Episode 4: Braided Hair
He still wasn’t completely familiar with the house’s layout, but fortunately, he was able to find the living room without difficulty.
The room across from the place he had frequently come and gone to during meals was the living room.
He knew that typical hanoks had a main floored room where sitting on the floor was the norm, but this house used three separate structures—one as a room, one as a dining hall, and the remaining room across from it as a living room.
The living room was decorated with leather sofas that looked expensive at a glance and a high-quality carpet that was clearly imported.
It had an atmosphere exactly like the upscale cigar bar he had stopped by during a business trip to England.
It was the 1930s, the Japanese colonial era.
What on earth did they do, and how much wealth did they have, to decorate a house so well and live like this in this era?
Slightly puzzled, I Juhyeok entered the living room.
There, a man in a suit who looked about Sanghyeon’s age and, beside him, a girl… no, a young woman in a white jeogori and black chima, her hair in two braided pigtails, were sitting together.
‘A man in a sharp suit, round silver-rimmed glasses, and neatly combed hair, and a girl in a modest hanbok…’
The appearances of the two and the atmosphere of the living room blended together strangely, making Juhyeok feel even more acutely that he was living in the 1930s.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you greeting them?”
Min Jeongsuk entered the living room and said to Juhyeok, who was standing there awkwardly, in a low voice as if scolding him.
“Hahaha, sister-in-law, really. Sanghyeon already told me what Juhyeok is going through right now. Don’t scold him too much.”
The man laughed heartily.
“But you came all the way here because you were so worried……”
“If you act like this, sister-in-law, both I and Dayeong will be too embarrassed. Hahaha.”
Juhyeok hurriedly bowed and sat on the sofa across from the braided-haired girl.
“Ah, hello… sir.”
“Yes, I already heard all about you. They still haven’t caught those bastards?”
“…….”
When Juhyeok said nothing, Min Jeongsuk interjected.
“We received separate word that the Police Bureau is doing its best, but since the incident happened in such a sparsely populated area…”
“Don’t worry too much, sister-in-law. I’m looking into it separately as well. Hahaha.”
“I just want our child to return to how he was before quickly……”
Jeongsuk pressed her eyes with a handkerchief again.
“I heard from Sanghyeon that he’ll recover in a few days, so don’t worry too much.”
The silver-rimmed glasses, who had been comforting Jeongsuk, teased the braided-haired girl.
“Dayeong! You made such a fuss today insisting you absolutely had to see Juhyeok, so why are you so quiet? Hahaha.”
“Father……”
The braided-haired girl pouted at the silver-rimmed glasses, her face bright red.
“Alright, I got it, I got it. The adults have things to talk about, so you two go take a stroll in the garden together. Hahaha.”
The braided-haired girl got up from the sofa as if she had been waiting for those words, and Juhyeok, feeling what seemed like a glaring gaze directed at him, had no choice but to stand up as well.
“I heard Sanghyeon went to Incheon? How is the rice mill business these days?”
“Yes, well, these days……”
* * *
Behind Juhyeok and the braided-haired girl, who were exiting the living room awkwardly, the adults’ conversation could be heard.
Having left the living room, Juhyeok had nothing in particular to say and the atmosphere was awkward, so he silently walked slowly toward the pond where he had played with the carp earlier.
The girl seemed already acquainted with all the people working in this house.
They all bowed to the braided-haired girl, who followed silently, and she too smiled gently and inclined her head.
When he glanced at her repeatedly, she was the “beauty” type with quite distinct features.
Her smile looked kind, and she seemed to be about Juhyeok’s age, but perhaps because of the two braided pigtails, she felt younger than she actually was.
Her height was moderate, and her figure was, hmm… hard to tell since she was wearing a hanbok.
Anyway, seeing how familiar she was with the household members, she seemed to have been close to them for a while, but he had no idea who she was…….
When they arrived at the pond and he lightly clapped his hands, the carp inevitably swarmed over.
He thought he should bring something to feed them next time.
“How could you!”
A whimpering voice was heard from behind Juhyeok, who had been looking at the carp.
When he turned around, the braided-haired girl was pouting with an expression that looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.
For some reason, these days women who met Juhyeok all burst into tears first.
“I was so worried I couldn’t even sleep. It was really scary……”
If there weren’t eyes watching nearby, she looked like she would rush in and hit him.
“No, it’s……”
“Forget it, since I’ve seen your face like this. I’m relieved you look better than I was worried about.”
A posture that looked like she would rush to hit him, yet with affectionate eyes…….
Women’s expressions were truly difficult to understand.
“Don’t smile like such a fool. You’re making me hate you more. Hmph.”
It was still incomprehensible to Juhyeok’s brain.
The women he had known before were all women in military uniforms who ended their sentences in the terse, formal “da-nakka” style.
So conversations with them had always been concise and easy to understand…….
Min Jeongsuk waved her hand at the main gate and called Juhyeok.
“I’ve seen your face and confirmed you’re safe, so I’ll just go today. But don’t forget what you promised me before!”
“Ah… no, what promise……?”
“Don’t tell me you forgot? If you keep doing this, I’ll really get mad. I’ll give you some special time, so think about it carefully. Hmph.”
Muttering to herself, she walked quickly toward the main gate where Jeongsuk and the silver-rimmed glasses were waiting, her braided pigtails swaying left and right.
“We rushed out today because this girl wouldn’t stop nagging, so I forgot, but stop by the house one of these days. I bought you an entrance gift. Take good care of your health.”
Behind the silver-rimmed glasses’ benevolent smile, the braided-haired girl, looking completely different from her earlier self, bowed politely to Jeongsuk.
* * *
It seemed a commotion had ended.
