We Do Not Part

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of animal death and death.

When Kyungha exits the bus, the snow is still coming down heavily, and the winds are howling. She is in a small, deserted village: All the shop windows are shuttered, and no one is out on the street. She makes her way to a bus stop where she is surprised to see an elderly woman. The woman gives her a cold, dispassionate look and does not greet her. 

Kyungha reflects that elderly women always had a prominent place in Inseon’s films, and she wonders how much Inseon’s mother had to do with elderly women as a focal point in her work. She thinks back to the times that she visited Inseon on Jeju and how interested she was to learn about her friend’s family and the island’s history. After Inseon adopted her budgies, she taught Kyungha about birds. Kyungha learned that birds have hollow bones and tiny stomachs, that they will often pretend not to be sick even when they are gravely ill, and that several species can learn to mimic human language.

The snowstorm worsens, and Kyungha is unsure if she will be able to make it to Secheon-ri, Inseon’s village.