CHAPTER 5

Bicycle Ride

Months Later: Late September 2018

C’mon, Soo-Young, pick up! Seulgi bit her bottom lip as she paced back and forth while pressing her phone against her ear.

Beep after unbearable beep passed. Then, the line went through. Her jittery feet stopped in its tracks. “Soo-Young?”

“Oh, hey you! Haven’t heard from you in a while. Thought you went out of the country or something.” From the honks and rumbles, it sounded as though Soo-Young was stuck in traffic. “Ugh, these morons should quit the horns! This isn’t a marching band!”

“Um, maybe now isn’t the right time?”

“No, no, come on, entertain me. I’m not going anywhere. Literally. Gosh, I hate Seoul traffic.” The honking in the background kept going. “So, what’s up? You haven’t contacted me in months. Why’d you decide to call now?”

“Look, I’m sorry I haven’t contacted you in months. In fact, I’m sorry I even refused to help you. Whatever it is that fate is trying to tell me, it’s all probably inevitable, so I’m not going to run anymore.”

“Slow down. What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m moving to Yeonsan.”

“You’re what?!”

“Actually, it’s only for a month. It’s kind of a long story…”

 

After flatly refusing to help Soo-Young that one day in February, Seulgi kept herself busy again for fear that her own thoughts might turn on her. Due to her irresoluteness, she knew she may eventually come to regret her own decision concerning the search for the time capsule, so she tried her best to forget about it. She had also begun secretly planning on leaving the country again and were looking up jobs abroad. But her plans never went further than just plans. Whenever she saw how happy her parents were of having her around, she had second thoughts again. So far, none of her plans to leave ever fell through due to her bad case of indecisiveness.

In the meantime, the construction of the lodge in Yeonsan continued and had finally met its completion. For the first half of summer, Seulgi’s parents had been managing the final touches. They even made a few trips back and forth to make sure things were taken care of.

Although hesitant, Seulgi also went a few times. Only her parents could make her visit Yeonsan more than she ever desired. She did not want to rain on their parade by telling them how much her insides squirmed every time she went to see the place. It was during those times that she truly wanted to leave the country again. Oh, but the smile on their faces… If it was to make her parents happy, then she would stay and do whatever they wanted. If she left now, she would feel guilty for leaving again. Funny how her own messed-up mind could imprison her in a world where she will always feel guilty for doing nothing, anything, and everything in between.

The last time Seulgi went, her parents toured her and her brother around the new house, showing the little features they have instituted in the place. The house (or houses) she used to know looked nothing like it used to be. Her grandparents’ old house and Joohyun’s house were both completely demolished, and out of the rubble, Seulgi’s parents had built up a simplistic-yet-classy, modernist villa. It featured two floors, glossy navy-blue tinted glass, solar panels and a satellite dish on the rooftop, and a wooden porch inspired by traditional Hanok maru. In addition, half of what used to be the neighbours’ plot of land was cleared to make room for a small grassy yard enclosed by the classic brick fencing and metal gates. It was bigger and more pretentious than other houses on the same street. In other words, it stuck out like a sore thumb in that neighbourhood.

Is this really grandma and grandpa’s old house?

Inside, the house was still barely furnished. The rooms were mostly empty. According to plans, the entire ground floor was supposed to be a spacious common area—one big living room with a kitchen and dining area. It was spacious and the natural lighting from the wide glass windows made it seem so much brighter. The lodging rooms were on the floor above. There was a total of 5 rooms—4 small rooms and 1 master bedroom.

This is a completely different house…

It wasn’t bad at all. It was even kind of aesthetically appealing to her despite the lack of furnishing.

“Over there we’ll be placing some plants and flowers,” her father told her as she looked out the glass door that led to the yard.

“This part used to be the neighbours’ house,” Seulgi said on a nostalgic note.

“Yup. Now it’s ours!”

