To anybody else, that would have been just another beautiful summer day. The sky was bright blue and clear, the sun was shining warmly, and a gentle wind swept through the trees, making the leaves sing their harmonious song.
To freshly high school graduate, Kim Yoon-Yi, though, it was just another trying day, no different than the one before. Or at least that is how it began.
Ever since she received the results from her tests, Yoon-Yi had been in a very weird mood. She was accepted to Seoul University and instead of being happy and proud, she felt sad and rather scared. Leaving high school behind and taking a big step towards an unknown future was not a very cheery prospective in her opinion.
That, and the fact that she didn't know what career path to pursue, made things even more worrisome.
As expected from those who knew Yoon-Yi best, her disposition did not come as a big surprise. Her mother knew well enough that the 'down-to-earth' and 'control freak' Yoon-Yi would feel terrified at the idea of moving into the big city and facing all that newness alone.
Therefore, in order to cheer up her daughter and take her mind off of things, Mrs. Kim decided on a trip to the countryside, to visit her father.
They haven't gone there in quite a while and she was sure the old man was feeling lonely. Whenever they spoke over the phone, he never mentioned anything about that. But then again, he never did.
Despite all that, Mrs. Kim knew her father well. Yoon-Yi had taken after him, and one of the things in which granddaughter and grandfather were alike was in keeping their feelings hidden from others. They always tended to internalize and deal with their emotions by themselves first, before finally opening up to those they trusted.
As it was expected, the idea of seeing her grandfather before moving so far away from home raised Yoon-Yi's spirits considerably.
It was late in the afternoon when her mother shared the news.
"When are we leaving?" Yoon-Yi asked seemingly calm.
She was trying hard to hide her excitement, but her mother wasn't fooled. Mrs. Kim could clearly see Yoon-Yi's eyes flashing with anticipation. Soon, the young girl's entire face radiated with barely contained enthusiasm.
"The day after tomorrow." Mrs. Kim replied smiling, glancing sideways at her daughter. "So, I suggest you take tomorrow off from your brooding to pack your things."
"Hey! I am not brooding." Yoon-Yi said indignantly. "I am merely…" she stopped for a second to search for a better word. "Melancholic." She finished, waving a hand theatrically.
"Drama queen." Her mother snorted, which made Yoon-Yi raise an eyebrow.
She rarely saw her mother display such an un-ladylike behavior. Things such as laughing out loud, snorting or even giggling were deemed unworthy of the 'heiress' of the Kim clan. Indeed, her mother had been brought up to be an accomplished lady, with impeccable manners and temperament.
The Kims weren't insanely rich people, but they were well off. After all, they came from a long line of people who worked either as Ministers in the Joseon era or Directors in large companies, like her grandfather currently was. Therefore, the old Mr. Kim, made sure his daughter's upbringing was worthy of their history.
Too bad none of that was passed down to Yoon-Yi, though. Despite all the family's endeavors, she couldn't be more different than her beautiful, well-behaved mother.
To put it mildly, she was a tomboy. Always preferring to run around in pants and large t-shirts, Yoon-Yi hated dresses and skirts with a passion. She also avoided high-heel shoes like they were some kind of a demonic torture device.
Yoon-Yi also preferred reading to any other girlish activity, such as singing, dancing, or arranging flowers. Thus, resulted a smart, pleasant looking girl, with a feisty temperament.
She had long hair, the color of molten dark chocolate and eyes to match. Though not outright beautiful, she had a good figure, maintained mainly by the fact that she was not very fond of sweets in general.
Her knack for arguing and asking a lot of questions drove everyone around her positively mad. Even her ever-patient mother had moments when she found it difficult to resist the urge to smack her daughter over the head. The only one who found her curiosity and want for knowledge encouraging was her grandfather.
When she was young, Yoon-Yi lived with him in his countryside house. During that time, she used to fall asleep with stories about long forgotten eras, when the country was in turmoil. Mr. Kim would read her history books, her wild imagination making her hear the sound of clashing swords or the screams of torture. Mrs. Kim told her father many times over that those were not appropriate bedtime stories for children, especially girls, but the old man would simply shrug and continue.
"It will make her stronger, knowing these things. No harm comes from history, my dear, only from the future." He would say, before moving on to another story about betrayal and treason.
Yoon-Yi devoured all those tales, vividly seeing with her mind's eye the city and the people of the past. It made her want to know more, to read more, thus becoming a veritable booklover.
At eighteen years old, she had quite a long list of books she had already read, and an even bigger one containing books she wanted to read. But paper pages were not the only things that impressed her.
There were also movies, dramas, TV shows, anything that had at least a little bit of history in it, regardless of the amount of fantasy in them. Myths and legends were just as welcome as historical truth.
Despite her melancholic state, Yoon-Yi was careful to pack everything she would need for her stay at her grandfather's. Making sure there were at least two or three books in her luggage, she snapped it shut, letting out a relieved sigh.
Now, the only thing left was for the morning to come.
As soon as the sun was up on the sky, Yoon-Yi was woken up by her mother's voice.
"Yoon-Yi darling, breakfast is ready." Mrs. called from outside the room.
"Mn, coming." Yoon-Yi replied with a soft grumble, squinting her tired eyes.
