heavy wind, cold rain, & yes the stars, & yes these hands of mine. a dream in my chest is molting. my dream sheds its muddy, thunder-stained skin & asks for a heart of peony fields this time. so i dream, i dream, i keep dreaming. one word in my mouth crystallizes like sugar: hope.
━ ❖ (lee sungkyung, cis female, she/her) hey thank you for coming to town hall to update your information kwon inna! you’re a citizen, correct? good to know! are you enjoying yourself around yunhwa? you’ve been staying here for four months right? i’m glad! remind me, are you born on 10/09/1989? we’re so lucky to have someone so considerate around as the owner of the teahouse at yeyun inn even if sometimes you can be gullible. hope to see you around the unluckiest house #4013, hwesakgu!
hiya, everyone! how y'all doin’? i’m nala (she/her) and i’m really excited to introduce the rookie teahouse owner: kwon inna. long story short, she’s having sort of a midlife crisis and trying to discover who she really is. what better place to do so than yunhwa… right? you’ll find more about her under the cut, but you can find stats, story, etc. linked right here:
✿ ◜ ◦ about ◦ story ◦ plots ◦ extra ◦ pinterest ◦ ◞ ✿
lastly, please <3 this post if you’re interested in plotting, i’ll immediately message you if so!
✿ ◜ ◦ the how’s and why’s. ◦ ◞ ✿
inked words in a piece of parchment were all it took to turn her life around.
one day, she held a crown over her head, titles of excellence under her arm and an engagement ring around her finger. inna was the oldest daughter, the next in line, the one that was meant to achieve greatness first between the three siblings and set the example for them.
having the kwon surname was a synonym of high expectations and never did she fall short of any of them. inna was an exemplary woman, hard working and, most importantly, one that rarely voiced her opinions.
nonetheless, the day she came across a letter addressed directly to her was the day she started questioning who she really was.
sometimes, the protection that comes within hiding the truth is much needed to keep someone blissfully unaware of the reality; to keep them from unnecessary pain. inna doesn't blame her parents for sheltering her, but she does hold it against them for underestimating her and not telling her she was adopted sooner.
the letter was short and the sender's penmanship was gorgeous, clear, easy to read... and one that was completely strange to her. yet, she claimed to be her biological mother and promises of some answers came within a will, one that conceded her the ownership of a property and a teahouse, both allocated in yunhwa.
after several days of contemplation, arguments between her and her mother and research about a town she's never heard of before, inna made a decision. one motivated by the final straw that came in the shape of a selfish partner whose only real interest was to have the perfect trophy wife. packing her whole life into cardboard boxes and several suitcases isn't nearly as difficult as she first expected and so she leaves without looking back.
saying goodbye to seoul leaves a bittersweet taste as she drives five hours to yunhwa, only stopping when arriving at the address on the will. the woman spent almost an hour observing the front of the rather old house and it was clear that no one had habited it for months; overgrown plants on the small garden at the front, dust collecting on the windows... and the unknown behind its closed door.
she had no idea of what to expect, of what she going to find. it’s deeply scares her, the truth has never been an easy thing to swallow and she second guesses her plans when someone, apparently her mother’s acquaintance, stops by and the first thing they tell her is "you have her eyes."
that’s all it takes for inna to make up her mind.
✿ ◜ ◦ possible who’s and with’s ◦ ◞ ✿
someone her mother helped out a lot / almost took in as a son/daughter? they basically were really close to inna’s mother and probably know a whole lot about her compared to inna. this could either go the good way: inna appreciated the stories, or the bad way: her absolutely loathing that someone got to experience that when she couldn’t. this is up to discussion and honestly can be taken by more than one.
note: her biological mother became a really important part of yunhwa’s community so it’s likely that most townspeople know her and this could be used connections !
chess partner(s): this is a hobby she enjoys a lot but hasn’t been able to find a decent partner to play with since she arrived. still, she’s stubborn enough to find one even if she needs to teach them herself.
a lifelong regular at the teahouse: they’ve been in yunhwa forever and have always gone to the teahouse on the same day at the same time. being a regular normally means that the order had been long memorised, but not in inna’s case: she’s been treating you like a stranger (because you are) and hasn’t been able to remember neither your name or your order, constantly messing it up.
