002
Again, Back to YouThe once quiet beach she remembers has since turned into a seaside resort, poised to welcome a stream of visitors during the height of summer. Brightly colored parasols line the sandy coast, as do the white lounge chairs in rows of twos. Still, the end of summer sees a mostly empty beach, save for a few families walking along the water. The gulls’ shrill cry pierce the air.
Ji Hyo drives along a looping line of asphalt following the hillside. The salty sea air lingers when she rolls the windows down. Reaching the bottom of the hill, Ji Hyo parks on the street in one of the last stretches of the residential area before the pier.
Walking along the pier brings back memories of her hometown. The docks are slow in the late morning, quiet save for the few motorboats in the water making long, lazy circles off the coast. Most of the ships have left at dawn already, to follow the current and wind out towards the calm morning sea. Still, one fishing boat ventures out now. Spotting her on the pier, one of the crew adjusting the nets on deck wave to her. Ji Hyo walks down to the harbor proper. A couple of boatmen meander about carrying equipment of various shapes and sizes, and a few straggling tourists stick out like plastic toys washed up at the edge of the water, bright and colorful in their too clean shirts.
“Can I help you, miss?”
A gravelly voice brings her attention to a man in his early fifties. He wears a black overall over a faded orange shirt, and a wide smile with a gap tooth.
She struggles for an answer, and says, “I honestly don't know what I'm looking for myself.” The words rush out with delightful ease to a complete stranger, as do most things. Ji Hyo doesn’t know if she’s talking about the portside or herself.
After a beat, the man offers a well practiced, “Well ya know, we got fishing boats going out to water there for pretty cheap. Can catch a mackerel or a rockfish if you’re lucky.” He makes noise of satisfaction and continues, “I'm telling ya, nothing beats a freshly caught rockfish dipped in some gochujang. Will make quick work of it, much better than the stuff you city folk eat.”
Ji Hyo smiles and shakes her head. “Well…”
“There's an island not too far from the coast there.” He points in the distance to her left and Ji Hyo swivels around to follow his gesture. “About an hour out, decent town, nothing big. Got some pretty good noodles though. Nice view, too.”
He looks expectantly at her. They probably don't get too many folks in the off-season, she thinks. Thus, against her better judgement, Ji Hyo buttons up her jacket.
“Alright, when are you leaving?”
The man beams at her.
The ship is worn but obviously well cared for. In no time at all, they cut a neat line across the waves and out to open water, leaving a white wake behind them. The ahjussi chatters happily over the drone of the engine and the crash of the waves, mostly about the town, though he delves into talking about his daughter near the end. Two other passengers (probably a couple) also sit on the small deck, much more prepared for the cold ocean sprays in their waterproof jackets. Meanwhile bundled up in the blanket the captain had lent her, Ji Hyo watches the island fast growing in size as they approach.
Ji Hyo makes sure to return the blanket before she hops off the boat. She follows the other two passengers into midtown, since they look like they know where they’re going, at least more than she does anyway, a person with nothing better to do.
The town is quiet, sleepy, but lively in its own way. Only a handful of cars dot the two laned streets, but still quite a few pedestrians are out for a weekday morning, at least. Ji Hyo asks passersby for the directions to the noodle place the ahjussi mentioned earlier. The whole day has been so surreal, momentarily she forgets her usual fear of someone recognizing her. They either choose to one, politely ignore any resemblances she bears to a famous actress, or two, simply don't care. Ji Hyo doesn't mind either way.
The store owner bringing her buckwheat noodles chides her as she sets the table.
“Aigo, what's a face like yours doing here, eating alone? If I were twenty years younger with your looks, I'd be doing better than managing this old place.”
“You give me too much credit, auntie,” she replies, but not before thanking her for the food.
The noodles taste better than she expected for the price, and the size of the town. Belly full, she ventures out once more, wandering wherever her feet took her. Feeling rather adventurous, she follows a stray tabby cat through an alleyway, past a a karaoke place, a couple shops, until she ends up in a more residential area.
The houses crowd together here, following the natural curve of the terrain. The road starts inclining at some point, possibly indicating the presence of a school nearby. It’s only just uphill enough that Ji Hyo thanks herself for wearing running shoes. Though slightly more spaced out than its flat-ground cousins, each house has its own architectural nuance from the rooftops, the colors, to the building materials if one looks closely enough. Thin, earth-red bricks jut jarringly against plain white walls. Rooftops varying shapes and sizes reach towards the sky in a patchwork of blues, browns, greys. Small red and yellow blossoms, whose names she always forgot, line the edges of the road closest to the houses amongst leaves of deep green. And through this, ever present is the criss cross of telephone wires in the early September sky.
When the ground levels out once more to a denser neighborhood, a small corner store beckons her with its sun bleached letters and promise of snacks. The mid-afternoon is still too early for school to be out, but she can easily imagine how the store would look teeming with students, hands fighting to put down their fill of sugar on the counter first. Even after almost twenty years, like clockwork, her body remembers the specific minute the telltale bell rings. As of the moment however, only a little girl sits outside on one of the cheap, white, plastic chairs that seemingly materialize into old corner stores.
Ji Hyo enters, marvelling quietly at the sheer amount of snacks
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