It was eleven in the morning when Yoohyeon eventually reached the village, jumping down from the train after 4 hours of travelling. She stepped in front while dragging her luggage along, looking at the scenery before her. The landscape glowed green in the light of a bright sun. The dip and influence of the land, the patterns and species of flora, the ever-changing sky and the wind. It moved Yoohyeon's light brunette hair and the ocean of spring grass all the same.
Yoohyeon breathed in the fresh air, floral fragrance illustrating a delighted smile on her face. She peered down at the letter which she was holding, perusing the name composed on it for the nth time that day.
Lee Siyeon.
Yoohyeon turned her head toward the carriages saddled with horses, trying to spot a lady which she needed to find. The letter, which she received a week ago, informed that Siyeon had blonde short hair and was in her early thirties.
Yoohyeon's gaze scrutinized the people who were also looking toward the train, probably trying to find their families or friends with their awaiting eyes.
She was already getting her hopes down when she finally spotted the blonde woman, elegantly sitting in her carriage and darting her gaze to the nature before her. Yoohyeon guessed that she was the Lee Siyeon who she had to encounter, so she started walking toward the fancy stroller, which was all black with the taints of gold, making it distinguishable from all the other white carriages that were in the line behind.
"Hello? Are you perhaps Lady Siyeon?" Asked Yoohyeon with a respectful smile on her face. The blonde woman turned her face toward the girl after hearing the sudden cheerful voice, looking down at her with her honey-coloured eyes.
"Yes? You might be Miss Yoohyeon, then." She spoke with a graceful accent, totally astonishing Yoohyeon with her matured husky voice.
"You can call me just Yoohyeon, ma'am." The young girl announced, happy that she managed to find her.
Yoohyeon didn't have a clue about this lady by any means, significantly more, she was here for the first time. She lives in town, never really having the opportunity and ought to come to the countryside, yet she became weary of the dreariness and monotony in the city, so she decided to contact any person from here who would willingly host her as a maid. Yoohyeon would remain in their home, eat their food, and just essentially live with them for the intended time, however accordingly, she needed to assist them with house errands and some fundamental stuff. Meanwhile, she would be able to make some money, too.
"Alright then, Yoohyeon. Would you climb up on the carriage? So we could go to my house." Siyeon's tender voice interrupted the young girl's thoughts, who nodded in a quick matter and went up on the two little stairs, awkwardly sitting next to the lady. Siyeon told her coachman that he could start going, the latter nodding his head and whipping the horses as the carriage started going forward. "Are you here for the first time, Yoohyeon?"
"Ah, yes, ma'am, this is my first time, so I could say that I am very excited about being here as your guest." Yoohyeon bowed her head in respect, receiving Siyeon's smile.
"I am very happy to be hosting you, too, darling. How old are you?" She asked while studying the girl's facial details.
"I am 21, madam, what about you? If it's not unrespectful for me to ask." Yoohyeon, being the inquisitive she is, asked with her nosy expression.
"Goodness, 21... That makes me twelve years older than you." She answered with a murmur, yet a smile on her face. Yoohyeon attempted to abstain from showcasing her shock, yet she was given out by the gasp she let out inadvertently.
This woman was thirty-three??
Yoohyeon took a look at the older woman's appearance, still being in shock. Siyeon's blonde hair was every hue from the white-spun sun to golden browns. Her thick eyebrows were clouding the hazel eyes that had a keen gaze, looking from the shadow of her creamy coloured cloche hat. She had no wrinkles, her face was as clean as the sky of that morning. Her sharp jawline, those full and thick lips with a rosy lip gloss... Just how could this woman be over thirty at all.
"Have you ever tried something like this before? Hosting a stranger for this matters, I mean." Inquired Yoohyeon while looking at the moving trees beside, pleasantly glancing at the nature around them.
"No, it's the first time." Siyeon's answer was more serious this time, her voice becoming quiet. "And I would never really try it, but being all alone became very sorrowful, you see. I just wanted to find a solution, then I received your letter."
The brunette girl turned her head back to her host, breaking into a grin that included her eyes. Siyeon tilted her head, returning the smile and now looking in front as if she was trying to spot something. "See that house over there?" Yoohyeon tried looking toward the place Siyeon was pointing her finger, nodding her head after seeing the white house. "That's mine."
