Ria のために .  ずっと.

               "How long have you been travelling around like this?"

                Myungsoo seemed a little surprised at the question since they had been walking in silence for quite a while. They were walking side by side, with him pulling her luggage like before. He stopped short and made a thoughtful face.

                "A few months now..."

                "Then, have you been to all the places?"

                "Not really. I've been to the north district but this would be my first time going further south," he said, resuming his walk again.

                "Then... are we not going north?"

                "Hmm?" Myungsoo turned to her, but she was only looking down. Then she noticed him staring and blinked at him. "Are you okay?"

                "I'm fine," she said, smiling a little and walked ahead of him. "Are we nearly there yet?"

                Myungsoo kept staring at her back and didn't hear what she was saying. She looked over her shoulder and made a questioning face. She repeated her question. "I'm not really sure... This road sure is long..." he said, sighing. "Probably we should take a bus... I'm afraid it will get dark before we reach there."

                "But I don't see any bus..." Haneul said, looking left and right.

                "Yeah..." he said, looking around too, sticking out his tongue a little and then his lips. He smiled widely, looking along the road. "But it sure is nice... The spring is in full bloom here."

                Haneul looked up too, and she smiled as she looked at the sakura trees along the road. "It feels like home..." she said, quietly and took out her phone to take a picture.

                "You can use the camera..."

                "Eh?"

                Haneul had almost forgotten about the camera that she had kept in her backpack. Her face sort of flushed a little and she became a little guilty. She quietly took out the camera and held it awkwardly to give to him.

                "No, you take. You said you wanted to learn, right?" he said, calmly.

                Haneul flustered but she held up the camera and pointed at the trees. She clicked quite confidently but she blinked rapidly at the result that piqued Myungsoo's interest. He came closer to her, and she quickly change to shooting mode again.

                "Wae yo?" he asked, really interested. "Let me see."

                Haneul pouted and frowned miserably and ran away from him. "I want to take more!"

                Myungsoo was left puzzled when she ran ahead and then was taking more pictures but her face was definitely getting more miserable with each one. He eventually smiled and just followed behind but he was getting worried because it was getting darker. Just as he was worrying, there was suddenly a loud honking sound coming from behind them. Both of them turned around to see a very old blue pickup pulling over. Because the engine's sound was so loud, Haneul couldn't really hear what they were talking about.

                "What are you two doing in the middle of the road?" The driver was a middle-aged man who looked rowdy.

                "We're heading to the village," Myungsoo said.

                "Village? Walking?" he asked, widening his eyes. "Yah, it's going to get dark soon. It's going to be dangerous with the bears and all."

                "Bears? There are bears?" Haneul who was then standing nearby to listen widened her eyes.

                "Bears, swines, even leopards!" the ahjussi said, grinning.

                Myungsoo quickly replied, "Is it still a long way?"

                "I don't think you can reach before dark though!" he replied, "I can give you a ride. Hop on."

                Myungsoo turned and saw Haneul who was looking around at the hills with her pupils dilated. He grabbed Haneul's hand gently and she snapped back to her senses. "Are you okay?" she nodded rapidly and smiled. He asked no further and helped her to climb onto the back of the pickup. Myungsoo was talking to the ahjussi during the journey but Haneul was so silent, hugging the camera on her lap while staying close to him.

                "Are you visiting anyone here?"

                "No, we're just travelling around."

                "Travel?" the ahjussi asked, loudly, "Then when will you be staying?"

                "Oh, we will stay at the bathhouse," Myungsoo said, "By the way ahjussi, is there some work that we can do for a few days over there?"

                "Work? Hmmm... Let's see... I'm not sure if anyone on the farm would need help and we're all busy preparing for the festival."

                "Festival? What sort of festival?"

                "You don't know? Yeongam Wangin!"

                "Ah! Dr. Wangin!"

                "That's right! So, we are all busy decorating and setting up the village. Every year is such a hassle!" Despite his talk, he sounded happy. "You can probably join in as well!"

                Myungsoo was a bit worried about not having anything to do, but decided to keep the thought of himself. Haneul was looking a bit sickly but she acted like normal when they arrived at the bathhouse. They thanked the ahjussi who invited them to come for breakfast at his restaurant. They left their bags at the bathhouse and headed toward a nearby restaurant. Haneul ate slowly, without saying anything so Myungsoo stayed silent too.

                They returned to the bathhouse and retreated inside quickly. A soak in the hot water after a whole day of walking felt really refreshing that Myungsoo almost fell asleep. But his tummy was growling for food and he was also worried about Haneul who had been quiet. So he quickly got out of the tub and dressed up, quickly finding her who was already lying down in a corner facing away. Hhe went over and sat down behind her.

                "Haneul?"

                There was no answer so he peeked over and saw that she had already fallen asleep. Her face looked tired and it seemed like she was curling up although it wasn't cold. Myungsoo wished he had a blanket to cover her. So he took an invisible blanket from her legs and covered her up to her neck, tucking her under it. Then he lied down behind her, a bit closer to share his magic blanket.

                The town was already bustling with activities the next morning once they headed out. The town people were cleaning and setting things up. Haneul was looking around with amazed face and so was Myungsoo, wondering what sort of festival it was going to be. They headed towards the restaurant of the ahjussi who gave them a ride. He greeted them happily, together with the other villagers in the restaurant.

