Chapter 14. The Way Back
Two days later, Eun-chae returned the keys to the real estate agent and took one last look around the empty house. The living room, with nothing left in it, felt strangely freeing.
In the taxi headed for the terminal, Eun-chae held two boxes and her backpack on her lap. She had carefully tucked the album inside the backpack, between her clothes.
After buying her bus ticket, Eun-chae sat down in the waiting area and called Grandma.
“Gran, I’m at the terminal to catch my bus.”
“What time will you get here?”
“It takes three and a half hours, so I think I’ll arrive around six.”
“Okay. I’ll have dinner ready.”
“What are you making?”
“You’ll find out when you get here.”
Eun-chae hung up with a smile. When she checked her phone, she saw that the battery was almost dead. As she pulled out her portable charger and plugged it in, she looked up at the electronic departure board.
When the bus arrived, Eun-chae took a window seat and put the boxes in the seat beside her. As the bus left the terminal, Seoul’s skyscrapers slowly receded into the distance.
After about two hours, the view outside began to change. Rice fields spread out where apartment complexes had been. Eun-chae took out her earbuds and cracked the window open. The familiar smell of earth drifted in.
By the time she got off at the bus stop, the evening sunlight lay low across the road. Holding one box in each hand, Eun-chae walked along the familiar path. By now, it was a road she could find even with her eyes closed.
When the guesthouse sign came into view, her pace quickened. As she entered the yard, she saw that the lettuce in the kitchen garden had grown noticeably in just a few days.
“Gran!”
“You’re here.”
Grandma came down from the veranda to greet Eun-chae. Her knees looked much lighter than before.
“Gran, your knees look pretty good.”
“You weren’t around, so I forced myself to move a little more. Turns out they got better.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Grandma gave a short laugh and reached for the box Eun-chae was carrying.
“That’s heavy. Put it down. I’ll carry it.”
“No, I’ll carry this one. You just take that one.”
After a brief tug-of-war, they split the boxes between them and went inside. Dinner was already laid out on the living-room table. There was plenty of doenjang stew and all kinds of vegetables Eun-chae loved.
“Gran, did you make all this because I was coming?”
“Of course. You’re coming home for the first time in a while.”
As Eun-chae sat down, she felt as if she had truly come home for the first time in ages. She had lived here for only a little over two months, but it felt more familiar than her house in Seoul.
“Gran, did we have any guests while I was gone?”
“One group came by. Everything went smoothly.”
“Really? You did fine without me.”
“Of course I did. I was the one who used to handle it, anyway.”
While they ate, Eun-chae reached into her bag for the album, then stopped. She didn’t want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the evening.
I’ll show her later.
Eun-chae put the album back in her bag and picked up her spoon instead.
After they finished dinner and washed the dishes, Eun-chae began unpacking. She opened the two boxes in one corner of the room and took things out one by one.
A few books, some clothes, and the diary she used to keep. Eun-chae flipped through the diary and let out a small laugh. The meeting schedules and deadlines she had filled its pages with back when she worked at the company felt strangely unfamiliar.
When she finished unpacking and stepped out of the room, she found Grandma knitting on the veranda.
“Gran, I’m all unpacked.”
“Your room must look a little fuller now.”
“Yeah. But I really didn’t have much. I lived there for over two years, and everything fit in two boxes.”
Grandma looked at Eun-chae, knitting needles still in her hands.
“That’s not a bad thing. Having less stuff.”
“I guess not.”
Eun-chae sat on the veranda and looked out at the yard. Starlight glimmered faintly over the kitchen garden, now covered in darkness.
“Gran, nothing really happened while I was gone?”
“Nothing happened. The guests were good, and the neighborhood was quiet.”
“That’s a relief.”
“But.”
Grandma paused her knitting and turned toward Eun-chae.
“Your mother called.”
Eun-chae’s expression tightened slightly.
“Mom did? What did she say?”
“Nothing serious. She just asked whether you’d gotten to Seoul safely and whether you were doing all right with the unpacking.”
“That’s all?”
Grandma hesitated before answering.