Seulgi tried to swallow the hard lump in . I’m literally standing in what used to be a murder scene. She thought flashbacks would get triggered once she finally set foot in the very place of terror, but there was nothing. It was getting harder to tell when and how these episodes and nightmares were coming to her. Maybe her bad memories could not be triggered by a place that had transformed into something so unfamiliar—a place so despicably nice and charming.

Oh well, new house, new possibilities, new memories… I guess. She was not happy and neither was she upset about this vacation house. At this point, she was dead even to her own opinions. She had no idea what to think of or feel about anything. She was just kind of letting things be.

For the next weeks, her parents began shopping for interior, with autopilot-mode Seulgi even robotically pitching in and suggesting designs and arrangements. By September, they had finally finished furnishing the house. It was ready for future lodgers. Her brother then helped out their parents by setting up an Airbnb account and by briefing them on how it all works. Seulgi also got a chance to learn about the technicalities of the business.

“Basically, whenever we’re not using the vacation house, we can put up some of the rooms for rent… The lodgers can RSVP through the internet and you can check their profiles,” her brother explained.

After the completion of their preparations, the business started. Unfortunately, they had no customers yet. September was not exactly the season for travellers.

One night during dinner, Seulgi’s parents had news.

“Looks like we have our first renter! She RSVP’d a little early, but she says she’s coming for sure next month in October to stay in one of the single rooms.”

So, the business is really starting.

“That’s great Dad.”

“Only problem is your mother and I already have travel plans in October. Wedding anniversary, you know?”

“So?”

“I’ve been thinking,” her father started, “Seulgi, since you work at home as a freelancer anyway, can I ask you to manage the vacation house while we’re on vacation? You get to go there and entertain a guest or two.”

 Seulgi almost choked on her seaweed soup.

“I’m guessing October will be garnering some travellers since that’s when the leaves start to change colour. Yeonsan is really pretty in the autumn. Don’t worry, it won’t be too hard. You just have to give them the keys and tell them the house rules anyway. Also, since we’re leaving you in charge, you can have all the rent we earn for October too,” her dad said light-heartedly. He was so nice that it was hard for Seulgi to ever resist him. “If you want, you can stay there in the vacation house too. The atmosphere there is certainly much better than your old room here.”

“Nah, after I ‘entertain the guests’ I think I’d rather just return to Seoul with Grandma. She might get lonely here alone,” Seulgi said trying to sound like she was actually concerned about her grandmother.

“Oh, don’t worry about me, Seulgi,” said her grandma. “I’ve been planning on staying at your aunt’s place in Ansan anyway.”

“So yeah, Seulgi Bear, don’t worry too much about your Grandma. You get to do what you want with the vacation house while we’re gone. We trust you’ll do well.”

 

***

 

“Oh my god,” Soo-Young said over the phone. “A vacation house? Dude, that’s awesome! Why didn’t you invite me sooner?! I could have signed up for this earlier!”

“But wait, Soo-Young, there’s something else you should know,” Seulgi said in a rather shaky voice.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay you. I’m not gonna freeload, I promise.”

“No, it’s not that,” Seulgi shook her head animatedly as if Soo-Young was there in front of her. “It’s about the first lodger who RSVP’d. It’s the main reason I’m calling in the first place.”

“What about the lodger?”

“It’s someone named Wendy Son from Canada.”

“Who? Some foreigner?”

“I think it’s Seungwan.”

 

***

 

September 2005

11-year-old Soo-Young flopped herself on her bed and slammed a fist on the soft cushion. “Stupid. Why’d Seulgi Unnie have to be such a baby?”

Today was one of those unfortunate days when Seulgi was not in Yeonsan. She had gone to spend time with her parents in Seoul for the weekend before school officially starts. Now Soo-Young was left with no Seulgi and nothing to do again.

Ignoring all the neatly arranged toys and gadgets that never truly filled the emptiness deep inside her, Soo-Young got up from her bed and looked outside the window. It was another lazy sunny day alone in this quiet neighbourhood. Without Seulgi to boss around and talk down to, there seemed to be nothing worth doing.