A pleasant commotion that made one smile for no reason.
As Juhyeok was walking back to his room in a good mood, the mop-headed boy latched onto him at some point.
“Hmm……”
He looked Juhyeok up and down and shook his head.
An expression that said he was utterly pathetic.
What did I do to make him look at me like this?
At the sight of him even sighing and stubbornly shaking his head, Juhyeok’s face turned red for no reason.
“Young master, really……”
He looks younger than me too, this kid.
“No, to think you don’t understand a woman’s heart at all… tsk tsk tsk.”
I may look like this now, but I’m thirty years old, thirty!
And looking at her, yeah! She’s totally just a kid, a kid! Th-that’s a crime, a crime!
Besides, I still don’t even know who she is or what relationship she has with me.
‘Wait… what am I seriously trying to argue about right now?’
‘Maybe because my body got younger, my thoughts seem to be getting childish for no reason.’
* * *
At the same time. At a rice mill in Incheon.
I Sanghyeon, who had set out since dawn, finished checking the account books and was verifying whether the new rice milling machine recently imported from Japan was running properly.
“President. This machine is much faster, and it can subdivide the milling stages more precisely, so it’s very helpful for the work. Those Japanese bastards seem quite skilled with their hands.”
Kim, the foreman in charge of operating the rice mill, approached him.
I Sanghyeon simply nodded without taking his eyes off the newly purchased machine.
“By the way, President. We need to hire some people.”
“Why? We got new machines too, so with the current volume, we should have enough people, shouldn’t we?”
“Well… it seems Mr. Heo, whom you know, and several others suffered heavy losses at the Miduchwiinso this time.”
I Sanghyeon looked at Foreman Kim in surprise upon hearing the word “Miduchwiinso.”
‘These days, I heard many people have committed suicide because of that…’
“Those people somehow heard a rumor in Manchuria that the Japanese were acting suspiciously, and thinking rice prices would rise, they pooled together every penny they had and invested it all, only to……”
Foreman Kim seemed regretful as well.
“But since rice prices kept falling… I don’t even know where those merchants are now. They probably absconded in the night with their families.”
“Recruit as many new people as we need, just as you said, Foreman Kim, and please keep looking for that Mr. Heo. Let me know if you find him.”
“Yes, President.”
“And if any of the rice mill presidents who suffered damage this time are selling their mills cheap, let me know. If possible, let’s buy them.”
“Understood, President.”
After thoroughly inspecting every corner of the rice mill once more with Foreman Kim, I Sanghyeon hurriedly left the mill so as not to miss his train.
Upon leaving the rice mill, he noticed that there were noticeably more Japanese people walking the streets and rice mills with Japanese signs than before.
Seeing this, I Sanghyeon clicked his tongue in frustration and quickened his steps toward the station.
* * *
It was only after a week of coming home that I Juhyeok was able to adapt somewhat to his changed life.
After adapting to the surroundings for a few days, he decided it was time to start exercising to rebuild his body.
He felt that if he sweated profusely, he might be able to clear his complicated head a little.
His exercise began with a morning run.
Unlike the crowded streets full of people and noisy cars that Juhyeok had experienced before, it was easy to run here.
There was no exhaust smoke or fine dust at all.
The first week was thirty minutes, and from then on, unconditionally at least an hour.
Perhaps because the original owner of the body had exercised adequately in daily life, he was able to quickly return to the physical condition he had during his active military service.
And an even greater gain was that mop-top… no, Yeongsu.
Yeongsu, who had started running with Juhyeok from the third day of his exercise, told him everything about the original owner’s surroundings that Juhyeok had known nothing about, down to the most trivial details.
That his parents had had a rare love marriage in those days, and that Yeojudaek had come together with his mother when she married into the family.
That the silver-rimmed glasses’ name was Mun Hongsu and he was Sanghyeon’s close friend who had studied in Japan with him, and that the braided-haired girl’s name was Dayeong and she was Juhyeok’s childhood friend.
That Yeongsu’s own father seemed to like Yeojudaek but was needlessly watching his reaction.
And about the household members, Juhyeok’s friends, and their personalities, and so on.
Thanks to Yeongsu, I Juhyeok was able to vividly picture the original owner’s surroundings as if watching a biographical film of one person.
He had probably heard somewhere that Juhyeok might have slight amnesia and was doing his utmost to help in his own way.
Anyway, though young in age, he seemed undoubtedly a child with a deep, thoughtful heart.
The problem was that he occasionally acted like an adult and rubbed Juhyeok the wrong way.
Just like today.
“Young master!”
“……?”
“Please pay some attention to the Master and Madam.”
After finishing the run, Yeongsu, who had been helping Juhyeok wash his back with warm water prepared by Yeojudaek, suddenly said with a serious expression.
“I know well that the young master isn’t originally an affectionate person, but these days the Madam is in tears every day. They say since you were discharged, you’ve never called her ‘Mother’ affectionately even once?”
‘So he heard it from Yeojudaek.’
After living with them for several days, he could fully feel every moment how much those two loved their son.
But Juhyeok, who had grown up an orphan, had never even spoken words like “father” or “mother.”
And above all, he felt sorry to those two, who didn’t know that someone else had entered the body of their child instead of the original owner.
‘Since this situation seems like an unchangeable reality, shouldn’t I adapt and try too?’
Suddenly, cold water brisk enough to snap his mind awake was poured onto Juhyeok’s back.
“Ah, it’s cold!”
“And to Lady Dayeong, please… you know?”
“Hey! Why does that story come up at this point?”
‘You brat! Just wait until it’s your turn!’
As Juhyeok and Yeongsu were bickering like that, a policeman entered through the main gate.