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Art and photography.
That is where Jeongyeon’s passion lie, in the arts and photography, but! She does have a hobby except from Arts and Photography, which is collecting vintage and antique items. She loves the aesthetic vintage items give and the history behind it, and the artistic design of every item she sees fascinates her.
She first got into collecting vintage stuff back when she was still on her first year college.
While she was looking around a museum owned by the school she was surprised and also fascinated how detailed the items were, and knowing the history, people before doesn’t have the same technology and machinery to create and recreate a ton of items with the same design and pattern, if you look at it at a distance everything looks the same but as you look closer the patterns differs from one another.
From then she dedicated herself in collecting stuff from the past, she searched every nook and cranny of antique and vintage stores in Korea to look for stuff that captures her eyes.
But right now what she needs is an inspiration, an inspiration for her final exam in her final year of college. They were given a month and a half, a month and a half to finish a piece that depicts History, Elegance and Beauty.
Yes, Jeongyeon thinks that the concept was too cliché and vague at the same time. Other students would probably create a piece that centers on history and make it look beautiful and elegant, but she’s not like that. She wanted to create something unique.
“Where do I find the right inspiration for that?!”
She yelled at her pillow to suppress the volume of her voice.
“What the hell Jeong go to sleep!”
Momo, her roommate yelled from the top bunk bed and threw her a pillow which she gladly threw back.
She was staying at the dorms and her roommate, Momo, is a Dance Major at the same university she was studying at.
“Sorry Momo!”
She apologized as she lay on her back, trying to sleep. She closed her eyes shut only to open it again.
“What the hell…”
She stared the top bunk bed and tried to gather her thoughts.
“Yeah… I should have a vacation…”
She was already thinking of places she should visit during her Vacation but all those places were really not the type where people can find inspiration.
“But where?”
She stayed up all night staring at Momo’s bed just to think of her destination.
“Ah, whatever…”
She didn’t realize that it was already dawn when she was about to sleep, so instead of sleeping she started packing her bag. She shoved in the materials she needed and the other necessities she needed for her trip she was planning to have a week vacation to… wherever her feet and luck drag her.
She left a note to Momo on the desk before she leave on her unplanned escapade saying:
“Be out in a week or so. Don’t bother to find me or contact me. DO NOT CALL THE POLICE!”
She wrote the last part on capital letters because the last time she was out for a few days and can’t be contacted, Momo called the police and even her parents to search for her, only to find her in one of the art studios inside the university cramming an art piece for her midterm exams that she unintentionally procrastinated.
As she stealthily leaves the dorms she was giggling nonstop. Just thinking about her unexpected trip makes her giddy, she has never done this before, all the trips she made were always planned ahead, but now, just thinking of the adventures she will make, it makes her feel ecstatic.
“I’m going on a trip~ in my favorite rocket ship! Zooming through the sky~ Little Einsteins~”
She sang as she happily skips on the open street, it was still dark and the sun was just about to rise.
As she walked towards the station she spotted two familiar figures walking towards her coming from the convenience store. The two were busy laughing and having fun so they didn’t notice Jeongyeon in front of them.
“Early birds or night owls?” She said as soon as they were about to pass her
The two shot her a look and they were surprised to see her early in the morning
“Jeongyeon Unnie? What are you doing here?”
Chaeyoung asked as soon as she saw Jeongyeon in front of them.
Chaeyoung was a junior in the same university and the same major; they knew each other since they have some classes together. And Jeongyeon was present during the freshmen welcoming party that the other seniors organized.
Chaeyoung vividly remembers that day and Jeongyeon was the most memorable Sunbae for her since the latter was really wild that day and did some unexpected feats.
“I’m going to have a trip somewhere… How about you two why are out here this early?”
Chaeyoung looked at Mina as if she was telling her to save their asses.
“Ah! We were having an all-nighter since the finals are coming, Sunbae…” Mina said timidly
It was an obvious excuse; the two were probably on a 3 AM date to the convenience store and ended up staying there for a while. There’s no way a Dance Major would have a written exams for finals, and on top of that, she’s with an Art Major who knows nothing about dancing. That does not make any sense right?
Mina was a Dance major at the same university she was Momo’s junior, and they were quite close that’s how she knew her.