As she was blankly staring out the window, the sound of a car engine broke the calm silence. Soo-Young moved closer to the side and tilted her head to see the street better. The noise was from an unfamiliar navy-blue sedan and a moving truck. They had parked in front of the house two lots down the block—the house for rent. It had been months since original owners left and offered up that house for rent. Looks like new folks were finally moving into that place.

What’s up with all these new people?

 

At the end of that weekend, Seulgi had gone back to Yeonsan feeling refreshed and extra chipper, ready to take on a new semester at a new school. Although schools in Seoul had more prestige than the ones in small unknown towns in the middle of nowhere, Seulgi’s parents enrolled her in Yeonsan Grade School anyway so she can stay with her grandparents. Besides, going to a small countryside school could possibly be a unique learning experience. And so, on the first day of school, Seulgi bid her grandparents goodbye and headed out of the house.

When she unlocked the gate, she found Soo-Young standing by their gate. She was wearing the same white blouse with the yellow plaid skirt—the school uniform.

“Oh, hey, Soo-Young. How was your weekend? My parents and I went shopping and we…”

Soo-Young’s mean poker face turned into an even meaner scowl. She also rolled her eyes and sarcastically muttered, “Great. Glad somebody had fun.” She could not have been more obvious about her own distaste for Seulgi’s “adventures-with-my-awesome-parents” stories. Jealously shows itself in unpleasant ways.

Seulgi’s smile faded and discontinued her recollection of her amazing weekend. “Sorry.”

Skipping the small talk, Soo-Young kicked back the stand of her bicycle. “Let’s go to school together from now on.”

Together, the two girls rode their bicycles to the only grade school in Yeonsan. The lone grade school was situated in the more rural area of town, in the middle of the flat valley filled with farming fields. It was the biggest free-standing edifice in that part of town. And though it was not particularly huge compared to most schools in Seoul, it looked so conspicuously lonely in that flatland that one cannot possibly miss it. Other than the awkwardly placed scrapyard and a hilltop of historic burial mounds nearby, Yeonsan Grade School was the only institution there that wasn’t mass-producing some sort of crop, unless of course, you would consider the future generation a mass-produced crop...

Seulgi and Soo-Young hopped off their bikes as soon as they reached the wide-open school gate. When Seulgi looked up, an amused chuckle escaped her lips. According to the overhead banners rippling with the wind above the gate, it was “the best school in Yeonsan,” which was an inarguably pointless phrase if it never had any competition in the first place. At least it was not a complete lie.

Inside the premises near the gate were bicycle racks for children to leave their bikes. Seulgi and Soo-Young left their bicycles side by side in one area and walked through the wide courtyard into the school building’s main entrance. Inside the building, they stopped by the dimly lit shoe locker area to switch into their school slippers.

“I’ll meet you later at lunch in the basement cafeteria,” Soo-Young said as she placed her outdoor shoes into her designated locker. “You’re eating with me. Got it?”

Since Seulgi did not know anyone else in this entire school, she agreed.

After Soo-Young left her alone on the door to her classroom, Seulgi took a deep breath to try to relieve her nerves. Here goes nothing… The first day of class always got her heart pounding loudly in slight anxiousness. The moment she stepped into class, the students who were already there early had stopped whatever they were casually doing, and immediately turned their attention to her. Not long after, the whispers began to fill the room.

“Oh look, a new kid.”

It was too obvious. By the way everyone else acted around each other, all the other students already seem to be well acquainted with each other. It was the only school in town, so that was not much of a surprise. Most of the students were probably classmates since forever. So, if a newbie ever came in, all eyes were immediately on the special little soul that stuck out like a disgustingly blown-up sore.

New friends, new possibilities, new memories… Seulgi forced an awkward smile. As uncomfortable as it was to be stared down like that, she still thought positively. After checking her seating arrangement posted on the board, she went to her seat and quietly sat there by herself.

Just like any other school, the newly transferred students had to be singled out and introduced to the entire class. The moment the classes started, Seulgi was called up by their class advisor and introduced to everyone. However, on that day, Seulgi wasn’t the only one to introduce herself.

