Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Hyorin's Heart from Ten Years Ago
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I couldn't hear everything, but I had a pretty good idea of what had gone down between them.
'No way Jungeun confessed.'
Of course, it looked like Minji Gong had turned down his confession.
The real issue was that neither of them seemed to have changed their minds at all over the years.
Was that even possible...?
Honestly, if they'd kept seeing each other after college graduation, maybe. But they'd been apart for quite a while, and their feelings were still the same. Even I had a hard time wrapping my head around it.
But maybe that's what made it love.
No one around them could understand, but the two people involved...
'Hmm...'
Right now, their faces were flushed beet red from embarrassment, but the feelings they'd confessed to each other had to be genuine.
"Hohoho, thanks to you students, I feel like I've watched a full youth drama."
The lady who'd come with us was the village head's wife.
I'd gone to ask the village head if we could dig around under the sacred tree, but he was out.
Since I couldn't get permission and was hesitating, his wife had offered to come along with us.
At her words, the two of them hurriedly greeted her.
"Ah, hello."
"Um, are you the village head?"
"Hoho, no. I'm his wife. These folks wanted to dig under the sacred tree, but that old man won't pick up his phone. So we came to check it out ourselves."
Then she turned to Jungeun with a mischievous look.
"By the way, that was pretty cool. Very manly."
"Ah..."
He looked like he'd crawl into a mouse hole if he could.
His expression screamed he didn't want any more questions, but this lady wasn't one to let such an entertaining scene slide.
"And you, miss."
"Y-Yes, me?"
"Yes, you. Miss... when was that? It was pretty long ago, I think. There was this young lady just like you way back when."
She continued with an incredibly kind face.
"I told that girl back then the same thing. Men are like animals, you know. If you don't tell them, they won't get it. Even if you think you said it, you have to spell it out clearly so they really hear you. And in life, there might be misunderstandings, fights, tough times. But that's just how men are—you can't help it. That's all you need to think."
"M-Men as animals?"
"Yes. Simple, super passive. But isn't that kind of cute? Well, sometimes creepy, sure."
Minji Gong's expression changed at the unexpected advice from the lady.
"You're right. If I'd heard that back then, maybe the past would've turned out differently."
"Who knows?"
"Yes."
"That girl from ten years ago... I told her the same thing, but who could've guessed they'd end up misunderstanding each other all over again?"
For a moment, her story made my eyes go wide.
"Ten years ago? You mean what you just told us happened ten years ago?"
"Exactly. Ah! It was right here, too. What was it... my memory's fuzzy with age, but something about getting hit by the wind?"
Her words left my mouth hanging open.
"Found it."
It seemed I'd stumbled upon the heart Hyorin had left behind.
Swoosh.
"Come on in, everyone."
The lady handed us cups filled with an opaque drink.
I took a whiff.
"Is this sikhye?"
"Yes, it is. I made it at home, so not sure if it'll taste good."
Gulp!
At the word "sikhye," Daeun took a big sip right away. Her eyes went huge, and she shouted.
"Daddy, this is super tasty!"
"Let me try."
Gulp.
"Whoa! So refreshing!"
The sikhye, floating with bits of shaved ice, was pure nectar.
And since we'd unintentionally hiked to the sacred tree, it tasted even sweeter.
"But I had no idea. That you were the friends of that young lady from ten years ago."
That surprised me even more.
It was too huge to chalk up to coincidence.
If the village head had been home, or even answered his phone, we wouldn't have heard the story.
She'd shared it because she was his wife, and Jungeun and Minji Gong's little scene had brought it up.
"Still, looks like you two lived well with the advice I gave. Got such a pretty daughter and all."
Honey practically dripped from the lady's face. But then she gave a wry smile and words of comfort.
"If I'd known it'd end up like this, I'd have told her to express her feelings more boldly. Sorry."
"No, it was thanks to you that Hyorin could open up to me."
"Really?"
As she said that, I smiled and asked.
"But at least we found out what heart Hyorin left behind. That's a relief."
"Oh, did the little one's mom say that?"
"Yes. When we finished everything here and got on the bus, she said she'd left her heart somewhere here, and it'd stay in her memory for a long time."
"Her heart?"
Hyorin had probably confirmed her own feelings through that talk with the lady.
That's why she'd said she left her heart here.
At my story, the lady tilted her head.
"We did talk back then, but that was it."
"Yes."
"Maybe she just remembers it because youth is so beautiful—about ten minutes or so. Nothing big really happened."
"Then leaving her heart behind..."
Could she have actually hidden something under the sacred tree? Just then,
Jungeun asked.