“Ah, I see… well, suit yourselves kids! I’ll see you at the Uni after a week?” She said in an unsure tone
She gave the two a knowing smile and look, she then just left the two and proceeded to walk over to the station. While walking she was taking a look at the list of places she wants to go, there were many places that people recommend to get some inspiration or just relax.
And those two were what she really needed at the moment, getting some inspiration while at the same time relaxing. But she can’t choose where to go, and to answer her never ending dilemma, she downloaded a roulette app and then typed the places she wanted to go.
“Well, it’s up to fate now…”
She turned the roulette and as the roulette slows down her destination is being decided.
The roulette stopped, she let out a smile and typed some notes on her phone.
“Well, I’ll see you later Jeonju…”
She mumbled
As soon as she woke up from the ride, she was already at station in Jeonju.
On her first day she just decided to do some sightseeing and then rest for the whole day. But her main dilemma is… Where is she going to stay?
“Hah~ So much for an unplanned escapade!” She said as she let out a laugh
Being an art student means you’re also broke, buying expensive pencils and stuff makes you broke and also you need to take extra care for them not to break because if it breaks it felt like you just wasted your money.
She was walking around the place when she stumbled upon an antique shop and her being the antique and vintage enthusiast she is, she immediately went inside the shop to look for stuff that would caught her eye.
Looking around the place, many things caught her eyes, from the vases, the chairs, the cabinets, even the hand-mirrors, it was all really fascinating.
“Has anything caught your eye young miss?”
An old woman asked, she assumed that it was the shop owner. So she stood straight and greeted the older woman.
“Everything in your shop looks beautiful and fascinating!”
She said in an enthusiastic voice and smiled at the old woman. After that encounter she went back on looking at the stuff inside the shop, looking at it one by one she inspects every detail of the patterns and design of the object she was looking at.
She was about to exit the shop when she noticed an antique telephone on the shop’s counter. She walked towards it and inspected the design and the metalwork on the object.
“This looks nice…” She said as she takes a closer look at it.
She almost fell on her butt when the old woman suddenly spoke behind her
“Some people say that if an antique telephone rings, and you answer it after three rings you’ll hear the voice of your soulmate on the other line”
Jeongyeon just looked at the old woman behind her with confusion all over her face; the latter was just smiling at her.
“Probably one of those love thingy and old people sayings”
She just smiled back at the old woman and was about to go out of the shop when the woman stopped her.
“Here take this…”
The old woman said and was handing her a box with the antique telephone that she was just looking at earlier.
“I—ah… I can’t take this ma’am…” She said trying to give back the box but the old woman was insisting that she take it.
“You’re very young and yet you appreciate things like antiques. And you have an eye for good things. You should take this…”
The old woman insisted and handed Jeongyeon the box. The latter can’t do anything but just accept the kindness of the old woman.
“I’ll take good care of this” She said as she smiled at the old woman and bid her goodbye.
She carried the box while still walking around the place. She has no idea where she should stay
“Should I just call Momo to pick me up?”
She stopped her tracks as she contemplated. She already came this far so why go back now?
“Ah~ It’s hard to be broke…”
She started walking again and looked around while looking for a place she can stay for the night.
“Momoring~ come pick me up~” She whines as she took a seat on bench.
She was half regretting her trip, but then again, it was an unplanned trip from the start so these kinds of things are bound to happen.
She was looking around when she saw an old woman trying to cross the street. She was just looking at her when she noticed that a car was fast approaching. She placed down all her stuff and ran towards the old woman to push her out of the way. And after that she felt a pain on her body and then blacked out.
Jeongyeon was woken up by the sound of bells. She slowly opened her eyes only to see an unfamiliar ceiling.
“What the hell… Where am I?”
She sat up straight and looked around the place and felt a sharp pain on her sides, from that moment she remembered what happened to her.
“I got hit by car, trying to save an old woman… I’m so heroic” She mumbled as she smiled proudly of her achievements
When the pain subsided she looked around the room and just by looking at the interior she can safely assume that she’s in a Traditional house. As she looked around she saw her bag and the box which contains the telephone that was given to her by the old woman from the antique shop.
She was startled when someone just suddenly opened the door when she was checking the stuff in her bag.
“Grandma! She’s awake!”
“A woman in her late teens”
Jeongyeon assumed, just looking at the woman’s physique and appearance she came to that conclusion.
The woman on the door just stared at her while she was busy looking through her stuff. She can hear faint footsteps from outside and those faint footsteps suddenly became louder and louder as the person come nearer the room.
