Ji-ri begins dashing over coarse sand as if chased by something dangerous. That is her perception of her current whereabouts—the mainland of Busan, where crowds run rampant and buildings are frequent. It's nothing like Egret Island in the slightest. Back there, stares are so far away that they don't register. It's as if you're alone, yet you know you're in a community.
Here, Ji-ri feels eyes crawling over every pore of her skin.
Her hair is soaked and tousled since she emerged from the sea a few moments ago.
Reforming her body underwater took the usual minute. Thank God no one can see an Egret Native once it's submerged. Egret Island's Natives would swim the miles to Busan during its crowded days to observe the fishermens' methods, completely unseen. These trips yielded good results, since our neighbors brought back fish only native to Busan for us to observe, and even taste.
Once Ji-ri could feel her solid feet touching the shallow water's sand, she surfaced with small movements so as not to arouse suspicion. There are countless people at this beach, and she assumed they would not recognize another stranger in the water. She guessed wrong.
Ji-ri's right-hand goes over her eyes. Since clouds cover the bright sun, She is sure she's confusing the people she sprints by.
Her gaze bounces between the sand rushing past her feet and an upcoming road. Ji-ri's right hand falls to her side, but she keeps her head lowered, her eyes beginning to wander. When it looks like no one is around for a few yards, her courage surfaces, and her apprehension peters out bit by bit.
Back home, Seung-won would feel immense spurts of pride whenever he shared his tales of the mainland. He would show the group of kids the many pictures and videos of his ventures on his smartphone. Ji-ri and the other kids felt like they were also on the mainland when they watched his video diaries.
Seung-won bragged about negotiations with a product he was manufacturing. He said he's collaborating with people he called his "intellectual matches." It's been six years since then, but Ji-ri didn't care enough to bring it up since he only talks about making money. A good thing came of it, though, since he showed places where computers were fast-paced. Seung-won bought many computers for the other Egret Natives from the amaranth clam profits. His generosity became a whisper when he continued to brag about the speed of those on the mainland.
Ji-ri needs a team with experience akin to tracking the Sapphire Spinner. Those computers are her current target. She has done subtle research on this sixteen billion won competition and needs to get the whole story. The research of the BIGHT fishmonger team will come next, but she is sure both are at the library. Ji-ri felt sure enough to find someone with a computer of some sort there.
Electronic stores filled with people are not her cup of tea. At this moment, she seeks a place that's meant to be quiet.
The only technology the Egret Natives have is the computers Seung-won gave them. He is the only Egret Native Ji-ri with a smartphone, so things are more difficult to locate.
Although she wants to avoid anyone and everyone, that will not happen if she is to speak with a team. Ji-ri has to abandon the idea of a comfort zone since her people and island are the priority.
Her head lifts, a long sigh escaping her lips. To her mix of displeasure and small joy, a nearby stranger is tapping away on his phone.
Ji-ri starts walking towards the man, visualizing herself heading in the opposite direction.
"E-excuse me," she stammers.
She assumes she's only loud enough for herself to hear because his phone tapping continues.
"Excuse me," Ji-ri repeats, louder this time.
He looked up so fast that Ji-ri was afraid he'd get whiplash. The bespectacled man with a bob cut glances her way. He's wearing a plaid shirt with jeans. The people of the mainland dress nothing like Egret Natives.
"Huh?" the stranger began.
"Do you… do you know where the library is?" Ji-ri asks. She needs to find out every detail about this Sapphire Spinner competition.
The stranger looks at her, but his look turns into a stare.
Ji-ri stands there like a confused statue, overthinking whether Korean is the language on the mainland. His direct eye contact breaks after a few small shakes of his head. The stranger looks back down at his phone, typing faster than before.
He turns towards her.
"Here, but it's a bit of a drive from this distance. Do you have Kakao T?" he asks.
"I, I don't have a smartphone," Ji-ri replies.
He looks at Ji-ri like she transformed into a ghost before his eyes. This look is nothing compared to the fifteen seconds ago he gave her.
He stifles a laugh, and his lack of stopping it does not amuse Ji-ri.
"Don't worry, I'll try to get a car here," the stranger says.
"Thank you," Ji-ri smiles.
After a few minutes of standing around, the stranger looks at Ji-ri, then forwards again. A few seconds later, he repeats the movements.
