Kim Taehyung arrived at the train station with a single suitcase, a long coat, skinny jeans, and a pair of fine leather boots. He had never been to South Korea before, despite being a full-blooded Korean and had no memory of his mother’s family, with whom he had arranged to stay, under the pretext of seeking peace and solitude in order to write a novel. As a person who grew up all his life in London, Taehyung rather dreaded the countryside, considering it muddy and notoriously quiet, but his Grandparents’ was the only place he knew where his mother would not come looking for him – and the only place he could stay without having to spend a great deal of money. Having quit his job, he was in no position to be extravagant. He hoped his grandparents were rich and lived in a big house in a civilized part of the country, near a thriving town with shops. He didn’t think he’d last if he lived in the middle of nowhere with only cows to talk to.

He stepped out into the platform and scanned the eager faces of the crowd for his grandmother because apparently, his grandfather won’t be able to tag along because of clash of schedule. His mother was tall and still glowing at fifty-two, with long, blonde hair and high cheekbones, so Taehyung assumed his grandmother would be similar. His eyes settled at once on an elegant lady in a long camel-hair coat, clutching a shiny designer handbag with a person dressed in a suit standing beside her. The lady caught him staring and the wide grin that spread across her face while waving enthusiastically at him made him pull his case across the floor.

“Halmeoni!” he exclaimed, smiling broadly.

The woman opened her arms for her grandson to engulf himself in, and Taehyung immediately dived into the waiting arms of his grandmother despite the little knowledge he had of her and embraced her just as tightly.

“Look at you! Aren’t you a picture of glamour!” Taehyung was surprised his grandmother spoke with such a strong accent when his mother spoke like the Queen. Grandma Min looked like his mother, with short, black hair and big brown eyes that sparkled under the light. The woman also smelt of expensive perfume.

“I hope you had a good flight, darling. I’m sorry your grandfather couldn’t make it. He’s quite busy at this time of the year,” she said, releasing him.

After that, Taehyung let Mr. Noh, as what his grandmother called him, drag his suitcase across the hall. He was quick to notice the expensive and sleek looking car parked at the curb. Judging by her perfectly manicured fingernails and soft hands, she no doubt had her own maids doing everything by her command. When Taehyung hoped his grandparents to be well-off, he didn’t expect them to be this rich.

“You look so much like Mom, but spoke so differently,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

“Well, I’m her mother for a start but she’d always been very much like her father,” His grandmother replied. His mother and her family hadn’t spoken in thirty years, but Grandma Min did not look like the sort of person to hold a grudge. Taehyung’s mother, on the other hand, was the sort of woman for whom a grudge was a common complaint.

Kim Jaekyung was not a woman to be crossed. Taehyung was well acquainted with the thinning of her lips, the upturning of her nose, and the little disapproving sniff that always followed. It didn’t take much to incite her disapproval, but being the ‘wrong sort’ of person was the worst sort of crime. Taehyung had been a rebellious teenager, unlike his sister, who was a paragon of virtue at best and bland at worst. She hadn’t need molding, because for some reason she had come out just as their mother had wished: obedient, pretty and gracious, with their father’s weak chin, fair hair, and slightly bulging eyes. Taehyung, by contrast, had a wild and creative nature, exacerbated by his mother’s unreasonable objection to his independence, as if striking out on his own would somehow turn him into the ‘wrong sort’ of person. With his raven-colored hair and rebellious disposition, he was the quirk in what might otherwise have been a picture-perfect family. But Taehyung was hard to mold; his mother had tried, pushing him every which way through the hole designed for a proper aristocratic young lad, and for a while, Taehyung had acquiesced and allowed himself to be pushed. It had been easier to surrender and give up the struggle – a relief, almost. But a person can only go against their nature for a limited time before unhappiness overwhelms them and forces them into their own shape again. Taehyung couldn’t determine the exact moment when he had decided he had had enough, but his flight to South Korea was the result of a lifelong struggle for freedom.

“You surprised me when you telephoned,” said his grandmother. “But it was a lovely surprise. It really was. Of all the people to call out of the blue, it was you! Your grandfather and I would never have believed it.”

“I hoped you wouldn’t mind. I just needed to get out of London. It’s far too busy and noisy there to think.”

“Not the right environment for a budding novelist, I agree. I can’t wait to hear all about your writing. Your grandfather used to write me poems back in the day, too.”

Taehyung had always loved words. Every time he looked out of the window, he felt compelled to describe what he saw. He filled journals with poems and stories, but it wasn’t until very recently that he had decided to change the course of his life, realizing that happiness only comes from doing what one really loves and that if he didn’t try to write a novel now, he never would. His mother ridiculed his aspirations of becoming a ‘scribbler’, but Taehyung’s desire to express himself was stronger than his mother’s desire to snuff out his creativity. South Jeolla would be the perfect place to be true to himself.

“I’m not just here to write, halmeoni. I’d like to get to know you and harabeoji. After all, you are family,” Taehyung added kindly.

“That’s very sweet of you, darling. I don’t imagine you’ve told your mother you’re here.”

“No,”

“I thought as much. So, where does she think you are then?”

Taehyung pictured the note he had left on his mother’s office table in their house. She would have found it by now. No doubt it had aroused a monumental snort. Taehyung wondered what would have upset his mother more: the fact that her son had disappeared without telling her, or the fact that he said he is not marrying Lucas William His mother might have needed to sit down after reading that line in the note. Although Lucas is not someone who has an unpleasant personality and came from a well-off family, Taehyung just can’t see himself marrying someone he didn’t love.