Another young fellow, seemingly sweet yet slightly shy, stood straight with her hand together in front of the whole class. She was small—about the same height as Seulgi, but not as scrawny as her. A mop of hair covered her forehead and brows, but not long enough to cover the light in her bright-eyed brown eyes. She smiled shyly in front of everyone, making her already puffy hamster cheeks puff up all the more. When the teacher told her to introduce herself, she fumbled with her own fingers as she spoke, “Hello, my name is Son Seungwan. I hope to get along well with all of you.”

Son Seungwan… Hm. She seems nice. And really cute.

After Seungwan had sat back in her seat one row ahead on Seulgi’s right, the teacher proceeded with the day’s lesson.

With her low attention span and easily distracted brain, Seulgi often lost concentration on the lesson and watched Seungwan through her peripherals from time to time. And what a brilliant pupil Seungwan was. During math, Little Miss Son often raised her hand and got all the answers right. She may have earned the reputation of being a “know-it-all” on the first day of school, but Seulgi found that absolutely attractive. (Seulgi at math. Anyone who could answer [81-54=?] without getting it wrong was a genius in her eyes.) On that very first day, in a room full of strangers, the only thing Seulgi learned in class was the name Son Seungwan.

I want to be her friend. Not that Soo-Young wasn’t enough, but of course, Seulgi wanted to make a friend from her own class too. With no time to lose, Seulgi determined that she would personally make Seungwan her very own friend.

When the school bell rang for lunch, Seulgi awkwardly stood from her seat. Everyone naturally conversed and clumped together in clicks for lunch, leaving the only two outcasts—Seulgi and Seungwan. Perfect timing. Without hesitation, Seulgi walked over to Seungwan’s chair and coolly tapped her on the shoulder. Outsiders got to stick together.

“Hi, Seungwan.” Seulgi beamed at her in the friendliest way possible. She wanted to make a good first impression this time. Today, her usually messy hair was actually tied up neatly into a ponytail, and her uniform was actually well-pressed before she headed off to school in the morning so her outfit was not so shabby either. Unlike when she first met Joohyun in the woods, well-groomed Seulgi was not a sweaty wild mess this time.

“Hello,” Seungwan returned the gesture shyly. The girl stood from her seat without taking her wide-eyed gaze off of Seulgi. She clutched her lunch box and water bottle.

“I don’t really have any friends here in class. Would you like to eat with me?” Seulgi asked. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes…

Seungwan smiled widely, her adorable rosy cheeks puffing up once again. “Sure!”

Assa!

As they skipped together to the cafeteria, the two of them began talking. It turned out Seungwan was truly a sweet, sprightly fellow. Although she may have acted a bit coyly earlier when she introduced herself in class, Seungwan was actually a lot chattier the moment she felt comfortable. And she seemed to have grown particularly comfortable around Seulgi pretty quickly. The girl affectionately clung to Seulgi’s arm like a fluffy koala—something Seulgi was never used to, but she liked it. Seungwan was not brusque or surly (unlike Soo-Young), and she did not seem too mysteriously melancholic and secretive (unlike Joohyun). This bubbly hamster-like girl happily opened up to her and smiled a lot.

In addition, they had so much in common. They were both from Seoul, and they both just moved into this town not too long ago. They were both born in February, and they both liked to sing. Seulgi could not be happier. The two of them seem to genuinely connect on a soulmate-like level—like they were meant to be.

“I just moved here over the weekend,” said Seungwan. “You’re my first friend here. I’m really glad I’m not the only new girl in class.”

If Seulgi could burst in happiness, she would. The bear gave a flattered giggle and said, “Aw… I’m really glad I met you too.”

The moment they entered the basement mess hall, Seulgi suddenly remembered Soo-Young. “You’re eating with me. Got it?” Right. Better not break that promise…

Seulgi craned her neck and looked around the wide mess hall. A bunch of strangers with lunch boxes and metal trays moved about like any other ordinary school cafeteria scene, but Soo-Young was nowhere in sight.

