Chapter 165: Upton [1]
Fly.
Paris.
If this were twenty-first-century Korea, once you decided to go somewhere, you would just reserve a plane ticket and leave immediately. No fuss, no stress.
But in this era, things were different. Even though travel routes were now safer than they had been in the Middle Ages, and the sea route between London and France was free of pirates, it was still a time when people could die just from traveling long distances.
No... actually, people can die anytime, anywhere.
That was true even in the twenty-first century. But the weight of that truth was different here. In this world, age did not matter. You could be young, healthy, or old. Death was indiscriminate.
“Pyeong. Joseph. You two go on ahead to Upton. I need to visit my parents first.”
“Thanks, mister.”
“What’s there to thank me for? I’ve got a carriage ready. Use it.”
“Oh my.”
“Yeah, I’ve started saying that without even realizing it lately. It’s stuck in my mouth. Anyway, condoms and gloves are selling surprisingly well. Turns out there are quite a few people doing autopsies or working in graveyards. Thanks to you, business is booming.”
“Still... thanks again. I’ll take the trip seriously.”
“Don’t worry about Paris. I’ve got it covered. Wherever you’re going, I’ll make sure everything is prepared. I’ve even made arrangements with Dr. Liston and Professor Blundell. You just go.”
“Got it.”
Honestly, even though it was unfortunate to be trapped in this era, I had been lucky to meet so many good people. What if just one of them had been a bad person? I mean, no one had to take care of me, yet here they were, giving me time, money, and consideration. It was hard not to feel grateful.
Liston?
If that guy had turned out to be an enemy...
Nope. Don’t even want to think about it.
He would have killed me on the spot with that knife.
“Hey, what’s with the look on your face? You’re not thinking anything weird, are you?”
Joseph snapped me out of it. We had been close before, but since coming here, we were practically family. It made sense. In a time and place like this, trying to stay optimistic while alone would be borderline delusional.
“It’s nothing. I’m just a little worried about going to Paris.”
“Worried? What, because the French are bad guys?”
Was that something I should worry about?
Well, who knew? Napoleon was long gone. There had been a revolution. There had been wars with England.
But if I felt comfortable, that would be stranger.
The world was still fighting over colonies. It was not as if all French people were bad. It was just that if you did not like someone, it was easy to call them “bad guys.”
Besides, I got along just fine with Dr. Liston. I might have built up some grudges in the process, but they were the kind that could not be helped. Who would dare attack Liston?
“But it’ll be fine. It’s just a medical conference.”
Now that I looked closer, Joseph was a bit shaken. His hands were trembling, and his feet were tapping.
Well, fair enough.
I had traveled abroad quite a bit. Southeast Asia, Japan, Hong Kong, even the United States for conferences. Joseph, though? He was a pure Upton local. No wonder he was nervous.
“I’m more worried about seasickness.”
“The ship?”
Oh...
Right.
I had never traveled by boat before either. That realization made me a little nervous too. Joseph noticed and continued.
“Didn’t your dad tell you about when he went to Ireland?”
“Yeah, he fixed stuff for me.”
“Right. Thanks to him, I had peace of mind... But the ship was hell.”
“Hell?”
In twenty-first-century Korea, we used that word all the time. But here? No way. People were religious. “Hell” was not a casual term. Yet Joseph said it so easily.
“Well, maybe it’s a bit of an exaggeration... But my dad still wakes up from nightmares about it. Says he feels like he’s still on the boat. Apparently, he could have made more money importing Islay whiskey, but he just couldn’t handle the sea.”
“Huh...”
Joseph’s father was one of those unyielding types. For a Quaker to settle near London and still sell alcohol? That made him a pariah even among Quakers. Honestly, he was kind of like a miniature Liston.
And even he feared ships?
But wait. It’s a steamship now. That has to be better, right?
The only boats I had been on were cruise ships. And a sunset yacht once, when a professor dragged me along. That was not a great memory. I shoved it aside and remembered what my military friends used to say.
“Hey, the Navy’s the worst.”
“You ever been on a boat?”
“Yeah. Gulf of Aden.”
Right. Every soldier who had been at sea said the same thing. At the time, I brushed it off as macho posturing. But now, I wished I had listened more closely.
