Series

Payment for the Ride

Da-eun misses the village bus, which only runs twice a day, and is left with no choice but to walk to a remote mountain village under the blistering midsummer sun. Exhausted, with her sweat-soaked clothes clinging to her, she trudges along the deserted road. Suddenly, a car pulls up beside her, and a man steps out, watching her silently as they near the village. Without hesitation, Da-eun offers him her panties as an entry fee. “You know, they teach manners in school for a reason,” he says with a blank expression. “You shouldn’t go showing things like this to just anyone.” Unfazed, Da-eun replies, “That’s how it works in the village. My grandma doesn’t even wear a bra.”