Chapter 10
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Is There a Place to Stay the Night Nearby?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The characters, events, places, and other details appearing in this story are fictional and may differ from reality.
Scene 10. Is There a Place to Stay the Night Nearby?
Seong-hui, on the verge of grabbing the taxi driver by the collar, was suddenly struck by fear.
The sun had set.
The road was deserted.
A glance out the window revealed no one coming or going.
She recalled articles that occasionally made international headlines.
News about a woman traveling alone who was robbed of her money and body, left naked and abandoned, or found dead in some remote place.
The driver’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror, and a grin spread across his face.
*Ah… No!*
What was she thinking, getting angry at him for driving to such a remote place without explanation? Questioning him about overcharging the fare?
*You’re insane, Kim Seong-hui. This isn’t Korea!*
She’d heard that in Europe, unless you were in a bustling city, you shouldn’t leave the house after dark.
*Especially not a woman. Never!*
The thought that she had to get out of this taxi as soon as possible consumed her.
*But if I get out here, where will I go? No. First, I have to escape the taxi. I can worry about the rest later.*
As her trembling hands reached for her cash, another fear seized her.
*What if he sees the money and suddenly turns on me, demanding everything I have? What do I do then? Should I fight?*
Once the terrifying thoughts began, everything felt suspicious and frightening.
While Kim Seong-hui hesitated, unable to decide what to do, the taxi driver turned his head toward the back.
*Gasp!*
“We’re here. Camu.”
“Huh? Oh. Okay. Okay.”
“That will be 120 euros.”
“Right. 120 euros.”
Steeling herself, Seong-hui took the money from her wallet.
“Here.”
“Thank you. Good day.”
To her immense relief, the driver, contrary to her fears, simply took the money and made no other move.
*Phew… What a relief.*
Seong-hui let out a sigh of relief and got out of the car. But once she was out, she felt completely lost. Even in Korea, she’d feel uncertain on an unfamiliar road, but this was a whole different world.
*Now where do I go? Where is this Camu?*
Seong-hui stood by the side of the road, looking around. But in the growing darkness, she could see nothing.
Just then, the taxi, which had been about to leave, stopped again.
*What? Why? Just go! Get out of here!*
The engine whirred as the taxi reversed and pulled up beside her.
“Ma’am. Are you, by any chance, lost?”
“Ah… No. I know the way.”
“You do? That’s a relief, then. Good day.”
The taxi driver, as if he had worried for nothing, turned his head back inside the car.
*What’s with him? Why is he being so nice? Was I just being paranoid?*
As it seemed the taxi driver was about to leave for good, she quickly waved her hand.
“Um… excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry, but is there a place to stay the night near Camu?”
“What?”
At Seong-hui’s question, the taxi driver looked bewildered, as if he didn’t understand what she meant.
“The sun’s gone down, and I think I need to find a place to stay first.”
“.....”
*What is it? Why isn’t he saying anything? If you were going to help, be a little more proactive about it!*
Her emotions swung wildly from anger to fear and back to anger again, like a madwoman on a seesaw, even though she wasn't menopausal.
The taxi driver pointed behind Seong-hui.
“....?”
“Pension, Camu.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you book a room at Camu?”
“.....”
Seong-hui was speechless for a moment.
*What? So… Camu isn’t a tourist spot in Malta or something like that. It was a pension?*
Seeing Seong-hui’s bewildered expression, the taxi driver seemed to grasp the situation.
“Did you just show up after seeing a picture on a postcard?”
“Well, that is…”
Seong-hui hesitated, unable to answer right away. She felt like a complete fool for showing up without knowing where she was going or what Camu even was.
“You’re going to get yourself into big trouble.”
Under the taxi driver’s pitying gaze, Seong-hui finally broke.
“Please… help me.”
The taxi driver seemed to ponder for a moment, then held out his hand.
“Huh?”
“Guide fee. 10 euros.”
Seong-hui looked back and forth between the driver’s hand and his face, then said, “Ah! Yes,” and quickly took out 10 euros to give him.
“Okay.”
Pleased, the driver pocketed the money, made a call, then parked the taxi on the side of the road and got out.
“Follow me.”
He gestured for her to follow and started walking ahead.
Seong-hui, who had been relieved to get his help, felt her anger flare up again. The taxi driver was heading toward a thicket of bushes.
*I’m going to lose my mind!*
Should she follow him? Or should she bash him in the back of the head and run? Her mind reeled in a cycle of confusion.
After walking for about three minutes, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a Mediterranean-style mansion. In front of it, someone was waving at the taxi driver.
“Don Karman! It’s been a while.”
The driver hurried over and bowed his head to the man who came out of the mansion.
*Don… Karman?*
Seong-hui thought the name the driver had used sounded somewhat like a mafioso’s.
