Eun’s diary

Today’s gonna be a super busy day! 3 new merchant ships have docked this morning and the goods will start rolling into our storerooms any minute now. I mean, the physical work is fine alright but the documentation and the counting, the numbering of items and the sorting out. Gosh! I’m not an organized person, never have been, yet I guess captain thinks I’m the right man for the job so I just have to get on with it. If only my wife’s here to help me…I left for work before she woke up this morning, hope she’s doing alright. Our Ho is growing up strong and he’s getting into our sleeping schedule these days, which is wonderful news for both of us. Finally, we could get some good quality sleep since my wife only has to wake up once every night to feed him. Our baby can now push himself up on his elbow when he’s on his stomach and you can see his curious little eyes gazing everywhere all the time. My angel~ His favourite game now is the peek-a-boo game, well, that has always been his favourite. Oh, just heard the man fussing about in the courtyard, the goods have probably arrived, wish me luck!

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‘Ho-yah, your papa has forgotten to take his lunchbox today…’

‘Ma!’

‘You thinking what I’m thinking?’

‘Ga!’

(Soondeok lifts her son up from the bed and gives him a big kiss)

‘Let’s go meet him today, Ho-yah~ It’ll be the first time you go into town too~ How exciting! Now please behave, you need to make your papa proud at work, alright?’

(Ho radiates a grin as if he understood every single word Soondeok has said.)

‘Good! It’s all set then! We’ll deliver your papa’s lunchbox after we finish our breakfast, how’s that? Well, by “we” I suppose it just meant me since you’ve already eaten YOUR breakfast, hmmm my dear? Oh yes you have my little fella. So! Let’s see what mama should eat today, ooooh~ I see we still have some eggs from Mrs. Gu, what say I make myself an egg pancake? I’ll add some carrot and onion in too, that sounds great, right son?’

(Ho waves his arms about as if he too is excited about Soondeok’s meal)

‘Alright, let’s get you on my back first, can’t leave you in the room when I cook now, you’re growing up so fast you might fall off of bed when I’m not looking. Now where’s that wonderful baby sling Mrs. Gu has made for you? Let me see, it must be here somewhere…where did your papa put it after he used it to carry you to the creek yesterday, do you know? Urgh, will he ever learn to put things back where they belong…Ah! Found it! Now how on earth did it end up here?’

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‘Mrs. Han!’

‘Hyeran dear? Is that you?’

(Soondeok runs into the porch of the tiny house to give the old woman a huge embrace.)

‘How are you my dear? Oh it’s been so long, you’ve gotten thin! This won’t do, did my friend not feed you enough?’

‘Mrs. Gu has been feeding me well, ma’am, it’s just that this little fella is always hungry.’

(Soondeok turns around to let the old lady see her baby. Mrs. Han is Mrs. Gu’s best friend who lives just outside of town at the foot of the mountain in a tiny house. Having lost her son in the sea about 10 years ago, she has no one to rely on and often Mrs. Gu would visit her to see how she’s doing. Soondeok used to weave baskets for her to sell in the market – that is, before Ho was born.)

‘Oh my little angel, he’s wonderful~’

(The old woman kisses the sleeping baby on his big round head and utters a blessing)

‘Mrs. Han, I’ve brought you some fresh eggs from Mrs. Gu and some vegetables from her garden.’

‘Heaven bless you, my child, you’ve got such a kind heart to take care someone as useless as myself.’

‘Don’t say that, Mrs. Han, I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner, I know you’ve been wanting to see our Ho ever since he was born.’

‘Yes yes yes, if my knees were any better I’d make the trip up the mountain to see you guys…Oh, but I did prepare something for him.’

(Mrs. Han gets up slowly and staggers her way to her bedroom and when she comes out, she’s got a box in her hands)

‘When he’s a bit older and can run about, he’ll need a good pair of shoes. Hope this pair of shoes will bring him good luck, my dear.’

‘My, they’re wonderful! Thank you for this lovely gift!’

‘Thank YOU for visiting this old lady…by the way, what brings you to town today?’

‘Our child’s father forgot his lunchbox so I’m here to deliver it to him, besides, the weather’s so good today I want to bring my son out too. It’s his first time visiting downtown you know.’

‘How lovely! Well it’s almost lunchtime so you best get going.’

‘I’ll visit you more often now that our Ho is a bit older~ See you later, Mrs. Han!’

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‘You men get those boxes over here!’

‘Hey! Boys! Put your backs to it! Bring them over here! Yes all of them! Come on we gotta finish before sunset!’

‘Anyone see the golden lampstands?’

‘Who’s got the tea and spices?’

‘Where on earth are the records?’

(Chaotic is the right word to describe the situation at Eun’s workplace. Everyone seems to be doing something yet no progress has been made. The moment Soondeok walks into the courtyard, she can see Eun standing there in the middle with a book in his hand and a brush in another, logging the items one by one as they enter their trade storage complex. The complex itself is huge, located not far from the dock, with 3 major courtyards and hence 3 major entrances. Each court consists of one courthouse and 2 rows of storehouses aligned on both sides, with some rooms being large enough only to just fit a few pots of pickled vegetables while some rooms can hold up to 50 wooden boxes of cargo.)

‘Everyone seems busy here…’

(Soondeok hesitates for a moment and decides to wait until lunchtime. She finds a quiet corner and sits there, marvelling at everything that’s going on. And most importantly, she just loves to sit there staring at her husband – the most attractive types of men, after all, are those when they’re focusing on their work.)

