Gloaming Nexus | Lee Keonhee (ONEUS)

Jangjeong-ri

Thick water droplets pelted against the large windows of the bus. Glancing at the digital display, Eunji removed her headphones and carefully stowed them in her handbag. Adjusting her top, she slowly put on her jacket, preparing to get off at the next station.

The journey from Seoul back to her hometown, Jangjeong-ri in the northern part of the country, took over three hours by bus. While Eunji enjoyed the tranquility, glad to have a few hours without thinking about work or any other obligations, the initially sunny afternoon gave way to a brief rainy dusk.

With a loud hum, the bus departed, leaving Eunji's slender figure in semi-darkness at the deserted stop. Holding a small silver suitcase in one hand and her handbag dangling from the other arm, she hastily opened her umbrella to shield herself from the sudden downpour. With quick steps, she followed the gravel path leading directly to her parents' house.

Even in the twilight of the evening, Eunji could feel the familiarity of her hometown. She had walked the path from the bus stop to her house thousands of times, in every conceivable time and season. She knew every corner, every street, and every house. Everything looked just as it did a year ago when she left after Chuseok.

As Eunji stood in front of the entrance door of her parents' house, a hint of nervousness overcame her. How would her parents be doing? Would she be able to recognize that they had aged another year? It felt to Eunji as if she had been playing in the courtyard with childish abandon just yesterday. But time passed too quickly, and carefree days were long gone. Nostalgia grew heavier each year, clinging to her on the threshold with more weight than the previous year.

Eunji turned around one more time, inhaling the fresh rain-scented air as her gaze swept across the yard. Everything was as it always had been. Dad's tools under the awning were still in the same place where they had been for the past ten years. Even the pink azaleas that mum had nurtured for years still bloomed in full splendor, emitting a pleasantly sweet fragrance when the sun shone.

She knocked three times on the heavy entrance door to announce herself. Just as she was about to close her umbrella and push the never-locked door open, it yielded on its own, revealing her mother's expectant face through a crack. Upon seeing her adult daughter, her expression changed within seconds, and she looked at her in surprise.

"You're already here?" Eunji's mother opened the door wide, moved a few shoes aside in the entrance area to make room for her. "Come in quickly, it's raining so heavily outside... don't want you to catch a cold."

"Yes, I thought I'd come a few days earlier." Eunji put down her wet umbrella, closed the front door behind her, and immediately took off her street shoes.

"Don't you have to work?" her mother asked incredulously as she headed towards the living kitchen. Eunji followed shortly after.

"My boss gave me a few days off a bit earlier because I've been working so diligently throughout the year," she casually told her mother while placing her suitcase by the stairs.

"Oh, good for you," her mother commented with a thoughtful look. "Have you eaten? I'll quickly make you some bulgogi kimbap!" Eunji's mother started laying out various ingredients from the refrigerator onto the counter and bustled around the kitchen. Eunji couldn't help but smile. Her parents had always found it difficult to openly express their feelings and often seemed aloof, but she knew they loved her. Especially when they cooked for her and cared for her. She simply accepted that this was the only way they could express their love for her. Perhaps this applied not only to her own parents but was a generational phenomenon.

"Eunji! You're here!" her father's voice echoed from the door to the living kitchen. His face seemed more wrinkled than last year, his body a bit leaner than before. He gave her a small smile as she nodded at him.