“Choi Seol’s in the field, you said?”
“That’s what I’m telling you. You didn’t know? Honestly, what kind of friend treats him so badly that the kid’s out wandering around since dawn. Looks just like a lost sheep — no, a lost wolf. Damn, my eyes are having a feast, but it’s so pitiful I could cry just looking at him.”
“Noona, hold on a second.”
Normally I would’ve said something back to my sister’s nonsense, but I didn’t have the presence of mind for that. I ran straight out to the front gate in one breath. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go far to find him. Choi Seol wasn’t near the field my sister mentioned, but standing by the utility pole where the trash gets thrown out, together with the village head.
“Yeoreum’s up, huh.”
The village head spoke up first, recognizing me.
“Hello.”
“Came out at dawn and found this young man wandering around, lost. I caught him and was explaining things to him a bit.”
“Explaining what?”
“He was explaining the situation about yesterday’s accident.”
His voice was calm. Only then did I look at Choi Seol, and he spoke to me again as if nothing was wrong.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Is this the so-called beauty effect, where no matter how angry you are, it all melts away the moment you see his face? I’d meant to nag him the moment I found him, asking why he’d wandered off so early without a word, but all I managed was a shy nod.
“Han Yeoreum, you keep leaving me behind again— huh? You’re already over here. What’s Dad doing over there?”
Just then, my sister Hae-sook arrived, and the village head’s friendly expression changed completely.
“Hae-sook, you brat, why are you coming in now of all times! Your mom worried all night, you know. A girl who doesn’t know how to come home early.”
“How’s a cop supposed to come home early. Gotta catch the criminals.”
“What? Criminals? Is that something to brag about, you brat? I’m so embarrassed I can’t even tell people my daughter became a cop.”
“Oh, Dad. Still can’t keep up with the times. These days it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman doing the job. If anything, I catch criminals better than most.”
“I don’t care about times or whatever. All I know is, because you go around like that, no man comes near you. You think fine young men like these would like a tomboy like you.”
“I’m not getting married.”
“What! Why aren’t you getting married!”
Here we go again. Suddenly caught between the two of them, I quietly shifted closer to Choi Seol’s side. I hoped the sparks wouldn’t fly my way, but from experience, I knew that wish was hopeless.
“Yeoreum-ah, you say something here. What is this brat saying right now. That she’s gonna die an old maid her whole life, is that it.”
“Huh? Ah, that’s…”
“Why ask him. By that logic, these boys here are nearly thirty too — already old bachelors. Why’s it only a problem for me.”
“Thirty? Yeoreum, you’re already that old?”
“I still have three years left.”
I answered quickly and jabbed Choi Seol hard in the side. He looked at me like why are you doing that, and I tried to silently pressure him with a look that said isn’t this all because you went and wandered off at the crack of dawn, but it seemed like along with his memory, his perceptiveness had vanished too, because he just kept standing there blankly. I jabbed his side once more out of frustration, and that’s when it happened.
“Village head. Sorry to interrupt, but I have something to ask the officer. Would you mind if I borrowed her for a moment?”
It seemed Choi Seol’s perceptiveness had finally returned. My sister quickly picked up on it.
“Ah! Right. That’s exactly why I came out so early in the morning to get busy. Dad, go on in first.”
“Oh, oh. Right, got it. Our Hae-sook really is amazing at her job. I’ll head in first, just let me know if you need any help.”
The village head, having wrapped things up warmly by bragging about his daughter, went back inside. Of course, not without leaving a warning for my sister to come straight home the moment she was done.
“Seriously, I am getting out of this house for good.”
My sister ground her teeth once the village head was out of sight. If only she’d taken the exam in Seoul from the start and moved up there. Unable to leave her hometown, she’d been vowing for ten years, countless times over, that she would absolutely become independent.
“Thanks. You really saved me back there.”
My sister said, smiling at Choi Seol while brushing past me entirely.
“Anyway, I was surprised to see you out at dawn in a neighborhood you’re not even familiar with. I thought maybe Yeoreum had kicked you out.”
“I just wanted some fresh air.”
“Fair enough. The air’s nice here. They say that about every countryside, but our village especially has good scenery and is great for walks. Ask Yeoreum to show you around other places later.”
I glared at her, silently protesting why are you assigning me such a bothersome task, but my sister didn’t so much as glance my way. She looked like she didn’t even have time to spare for that.
“Well then, shall we get to the main point.”
True to the village head’s words, she really was a cop with a strong sense of professionalism through and through, because my sister brought up the actual matter, not just an excuse.
“So, about the car that got into the accident. I’m guessing my dad — well, the village head — already explained it, but you see this utility pole here. The car hit it. Seems like a rock flew up and shattered the windshield. As you asked, I contacted the insurance company and handled things on your behalf. It’s at the shop being repaired now, and since it’s a pretty expensive car, even with insurance, the repairs will probably take a while and cost quite a bit… But other than that, there shouldn’t be any other issues.”
My sister handed Choi Seol an envelope stamped with the police station’s mark.