“What are you looking for?” Seungwan asked, also looking around.

“My neighbour, Park Soo-Young. She’s in 4th grade, but she told me that we should have lunch together. She’s a little unusual, but she’s actually nice in her own way. You should meet her! If we could only find her…”

“Is she not around here? How does she look like?”

“Um, she’s rather tall and big. It shouldn’t be too hard to find her, but I don’t see her at all.”

“Do you want to go walk around and look?”

Seulgi stopped looking around and comfortably sat at a table near the entrance of the cafeteria and motioned for Seungwan to do the same. “I think if we sit here, she’ll easily spot us. I’m sure she’ll turn up some time,” Seulgi shrugged. “Let’s eat, Seungwan.”

Seulgi and Seungwan shared their food together, ignoring all the noise and everyone else in that place. As they ate, they continued talking, but Soo-Young never showed up. Lunchbreak passed and so did the rest of the remaining periods. By the end of the day, Seulgi was too preoccupied with her new friend Seungwan that Soo-Young, who completely went missing-in-action, had slipped her easily distracted mind.

After school, all the students headed out to go back home. When Seulgi and Seungwan reached the bike rack on the way out of school, she noticed something odd. Beside her yellow bicycle was an empty space. Soo-Young’s familiar black mountain bike was missing.

“Oh, right, Soo-Young!” Seulgi snapped her finger. Hoping to catch a glimpse of her big, scary neighbour, Seulgi looked back toward the school building and scanned the rest of the grounds with her eyes in a 180-degree angle. “Gosh, I wonder where she is? Her bike is not here anymore.”

“Maybe she already left,” said Seungwan.

“But she said we should eat together and go to school and go back home together.” Seulgi frowned as she looked down on the empty space beside her bicycle in disappointment. “I can’t believe she would just ditch me.”

Seungwan lightly patted Seulgi’s back to cheer her up. “I’m sure there must be a reason.”

“I guess you’re right.” Although Soo-Young may not be the kindest with her words, she had never broken her promises with Seulgi during their time together in the summer. Whatever the reason for Soo-Young’s disappearance, Seulgi was willing to forgive her.

“By the way, Seungwan, how are you going home?” Seulgi asked as she unlocked her bicycle chain.

“I’m walking home. It’s just thirty minutes anyway.”

Seulgi pulled out her bicycle and walked with Seungwan out to the gate. “Where do you live though?”

After some detailed, fast-paced explaining, it turned out that Seungwan lived in the same street as Seulgi. Not wanting to just leave Seungwan alone, Seulgi stated the best solution she could think of to maximize her time with her new friend. “You can ride with me! You can sit behind me and I’ll drive!” Seulgi then straddled her bicycle and held onto the handlebars. “We can get there twice as fast by cycling so you don’t have to walk for thirty minutes all the time. Trust me, Seungwan, I’ll be careful not to crash into anything, hopefully!”

Seungwan also straddled the bicycle from behind and tightly wrapped her arms around Seulgi’s slim waist. “Okay, I’ll trust you, Seul.”

“1, 2, 3… let’s go!”

As the two new best friends rode off out to the cycling lane of the peaceful countryside, somebody had just walked out of the school building with a big scowl on her face. Park Soo-Young. Soo-Young scrunched her brows as she ran toward the gate after catching a glimpse of the yellow bicycle and the two girls riding away on it. Who the heck was that other kid?!

When she made it to the bicycle racks, her pupils dilated in shock. “Where’s my bike?!”

 

The next day, Seulgi went out of the flowery gate and found Soo-Young standing there with her bad mood plastered all over her face. “Oh, hey Soo-Young. I was wondering where you went yesterda—”

Soo-Young crossed her arms. The image of Seulgi riding off with some other girl was still fresh in her sharp memory. “Hmph. Didn’t seem like you wondered hard enough.”

As Seulgi stood there with her yellow bicycle, she stared at Soo-Young for a few seconds and noticed something was missing. “Where’s your bike?”