The woman on the Door gave way for someone to come inside the room.
“Child are you okay?” The old woman said as soon as she entered the room where Jeongyeon was staying at.
“I’m fine… I guess…” She said as she looked at the bandaged part of her body.
“Dahyun! Get her some food!” The old woman said, ordering the younger woman to get some food
“Yes grandma…”
While Dahyun, the younger woman, was away the older woman introduced herself as Kim Junghee. The older woman told Jeongyeon about what happened yesterday, and how the latter saved her life.
“I am really grateful to you for saving my life” The older woman said as she held Jeongyeon’s hands and smile at her.
“I uh… It’s nothing really…”She said shyly smiling at the older woman in front of her
“If there is anything we can do for you, as long as it’s within our reach we’ll try to help you…”
Jeongyeon was about to decline the offer but then she remembered that she was broke, and she can’t find shelter for the next few days.
“This might be a little too much to ask…” She started off shyly, the elderly woman in front of her looked at her anticipating her request “But can I stay here for a few more days? I mean… In your house? Uh it’s fine if you can’t let me stay here. I can totally understand…” She said trying not to sound so desperate
The elderly woman smiled at her
“Of course you can stay here”
She smiled widely and thanked the elderly woman for letting her stay a few more days, as payment for her stay she promised to do some chores in the house and help them in whatever they need.
After that short conversation the three of them ate, and while eating Jeongyeon learned a lot of new things that sparked her interest about the house she was staying.
“So this house was built in the 1890’s? That’s actually 100 plus years ago” Jeongyeon said in amazement
“I know right! Our ancestors really preserved the place and as you can see the place is still looking good as new!” Dahyun proudly said as she flexes her ancestor’s historical background to Jeongyeon.
“I didn’t expect to stumble in a place with a 100 years’ worth of historical background”
She smiled as she listened to Dahyun and the elder woman’s story about the history of the house. It was a win-win for her! She had a place to stay and she will have an insight about the historical background of the house, where history was one of the main concepts she was trying to get a hold of.
“I think I just hit two birds in one stone!”
After eating with them they did some quick chores, and after those Jeongyeon came back to the room where she woke up.
She started to do some rough sketch of her desired piece, but to her it seems like something was still missing in her design.
“Something is really off…”
She mumbled as she looked at the sketch she made. She stared at it for a few seconds and then crumpled the paper. She shrugged off the thought and then stood up from her seat.
“I still have a few days here… So I would probably find that inspiration”
She was about to go out of the room when she remembered the telephone that was given to her by the antique shop owner yesterday. She walked slowly towards the box and slowly took out the phone.
She placed it on the desk in the room and slowly inspected it. Taking a good look at the phone it looked like it was one of those fancy phones in fancy homes in Europe. The intricate metalwork was really fascinating for her.
She almost fell from her chair when the phone suddenly rang
“What the hell?!”
She checked the phone if it was connected to any plugs in the room but it wasn’t, and phones like that, she doesn’t even know if it works with electricity and plugs like the modern day ones.
*Ring*
It was the second ring.
Jeongyeon stepped back from the telephone and looked at it intently
“What kind of sorcery is this?!”
*Ring*
Third ring.
Then suddenly she remembered what the antique shop owner told her yesterday.
“If you answer it after three rings you will hear your soulmate’s voice”
It was pure BS, there’s no such thing as soulmate right? She looked at the phone and it seems like it already stopped ringing. She slowly walked towards the phone, she was scared as hell! But the thing that the old woman from the antique shop said was bugging her, she wanted to know if it was real or just a mere hearsay from the old people around the place.
She slowly picked up the receiver of the telephone and placed it on her ear
5 seconds…
Nothing
10 Seconds…
Still nothing, She was about to place the receiver back when she suddenly heard a voice from it; she almost dropped the receiver when she heard it but she was quick to recover, she placed the receiver back to her ear and she heard the voice again
“Hello?”
It was a woman’s voice, and oddly enough for Jeongyeon the woman’s voice sounds so familiar and nostalgic, like she was yearning for the voice so much.
“Hello?”
And once again the woman from the other line spoke. Is it weird to just suddenly cry just from hearing a voice from an unknown person? Because right now Jeongyeon was crying, tears were falling from her eyes, just hearing the woman’s voice makes her so emotional. Like she hasn’t heard the voice for so many years. When in fact she haven’t even heard the voice in her 22 years of existence.
