CHAPTER 4

“Our lovely daughter, it’s time to wake up.”

A gentle voice echoed in her ear. It was a voice full of affection. The air in the room was warm, and the fluffy blanket emitted a pleasant fragrance.

A smile naturally formed on Siyeon’s lips. She seemed to be dreaming of a premonition before her death.

“Siyeon, remember that we’re going to your grandfather’s house in Suwon to pay our respects today.”

Her mother gently brushed the hair that had fallen onto her cheek behind her ear and lightly shook her shoulder. Her mother’s voice and touch felt so vivid that it was almost like reality.

“Yeah… I don’t want to yet… just a little more.”

With her eyes closed, Siyeon buried her face deeper into the blanket and playfully protested.

This was a memory from a long time ago, back when Siyeon was growing up as the beloved daughter of her Ichon-dong parents. In her dream, she was returning to the happiest time of her life. She didn’t want to wake up from this dream, ever.

“You should go and greet the adults. Gwihyeon is about to go into the military and Ijun is going to the United States, so it might be hard to see them for a while. So, go and say your goodbyes warmly.”

“..Gwihyeon… oppa…?”

At the mention of Gwihyeon, her throat tightened, and tears welled up in her eyes. Her heart raced, and she struggled to catch her breath.

“Is… the funeral… over?”

She asked with a voice mixed with tears.

“Why are you suddenly talking about a funeral? Are you dreaming, Siyeon? Wake up quickly, we’re supposed to go and pay our respects before the Lunar New Year.”

“…Ouch!”

When she lightly pinched Siyeon’s cheek, she could feel the vivid pain from her hand. Siyeon blinked her eyes wide open, her gaze lost and blinking in confusion.

Holding her cheek, Siyeon looked up and was surprised to see her Ichon-dong mother. She was startled and quickly sat up in bed.

“Oh dear, my child. I’m sorry if it hurt. But we can’t be late when our elders are waiting. Get up then wash up, and have some food. I made plenty of seaweed soup with lots of beef, just the way you like it. You should eat it while it’s hot.”

“… Mother. Why are you here…?”

Siyeon muttered with a bewildered expression. Before her was her mother, much younger than her last memory of her.

“Siyeon…?”

“I’m dead… why are you here… Could it be that you’ve also passed away?”

“…Siyeon.”

“Did father has also passed away?”

Siyeon’s trembling question made her mother’s face stiffen instantly.

“Honey, come over here! Siyeon, what’s wrong with you? Since when have you been feeling unwell, huh? When did it become like this?”

“I came home from the funeral house… The house was so cold, so I lit a candle…”

“Siyeon, why are you scaring me like this?”

In the end, her mother pulled Siyeon into a hug and burst into tears. The feeling of her shoulders embracing her was too vivid, and Siyeon couldn’t convince herself anymore that she was still in a dream.

“Honey, what’s going on? What happened?”

Her father burst into the room, looking back and forth between his crying wife and Siyeon.

“… Father…?”

“…”

“…Siyeon!”

Her father was at a loss for words, and her mother’s crying grew louder than before. Looking at her father’s pale face as he stared at her, Siyeon realized that she shouldn’t say anything more.

She tightly sealed her lips and glanced around the room, avoiding her father’s gaze. This was her Ichon-dong house. The desk, the bookshelf, the bed, and the vanity – everything was exactly the same as her old room.

Amidst this, Siyeon looked into the mirror on the vanity and was shocked by what she saw. She had the face of when she was a young girl.

“H-How did this happen…?”

Stunned by the unbelievable sight, Siyeon raised her head and asked. Somehow, she had been transported back to being a high school student, in the winter break of her first year of high school, right before the Lunar New Year.

Her father spoke in a calm voice, breaking the silence.

“Do you remember that we were going to your grandfather’s house in Suwon today? We were going to greet him before the holiday, and a sort of farewell before Gwihyeon goes to the military. Right, Siyeon?”

“Is Gwihyeon really alive?”

In response to her incredulous question, her father paused for a moment. Seeing his eyes wavering with uncertainty, Siyeon quickly changed her demeanor, raising her hand as if to brush it off.

“No! I’m fine. I was just… still half-asleep. I’m awake now.”

‘What on earth is going on? Was that all just a dream then…?’

“Siyeon, are you really okay?”

“Are you really okay?”

Her mother asked with a worried expression, gently stroking her cheek. Feeling the tender touch, Siyeon decided to think that she had just experienced a long nightmare. This moment was too warm and happy, and she didn’t want to entertain any more doubts.

Siyeon made up her mind to treat Choi Eunhye and her parents from Hannam-dong as fictional characters suddenly appearing in her life and not think about them anymore. Even if she considered it all a dream, her heart still ached and was heavy.

* * *

Inside the car heading to Suwon.

“Siyeon, have some packed lunch.”

“Okay.”

Sitting in the back seat, Siyeon responded to her mother, who was in the passenger seat, by taking out a three-tiered lunchbox from the basket on her lap.

For some reason, her heart raced, and she couldn’t bring herself to breakfast. Noticing her lack of appetite, her mother had prepared a lunchbox with fruits, salad, and a sandwich, all of Siyeon’s favorites. It was a subtle way of suggesting that she should eat slowly during the ride to Suwon.

