The next morning, Eun-chae finished sorting through the rest of her belongings. She had decided to sell the furniture through a secondhand marketplace, and the day before, she had informed the real estate agent that she wanted to terminate the contract.
Sitting in the living room and looking around the empty space, Eun-chae murmured softly.
"This house will be saying goodbye soon, too."
She had lived there for more than two years. The excitement she had felt when she first moved in, the nights she had come home late after working overtime and collapsed into bed, the hours she had spent opening her laptop even on weekends. All of it was buried in that space.
After finishing her call with the real estate agent, Eun-chae went out to ship a few last boxes. As she carried them outside, her feet suddenly began taking her toward her old company.
Maybe I should go take a look.
Even though it had been more than two months since she quit, her body still remembered the route out of habit.
Standing at the intersection where she could see the company building, Eun-chae stopped for a moment. It was lunchtime, and employees were streaming out of the building in small groups. A few familiar faces passed by, but no one recognized Eun-chae.
Through the glass windows of the lobby, she could see the familiar scene: the revolving doors, the information desk, and people lined up in front of the elevators.
Eun-chae stood there and watched for a long time. Strangely, unfamiliarity came before nostalgia.
I worked there for eight years.
Her phone vibrated. It was a message from a former coworker.
*"Huh? Eun-chae, I just saw someone who looked like you in front of the office. Was that you?? LOL"*
Eun-chae smiled. Someone had recognized her.
*"Oh, yeah, that was me LOL. I was just passing by."*
*"No way, really? Want to grab a quick coffee?"*
Eun-chae checked the time. She still had plenty of it.
*"I'm in."*
After sending the message, Eun-chae walked to the cafe beside the company building. She was a little curious what kind of expression the face she hadn't seen in two months would be wearing.
When she opened the cafe door and went inside, she saw someone waving from a window seat. It was Yujin, who had worked with her on the marketing team.
"Eun-chae, over here!"
Eun-chae walked over happily and sat across from her.
"It's been a while."
"It really has. I was wondering why you hadn't been in touch much, but look at you. You look so much better."
Yujin looked Eun-chae up and down with a smile.
"Do I?"
"Totally. You used to be permanently exhausted, with those dark circles under your eyes."
When the server came over, they both ordered iced Americanos.
"So how have you been lately?"
Yujin leaned forward as she asked. Eun-chae hesitated for a moment, thinking about where to start, then opened her mouth.
"I inherited my grandma's guesthouse. I'm running it out in the country."
"No way, really? Just like that?"
"Yeah. I went down there right after I quit. It's already been two months."
Yujin's eyes widened.
"You became a guesthouse owner? That's incredible."
"Owner, nothing. I'm still learning. I only just managed to finish all the paperwork."
"Even so, that sounds really amazing. I'm still working overtime here."
Eun-chae gave a faint smile at Yujin's tone. It was familiar. She had been saying things like that herself until just a few months ago.
"How's work these days?"
"Same old, same old. I thought things might get better after we got a new team leader, but it's still the same. The projects keep getting pushed back."
When the coffee arrived, Yujin took a long sip.
"But I'm seriously curious. Don't you get bored out in the country? I can't even imagine it."
Eun-chae thought for a moment before answering.
"I don't have time to get bored. I have to take in guests, tend the kitchen garden, and there's plenty of paperwork, too."
"Still better than here, right?"
"Better than here... much better. Waking up in the morning doesn't feel hard anymore."
Yujin stopped speaking for a moment and looked at Eun-chae.
"I'm really jealous of that."
"Of what?"
"Of not having a hard time waking up in the morning. These days, I hit snooze at least three times every day."
A bitter feeling flickered through Eun-chae at those words. She had been exactly the same a few months ago.
"Come visit when you take some time off."
The words slipped out, and Yujin's eyes widened.
"Really? Is it okay if I come?"
"Of course. I have rooms available, and I'll show you around the kitchen garden."
"Wow, I might really come. I've seriously been wanting to get away somewhere, anywhere, lately."
Yujin pulled out her phone and pretended to jot something down.
"What was the guesthouse called again?"
"Sandeul Haven Guesthouse. It'll come up if you search for it. I listed it on booking platforms."
"Oh, you've really got everything set up. You're totally a real guesthouse owner now."
Eun-chae laughed at that.
"I've still got a long way to go. But I think you'll really like it when you come. The yard is spacious, and you can see the stars really well at night."
"What do you do for fun there?"
"We pick lettuce from the kitchen garden, eat Grandma's cooking. Just that kind of thing."
"That sounds like total healing."
Yujin sipped her coffee and looked out the window. The company building was visible beyond the glass.
"Sometimes I think I'd like to live somewhere like that someday, too. But when it comes down to it, I just can't make myself do it."
"Why not?"
"It's scary. Leaving behind everything that's stable."
Eun-chae fell silent in thought for a moment.
"I was scared, too. But if you don't let go, you'll just stay exactly where you are."
Yujin nodded as if turning the words over in her mind.
"You're right, but that's the hardest part."
For a while, the two of them drank their coffee without speaking. The low murmur of other office workers' conversations filled the cafe.
"Oh, right. I should get going soon. Lunch break's almost over."
Yujin checked the time and stood up.
"Yeah, okay. Get back safely."
"I'll really come visit. I'll let you know once I figure out the dates."
"I'll be waiting."
Yujin waved and walked toward the company building. Eun-chae watched her back disappear, then remained alone in the cafe.
Two months ago, she would have been walking through those revolving doors and heading into the office around this time.
Left alone in the cafe, Eun-chae looked out at the company building and thought.
It's still very small... but it should be okay if one or two people who are a good fit come to stay.
It was a small guesthouse with only four rooms. Considering its size, she couldn't simply keep increasing the number of guests. But she felt she could gladly welcome one or two people like Yujin, people who came because they genuinely wanted to rest.
Eun-chae took out her phone and opened the description on the booking platform again.
*"A quiet country guesthouse with a kitchen garden."*
Reading the short sentence again, Eun-chae wondered if she should polish it a little more. Then she decided against it. Even as it was, it seemed to describe the guesthouse well enough.
As she left the cafe, Eun-chae turned around for one last look at the company building. The revolving doors Yujin had gone through kept spinning. People passed constantly in and out.
When I was there, I thought that was everything.
Eun-chae turned away and headed for the subway station. Once she finished sorting through the rest of her belongings at home, she thought she would be able to head back down tomorrow or the day after.
When she got home and finished sealing a few more boxes with tape, Eun-chae suddenly thought again of the photograph she had found the day before. The album was already sitting on top of the luggage she had packed.
Who could that person be?
She was still curious, but she wasn't as impatient as she had been before. She had a vague feeling that this wasn't something she needed to solve right away, but a story she would naturally learn someday.
She finished organizing everything late that night, then checked with the real estate agent one last time to confirm the date she would return the keys. It was the day after tomorrow.
She had come to Seoul without a suitcase this time, but when she went back, she would be carrying a few boxes and one old album as well.
The Seoul night spread out beyond the window. Eun-chae turned off the light and lay down. The day after tomorrow, she would be going back to that yard.
Author's Note
Eun-chae is almost finished wrapping up the last of her affairs in Seoul. Through Yujin, I wanted to briefly show the contrast between her old daily life and her new one. Starting next chapter, we'll follow her journey back to the guesthouse and continue with her everyday life there.