“Hello?” She answered wiping the tears from her eyes
“You answered! I thought no one was on the other line…” The woman enthusiastically said.
Jeongyeon can hear some bells in the background of the other line. And she can also hear some bells near the house.
“Nevermind the bells… I was dialing random numbers to talk to people and fortunately you answered!”
Not minding the blabbering of the person on the other line she immediately asked the woman her name.
“What’s your name?” She asked nonchalantly asked
“Oh! I’m sorry for being rude. I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Im Nayeon…”
“Im Nayeon?”
Hearing the woman’s name, Jeongyeon felt like her heart just did a somersault in her chest. She doesn’t know who Im Nayeon is, and she doesn’t know anyone named Im Nayeon, but oddly, her heart reacts as if she knew the woman dearly.
“Hello are you still there?”
“If you answer it after three rings you will hear your soulmate’s voice…”
“Soulmate…”
“Y-Yes. I’m still here” She answered but her head was still not processing everything that was happening.
Still confused she just placed the receiver near her ear waiting for Nayeon to speak again. Her heart was still racing like she just ran a 10 kilometer marathon; it was pounding so loud she can hear it through her ears.
“How could a mere voice have this kind of effect on me?”
If she could, she wanted to record it, treasure it, or even keep it in a bottle. She wanted it to be preserved.
“I’m glad…”
In that short span of introduction, and conversation something sparked in Jeongyeon’s imagination, as well as her heart.
They continued conversing, but mostly it was just Nayeon speaking, telling Jeongyeon stories about herself and her surroundings, and apparently they’re in the same area, but oddly enough for Jeongyeon, the place Nayeon was describing was far from the place she was in right now.
“Are you sure you’re in Jeonju?” She asked Nayeon
“Of course! This is where I was born and raised, and we haven’t moved houses even once so I’m sure this place is Jeonju” Nayeon answered
Some places that Nayeon was describing were not there but some were there, it made Jeongyeon wonder.
After conversing a little more and getting to know each other, they both realized that it was almost evening.
“Thank you for the fun conversation Jeongyeon”
“It’s nothing…”
They were both waiting for each other to speak, staying silent for almost a minute. So Nayeon decided to just hang up the phone
“Nayeon?”
She immediately placed the receiver back her ear when she heard Jeongyeon’s voice
“Yes?”
“Would you… Would you call again tomorrow?” Jeongyeon shyly asked
Nayeon on the other hand smiled widely as she held the receiver on her hand tightly
“If you tell me to, I’ll call you again tomorrow” She answered,
Jeongyeon on the other line smiled and told her what she wanted to hear
“Call me again tomorrow…”
“Okay, I will…”
“Bye…”
“Goodbye…”
A few more seconds of making sure that Nayeon already hang up the phone Jeongyeon also hang up the phone
“Soulmate…”
That night Jeongyeon drew more sketches for her piece, she felt really inspired, all the time she was drawing she was smiling. She was trying to figure out Nayeon’s features, but everything seems wrong when she draws her so she dumps all her sketches and ended up sketching all night.
The next day after eating and doing the chores, Jeongyeon was all cooped up in the room waiting for Nayeon’s call. Dahyun who was visiting her room was confused as to why she was staring at the telephone that isn’t connected to anything.
“Jeongyeon unnie?” Dahyun called her; she turned her head towards Dahyun and hummed “That phone won’t ring, even if you stare at it for a month…”
Jeongyeon also believed that but after what happened yesterday she knew very well that the phone would ring anytime of the day. So she just chuckled and urged Dahyun to enter the room.
“So you need something?”
“No…? Kind of?” Dahyun said unsure of what to answer the older woman in front of her.
“So what is it about?”
The younger woman bowed her head down feeling shy of what she wants to ask to the older woman
“I uh…”
She started, Jeongyeon was just waiting for her to speak up but she already knew what Dahyun wanted to ask her, last night Dahyun was frequently peeking at her room and watching her do her sketches, so she probably think that it’s about sketching or art.
“I wanted to… Know how to sketch…” Dahyun said feeling shy, she just literally knew the person just yesterday but here she is asking her to teach her how to sketch.
“Sure!” Jeongyeon said without an ounce of hesitation. Her answer made Dahyun lift her head up and look at her with beaming eyes “But we’ll have to schedule it because I’m still doing something important” She added as she smiled
“I got it!” Dahyun said and happily exited the room.
