A worn-out village bus, careening along the dirt road, headed toward the village's only supermarket. A man sat by the window. It was him. The bus driver, perhaps curious about him, struck up a conversation despite the distance. He had pale skin and long, straight hair. It was likely because anyone who saw him felt he didn't live in the area.
"What brings a young man from Seoul to this remote village..."
"Oh, I decided to stay at my grandmother's house for a while."
"If you're a grandmother with a grandson, there's no other woman than Kyung."
"Yes! That's right, the red roof."
"Mr. Kyung will like it," he said. The bus, which had been running for a few minutes, finally arrived in front of a supermarket. The man got off the bus carrying a large but not small carrier. He smiled and nodded at the bus driver's request to tell his grandmother news, and walked along the field path next to the supermarket. "No matter when I come here, the scenery is always the same." The warm air of early spring that touched my whole body and the new shoots that were sprouting filled the field before my eyes.
After passing through a familiar alley and a wall that is now too low, I stand in front of a red roof along a field road and open a blue gate that is lower than my height.
"Who is this!"
"How have you been?"
Kim Seok-jin, the main character of Tomato Tomato, makes another appearance.
***
After greeting his grandmother and explaining in detail why he had come, Seokjin finally left the red roof and began exploring the village. Perhaps it was because he had grown up in this village and with his grandmother, but every corner he passed was filled with memories. He was even amazed to see the graffiti he had drawn on the walls when he was four still intact. It felt as if time had stood still in this town, and he casually dabbed the graffiti with his fingertips.
After taking his phone out of his pocket and taking some awkward pictures, he started walking around the village again. As he was passing by, some villagers started talking to Seokjin. When he explained that he was Kim Seokjin, the grandson of Mrs. Gyeong, they said it had been a long time and gave him some pocket money.
"Oh, Grandma... I told you, it's okay if you don't give it to me...!"
"Who gave it to you because you're pretty? Just take it without saying anything."
It's clear that they're giving it to you because it's pretty.
***
After circling the village and arriving at the chair in front of the house, both hands were full of luggage. Of course, there were snacks, crops, and allowances donated here and there. Seokjin had been loved immensely as a child. He was quick to greet people and was the grandson of the village's most popular grandmother, Mrs. Kyung.
"Wow, it's corn."
The only corn I ate in Seoul was corn cheese, which was served at company dinners. Of course, corn cheese was delicious, but boiled corn was something else entirely. After carrying a heavy load and walking around town, I was exhausted. I piled my belongings onto a chair and sat down in the remaining seat.
The countryside is truly peaceful. The scent of spring tickles your nose, the savory aroma of rice wafting from every house, the chirping sparrows, the children chasing them... Children? Children? Seokjin, questioning the very existence of children in such a rural place, focused on a group of five or six people. One woman and five little boys.
Well, there might be kids. Anyway, it's none of my business. Seokjin, who had brushed it off, was about to go inside the house, picking up the luggage he had placed on the side of the chair. Something fluffy brushed against the tip of his elbow. Surprise, what's that kid...! Seokjin shuddered in surprise and lowered his head to check the kid's identity, when suddenly! The kid's head popped up.
"Mr.."
"uh?"
"Mr. Ajo stepped on a dandelion."
Seokjin briefly stared at the kid who was suddenly spouting nonsense. Hearing the kid's comment about stepping on a dandelion, he lowered his head to check his foot. "Oh my goodness," he said matter-of-factly, "I've trampled a dandelion seed so miserably." The kid, who had spoken nonchalantly, acted as if he would burst into tears if he didn't move his foot away. Tears hung beneath his eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.
"Sorry···."
"Gen···Chana······."
"It's not okay, is it?" The little boy, tears streaming down his face, rubbed his eyes with his muddy sleeve. "Oh, my eyes hurt." It hadn't even been five minutes since we'd met, but he was already acting up, perhaps he was getting a little annoyed. He put his luggage back on the chair and scooped the boy up. He then dug through his bag and handed him a cherry tomato.
"What is this..."
"tomato!"
"Tomatoes...?"
"Tomatoes, not tomatoes."
Seokjin watched the child roll the bright red, round tomato around in his hand, as if it were a novelty. Then, he took another cherry tomato out of his bag and stuffed it into the little boy's mouth. Unfortunately, the little boy glared at Seokjin, looking as if he was about to cry again, asking, "What is this?"
"Chew it."
"Sir. What if it's a poisonous mushroom?"
"It's not a poisonous mushroom, it's a tomato. Chew it, it's delicious."
The kid, who had been furrowing his brow with a distrustful expression for a while, finally took a bite of the tomato. "How's it? It's delicious?" Seokjin beamed confidently, and the kid, too, smiled squarely, as if he'd enjoyed it. After spending a while with the kid, the other kids, curious as to what was going on, quickly ran from afar and came up to me. Of course, they were short, so they were only knee-high.
"What are you?"
"Taehyung, put it down."
"Kids, if you keep running like that, it'll be hard for the teacher..."
How could those guys over there have arrived so quickly? The woman, unable to overcome the children's stamina, was still far behind in her pursuit. Seokjin, who had carefully set Taehyung down—the little one—at Taehyung's command, crouched down to meet the ten endlessly glaring eyes, then pulled a pack of tomatoes from his bag.
"Do you want to eat too?"
"Do you know how far that is? Are those poisonous mushrooms?!"
"That's it. It's really delicious. Eat it."
The children, who had been half-believing, saw Taehyung's double thumbs-up and reached out, one by one, with their hands wrapped in clear plastic packs. Not long after eating, they were all smiling brightly and stamping their feet, asking for one more. Seokjin smiled brightly. Meanwhile...
"You guys. Are you really going to leave me like this because I'm old, teacher?"
"Oh, sorry!"
"Teacher, you should eat this too. It's a really delicious poisonous mushroom."
"what?"
The woman, startled by the mention of poisonous mushrooms, quickly checked the food in the pack and breathed a sigh of relief. The woman, in a state as grimy as any child covered in dirt, looked at Seokjin with a questioning look. Seokjin, thinking this would be a better word than the others, stretched out his long legs, which had been crouching, and stood upright. He then handed her a plastic bag, probably saying something like this.
"Would you like some tomatoes?"
🍪
Nice to meet you~
I'm trying to re-upload tomatoes, which I really hate...
The content may have changed a lot, but I won't lose the feeling of being alone.
I promise you on my pinky finger!
Let's continue to have fun fan life~ I love you🥰🌻
Said the spoiled Kim Seok-ryu.
Yes, actually, the re-up started because of the baby rabbit coordinates...? Since I'm at it, I'll work hard! It's fun since it's been a while. Those who watched the previous episode will probably know, but the difference in editing is evident in the green Kim Seok-jin gif! The top is a post with almost no editing! The bottom is a post with the entire content edited!
It's probably going to change a lot from the original content, but yeah, all the Tomato subscribers have all been stolen and disappeared anyway, so I don't think there will be many viewers, but I will be Kim Seok-ryu who works hard for the minority. Love you 🥰