Saturday morning, Eun-chae woke up at six. The guests arriving today were a family of four, and they were bringing a dog.
When she went down to the kitchen, Grandma was already preparing the ingredients for breakfast.
"Gran, what time did they say they were coming today?"
"Check-in's at three. But they've got a dog, so set out a water bowl and pee pads in the yard ahead of time."
Eun-chae took the dog supplies she'd bought a few days earlier out of the shed: a stainless-steel water bowl and a bundle of pee pads. She placed the bowl in a shady spot in the yard and filled it with water.
She checked the room again, too. This time, it was the first-floor family room. Grandma had told her it was a spacious room with a door leading directly out to the yard, so it was assigned to guests with dogs.
She changed the bedding and mopped the floor one more time. Just in case, she also set out extra towels.
"Gran, if the dog barks, won't it bother the other guests?"
"There aren't any other guests today. It's just this family."
"Oh, that's a relief."
Eun-chae made a circuit of the yard, checking for anything dangerous. The section near the kitchen-garden fence looked a little loose.
I should fix this before the end of the day.
She spent the whole morning repairing the fence. She drove in new wooden stakes, then pulled the wire mesh tight and secured it. The goal was to keep the dog from jumping into the kitchen garden.
After lunch, Eun-chae opened the spreadsheet to check what she had to do that day. The item “Repair kitchen-garden fence” was still in the Not Started column. She moved it to Completed.
"Gran, the fence is all fixed."
"Good work. Now all that's left is tidying up the yard."
As three o'clock drew near, Eun-chae started pacing in front of the entrance again. She was less nervous than last time, but her fingertips still trembled slightly.
At exactly three, a car entered through the yard entrance. It was an SUV. A small dog's face appeared in the back-seat window.
When the car stopped and the doors opened, two children jumped out first.
"Wow, the yard is huge!"
Their parents got out next, followed by the dog, which hopped down while tugging at its leash. It was a small dog with white fur.
Eun-chae walked out into the yard with a smile.
"Welcome! This is Sandeul Haven Guesthouse."
The children were already running all over the yard. The dog excitedly chased after them.
"Hello. We have a booking."
A man who appeared to be the father greeted her. Eun-chae answered much more naturally than she had the last time.
"Yes, I have you checked in. You must be tired from the trip. Would you like me to help with your luggage?"
"Oh, we'll do it ourselves. Thank you."
The mother smiled as she took a suitcase out of the trunk. By then, the dog had found the water bowl and was burying its nose in it.
"You even set out a water bowl for us. Thank you."
"I put it in the shade. I can move it if you'd like."
"It's perfect right there."
Eun-chae showed the family to their room. As soon as she opened the first-floor family room, the children ran inside.
"Mom, look! There's a door that goes straight out to the yard!"
"Keep your voice down. There are other guests here."
The mother gently shushed her child, then gave Eun-chae an apologetic look.
"It's okay. Make yourselves comfortable."
Eun-chae showed them around the room and explained the breakfast hours and the rules for using the yard.
"Your dog can run around freely in the yard, but we've fenced off the kitchen garden. Just keep him away from that area."
"Oh, you have a kitchen garden, too?"
"Yes. All those green plants you can see over there are lettuce."
The mother looked out the window in admiration.
"It's really beautiful. This place would be perfect for taking pictures."
As Eun-chae finished showing them around and was leaving, the dog approached her leg and sniffed it. She paused for a moment, then cautiously held out her hand. The dog licked the back of it.
"He isn't shy around strangers at all."
The father laughed.
"I like dogs, too."
Eun-chae smiled naturally as she said it. She felt much more at ease than she had with the newlywed couple a few days earlier.
Before leaving the room, Eun-chae pointed to the chrysanthemum tea on the bedside table.
"This is chrysanthemum tea we dried beside our kitchen garden. Please help yourselves."
"Wow, you've really thought of everything."
Feeling proud at the family's reaction, Eun-chae left the room. When she came out into the living room, Grandma was watching from the veranda.
"How'd it go?"
"I didn't tremble this time."
Grandma nodded and gave a short laugh.
"See? I told you, you get better the more you do it."
Out in the yard, the children were running around with the dog. Their laughter spread through the whole yard.
As Eun-chae watched the children and dog playing, she suddenly took out her phone.
"Gran, I'm going to make a call. I'll be right back."
Grandma looked at Eun-chae, her knitting in her hands.
"To who?"
"Mom. I never really got to call her because I was always saying I was busy with work."
Grandma watched Eun-chae for a moment, then nodded without saying anything more.
"Take your time."
Eun-chae left the yard and walked to a quiet spot near the kitchen garden. She brought up the name “Mom” on her phone screen and hesitated for a long while.
She pressed the call button. It rang three times before her mother answered.