As if on cue the phone that Jeongyeon was waiting for rang.
She waited for two more rings and then answered the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi!”
As soon as she heard Nayeon’s voice her heart fluttered, the butterflies in her stomach running wild. She was automatically smiling like it was a natural reflex.
They talked again just like yesterday but now, Jeongyeon was asking questions about Nayeon.
“So, you’re saying you look like a rabbit?” She asked Nayeon with confusion all over her face
“Yes, my two front teeth are like the rabbit’s”
“You have buck teeth”
“Buck teeth?”
“Yeah, buck teeth”
“What’s that?”
“You don’t know what buck teeth are?”
“I haven’t heard of that phrase ever in my life”
Jeongyeon grew more confused, it was a common phrase that dentists use to explain the protruding teeth of kids to them.
“It means your teeth are protruding over the others, just like you said, just like the rabbit’s”
“Ah! I see! I get it now”
They continued their conversation, Jeongyeon asking about Nayeon’s features and the latter happily answering every question Jeongyeon has. And once again, time flies so fast, it was nearing evening again.
“So this is goodbye?” Nayeon said which Jeongyeon mistook for another meaning
“Huh?”
“I mean, it’s already evening…”
“Ah! I thought…”
“You thought what?” Nayeon asked trying to tease Jeongyeon. She smirked as she can imagine the latter getting all red and flustered.
“No. Nothing! Call me again tomorrow same time…”
“I will…”
Nayeon calling Jeongyeon became an everyday habit. Jeongyeon’s stay at the place was just supposed to be a week or so but then it was extended to 2 weeks, and in those two weeks what she just did are draw sketches, teach Dahyun, do some chores and talk to Nayeon.
The two got to know each other more and got closer as well, seeing how it was going, Jeongyeon decided to ask Nayeon out for a walk, since they’re in the same place there wouldn’t be any issues about it. So they set the date.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow Jeongyeon” Nayeon said sweetly before ending the call
After that conversation, Jeongyeon was ecstatic; she’s going to meet Nayeon. The woman who have been giving her the roller coaster of feelings.
“Ohh~ someone’s excited” Dahyun said as she entered the room Jeongyeon was staying at “What’s up with your smile unnie?”
Jeongyeon just looked at Dahyun and tried to suppress her smile but she can’t, she’s far too excited for tomorrow and she can’t wait for the day to end already.
After teaching Dahyun some techniques on sketching they ate Dinner and went back to their room.
Jeongyeon looked at the piece she was making, she already started the base of her piece and it looks good already.
Nayeon was her inspiration for her piece. The unplanned trip she just went on, on impulse was the right decision all along, she already has her inspiration and the motivation to make her piece, and not only was she doing her work she’s also enjoying herself.
She lay on the bed thinking of her and Nayeon’s meeting tomorrow, she’s getting really excited about it to the point that she can’t even sleep properly. Just talking to Nayeon already makes her heart flutter, so what if she sees the person she was talking on the phone in the flesh. Just thinking about it makes her really excited.
And that day has finally come. After doing all her work she asked Dahyun to take her to the biggest tree in the village, She described the place and the younger girl already knew where it was.
“What are you going to do there unnie?” Dahyun asked as she lead the older woman to their destination
“I’m going to meet someone” Jeongyeon said as she smiled shyly
“Ho~”
Dahyun was smiling all throughout their walk and when they got there she gave Jeongyeon two thumbs up before leaving the latter alone.
Jeongyeon was all smiles as she waits for Nayeon. Constantly checking her watch, looking at the time.
“She’s late…”
30 minutes has passed but still there’s no Nayeon, she decided to wait for a few more minutes, and those minutes turned to hours. The smile that was plastered on Jeongyeon’s face from when Dahyun left her was now gone and is replaced by disappointment and regret
“What a joke…”
She stood up from the bench she was sitting at and went back home with a heavy heart. She was expecting that Nayeon would show up. But she forgot that they just knew each other for a week or so. She rushed everything.
“But she was also looking forward to it…” She mumbled as she remember what Nayeon told her during their conversation
“I’d also want to meet you!”
“Damn it…”
She entered the house feeling so dejected. She went straight to the room she was using and locked herself there
She lay down on the floor staring at the ceiling. She tossed and turned all over the floor tiring herself out. She fell asleep thinking about Nayeon.
