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- 12th Newsletter
Hi there
This is A.thentic Jong Hee.
And this my 12th Newsletter for you.
How are you today? How’s your weekend?
Hope you had a good time. 🙏
I took a break on Saturday and went to the beach, ‘Haeundae’ by walking. It was a cloudy day, but it was alright to walk around there.
Like last Saturday (8 days ago), I could see some people swimming in the sea, lying down on the sand in swim suites,🏖 but this week, like on Saturday (yesterday), I didn’t see people inside the water.
Until a few years ago, swimming in the sea without lifeguards around during the beach’s open season in summer was illegal, but not any more. I didn’t know they changed the policy. I might even jump into the sea before the beach opens. 🩳
(I wish I had emotional relaxation too for it too).
I stopped by a donut shop in Haeundae town. It’s a korean franchise based on Seoul. I don’t want to promote this donut brand at all, but I’m just showing the pictures for a fun for you.💕🍩
 |  |  |
They also sell the chocolate donut, but it was sold out that day. (I love chocolate, especially the dark chocolate. I enjoy eating 80%~90 cacao chocolate. 🍫
 |  |  sherbet ice cream |
I once posted the stairs inside the shop a few times.
Click this link.
It’s the same shop.
Okay, now, it’s my story time.
Now I’m sharing the next part, the story of the 2nd track, #2 “We walked together.
It has such a long words. But I decided to post the whole part of #2 act story.
But before that, I strongly recommend you to keep listening to the track #1-“I met you beautifully”, and track #2 “We walked together”.
Or click this link and listen to it.
Then you can dive into the mood inside the story, for sure.
(And unfortunately, I know how many times the music is played for this letter. )
Listen to the music, then it will help you immerse yourself into the story, also it helps ME. - This also gives me the motivation, other than that, I will lose the catalyst for it.
Now I’m developing the next story of #3. “I started to like you”, but I’m not sure when I can release it here.
(One small spoil alert. The next track of the piano song, #4 will be released before long.)🎹
Okay. Thank you for reading.🌹
I will see you next time. 😊💜
Hope you have a happy week, enjoying your life. 🙏💖
Bye
From A.thentic Jong Hee
P.S. Now, as you read this story, I hope you can enjoy it in your relaxing time, perhaps with a cup of coffee or tea while listening to my music. ☕️ 💐🎧
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
A love story of Piano pieces
Written by A.thentic Jong Hee
#2. We walked together
Part. 1
The next day, Hyun drives his pickup truck towards the town center. Hyun visits this place at least once or twice a week to buy the things necessary for farm work.
Although the town is much smaller and quieter compared to downtown in the city, there are quite a few shops lined up along the small road, decorated fairly nicely apart from a few old, worn-out stores. Passing by the shops along the road, each person knows the shop owners and exchanges light greetings, making it easy to meet acquaintances even on the street.
Although Hyun rarely exchanges a word with other villagers, to him, at least it seems so. Hyun has chosen to settle in this small town, perhaps because those who frequent this small town more than anything else sympathize with the relaxed and uncomplicated life chosen here over the bustling life of the big city. Although Hyun doesn't speak much with other villagers, he may feel a sense of sympathy towards the life they have chosen.
Today, Hyun has found a shop that handles fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural tools, all of which he needs for farm work, as he usually does every week. The signboard at the entrance reads 'Sungjin Fertilizer,' and it's a fairly large store for a rural area. He parks the truck in the parking lot behind the store, goes inside, picks out some fertilizer and other items he needs for the farm, and takes them to the checkout counter.
While the store clerk scans the barcodes on the fertilizer, the owner, a man in his mid-60s whose last name is ‘Han', comes out from inside. The owner, Han recognizes Hyun immediately but ignores him without any change in expression, instead fiddling with other items at the counter.
Despite exchanging a short greeting with the owner while paying, the owner shows no response as usual. It seems that no matter how hard Hyun tries to greet him with a forced smile, he has never tried to do so for ten years, which makes it even more awkward to think about it. As Hyun is about to leave after paying, he hears a sudden voice from behind.
"Is everything going well?"
