♥♥♥The Lake House ♥♥♥

♥ 12 February 2013 ♥

After her double shift at work, Jieun looking forwards to a good long rest on her newly bought King size bed. Without really getting off her scrub that she has wore since morning, she quickly put on her long coat and dash off to her park Chevrolet in her usual park space. In her mind, there is only one image projecting like a screen play: the picture of her King size bed, along with fluffy pillows and her favourite Mickey mouse soft toy.

But once she has reached her apartment, Jackie has been happily greeting her while she just stay immoblized in front of her main door. Her mind becomes blank while she tries to search of the details that she has been reminding herself to not to forget before she reach home that night. She scowled at the barking dog. She knows what it means with Jackie relentless barking. The dog was even giving her hint of walking back and fro from where Jieun remains standing and the kitchen.

Out of sudden she heard growling within her body. She grimaced as she slowly close her eyes.”That’s my tummy growling. Oh God...!! I have forgot to buy the groceries. Damn!!” she’s talking loudly to the empty house, or maybe to the barking dog. Jieun smacked her forehead. She quickly run to the fridge and open the door. Hoping that there might be something left which is edible for her to consume. Unfortunately, just like she expected, there is none.

Jack still barking at her. With defeated sigh, Jieun squated down in front of the dog while she rubbed the dog head. “I’m sorry, baby. I know I need to buy some dog food and human food too.” Sighing, she becomes irritated with herself for being too absorped with her job that she allows herself to ignore the small things such as living.  How long must she slip away from the reality. Since the day the doctor diagnosed that her father was facing prostrate cancer stage IV, Jieun always believe that must be the starting point where she begin to lost the grasp of reality. And she keeps on losing it until the day her father had close his eyes forever. That was the most depressing moment in her life. She did not know how strong she must be to get herself out of her misery.

Suddenly the kitchen light started to blinking, Jieun slump against the kitchen cabinet with now the dog has stop barking. The dog begins to whine. “Ok...!! I need to buy the light bulb too!!”

♥♥♥

♥ 13 February 2011 ♥

The lake house never fail to astonish Jiyong with its simple beauty, standing alone among the trees and the wilderness. Each morning, he will do his jogging while mesmerise with the surrounded nature.  If he has time to kill, Jiyong will spend another half an hour to just laying down on the grass, taking in the beauty of the nature. He still remember when he was younger, somewhere 7 years old, his mother and him will have their breakfast in a picnic style by the lake. His mother will prepare a hearty breakfast and she always bring along a book which later she will enjoy reading it. Jiyong normally will bring along his drawing pad and colouring. He loves to paint the picture of the nature or whatever appear in his mind at that moment.

Until now, he still enjoy painting for leisure. Well he did majored in architectural designing in college which his father has expected him, after his graduation, to be part of Crayon Holding and one day, to take over the family business. He did work under Crayon Holding but right after his mother death, he hand in his resignation and just pack up his stuff, leaving behind Hanbin to deal with their father. When he left Crayon Holding, initially he just wanted to travel, visiting the cities in Europe which had a wonderful architectural renaisance. But when he had reached Barcelona, visiting one of his college pal, he was so impress with the way the spaniard had built their houses that he decided to take on job as a house builder. He never regretted the opportunities to work in a foreign country where he could gain valuable experiences from them.

Jiyong takes a long breathing in and slowly breathing out, calmly. He had reached the front of the walkway that leads back to the house. From where he stand, he observe the exterior of the house. The house looks a bit dull and in need of a few repairs along the way.

“Let’s do some spring cleaning!” And he has the whole day that he could make great use of it to inspect of any repairs needed in the house while he goes about cleaning the whole house. “Hmmm...maybe I should paint the railing of the walkway. It does looks dull too.”

Jiyong goes straight to a small shed that he had built on the right side of the lake bank, where he kept most of his tools and paints. He knows that he had bought a few paints for the house. “I know that I stored some brown paints somewhere here...hmmm!!” Once he had found what he was looking for. He goes about to prepare the rest of the preparation for him to paint over the walkway rail that were made of woods. He did not even bother to change his jogging attire as he began the work of painting the wooden railing.

After an hour as he gets into the work, he thought that he heard a distintive sound of a four-legged animal footsteps running on the walkway. From the sound of it, he knows it must be a dog but before Jiyong could stop the four legged animal from stepping on the tray of paint that was place almost to the middle of the walkway. “Watch it-!” Jiyong let out an experated sigh as he watch a skinny mutt dog stepping into the tray and continues to run towards the direction of the house, leaving behind a trails of the dog paw prints.

Suddenly, Jiyong remember about the paw prints that had mentioned inside the letter which he received last night. Jiyong dashed to the attic where he knows the letter will be. Once he climbs up the ladder to the attic, seeing the letter on the dusty floor of the attic, he grabbed. He re-read each words in the letter carefully but the question that keeps playing in his mind, he could not find the answer in the letter. He becomes more confused than before.

“How did she knows about the paw print?”

