The Ex-Girlfriend Visits Her Family Home
By the time the lunch that had stuffed him to bursting finally began to settle, Sihyun was climbing a steep slope, his whole body rattling from the vibration and his ears ringing with the roar of the exhaust.
First time riding a cultivator, but it’s actually pretty decent.
Seated in the cargo bed, he glanced back. The higher they climbed, the more the sea came into view—a landscape so beautiful he would have snapped a photo on the spot if he’d brought his phone. Yet something else held his attention even more tightly.
"You… know how to drive a cultivator?"
It was Yerin, hands on the wheel. At the note of admiration in his voice she puffed out her chest, face full of pride.
"Of course. If I felt like it, I could drive this thing all the way to Daegu."
Typical of her—give her a plane and she’d try to fly to space. Sihyun could only shake his head as he kept the conversation going.
"When’d you get the license?"
"Huh? Don’t have one."
"What do you mean? I thought you needed an agricultural machinery operator’s certificate to run a cultivator…"
"Ah~ that?"
Yerin fell silent for a moment. Then she twisted around with a sly little smile.
"Sihyun."
"What."
She leaned close, whispering into his ear as if sharing a secret.
"In a little village like this… as long as you don’t get caught, you can get away with anything."
"Get away with anything… Don’t tell me—!"
"Yep. Unlicensed."
Her bright, sunny smile sent a cold sweat trickling down Sihyun’s spine.
Wait… is the cultivator actually weaving a little?
It drifted left, then, just when it looked dangerous, corrected right—over and over. The zigzag only fed his rising panic.
"This isn’t good… Let’s pull over somewhere."
"Why… I’m driving just fine."
"Forget whether you’re driving well or not—you know it’s illegal the second you don’t have a license, right?"
"What… that was what you were worried about?"
Yerin’s lips curled in pure amusement.
"If that’s all, relax. I’m tight with the officers at the local police box. A little flirting and they’ll just laugh it off!"
"Ha."
Sihyun squeezed his eyes shut at the sight of his thoroughly corrupted childhood friend. Why had he ever agreed to come here? Not even a full day in and he was already regretting it.
Meanwhile Yerin, fretting that she might get another lecture, scanned the surroundings—and her face lit up.
"Grandma! Grandpa! I’m here!!"
She waved wildly in every direction. The farmers working the fields shouted back at once.
"Aigoo… our little pup’s back!!"
"And this time she even brought her husband!"
In this village Yerin was more than an idol. Cheers rose from every side, and Sihyun’s jaw dropped.
"You’re… pretty popular, huh?"
"Obviously. These are people I’ve known since I was little."
Riding the wave of welcome, they reached the terraced paddies at the top of the slope—broad steps carved into the mountainside, surprisingly spacious.
"Grandma said she’s planting lettuce down below, so we’ll plant carrots here."
"What do you need me to do?"
Yerin’s smile turned sly.
"Every time I get tired, you kiss me on the cheek?"
She’d been teasing him nonstop since the bus. Sihyun flicked a sharp knuckle against her head. Having failed to seize the upper hand, Yerin rubbed the spot and pointed to the long black plastic mulch stretched in neat rows.
"You poke holes at even intervals in the plastic, and I’ll plant the carrot seedlings in them…"
Sihyun, always quick with his hands, set to work at once. Grandma had already finished half the rows, so the job was done in no time. Yerin straightened her back, loaded Sihyun onto the cultivator again, and parked it back in its original spot.
"Sihyun, I’ve got something tasty for you. Come with me."
She led him to a tree. Looking up, he saw red, purple, and half-ripe green fruits hanging in abundance.
"What are those?"
"Figs. They’re ridiculously good."
Licking her lips, Yerin took a bamboo pole and gave the branches a few taps. Before long a fig dropped with a soft thud. Sihyun picked it up and waited for the next one—
"Eek! Get away! Shoo!"
Bees swarmed around Yerin. She yelped, flung the pole aside, and bolted; Sihyun scrambled after her.
"Guess the bees know how good figs are too. They’re not sharing."
He laughed. Yerin stamped her feet in fury.
"It’s our tree! Why are they eating them? Tell them to pay!"
After a long stretch of shrill complaining she stared mournfully at the single fig in Sihyun’s hand.
"Hngh… we only got one after all."
She wilted. Sihyun found the sight adorable—then noticed a stream nearby.
Splash. Splash.
He rinsed the fig in the clear water and split it in half. The ripe red flesh made his mouth water.
"Here."
He fed one half into Yerin’s mouth and ate the other himself. The sweetness told him exactly why she had raved about it.
"Thanks. Because of you I got to try something like this."
His praise-and-comfort made Yerin’s face brighten as she chewed.
"Right? I told you it was good."
"Yeah. Sweet—just my kind of thing."
She nodded vigorously, looking thoroughly pleased. Then, a moment later, she plopped down right where she stood with a dramatic "Ah!"
"Aigoo… my legs hurt so much I can’t walk another step~"
Her acting was terrible. Smiling, Sihyun understood perfectly and bent his knees.
