Side Story 5. A Midsummer Night's Letter (2) Main Text: The Island of Runaway Lovers (3)

The sea was a transparent turquoise, clear enough to see the swaying seaweed and fish. In front of the vast expanse of sea, short palm trees sprouted here and there. Beneath them, the fine-grained sand shone brilliantly white in the sunlight.

The salty sea breeze occasionally ruffled their hair, but it couldn't completely cool the heat, so most people were dressed in short clothes. The sound of cars, which was incessant in the city, was almost nonexistent here, replaced by the refreshing sound of waves, the cries of seabirds, and occasionally the excited shouts of tourists.

In the spot with the best view, befitting a tourist destination, stood a large resort. There was a main building resembling a southern country's palace, and a little distance away were private villas for tourists who wanted to enjoy a quiet vacation. Of course, there were fewer villas, and they came with a much higher price tag.

A pickup vehicle stopped at the room located on the outermost, most secluded part of these villas. A guest had arrived from the airport. The local guide who had been sitting in the shade quickly ran to the side of the vehicle.

The guide, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, had been wearing a friendly smile since the car's shadow appeared. Despite visiting alone, this guest had booked the most expensive room in the most expensive resort here, and even reserved a 1:1 Korean guide. In such cases, a hundred times out of a hundred, it was a filial trip where some rich person was expressing their feelings for their parents through material means.

For Korean elders, the first and second most important things are attentiveness. Anyone who doesn't know this isn't qualified to be a guide. He approached to kindly help unload the carrier for the middle-aged guest who might be clumsy with English.

"Oh my, you must be tired from your long journey? I'll quickly unload your luggage..."

"It's alright. I'll do it myself."

What came from outside the opened car door was a deep voice. Soon, a huge shadow that stepped out from inside passed by the guide's side in large strides and took out the carrier from the trunk. The not-so-small carrier was lifted as lightly as a bag of snacks.

The man who put the carrier on the ground turned his gaze behind his sunglasses to look at the guide.

"Are you the Korean guide?"

Gangster...? No, no. Some kind of martial arts athlete...?

In fact, the gangster option was more likely, but he added another candidate because there wasn't a single tattoo on the body wearing a sleeveless hoodie and shorts. It wouldn't be strange either way, as his body was full of scars that clearly showed he had been badly injured all over.

Above all, his size was enormous. First of all, his height easily exceeded 190cm. Look at the silhouette of his calves below the knee-length shorts and the glimpse of his thighs. It seemed like if he put a coconut between them and applied force, he could shatter it without a hammer.

But as he kept looking, he felt like he had seen him somewhere before...

"Are you perhaps the Korean S-class..."

"I hear I look similar a lot."

I-Is that so... Well, big people do tend to look similar, and he does seem somewhat different from the Han Tae-un he saw on TV. Above all, that person wouldn't be in a position to easily come abroad.

The guide cautiously looked up at the man. There was a lot of tension in the sharp jawline below his sunglasses. If he met someone like this on the street, he would surely quietly turn in another direction.

"Then, I look forward to guiding you today."

But this wasn't a chance encounter on the street, and there was no way to avoid it. Even as the man politely bowed his head, the guide's trembling lips wouldn't easily stop.

***

Han Tae-un's 3 nights 4 days schedule was incredibly tight. He planned to visit all sorts of famous honeymoon destinations within his precious vacation period. Though it was called 3 nights 4 days, in reality, he was prepared for 80 hours without sleep.

Considering the optimal route, the coastal area and the resort in front of it were decided as the first exploration site. He had paid extra for a dedicated guide to thoroughly look around and understand everything in a short time.

"This area has its own proper name, but it's more commonly called 'The Island of Runaway Lovers' in the local language. Isn't it a romantic name that sounds like it's from a drama? Hiya, doesn't it already give you a tingle?"

Listening to the voice that sounded like a snake oil salesman, Tae-un deeply empathized inside.

'Runaway lovers.'

As the guide said, a corner of his heart tingled.

This place was a resort with almost no tourist elements, falling somewhat short of Tae-un's standard of having at least five photo spots to take pictures with Soram. But every time he tried to remove it from the list, the nickname of this place kept catching his eye.