♥♥♥

♥ 14 February 2013 ♥

“It is 60 degree celsius!! Oh my lord, the newscaster are calling global warming!” Jieun finds her mother complaining amusing. The older lady was fanning herself and occassionally wiping her sweat on her forehead with the hankerchief that Jieun knows, it was a gift from her late father. Her father had bought that squarish hankerchief from one of his business trip in Turkey. He showed it to Jieun before asking his daughter to wrap it nicely for his wife 45^th birthday. Beside the present that he had bought for Jieun mother, her father had booked dinner for just the 3 of them, in one of Seoul famous restaurant in town. Well, it has been the same every year during her mother birthday. As for her late father, he normally insist of homecook and small party at home, celebrating it with both his dearest wife and daughter. However, it has been 5 years now that they had stop such occassion since the death of her father. She really missed it and she will always remember those days so clear as daylight.

“What are you thinking?” Jieun felt her hand has been squeeze by her mother. Suddenly, her eyes getting misty. She quickly wipe off the moisture out of her eyes. To distract her mother, she asked of the book that she saw inside her mother tote bag. “What are you reading nowaday, mom?” Her mother took out the well worn book and show the cover to her. It read Crime and Punishment, a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

“It belongs to your dad.” Jieun knows that as she nodded her head. In fact, the book was a gift from her mother to her late father. She remembered her father joyful face when he received the book which Jieun could not understand what’s so interesting from the Russian author. It tells a story of a man who had killed a pawnbroker and goes deeply depression because of his crime. The only reason for him to turn in to the authority, thanks to his Christian virtue girlfriend.

“If I ever miss him, I would smell the book pages.” Jieun mother continues to reminisce of the memories of her father. “Can you ever imagine that I am reading the exact same words that he was reading when he was still alive?”

“Mom..” But their conversation had been interrupted by an accident that had occured on the road which Jieun and her mother was facing at. From where Jieun could see, the accident had happen when the bus running over a pedestrian who now lying on the road which his blood pooling underneath his body. Jieun has been quick to call up the ambulance. “911 can you send an ambulance at Myeondong 8ga-gil. There was an accident. I will do as much as I could possible. I am a doctor...”

The accident at Myeondong 8ga-gil rattles Jieun emotion. She was definitely sad and disappointed that she could not save the victim who was wearing a red scarf which looks familiar. The same red scarf that belongs to her was a gift from her late father. Anyway, the victim had lost a lot of blood and his bleeding could not stop. When Jieun had a proper examine of his lifeless body, she feeling the condition of his legs. It seems weak and loose. Maybe his leg had been badly broken by the strong impact of the city bus. However, there’s nothing she could do much to save the victim’s life. Because he had died almost immediately. By the time she had come around to the sceen and check the man pulse which was so weak and deteriorating. The chances of surviving was definitely slim.

Once they had reached the hospital, Jieun went about to make her report on the accident and she knew one of the police officer will need to have her interviewed. Jieun realise that she has no recollection of where the victim trolley had been pushed  to. After finishing with her report of the road accident and her short interview with the police officer, Jieun felt so down that she wish the earth to break open and swallow her inside. Instead she finds herself sitting alone inside the empty doctor’s lounge.

“Who is he? Does he has someone waiting for him at home? Does he has a kid at home who simply love him?” Jieun asked herself and this time, she did not hold back the tear and allow it to flow down freely. She could not help it to think of his family waiting at home. Well it is not her job to notify the victim immediate family. It should be the police that needs to break the sad news to the victim family.

She heard the door to the lounge room has been open. When she looks up at the direction of the door, she smiled weakly to Dr Goo Hara. The senior doctor did not say much and just keeps on smiling warmly as she took the chair beside Jieun. Without waiting to hear what her senior might want to share something positive to outs out the negativity that Jieun had been depress of, Jieun has quickly change the topic. “I am a mess. If I could get to the scene quickly, he still could be save!”

“Listen, Jieun. I’m going to tell you what I tell  every young doctor. Hopefully you are the first to listen.” Jieun just nodded her head without uttering a single word. Hara continues, “On your day off, get as far away from this places as you can. Go someplace where you feel most like yourself...”

2 days later, on her day off, she decided to spend her day trekking at the forest near the lake house. Jackie was barking happily at the back seat of the car. Jieun just pat the dog head, obligigingly. “Calm down, girl. I know you are dying to see them.”

After 20 minutes of trekking the forest trail, heading straight to the Lake House, Jieun watched Jack making the run towards the empty Lake House. Jieun felt the longing in her heart, so deeply that she started to feel the pain. Breathing a deep hearty air into her lung, she slowly breathing out as she walks towards the mail box, avoiding to look over the house that she has love most. From the mail box, she pulls out a single white envelope baring her name:

'14 February 2011

Dear Ms Lee,

I got your note. And I’m afraid there must be some kind of misunderstanding. As far as I know the Lake House has been empty for several years. Maybe your note must be intended for the Choi, the house down the shore.

PS: I’m curious about the paw print.

Kwon Jiyong'

♥♥♥The Lake House ♥♥♥