“Here, this has Choi Seol’s personal information written on it. The address where you’re currently residing should be on the resident registration copy inside.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, and the location of your lost phone came up as the address on the registration. Seems pretty likely it’s still at your house — you probably never took it out with you. Your wallet’s probably the same. Once you go home, it should all get sorted out.”
Choi Seol had nothing to say about this part. My sister then turned her gaze to me. She seemed to want to say something with her eyes — probably telling me to pay more attention to him.
“Well, that’s all my business here. If you need any help, contact me through Yeoreum. I’ll help as much as I can. Oh, and this.”
The last thing my sister held out was a paper bag.
“Yeoreum asked me yesterday to get some clothes for Choi Seol to wear. I bought them based on some advice, so I hope you like them. If the size’s wrong, just tell me, I’ll swap it when I’m at work.”
“…Thank you.”
Choi Seol took the paper bag and looked back at me. I pretended not to notice that gaze and said goodbye to my sister instead.
“Noona, thanks. I’ll transfer the money to you later.”
“No rush.”
“I don’t want to get hit with crazy interest, though.”
“Tch, you don’t fall for it.”
My sister, looking a little disappointed, stuck her tongue out slightly and said she had to go listen to more nagging, then headed home. The chaos that had filled the place a moment ago went quiet. With it suddenly like this, things felt strangely awkward. At the hospital I’d had the role of guardian, at home the role of homeowner — I’d had some kind of role to play. But right now, I had no idea what part I was supposed to play. If I just start talking, it’ll probably be fine.
“What’s with going out for fresh air at the crack of dawn? I was startled when you disappeared.”
Though honestly, I’d thought it was a dream.
If it hadn’t been for my sister, I probably would’ve kept sleeping, brushing it off as nothing. That’s how unreal it still felt, standing here side by side with Choi Seol, looking out at the countryside rice paddies.
“I’m usually an early riser. Grandma didn’t sleep in much in the mornings, so waking up with her at that time just became a habit.”
Did I slip up again, mentioning Grandma? I wondered, but I kept my tone casual regardless.
“Yeah? That must’ve been tough.”
“Actually, I liked it, since getting up early meant I could do more things. Exercise, or study.”
“So… you’re saying you woke up at the crack of dawn to study?”
Choi Seol smirked at my disbelieving look.
“What do you think is the reason I got first place in the whole school without ever going to a cram school?”
“You didn’t even go to a cram school? So you’re saying you really self-studied?”
“Of course. I couldn’t put that kind of burden on Grandma.”
“Wow, that’s insane… You really must be smart.”
“…Guess so?”
“Of course you are. Hey, it’s not like effort alone makes everyone good at everything. If you got first place in the whole school without cram school, that already means you’ve got talent for studying. Without that, you can’t make it to first place. Your parents were probably both good students, or maybe some ancestor way back passed down some blessed studying genes to you.”
Studying was the easiest thing for me, I studied mainly from the textbooks — watching kids who said things like that used to make me feel pretty defeated, until I later realized those kinds of people were just born with natural talent for studying. I’d also belatedly learned that my own parents, though they’d attended school diligently, were the type who liked zoning out or skipping class during lessons.
“Now that I think about it, I heard from Grandma that Mom did well in school. Apparently she got into some expensive, prestigious university on a scholarship. Though because she had me, she ended up not graduating.”
Then what about your father? — I couldn’t bring myself to ask. If a woman had given birth alone and her own mother had raised the child by herself, then just like my sister said yesterday, there was clearly some story behind it. I wasn’t so oblivious that I’d ask about something he himself wasn’t bringing up. While I was agonizing over how to react, Choi Seol changed the subject first, as if to say the topic of his parents ended here.
“By the way, seeing you so surprised, I guess studying at dawn was unexpected?”
“Well… you never seemed diligent at school at all. I figured it was either private tutoring or you were some genius of the century.”
Choi Seol smirked and shrugged.
“True, I was a bit of a delinquent back then.”
“Back then?”
“Up until middle school, I was a pretty model student.”
Well, look at that. Never in my life did I think I’d hear the words “model student” come out of Choi Seol’s mouth. This really was like something out of a dream.
“Even though you weren’t a model student, you still got first place in school, so I’m guessing you’re bragging right now?”
“I can’t afford to give up on grades. That way, no one can look down on me for not having parents.”
“…..”
“Of course, all that effort ended up being useless anyway.”
His bitter voice scattered into the dawn air. I couldn’t find the right words, so I looked away. Then my eyes landed on the envelope Choi Seol had gotten from my sister.
“Are you gonna look at that?”
Why even ask something so obvious. Choi Seol followed my gaze and looked at the envelope in his hand.
“Later.”
But he pulled his gaze away immediately, then folded the envelope in half, as if trying to hide its contents from me. The reaction was so blatant that even I felt embarrassed watching it. I told myself it made sense since it was a document with his personal information in it, but I couldn’t help feeling a little hurt anyway. When I stayed quiet without saying anything more, this time it was Choi Seol who spoke first.