No matter how enthusiastic she was about the trip, waking up so early in the morning was still hard for her. Thus, she got up, washed and got dressed almost like on autopilot.
After having a quick breakfast, the two women got inside the car and began their travel south.
The sun was shining brightly when they reached Gongju.
Mr. Kim's house was located just outside the city in a small town. The property was isolated from the rest of the houses by walls and gardens. It was a beautiful estate; one he had bought years ago in order to respect the last wish of his departed wife.
Her ancestors were from Chungcheong province and she had wanted to be buried there. Hence, ten years ago when she died, Mr. Kim sold his house and moved to the outskirts of Gongju city in a beautiful traditional house.
They were one hour away from the city and the scenery was starting to become very different. The urban background had been replaced and now every bend of the road revealed fields and small traditional houses. The mountains were visible on the horizon, looking like stone sentinels, looming protectively over the settlement.
Soon, Yoon-Yi spotted the tiled rooftop of Mr. Kim's house barely peeking behind the curtain of stone walls. She smiled to herself. Indeed, she had missed this place, as well as the people living there. The car was parked outside, and Yoon-Yi hastily followed her mother through the massive wooden gate.
After taking a step into the courtyard, Yoon-Yi stopped and turned on the spot, taking in the image of her childhood home. The house was raised from the ground and set on sturdy wooden posts. Like most traditional Korean houses, it was built from timber and had all sides surrounded by doors and windows draped with thick white paper. The building had an overall air of elegance and simplicity, which fascinated Yoon-Yi. Architecture was another aspect related to history which she enjoyed studying.
A loud cough brought her back to reality. She twirled around only to find her grandfather standing right behind her.
"I see you still have that habit of yours." He said seriously, but Yoon-Yi noticed the teasing glint in his eyes.
"And what might that be?" she asked, smiling innocently.
"Gaping with your mouth open." Her grandfather said flatly, crossing his hands behind his back.
A second later an old woman appeared at Mr. Kim's shoulder so suddenly it was like she materialized on the spot.
"Mrs. Choe!" Yoon-Yi cried out excitedly at the sight of the elderly woman. In an instant, she flung her arms around the woman's neck, hugging her tightly.
Mrs. Choe was Yoon-Yi's former nanny and a very intimidating looking woman. She was short and thin, with sharp cheekbones and a pointy face. Her eyes were like two narrow slits, making her look serious all the time. Despite her harsh appearance, Yoon-Yi knew the woman was really caring.
"Miss, how many times have I told you this is not how a lady behaves?!" Mrs. Choe huffed indignantly.
Ah, yes. Yoon-Yi had forgotten for a moment the fact that Mrs. Choe was perhaps the strictest person when it came to these sorts of things. All attempts at teaching Yoon-Yi the proper etiquette had failed miserably and because of that the old woman was still upset with her former charge.
"Yes, yes, I know. It's just that I haven't seen you in such a long time and I've missed you." Yoon-Yi said with a lopsided grin, finally releasing Mrs. Choe.
The woman cleared her throat and looked away. For a second, she looked flustered but recovered immediately.
"Let us go. Food and refreshments are waiting inside." she said briskly, turning towards the house.
"I think it's best to listen to her." Mr. Kim said in a whisper, winking at his granddaughter.
Yoon-Yi laughed quietly and followed her old nanny inside the house.
***
The next morning during breakfast, Mr. Kim gave orders to all the cooks and servants to prepare for the Baekjung festival, which would take place the day after tomorrow.
Yoon-Yi had always been fascinated by this event, especially since its importance has diminished in the recent years, with only a few areas still celebrating it. Hundreds of years ago, though, this used to be one of the two major festivals in Korea.
It was believed that on the day of the Baekjung festival, the gates of Heaven and Hell would open, allowing the souls of the deceased to enter the world of the living. The common people believed their ancestors would come and visit them, and so they prepared offerings of food and clothes.
No wonder the day used to be called Ghost Day.
"Baekjung. Is it already that time of year?" Yoon-Yi asked in surprise.
Based on the Chinese calendar, the day of the festival was set on the fifteen day of the seventh lunar month. Coincidentally, that year the festival day fell on the 15th of July.
"Yes." Her mother said with a smile. "No wonder you forgot. You've been too busy worrying about your future college life."
"I'm eighteen, so I'm allowed to lose track of time while daydreaming." She said with a smirk and before anyone could say anything else, she continued to speak, turning towards her grandfather „On a different note, that means we'll go visit grandma?"
"Indeed." The old man nodded. "I'm sure she will be very happy to see her granddaughter looking all grown up."
"That's a bit of a stretch father." Mrs. Kim said with a wave of her hand, directing her scrutinizing gaze at Yoon-Yi.
Indeed, she looked far from being all grown up, that is, if her pink, cat-patterned pajamas were any indication. Also, her hair was loose and ruffled like a typhoon came and swept it in every possible direction.
Normally, her mother wouldn't have allowed her to sit at the table looking like that, but in the end, she decided to let this small transgression pass. It was a holiday after all, one destined to help Yoon-Yi relax, and if that meant allowing her to look like a scarecrow, then so be it.