Ringing,
Click,
" hello .. "
“Hey!!!! Where are you?!!”
“.. me now”
Swish -
"It's the countryside."
"What?!! Are you saying that makes sense..!!"
Yes. I'm in this ridiculously remote location, in a place that's so out of place it's hard to even find on the navigation system. It's just...
It was just too fast, it was a hassle there.
A few days ago,
“Ha.. How on earth do I fix this.. “
"Why? What's going on?"
"..The youngest one below me made a mistake in adjusting the location schedule and disappeared"
"Are you crazy..? Even though you're the youngest.. "
"No, anyway, all his mistakes are my fault, so of course I'll fix them, so why is he disappearing?"
"Hahaha, that's right. You should dive."
" under .. "
Before I came down to the countryside, I was an assistant director on a fairly well-known program. I guess you could say I was the right-hand man next to the lead director.
Since I've had quite a bit of experience, of course there was a youngest one... well, this kid made a mistake and disappeared. And it was a huge mistake...
Because of that mistake, I couldn't leave work for a week, and I was called in by the lead director every day for three hours of training. To put it nicely, it was just training...
“Because that’s what you look like.”
" .. sorry "
“That assistant director is the youngest, what is he?”
" .. sorry "
I was becoming so accustomed to the wounds that I could never heal again, repeating the words ‘I’m sorry’ like a machine, that I couldn’t even feel the pain.
But I'd already become numb to it, so it was fine. What ultimately led me to come to this countryside was...
“Ha.. almost done”
“Oh~ Are you a workaholic after all?”
“..another-holic is a disease”
" great job "
Swish -
“ ? What ring is that on your hand ?”
“Huh? Oh, this… that boyfriend”
“Wow! Who’s your boyfriend? In the same industry?”
“Ah, there is something like that~”
“What~ Dating and working too”
“That person is ~”
KakaoTalk -
“We are family”
I didn't know that the ring came from the same source as my KakaoTalk.
“What kind of coffee should I drink today.. ”
“You know what? CP Choi and writer Kwon are dating these days?”
” ..!! “
“Oh, so CP Choi is cheating on PD Kim?
"Yeah... PD Kim would be shocked if he knew. We've been together for 5 years."
“ … ”
Yes. The guy I'd been seeing for five years had been cheating on me with my best friend, who I'd worked with for eight years, for four months. I only found out about it four months later, after we'd been together for over 100 days and even gotten rings.
My mental strength, which had remained like that, was completely shattered.
On the last Friday night, after everyone had left work, I was left alone, tapping away at my laptop.I stared blankly out the company window.
They say that Seoul's night view is like a star that never goes out.Why is everyone else turned off except me?
It was clear that we were living in the same time, but it felt like the day was over for everyone except me.
At that moment, it was as if my whole body was paralyzed and I couldn't move, and my throat was filled with sobs as if I would vomit everything inside me at any moment, making it difficult to breathe.
And then I knew.
This speed is too much for me right now.
So I closed my laptop right away, left a single sentence on my notepad, and went home to pack my bags.
‘Please don’t look for me’
So I ran away from that ash-gray place and came here.
[slowly]
today,
“I ran out so you could cut it in peace.”
" what ?!! "
“..please just cut it.”
“Huh..what is this”
" finally .. "
” ..? “
"Please tell that bastard and the bitch who cheated on me that I'll make sure that both of them get front-page news."
"You!!! Mr. Lee!!!!"
Thump -
".. Oh, my ears hurt"
Thud -
“..good. quiet.”
I blindly bought the house I could afford with the money I had. Still, thanks to some successful films, I was able to buy a small house next to a rice paddy. And that was with all the furnishings.
Originally, houses were rented out on a monthly or deposit basis, but the owner of this house passed away in an accident a few years ago and wrote in his will that he would sell the house and the land if he could make money.
So, it felt like fate and I liked it so much that I bought this house.
I didn't really bring anything with me, so I just took the blanket and pillow I had been using, my laptop charger, my new flip phone charger, and some money. Oh, and even some basic cosmetics.
Things like tints and skincare products were too heavy, so I threw them all away. I just brought sunscreen and a colored lip balm.