Han throws a word at Hyun's back as he exits the store. Startled by the owner's sudden question, Hyun turns around.
"Your farm work. Is it going well?"
Hyun, unable to come up with a proper response, finally manages to say a word.
"Yes..."
"How well? How's it going?"
"It's... going alright... I'm making progress."
"Is 'alright' enough? Has it already been nearly ten years since you came here? Raising cattle on a farm, slacking off, and messing around like this will ruin you in no time. Look at Park's son in the other village."
“Yes..."
"Your father worked really hard. You should know that."
"Yes, I know."
The owner still seems dissatisfied with Hyun's response as his sunburnt face wrinkles with a frown. Then he throws another word.
"How about your mother? Is she feeling better?"
"Yes..."
"Hey, Lee, go tidy up the warehouse in the back. Why is it still a mess?"
"Yes, sir."
Struggling to answer the owner's probing questions, Hyun manages to respond, but the owner, instead of addressing Hyun, vents his frustration at the store clerk.
Looking back, Hyun realizes that the owner has never really liked him since he came down here ten years ago. Despite a decade passing, it's perhaps understandable from the owner's perspective. His father passed away from illness, leaving him to come down here alone without properly helping his father with work and selfishly enjoying city life, only to return here now that there's nothing else to do. With that thought in mind, Hyun leaves the store without saying anything more.
Hyun wheels the cart loaded with fertilizer back to the parking lot and tosses the fertilizer trays into the truck bed. As he is about to head to the driver's seat, he notices someone passing by the house next to the parking lot out of the corner of his eye. He turns his head, thinking the figure looks somewhat familiar, but there's no one there anymore.
"Could it be...?"
Seated in the driver's seat, Hyun mutters to himself. It seemed to be the woman he met in the forest yesterday. He only saw her briefly, but her presence was so striking that he couldn't forget it. However, shaking his head, he indicated that it was unlikely for that woman to be here, and then he started the truck.
Hyun starts the truck. As he drives towards home, he soon reaches a quiet road lined with pine trees. Beyond the grassy field and through the trees on the other side of the road, a forest path begins to emerge. The clear sky casts sunlight over the forest, and the sun's rays penetrate through the pine and oak trees, spreading like flower branches arranged in a vase here and there throughout the forest.
Hyun soon parks the truck by the side of the road and walks across the grassy field towards the forest path. As he enters the forest, the scent of pine trees welcoming spring and the fragrance of spring flowers blooming in the field greet him first. After a while, when he reaches the forest trail, Hyun looks back and forth between the two directions for a moment before shaking his head.
"Why am I here...?"
About to leave the forest, something catches his eye. It's the sunken spot on the forest path where the girl stumbled yesterday. He walks over there. Then Hyun looks down for a moment.
“Oh my..!"
Remembering the girl falling and stumbling here, Hyun smiles softly. Then, after briefly examining the ground, he immediately turns back towards the car.
A while later, someone starts to appear on the opposite side of the forest trail. The spring breeze, filled with the scent of cherry blossoms, gently brushes past, rustling the skirt of a young woman walking along the forest path. It's her. She has found her way back to the forest trail today.
She has come out for a walk along the forest path again today. However, something about her appearance seems different today. She is wearing jeans and sneakers. And what she is holding in her hand is a tumbler. She puts it in a floral tumbler bag, seeming careful but still walking cheerfully.
Walking cheerfully for a while, she hears something from the forest path ahead. Thump!, thump! Curious, she walks further along the path until she sees someone struggling on the forest trail. It's a man, vigorously working with a shovel. It's him. Hyun. He was filling the sunken spot on the trail where she had stumbled with soil brought from somewhere else. Filling it up, he puts weight on it and presses the soil firmly, then fills it again and presses it with his feet and the flat side of the shovel, repeating the process.
Watching him for a while, a smile forms on her face.
"Are you finished?"
After working for a while, Hyun is startled by a sudden voice from behind.
“Oh? ..Hi …"
"What are you doing right now?"
With a mischievous smile on her face, she asks him.
"Oh... I... thought I should do this..."
"Oh, that..? You should..? Why?”
"...Why?"