"What if she really hid something under the tree?"
The lady shook her head.
"Probably not. Three years ago, or whenever, we had heavy rain here. Tons of soil washed away from under the tree. We did repairs after, so if there'd been anything, we'd have known."
"Ah..."
No wonder the area around the sacred tree looked so neatly maintained—they'd actually paid for construction work.
'Maybe we should call it quits here...'
Even if I wanted to dig more, there was nothing we could do.
The talk with the lady had been brief, and we couldn't just dig up the ground on the off chance something was buried.
It sucked to come all this way and leave empty-handed, but we had no choice.
That's when I was about to give up completely.
Click.
"Oh, honey, you're back."
The village head, who'd stepped out briefly, returned home.
"Yeah, looks like we have guests."
Wearing a big straw hat, he headed straight to the bathroom to wash his hands and feet.
After a refreshing wash, he downed a cup of sikhye from the lady in one go and said.
"Whew! Hits the spot. So, who are these folks? New faces."
"Oh, you remember that pension up there? Back when it was booming, tons of students came, right?"
"Oh yeah, I remember. They swarmed every year."
"These young folks say they were college students who came here about ten years ago."
"Oh, really?"
He plopped down next to the lady and said.
"Nice to meet you. I'm the village head here."
"Ah, hello."
"Hello, sir."
Bow.
"Hello!"
We all greeted the village head.
At our actions, he asked curiously with a friendly face.
"So, what brings students from back then here after ten years? Not like you're looking for something you lost."
"Ah, well..."
I explained everything that had happened so far to the village head.
Including what we'd heard since arriving here.
"So now we're giving up and heading back."
"Hmm, the sacred tree... Yeah, they dug it up during repairs not long ago. Nothing there. Hmm..."
Then the lady next to him prodded like she was nagging.
"You don't remember anything? You and old Park from up front did that work yourselves. You must know something."
"Me? Nah, Park hired people for it all."
"Then call Park. He might know something."
Hmm, things were escalating.
From the lady to the village head, now this Park guy.
I tried to stop it, worried the whole village would end up knowing, but.
Rrring!
The village head was a go-getter.
As soon as it came up, he pulled out his phone and called Park.
"Hey, Park. Got a question. Remember that sacred tree repair three years back? Yeah, that one. Did anything turn up during it? Like from ten years ago..."
Hahaha...
Our story was spreading through the village at warp speed.
I was grateful but also worried we were causing a hassle. Just then,
"Yeah, yeah. So you remember?"
The village head, having explained everything, finally got a response.
"What? Something did come out of the ground back then?"
Whoosh!
At the words that something had been found in the ground, not just me but everyone listening stared at the village head on the phone.
"Ah, okay. We'll head over now, so wait a bit. Ah, these folks are coming too. See you soon."
Click.
The call ended, and the village head stood up right away.
"Park found something in the ground back then. Thought it might be important, so he kept it instead of tossing it. Could be what you're looking for, so let's all go check."
I couldn't help but widen my eyes.
'No way, it was really there?'
Hyorin's heart from ten years ago really existed?
Of course, we'd come this far hoping there might be something.
But...
When it actually turned up, my heart pounded like crazy.
"Th-Then let's go."
We followed the village head out of the house to Mr. Park's place right next door.
Bzzz!
The old doorbell rang through the whole house.
"Hey! You made it!"
A darkly tanned man came out barefoot.
"I was just looking for it. Come on in."
"Ah, hello. Pardon the intrusion."
As we timidly entered, Mr. Park pointed to the platform in the yard.
"Wait here a sec. I'll grab it quick. Dang, where'd I put that old thing?"
He went back inside.
Crash! Clank! Rattle!
Sounds like he was tearing the place apart, then a big whoop.
"Whoop! Found it!"
Mr. Park dashed back to the yard, holding a single sheet of paper in a clear plastic bag.
"Here, take it. It says 'To Kanghyeok' on it, so I kept it just in case. Good thing I didn't throw it out."
Sure enough, the paper he handed over had my name in Hyorin's handwriting.
'It was really here. Hyorin's heart.'
What on earth had her heart been back then?
In front of everyone, I tore open the plastic and pulled out the neatly folded paper.
And.
Gulp.
With bated breath, I unfolded it and finally saw the heart Hyorin had left behind after about ten years.
That heart was none other than...
"Hey, Daddy! Daeun's here too!"
Nod.
"Yeah, it's our family."
It was a family portrait drawn by Hyorin.
And incredibly, there was a child holding hands with Hyorin and me.