“I told her I was going to stay with a friend in the country,” he lied.

“Ah, you’re a bold little devil,” said his grandmother.

As the car continues to roll on the road, the buildings and bustling life of the street slowly disappears as they enter the much quieter part of the countryside. Rows of trees lined either the side of the road as the vast greenery stretch into a wide range, painting the scenery with different shades of green. The sky is rather dull looking though. Grey clouds looming over the sun, hiding its rays from the world and just a peek of his sunshine can be seen.

“Where do you exactly live?” Taehyung asked, all hope of a civilized town with elegant shops and restaurants now fading in his mind, but at least the house would be big, right?

“Just on the outskirts of Jeollanam-do, a delightful county near the sea. You’ll find it very peaceful to write your book. And the green tea field is so beautiful, you’ll find yourself writing non-stop.”

“Is it deep countryside?”

“Oh yes, very deep. I have lots of animals. I hope you like them. And it mostly rains throughout the year, too.”

Taehyung kept quiet after that and looked out the car’s window once again. The road had started to get bumpy and the clouds became darker. His grandmother remained silent at his side, and Taehyung wondered whether his own mother had fallen out with any other relations who might perhaps live in Korea.

“So, how is Jae?” Grandma Min asked. Her voice was steady but Taehyung noticed that her lips tighten a little.

“Jae?”

“Your dear mother?”

Taehyung had not heard his mother be called by that name, ever. “She’s Jaekyung to her friends, you know, and President Kim to everyone else,”

“I bet she is. She was always rather grand. I suppose she still speaks like a duchess?”

Taehyung was too impatient to hide his curiosity. “Why did she and your family fall out?”

Grandma Min squeezed her lips together and averted her gaze to the window. “You’d better ask your mother,” she replied tightly.

Taehyung realized he had to tread more carefully. “I’m sorry, it must be painful to talk about it.”

“It’s in the past.” His grandmother shrugged. “Water un the bridge.”

Taehyung thought of the letters and cards tossed thoughtlessly into his mother’s bottom drawer and he felt sorry for his grandmother. The woman had an air of loneliness. “It must sadden you not to see your daughter.”

Grandma Min flinched. “Sadden me not to see my daughter? Child, what’s the woman been telling you? It should sadden her not to see her family, though I don’t suppose it does. We haven’t heard from her in over thirty years.”

Taehyung was stunned. He had taken his grandmother for a spinster. “Oh? I thought,” He hesitated, not wanting to cause offence. “Do you have other children, halmeoni?”

The woman faltered a moment and her profile darkened, like the landscape outside. “I have two children, including your mother, the eldest of the two runs away, and the youngest is in Daegu,” she replied softly. “His name’s Jaehyun. He had a son, two years older than you. I don’t suppose you know that?”

Taehyung was astonished. “Really? Then that means I have a cousin on her side? Where’s my cousin? Is he also in Daegu?”

“Here in Boseong. He lives with your grandfather and I after he had graduated from college. He takes architecture by the way,”

“Oh wow, I can’t wait to meet him then! Dad is an only child, so I don’t have anyone my age to talk to whenever we came over his parent’s house.”

“And now, you have. Isn’t it?” Grandma Min smiled softly at her grandson. “Where does your dad grew up, anyway?”

“Ah, he was born and grew up in London but he’s full Korean.”

“Do you still live with your parents?” She asked as the car pulled to a stop in front of a massive house in beige color. The front lawn is covered with grass saved for the pavement in the middle. A maid bounded down to take their belongings in the car trunk and bowed to his grandmother as soon as she stepped out of the car, heels clicking with every step she took, Taehyung following behind like a lost puppy.

“Yeah,”

“How old were you again?”

“I’m thirty-three.”

“Much too old to be living with your parents.”

The interior of the house is much more different than what Taehyung had been accustomed in. Their house in London is painted in white and all the furniture is monochrome colored, except for his room. The interior of his grandparent’s house was made of wood, there’s also a floor-to-ceiling window on each corner, letting in the natural light from the outside

“Well, I didn’t always live with them. I went to Harvard University, then when I came back to London I lived with my sister before she got married. Mom persuaded me to return home then. It seemed silly to turn away the offer of free accommodation, especially when the house is so big and they were both rattling around like a couple of beans in a box. Mom’s been trying to marry me off for years,” He thought of Lucas and cringed. He had sent him a text but hadn’t dared turn on his phone to see if he had replied. “It seems rather outdated to mind so much about marriage.”

“Good heavens, Jae” His grandmother murmured as she led him to what looks like the room he’ll be staying at.

The room is painted beige and had wooden flooring. There’s also a floor-to-ceiling transparent door, over-looking the view of their backyard. From here, Taehyung can see the mountains that surrounded the place and the sound of the ocean from a-far.

“I’m the eldest, so technically, I should have married first. Trouble is, I’m not sure I want to marry the sort of man my mother wants for me.” Taehyung said and plopped himself on the queen-sized bed.

“Follow your heart, darling, and you’ll always be happy. Large estates and titles don’t mean anything in the light of true love. In fact, I think they only bring trouble. A lot of hard work and responsibility. Life is better when it’s simpler.” Grandma Min said as she opened the door to let the fresh air in, looking over to Taehyung. “Now, take a rest and dinner will be served soon. Your grandfather would be here a little bit after nine and as for your cousin, I don’t know where he is but he’ll be here for dinner. I’ll send someone up for you, okay?”

“Thank you,”

“You’re always welcome, son.”