Peninsula: My mentor Kim Tae-yeon

"Next stop, Jeonju Station."

The pleasant female voice of the announcer echoed in every carriage of the high-speed train. Su Xia put away her phone, glanced at Kim Tae-yeon who was still in a daze, and silently picked up her backpack and stood up.

Kim Tae-yeon didn't react at all until Su Xia was five meters away from her, when an invisible force tore at Kim Tae-yeon.

This startled Kim Tae-yeon, who instinctively got up and followed.

Feeling dizzy, I followed Su Xia off the train and exited the station after having my ticket checked.

Only after seeing the huge "Jeonju Station" sign behind her did Kim Tae-yeon's unfocused pupils belatedly refocus.

Standing still, I looked up at the words "Jeonju Station".

The wind at the exit of the station carried the unique scent of the Hanok Village. Kim Tae-yeon unconsciously gripped the hem of her clothes, her fingertips tightening slightly.

After a year and a half, I returned to my hometown where I grew up. On the way here, a thousand emotions welled up in my heart, but now only my heartbeat and the familiar dialect intertwined in my ears.

After an unknown amount of time, Kim Tae-yeon slowly withdrew her gaze and looked back, just in time to meet Su Xia's calm eyes.

He stood there quietly, waiting for her to compose herself, without urging her or saying a word, just waiting patiently.

"My family's glasses shop is very close to here. Just walk straight along this road and you'll get there," Kim Tae-yeon said, pointing to the road next to the station.

"Let's go then." Su Xia raised her head, turned around and followed the road Kim Tae-yeon pointed out, walking forward along the street.

Su Xia didn't mention taking a taxi, but instead walked forward.

Kim Tae-yeon took a deep look at Su Xia's back, and she understood what Su Xia meant.

Although this treacherous disciple, whose mouth was always laced with venom, never held back with his words, his actions proved his care for her.

Walking was to let her see her hometown better.

I walked slowly along the path in front of the station.

Su Xia walked slowly, allowing Kim Tae-yeon to calmly observe everything along the way.

The convenience store on the street is still the same brand I remember, only the snacks in the window have been changed.

The traffic lights at the intersection still blinked slowly, just like when I was a child waiting for my dad to come home from get off work.

A car sped past her, the wind blowing through her hair, carrying the smells of car exhaust and the scent of the Hanok Village—a scent ingrained in her very being—yet made her pause.

How long has it been since she last looked at her hometown like this?

Although I go home every year, I always come and go in a hurry.

She has sung about her hometown countless times on stage over the years, but when she actually stood back on this land, she felt an urge to escape, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.

As you stroll slowly, you can vaguely see the blue-tiled roofs of the Hanok Village in the distance, and your family's eyeglasses shop is hidden deep in the alley.

The fear in her heart grew stronger, but Su Xia didn't know what she was thinking and continued to move forward slowly.

Before long, an ordinary-looking eyeglasses shop came into view.

Su Xia stopped under an old tree not far from the glasses shop, while Kim Tae-yeon stared blankly at the "Kim Tae-yeon" standee displayed outside the glasses shop.

Imagining the familiar sound of wind chimes as I pushed open the door, and the reproachful yet tender look in my elders' eyes, my nose suddenly felt sore.

A surge of emotions welled up inside me, a mixture of wanting to get closer yet daring not to.

Kim Tae-yeon subconsciously wanted to take out her phone to take a picture, but then silently put her hand down.

It's not that I don't have a phone, but I'm afraid the scenery captured by the lens won't be real enough, and that this sudden tenderness will lose its meaning once it's recorded.

In the end, I just stood there, under that old tree, with my gaze passing through the clear shop window and landing on those three familiar smiling faces inside, separated by a pane of glass.

The older brother, Jin Zhiyong, was sitting in front of the counter, fiddling with a screwdriver in his hand, talking to his sister-in-law, which made her cover her mouth and giggle.

My mother sat on a small stool next to me, peeling an orange in her hand, her eyes filled with loving wrinkles.

The wind chimes in the shop occasionally tinkled in the breeze, a sound she had heard since childhood, but now it sounded particularly noisy, making her chest feel tight.

It was a heartwarming family scene, but as her gaze swept over those faces, a piece of her heart suddenly felt empty.

That figure who always sat in the innermost high-backed chair, wearing reading glasses and reading the newspaper...

We'll never see them again.

The chair was empty, with a towel casually draped over it, as if the owner had just gotten up to go to the bathroom.

The courage that Kim Tae-yeon had just mustered suddenly turned into a heavy lead weight, making her knees weak.

She remembered how every time she came back, before she even entered the door, her father would look up through his glasses, his gaze stern yet proud as he looked at her, and then call her name in his thick Jeonju dialect.

Back then, she always felt that her father didn't talk much, and was even a bit stern. But now, she longed to hear that reproachful "Why did you take so long to come back?" again.

"Should we go over there?" Su Xia's voice rang in my ears.

Kim Tae-yeon raised her hand to wipe her eyes and murmured softly, "Let's go."

Su Xia didn't move, but looked at Kim Tae-yeon's red eyes.

"The wind is too strong; it's getting in my eyes."

Su Xia nodded slightly and walked towards the glasses shop.

Kim Tae-yeon rubbed her eyes again, took a deep breath, and followed.

The fear of returning home is not only a fear of changing oneself, but also a fear of facing the home that can never be fully restored.

After seeing Su Xia gently push open the glass door, Kim Tae-yeon took a soft breath, smoothed her hair which was unaffected by the summer breeze, and forced out a smile as bright as she remembered, even though they couldn't see it, even though her father was gone...

Su Xia finally pushed open the door. The wind chimes swayed, concealing a tear that slipped down Kim Tae-yeon's cheek as she turned away.

"Welcome!"

Jin Zhiyong, who was chatting with his wife, heard the sound of wind chimes and immediately stood up.

"Hello, what would you like to order?" Jin Zhiyong asked.

Su Xia glanced at Kim Tae-yeon, who remained silent, and said with a smile, "I'm a Tae-yeon fan, just here to check in."

Jin Zhiyong was not surprised; seven out of the ten people who entered the store were there to check in.

"Take as many pictures as you like. Do you want me to tell you some little stories about Taeyeon?" Kim Ji-yong said cheerfully.

"Okay," Su Xia readily agreed.

Jin Zhiyong cheerfully told Su Xia about Kim Tae-yeon's past, while Kim Tae-yeon came to her mother's side alone.

Looking at her mother, who seemed younger than her own world, Kim Tae-yeon smiled and spoke in a slightly trembling voice.

"Mother……"

At that moment, Kim's mother, who was peeling an orange, seemed to sense something and looked up in Kim Tae-yeon's direction.