Episode 27: Journey
"Minwoo, you're going to join the Youth Association too, right?"
I stood side by side with Yun Cheolmin on the farm road, talking about many things. Perhaps because we had things in common, despite the age gap we had become close quickly, and he recommended that I join the Youth Association.
"The Youth Association?"
I had heard that my father had been a member a long time ago, but I had never heard exactly what they did there.
"Yeah, seeing as you don't seem to know everyone's faces in the village yet, it'll be good to join the Youth Association and get to know people."
"Yes, but what do you do in the Youth Association?"
"Well... the original purpose was volunteer work like tidying the roads around the village and clearing weeds around unattended graves, but aside from that, we help each other with hard farm work or ceremonial occasions, and we meet up occasionally to have drinks."
"I see. Are there any special requirements to join?"
"The requirements are simple. Any man living in Bonghwang-ri between the ages of 20 and 60 can join."
After hearing Yun Cheolmin's words, I fell into thought. From what I knew, I had heard that Mandeok was the youngest in the village, so if I joined the Youth Association, it was clear that I, being the same age, would also end up as the youngest member.
*This is not good.*
Getting along well with the villagers wasn't bad, but I was concerned about entering as the youngest. I had already experienced being the youngest when working at a company, and I knew better than anyone that it was no easy task. Moreover, this was not the city but the countryside. It was a place with many elders who had conservative ways of thinking. The chances of having to do all sorts of menial tasks were extremely high.
*I can't let anything interfere with my healing.*
But Yun Cheolmin's intense gaze made it difficult to refuse. I was worried about what to do when a good idea came to mind.
"I would really love to join the Youth Association. But I have a concern."
"A concern?"
"When you meet for fellowship, do you drink often?"
"When we meet, we usually have dinner gatherings in the evening."
At Yun Cheolmin's words, I cheered inwardly.
"Actually, I've made a resolution not to drink, and I've found that some of the elders don't really understand that."
"You don't drink? Do you have gout?"
"It's not that. Before my father passed away from liver cancer, he left a will telling me not to drink."
"I see. Well, Uncle Donghui did drink quite a lot."
At my words, he showed a reaction of understanding.
"So I'd like to attend gatherings, but it would be hard for me to drink. If that's alright, I'd like to join the Youth Association."
"Hmm... that's tricky. I don't mind, but there are some elders who insist on drinking. If you refuse, you might get scolded for being rude..."
This was exactly what I had aimed for.
"Exactly. That's why I'm a bit worried."
"Then for now, I'll ask the elders for their opinion about your joining and let you know later."
"Thank you for understanding my situation, sunbae."
"Don't mention it. My father passed away a few years ago too, so I understand how you feel."
Thanks to this broad-minded sunbae, it seemed I could get out of joining the Youth Association, but then he smiled brightly and said to me.
"Still, you can come to the alumni association. The seniors there are understanding even if you don't drink."
"Huh?"
****
When I returned home, I checked the clock and saw that it was past twelve.
*Already this late.*
I quickly changed into neat clothes and prepared to go out. Actually, today I had a more important schedule than looking for a tractor: meeting my former homeroom teacher. Last time I met Areum, I heard that she was working as the vice principal at an elementary school in the town. I had been thinking of visiting on Teacher's Day, and today was exactly that day.
*What should I buy to take?*
Going empty-handed felt a bit wrong, so I wanted to buy a gift, but since this was my first time doing so, I was worried. I had been thinking for several days about what would be good, but in the end I thought it would be best to ask Areum, so I called her.
"Hello."
"Areum, I'm about to go see the teacher. Is there anything she particularly likes?"
"Mom? You're going today?"
"Yeah, today's Teacher's Day."
"Ah, right. It is Teacher's Day. You're buying Mom a gift?"
"Yeah, tell me what the teacher likes."
"Well..."
Even though she was her daughter, I thought she would know what her mother liked, but Areum's answer was vague.
"Isn't there anything she likes?"
"Mom does like flowers..."
"I was already planning to buy flowers. Is there anything else?"
"Something else... Ah, she likes sweet potato bread these days."
"Sweet potato bread?"
"Yeah, it's bread shaped like sweet potatoes from a bakery in town. She likes that."
"They have something like that?"
"Yeah, she'll probably love it if you buy that for her. I'll send you the address."
****
"I think this is the place..."
Arriving at the address Areum had given me, I found a bakery with an unusual name.
*Ding-a-ling.*
Going inside, it wasn't as big as I had expected, but there were still many different kinds of bread.
"Hello. Welcome to Maison de Bin."
While I was looking around at the bread, a woman who appeared to be the owner came out from inside the shop and greeted me.
"I heard you have something called sweet potato bread. What is it like?"
"The ones in the back there are the sweet potato bread. They have sweet potato mousse made directly from sweet potatoes inside, so they're delicious."