His stare remains on Ji-ri, and she wants to ask him about it, but his mouth opens before hers does.
"Are those… is that your real eye color?" the stranger asks.
"Huh?" Ji-ri replies.
He looks forward again, then back to Ji-ri.
"I mean, you're not wearing contacts, are you?" he continues.
"Contacts?" Ji-ri repeats, confused.
Everyone on Egret Island has turquoise-gray eyes, but Ji-ri notices that his eyes are a different color. The mainland's eye colors must vary.
"Wow. That's just cool, is what I meant," he stammers this time while his eyes are different colors, smiling.
Ji-ri smiles back, masking her confusion.
"Thank you," she says.
The two continue to wait for the taxi, and Ji-ri is sure that he feels almost as awkward as she does.
Ji-ri stares at her nails and straightens her overall straps. The stranger begins to wave his hand. It looks like the taxi is here.
A silver car drives in front of the two before slowing down. Once it stops, the driver rolls down the window across from him, facing them.
"Kim Jong-dae?" the driver asks, leaning his head forward.
"Yeah! I ordered the ride for this young lady. She wants to go to the Busan Library?" the stranger, revealed to be Kim Jong-dae, replies.
"Okay, okay," the driver concludes.
Jong-dae, opens the door for Ji-ri.
"Have a safe trip," he says.
"Thank you," She responds, entering the taxi.
Jong-dae closes the door, continuing to stare at Ji-ri.
"Sorry, I've never seen those eyes before!" Jong-dae laughs, but Ji-ri's face remains straight.
Ji-ri faces forward when the taxi takes off because she feels a bit weirded out by his reaction. Excessive staring is not common on Egret Island.
Ji-ri wants close encounters like that to end here. She must remain emotionless and keep her eyes on the goal—preserving her island's freedom.
The buildings and trees rush by, but the speed of this vehicle preoccupies Ji-ri. Memories of riding in one about a decade ago reappear.
It was a slow drive because she and a few other Natives were observing sea plankton on the shore of Egret Island.
Ji-ri pushes her left hand into the seat, her right hand on the edge of the window on her right. The driver looks at Ji-ri in his rear-view mirror, smiling and letting out a short laugh.
"I have seat belts, you know," the driver says.
The vehicle Ji-ri was in back then had seat belts to the sides of her waist, so that's where she's looking.
"Behind you, to your upper right," the driver continues.
Ji-ri knows he's confused at what kind of primitive person stumbled into his car.
She sees the seat belt behind her on her upper right, as described. Pulling it down, Ji-ri clicks it in place, pushing a few hair strands back before facing forward.
The driver's eyes switch from the road to the rear-view mirror every now and again.
"Are you not from here? Perhaps you're not familiar with this city's make of cars," he smirks.
Ji-ri doesn't say anything due to embarrassment. But the driver persists.
"Are you in town for a concert or something?" he continues.
"I'm not. I just need to get to the library," Ji-ri replies.
It's silent for a moment. The driver's eyes focus on the road.
"Alright. We're about fifteen minutes away," he says.
Ji-ri stares out the window to her left, though she's seated at the right. Wanting to move over to avoid most of the driver's line of sight, she realizes it's too late to do that now. Sending a signal that she's annoyed when Ji-ri already did that to the kind stranger before is out of the question. She can feel the driver knows her mood because they're silent for the next ten minutes. Getting the peace she wanted, Ji-ri kept thinking that she needed to reduce her sensitivity.
The myriad of trees fade from foreground to background and become thinner the closer they get. The Busan library lies front and center, catching Ji-ri's attention. Once the car stops, the driver turns back and faces her.
"Thank you for riding," he smiles.
Ji-ri nods at him.
"Thank you," she replies.
When Ji-ri tries to get out, the seat belt pulls her back. She stares down at it, the car filling with the driver's laughter.
"You have to be from a secluded countryside," he says while exiting the car.
The driver walks over to the passenger's right door and opens it. He presses down on Ji-ri's seat belt buckle, the belt zooming behind her.
"You're free to go," he laughs.
Ji-ri nods at the driver, full of nerves because of her enduring culture shock.
Exiting the car to a sweet breeze, her wandering eyes look up and notice that the clouds have receded.
Ji-ri hears the doors slam and turns in time to see the taxi drive off. Watching it vanish from sight, the goal of research recaptures her attention.