Chapter 106
106. This Time It's Really, Really Real!
2023.08.14.
So-eun was certain that she would visit Bryce Canyon someday, but that didn't mean Tae-joon could stay put. He had painstakingly built relationships with people involved with Bryce Canyon, so he had to keep moving, trusting their tips and waiting.
This week, he planned to search the Korean communities in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Koreatown in Los Angeles was a place where you didn't need to know English to get by, and San Francisco was close to Silicon Valley, so there was a possibility So-eun might be staying there if she was thinking about getting a job. And, there's Choi Hyun-ji.
The phone call with Choi Hyun-ji a while ago also bothered him. Originally, Choi Hyun-ji had a somewhat cynical side, but she was still a loyal person and seemed to like So-eun quite a bit, but she didn't show any particular reaction to the news that So-eun had disappeared, which was somehow suspicious. He judged that it was because she was busy attending law school, but he thought it would be good to check with his own eyes.
Bryce Canyon to Los Angeles is a full 9-hour drive without stopping. The cities were scattered across the vast land, making it difficult to move around. It would be nice to find even a small clue, but nothing was coming up, so his efforts sometimes felt meaningless. But he can't just sit still, so he moves. Because he's not ten-year-old Kim Tae-joon anymore.
While driving on a road with no signs for a long time, he received a call from Clark, the owner of the mart in Bryce Canyon.
"Hello."
[Hey Jooten. I think I found your girlfriend.]
At the news Clark delivered, Tae-joon screeched the car to a halt.
"Could you possibly take a picture or something?"
[No problem. Wait a minute.]
The call was immediately cut off, and a photo message arrived. The communication status was not good due to the vast land. The few minutes it took to download the photo felt like being in a smoky, suffocating haze.
As soon as the download was complete, Tae-joon clicked on the photo. His pounding heart soon calmed down.
The woman was just an Asian with long black hair and didn't resemble So-eun at all.
There was no public transportation from Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon. You had to use your own car or look into tour packages.
There were no tour packages that only went to Bryce Canyon, and the packages that included other nearby canyons were organized as 1-night 2-day or 2-night 3-day courses.
So-eun chose a package that departed from Las Vegas, saw the Grand Canyon, stayed overnight near Bryce Canyon, and then toured Bryce Canyon and Zion Canyon. It wasn't a Korean-speaking guided tour, but she couldn't help it. There was only one package that allowed you to see the sunrise at Bryce Canyon, so there was no choice.
The first and second days after arriving in Las Vegas with Hyun-ji were spent in a daze. As Hyun-ji said, Las Vegas was a fun city in itself, suitable for playing loudly and burning brightly. Could there be another city so good for playing? A city of glamorous indulgence.
The moment she set foot in the city, So-eun felt like she was in an amusement park. Zipline, roller coaster, and even a Ferris wheel. Amusement rides were arranged in various places throughout the city, harmonizing with the splendid buildings, and all kinds of shows that attracted people as much as the rides were unfolding everywhere, attracting people's attention.
So-eun was dragged around by Hyun-ji, watching the Fountain show about five times, watching the Fire show, and getting discount tickets to see a circus-like, thrilling performance. When she ate expensive food in a 360-degree rotating high tower restaurant, she dropped the fork she was holding because she felt like she had made eye contact with someone bungee jumping.
After two noisy and hectic days, on the third day, she finally had time to herself. So-eun woke up early in the morning and packed her backpack. Since it was a 1-night 2-day trip, she didn't put much in her bag. Toiletries, a change of clothes, and a water bottle. Since the bag was light, she felt lighthearted.
"I'll be back."
Hyun-ji had a show that she could only see today, so she couldn't join her this time. Hyun-ji, who had been dragging her around all the time, made a disappointed expression when she saw So-eun's face, which was full of life, unlike when she had been dragged around by her all the time.
"You look like you've come alive. So-eun, you liked this kind of thing. More than playing with me."
"No. Playing with Hyun-ji is also fun."
"Hmph."
"Let's play together when I get back."
"Definitely. As soon as you get back tomorrow, you're going to a nightclub with me. Wearing the clothes I pick out."
"Okay."
"Oh, take a padded jacket. And a mask. The desert is cold before sunrise. It can drop below freezing."
She thought it was good that her backpack was light, but Hyun-ji suddenly took a thick padded jacket out of her bag and stuffed it into So-eun's backpack. Suddenly, the backpack became as large as a hiker's. She failed to go with a light body, but she felt reassured. So-eun said goodbye to Hyun-ji and left the hotel.
So-eun, who boarded the tour bus from the hotel in front of the fountain, became 'Joy Brown'. It was a name she had chosen after the name of the heroine of a movie she had watched before coming to Las Vegas. She had come up with the idea according to Hyun-ji's advice to book under a pseudonym in case she met a strange person on the tour.