"People who come for family trips are a bit surprised by the nickname 'Island of Runaway Lovers', but most couples who come here like it. Maybe because it gives a somewhat sorrowful and sad feeling."

Tae-un also felt a sense of sorrow from the words 'runaway lovers'. The sentiment he felt was probably a bit stronger than others.

An indelible past life, two people who had run away from the battlefield to a small cottage. That memory ultimately made him decide to visit this place first on his itinerary.

Leaning his broad shoulders against the passenger seat, Tae-un was immersed in regret. The guide in the driver's seat, noticing the guest's expression becoming much gloomier without any response, regretted his past self who thought a 1:1 tour would be comfortable. But having already received a large sum in advance, he continued with the next explanation in his best cheerful voice.

"Although 'island' is in the nickname, this isn't actually an island. You came here from the international airport by car, didn't you?"

Although the tourist area and the city center were separated by a large mountain, they were clearly connected. This was a small coastal area on the opposite side of the mountain that surrounded the southwest of the city center, and it hadn't been developed as a tourist destination for long.

"Now there's a road, but in the past, there was no way to cross over here through that treacherous mountain, so this place was empty. It's hard to imagine looking at it now."

The guide gathered courage as he tried to take his eyes off Tae-un visible in the rearview mirror.

"Well then, now you're probably curious about why this place is called 'The Island of Runaway Lovers', right?"

Tae-un was secretly pleased that such a cheerful person had been assigned as the guide.

"Yes."

He must make sure to get his contact information. His lively presentation style would suit Soram very well.

Unaware of such thoughts, the guide flinched at the monosyllabic answer in a voice lower than the deep sea and stammered as he began to speak.

"Th-then let me explain... Before World War II, there were two feuding families in the village inside the mountain. But, as fate would have it, the precious daughter of one family and the only heir of the other family fell in love. The young lady and young master met in secret, but eventually their relationship was discovered."

Tae-un focused on the story with a serious face.

"Both families forcibly separated the two, but as is often the case throughout history, love that is forbidden becomes even more passionate. They chose a day and ran away hand in hand. Running and running to escape their pursuers, they reached the edge of the sea and set out on a small boat, but alas! They encountered a storm, their boat capsized, and they drifted endlessly in the vast sea, tightly holding onto each other."

"Ah."

Tae-un's chest tightened.

"Fortunately, they both survived and washed up on an uninhabited beach. They were stranded on a deserted island. Nevertheless, they rejoiced at having reached a place where they could freely share their love."

But there was a fact that was revealed later. The place where the two runaways had arrived was not a deserted island, but a small coast that could be reached by climbing the steep mountain to the southwest of their village and descending the distant cliff on the other side.

Decades later, when this place was discovered as technology advanced, the skeletons of a man and woman tightly embracing were found on the beach. They had lived out the rest of their lives together without regret in this place they had mistaken for a deserted island.

The two families that had tried to separate the lovers recovered the remains and buried them together, and the long-standing feud between the families finally came to an end.

"..."

It was a moving story. Tae-un gave it a much higher score than common classic stories, especially the part where the two embraced tightly until their final moments.

"Whew."

There was something particularly choked up about that scene that couldn't be helped. Tae-un bit his lip, trying to contain his emotions. He didn't notice the guide's hands on the steering wheel trembling at the sight.

"Th-then, the first spot I'll show you is the beach..."

The car slowly moved towards the sea. Tae-un, who had been turning his head to look out the window, suddenly called out to the guide.

"The sea view from here seems to be the clearest so far, would it be alright to get out and take a look for a moment?"

"S-sure. Let's do that."

Tae-un got out of the passenger seat and stepped onto the fine sand beach, his sneakers sinking in.

"...It's a beautiful scenery."

He uttered his compressed appreciation while looking at the sea spread out in front of the white sand beach. The lovers who stayed together until the end must have taken in this scene countless times. The sea, alternating between blue and green waves, reminded him of a giant jewel.

Following that, a wind carrying a completely different humidity from Korea and an exotic smell blew in. Only now did it feel real that he had come abroad for the first time in years.