It’s been about 10 years since I moved back to the countryside.
10 years ago.. I had a major problem with my bronchial tubes, and whenever I breathed in city air, I’d have trouble breathing and often collapse, so I had no choice but to move to the countryside.
I’m 19 years old.
If I’d been in the city, suffering through college entrance examsI probably would’ve looked like a typical high school student...
Surprisingly, there’s no high school in this countryside.
So if I want to go to high school,
I have to take a car for at least 2 hours.
So I dropped out as soon as I got my high school admission notice.
Even if I studied hard and got into a good university, I still couldn’t leave here for the city. So I just dropped out and spend my time helping the grandmas farm, living day to day.
The countryside is so quiet, and I really like that. Some people might hate it because of that, but I really liked this atmosphere, where everyone quietly does their own thing. Still, when I come back home after helping all the grandmas, I get bored sometimes. It’s not like there’s no Wi-Fi, but it probably doesn’t work as well as it does in the city. So I can’t even really use my phone properly.At times like that, I go see him.
His name is Park Seong-ho.
He’s the same age as me,
and the only son of one of the most successful potato farms in our country.Park Seong-ho issomeone who was born and raised here, from the moment he was born to now.A country boy through and through.The first time I moved back to the countryside, he was the only same-age peer in the village, so thanks to everyone’s attention, we quickly became close. He was easygoing and laughed a lot. But these days, maybe because he’s stressed by all the nonsense from his parents about having to carry on the family farm, he doesn’t laugh as much as he used to. Still, whenever I finished helping out and went to Seong-ho’s potato patch, I felt inexplicably happy. Honestly, I don’t really do much even when I go there. Still, it’s less boring to be with someone than to be alone, so I go look for Park Seong-ho.
And in this village, there’s one older guy who’s a year older than me.
His name is Myeong Jae-hyeon.
But we’re not really close.
We’ve only run into each other a few times on the road... ?
I think he’s only been back in the countryside for about 2 years now.
I heard he moved here from the city because he couldn’t study properly there, and is now preparing for a job search. Maybe that’s why he hardly ever comes out of the house, and he doesn’t even have a phone. It really does sound like he only studies here. Still, when I run into him on the road sometimes, he accepts my greetings just fine. But his eyes are always on the law-related notes he’s holding. Is he preparing for the bar exam... ? I haven’t really heard much, and since we haven’t properly talked, there’s not much I know.
I’ve lived in this countryside, with nothing around me but grass and rice fields, for 10 years. It’s peaceful in a way that’s a little different from the city, but I’ve lived without really feeling any other emotions. In this countryside, where the only things I feel are boredom and comfort, who would’ve thought I’d ever get to feel something else?
The day I first moved back to the countryside
I felt my heart pounding.
