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## Chapter 11 — White Goose Grandpa
“Tch, another failure today too.”
White Goose Grandpa clicked his tongue while staring at the bird displayed on his digital camera screen.
“So that bird wasn’t a white goose either?”
“Nope. That’s a Chinese Egret, not a white goose. Just because it’s white doesn’t make it a white goose— …wait, who the
heck are you?!”
The moment I spoke from behind him, White Goose Grandpa jumped in surprise and shouted.
“Ah, you’re that young fellow from earlier?”
“Yes, that’s me. Wow… this Chinese Egret bird is really pretty too.”
When I sincerely admired the Chinese Egret in the photo, White Goose Grandpa stared at me with an incredulous
expression.
“No, seriously! Why’d you suddenly appear behind me like that?! I thought you were a ghost!”
“Ah, sorry about that. I just wanted to ask you about birds.”
“…Birds?”
One of the things Suncheon Bay was famous for, aside from the beautiful scenery, was the wide variety of birds living
throughout the massive wetlands.
So saying I was curious about birds wasn’t a lie.
“Yes. I heard from some people earlier that you’ve been observing birds every single day for years now?”
“…That’s true.”
“Since I’m visiting Suncheon Bay anyway, I got curious about the birds living here. I was wondering if I might learn a
thing or two if I followed you around.”
“……”
People were still difficult for me.
But—
ever since meeting that kind old man in the small village of Dalsol-ri, Jangseong County—
elderly people with deeply lined wrinkles no longer felt intimidating.
As I smiled awkwardly, White Goose Grandpa paused for a moment before replying:
“…You really are a strange student, aren’t you? Follow me or don’t, do whatever you want. But if you’re going to follow
me, stay quiet and move carefully. Otherwise the birds’ll all fly away.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
White Goose Grandpa frowned like he was annoyed, but he didn’t actually seem upset.
A lot of elderly people acted gruff on the outside while secretly being warm-hearted inside.
White Goose Grandpa seemed exactly like that kind of person.
“Come on then, hurry up. This is the perfect time for the birds to be feeding.”
“Yes, let’s go. Please take care of me today.”
And so, my journey alongside White Goose Grandpa began.
The photographer I met earlier had been right—
White Goose Grandpa seemed incredibly familiar with the geography of Suncheon Bay.
Everywhere we went following him, birds gathered in abundance.
The old man carefully observed birds hunting or resting in the wetlands with sharp hawk-like eyes, and whenever he
spotted a white bird, he took a picture.
Click.
“Was the bird you just photographed a white goose?”
“Nope, that’s a Little Egret. Similar to the Chinese Egret from earlier.”
“Oh, then why take a picture if it’s not a white goose?”
“What if it actually *is* a white goose and I just mistook it? Better to photograph it just in case.”
Even if there was only the slightest possibility it might be a white goose, he photographed every white-colored bird he
saw.
White Goose Grandpa’s obsession with finding the white goose was beyond imagination.
“Wow, that bird’s really cute. Could *that* one be a white goose?”
“Nope, that’s a White Wagtail.”
“Then what about that one?”
“…That bird isn’t even white to begin with. That’s a Little Ringed Plover.”
“You really know a lot about birds, Grandpa.”
“Well, I had to study all sorts of books to find the white goose.”
But no matter how hard we searched all morning, we couldn’t find a white goose.
Actually—
we couldn’t even find an ordinary brown goose.
Because geese were winter migratory birds, and right now it was summer.
By the time we had practically circled the entire ecological park and observed almost every bird in Suncheon Bay, White
Goose Grandpa asked in an exhausted voice:
“Ah, I’m beat. It’s hot and I’m starving too. Let’s eat and come back later. How about kongguksu?”
“Sure, I like kongguksu.”
The place White Goose Grandpa brought me to was a shabby noodle restaurant near Suncheon Bay.
The old man coolly ordered two bowls of kongguksu and handed me chopsticks.
“This place is probably older than your father. You can look forward to it.”
“Ooh, sounds like a famous restaurant.”
“Of course it is. You Seoul kids’ll lose your minds after tasting it.”
Maybe because we had spent the entire morning searching for white geese together, the old man’s guard seemed to have
lowered enough for him to joke around lightly.
And when the kongguksu finally arrived—
“…! It’s delicious…!”
It was genuinely mind-blowingly good.
There was an unfortunate accident where I added sugar instead of salt—
but somehow the sugar actually made it better.
The rich and nutty soybean broth blended perfectly with the sweetness.
“It’s amazing even with sugar in it!”
“Soybean noodles are *supposed* to have sugar in them! Whenever I see people adding salt, my chest feels all stuffy!”
Since I was already hungry, I devoured the bowl almost instantly.
Lunch ended up being far more satisfying than I expected.
But—
Slurp.
By the time I completely finished my bowl, White Goose Grandpa had barely eaten half of his.
How old was he exactly?
At the very least, he had to be over eighty.
Even finishing a single bowl of kongguksu looked difficult for him.
Back when we were walking around Suncheon Bay earlier, he had already seemed exhausted while I still felt fine.
For White Goose Grandpa, wandering across this enormous wetland every day must’ve been incredibly difficult.
So why did he remain so obsessed with the white goose for years without giving up?
I felt that now was finally the time to ask.
“Why are you searching so hard for the white goose?”
“……”
Unexpectedly, White Goose Grandpa answered without hesitation.