"Oh, Eun-chae. What a surprise. You actually called."
"I just wanted to hear your voice. It's been a while."
"How's work? Aren't you busy?"
Eun-chae drew in a breath.
"Mom, I quit my job."
A brief silence passed over the phone.
"What? When?"
"A little over a month ago. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"Why all of a sudden? Did something happen?"
"I was exhausted. I just couldn't keep going anymore."
Her mother's voice dropped with worry.
"Where are you right now? Are you home?"
"I'm at Grandma's guesthouse. I've been staying here since I came down."
"At Grandma's? What are you doing there?"
Eun-chae looked toward the kitchen garden as she answered.
"I'm going to take over Grandma's guesthouse."
There was another silence, this one a little longer.
"...Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I've already had guests twice. Things are going well."
"Eun-chae, what are you talking about all of a sudden—"
Confusion colored her mother's voice. As if she'd expected that reaction, Eun-chae continued calmly.
"Mom, for the first time, I can breathe here. When I was working, every morning was so hard."
"Grandma's helping me, and I'm learning little by little. You don't have to worry."
Her mother was silent for a while. Eun-chae lightly touched the soil in the kitchen garden with the tip of her toe as she waited for an answer.
"Mom, there's something else."
"What?"
"Gran said you'd come here once, too. Before I was born."
Her mother's breathing stopped for a moment on the other end.
"...Why did Grandma tell you that?"
Her mother's voice was more cautious than usual.
"It just came up while we were talking. I asked what happened, but Gran said it wasn't something she should tell me. She told me to ask you directly."
"Did something happen?"
Her mother hesitated for a long time before answering briefly.
"Later. We'll talk about that later."
"Mom."
"Eun-chae, what's more important right now is this. Are you really okay? You suddenly wrapped everything up and moved to the countryside."
Eun-chae felt the subject naturally being steered elsewhere, but she didn't press her mother any further.
"I'm okay. I really am."
"...Okay. I understand. But I'll come down to visit sometime soon."
"Really? When?"
"I'll call you once I can set a date. I'll say hello to Grandma, too."
"Okay, I understand."
"You're eating properly, right?"
"Gran cooks for me every day. I actually eat better than I did when I was working."
A faint smile entered her mother's voice.
"That's a relief. All right, let's hang up. Call me again."
"Okay. You too, Mom."
The call ended. Eun-chae stood in front of the kitchen garden for a long while, her phone clutched in her hand.
We'll talk about it later.
The words kept bothering her. Grandma and her mother had both said the same thing. About the same matter.
The children's laughter drifted over from the yard. Eun-chae slipped her phone into her pocket and turned around.
Grandma was waiting for her on the veranda.
"Did you have a good talk with your mother?"
"Yeah. But, Gran..."
"What?"
"Mom said we'd talk about it later, too. About what you told me."
Grandma stopped moving for a moment, knitting needles in her hands. She didn't answer.
"There must be a reason she can't tell me right now. Right? It's okay."
Eun-chae said it first and sat down beside her. Grandma started moving her needles again.
"Yeah. You'll learn everything when the time comes."
"It's not that I'm pretending not to be curious. I just don't think asking about it now will make the answer come out."
Grandma answered shortly without stopping her hands.
"It's enough that you know that much."
Eun-chae looked out at the yard. The children seemed tired now and were sitting side by side on the wooden platform with the dog. She could see their mother handing them bottles of water.
"Gran, I told Mom everything today. That I quit my job, and that I'm running the guesthouse here."
"What'd she say?"
"She was surprised, but... she said she'd come down to visit soon."
Grandma stopped knitting and looked at Eun-chae.
"Really?"
"Yeah. She said she'd call once she could set a date."
Grandma was silent for a moment, then let out a faint breath.
"It'll be the first time in a long while she's come here."
"Did you miss Mom, too, Gran?"
"...Of course I did. Why wouldn't I?"
Eun-chae's heart gave a small pang at the answer. She couldn't even begin to guess how many years left unfinished had piled up beneath Grandma's matter-of-fact tone.
The father approached from the yard, waving.
"Excuse me, is there anywhere nearby where we could take a walk? I think he still wants to run around a little more."
The dog wagged its tail by his feet. Eun-chae stood and answered.
"There's a stream about a ten-minute walk that way. There's a nice walking path, too."
"Oh, thanks."
As she watched the family walk toward the stream with their dog, Eun-chae sat down beside Grandma again.
"Gran, when Mom comes, you'll tell me everything then, right?"
Instead of answering, Grandma gave her a faint smile and continued knitting. The sunset was slowly settling over the yard.
Author's Note I slipped in a little about the call with her mother and the story left untold. I'll let this mystery linger a bit longer, then return to the guesthouse operations starting in the next chapter.