The driver pointed to Seong-hui, who was standing awkwardly behind him, and explained something. The man called Don Karman gave a slight nod and then beckoned to her.
Seong-hui approached hesitantly, sneaking a glance at Don Karman.
*Huh? He’s not European?*
Despite his mafia-like name, Don Karman had distinctly East Asian features.
“Are you Korean?”
“Ah!”
“Jeez. I should just collect all those damn postcards and burn them. Just when I think it’s over, another one shows up like this.”
From the way he spoke, it seemed quite a few people like her had appeared out of the blue, clutching a single postcard.
“Let’s go inside. Alain, you’ve worked hard. Stop by for a meal sometime.”
“Haha. If you’re inviting, I’d be happy to come anytime. Can I bring the kids?”
“Of course. Were you planning on coming alone? I’ll take it from here, so you can head off.”
“Yes, Don Karman. Well, I’ll be on my way.”
The taxi driver bid farewell to the man who appeared to be the owner of the mansion and headed back the way they came.
“Let’s go in.”
“Pardon?”
“You came looking for Camu, didn’t you?”
“...Yes.”
“This is Camu.”
“Ah…”
“Consider yourself lucky. If a room hadn’t opened up because of a cancellation, you would’ve had to take that fellow’s taxi right back.”
“Oh, I see.”
At the man’s words about being lucky, Seong-hui nodded repeatedly.
Meeting a kind taxi driver, that driver happening to know the owner of Camu, and a room being available despite her showing up after dark without a reservation. Seong-hui truly felt she was lucky.
Suddenly, she remembered the taxi driver’s habitual phrase, “Good day.”
Was this a series of fortunate events?
Seong-hui began to think that perhaps, in a place like this, she might find the good fortune to break through her writer’s block.
*
Camu was… how to put it? Yes. It was paradise on earth.
Vast vineyards stretched out before her, with the Mediterranean Sea visible beyond them. A grand mansion, fit for an aristocrat, and exquisite food.
Moreover, Camu was open on all sides, offering a panoramic view of the sunrise and sunset.
Especially when the sunset descended between the vineyards, it felt as if she were in an entirely different world.
She also understood why the taxi driver had stopped on the road behind the mansion.
For a car to reach the farm where the pension was located, it had to take a long detour along the coastal road, so he had dropped her off next to a footpath.
The driver had done it for her convenience, but in her ignorance, she had completely misunderstood.
*Yes. In a place like this. A place like this! I’ll be able to write the masterpiece that will finally crush that bitch Park Yu-mi!*
Embracing the emotion welling up from deep within her chest, she opened her laptop.
And then.
A week passed.
*
“What should I do?”
Don Karman, whose Korean name was Kang Man-dong, wore a worried expression as he thought of the guest from Korea.
“Is something troubling you?”
The taxi driver, Alain, who had come to Camu for a visit with his family, looked up from his plate of bulgogi.
“It’s about the guest you brought a few days ago.”
“The guest I brought? Ah, that Korean woman.”
“Yes.”
“What about her? Did she cause any trouble? Or is she refusing to pay for her room…”
“No, if it were something like that, I wouldn’t have to worry. I’d just kick her out.”
Alain tilted his head, then spoke again.
“If she’s not causing a disturbance and she’s paying on time, isn’t everything fine?”
“Because it looks like I might have to clean up a corpse.”
“What?”
Alain looked shocked at the mention of cleaning up a corpse.
“Did… did she come here to commit suicide?”
“That’s what I don’t know. For the first few days, she was full of life, running around like a puppy, but lately, she’s been cooped up in her room, refusing to come out. On top of that, she drinks all day long. Yesterday, I saw her leaning on the balcony, looking like someone who’d given up on life.”
“Oh my god. What if that’s really it?”
“That’s why I said I’m worried.”
“You should go and talk to her. If a body really does turn up here, it’ll tarnish Camu’s reputation.”
Alain looked even more concerned than Kang Man-dong, the owner of the pension. Camu was more than just a pension.
It was a place loved and cherished by everyone in the community, a source of local pride. For someone to commit suicide there?
“The thought alone is horrifying.”
“I can’t just let this be. You finish your meal with the kids and rest up. I’m going to her room.”
“You should finish eating first.”
“No. When I decide to do something, I have to do it right away. You know how I am.”
“Heh heh. I do.”
Not just Alain, but everyone in the local community knew of Kang Man-dong’s decisiveness.
It was so well-known that a saying had even emerged: “Don Karman has made his move.”
Leaving the main building’s dining hall, Kang Man-dong headed straight for the separate pension building.
Arriving at Kim Seong-hui’s room, he knocked on the door without hesitation.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
“Miss. Are you awake? I need to talk to you.”