"Want a piggyback?"
"Really?"
Just as she reached to loop her arms around his neck, Sihyun stood up and sprinted away.
"Hey!!"
For someone whose legs supposedly hurt, she chased him just fine.
Day faded quickly, and the early night of the countryside settled in.
Grandma had laid out only one set of bedding in the room. With a kindly smile she said,
"Grandma sleeps better alone, so you two share, all right?"
"No, Grandma. I can sleep in the living room."
Sihyun’s refusal met only deliberate avoidance of his gaze.
"We’ve only got two blankets, so you’ll just have to understand."
"I don’t even need a blanket—"
"Nights get so cold around here! Don’t go saying things like that."
Faced with Grandma’s iron will, Sihyun finally yielded. Behind him Yerin secretly gave a thumbs-up. Grandma nodded once and left the room.
"Looks like we have no choice but to sleep together, huh?"
"Even so…"
"Why~ When you broke up with Chaeyeon last time, you slept with me just fine."
"Back then I wasn’t really conscious of you. Now…"
"Now?"
Yerin’s eyes sparkled. Suddenly shy, Sihyun burrowed under the blanket. It was useless—she had him in the palm of her hand. Excited, Yerin hugged the whole blanket-wrapped bundle and whispered,
"I really, really like you. I love you, Sihyun…"
Still starved for affection after the breakup, Sihyun trembled at her confession.
A moment later he poked his head out. Yerin pulled him straight into her arms and, without the slightest hesitation, expressed her love.
Smack♡
After a thirty-minute trip from her studio apartment, Chaeyeon arrived at her family home. She fiddled with the door lock for a while before carefully entering the code.
Beep-beep!
The quiet made the electronic chime sound especially loud. Startled, Chaeyeon swallowed hard and opened the door.
"…I’m home."
Her soft voice met only silence. Were both of them out? She tilted her head and wandered through the house.
"Nobody’s here…"
The tension at the doorway deflated into a quiet sigh. She went to her room and unpacked.
They must clean it every day.
She hadn’t set foot in the house for months, yet her room was spotless, ready for use at any moment. The thought made her chest tighten. She looked around quietly, then sat on the bed and checked her phone.
No message from Sihyun… of course not.
She had checked all through the break—even in the taxi. Why did she keep hoping?
Sadness welled up. She hugged a pillow and let the pain of the breakup wash over her again.
Chaeyeon, do you even like me?
Why can’t you answer?
Selfish bitch.
Because she had never once said she liked him, she had left him disappointed. The contempt in his eyes as he walked away still squeezed her heart every single day.
"I like you… I love you… I love you enough to give you everything I am… I’m sorry I can’t say it. But once this trauma is fixed, I’ll return every bit of love you gave me twice over."
The mantra she whispered whenever the pain became too much.
How happy would Sihyun be if she could just show him affection? Thinking of that future eased the tightness in her chest a little.
Freed for a moment from the ache of separation, Chaeyeon opened her gallery and stared at Sihyun’s photos, losing all sense of time.
"You’re so cute… Just looking at you makes me happy…"
The love she had kept bottled up was running wild in a place he would never see. His face filled her unfocused eyes and poured straight into her heart.
Little by little her hand began to drift between her thighs—
Beep-beep!
The door lock chimed again, snapping her back to reality. She smoothed her messy hair, straightened her wrinkled clothes, cleared her throat, and stepped out of the room.
"You’re home."
Her eyes went wide at the entrance. Suyeon and Donghun walked in together—holding hands.
"Oh my. Chaeyeon, when did you get here?"
"Our daughter’s on break already, huh?"
Both faces were full of smiles. An unnameable unease settled in Chaeyeon’s chest, but she answered without showing it.
"I got in around lunchtime."
"Really? Have you eaten?"
When she shook her head, Suyeon smiled gently.
"Then let’s get some food in you first."
She started toward the kitchen, then turned back to Donghun with a little "oh."
"Give me your bag. I’ll put it away."
"Thanks, honey."
Watching her parents’ tender exchange, Chaeyeon’s body gradually froze. Especially that smile on her mother’s face—it looked so much like Suyeon before the divorce that her mind reeled.
Suyeon tied on an apron and began preparing the meal. Coming back to herself a beat late, Chaeyeon asked Donghun,
"Dad… you came in with Mom. What were the two of you doing?"
"We went to the counseling center. We go together every holiday."
"The counseling center…"
The same place she herself had visited many times—and now her parents were going too.
More than the fact that they had been to counseling, Chaeyeon was shaken by the change in her mother.
How can Mom…
She had been worse off than Chaeyeon herself. How could she look as if she had already shaken off the trauma?
The truth was hard to swallow; her stomach churned. Oblivious, Donghun continued with a face full of happiness.
"Your mom’s changed a lot, hasn’t she? The counseling must be working—lately she smiles more, holds my hand… Watching her change little by little makes me so glad."
He kept listing the ways Suyeon had improved, but none of it reached Chaeyeon’s ears.
No—she heard it. She simply did not want to listen.