Work Text:
Seokhyeong walks out from the front door, rubs his eyes, and yawns widely. He starts the day too early, probably from drinking his new addiction, coffee these past few days. Seokhyeong stretches out lightly before getting ready for the greenfield when suddenly a figure walks past his gate. Since the streetlights are off as sunrise is about to start, he can’t recognize the person in seconds. All he can see is a long hair pushing a stroller. A female perhaps? But as far as he knows the villagers here, there is no one currently expecting.
His curiosity kicks in, and he begins to follow along behind her. Her walking speed is faster than he usually does, which forces him to fasten his step. They continue to follow the road that Seokhyeong knows two residents use, Minha and Kangho. Those two people who are younger than him left the village a few years ago. He has no idea or even cares about Kangho’s news, but he has limited Minha’s whereabouts. He only heard about her through her parents, talking about their daughter working hard as a nail artist. Seokhyeong remembers how Minha talks to him about her dream of being able to color nails prettier. He even sacrifices his hands as her dummy. But as long as she is happy and determined, Seokhyeong will never protest about it.
His daydream fades away when he sees the person turning on the only road toward the guesthouse that belongs to Chu’s family. Seokhyeong freezes after realizing that the person in front of him is Minha. He quickly hides behind the greenhouse and looks at her squatting down on the stroller. Does she have a child? Seokhyeong continues to watch as her face becomes clear after wiping out the tears that have fallen. He somehow feels his lungs run out of air and unintentionally coughs after seeing a glimpse of her face.
Minha snaps her head after hearing something not far from her. She can’t be sure if it’s either her father or not, but she is aware that it’s time to go. She looked at the stroller one last time before ringing the bell and left instantly. Minha quickly runs away and hides behind the wall of rocks. Somehow, her legs were unable to run, unable to walk away just like she planned.
“Uri ddal, where are you?” Minha gasps and quickly covers her mouth after hearing her mother call her. She must not cry or her whereabouts can be discovered easily. But her body freezes as if her soul left her body, escaping to avoid being caught red-handed. Suddenly, she feels her arm being dragged forward, helping her finish her mission successfully. It takes Minha more than 20 seconds to figure out what is happening.
“Seokhyeong Oppa?” Minha softly says his name that she hasn’t called in a while. They continue to run until Seokhyeong slows down between intersections. He turns to Minha who’s gasping for air in her lungs, and feels guilty putting her for a run. But he has no intention of apologizing for it now.
“Wait here, I’ll go get my car” Seokhyeong quickly left her and returned to his home. He scans his surroundings and drives the car to the place where he left her. Minha quietly looks at the landfill in front of her, taking in a natural beauty that she misses ever since leaving this village. She slowly breathes in the fresh air and gently lets them out, trying to stay calm and composed. Her instinct kicks in as she hears a vehicle coming in from behind. Minha hurriedly hides between the bushes and holds her breath while watching the car pass by her father driving in, with her mother beside him. Although it’s just a short period of seeing them, she notices their gray hair is more visible than the last time she saw them. She becomes conscious of the time she spends away from her parents.
Seokhyeong speeds up his car and ends up passing by Minha’s parents whom he is able to recognize from the vehicle. He swiftly puts on his best acting face and greets them.
“Annyeonghaseyo, going to the town perhaps?” Seokhyeong smiles gently at them. He clearly sees Mrs. Chu’s eyes swollen from tears and the unreadable face of Mr. Chu.
“Oh Seokhyeong ah, hmm… yes we are going to the market today and probably driving around the town. You know, trying up to date with any news there” Mr. Chu replies in an awkward tone. Seokhyeong only nods his head and bids farewell to them. He suddenly brainstorms any options for where to drop Minha at this point.
Along the way, awkward silence fills the entire spot in the car. Neither of them starts the conversation as they occupy themselves with their own thoughts.
"You must be hungry, right?" Seokhyeong bravely speaks up, trying to make her comfortable.
"Ahh yes," Minha replied timidly, still awkward being in one car with him. She tries to take a peek at him but quickly looks away at the scenery on her right.
"We will be arriving soon. This is one of my newest favorite stores. It's a bit far from the city. Hope you understand unable to try your favorite dish now"
Minha stares closely at Seokhyeong, who tries to act friendly despite the long-lost contact between them. She nearly forgets about him as she stays busy with her own life. She vividly remembers the last time they saw each other when accompanied her to the bus station with her parents. How he looked worried about her was easily displayed, and his final words of encouragement and safety. She admits at first a few months miss him, but things change when she dated her long-time crush, Kangho.