two a.m. drives to busan (or anywhere): some nights, inna likes to spice things a little for a chance and the tavern doesn’t always offer the drinks she usually has so she drives to busan (or any other town nearby) to get different food or her favorite drinks. one night you come along and it’s admittedly quite a night.
hwesakgu neighbour #1: even though her mother’s vinyl collection was large enough, she’s been adding some vinyls of her own (yes, rock. but also yes, some classical as well). you knock on her door and she’s actually surprised you didn’t do so earlier as she was simply trying to push the boundaries by blatantly playing her music loud at night and seeing who’s the first to complain. you can tell by the little smile she’s showing you.
hwesakgu neighbour #2: she always comes to you when something is not working in her house and who’s doing the renovations doesn’t answer the phone (can’t blame them, it usually happens in the weekend or at night). the first time, was understandable. the second time, it made sense. but the third time, you could tell she was just enjoying the company and the small talk you exchanged with her. (she needs more friends, please.)
the secret journal: she writes. a lot. but does it the old fashioned way by using pen and paper. one day she was writing a little drabble on a couple she saw at the market while sitting at a bench. something distracted her and caused her to leave it behind. when realising this, inna came back and luckily found it in the same spot, but there wasn’t something off. someone had written a note. usually, she’d frown upon the privacy breach, but the note had her smiling. along the way, it became their habit to talk through the journal, leaving it in places only they know about.
ever since she moved to yunhwa, inna has found a new kind of twisted joy pertaining not entertaining unnecessary requests. not from her employees, not from people she's barely met and much less from the nosy elders in town. this stems from having some customers giving her "suggestions" to improve the place. the first time, she actually listened, but by the seventh older lady that came into the shop with an endless list of ridiculous changes (one which included naming the drinks after some "relevant" townsfolk, herself included), inna couldn't take it anymore.
it was the entitlement what rubbed her the wrong way and how, whenever they visited again, it was with the ulterior purpose to check if their requests have been fulfilled. from then on, the woman learned to appease them with all smiles and vague answers. "what a great idea" she'd make sure to emphasize the word, "i'll take it into consideration."
around the time the next event, festival or whatever wish tree thing rolled around, inna was not all that surprised to have a couple of people coming over. in their attempts to educate her on the 'traditions' and what she was supposed to do, they failed to realize how inna wasn't really paying attention as they rambled on and on. she allowed herself to dwell onto thoughts that took her far away from there and to her home with a cup of wine and some sweet jazz playing in the background.
suddenly, traditional wear was brought up and inna was abruptly awoke from her reverie, a displeased frown on her face. "does everyone really have to wear that?" she asks and, somehow, genuinely believed when they assured her that it was indeed mandatory.
thus, the first morning of the event, inna was forced to drive to the inn instead of riding her bike like usual. normally, she wouldn't have minded much, but upon noticing that only a handful of people were wearing their traditional clothing, she felt like a fool. "those damn elders." is what she mutters when getting out of her car, utterly displeased to notice creases on her skirt from sitting.
a loud slam of the door is heard across the lot and, childishly, she stomps her way to the building. she's about to greet sira, just like how she does every single morning, but stops altogether when looking at her. apparently, inna wasn't the only victim of the elders and a hint of sympathy flashed in her eyes as she crossed the lobby to stand before the other woman.
inna knows she doesn’t have to say much for sira to understand, so she simply greets her with a "you too?" and a tired sigh.
although the teahouse wasn’t a place juno frequented often, he always remembered it as one of his mother’s favorite establishment in the whole town, a place she frequented multiple times a week since his youth. naturally, it made sense for the violinist to make his way here while looking for the woman, attempting to seek her out without actually telling her he was looking for her.
when he didn’t see the woman upon entering the teahouse, juno frowned, unsure of what to do next. hesitating for just a moment, he walked over to the counter and waited for the woman behind it to notice him. “um, have you seen a woman who looks, like, just the same as me ? a bit shorter, black hair, um — she always gets, uh, a…” he trailed off, trying to remember his mother’s order off the top of his head. “matcha … something ? i think ? a green drink.” he frowned, realizing that his description would probably be no help for identification.
contrary to popular belief and despite the months she’s been running the teahouse, inna still struggles on the daily to associate names with faces and faces with orders. everytime a customer arrives and asks her for “the usual”, the woman has found herself completely hopeless while anxiously glancing at either the barista in turn or one of the servers, hoping they can understand her wordless call for help.