“Who knows?!” The bigger girl threw her hands up in the air in anger and frustration. “When I got out of school yesterday, it was gone! And so were you, traitor!”

“I-I’m sorry!” Seulgi pleaded as if it was all her fault. “I didn’t see your bike either so I thought you already left!”

Trying not to fully unleash her Hiroshima-bomb-like fury, Soo-Young took a deep breath to calm herself down and placed her hands on her hips before glaring at her innocent friend again. “But here’s your chance to redeem yourself from leaving me all alone yesterday.” She walked closer to Seulgi and poked the smaller girl’s chest with her finger. “You should take me to school.”

“You want to ride with me? On my bike?”

“Is there any other way?” Logically thinking, there were plenty of other ways, but she was not going to turn back on her command at all.

Seulgi looked at Soo-Young from top to bottom. “Um… you’re kinda big.”

Soo-Young threateningly raised her voice. “So what, are you insulting my body now?!”

“No, no! It’s just that it’s kinda hard for me to steer with someone bigger riding behind.”

“Ugh, such a weakling…,” Soo-Young muttered to herself, completely audible to Seulgi’s big bear-like ears. “Then I’ll steer!”

When they arrived in school, Soo-Young parked Seulgi’s bicycle in the racks and went to the shoe locker just like yesterday. By then, Seulgi had the opportunity to ask about Soo-Young’s disappearance yesterday. “What really happened yesterday? I waited for you at the cafeteria but you never came.”

“Well, I was held up, alright?”

“Held up by what?”

“By losers. Trust me, you don’t need to know.” Soo-Young slammed the tiny square door of her shoe locker. Alas, it made Seulgi all the more curious. But before she could ask about it, Soo-Young already changed the topic. “Congratulations on the new buddy by the way.”

“New buddy?”

“I saw you and your friend leave for school on your bike yesterday. That’s good.” Words like “good” and “congratulations” were nice words, but Soo-Young saying them in a deadpan tone gave mixed messages.

“Oh, you mean Seungwan? I was going to introduce you to—”

“Whatever.” Soo-Young walked out to the school halls, leaving Seulgi, who was still putting on her slippers. But before she was out of earshot, she said, “Whenever I don’t show up for lunch, go ahead and eat with your new friend. Don’t bother waiting for me.”

And without further explanation, Soo-Young disappeared into the dark school hall.

…….. . .. …

.

.

.

Hm.

“Wait, Soo-Young!”

Seulgi ran after her. But Soo-Young was gone. Everyone was gone. There was nothing there but a dimly lit hallway that reeked of the scent of antiseptic. “H-hello?” Her voice echoed. As she continued walking, she realized that she was no longer at the school. This was a completely different hall, yet it seemed so eerily familiar...

“Seulgi!” Someone screamed from behind. When she turned around, she saw Seungwan, but she was different. Seungwan had grown into a teenager, and she was crying. She ran into Seulgi’s arms and buried her face into Seulgi’s chest. It seemed Seulgi had grown older and taller as well. “Seulgi… Seulgi… Seulgi…” Seungwan repeated like a tearful chant.

Oh no. Joohyun Unnie.

“Seulgi… Seulgi…”

.

.

Seulgi!

Before she knew it, a blinding light overpowered everything else. Her lungs breathed cold oxygen from the still air. She was never in school or in some hall but was under the warm sheets of a huge King-sized bed.

Where the hell… oh.

She was at the master bedroom in her parents’ new vacation house. She had just moved in yesterday, and it had been her first night there so she was still getting used to things. To her right, an obnoxiously loud digital alarm clock kept repeating “Seulgi!” over and over again. It was the recorded voice of her mother, and heaven knows when the old woman ever figured out how to set that alarm in the most annoying setting possible. Seulgi reached out to the digital clock and pressed the button to end this noisy madness.

October 5, 2018. 10:30 a.m.

Right… Seungwan’s arrival is tomorrow.