The next day her body feels heavier than usual, and she had trouble opening her eyes, it felt like her eyelids were so heavy to the point that she had trouble opening them.
As soon as she got up from her bed she heard the telephone ring… She looked at it intently and contemplated whether to answer the phone or not.
“Aish!”
After three rings like usual, Jeongyeon answered the phone
“Why didn’t you come yesterday?” Nayeon asked as soon as Jeongyeon answered the phone, no hi or hello.
Jeongyeon was confused, she was sure that she came yesterday to the place Nayeon described
“I’m the one who’s supposed to ask you that!” Jeongyeon said raising her voice
“I waited at the tree for 3 hours long and you didn’t come! Are you lying to me right now?”
“What are you talking about?! I was there!”
They were arguing about who ditched who, but then they just gave up and just set another date to meet each other.
“Yes, After the March 1st Movement”
“Do you celebrate that holiday?” Jeongyeon asked out of randomness
“Holiday? It’s the first march 1st movement, what are you talking about?”
“The first one?” Jeongyeon grew confused.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not the first one and that holiday was declared like almost 70 years ago” Jeongyeon explained
“70 years ago? That’s the ye—“ Nayeon was cut off when she heard the thundering voice of her father, which also startled Jeongyeon “I have to go! I’ll call you again later!” Nayeon said as she abruptly ended the call
“What the…”
Jeongyeon just brushed off the thought in her head; she thought that maybe Nayeon was just confused about the date.
That day she waited for Nayeon to call her back, but Nayeon didn’t. She waited until dawn but still she received no calls.
The next day she did the same, she waited for a call from Nayeon but still there was none.
She’s getting really desperate, she took out the paper where she wrote Nayeon’s number down, it was just a scratch paper but she placed it in her wallet so that she won’t lose it.
She tried to dial the number using the antique phone but it wasn’t working. It’s not really that surprising, after all, the entire phone wasn’t working in the first place. It was just some sort of sorcery on how Nayeon was able to call the phone.
She went out of her room to use the modern telephone, she tried to dial the number that was written on the paper but to her surprise the number wasn’t registered
“What the hell?”
She tried for a couple more times but it was the same result
“What’s happening? Is this the wrong number?”
That day she tried to get herself to focus on making her piece for the finals but she can’t seem to focus. She ended up thrashing the whole piece.
“What the hell is wrong today?”
The next day she did the same thing again, she waited for Nayeon to call but there was still none, she tried calling the number but the result was still the same.
“Jeongyeon what is wrong with you today?”
“There’s a lot in my mind lately… I can’t seem to focus…” She said as she sat down on the floor
“If it’s like that, you should gather your thoughts and piece all the puzzle pieces back together so you can see the bigger picture” The elderly woman said.
Jeongyeon took the elder’s advice and gather her thoughts. She sat down inside the room gathering all the information she had on Nayeon. Trying to piece all the puzzle pieces together.
“Polite way of talking… not well-versed in common slangs… Doesn’t know much about technology… different knowledge about Jeonju…”
All of the little things she had observed, she was trying to put it all together in one piece
“First March 1st movement…?”
When she remembered that she immediately searched for her phone and searched when was the first March 1st movement
“1919…?”
Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening… She immediately ran out of the room and searched for the elderly woman
“Grandma, I need to ask you something!” She exclaimed as soon as she saw the woman
“What is it?”
“Do you know who Im Nayeon is?”
The elderly woman just looked at her straight in the eye and after a few seconds of staring at her, they went to the living area to talk
“Im Nayeon… She was the eldest daughter of the head of this household…”
“I though your surname was Kim, not Im?”
“The Kim’s were just the caretakers of this place; the real owners are the Im’s”
The elderly woman told Jeongyeon about the tragic story of the young woman.
Nayeon was the eldest daughter of the Im family; she was already engaged to one of the well-known families in Jeonju, the Jeon’s. However she was not interested in that kind of set up and tried to break-off the engagement, but it was already set in stone, and no one can break-off their engagement.
But that was not the only reason Nayeon wants to break-off the engagement. She was in love with another person. And that person was a woman. Homosexuality before was seen as a disease, so they tried everything to cure Nayeon but since homosexuality really is not a disease they can’t do anything about it.
The young woman tried to elope with her lover but they were caught by her father, so as punishment to the said lover, Nayeon’s father accused the woman with treason and kidnapping, crimes that worthy of a death sentence. They beheaded her in front of Nayeon and as punishment to her she was kept inside the house and was ordered never to leave the house again.