‘Mrs. Baek!’

(Soondeok turns and sees the captain walking towards her.)

‘I didn’t think you’d recognize me, Captain.’

(Soondeok bows politely as she greets the man)

‘How would I not? I remember you were the one who dragged your husband into my office for an interview so he could get the job but then cried super hard when it’s time for him to get on the ship and leave for the trip.’

‘I’m ever so grateful to you, Captain, for keeping my husband by your side.’

‘He’s a hardworking man, of course I’ll keep him by my side! By the way, what brings you here today?’

‘Ah…he’s forgotten his lunchbox you see…would you mind giving it to him for me?’

‘Me?! But you came all the way here already, shouldn’t you hand it over to him yourself? I’m sure he’d be glad to see you and his baby here.’

‘I’d love to too…but seems like he’s busy at the moment and I wouldn’t want to disturb him.’

‘But-’

(Soondeok hands the lunchbox to the confused man and then leaves before she can change her mind)

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‘DEOK AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’

‘Oppa-’

(Eun runs up to her and gives her a tight hug from behind, sandwiching little Ho in the middle.)

‘Oppa, I’ve got dinner to make.’

‘You’re so mean! You came and then you just left?!’

(Eun pouts like a little child)

‘You were busy, Oppa.’

‘I was exhausted and worn out! Seeing you there would’ve helped me get through the rest of the day…’

‘There there, you’ve done well today. I’ll help you recharge later tonight~ Now please let me go or you’ll be having burnt chicken for dinner later.’

‘Here, let me take care of Ho for you.’

‘Have you washed yourself yet? You know you smell sweaty, right?’

‘Ah, right, I probably should. I’ll be right back~’

(Eun gives Soondeok a kiss on the cheek before he hurries out of the house)

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‘He finished eating?’

‘I think he stopped . He’s trying to sleep, his eyelids are getting heavy.’

(Soondeok whispers)

‘Let me hold him, Deok ah, you get some rest, I’ll put him to sleep.’

(Eun slowly holds the baby in his arms and brings it close to his warm body. He sways from side to side as he hums a soft lullaby, the eyelids of Ho begin to shut. Soondeok smiles at the scene as she changes into her pyjamas after feeding her son – something she should’ve done when Eun’s got his back on her.)

‘Jeez, Deok ah, do you mind?’

(Eun quickly shoots his gaze up at the ceiling when he saw the sight of his wife’s topless body)

‘What?’

‘You can’t just change in front of me like that.’

‘Why not?’

‘You know why.’

(Confused, Soondeok can only lie in bed after changing and wonder what her husband had meant.)

‘There my little boy, sleep tight.’

(Eun whispers as he softly lowers his son to his cradle. Then he gets into bed to tend to his wife who still has a question in her mind.)

‘What DID you mean back then, Oppa?’

‘Heck Deok ah, you can’t possibly make me say it out loud.’

(Both of them whisper into each other’s ears in fear that they will wake their son up.)

‘Then tell me, Oppa.’

‘It’s- It’s your…you know…your body’s very tempting at the moment since you’ve got a big…big…uh…thingy, and if you just show yourself in front of me, boy I would not know what I’d do to you. There, happy now?’

(Soondeok giggles)

‘Ahh~ Now I get it. You should’ve told me sooner. No wonder you always look away when I change or feed Ho now, how very unlike you. You used to stare at “them” with those beady eyes. ert~’

‘Ya! I did not!’

‘Shh!!!’

‘Sorry…but you know what I mean. I-’

(The wife gives her husband a soft kiss on the lips)

‘No, I wasn’t complaining, Oppa, don’t get it wrong.’

(She places her hand on Eun’s chest)

‘In fact, now that I know how tempting it is to you, I’m gonna make good use of this little info.’

(Eun swallows hard)

‘Oh don’t worry Oppa, I’m not gonna bite you tonight, I know you’re tired.’

(Soondeok gives a small evil chuckle)

‘Deok ah, what have I done? I turned you into a beast. Oh to think how innocent you once were.’

‘It’s that beast inside me that gave us our son, Oppa, remember that.’

(Eun gives Soondeok a peck on the forehead)

‘True~ I love you~’

‘I love you too, Oppa. By the way, it’ll be your birthday soon, what do you want for your birthday this year?’

‘Let me think about it.’

(Silence)

‘Who would’ve thought…that birthday party of mine back then…would be our last…’

(Soondeok gives Eun a gentle pat on the shoulder)

‘The past is in the past…all we can do is pray for the departed souls.’

‘I would’ve enjoyed it more had I known…I would’ve said something more meaningful had I known…I would’ve looked at you differently had I known…’

‘Had you known, would you still marry me though? Our paths would be different. It all happened as it should, regrets will only tear the hearts of the living.’

‘You’re right.’

‘It’s time to sleep, you have yet another busy day tomorrow I heard.’

(Eun sighs)

‘Yes. Have to organize the goods tomorrow and get them ready for shipping out soon…You ought to be proud of me for doing something I’m not good at.’

‘I am proud of you, I always have been.’

‘If only you can go to work with me, you would organize things in no time. You’ve got great leadership too…I at it.’

‘You’re great at telling people what to do though, no?’

‘That was when I had the authority to boss people around…but not now. I’m a prince no longer, remember? I’m just me.’

‘You’ll find a way, Oppa, you always have~’

‘Thanks~ Night.’

‘Sleep tight~’