that day the barista happened to be on a ten minute break when a guy approached a counter. when noticing him, inna immediately welcomed him with a smile. a part of her silently praying that he wasn’t a regular and that his order was one she’d able to make. the question throws her off for a second, but upon further observation, she’s able to briefly reminisce a woman with similar features as his, though her name is a blur in her memories. “oh… yeah i’ve seen her.” she admits, belatedly realising how misleading that could sound. “my bad. i’ve seen her before, but not today.”
at the following description, inna can’t help laughing incredulously, covering it with a menu while muttering apologies to him. “i’m really sorry... i’m just really bad with remembering orders. but yeah, i think i know who you’re talking about…” in that moment, she glanced at her wristwatch, managing to somehow recall the time the woman in question visited the teahouse. “actually, if i’m correct, she comes around this hour. do you want to wait for her? i can make you a tea or offer you some sweets, if you’d like?”
◜ ◦ im seona ( @yhseona ) said “isn’t it scary working at the inn at night?”
it’s something inna hasn’t really dwelled on before, a thought that’s never crossed her mind. however, upon being asked out of nowhere by dearest seona, she momentarily stops from finishing the task at hand (which she’s thankful for; ever so tedious accounting was not her cup of tea) to think about her stay thus far in the little town.
recalling the first couple of months upon her arrival, the woman comes to the realisation that there hasn’t been a moment she’s been scared of the night. yes, there was darkness and, yes, there was silence and both could’ve been easily considered as eerie, but there was something enchanting about it. the fact that there wasn’t any noise pollution and instead was the delightful sound of the waves crashing against the shore was enough to make her fall in love with yunhwa.
“i don’t think it is.” the woman admits after a couple of minutes, glancing at the younger woman with a tilt of the head. “i actually quite like to be here at that time, especially when there aren’t customers around. it’s kind of peaceful, dont you think?” she muses, then quirking a teasing eyebrow while a playful smirk curls her lips. “why though? does it scare you?”
with the way things are going, yunhwa’s starting to look like a hub for old faces than fresh, new ones. not that she minds particularly—life deals its due however it likes, reminders and all. exhibit a: the “draft” folder that’s buried deep somewhere on her hard drive that’s collecting virtual dust, near-forgotten until the email that popped into her inbox a couple days ago. the sender wasn’t unexpected, past associations and exchanges considered, but the request sure was.
it’d never crossed her mind that she would ever see kwon inna and the word “freelancer” sitting in the same sentence, but eunsoo’s gone and seen enough to understand that people won’t always be in the same spot where you’ve first found them. so hey, why not just take this for what it is and hold off on the curiosity. she shoots a text, gets a response, and now here they are, situated at a table at some joint’s outside seating, basking in the afternoon sun.
“i’ll have you know,” she starts, “it’s been a hot second since i’ve looked at this thing.” her eyes glance down at the menu momentarily before they flit back up with a grin. “but it’s been much longer since i’ve last seen you. how’ve you been?”
it comes in the middle of the night. the realisation that moving into yunhwa shouldn’t necessarily mean leaving everything behind. it’s a restless moment of truth, one that makes her sit in her kitchen, light a cigarette and dwell on the idea that’s been sitting idly in her mind for quite some time. she’s considered more than once continuing her job as an editor, after all it wasn’t her career that she disliked, but the limited room for professional growth in her mother’s company.
a productivity outburst invades her the very next day while trying to think of some way to take the best of both worlds and maybe handcraft a new one where her past and present could coexist in perfect harmony. mail after mail is sent to previous clients and some contacts to offer them her services as an editor, only this time she highlights ‘as a freelancer’. the woman didn’t expect to get a reply, much less so soon when the name of kim eunsoo appeared in her notifications.
“i don’t blame you, you must’ve been very busy these past few years.” she says while seemingly checking the menu, but a decision on what to order has already been made. “i’ve been… i want to say fine, but the last couple of months have been a little odd. neither good or bad , just odd.” inna knows how little less eloquent than usual she sounds, but it’s the result of still getting used to everything. “what can you tell me, though? i really didn’t expect to see you in a town like this. what brings you here?”