Trying to answer confidently while holding the shovel, Hyun is left speechless by her bold question.
"Why do you think you should do that right now?"
"Well... just... if I do this here..."
"Is it because of me?"
“Huh..?”
Baffled by her persistent question, Hyun's face turns slightly red.
"You're sweet..."
Seeing his embarrassment, she smiles, and says,
“Okay, nothing.. Oh, this! I brought it today."
With a playful expression, she shows him the tumbler.
"Huh?"
"Coffee."
She answers with a smile.
"Oh, okay..."
"Hey, would you like to try my coffee today?"
She shakes the tumbler in front of him.
“...."
Still unable to say anything, Hyun. Seeing his hesitation, she shakes the tumbler in front of him again.
"Oh... it's okay..."
"Would you like to try a little? My coffee is delicious too."
“I’m okay. Please, enjoy it."
"...Okay."
After a moment of hesitation, Hyun cautiously speaks.
"Uh, I have to go to the farm now... I have some work to do..."
"Oh, okay. Then."
She says goodbye and turns away.
"Um... when will you.. come again?"
Hyun's words come from behind her. She turns around.
“Excuse me?"
"When... will you come here... again?"
“...."
Instead of answering, she looks at Hyun. Hyun continues to say,
"I'm a bit busy right now, but when you come back here... again... if the timing is right... would you like to... take a walk together... here...? I can show you..some..”
“I’ll come tomorrow! At this time!”
Interrupting Hyun's stammering and embarrassment, she responds cheerfully.
"I'll come tomorrow again. At this time!"
"Oh, okay.. But this time is a bit busy for me... if it's after 5 o'clock, it's okay..."
"Okay! I'll come at 5!"
She responds cheerfully.
"Oh... would you like that...?"
"Yes. Let's... take a walk together here, tomorrow!"
"Oh, okay..."
"See you tomorrow. Hurry up. You must be busy."
"Uh, yes... see you tomorrow."
After exchanging greetings, Hyun turns around and walks towards the car with a shovel in hand. Watching his back, she smiles.
Hyun walks over with a bewildered expression, loads the shovel behind the truck, and takes a seat in the driver's seat. After sitting blankly for a moment, he starts the truck and drives off.
After driving for a while, he absentmindedly looks at the side mirror outside the car window, catching a glimpse of him smiling.
"Why am I smiling...?"
He mutters to himself like he's scolding himself, but soon his smile returns.
Part. 2
The next day, Hyun moves busily at every hour. As the afternoon approaches, he quickly sweeps the floor of the cattle shed, lays down fresh straw, pours feed for the cows, and handles other chores around the shed.
"Is something wrong?"
His mother, seeing her son bustling about, asks from behind.
"No, everything's fine. Stay inside, mother”
As the clock ticks past 4 o'clock, he hurries to finish his work, then quickly showers and changes his clothes. He carefully sniffs each piece of clothing he picks up, checking if any of them carry the scent of the shed, finally selecting the cleanest shirt and putting on a light jacket.
"What's the matter? Where are you going?"
"It's nothing, Mom. I'll be back soon."
"Where to? We should have dinner soon."
"I'll be back before dinner."
With these words, he heads out. Baekdu, who was in the yard, follows him, but Hyun stops and commands him to stay home.
"Baekdu, stay home. Take care of Mom. I'll be back soon, okay?”
Seemingly understanding his words, Baekdu, the dog stops following Hyun and stands still in his place. Then, as Hyun leaves the house, his mother watches him worriedly from the yard, and Baekdu gazes at her with concern.
As Hyun heads towards the forest, he checks the time and sees that it's already 4:45 PM. Along the path leading to the forest, cherry blossoms are blooming abundantly, scattering their petals in the spring breeze.
Entering the forest path, Hyun looks ahead, wondering if someone might be there. No one's there yet. He checks the time: 4:50 PM. Quietly, he walks to the bench. Sitting there for a moment, he stands up again, feeling like he shouldn't be sitting.
"What if she doesn't come?"
Glancing at the clock again, it's 4:55 PM. There’s still some time left, but Hyun paces back and forth in front of the bench, feeling restless.