“And one more thing.”
“What?”
“She said she’d be coming down here soon. She hasn’t picked a date yet.”
Eun-chae glanced toward her bag. The album was inside.
“Gran, I found something in Seoul.”
“What?”
Eun-chae got up, went into her room, and brought out the album. Sitting on the veranda, she opened it to the page with the photograph.
“This.”
Grandma took the album and looked at the picture. Her expression slowly hardened.
Her fingertips paused over the photograph. Her eyes lingered on the face for a long time, filled with complicated emotions.
Eun-chae watched her quietly. She didn’t press her.
“Do you remember this person?”
Instead of answering, Grandma brought the photograph a little closer. She checked the writing on the back as well. “Sandeul Haven Guesthouse, that summer.”
“Where did you get this?”
“From Mom’s album. I found it while I was unpacking.”
Grandma turned the photograph faceup again. Only after a long while did she speak.
“...He was a guest who stayed here that summer.”
“A guest?”
“Your mother was here then, too, and that man came as a guest.”
Eun-chae held her breath and waited for what came next.
“That’s all? He was just a guest?”
Without taking her eyes off the photograph, Grandma slowly shook her head.
“That wasn’t all.”
“Then what was it?”
Grandma slipped the photograph back into the album and looked at Eun-chae.
“There’s more your mother needs to tell you herself. All I did was watch from the side.”
“But you know something, too. I can tell from your face.”
Grandma let out a short sigh. It was the first time in a long while that Eun-chae had seen her look so weighed down.
“That summer... a lot of things happened. Good things and bad things.”
“What bad things?”
Instead of answering, Grandma stood up. She braced a hand against her knee as she rose, moving more slowly than usual.
“Let’s leave it at that for tonight.”
“Gran.”
“Eun-chae.”
Grandma turned to her. Her voice was low but firm.
“Your mother needs to come here and tell you this herself. I don’t want to take away what’s hers to tell.”
Eun-chae couldn’t question her any further. From the look in Grandma’s eyes, she could feel that this wasn’t just some simple story from the past.
“Okay. I’ll ask her when she comes.”
Grandma nodded and handed the album back to Eun-chae.
“Take good care of this. You can show it to your mother when she comes.”
Eun-chae accepted the album and held it against her chest. By then, complete darkness had settled over the yard.
“Okay, I will.”
Eun-chae carefully hugged the album to herself and stood up. Grandma was already heading into the main house.
“Good night, Gran.”
“Yeah. You too.”
Back in her room, Eun-chae placed the album on her desk and sat quietly beside it. The man’s face in the photograph kept floating before her eyes.
Good things and bad things happened.
Grandma’s words circled through her mind. Her curiosity remained, but she decided not to push for answers anymore. It seemed right to wait until Mom, and Grandma, brought up the story at their own pace.
Eun-chae opened the window and let the night breeze wash over her. The soft chirping of insects drifted in from the kitchen garden. It was a sound she could never hear in Seoul.
Starting tomorrow, it’s back to normal.
She had cleaning to catch up on, the next booking to check, and the kitchen garden to tend. Eun-chae took out her phone and opened the spreadsheet. A few tasks had piled up during the days she’d been away.
Prepare for the next guests Water the kitchen garden Attend the kimchi-making gathering (next week)
As she scanned the list one item at a time, Eun-chae felt herself returning to the rhythm of this place. Her two days in Seoul had been short, but she hadn’t expected the walk home to feel this light.
After turning off the light and lying down in bed, Eun-chae looked toward the album one last time. Moonlight streamed through the window, casting a soft glow over the desk.
Mom, when are you coming?
As she asked the question silently, Eun-chae closed her eyes. Tomorrow, her everyday life would begin again: watering the kitchen garden, welcoming guests, and having dinner with Grandma.
Author’s Note
Eun-chae has finished sorting things out in Seoul and is finally back at the guesthouse for good. I’ll slowly unfold the story between her mother and grandmother as we go. Starting next chapter, we’ll move on to village episodes, including the kimchi-making gathering. Thank you for reading this far.