AC! – Chapter 1

<Woo Kangjun Observation Log – Day 1>

Is that man really a eunuch¹…?
People aren’t mistaken, right?
No, being a eunuch while farming chili peppers is just too tragic.
No matter how I think about it, what I saw was a Pringles can…
I guess I’ll have to observe him more closely from now on.

***

The beginning of her return to Songhwa Village was the worst possible start. After the record-breaking monsoon had passed, nothing remained but soggy mud and collapsed roads.

━Due to flooding, the access road is blocked. Please detour to Songhwa Village via the opposite farm road.

The old loudspeaker installed at the entrance crackled as it broadcast the road control announcement in a thick dialect. Cicadas clung to the trees everywhere, cutting through the static with their relentless shrill cries.
The sky was so clear it was hard to believe it had rained at all, but the land still bore the scars of the monsoon.

Sowon slightly lifted her chin and looked around beyond the windshield.
The entire village felt like a scene trapped inside an old water tank.

The unmaintained road twisted without a single signpost, and along the sagging wire fence hung a faded sign that read:

[Development Restricted Zone]

At least this paved road had been laid down relatively recently. It was the same access road she had used every time she visited the village, so she had naturally assumed she’d be able to pass through today as well.

Faced with the unexpected obstacle, Sowon furrowed her brow.

“Can’t I just go through…?”

The opposite farm road was far too narrow. There was scattered fertilizer dropped here and there along the way, impossible to avoid. If she could help it, she desperately wanted to take the paved road instead.

It had been quite a while since the monsoon ended, and by now most of the water should have drained away anyway…

After scanning her surroundings once more, she decided to push through. The moment she placed her foot on the accelerator—

“Ya can’t be goin’ in there!”

Startled by the booming dialect behind her, Sowon whipped her head around. An old man riding a rattling cultivator along the road had raised his hand high in warning.

“Didn’t ya hear the announcement? Flood hit not long ago, I’m tellin’ ya! Go round that way over there. Water’s mostly gone, but the road ain’t usable yet!”

“Ah…”

While she awkwardly fidgeted with the steering wheel, another thunderous shout came down.

“It’s dangerous, I said go around!”

His face, darkened by the blazing sun, was etched with deep wrinkles. The way he waved his hand, clearly determined to watch until she turned around, left no room for negotiation.

“Ah, yes…! Thank you!”

In the end, Sowon let out a deep sigh and turned the wheel. The engine of her bright red roadster roared noisily as it blended into the height of summer.

As she entered the muddy farm road, rice paddies stretched along one side, and a narrow ditch ran along the other. The slightly tilted dirt path forced her to press her body tightly against the steering wheel.

Her expression stiffened just as she approached a curved section of the winding road.

Was this some kind of deliberate test?

A blue Porter² truck was rattling toward her from the opposite direction.

Logically, it should have been the other driver’s turn to stop. But the Porter didn’t slow down in the slightest—it barreled forward at the same speed.

“Wait a second! You’re supposed to stop on your side!”

Panicked, Sowon jerked the steering wheel.

“Ahhh—!”

KUUUNG!

With a loud burst of exhaust, her car slid straight off toward the rice paddy ridge. Muddy water splashed in all directions, droplets flying through the open window and pattering onto her face.

Sowon squeezed her eyes shut. Only after realizing she hadn’t fainted or been seriously injured did she lift her head from where it had slammed against the steering wheel.

A single red car sat conspicuously in the middle of the lush green rice field.

“Are you kidding me…?”

What kind of bolt from the blue was this?

She still had 5 years left on the loan. Muttering blankly, she let out a hollow laugh and rested her forehead against the wheel.

None of it felt real.

The Porter is charging in recklessly.
Stepping on the accelerator instead of the brake and plunging into a waterlogged paddy ridge.

Honestly, quitting her job on impulse and returning to Songhwa Village in the first place had been the most unreal part of all.

‘…If it’s this bad from the very first day, what am I supposed to do?’

With a heavy sigh, she brushed back the hair that had fallen over her face. At that moment, a large shadow fell over the car.

When she tilted her head back, a man was crouched on the embankment, the blazing sun at his back. Her gaze traveled from his tanned, well-defined forearm beneath a white short-sleeved T-shirt, down to the mud-stained boots, then returned to his face.

“What are you doing?”

His calm voice struck her ears at the same time. The tone—like he was watching someone else’s business—left her staring blankly, lips parted.

Instead of an apology, he asked what she was doing.