After a while, someone approaches from a distance. Hyun looks in that direction. It's her. As she walks towards him, Hyun adjusts his posture nervously.
She quietly walks down the path towards Hyun. She's wearing low-heeled white shoes and a light pink dress. Hyun is momentarily mesmerized by her dazzling beauty before cautiously greeting her as she approaches.
“Hi..”
She smiles at his courteous greeting.
“Have you been waiting long?”
She asks him.
"No, I just arrived."
Hyun answers.
"Okay..."
Seeing Hyun standing awkwardly, she throws out a remark.
"You're dressed nicely today."
"Oh, no..it’s just nothing.."
Hyun answers. Seeing her also feeling awkward, Hyun speaks up.
"Shall we... go this way?"
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see when we get there. You probably don't know this path."
And they start walking in the direction she came from. After a while, they reach the spot where Hyun had filled the sunken path with soil the day before. She playfully steps onto it and jumps up slightly in place. Hyun, feeling shy as he watches her action.
"You did a good job here."
“….."
They start walking again. After a while, Hyun speaks up.
"Shall we go this way?"
As he speaks, Hyun guides her off the forest path to a trail leading into the woods.
"What's over there?"
"I think it's a path you don't know."
And they quietly start walking along the path, passing through the pine trees. Eventually, they reach the end of the forest, revealing a wide open space filled with low shrubs and spring flowers. It's like a hidden treasure, known only to the villagers.
"Oh! I didn't know such a place existed!"
She exclaims in amazement.
"Yes, it's a place only the villagers know... outsiders wouldn't know. Would you like to go this way?"
And Hyun guides her through a small dirt path amidst the shrubs. They start walking quietly. In the distance, the cool spring breeze passes by, accompanied by the gentle rustling of leaves. Her dress flutters briefly in the wind, and they walk silently, as if no words are needed anymore.
Occasionally, Hyun steals glances at her side profile. He thinks her short breaths, as she marvels at the beauty around them, are so pretty and beautiful. After a while, he notices tears welling up in her eyes. She wipes her tears quietly.
“Are you okay..?”
Hyun asks quietly at her side.
"Oh..." She responds as she wipes her tears shortly after Hyun's question.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just some dust got into my eyes..”
Muttering as she speaks, but seeing more tears welling up in her eyes, Hyun realizes it's not just because of the wind. Deciding not to inquire further, he walks quietly beside her, matching her slow pace.
In the distance, a spring flower petal floats in the wind, landing briefly on her dress before fluttering away again. Feeling an inexplicable sense of guilt towards her, Hyun wishes that even her tears could quietly fly away in the wind like those flower petals, wishing for her to find peace. He finds even her quietly crying figure so beautiful.
"I... "
Hyun speaks up.
"My name is Hyun. Kim Hyun. I raise cows nearby..."
Although he speaks his introduction stiffly, it's more of an attempt to say something to prevent her from continuing to cry rather than a genuine self-introduction.
“I see..."
"I've been living in this village for about ten years... I live with my mother.”
She nods quietly. Hyun continues.
"If we keep going this way, there's a... "
Then,
"I'm Jane. My name is Jane."
Hyun is surprised by her answer.
"I live in Seoul, but I came here for a short break. I have relatives here."
"Oh, I see."
After walking for a while, they turn left along the roadside, and Hyun points with his finger.
"Would you like to see that?"
As he gestures, a scenic view unfolds before them. A vast field filled with various spring flowers stretches out, and in the distance, blue mountains spread out like a folding screen. Below the mountains, a peaceful river flows, creating an incredibly beautiful scene.
"Ah..."
She sighs softly. After briefly marveling at the scenery beyond her tears, she speaks with difficulty.
"It's... such a beautiful place..."
"Yeah, I didn't know about it either... I discovered it when I came down here to visit my parents during school break. This place is my parents' hometown, but since I didn't live here, I don't know much about it... Sometimes I come here and just stare blankly."
She nods silently. As a cool breeze blows in from afar, gently brushing through the field of spring flowers, it whispers in a sweet, melodious voice, tickling their ears with the fragrance of flowers.
<The end of #2 scene>