I went to where the woman had guided me and found bread that looked exactly like real sweet potatoes. Not only the shape but also the color had a brownish hue like sweet potatoes, and they looked like a convenient size to pick up and eat one by one.
"Can these be packaged in a box?"
"Yes, we can. We put six in one box. Shall I package them for you?"
"Then please package two boxes."
"Just a moment."
The woman approached and began packaging the sweet potato bread in boxes, but suddenly she started glancing at me. Feeling somewhat strange, I asked her.
"Is there something on my face?"
Perhaps embarrassed at being caught looking at me, her face turned red as she spoke.
"No, it's just... haven't we met on the bus before?"
At her words, I recalled my memories. The bakery owner was the woman who had leaned on me and slept on the bus the other day.
"Ah, you were very tired back then..."
"I knew it was you. I am truly sorry about that time."
The woman apologized for what had happened then and bowed her head. I hadn't expected to meet her again in a place like this. And suddenly, she began putting a few more sweet potato breads into the box. Then she said to me.
"You gave me chocolate last time, so I'll give you these on the house. I'm not just saying that because I made them—they're really delicious."
There was no need for her to go that far, but since she was giving them as service, the natural thing to do was to enjoy them gratefully, so I thanked her.
"Thank you. I'll come by often from now on."
****
Having secured some extra sweet potato bread on the house, I headed toward the elementary school where the teacher worked.
The teacher's name was written in front of the vice principal's office, and seeing the name I hadn't seen in so long filled me with joy.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
I knocked carefully and heard a voice from inside.
"Please come in."
Opening the door and entering, the teacher peeked her head from beside the computer monitor, saw me, and smiled.
"It's Minwoo, right?"
"Yes, Teacher. I'm Lee Minwoo."
The teacher stood up from her seat, approached, and held my hands with both of hers.
"How long has it been? You've grown so much I wouldn't recognize you if I passed you on the street."
"It's really been a long time since I came, hasn't it? I'm sorry."
"It happens when you're busy making a living. I actually just got a call from Areum and was waiting for you."
The teacher welcomed me so warmly that the awkwardness of meeting after so long eased a little, and I gave her the gift I had brought.
"I heard you like these, so I bought them."
The teacher was delighted to see the carnations and sweet potato bread.
"I was actually craving these. Let's have coffee together with the bread."
The teacher took my hand, seated me in a chair, and began making coffee. I watched her and could feel that quite a lot of time had passed. Her long hair had become permed, she now wore glasses she hadn't worn before, and many more wrinkles had formed on her face. Still, if there was one thing that hadn't changed, it was the warm, kind smile she always wore. The teacher, having made the coffee, sat across from me and spoke carefully.
"I heard that your father passed away and you returned to farming?"
"Yes, it ended up that way."
"You must have had a difficult time emotionally."
The teacher took my hands again to comfort me. Something like this had happened before, too.
"At first I was upset and out of sorts, but I decided to think that he hadn't passed away but had gone on a long journey."
"A journey?"
"Yes. Father is on his journey, and I am on mine. We'll meet again later after traveling separately."
"What a lovely thing to say."
The teacher told me it was a nice thing to say, but I laughed. It was because these were the words the teacher had said to me when my mother passed away long ago. I had forgotten, but meeting the teacher like this brought the memory back suddenly.
My mother had passed away when I was young, and I hadn't wanted to go to school. I wasn't ready to accept that my mother was gone, and I didn't have the confidence to explain it to my friends. So I pretended to go to school to my father and spent my time at an arcade in town before coming home. Because when I played games, I could forget all my worries. I spent several days like that until the teacher came for a home visit. I was worried the teacher would tell my father I hadn't been going to school, but she didn't say anything to him. And she called me aside to speak with me.
"Teacher doesn't have a mother, either."
"You don't, Teacher?"
"Yes. Teacher also lost her mother when I was about your age..."
The teacher spoke to me softly about her own story.
"At first, Teacher was very sad too. Why did this happen to me? I resented the world and didn't want to go to school."
"So what did you do?"
The teacher knelt down to meet me at eye level and spoke.
"I cried alone for several days and was upset, but as I cried and grew tired, I began to think: what if Mom didn't pass away but went on a very long journey."
"A journey?"
"When you grow up, you'll leave your parents' side, become independent, and get married, right? Then you'll naturally live apart from your parents. Teacher decided to think that Mom went on a long journey, and that time just came a little sooner for me."
The teacher spoke gently, and somehow my heart felt at ease.
"Minwoo, try thinking that Mom went on a long journey, just like Teacher did. Though you're apart now, eat well and study hard, and later, after a long time has passed, when you meet Mom after her journey has ended, you can tell her about everything that happened."
Hearing the teacher's words, I felt a lump in my throat. The teacher seemed to know how I felt and spoke while stroking my head.
"To do that, you'll have to be a good boy, won't you?"
I felt guilty about not going to school.
"Yes, I'll be good until I meet Mom again."