After a few minutes, the carriage stopped, Siyeon stepping down carefully and looking back at Yoohyeon to tell her to do the same.
Yoohyeon stood beside her, carefully looking at her host's house. The gates protecting the home were made of shiny black stone, while the house was built with polished white rock. Yoohyeon stood there, gaping at the small mansion that was set beyond the sidewalk, towering over her. She took a step closer and took in the essence of the home. It wasn't too big, but it looked so pleasant and enjoyable.
Siyeon strolled forward, clearing a path for her visitor and turning to her with a smile "Welcome, Yoohyeon. I sincerely hope you will enjoy being here."
The brunette girl thanked her, following her inside. The stoneware that was driving the way to the house made such esthetical energy, and Yoohyeon cheerfully strolled upon it while drawing near to the house.
"You seem excited." Siyeon laughed, walking beside the tall girl calmly while swaying her flower dress around.
"That is on the grounds that I am, milady! This house is so wonderful." Yoohyeon exclaimed, and she settled the score more energized when Siyeon opened the entryway, hanging tight for her to go in first.
Yoohyeon slowly walked inside, looking around the inner side of the house this time. The black and white linoleum floor was obviously having been cleaned before they came. Round stairs lay across the living room, climbing toward the ceiling.
"So? What do you think?" Siyeon asked with an expecting voice.
"Goodness, I will enjoy being here a lot." Answered Yoohyeon and put her luggage on the floor, smiling in an agony.
Beautiful house with a beautiful owner.--She thought.
"Leave your stuff there, I will show you around, first, if that's okay with you."
"Of course." Yoohyeon happily answered and followed the older woman, who went for the kitchen first. It was cosy, light and welcoming. There were two big windows above the sink which drew Yoohyeon's attention. She thought how pleasant it would be to cook something while also looking at that scenery at the same time.
Then, Siyeon showed her the living room, dining room, master and guest bedrooms, the basement and the attic. Her house didn't look that big from the outside, but it was surely enormous and extensive from the inside.
"The main bathroom is at the end of the hallway, but there's also one in the bedroom," Siyeon explained, stopping where they started: in front of Yoohyeon's bags. "If you have anything else to ask, you can always do so. If you need anything, always come to me. Now, you're most probably tired, let's bring your bags to your room so you can rest for a bit, and then let's have lunch, alright?"
Yoohyeon nodded her head, but before Siyeon would walk toward the luggage, she softly held out her hand and caught her arm, making her turn toward her. "I know it's a bit sudden, but can I stay in the attic? It looked so lovely... There was a bed, too, and the scenery from the windows is just amazing. I would like to sleep there." Yoohyeon said, looking at the blonde woman with hopeful eyes.
Siyeon looked a bit taken aback by the question, wrinkling her eyebrows and faltering on the response. Yoohyeon gradually grasped her hand back, regretting ever asking about it and feeling that she ought to have been thankful for the large visitor room she got. She was about to take her words back when Siyeon took a deep breath, straightening her back and looking at the younger girl with a small smile.
Yoohyeon didn't know what was going on inside Siyeon's mind, but she was certain that that smile wasn't caused by happiness or enjoyment.
Rather, it looked sorrowful.
"Alright, as you wish. You're staying here for a month to accompany me, after all, of course I will do everything to help you find comfort." Siyeon spoke softly, taking Yoohyeon's luggage and walking up the stairs again, but now toward the attic.
---
Yoohyeon felt how tired she was solely after resting upon the delicate duvet. She let out a breath, shutting her eyes as various thoughts took over her. She put the bags under her bed, not having the energy to unpack her stuff.
The deadly silence pierced her ears. She opened her eyes, sitting up on the bed with a sigh. She looked over at the Victorian multicoloured leaf-shaped windows, rays of light beaming through them and creating patterns in the dusty air.
The brunette girl stood up from the bed, not being able to fall asleep so she decided to look around a bit.
The spacious piano took up almost a quarter of the room. Beside the piano, there was a small wooden cabinet, which was empty as Yoohyeon checked. Only a large green suitcase lying at the bottom of it, looking as if nobody has touched it in the last decade.