When October strikes, the cold comes in like a sneaky bastard. Anywhere out of the sheets was considered unsafe territory. Today was a new day, however, and she wouldn’t let a bit of lethargy withhold her from doing what needed to be done. Getting it all over with, Kang Seulgi slipped off the heavy sheets and automatically headed for the bathroom with her eyes closed.

With a squeaky turn of the knob, the steamy downpour of water started soaking through everything. The messy drenched hair, lightly-tanned skin covered in goosebumps, the sleepy cold air—everything was rained on with warmth.

“Ah, this feels so nice…” That was always the first thing that ran into her head. But it lasted only until the heat brought her back to life and her eyes finally open to the fogged-up bathroom mirror. With her hands, she swiped left to right to wipe off the mist on the glass. The same face with the same plump cheeks and kind mono-lid eyes smiled back at her. But she eventually greeted back with a frown. I wonder what’s going to happen… meeting Soo-Young and Seungwan again… This is about as believable as my bizarre nightmares…

Wrapping her bare body in a furry bathrobe, she headed back to the bedroom to dress up and blow-dry her hair. While she was blow-drying her long, thick hair, she received a message on her phone.

“I’m coming later at around 7-ish.” It was from Soo-Young.

Okay then.

 

After getting ready, she went downstairs to have a late brunch. There in that big empty house, she ate all alone in silence, staring at the glass doors all the way across the room. Beyond the transparent glass was a sunny view of the small grassy yard with newly bought potted plants. With her coffee mug in hand, she walked over to the glass door and took a peek outside. A road bike was standing right by the stairs to the side porch. Her father must have left it there for her since she did not have a Korean driver’s license. She still had other things to do, but that two-wheeled contraption looked so tempting…

A short trip to the lake isn’t a bad idea, she thought with a grin.

Seulgi left the dirty dishes stacked and dressed up in sweats for today’s excursion. And of course, she would never forget to bring along her trusty DSLR, just in case a good photo opportunity might come up.

Seulgi walked with her bike down the end of the street to a small path with wooden steps and a bicycle railing that led down to Keoul Lake. It was the same woody path with the piled-up stones back in the day. It's great that they finally made a railing here, she thought. Going down the zigzag ramp, she remembered those fond memories of her as a child—going down the rocky slope and down to the dirt lakeside. But it was all very different now. Down the steps—the place where Seulgi met Joohyun for the first time—was no longer a woody strip of land; it was now part of a long romantic lakeside road with a cycling lane and a pedestrian lane lined with street lamps and park benches. 

“No matter how everything seems to change, this place is still breath-taking,” Seulgi mumbled to herself as she rode her bicycle down the road.

Although this lake was subject to a lot of change, the view retained its beauty all through the years. On bright and sunny autumn mornings such as this, everything was saturated so beautifully. The vast sky was blue with patches of cottony fluff; right below, a range of mountains reached for the sky—rising and falling indigo shadows as far as the eye could see. Dots of yellowish reddish leaves marked the beginning of autumn’s glory; and reflected down on the glassy waters was the same scene all over again, like an upside-down mirror. From time to time, a few migratory egrets and wild mallards would swoop down or swim by and disturb the tranquil water, distorting and morphing the reflected image. In shallower parts, small leaves and remains of decaying royal lotus sat lazily on the surface, slowly taking their time to say goodbye as the colder months dragged on.

It's good to see this again...

But then something caught her eye. Seulgi clamped her brakes and immediately got off her bicycle.

Up on the steep woody hill beyond the lakeside park boundaries, a lone figure stood staring straight at the lake. Atop those steep cliffs were still undeveloped areas of the forest that surrounded the lake years ago. And right now, someone is clearly standing there on the cliff.

Using her camera lens, she zoomed into the tiny person from far away.

“It’s a girl…” And she took a snap. Then she zoomed even further.  “Is that… is that Joohyun Unnie?”

The girl was standing on her side. Even on full zoom, all Seulgi could see was the girl’s side profile and her long black hair swaying with the breeze.