Heat flared in her chest.

“Excuse me, shouldn’t you be apologizing first? What did you expect would happen, driving like that on a narrow road?”

When she demanded sharply, brows drawn tight, he looked at her as if she were the strange one.

“If I’d left you alone, we would’ve passed just fine. Weren’t you the one who overreacted?”

“What? It’s a good thing this didn’t turn into a major accident—otherwise I could’ve—”

“You charged in headfirst. Thought you really liked rice paddies or something.”

He tilted his body slightly to the side.

As the sunlight poured down at an angle, Sowon narrowed her eyes. The features that had been shaded slowly came into focus.

Short hair that revealed a straight forehead.
Unusual greenish-brown eyes.
A sharply defined nose bridge.
Firmly pressed lips.

There was a faint air of annoyance that made him seem slightly crooked in temperament, but even viewed from below without mercy, he was undeniably handsome.

In other words, a familiar face.

The official errand boy and unpaid laborer of Songhwa Village, whose average resident age was pushing eighty.

The man the village elders always referred to when they said, “Just leave it to Kangju.”

“…Woo Kangjun?”

Every time she had visited to check on construction work, he had been summoned by the elders without fail. Digging up sweet potatoes, frying jeon, and helping with kimchi-making. Some days, he even made quick delivery runs into town.

She had no idea why, how, or since when he’d been living like that, but it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to call him the village’s dedicated hired hand.

They had seen each other several times but had never exchanged a word. She never imagined their first conversation would happen like this.

“Excuse me, now’s not the time for jokes… What are you going to do about this?”

At her shout, he hopped lightly down from the ridge with his long legs. As his agile movement brought him closer, her head, which had tilted back, naturally returned to an upright position.

Wasn’t the sunlight blinding him? Up close, his face—calm as ever—looked even more handsome. Just as she found herself wondering why someone with a face like that would bury himself in a backwater like this—

Thump. Thump.

He knocked on the side of the car with the back of his hand.

“Let’s get you out of there first.”

“…I was going to.”

Realizing she had just been staring at him absentmindedly, Sowon quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and looked around the car. She retrieved her handbag from between the seats and began searching for her phone.

“What are you doing?” he asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

“I’m calling the insurance company.”

“They won’t come all the way out here.”

“What?”

Sowon snapped her head up.

No matter how rural this place was, in this day and age, what place couldn’t be reached? If there was no road, they made one. If a mountain blocked the way, they carved through it. That was what insurance companies did.

“You’re not lying to avoid responsibility, are you?”

At her suspicious gaze, he raised an eyebrow lightly.

“Dumping your handling skills on me is a bit much, don’t you think?”

“So you’re saying it’s not your fault at all.”

“In many ways.”

“What did you say?”

It was hard to believe this was the same man the elderly villagers endlessly praised as “Kangju’s so polite for someone young.”

Swallowing a curse at his sly attitude, Sowon began scrolling through her contacts. Insurance company, insurance company…

“The road to town is completely blocked by the flood right now. Big vehicles can’t get in.”

Ignoring him, she pressed the call button. After several rings, a drained-sounding counselor answered through the speaker.

After a lengthy explanation, the response she received was identical to what the man had said.

“Ha…”

Ending the call, Sowon let her hand fall helplessly. She could only gape blankly, too stunned to process it.

“Are you going to keep sitting there? Unlike Seoul, it’s not bad for sightseeing,” he remarked.

Click. He opened the driver’s side door.

It was obvious he meant for her to get out, but for no good reason, she didn’t want to do as he said.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Suit yourself, then.”

At her curt reply, he turned around without hesitation. Sowon stared at his retreating back. His broad shoulders grew smaller under the summer sun.

Was he really just going to leave?

She was still stuck in the paddy ridge, and the briny smell of rice water stung unpleasantly at her nose. On top of that, frogs croaked at full volume from all directions.

If that man left, she would be the one in trouble.

“Excuse me! Hey…..!”

At her urgent voice, he stopped mid-step and turned around.

“What is it?”

“Who said I’d stay?”

“Thought you were planning to transplant some rice while you were at it.”

For a moment, she was speechless. Was he making fun of her? She didn’t even have the energy to argue anymore.

She couldn’t fully believe his claim that they would have passed safely if she had stayed still. But sometimes, even when it felt unfair, you had to lower your head.

So, regrettably…

“Please help me.”

In this situation, the only person who could pull her out was Woo Kangjun—that man.