@innayh sent: “If anyone asks, it wasnʼt my fault.”
such a comment leaves him at a loss for words. though kang yoosung didn’t his life to be 100% normal while living in the town, he most certainly did not want to get into too much trouble. the most trouble he’s gotten in for was something involving his work at kwangsook, but he was able to take care of that.
so he narrows his eyes at the strange woman while crossing his arms over his chest. “what exactly… did you do?” he asks. “if you got into trouble with one of the aunties, i can try to talk things out with her. but if you made a stallkeeper mad, i don’t think my charms could work easily on them.” a part of him doesn’t want to assume the worst-case scenario, but he can’t help himself considering he doesn’t exactly know what’s going on.
petty revenges and making things even are two things that are completely out of inna’s usual behaviour. learning from a young age better and wiser than to waste time into things that could potentially snowball into a never-ending eye for an eye.
nonetheless, she found herself in the middle of a ridiculous warfare with a stall owner, one that decided to badmouth the teahouse in order to earn the clients they couldn’t otherwise with their own products. she’s utterly displeased for she’s heard about this from one of her regulars and she had to check this issue herself. ‘are these sweets really better than the ones at the teahouse?’ someone asked and the stallkeeper replied with a ‘you can take my word for it, i heard theirs are stale.’
outrageous!
in the middle of assessing the situation, inna noticed two kids nearby, both playing with a ball while seemingly waiting for their parents. chaos ensues when she walks by and ‘accidentally’ kicks the ball towards the stall, sneaking away before getting caught. however, bumping into someone in the middle of her escape plans has her immediately uttering suchs words out of instinct.
inna knows she can’t claim innocence, much less when there’s a smirk on her face as she hears the stallkeeper complaining loudly behind them. “just a little bit of social justice?” she says with a shrug. “you don’t have to talk with them… all you have to do is to not snitch on me. plus, if i have to defend myself, they were the ones that started the whole thing. maybe next time they’ll know better than to run their mouth about my teahouse.”
◜ ◦ jiang anran ( @yhanran ) said “can we go view the flowers?”
inna doesn’t know exactly what or who to blame for the workaholic nature she’s adopted throughout the years. overexerting and pushing herself to unimaginable extents, stressing over details that are hardly ever controllable; all characteristics that could be easily faulted on her birth chart, or maybe the blood type, or simply on how she was raised as well as the peer pressure of the city itself. seoul; always ready to tear into pieces whoever is not up-to-par.
yunhwa was supposed to be a start-over from it. the opportunity to leave all these vices behind and loosen up a little, to find peace of mind and some answers. nonetheless, a festival was the equivalent to placing a pack of cigarettes in her hand just when she was trying to quit; for the vast majority of the day, inna has been a little too busy in making sure everything was perfect for the customers and ensuring the best possible outcome.
a breath of relief snakes its way into her lungs when the doors of the teahouse are closed and no customer is on sight. only then does she allow herself to slump onto a chair, right on anran’s table. they should’ve probably been gone with the rest, but they were kind enough to volunteer to help and, admittedly, inna has always enjoyed their company.
upon hearing the question, inna pondered over it for a couple of minutes. the temptation of going home strong but, at the same time, she realised she hasn’t even had the chance to see the flowers and, despite the exhaustion, she didn’t want to miss it either.
“sure” inna responds, glancing at the servers that were still cleaning up. “i’m sure they can handle the rest themselves… and, if they don’t, well.” the woman made sure to say this loud enough for them to hear, and the glance they sent each other almost made her cackle devilishly. “can we get some food and drinks, too? i'm getting tired of only drinking tea these days.”
◜ ◦ shin kangdae ( @yhkangdae ) said “everyone looks so dressed! they must want nice pictures.”
“huh?” is the sole expression that leaves her lips, momentarily looking at the male on the other side of the counter, who she assumes to be a new customer. being far too focused into reviewing the sales report for the day and with only numbers running into her mind, it takes her quite a moment to comprehend that his words were meant for her. when coming to this realisation, she casted a curious glance around the lively teahouse to entertain the statement.
eyes landing onto a particular family, they were comfortably settled around a table in the far back enjoying their tea along with some snacks. that’s not what caught inna’s attention, but the matching shirts in different color. admittedly amazed, she kept looking around and found herself silently agreeing to what he said: everyone, or at least the customers at the teahouse, seemed to have exerted more effort in their outfits and appearances. she can only assume the festival to be the reason behind it.
