Chapter 107
107. I Came Here
2023.08.15.
Tae-joon asked Clark to send him the entire CCTV footage. He meant the original file, but Clark filmed the screen with a lens and sent it to him. Sending the original video to his phone was difficult for Clark.
It was a blurry video of a blurry CCTV footage, but it was much more reliable than a single photo. A person who looked a lot like Han So-eun, or maybe it was really Han So-eun.
Current time, 10 PM.
The fact that So-eun appeared at the mart now meant that she came to see the sunrise at Bryce Canyon tomorrow. Tae-joon searched for the sunrise time at Bryce Canyon for tomorrow. It was 5:30 AM.
He had to arrive at Bryce Canyon by 5:30 AM tomorrow.
The area where Tae-joon was currently located was Kettleman City. It was about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and it was a 9-hour drive to Bryce Canyon. Even if he drove non-stop, it meant that he would arrive long after sunrise. But if he drove at 80 miles per hour, it wasn't impossible.
Tae-joon stepped on the accelerator, hoping the tires wouldn't burst.
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So-eun came out of the mart and ran into Hadi on the stairs leading to the rooms. For some reason, it seemed like Hadi was waiting for her.
"Joy, are you going to see the sunrise tomorrow, or are you going to have breakfast?"
"I'm going to have breakfast."
So-eun lied because she had a feeling that Hadi would follow her even if she went to see the sunrise. Hadi nodded, said he would see her tomorrow, and waved his hand.
So-eun sighed in relief and returned to her room and lay down on the bed. Perhaps because the tension was relieved, drowsiness quickly washed over her.
She thought she should set a triple alarm in case she couldn't wake up. While she was touching her phone, a text message arrived. It was Kwon Ji-wook.
- Is Las Vegas fun?
She had revealed that she was going to Las Vegas when he suggested meeting during the week, and he casually asked how she was doing. So-eun blinked her heavy eyelids and replied.
- Yes. It was fun. But now I'm on a Grand Circle tour.
- Oh, the Grand Circle is great. Then you must be tired. Take care and come back safely. Contact me when you get back. I'll set up an interview for you.
A reply arrived immediately. Was it because she was exchanging text messages in Korean in a tense, unfamiliar world where she could only hear English all around? She felt comforted. So-eun, who was dozing off, couldn't reply any further and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
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5 AM. So-eun opened her eyes to the first alarm. Perhaps because it was at the foot of a mountain, cold air seeped into the accommodation, and it was chilly outside the blanket. After diligently washing up, So-eun took out the padded jacket that Hyun-ji had packed for her without hesitation.
When she opened the window, the world was still dark. Still, she could hear the occasional sound of footsteps. It was the sound of people who had started their day earlier than her. She wondered if she should have a light breakfast before going out, but hearing the sound of people's footsteps seemed to start her engine as well.
Deciding that she should leave quickly, So-eun filled a thermos with water that she had boiled in advance and poured in instant coffee. So-eun smiled contentedly at the sweet scent of coffee and packed her things and went outside.
'Huh.'
As soon as she opened the door and came out, she found Hadi loitering on the stairs. She didn't know why he was standing there, but she had a feeling that if she got caught by Hadi, she would ruin her meaningful sunrise viewing.
I must never get caught.
So-eun silently backed away and quickly went down another set of stairs. And as soon as she returned the room key, she ran without looking back.
Huff, huff.
The air inside her throat quickly became dry from the sudden cold wind. It seemed that Hyun-ji had packed a mask for times like this. So-eun put on the mask, pulled the hood of her padded jacket over her head, and strode forward.
Since it was still before sunrise, she could see a wonderful night sky with stars densely packed. So-eun thought that the sight of tens of thousands of stars twinkling in the vast sky was much more spectacular than the colorful lights of Las Vegas.
The accommodation was located at the entrance of Bryce Canyon, so it was a short distance to the first point. The first point was Sunrise Point, so all she had to do was wait for dawn.
There were already quite a few people who had taken their places. So-eun also stood in one place and recalled what Tae-joon had said.
If he had seen Bryce Canyon, he must have visited the Grand Canyon as well. The sunset at the Grand Canyon, which she had seen the day before, was also very magnificent and beautiful, but what was the reason why he said that the scenery of Bryce Canyon was the best?
What did you see here?
A middle-aged couple took their place next to So-eun, who was standing still, drinking warm coffee, and waiting for sunrise. When the wife smelled the coffee and asked what it was, So-eun poured a little into a paper cup and handed it to her, saying it was Korean instant coffee. The foreign couple, whose eyes widened after tasting the instant coffee, praised it as the best drink. So-eun felt a little proud.