“..I’m hungry”
I'm feeling a bit hungry, maybe because of what we talked about earlier. I haven't bought anything to eat yet, but I think I'll go downtown and find some work.
Actually, it's not really a city center. It's just a market in a supermarket...?
So I rode the bike I had brought along and went down to the city.
“Wow.. this looks delicious”
“ ? Who are you, Miss? It’s my first time seeing you.”
"Ah..! I just moved into a house with a pink roof."
“Ah~ Is that Minseok?”
“Minseok..?”
"That's where Minseok's grandmother lived~"
" ah .. "
“But there were rumors that it was not good there, so why did you go there?”
“T.. the weather is not good..?”
“Yeah. That’s Minseok, grandpa.. ”
at that time -
Ring ring -
A man on a sky blue bicycle came to the tteokbokki restaurant where I was and stopped.
“ ..?? ”
“Are you going to catch a foreigner again and spread strange rumors?”
"That's a weird rumor, you punk. It's true."
“Me too.. If you keep doing that, the people in our village will disappear..!”
“Haha, this kid...”
" .. what "
The owner's attention was stolen by a man who suddenly appeared, so he gave up on the tteokbokki and was about to turn around and go somewhere else.
Tak -
“ ..?!! ”
" ..? no way "
" yes ..? "
“No.. I thought maybe you were someone I knew.”
“Me..?”
I'm a public figure, but I'm not someone whose face is well-known yet...?
“No way...”
“That girl just moved in, what the hell is that nonsense?”
“I just moved here...”
“So… where do you live now?”
“That pink thing over there..ㅅ”
“Ah, Minseok’s house!! He moved there.”
“..!! What did you say..?”
“Yes.. I moved into that pink roofed house.”
“ … ”
The man seemed very shocked by my words and just held onto my arm without saying anything. But what kind of person is he to grab someone else's arm?
I was momentarily annoyed and tried to throw my arm away with all my might, but it was impossible because of my strength.
“..Please let this go.”
" yes ..? "
“Do you know how frustrating it is to have someone grab your arm and treat you like an interrogator when you first meet them?”
“ … ”
"Are you even a police officer? Even if you were, it would be difficult to act like this without a warrant."
"Oh.. I'm sorry"
Swish -
“..Please be careful next time”
I felt bad after hearing that, so I ended up buying two bags of chips and three cans of beer and headed home. I came here because I wanted to live comfortably, but... I'm already upset.
That night, I drank the snacks and beer I had bought on the rooftop. As expected from the countryside, the night sky was really pretty.
I thought I could shine so high, but the higher I climbed, the more I felt like I was actually going backwards to the lowest point.
So that's why my heart is buried in mud like this right now.
at that time,
Knock knock knock,
“..? Who is it at this hour?”
Thinking it was the neighbor, I put down my beer and went down to the front door. Slightly drunk... no, slightly drunk?
Squeak -
“Who are you.. ”
“The person I met that day...”
“Ah..! That bastard.. ”
The man I met earlier this afternoon came to my house, looking better than before, even changed his clothes. Why...?
“Are you going to buy it..?”
“That..! I’m sorry.. I had a little drink just now”
My drinking habit is to spit out whatever I think... I apologized the next day after I came to my senses.
“Alcohol..! You were drinking~”
“By the way, why is there…”
“Because of that.. this”
Swish -
" tteokbokki ..? "
“I think you left without eating during the day because of me...”
"Ah..! That's right"
"That's right.. It was because of me.. "
"Pfft.. just kidding. Just kidding."
"..!! Ah haha just kidding.. "
"Thank you. I will eat it gratefully."
"Yes! Please enjoy your meal."
"Okay, then take care.. ㅅ"
At that moment,
" excuse me ..!! "
Tak -
" ..?!! yes ..? "
“Can I ask your name..?”
“Ah.. why?”
“There aren’t many people my age in this area..! I want to make friends.”
“Friend..what is it?”
If I had at least one friend after leaving everything behind, I would feel less lonely.
Swish -
"My name is Kim Yeo-ju."
“Yeoju… Yeoju-ssi”
“What about you?”
“Ah..! My name is”
“ … ”
Hug -
“This is Kwon Soon-young.”
So on my first day in the countryside, I slowly made a friend.