“Are you really… sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. I said earlier that I was sleep-talking because I wasn’t fully awake.”

Perhaps still concerned about the morning shock, her mother turned back with a worried expression. Only when Siyeon smiled did her mother relax and straighten her posture.

“Since Gwihyeon is going to the military soon, and if Ijun goes to the United States as well, the house will be quiet.”

“If we visit today, Grandfather will probably mention marriage again.”

Siyeon’s father chuckled as he responded.

“It’s ridiculous to think of marrying off Siyeon to Gwihyeon once she graduates high school. Even your mother said not to mention marriage until Siyeon graduates from college. I don’t understand why they’re so sensitive about this when they’re going to get married eventually.”

“They probably feel that way because Siyeon is the only granddaughter on our side.”

“They keep saying she’s their only granddaughter, yet they don’t even come to visit her properly as often as they should.”

“Honey.”

The husband gently interjected, cutting off his wife’s complaints. Finally realizing that Siyeon was in the back seat, her mother quickly changed the subject.

“Right. I wonder how long your mother will stay in Hannam-dong. She’s getting older, so it would be nice if she could move closer to us.”

“She has a close friend who lives in the neighborhood.”

“Who are these friends? Frankly, among her friends, there’s no one we know. And it’s not like she’s doing anything special there, anyway.”

Listening to the conversation between her parents from the backseat, Siyeon sat frozen in the back, fork in hand. It was because of what they were saying about her grandmother living in Hannam-dong.

‘I really didn’t want to bring up this topic. Before her passing, our grandmother strictly told me never to tell you about this.’

“…”

Her heart started to beat rapidly. The boundary between dream and reality crumbled, making it hard to distinguish between them.

“By the way, Siyeon, be kind to Ijun when you meet him. He’s going to be part of the family, so if you keep acting all awkward, it will just get weirder later on.”

“Yes, I will.”

Siyeon shook her head, trying to clear her confused thoughts, and started moving her fork. She didn’t want to bring the horrifying nightmare into reality.

* * *

Jeong Gwihyeon and his younger brother, Ijun, were the 18th-generation descendants of the Seorae Jeong Clan, known for their sharp wit. Although they were brothers, their personalities were polar opposites.

Unlike Gwihyeon, who had always been well-mannered, his two-year-younger brother, Ijun, was mischievous. When Ijun was young, he climbed the precious centuries-old tree in their ancestral home and fell with its branches, or accidentally set fire to their ancestral home’s shrine. These stories of his mishaps were still often told among the people of their class.

Since they were young, Ijun would pester her whenever he saw her, and Siyeon would run away at the mere sight of his hair.

Just two years older than her, he managed to exhaust her whenever they met. When Ijun had once played with her handkerchief and lost it, she had resolved never to speak to him again.

One memory of Ijun always stood out. It was from the day when Siyeon visited Suwon’s ancestral home with her father when she was little. Ijun had caught a silky eel from the pond with a net and thrown it at her while she was sitting quietly in the yard.

The eel, vibrant red and massive, wriggled vigorously on her small knees, emanating a pungent smell of water. Overwhelmed by fear and shock, she had been unable to move and could only cry uncontrollably. Even long after that incident, just recalling the memory sent shivers down her spine.

“I caught the biggest eel in our house.”

Ijun proudly boasted, holding up an eel to her thighs.

The slippery eel, flapping like it was hooked, had fortunately found its way back to the pond quickly, and Ijun, who had come running, was dragged away by her surprised mother, receiving a scolding in a corner. He never fully apologized, enduring a few more scoldings from Siyeon’s mother.

In the end, Siyeon received an apology from Ijun’s older brother, Gwihyeon instead, on that day. She couldn’t recall the exact words, but she remembered it was a plea for forgiveness for his brother’s rudeness.

Her father had comforted her as she sobbed and when her crying subsided, Ijun’s grandfather held her, offering another apology. Among the men in Ijun’s family, only Ijun seemed odd and quirky.

Ijun probably just wanted to show you the eel. Will you forgive Ijun?”

Her grandfather stroked her forehead gently as he spoke with a kind tone and a gentle look in his eyes.

Siyeon couldn’t quite understand how throwing an eel and showing it to her were similar things, but looking at his apologetic grandfather, she decided to forgive him.

“Yes, I will.”

“You’re a good girl.”

Wiping away the remaining tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, Siyeon nodded obediently. A pleased smile formed at the corners of Ijun’s grandfather’s eyes.

* * *

“Even though Ijun seems blunt on the outside, he has a warm heart.”

As she reminisced about the past, Siyeon returned to the present at her mother’s words.

“I still remember when Ijun threw the eel at me when I was young.”

Her somewhat grumpy response made her father, who was driving, and her mother sitting next to him burst into laughter simultaneously.

“Why did Ijun choose to study abroad instead of attending a university here in Korea?”

“I’m sure he probably has his reasons. Going to the eastern United States might have its merits.”

“What do you think about living in the United States?”

“….”

Without saying a word, Siyeon took a slow bite of her sandwich.