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“I want to see the snow.” 

It wasn’t Father’s dying words, but his wish. Having nervously waited for what we thought were his last words, we couldn’t help showing how let down we were. 

“I want to see the snow.” 

“I want to see the snow.” 

“The snow wouldn’t come for some time.” 

“It’s more likely that it won’t come. It hardly snows once a year in this place.” 

We waited for Father to speak again. He wasn’t able to speak in one long sentence.

“Who’s going to take me?” 

 That said it. He called us here not to leave his dying words, but to get what he wanted. 

북쪽으로 올라갈수록 구름이 짙어졌다.

오늘이라면 눈이 올 것도 같았다.

우리는 모두 한마음으로 눈을 기다렸다.

처음엔 아버지 때문이었지만 시간이 흐를수록 이유가 모호해졌다.

The clouds thickened as we drove north. It could snow today at this rate. We all waited for the snow. We wanted snow for the sake of Father, but now the reason didn’t matter anymore.

“아버지가 지은 건물 중에 가장 기억에 남는게 뭐예요?” 

“What is the most memorable house you ever built?” 

“우리 집”

“Our house.” 

“지금 우리 사는 집 말고 네 아버지가 부모님께 지어드린 집 있다”

“He doesn’t mean the one we’re living in now, but the one he built for his parents.” 

“우리집은 왜 아버지가 안 지었어요?”

“Why didn’t he build our house?” 

“남의 집 짓느라 바빴지 뭐. 집에선 못질 한번 안 했다 네 아버지, 내가 다 했지”

“He was busy building for other people. He didn’t even bother to pick up a nail at home. I did everything.” 

엄마의 고자질이 계속됐다.

Mother continued to gripe about Father.

“우리 집 하수구 막히면 이제 엄마 불러야겠네”

“I should call Mom when the sink at my house becomes clogged.” 

셋 째 언니의 농담에 모두들 미소를 지었다.

Everyone smiled at my sister’s quip. 

# Interview with literary critic Jeon So-yeong

The story is titled “In Layers and Layers.” Snow is an important element in this story, and it symbolizes this family’s relationship. Each member of the family has a pain that they have been ignoring, because they were busy living their lives. Eventually, their relationships became cold and fragile like snow. But in the last scene, the family members come to realize that they are bound with an unbreakable bond, and that is when the snowflakes come down in layers to cover the ground in a blanket of white, beautiful snow. 

차창 밖으로 설악산이 보일 무렵부터 기적처럼 눈이 내리기 시작했다.

그것도 싸락눈이나 진눈깨비가 아니라 십 원짜리 동전만한 눈송이였다.

Like a miracle, it started snowing just when Mount Seorak showed up outside the window. It wasn’t just some soft snow or sleet, but snowflakes as big as a ten-won coin. 

“이제 소원 푸셨어요?” 

“So did your wish come true?” 

“쓰러지고 나서 가만히 생각해보니 한 번도 가족들과 여행을 간 적이 없더라.

 그게 가장 후회됐다” 

“After I fell ill, I realized that I had never gone on a family trip. That was my biggest regret.” 

우리는 아무도 대꾸하지 못했다.

No one among us could answer him.

도로는 점점 눈으로 뒤덮이고 있었다.

낙엽 다 떨어낸 나무도 눈사람으로 변해갔다.

우리가 탄 차도 금방 커다란 눈송이로 변했다.

사방이 온 통 눈이었다.

내려 쌓인 눈 위로 다시 눈이 내리고 또 눈이 내렸다.

Snow was quickly covering up the road. The leafless trees were changing into snowmen. The car we were in also turned into a big mound of snow. It was snow everywhere. Snow came down ceaselessly on top of the snow and again on top of the snow.

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Ku Kyeong-mi (Born in Euiryeong, Gyeongsangna-do Prov., 1972~ )

Debuted by winning The Kyunghynag Shinmun’s spring writing contest with “Staying in Dongbaek Inn” in 1999