang Sujin?"
"Yeah, is she a celebrity?"
"How does someone from Haenam not know Haenam's daughter, Gang Sujin? She won Queen of Trot last year."
At Suhyeon's words, a memory vaguely surfaced.
When I was walking around the five-day market, a man selling tapes had been talking about the Queen of Trot; it seemed he had been talking about Gang Sujin.
"Ah, really? Is she famous?"
"Is she famous? Of course she's famous. She's the trending trot singer these days. My mom likes her a lot."
Suhyeon said passionately, but honestly, I wasn't very interested in trot.
I liked listening to and singing songs, but I mainly listened to pop or the latest hits, and I skipped trot whenever it came on TV.
"I didn't know because I don't like trot. I'll have to listen to her later."
"Yeah, you're from Haenam, so you have to listen."
Suhyeon emphasized it so much that I became curious and took out my phone to search the name.
*Queen of Trot Gang Sujin Ranks #1 in April Trot Brand Preference*
There were many articles about her; she was definitely very popular, only I hadn't known. And the important thing was that she was incredibly young—much younger than I had thought.
"She's really young?"
"If I recall, she's only twenty-eight?"
Hearing the title "Queen of Trot," I had thought she might be older, but she was younger than expected. The audition program she appeared on was probably called *Queen of Trot*, which was why people called her that.
"Wait, she's only two years younger than us, so she might have even gone to school with you?"
"School?"
"Yeah, I saw in an interview that she went to middle school in Haenam."
"That could be possible."
There weren't that many middle schools in Haenam.
My father used to say that in Haenam, you only needed to cross three people to connect through school ties, regional ties, or blood ties, which was why you should always be careful how you acted.
I hadn't been able to relate before, but after coming to the countryside and seeing how many people knew my father, I was finally experiencing what he meant.
"They say she comes to Haenam when there's a festival. If you happen to see her, get an autograph for me."
"Really? But what are the chances I'd meet her?"
"You never know."
"Okay, I'll try if I somehow meet her."
I said okay to Suhyeon's insistence, but I didn't think I would actually have the chance.
"Let's stop that conversation there. So we all agree to spend this summer vacation at my house?"
"Okay. Confirmed."
"Now, let's all have a drink."
In the past, I would have joined them in drinking, but now I was refraining from alcohol and simply enjoying the atmosphere with them.
But even so, it was good. I picked up the cola in front of me and joined their toast.
"Cheers."
****
"One ticket to Haenam, please."
"Would you like an express bus?"
"Yes."
The next day, I went to the bus terminal and bought a ticket to Haenam.
I had originally planned to stay a few more days, but I had purchased a car much sooner than expected, so there was no reason to stay longer in Gwangju.
I was getting my meals there, but I had been slightly worried about leaving Nabi alone all this time, so I thought leaving early actually worked out for the best.
It takes about an hour and thirty minutes to Haenam, and since there are no rest stops along the way, I prepared drinks and snacks to eat on the bus.
I was waiting on the platform to board when my bus arrived.
"22A"
I liked window seats because I always ended up nodding off on the bus, so I preferred this side, which was good to lean against.
I didn't get sleepy when I drove, but strangely, I got drowsy whenever I rode in a car someone else was driving. I had heard this was a type of motion sickness, but I wasn't sure if that was accurate.
I sat in my seat and waited for departure; there were more people heading to Haenam than I had expected.
After watching people come aboard, I put on my earphones and started listening to music.
I closed my eyes to the music, and before long, I felt the bus engine start.
It seemed we would be leaving soon, and the cool sensation from the bus window felt so pleasant. And before I knew it, I leaned against it and fell asleep.
****
How long had we been driving?
I had dozed off, but I felt an inexplicable weight.
Something seemed to be pressing heavily on my left shoulder, so I quietly opened my eyes.
I checked what was pressing on my shoulder and was startled.
It was long, straight hair.
I had felt someone sit next to me before we departed, and the woman beside me was now sleeping while leaning her head on my shoulder.
I tried to wake her but stopped short. I felt like getting up would create an awkward situation for no reason.
So I decided to stay still.
Looking outside, Haenam wasn't far away; she would get up when we arrived, so I decided to wait.
I lent her my shoulder and quietly watched the scenery pass by outside the window, but her head was heavier than I had expected.
I had planned to endure it for just a moment, but she leaned more and more heavily, and I flinched involuntarily at the weight.
Perhaps my movement woke her.
The woman quietly began to lift her head. And when our eyes met, I sensed bewilderment in her eyes.
Her face seemed to turn red, and since she looked embarrassed, I spoke first.
"You must be very tired."
The woman seemed greatly flustered by my words and apologized.
"I'm sorry. I dozed off."
"It's alright. That can happen when you're tired."
I took out a chocolate from the snacks I had bought before departure and offered it to her.
"Eating this will help wake you up."
She hesitated awkwardly but accepted the chocolate I offered.
"Thank you."
Seeing her flustered appearance made me want to laugh for some reason, but I turned my head and looked out the window so as not to embarrass her.
And then I saw an announcement that we had arrived in Haenam.
*Welcome to Haenam, the Village at the End of the Land.*
****
A few days had passed since I returned from Gwangju.
And today, I was facing a very important task.
It was finally the first day of harvesting the crops I had planted.
I grabbed a large tray from the house and went out to the vegetable garden. The garden was full of lettuce and perilla leaves.
I had watered them from time to time and pulled weeds whenever they appeared. Since I hadn't laid down plastic mulch, there were a lot of weeds; I resolved to use mulch next year.
The lettuce and perilla leaves were lush and well-shaped, having grown much better than I had expected.
And I looked beside them.
Right next to them were green onions, peppers, and tomatoes, but they weren't doing as well as I had hoped.
After looking into it, it seemed this was because I had planted them earlier than the proper season for seedlings.
I had thought planting them together while I was at it wouldn't make much difference after a few weeks, but it seemed each crop had its own suitable farming method.
It was my misjudgment.
Still, it would just take more time; if I waited a bit longer, the rest of the crops would be harvestable too.
I squatted down and started picking lettuce.
Snip.
I plucked the outer leaves of the lettuce one by one, and the sound of them coming away was pleasant to hear. They said even if I picked them like this, they would grow back quickly, and I would have to pick and eat them again then.
After picking a handful of lettuce, I started on the perilla leaves this time.
When I began shaking the leaves, the scent of perilla rose, and it smelled wonderful.
"This is phytoncide."
In the city, people go to forest resorts specifically to enjoy the fragrance nature provides.
Without needing to do that, I was experiencing nature's fragrance right behind my house, and it seemed to put my mind at ease.
Feeling that scent, I took the picked perilla leaves and went back inside.
I started washing the lettuce and perilla leaves under running water, wondering what to make with them.
The original plan was to grill meat and wrap it with the lettuce and perilla leaves. But since I had eaten a lot of meat with my friends a few days ago, I didn't really feel like eating it that way.
I also thought about bibimbap with lettuce and perilla leaves, but I had mixed rice with bracken fern too much recently, so I wasn't particularly keen on that either.
Then, something crossed my mind.
"That would be perfect for lunch today."