“i didn’t notice until you brought it up.” inna comments, resting her elbow on the counter and her chin atop of her hand, a small smile on her lips. “is it like this every year?” the woman muses, finding the sole idea endearing before tilting her head enough to glimpse at him “can i get you something else, though? do you want more tea or just the bill?”
◜ ◦ pyo jiwon ( @yhjiwon ) said “thanks for showing me this place.”
absorbed in thoughts orbiting around what happened minutes prior, inna almost missed his words completely and it takes her a couple of minutes to blink herself awake from her reverie. she wordlessly acknowledged his gratitude with a soft hum while stealing a glance at the stranger sitting beside her. only moments ago, that same guy seemed ready for confrontation and his annoyance was more or less palpable.
that’s what injustice does to one. being unfairly faulted is always an easy way to rile someone up. inna doesn’t know him, but witnessing the whole encounter with a rather unruly tourist reminded her of her very own sister. the younger girl had unexpectedly become the perfect scapegoat for her friends and being accused without basis of several things got the same exact reaction from her as it did from this person.
“does that happen often to you?” the woman asks quietly, not wanting to come across as a busybody, but more so hoping her genuine concern would translate into how she’s looking and talking to him. “i mean… as in people trying to pick fights with you?”
◜ ◦ im seona ( @yhseona ) said “see, aren’t you glad you listened to me? this is great right?”
“yeah, really great.” obvious sarcasm pours from her words as inna dodges yet another group of kids who were seemingly too excited about the festival to care where they were going.
inna is sure had she been another tourist in town, she’d be equally as excited to explore the festival to her heart's content. nonetheless, she had responsibilities to attend and the last thing in her list was to put up with this type of energy in the minimal free time the woman had. the temptation to turn down seona when the girl offered to go with her to the stalls was strong, but her enthusiasm was easily contagious and inna didn’t have the heart to say no.
she had already gotten a grip of how hectic everything was, witnessing first-hand the tremendous amount of work required behind the scenes, but experiencing it from the other side was quite… different and there’s only seona to blame for it.
still, inna tried to coax herself into enjoying without judgements and tried her best to change her pessimistic attitude while looking back at seona with a smile, one a little too tense at the corners. “how about you show me your favorite stall and i treat you to something as a thank you?”
memories of rainy afternoons and terrible heartbreaks, of sun kissed skin and floral fields, of nights befriending oblivion and indulgence coming along. memories of old books covered in a fine layer of dust with a distinctive smell of ink and aged wisdom, of romance and sorrow, of thrills and mysteries. everyone collects something, inna just happened to have an odd fondness to collect memories of everything and anything.
polaroids were not her schtick and neither was it filming, often forgetting to do any while being in the moment. hers was simpler; ripped pieces of paper from magazines or napkins or anything she had at hand folded into a perfect square and kept in an old crystal jar. a place, a date and a single word that reminded her of the occasion were all she wrote down.
papery pieces of nothing suddenly becoming a valuable part of her greatest treasure.
amongst the crowd in that fateful afternoon, inna sees a single face that would’ve easily taken over half of the jar had she added every single moment with her. instead, she summarized them in a single post-it, a fluorescent pink one that stood out from the rest much like the woman herself. paris, 2011. gayoon.
there’s no time to process the disbelief from meeting her after all these years, much less in yunhwa. inna doesn’t want to waste any second, rather she dragged gayoon to a calmer place for a quick catch up (which helped, too, in giving herself a short break from the strenuous day). exchanging numbers and a promise to meet up soon for a proper conversation is what led inna to feel jittery on the last day of the festival.
an agreement to watch the closing performances together is the reason behind it. deciding to have a casual picnic, inna can’t help reminiscing about the picnics they used to have with the eiffel tower as their background and the seine serving as their soundtrack.
it’s easy to clear her afternoon, after all, the last day was meant to be enjoyed outside rather than within the four walls of the teahouse, or so she’s heard. it’s only appropriate to arrive a little earlier, just to not make gayoon wait and set the blanket, drinks and food. but, much to her surprise, she was already there.
“this is quite unlike you.” is how inna calls for gayoon’s attention as she approaches the whole set up, an amused smile on her lips along a quirked brow that clearly questions the uncharacteristic punctuality of the other. “i didn’t know you’d be this excited about the festival finally coming to an end.”