In the end, she thought it was a good thing. The tour was a gathering of people from various groups, from their 20s to their 60s, solo, couples, and families, and one of the Middle Eastern men who came alone kept talking to So-eun. She readily answered him with the thought of improving her social skills and studying English, but she eventually realized the limit when he said, 'The color of your eyes is really beautiful.'
"Did you hear me, Joy? The color of your eyes is really beautiful."
I should have worn glasses if I knew this would happen.
"Yeah. Thank you. But I don't need your compliments, Hadi."
"I'm just saying what's true. What are you going to do after the tour? Won't you come to my hotel?"
"No. I have company. And a boyfriend."
"Really? Why did you come alone if you have a boyfriend?"
"I'm enjoying a vacation."
If it were Korean, she would have made up stories and retorted more fiercely, but since she had to continue the conversation in English, there was a limit to what she could say. So-eun tried hard to explain in broken English, but gave up. She thought she shouldn't keep responding to this guy's conversation.
So-eun walked with another family group to avoid Hadi. As she wandered around here and there, the day quickly came to an end.
The place where she stayed for a day was a hotel at the entrance of Bryce Canyon. Since it was midnight when she arrived, So-eun decided to go to bed right away.
Watching the sunrise the next day was optional. Those who wanted to see the sunrise at Bryce Canyon would wake up early and watch the sunrise, and those who wanted to sleep a little more could rest a little longer and go to the hotel for breakfast.
So-eun, whose goal of the trip was to watch the sunrise, had to leave the hotel at dawn. She had rarely felt uncomfortable on an empty stomach, but she visited the mart operated by the hotel in preparation for getting hungry during the hike.
She packed a moderate amount of things that looked delicious, such as chocolate bars, bread, cookies, and apples, and handed them to the cashier at the checkout counter with the money, and the employee looked back and forth between the money, the food, and So-eun's face several times.
"Where are you from?"
"Las Vegas."
"No. Where is your hometown?"
She couldn't understand why the employee was curious about her hometown.
"New York."
So-eun remembered Hyun-ji's advice not to talk to suspicious people for a long time, answered curtly, and left the mart.
It was impossible to thoroughly search Koreatown in Los Angeles.
Tae-joon met with the representatives of the Korean community and asked them to contact him if they found So-eun. There were quite a few picky people among them, so Tae-joon had to work hard to please them.
Because he had always been in a position of power, there were quite a few things that hurt his pride. Even just a year ago, or even six months ago, he had never even imagined this version of himself. The process of searching for Han So-eun was also a journey to experience a new life.
After touring Los Angeles, the next destination was Stanford and San Francisco. Tae-joon was confident that his recent driving time would exceed his entire thirty years of driving time before returning to the United States. While driving on a dark road, he saw the Kettleman City sign. He was almost halfway there.
He was checking the road, thinking that he should rest for a while at the rest area and then start again, when he received a phone call. It was Clark, the owner of the mart in Bryce Canyon.
He had talked to him three times yesterday and four times the day before, so he seemed to know what was going on this time as well. Tae-joon sighed deeply and answered the phone.
"Hello."
[Hey, Jooten. I think I found So-eun.]
"Yes. I see."
[This time it's real.]
"You said that three times yesterday and four times the day before. This time it's real."
He didn't know how many times he had heard 'This time it's real' already. Whenever he found a 20-something Asian woman with long hair, he would contact him saying he thought he had seen So-eun, so Tae-joon's reaction gradually faded. No one else contacted him, but the owner of the mart was particularly enthusiastic about finding Han So-eun.
[Jooten, this time it's really, really real!]
The mart owner was so confident that Tae-joon laughed. Even if he couldn't find So-eun, he would be grateful for this person's efforts for a long time.
"Yes. Thank you. Did you happen to take a picture or something?"
[She left too quickly, so I couldn't take a picture. But there's CCTV in the mart, so wait a minute. I'll send you a picture.]
The call was immediately cut off, and a photo message arrived shortly after.
As he had done for the past few days, he didn't have much expectation. Tae-joon glanced at the phone screen while holding the steering wheel.
Screech!
Then he quickly stepped on the brakes. His heart was beating fast as if he had finished a 100-meter dash. Tae-joon stopped the car, picked up his cell phone, and zoomed in on the photo sent by the mart owner.
He felt sorry for the photo, which only showed half of her small face, so Tae-joon repeatedly traced her facial lines with his fingertips.
……Han So-eun.
Is that really you?
His fingertips, trembling like dry winter branches, were also hot as if they had been set on fire.