“My old lady’s sick.”
“…I’m sorry to hear that. Is it serious?”
“When people get old, everything starts hurting eventually. My wife’s legs hurt badly, so she can’t walk much anymore.
But even that old woman who struggles to walk told me she wanted to see a white goose.”
As he spoke, the old man’s eyes drifted into distant memories.
“When we were young… back when I was still a bachelor and she was still unmarried, we saw one together. A white goose
resting on those reed fields over there.”
“……”
“At the time, we didn’t even know it was called a white goose. We only found out later after reading books. Back then we
just stared at it blankly thinking, ‘Wow, that bird’s really beautiful.’”
The emotions radiating from the old man were incredibly deep.
The density of memories he had treasured for decades was so overwhelming I couldn’t even begin to measure it.
“I still remember it clearly. It was definitely a blazing summer day. The white goose we saw together back then was
truly beautiful.”
White Goose Grandpa relaxed his usual stubborn expression and continued with a bitter smile.
“My wife and I don’t have that much life left ahead of us. I want to leave behind more happy memories together, but her
body hurts too much for us to really do anything anymore.”
“……”
“So at the very least, I want us to hold onto the good memories from our youth. That’s why I keep searching for the
white goose—so I can take a picture and show it to her.”
After finishing his story, White Goose Grandpa quietly resumed eating the rest of his kongguksu.
Watching him, I let out a silent exclamation inside my head.
‘Just as I thought… White Goose Grandpa doesn’t have dementia.’
He had a reason.
A reason he absolutely had to find the white goose.
And—
I wanted to help him.
I wanted him to finally find the white goose and relive those old memories together with his wife.
“So, if you’re done eating, should we get moving again? You still planning to follow me around, student?”
“Yes! I’ll help you find the white goose!”
“Heh, energetic kid. I’ve got a good feeling today.”
But even after finishing our kongguksu and searching all throughout Suncheon Bay for the entire afternoon—
even after photographing every white bird we could find—
we still failed to find the white goose that day.
---
“Tsk tsk, another wasted day.”
White Goose Grandpa clicked his tongue while looking up at the sunset-colored sky.
After running all over the reed fields following him around, I lifted my head and asked:
“Ah, so we’re done for today?”
“Yep. It’s time for the birds to go rest too. We should head back as well.”
White Goose Grandpa glanced over Suncheon Bay with lingering regret before turning to me.
“Looking at all the luggage you’re carrying, you seem to be traveling. Got anywhere to stay tonight?”
“I was planning to look for somewhere now.”
“If you’ve got nowhere to stay, come sleep at our place.”
“…Excuse me? No, I couldn’t possibly impose like that.”
Startled by the sudden suggestion, I waved my hands frantically, but the old man grumbled back:
“What, you don’t want to stay at an old man’s house or something?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Just stay over. …Think of it as repayment for helping this grumpy old man all day. At least let me feed you properly.”
At that point, there was no way I could refuse.
And so, I agreed to stay for the night and followed the old man home.
His house was located about fifteen minutes on foot from Suncheon Bay.
It was a modest traditional tile-roofed house surrounded by striking white walls.
“Old lady! I’m home!”
“Good grief, this old man wandering around the park again… hm? Who’s that beside you?”
The moment we stepped inside, an elderly woman greeted us.
She leaned on a cane, and it looked like walking was difficult for her.
“Oh, this is a friend I met while searching for geese. He’s staying the night.”
“Hello. Thank you for letting me stay here tonight.”
As I bowed deeply in greeting, the grandmother smiled brightly.
“Oh my! How did our stubborn old man become friends with such a handsome young student? Have you eaten yet?”
“We’re both still hungry.”
“Then wait just a little! I’ll prepare a huge meal!”
As the grandmother headed toward the kitchen, White Goose Grandpa immediately shouted in frustration:
“Your legs already hurt, so what kind of meal are you trying to make?! Just go lie down! I’ll handle it!”
“Oh please! Just because my legs hurt doesn’t mean I can’t cook! You should be the one resting!”
But even White Goose Grandpa’s fiery personality couldn’t defeat his wife.
Watching her stubbornly march toward the kitchen, he let out a helpless laugh and turned toward me.
“That stubborn old lady’s my wife. She may look gentle, but her personality’s rough as hell. Seriously.”
Even while grumbling, his eyes looking at her overflowed with affection.
As though simply watching her made him happy.
Even though they had already spent decades together as husband and wife.
“You must really love your wife, Grandpa.”
“Love? Don’t say embarrassing things like that. …That old woman used to be the most popular girl in our town, you know.
Yet she married a nobody farmer like me.”
I didn’t know what kind of life this old man had lived.
But the pure emotions he held toward his wife came through clearly.
“They say seeing a white goose brings incredible luck. The day after my wife and I saw that white goose together, we
held our wedding ceremony. Meeting her was the greatest blessing in all eighty years of my life.”
Only then did I finally realize why I had followed White Goose Grandpa around all day.
I wanted to paint.
I wanted to paint something beautiful.
Not beauty in the sense of flashy appearances or grand natural landscapes—
but beauty born from pure human emotion.
I wanted to paint this old man’s pure love centered around the white goose.
‘Spread your talent to as many people as possible. Then the world will become more beautiful.’
I wanted to gift this warm and loving elderly couple the memories of their youth once again.