No, wait. It can’t be!

Seulgi switched off her DSLR and turned around, her face grimmer than ever before. I'm hallucinating. It can't be her. It can never be her.

 

Seulgi spent the rest of the day pacing around the vacation house and analysing the photos she had taken of this girl standing at the edge of a cliff. In this specific angle, the girl looked very similar to Joohyun from years ago. The girl was even wearing a purple sweater. Joohyun Unnie loved purple, Seulgi thought as she bit her thumb while staring at her laptop screen. If she had brought along more powerful telephoto lens with her on the short bike ride, she might have been able to get a clearer view... so that she may rest in peace tonight knowing that it was NOT Joohyun in that photo. 

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Seulgi looked at the clock. It was 7:31 p.m. It's probably Soo-Young.

When she pressed the button on the intercom, a loud voice excitedly greeted her. "Unnie, I have chicken and beer!"

Yep, that's Soo-Young alright. So Seulgi pressed another button to have the entrance open for her guest. Soon someone else's voice was echoing in the quiet house. Seulgi got up to meet Soo-Young at the small hall with the shoe racks.

"Wow! Some place you got here!" Soo-Young complimented. Then she held up a box that smelled of deep fried chicken on one hand and a six-pack can of beers on the other. "I got dinner!"

"Gosh, you didn't have to." Seulgi did not share the same excitement.

Without any formalities, Soo-Young just went straight inside after taking off her shoes. Then she casually placed the chicken and beer on the wooden dining table as if this was her own house—as if they hadn't seen each other in months. "So when is Seungwan Unnie coming?"

"Tomorrow."

"Well then, we can enjoy the chicken and beer together, just the two of us. We can just order pizza or whatever again tomorrow. No problem with that. But don't you think it's fascinating that she decided to come back here? Have you chatted with her yet?" She just went on chatting Seulgi's head off.

Although she was still a little dumbfounded by Soo-young's presence, she replied, "No, not really. I'm using my parents' Facebook account to handle this Airbnb thing so she has no idea I'll even be here."

"Why? You should have chatted with her already! Don't treat her like you treated me on my graduation. I bet she's also out to look for the time capsule."

Seulgi's gaped mouth buffered in trying to get things out. Soo-Young was just shooting all these bullets everywhere and it was hard for her slow brain to make sense of it all. It was hard to keep up with her energy. Finally she stuttered out, "I-i-it's n-not that simple for me to just say 'hi, I'm your old friend, Seulgi', o-okay?"

Sensing Seulgi's anxiety, Soo-Young just dropped the topic. Seungwan was coming anyway, whether Seulgi wanted to send a virtual "hello" or not. They might as well throw a surprise reunion for her tomorrow. Looking around, Soo-young wandered toward the living room where Seulgi's laptop was open on the coffee table. "By the way, I like this place. Way better than your grandparents' old house." Then her eyes stopped at Seulgi's face. "Are you okay? You look kind of pale."

"Um..."

Before Seulgi could answer, Soo-Young sat down on the sofa right in front of Seulgi's laptop and saw the enlarged photograph of the girl on the cliff. Soo-Young leaned close and stared at it. "Is that...? Who is that?"

"I don't know," Seulgi answered. "I took it earlier today. It looks kinda like—"

"It looks like Joohyun Unnie." Questionable, but that was exactly how she looked like, if they could remember her properly.

"Yeah."

They both stared at each other in dumbfounded silence.

After a while, Soo-Young awkwardly laughed and said, "Eh, that can't be her."

"Yeah..." Seulgi lifelessly sat on a single seat sofa. "I just saw that girl this morning and thought they looked so much alike."

Soo-Young looked at the picture once more. "What is she doing on that woody cliff though?" Her voice became low and less excited.

"I have no idea."

Then Soo-Young awkwardly forced herself to lighten up again, "Eh, it's probably just someone who likes looking at the lake and looks just like her."

Seulgi awkwardly smiled as well. "Yeah..."

"Joohyun Unnie has been dead for years."

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