But since the father still has some remorse and mercy for his daughter, he gave a telephone as a gift to her daughter. And from then Nayeon dials random numbers and calls random people to ease her loneliness.
“That’s why she said she was glad I picked up the phone…”
Her father saw that Nayeon was slowly recovering from the so-called disease and was giving her freedom, but Nayeon being the stubborn eldest daughter once again broke her father’s wishes.
People said that Nayeon, a day before her death, went out of the house to meet someone.
“The day before her death?”
And people believed that it was another lover of Nayeon that she was secretly seeing. And they also believed that it was a woman.
“That was… me?”
Her father cannot take any more of the absurdness and decided to just kill her daughter instead of making the disease more badly than it already was.
She was killed because of her homosexuality…
Nayeon was just 23 years old when she died. She died Two days before the March 1st movement.
“That was exactly two days ago”
Jeongyeon can’t believe the story she just heard
“And the room you were using was the same room Nayeon was locked in…” The old woman added.
“Now it all makes sense…”
It all makes sense to Jeongyeon now, why Nayeon has this strange way of speaking, why she was always on edge, why she describes the place differently from what Jeongyeon can see. And why they didn’t meet each other that day…
She chuckled bitterly as she lay on the floor. Tears were flowing from her eyes.
“Fuck soulmates… I just talked with a person who was from 100 years ago and…” She was cut off by her train of thought…
She hasn’t really accepted it, but right now all she can feel was guilt and sorrow.
“And I fell for her… I fell for someone who’s a hundred years away from me…”
She cried her heart out, blaming herself for Nayeon’s death. If it wasn’t for her being pushy then Nayeon would’ve lived her life even though she’s not with her.
“I killed her…”
Nayeon was dead because of her…
After mourning Nayeon’s death for a day, Jeongyeon decided to go back to Seoul and finish her piece there.
“Are you sure you’ll leave this phone here unnie?” Dahyun asked as she held the phone in her arms. She was carrying it because she thought that Jeongyeon forgot it, but in fact she was actually leaving it there.
“You can make it as a display” Jeongyeon said as she smile at Dahyun and pat the younger woman’s head
“We’ll miss you here unnie” Dahyun said as she gave Jeongyeon her last embrace.
She thanked the elderly woman one last time before she went out and go home.
As soon as she got back to the dorms Momo greeted her with a glare
“So where have you been?”
Momo asked, her hands on her waist and was standing tall at the doorway
“Can you let me enter first? I’m so tired Momo”
Momo let her in and as soon as she saw her bed she flopped down and buried her face on her soft pillow
“Aren’t you going to tell me where have you been?”
“I’ve been in Jeonju, in the Hanok Village to be exact”
“And you didn’t even tell me that you’re going there?! You know how much I wanted to go there!” Momo said while throwing pillows at Jeongyeon which the latter gladly threw back at Momo
“It was an unplanned vacation you know! Unplanned!” She said
“At least tell me how was your experience there” Momo said as she sat down on Jeongyeon’s bed and coaxed the latter to tell her what happened on her 2 week expedition
She then told Momo everything that happened except for the part that she was talking to a ghost through the phone that she received from an antique shop owner.
“I’m so jealous!” Momo said whining “I’ll ask Jihyo next time so that we can spend some days there”
Jeongyeon just hummed and gave Momo a thumbs up indicating her approval.
After that incident Jeongyeon tried to remove the thoughts of Nayeon in her head but alas she can’t, It’s like the woman was already stuck in her system since the beginning of their conversation.
She was still confused as to why she cried the first time she heard Nayeon’s voice but surely that doesn’t anything to do with the past right?
For the remaining weeks of her deadline, she locked herself in one of the studios again and crammed her piece trying to get the right emotion for her art work.
The day came; it was the day where they present their works in front of their professor. After the other students presented their artwork it was Jeongyeon’s turn.
“I call this piece ‘The call’…”
The piece of art Jeongyeon presented was painting of a woman wearing a modern hanbok while holding a vintage looking phone on her ears.
The emotion in the painting depicts the emotion Jeongyeon could think of, what Nayeon would’ve felt during those times that she was locked up in that room.
It also has a historical background to it since it was from a real life story of a daughter of a family that was killed because of her homosexuality.