"Hm..." Yoohyeon peeked towards the door through her furrowed eyebrows, then glanced back at the suitcase and decided to take it out. She held the bag from side to side, carrying it with a struggle and putting it in front of her bed.
She gradually unfastened it, doing whatever it takes not to contact the surface which was truly dusty. Within the suitcase, she only discovered books, notebooks, and old newspapers... Yoohyeon began taking out the books, she was unable to not do that, she was excessively meddlesome for that.
She found a collection of Jane Austin's novels and Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", which crafted a smile on her face. She was also always a fanatic of that book.
Then, she grabbed the notebooks, putting them down in order and picked up one of them at the end, flipping it to read the note on the first paper.
1846 y.; April; Kim Bora;
Yoohyeon tilted her head, realizing that these notebooks were diaries.
She was holding a diary which was written around ten years ago...
That really intrigued her.
She touched the name scribbled on the yellow papers with the most beautiful handwriting Yoohyeon has ever seen in her life.
She wonders who this Kim Bora is...
She looked at the other three diaries furthermore, checking their date. Two of them were the same year, but with different months of spring. March and May. And afterwards the last one was following two years, 1848, winter. Yoohyeon speculated that the first was the march one, so she chose to actually look at that diary first.
She was a bit hesitant to read them, her conscience, the moral sense of right and wrong was kicking in suddenly. But in the end, her curiosity turned out to be a stronger feeling so she finally opened the first diary, jumping on the bed and starting to read the first paragraph.
March 12th; 1846
We finally arrived at the farmland this morning. I was so excited that even mother could not calm me down. Our house here is not as big as it is in Kyoto, but I still love it. It was so early in the morning that the sun wasn't fully up, but I could not calm down. It was my first time seeing the land my father was born in, it was needless to say that I was eager to browse the whole area!
I am now sitting in my room, which needs a little decorating, of course, but that will be resolved soon. I cannot wait to go out so I can observe the whole village. It was dark when we came, but I still could see how beautiful the view was.
My father said that tomorrow, on March 13, it should be some sort of a spring celebration here, called the 'Prunus festival'. He said that netizens here tend to prepare for it in the last few days, so I want to go and help the people in organising everything! Though I am so tired from travelling, I will most probably sleep a little before going out.
This is the first day of me here, and I feel joyous to know that we will stay for the whole spring! Hope to find good places and most importantly, new friends.
Yoohyeon was about to start reading the second page when she heard Siyeon's voice calling for her, probably because that lunch was ready. The brunette girl quickly put all the diaries under her pillow, returned the books to the suitcase and quickly dragged it back inside the closet, fixing her clothes and walking down the stairs.
"Oh, Yoohyeon. Did you rest well?" Asked the lady of the house who was already sitting at the table, waiting for her guest to join her so they could start eating.
She had already changed her clothes, now wearing fabric pants and skin coloured button-up shirt with a corset on it. It was pretty weird for a lady, even more for a noblewoman, to wear pants, for that reason Yoohyeon was dazed when she saw her host after coming down from the attic, however that didn't imply that she wasn't tolerating it, yet considerably more, Lady Siyeon appeared to be much more charming in her eyes now.
"Yes, ma'am, I had a good rest. I apologize for not being able to help with the meals." Yoohyeon bowed her head slightly, washing her hands and walking to the table before sitting beside Siyeon.
"Don't mention it, it's your first day here, I won't ask anything from you other than company today." The blonde woman replied as they started eating in silence, while the day already reached 2 pm.
Yoohyeon was thinking deeply about whether to tell Siyeon or not about the 'treasure' she found but decided not to in the end. There had to be a reason why Siyeon had those diaries hidden in a suitcase, in a closet, in the attic room. Yoohyeon chose to read a few more paragraphs later to have an idea of who this Kim Bora was and only then she would inform Siyeon about it.
Or not even inform her at all...
After eating, Yoohyeon helped Siyeon with the dishes, even though the latter asked her not to. They cleaned the kitchen, chatted a little about themselves, and it was nearly 3 when they decided to go out for a walk. Siyeon told Yoohyeon that she wanted to show some of the beautiful parts of the village.
The village was not so small and cramped, yet one could feel how close individuals were to one another, as though everybody knew everybody. The entire village was encircled by a forest, a huge and colossal trees appeared to encompass the village all around. From the rich brown earthen hues of the forest ground to the sweetness of the blue-white sky, the forest looked like a three-dimensional wonderland for the eyes of Yoohyeon, who was willing to absorb the light.
