The morning air was moist and filled with salted radish and sea scent. Soo Young took out her scarf and tightly tied it around her neck. She got out of the house to visit the market square. From inside the house, her mother called her, "Don't forget to stop by the fish stall. We're low on anchovies."
"I won't forget!" Soo Young called back and lifted the woven basket in her hands like a pledge.
Everybody was up, and the village was bustling when she reached the market. The voices of women rose higher than cartwheels' creak and tinkling coins. Laughter mixed with the slap of damp fish on butchering blocks. Bright sheets of seaweed fluttering from bamboo branches hanging overhead, providing temporary shade for the buzzing crowd.
Beside an old man's stall, she saw Jun Ho crouching and lifting the basket of clams for him. As usual, he was wearing the same plain shirt and a shabby vest, already sweating at his temples. When he looked around and spotted Soo Young, he was surprised; his mouth opened in a pleasant shock, which made her heart ache in a way she couldn't understand.
Soo Young waved at him. "You'll wear yourself out before noon at this rate."
"Good thing I don't break easily," Jun Ho replied, removing dust from his knees.
Before she could respond, a commotion broke out in the market.
A woman arguing and fighting in a high-pitched, sharp voice. Her furious cry went beyond the chatter, and people turned their heads to see what was happening, gathering up near the soybean seller's table. The voice was so loud and sharp that it made Soo Young's heart beat faster. She quickly went to Jun Ho and instinctively held his wrist tightly, leaving her nail's impressions.
She asked him, "What is happening?"
Jun Ho said, "Let's find out." And started moving towards the crowd.
As they reached the edge of the crowd, they saw a brawny middle-aged woman, fuming with rage. She pushed another woman backward, and the second woman tripped but did not fall. She had long hair, which was nicely braided, and her cheeks were pale.
"You think just because your husband's back from the city, you can strut around like you own the village?" the older woman shouts.
"I didn't say a word to you, Mi Ja," the younger woman shouted back. "Don't take your anger out on me just because your son gambled away your savings."
Mi Ja charged at her, and this time the other woman raised her arms in self-defense, stumbling over a bucket of shellfish. The vendor screamed and leapt forward to save it, but the damage was already done. The market buzz was now turned into biting mutters and judgmental stares.
Soo Young recognized both women. Mi Ja was a widowed lady known for her short temper. The other woman is Sun Hee, who recently moved back with her husband from Seoul. And rumours have it that they brought back savings, brand new attire, and a daughter who talks like a city girl.
"They're going to hurt each other," Soo Young mumbled, stepping forward.
Jun Ho stopped her by gently holding her arm. "Let the men sort it out."
But all the men were busy gathering shellfish near the coast or trading nets at the port. There were only women here, who were watching and judging.
"Enough!" Soo Young shouted.
All heads turned toward her. Mi Ja and Sun Hee paused mid-breath, breathless, and with flaring nostrils.
Soo Young walked towards them, standing between the two. Her hands were shaking, but she gathered the courage and held her chin high.
"This is market day," she said. "We've come here to trade and earn enough to feed our families. You want to scream at each other, do it at your home, not here, not where everyone's trying to survive."
For a moment, silence hung thick in the air.
Then Mi Ja turned, blazing. "And who made you the village elder, girl?"
"I'm not pretending to be anyone," Soo Young said calmly. "But my little brother is sick, and I'm trying to earn enough to buy medicine. So if your fight knocks over one more basket of anchovies, I'll take it out of your hands and sell it myself."
Laughter spread through the crowd, abrupt and stunned.
Mi Ja's face turned blood red. With one final look at Sun Hee, she walked away, swearing softly. Sun Hee took a deep breath, tucking her sleeves.
"Thank you," she said politely.
Soo Young nodded, stepping back.
Jun Ho was beaming when she came back to him. "Didn't know you had that in you."
"I didn't either," she said, still feeling the tremble in her legs.
Later, when the sun sat high above the reed roofs, Soo Young made her rounds: delivered a basket of eggs to the herbal healer, traded dried squid for barley, and stopped by the fish stall as promised. She had eyes on her; some admired her, others were concerned for her. However, she kept her head down and completed her chores.
As she walked home, Jun Ho began walking next to her. He was carrying two small bundles, her mother's order of anchovies, and the other had leftover rice cakes from an elderly vendor who insisted on taking them for free.
"You really surprised me back there," Jun Ho said.
"You keep saying that," Soo Young said to herself, though her cheeks warmed.
"It's a good surprise. People listened to you."
She nodded. "People love drama. They'll forget it by tomorrow."
"No, they won't," he said. "You spoke up when no one else did. And that matters."
Soo Young didn't reply. The winds were rocking, and trees swung on the path, whooshing like gossiping old women.
When they reached her home, she turned to him. "Thank you for walking with me."
"I always do."
They stood there for a while, the air between them full of unspoken things.
As she opened the gate, they heard fast footsteps approaching from beyond the hill. A boy, shoeless and breathless, rushed toward them.
"Someone's looking for you," he said, pointing at Soo Young. "A stranger. He came from the ferry dock. He asked for you by name."
"Me?" Soo Young was confused. "Who was he?"
The boy shrugged. "Didn't say. Just that he'd wait near the shrine tree."
"Want me to come with you?" Jun Ho's shoulders tensed.
Soo Young said reluctantly. "No… not yet. I'll see who it is first."
Jun Ho wasn't convinced, but he agreed.
The shrine tree was located at the outskirts of the village, just after the pond where the frogs croaked as night drew on. Upon reaching, she saw someone waiting there. A tall man with a thin physique, in a clean jacket. He turned around, hearing her footsteps.
Soo Young gasped.
"Uncle Dae Sik?"
The man smiled slightly. "You remember me, then."
He was her mother's brother, whom she hadn't seen in years. He and Soo Young's father fought over something, which led to a rift in their relationship. Later, he moved to Mokpo, wrote letters only once or twice, then completely vanished from their lives. Soo Young's mother never spoke to him again.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, voice shrill with disbelief.
"I heard what happened," he quietly said. "About your father. About how you've been holding things together. I came to help."
She stared at him and felt the heavy weight of old grief and lingering pain in her chest like a strong tide.
"You came a little late," she said in a shaky voice.
"I know," he replied. "But I'm here now."
And just like that,
And just like that, the quiet and peaceful morning gave way to the storm of the past.