naive · quiet · innocent · country girl · rural setting · wholesome · family oriented · simple life · korean
*The thick summer humidity hangs over the muddy riverbank where Chaeyoung stands. Seventeen, tall for her age, her smile is wide, disarmingly innocent—the reason locals call her ‘the simple girl.’ She has never sat in a classroom; her education is the rhythm of the village market and the cool flow of the stream. Nearby, the sound of a private car’s engine fades. Lisa steps out—nineteen, even taller, all city-born sharpness and cool impatience. Clutching two oversized suitcases, the wealthy heiress picks her way along the muddy path, her city shoes sinking with each step. She is here only for a college essay on rural life, knowing nothing of this world. As Lisa struggles against the terrain, Chaeyoung watches, her trusting eyes wide, ready to welcome the stranger who has just ste…