“Howdy... You’re all here. I’ll be staying over and heading out with you tomorrow. Any place around here to drink?”
As soon as the coachman mentioned the boat again, Joseph and I went completely silent. By the time we had shaken it off, we had already arrived in Upton.
Had it been three hours?
For such a short distance, it had taken us months to return.
Yeah... I’ve really been busy.
Usually, when people said that, it was just an excuse. But this time, it was true.
“Oh, my family runs a brewery. If you want to drink, I’ll just give you some.”
“Oh? Oh right! That’s true! Hahaha!”
Unlike Joseph and me, who were still tense from our ship-related anxiety, the coachman was laughing and talking about booze like it was nothing. When I mentioned that we were not sure where to sleep, he said, “You’re gonna pass out drunk anyway, so who cares where?”
Ah yes.
The age of real men.
We left the “real man” behind and headed home. Well, separate homes, technically. But there were no fences, and we usually ate together in the street anyway, so we sat down at the same table.
“Taepyeong! Look at you! I’ve heard all about what you’ve been doing. Amazing!”
My dad greeted me with a warm grin. This was the same man who had once charmed my would-be nun of a mother on a ship. That smile still had the same charm.
I had worried he might have aged a lot in just a few months, but he looked just the same.
“Eat your kimchi! Look how skinny you’ve gotten!”
And my mom was stuffing kimchi into my mouth like always.
If this had been my past life, I would have hated it.
“...It’s so good.”
After months of bland London food, kimchi was pure bliss.
“We’ve got bulgogi too!”
“Bulgogi?!”
Joseph’s reaction was hilarious.
I would not fault him for losing it. British cuisine, especially in London, was a black hole of flavor. Even top chefs could not save it.
“Mother, Father... What exactly were we eating all this time?”
Joseph looked traumatized, practically inhaling kimchi, bulgogi, and vegetable pancakes. He must have been remembering that awful meal the director gave us before we came back.
“Cucumber... and fish...”
“...What?”
Even my dad was stunned by that bizarre combination. Despite being British, he had long since gotten used to Mom’s Korean cooking.
“They made jelly out of that...”
“Must have done something bad in a past life.”
“No! No, Father! They eat it because they think it’s good!”
“Unbelievable.”
Dad just laughed and said I had gotten funnier since moving to London. Joseph banged on his chest in frustration.
To be fair, the food was surreal. Even I, who had been there at the time, had thought I was dreaming.
“Haha, just kidding.”
“You idiot. I’m sick of this.”
Joseph looked at me, already exhausted. I just shook my head.
“Anyway, you two are adults now. How about some booze?”
Dad got up, grinning. Mom shouted after him.
“Hey! Be careful! You’re gonna get that stomachache again!”
Huh?
“What does she mean by that?”
Why would your stomach hurt from food?
Dad saw my confusion and quickly stood up.
“Brother, let me carry it.”
“Hey, I’ve still got strength.”
“My stomach has been acting up... and something is bulging.”
Bulging?
“Pyeong, don’t bother. You’re delicate. Go rest.”
Before I knew it, I was wedged between my dad and uncle. I thought I had grown, but standing next to them, I still felt small.
Little Liston indeed...
“No, I want to take a look at the abdomen.”
“What do you mean—oh, right! You’re a doctor now, a professor!”
“No—”
Before I could correct them, Liston himself stood up.
“If you touch that spot wrong, you’ll die.”
Blunt.
But honestly, in the nineteenth century, it was not wrong. You did not just poke around in someone’s gut.
Except I was not like the others.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Hah! I used to say stuff like that too. I thought my home-brewed alcohol was the best, until I tried French wine.”
He thought I was just being a cocky kid.
I was about to argue when an unexpected rescue arrived.
“Father! I checked. It’s true. That’s his real title.”
“These guys are always together...”
“Otherwise, how would I have become a professor? You know Alfred, right?”
“Of course. Said he was your senior.”
“Well, I saved his life when he almost died from an abdominal infection. Right now, I’m doing abdominal surgery research with Dr. Liston.”
“...Huh. Is that so? Then would you mind taking a look?”
And just like that, I got permission to examine my uncle’s abdomen.