10-1
by Han Yong-un
Two days later.
It was an evening when it rained.
The tavern of Hong Suk-ja was particularly empty.
There were only a few patrons who had come in to escape the rain, and unlike the usual lively atmosphere, a sense of silence even lingered.
Sun-young was sitting on the threshold of her room, blankly staring at the edge of the eaves.
The raindrops falling under the light of the lamp sparkled like tiny beads.
The droplets, which shone brilliantly, shattered the moment they touched the ground.
Then another droplet followed and fell.
Sun-young strangely found that sight pitiful.
So she suddenly reached out her hand.
Wondering what it would be like to catch it before it fell.
But the droplet was the same even at the moment it touched her palm.
Tap.
And it broke apart.
Cold water splashed onto her hand, face, and collar.
Sun-young felt a chill in her heart for no reason.
It felt more pitiful for it to break in her hand than to shatter on the ground.
She moved to sit again and watched the raindrops.
How can I completely catch that bead-like droplet?
But no matter how much she thought about it, no solution came to mind.
Sun-young began to change the position of the lamp to see more clearly.
Wondering if it would be better if it shone a little brighter, she leaned the lamp forward—
but this time the raindrops were too clearly visible, causing the initial sparkle to disappear.
“Ah…”
Sun-young became dazed, as if she had realized her mistake for no reason.
She tried moving the lamp again.
She walked it up, looked down, and changed directions here and there—
but the sparkle she had first seen never returned.
Sun-young let out a sigh-like smile.
‘Is that how things in the world are…’
No matter how hard you try, it doesn’t work, and even if you try to hold on forcefully, it falls apart.
Such thoughts suddenly crossed her mind.
Still, wondering if she could see him again, Sun-young kept staring at the rain.
After staring for a long time, her eyes began to blur.
It almost seemed like she could see beads that weren't actually there.
It was then.
“What are you staring at so dazedly?”
Sun-young jumped in surprise at the sudden voice.
“Oh my, you scared me!”
When she turned her head, Jeong-soon was standing there.
“Why did you come without making a sound?”
“Why wouldn't I make a sound?”
Jeong-soon chuckled.
“I walked over from over there, and you were lost in thought.”
“But what brings you here in the rain?”
Sun-young stood up with a delighted face.
“This is really unexpected. Let's go inside quickly.”
Both of them entered the room.
Sun-young kept smiling as she seated Jeong-soon.
“But really, what’s the occasion?”
“I came because I missed you.”
“Huh?”
“I was sitting down after dinner when suddenly I thought of you.”
Jeong-soon laughed while brushing off her wet skirt with her hand.
“So I just threw on my raincoat and ran out.”
“Oh my, how cute.”
Sun-young burst into laughter.
“With the rain, it seems like people are getting chatty too?”
“I’m serious.”
Jeong-soon rolled her eyes.
“Do you think it was a joke coming through this rain?”
“Okay, okay.”
Sun-young felt inexplicably happy.
“You came at the right time. I thought I was going to die of boredom.”
Jeong-soon glanced outside the room once.
“By the way, about when you met Teacher Kim last time.”
Sun-young's expression changed in an instant.
“Huh?”
“What did you talk about after that day? You probably talked a lot about yourself, right?”
Sun-young pretended to be indifferent, but inside, her heart was racing.
Jeong-soon chuckled.
“Teacher Kim was completely smitten with you.”
“……!”
“How can someone be so dazed after just seeing someone once?”
Jeong-soon eventually burst into laughter.
Soon-young's face turned red.
“Don't say that… what did you really say?”
“What do you mean by a bad thing?”
Jeong-soon shook her head.
“You said you were calm and modest, so I said the same.”
And then she added with a playful face.
“You praised her so much that your mouth must have dried up.”
Soon-young bit her lips instead of laughing.
“Oh dear, you must have added your own words.”
“I told you it’s not!”
Jeong-soon leaned forward.
“It's true.”
Then she spoke in a slightly lower voice.
“But there was something even more amazing.”
“What is it?”
“Remember when you fell into the water in Wonsan?”
Soon-young's eyes widened.
“……!”
“The story of how Teacher Kim saved you. I heard everything.”
Soon-young's face suddenly turned bright red.
“How… do you know?”
“Yesterday, Teacher Kim came to where Teacher Seo was and talked about it.”
Jeong-soon said with admiration.
“But it really was a fascinating connection.”
And she added with a smile.
“Teacher Seo was also surprised to hear it.”