Just as she feels her rage rising, a soft voice pops into her daydream. “We’re here. Let’s have some breakfast”
Seokhyeong was stunned to see Minha eating with gusto, just like two of his friends he has. He becomes a little worried as her cheeks are slightly bigger from her chewing. “Minha ya, slow down. I’m sure no one will steal these foods”
Minha abruptly halts her chewing and looks at Seokhyeong. Her shyness comes in, embarrassed by her gluttonous attitude. Handling a newborn is difficult, especially all by herself. Seokhyeong watches her eyes begin to moist and gloomy expression as Minha slowly enters her daydreams. “I understand you must be hungry, but please chew slowly. You might have indigestive later on”
She looks at him for a minute and slightly nods in agreement. She swallows some of the food that stays in her mouth and drinks her water to cleanse up. “You should also start eating Op… Oppa”
Seokhyeong rise his brows in surprise by calling like that. It’s been a while hearing that word from her mouth, and he still has the same reaction just like the old days. “Arraseo, Oppa will eat well”
“Any destination you like to go to? I can take you anywhere” Seokhyeong walks out after paying for the meals. He looks at her quiet form, who hasn’t replied to his question. “I know that Seoul has everything. But at least I know that they don’t have beaches.” Seokhyeong continues to babble away after fastening his seatbelt. He checks on Minha if she is secured, and heads off to the beach.
Although the sun is getting higher, it doesn’t bother Seokhyeong and Minha to enjoy the waves crashing toward the sand they are sitting on. He left her alone in silence after watching how she enjoys the moment despite there being many questions he likes to ask. But for now, he wanted her to spend some refreshing and relaxing time before she left.
“So what do you do these days, Oppa?” Minha opens up the conversation between them, after spending quiet time watching the sea in front of her.
“I raise cows and chickens, well basically continuing what my parents have done. But in a cooler and more modern way, so I can still look young and a more advanced farmer than the rest here” Minha chuckles at his words, which Seokhyeong takes as an accomplishment to make her laugh.
“How about you Minha ya?” Seokhyeong carefully asks, still unknown what are his boundaries of topics.
“I’m still doing nail art Oppa. Well not as a shop owner, but I hope I can open a shop later on in the future” He smiles at how optimistic her voice is when talking about her dream.
“I know you will, I believe you can achieve a lot of things” They spend the next few hours talking about things that Seokhyeong senses that Minha is comfortable telling him, which he respects. But he hesitates at times when they finish the conversation about other things.
“Is there any place you like to go now?” Minha looks at Seokhyeong at first, then stares at the sea on her left. Seokhyeong follows along where she is looking, realizing the time to meet her is almost up.
“Maybe to the bus station”
Again, no words were exchanged between them as they moved to the next location. Minha realizes how Seokhyeong is taking his time driving them, which she has no complaints about. In fact, she is more grateful for his presence which accompanies her the entire day. She leans to the window and lets out a relieved sigh, feeling fine after a long time.
"Be safe there Minha ya, do whatever your heart feels like it's the right thing, okay?" Seokhyeong begins his farewell as the bus is ready to accommodate the passengers. He lightly groans about how they arrive just in time before the bus departs, leaving them with only a few minutes left with each other. Minha can only nod her head, somehow overwhelmed by his presence here, and make it today out of her plan more enjoyable in its own way.
"Thank you for today, Oppa" Minha slightly bowed her head. Without further ado, Minha turns around and heads towards the bus when suddenly called again by Seokhyeong.
"Don't worry here, I guarantee to provide milk for your little one and be a guardian" Seokhyeong finally let out those words, trying to taste the water if he pushes his luck. By her reaction, he has no idea why she is running back to him.
"It's little ones Oppa" Minha whispered in his ear, which left Seokhyeong stunned for a minute.
"Right… right, two angels won't hurt my milk supply" The way Minha chuckled at his words left him frozen once again. He didn't even realize Minha had already left him when inside the bus.
He quickly shakes his head once the bus honks away and immediately waves at her, taking all of her faces one last time. He stays there until the bus is out of his sight, and slowly sighs. He forgot to ask when she would return or even her phone number. All she left him was the memory of today and her angels. Seokhyeong swiftly drives back to his home after he remembers to give a new member of the village some fresh milk and warm eggs from his farm.