                "Such a handsome young man!" his wife exclaimed, slapping the chest of his husband. Myungsoo smiled shyly while Haneul was feeling awkward. "And such a pretty young lady too!"

                "Eh?" Haneul who caught off guard reddened but everyone's attention was back to Myungsoo in no time. They were busy talking to Myungsoo who asked a lot of questions about the festival while Haneul ate her hearty breakfast and listened to them. The festival which will take place in a few days will be held at Wolchulsan National Park. There will be parade where up to 2000 people may join and the village will be hosting the festival and that was pretty much what Haneul was listening to before she got a bit distracted and looking at the townspeople roaming outside instead.

                After breakfast, they started to tour the little village and explored the town. Indeed, everywhere there were preparations going on. Although the festival was something they looked forward to, their main concern was getting a job to pay for meals. However, everywhere they asked, there seemed to be nothing for them. Myungsoo seemed a little frustrated and Haneul was beginning to detest the festival in her heart.

                On their way home, they stopped by near the shrine and saw a lot of people gathering around. It seemed that the villagers were rehearsing for a play or something. The crowds were divided into two and a middle-aged man seemed to be centre of it, reading something from a thin book. Myungsoo and Haneul watched in curiousity from a distance, but sort of became a little bit frustrated when the man who was playing Dr. Wangin was reading the script slowly.

                "Myungsoo, who is this Dr. Wangin?" she asked, obviously getting bored. Myungsoo seemed a little surprised that she didn't know so he started talking about it.

                In history, Dr. Wangin the Great Scholar was invited by Emperor of Japan for his extensive knowledge in Confucian. Bringing together the ten books of Analects of Confucius and a book of Cheonjamun, a text of one thousand Chinese characters, he earned the trust of the emperor and became instructor to the crown prince. Wangin is well-known for his part in the development of Japanese culture and his name appears often in Japanese history.

                "You don't mean Wani, don't you?" she said, dumbstruck.

                "Wani?"

                "The story is same as Wani... the scholar invited by Emperor Ojin to Japan and..." she blinked rapidly, "It's the same person?!"

                "But why Wani...?"

                "Well, that's what he's called in Japan in the history books," she said, still a bit awed, "The one who introduced Chinese writing in Japan? Didn't you learn about in school?"

                "I don't think he's in any textbook in Korea... The villagers said there isn't much about Dr. Wangin in Korean history."

                "Then why are they doing a festival for him?" she asked, perplexed.

                "Well... I don't know..." Myungsoo said, thinking about it himself, "I guess after they have established the fact that he is from this village, they decided to do a festival to let people know. I mean, a lot of people will be coming to join the parade and to learn about the history."

                "So it's a tourist attraction..." she said, as soon as Myungsoo finished his words.

                "You seem a bit bitter about this..."

                "No I don't."

                "Yes, you are..." he said, smiling faintly, "I can see your point there, but because of local autonomy, the county has to come up with something as an attraction to bring in tourists - for the sake of finding revenue. So, even if Dr. Wangin isn't in the history book, many said he's from this village and probably they are proud of him or something... They said that partly, he was responsible in bringing the Korean cultures and art there."

                "But you don't learn about him in school..." Haneul sighed and looked up the bright spring sky. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself.

                Myungsoo who was watching was silent before he frowned a little, "How though?"

                "How what?" she said, still closing her eyes.

                "How do you know about it? You said that it's what he's called in Japan. Could it be that you went to school in Japan?" he asked, getting all curious.

                "I didn't say that..." she mumbled, opening her eyes and looking up and down. Myungsoo was about to ask again when the villager playing Dr. Wangin suddenly cried out loudly.

                "I can't read this!" he said. The other villagers sighed and shook their head, showing discontent faces. "I need to wear my glasses."

                "But Dr. Wangin didn't wear glasses," one of the ladies said. They all nodded. The man who was the 'director' of the whole thing seemed like he was going to explode.

                "Why don't you get Choi seonsaeng to play this role? He did well last year. I don't think I can do this..." he said, sighing. "And my back is hurting..."

                "Well, Choi seongsaeng has gone to Seoul to see her daughter off to university," one lady said, "You're the only one we can depend on."

                "Aigoo... Shouldn't we ask someone younger to do this? Why are we old people doing this in the first place?

                "Where do you find young people...?" one of them asked, laughing.

                As if not listening, the man playing Dr. Wangin went on, "We should find someone young, with a good look and built. I'm sure that will be more interesting! Someone like, yeah, that young man over there!"

                Everyone turned to where the man was pointing, including Myungsoo and Haneul but they didn't see anyone at all. They both looked at one another and suddenly were crowded by the villagers.

                "Are you an idol? An actor?" they asked, looking up at him in admiration. "Aigoo, he's so handsome. Instead of Dr. Wangin, he should become Wang (king)!" Everyone resonated in agreement and soon they were interviewing Myungsoo. Haneul managed to slip away and sat at nearby bench.

                "Such a popular man..." she said, putting her chin in her hands. Then she was laughing to herself, seeing Myungsoo being all awkward and answering their questions. Then he turned to Haneul and made a face and mouthed something. Haneul frowned. "Is he being a snob now?"

                She kept on frowning and it was a long while before Myungsoo could escape. He went over to her and squatted, holding his