Becoming global friends over a cup of coffee, So-eun talked with the couple a little more. Their names were Paul Lyndon and Agnes Lyndon. The Lyndon couple lived near Las Vegas and said they came on a Grand Circle tour every year.
"How did you end up coming here alone?"
"I broke up with my boyfriend and wanted to travel since I was leaving Korea."
"You chose Bryce Canyon out of many places."
"Yes. I heard the sunrise here is wonderful."
“Then, would you like to go to Inspiration Point? The sun rises directly in front here, which is also magnificent, but Inspiration Point is actually prettier. You can look down at the densely packed hoodoos from a higher place. We'll take you there as a reward for letting us taste delicious coffee.”
After hearing Agnes's story, So-eun's head cleared. So-eun compared photos taken at each point of Bryce Canyon on her phone.
Certainly, the landscape filled with thick, Goblin Horn-like rock towers was closer to Inspiration Point than Sunrise Point.
So-eun followed the couple into their car.
It was said to be a 30-minute walk from Sunrise Point to Inspiration Point, but it was quick by car. After a few light conversations, they soon reached the Inspiration Point parking lot.
The Inspiration Point was very close to the parking lot. There were fewer people than at Sunrise Point, so it was less chaotic. It was the perfect place to quietly enjoy the sunrise.
“So-eun, come here.”
So-eun was carefully looking around, wondering where to settle down, when Agnes, who had gone ahead, had already taken a spot and gestured. A sandstone rock protruded slightly off the photo point. So-eun happily followed them and sat on the rock.
As soon as So-eun settled down, a yellow ray of sunlight shone beyond the hazy mountain horizon that surrounded them like a folding screen. It felt like someone was beating a drum in her chest.
“There is a national park in Utah, USA, called Bryce Canyon, a sedimentary rock formation.”
The beam of light, shining in a straight line, touched the tips of the densely packed hoodoos. The longed-for voice she had heard while watching the sunrise in the East Sea long ago melted warmly into the gradually deepening sunlight.
“It's a red desert filled with thick, Goblin Horn-like rock towers, and at sunrise, the whole world looks blood-red. My expression is inadequate, so it might sound terrible if you hear it as an explanation.”
As he described it, it was a blood-red world, but it wasn't scary. It wasn't a hellish crimson color, but a brilliant red. A transparent red that looked like watercolor paint would rub off instead of blood if you rubbed it with your hand.
Kim Tae-joon, I came here. To your past, to see the scenery you saw.
“If you just sit quietly on any rock there and watch the sunrise, you feel like a stone rolling on the ground, or like dirt blowing in the wind, like you're nothing, but also like you could live for a thousand years. It's a place that makes you feel so many emotions.”
I came because I wanted to feel the many emotions you felt. I came because I was curious about what that scenery, where you felt like you could live for a thousand years, was like.
“Let's go, someday. I'll take you. It would be more beautiful if we saw it together.”
Although we can't see it together, I'm going to put the scenery you saw alone in my heart.
Facing the scenery, I vaguely understand. What that loneliness, where I felt like I was nothing, was.
As I recalled his voice, the night I left him became clear again, like yesterday. Contrary to the memory becoming clearer, the scenery in front of me blurred like a painter's painting. So-eun rubbed away the moisture from her eyes.
In the end, you made me, who had never even been on a high school field trip, take a plane. You even brought me to America.
And you really brought me here. To Bryce Canyon.
I thought I might be able to go in about 10 years, but in less than a year, Han So-eun is here now.
I thought that people should live a long life to see things. Just a month ago, could she, who was repairing cell phones at an electronics service center, have imagined flying across the sea to America and touring the Grand Circle? Thinking about it that way, it seemed like not everything was bad. Now I could say to myself.
Han So-eun, you're living a really interesting life.
From a morning drama-like life to a global movie-like life, you're living a really fun life.
Red light permeated every corner of the world, which had been as dark as if it had been buried in the ground until before sunrise. Before long, the world was all red, as if it were burning.
“I still like it here every year.”
“I like it here too. Probably because I came with you.”
In the silence, I heard the Linden couple sitting side by side next to me whispering affectionately. So-eun smiled gently and got up from her seat. She thought it would be nice to slowly go on the trail course since there was plenty of time before taking the tour bus.
So-eun looked around to find the map sign.
The red color, as if the whole world was burning, gradually faded, and golden light like the tide of noon flowed out. It was the moment when the mountain walls surrounding the hoodoos like an amphitheater became a golden folding screen.
At that moment, So-eun forgot her original purpose and froze pale in her place.
Is it an illusion brought on by longing?
A man was seen beyond the fence of Inspiration Point.
I was just trying to recall Kim Tae-joon in the past.
Really, the real Kim Tae-joon was there.