As she explain and tell the story of Nayeon in front of her class, her classmates and her professor was intently listening to her.
Her Final work received an A+
After her graduation Jeongyeon decided to go back to Jeonju to do some more research about Nayeon and her death, and she was doing her research, she came across a record of people who lived in the area 150 years ago with their cause of death, and criminal records, if they have one.
While scanning the names of the deceased she found Nayeon’s name.
“Im Nayeon… Cause of Death: Unknown Disease” She read out loud
She smiled bitterly as she can imagine the pain Nayeon had suffered through the years of her life being tortured by her father because of her homosexuality only cover the real cause of her death.
“Hypocrites… you killed your own daughter and record it as an unknown disease…”
She continued scanning the book, her eyes widened as she saw an unexpected name on the list
“Yoo Jeongyeon…”
It was her very own name…
“Cause of death: Beheaded…”
As she continually read the records the missing pieces that she was looking was now coming in to light
“Was sentenced to death, guilty of treason and kidnapping…”
She laughed bitterly while reading the records. Her tears were slowly falling.
Now she knows why. Why she cried that day when she heard Nayeon’s voice, and why she always feels so complete whenever she talked with Nayeon.
Years have passed and Jeongyeon was a famous artist now and was doing an exhibit in Seoul for her exhibit entitled ‘Her’. It was all paintings of a woman, different types of woman to be exact, the concept of woman revolved around the exhibit. But there was a special section in the exhibit only close people of the artist were allowed to see that special section in the exhibit.
“You’re a creepy one aren’t you?” Tzuyu said as she looked at the large painting in front of her.
“What’s so creepy about that It’s kind of… uhmmm romantic?” Sana said as she stared at the painting tilting her head trying to appreciate the art work.
“Is that the girl you were talking about to me?” Momo asked Jeongyeon as they both looked at the painting.
It was a painting of a woman.
The woman Jeongyeon only knew the appearance because of descriptions. Very vague descriptions. She laughed as she remembered their conversations back then.
“I have a wide shiny forehead”
“A wide what?” Jeongyeon reiterated trying to suppress her laughter. The description was too funny for her.
“I have a wide shiny forehead!” Nayeon repeated but annoyance was visible in her tone
Jeongyeon can’t help but laugh at the vague description of the woman to herself. She just respects the woman too much for being all too honest an innocent.
After looking at the painting they decided to go take a look around the place and look for other paintings from other artists as well.
Jeongyeon decided to look around too looking at her paintings, she remembered how Nayeon would often tell her, that women in their place was just considered a simple housewife and bearer of children and Nayeon doesn’t want to end up like that. Just a simple housewife doesn’t suit her.
“If she be a house wife she’d be too nagging” she chuckled at the thought
Walking around the place looking at other people, a woman in a simple dress caught her eyes.
She followed the woman wherever it goes and then at the crowd of people she lost her
“Damn it…” She mumbled
She was about to go back to her own exhibit when she felt someone twist her arms from behind.
“Ow!” She exclaimed but since there were too many people chattering she wasn’t heard by the guards.
“Damn what? You’ve been following me around haven’t you?”
Just from the person’s voice behind her she already smiled.
From the moment she read her name from the records she was hoping, praying that maybe Nayeon have hat reincarnation as well.
At first she didn’t believe in those kinds of things, but after reading the records and feeling those emotions she knew. She knew that she was Nayeon’s lover in her past life.
“No, No. I was just looking at other paintings!” She defended as she tries to look over her shoulder. “I’m actually one of the artists of this exhibit!” She added
The woman behind her just glared at her and eyed her, but eventually released her
She immediately turned around to see the person who twisted her arms, and as soon as she saw the woman she can’t help but cry.
Tears fall down on her cheeks as she looked at the woman in front of her
“A buck teeth, wide shiny forehead, big eyes and cheeks that’s like the cheeks of a rabbit… She raelly does look like a rabbit”
“Are you… Are you crying? Did It hurt too much?” The woman asked
She just chuckled and shook her head as she wiped her tears; she smiled at the woman and then introduced herself
“I’m Yoo Jeongyeon” She said as she reaches her hands out for a handshake
“Im Nayeon” The woman held her hand and shook it.
As soon as Jeongyeon heard the name, she smiled brightly as the sun. Her wishes every 11:11, and her prayers were heard. After years of finding her, she finally appeared in front of her.
“Finally… I’ve found you…”