"This village is so god damn beautiful!" She exclaimed while walking beside Siyeon, who was still in her fabric pants, obtaining a lot of gaze toward her because of that.
"I am happy you like it, Yoohyeon." She spoke in a soft manner. Her leather boots were making striking sounds against the grassy pavement every time she took a step forward. Yoohyeon looked down at the blonde woman's legs, seeing how she walked gracefully as a feather, yet had her own technique to it, which didn't look like any other lady's one. Or, even, any other man's.
Madame Siyeon was different—thought Yoohyeon—She was kind, considerate, courteous and mannerly... Yet there was something very mysterious about her. She looked evasive, reticent, secretive... Her gaze held a kind of emotion that Yoohyeon has never seen, or perhaps, never felt. There was something burning in those honey eyes that the young girl didn't know the name of, and that fascinated her a lot.
They were walking beside the fields of wheat, those golden ears had absorbed the rich sunshine, good seeds from humble earth. Amid the wheat, amid the soft golden ears, moved the unseen wind, along with Yoohyeon's yellow dress.
"Goof afternoon, ma'am." A young boy, who was gathering ripe from the fields, touched his hat, stopping his work as soon after spotting the blonde lady and giving her a bow.
Siyeon stopped walking, turning his body halfway towards the farmer boy and smiled "Oh, Hello, Jihoon. How's your day going, darling?"
Yoohyeon looked at the boy named Jihoon, who wouldn't even be over fourteen. He smiled hearing the kind nickname and bowed even deeply. "It's going well, madame. Thank you for asking."
Siyeon walked to him while she was searching for something in her pants pocket, and gave him a bar of chocolate after a moment. "Rest for a minute and eat this, you must be exhausted."
The boy's eyes brightened and thanked Siyeon, kissing her hand as a sign of appreciation.
Siyeon and Yoohyeon restarted their path, calmly following the road. Yoohyeon observed the farmers, who were working on the grounds; Kids, who were running around, playing with each other; Women, who were helping one another with caring baskets full of fruits and vegetables.
This place was an embodiment of the idyll—Passed the thought inside Yoohyeon's mind.
"Madame Siyeon, what is that tent over there for?" Yoohyeon pointed towards the big portable shelter made of cloth, supported by one or more poles and stretched tight by cords or loops attached to pegs driven into the ground, with tons of people preparing food, setting the table, and cleaning the place inside.
Siyeon followed her companion's gaze "Oh..." She knitted her brows together while sighing out that 'oh' as if she just felt a terrible cling on her heart. She soon resumed making an elegant face, though, and turned to Yoohyeon, who was scanning every of her lady's facial expressional changes. "It is ought to be some kind of a spring festival, soon. It's occurring every year in March."
"You mean... Prunus festival?" Yoohyeon spoke out in a rather quiet tone, thinking about certain sentences of a diary she read this morning. Siyeon stopped her path of walking, looking at Yoohyeon with narrow eyes.
"How do you know the name of it? I thought you've never been here... And the Prunus festival is only held in this village." Announced Siyeon, glancing at Yoohyeon with her doubting gaze.
The latter panicked, not knowing how to explain anything now. Why could not you just stay quiet!
"Oh, ha-ha, It's because..." She stopped for a moment to take a nervous look around "I always do my research before going somewhere. I asked around about this village before coming, and I heard about the festival that is held here! Didn't know it was carried in a tent, though. That is really clever." Yoohyeon immediately said, expressing gratitude toward her brain and breathing out.
She was saved. For now.
The blonde lady didn't say anything after that, she just continued the road and showed a little more of the village to Yoohyeon, then they returned back home after an hour.
Yoohyeon helped Siyeon clean a little after they were back home, and for the whole two hours afterwards, the blonde woman sat at the fading campfire, writing down some documents Yoohyeon didn't really feel interested in.
So she used that time to go back up to the attic, which now was her new room, made herself comfortable on the bed, and took one particular diary from under her pillow.
And with a wave of her hand above the pile of yellow papers and beautifully written notes, she started reading the second paragraph.
To Be Continued
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