Episode 1: Dream in the Soil, First Breath Toward Sunlight

A clear morning in April after spring rain moistened the earth. On a hillside in the old city center of Seoul, long, dazzling golden sunlight was shining through the rooftop window of an old but cozy red brick multi-family house. The morning sunlight passing through the transparent window glass made the fine dust particles floating in the air sparkle like stardust in the Milky Way, casting a soft rim light on the edge of the wooden desk. In the middle of the desk by the window, there was a small terracotta pot the size of the palm of one's hand.

The pot was filled with dark red potting soil that had just been moistened, and in the deep darkness of the soil, there was curled up and sleeping a very small, flat, light brown seed less than 2 millimeters in diameter. The name of the seed is ‘Popo’. It was a little cherry tomato seed that traveled from the tomato star to a mysterious blue planet called Earth, the smallest tree in the world but with the biggest dream. The world in the dirt was not as dark and desolate as it seemed from the outside. Around the popo, clear raindrops seeped between the soil grains, forming droplets of moisture as brilliant as a magnifying glass, and the pulse of the earth resonating deep inside the ground and the warm geothermal heat were wrapping the seeds warmly like a blanket.

'Umm... where is this? My body is so warm...'

Popo's thin embryonic cells wiggled as if they were stretching inside the seed shell. The moisture-soaked seed shell was gently swelling, and a warm human breath, along with a faint, sweet scent of soap, came from somewhere along the surface of the soil.

“Hello, Seed? Starting today, this is your new home.” This small terracotta flower pot was no ordinary flower pot. It was a natural clay flower pot made by firing red clay from the Tuscany region of Italy in a kiln, allowing air and moisture to breathe freely through minute pores on the surface. In the soil, humus, peat moss, and perlite grains made by frying white perlite were evenly mixed, forming a soft oxygen layer like a fluffy feather bed. Popo's distant ancestors were mysterious plants that grew thousands of years ago in the dazzling highlands of the Andes Mountains in South America under the sunlight of the Incas.

In this one seed, which crossed the Atlantic Ocean, traveled through the Asian continent, and finally landed on the rooftop window of this small Seoul, the genetic code of a gigantic life that had been consuming the light of the sun for tens of millions of years was sleeping. The voice that came from beyond the surface of the soil was as clear and sweet as the rattle of silver bells. The main character of that voice was Han Eun-seo, an eighteen-year-old high school girl. A girl with soft brown, naturally wavy short hair and brown eyes that glow transparently amber in the morning sunlight. Eunseo, wearing a white overfit knit hooded sweatshirt and a turquoise pleated skirt, was sitting on a desk chair with her knees together, resting her chin on her chin and looking at the flower pot with loving eyes.

Eunseo was going through the difficult season of taking exams as a third year high school student. These were days when a corner of my heart was always as dry as a grain of gray sand due to mock exams that lasted from morning to late at night, a breathtaking competition for entrance exams, and anxiety about the future. Then yesterday afternoon, while passing by a flower shop in a small neighborhood in front of my school, I found a bag of seeds in a basket. [Small cherry tomato seeds - Give them sunlight and water and a miracle will grow in your room.]

The small seed I brought home, drawn by that simple phrase, was the pawpaw currently lying in the flower pot. “My name is Eunseo. It’s a rooftop room, so it’s a bit cold in the winter, but from spring to fall, there’s a warm window that gets the most sunlight in the world. For you, I laid a drainage net on the bottom of the flower pot and added plenty of nutrient-rich potting soil.”

Eunseo held up a small spray bottle and sprayed a fine mist like mist onto the surface of the soil. Cool, refreshing water droplets flowed between the soil grains, gently moistening the pawpaw's shell. Popo let out an exclamation of coolness. 'Wow! It tickles! It's really cool and sweet water! Thank you, Eunseo!'

Although the boy's voice was a small plant wave that did not reach Eunseo's ears, Eunseo smiled brightly as if they had connected and gently pushed the flower pot to a sunny spot on the window sill. The rooftop room where Eunseo lives was a small island-like space closest to the sky in the middle of the busy city. Beyond the railing, the towering silhouette of Namsan Tower and the skyline of the endless forest of buildings could be seen at a glance, and on the clothesline, Eunseo's white school uniform shirt and socks were fluttering happily in the spring breeze.

Before planting the seeds, Eunseo carefully went through the 'choea' process of brewing lukewarm chamomile tea in a small glass and soaking the seeds for six hours. It was a sincere ritual to gently awaken the seed embryos that had dried out during the winter and increase the germination rate. Then, he dug up the soil to a depth of exactly 5 millimeters, which is the depth of the tip of his little finger, laid down the seeds, and gently covered them with fine soil, like covering a newborn baby with a cozy blanket. The interior of Eunseo's rooftop room was simple but filled with the warmth of a high school girl's sensibility.

Thick college entrance exam special lecture workbooks, study planners, and colorful gel pens were neatly placed on the white wooden bookshelf, and in one corner of the desk was a framed four-leaf clover made from pressed flowers that I picked up in the field as a child. In the corner of the room, there was an old acoustic guitar that my dad had given me as a gift when I was in middle school, and the small fairy lights hanging along the window frame would blink a warm scarlet light like starlight every night. Although it was a small and narrow single room compared to the fancy apartment complexes in Seoul, it was Eunseoman's cozy secret hideout that was close to the sky and where she could be the first to feel the wind of the four seasons.

The sunlight pouring over the flower pots placed by the window was truly magical. Like a scene from a transparent watercolor painting, the morning rays of clear and transparent orange and blue tones colored the room. The wind came in through the cracks in the window, gently blowing the white lace curtains on the desk, and the shadows of the curtains fluttered like butterflies over the flower pots.

'A small seed sleeps in the ground and dreams in the morning sunlight. A sprout rises from the moist ground, spreading its little bell dream to the world.' Popo in the dirt felt his heart pounding. The warm energy of sunlight was penetrating the soil and pounding the hard outer shell of the seed. It was a holy invitation from light to the seed.

‘Wake up, little seed. 'Spread the wings of the blue life hidden within you and fly towards the high sky.' Popo stretched out the tip of the root with all his might. Each root hair tightly grasped the black soil grains, sucking in moisture and minerals, and the hardened cotyledons above the head began to burp vigorously. The seed shell cracked with a snapping sound. It was the sound of a universe waking up and the first cry of a small life being born into the world.

‘I’m going out! To that place where there is dazzling sunlight! To the outside world where Eunseo's warm smile lies!'

Popo pushed up the land, span by span, to rise through the dark soil. Although the grains of soil weighed heavily on me, I was not afraid of any obstacles in the face of my longing for sunlight. Inside the seed, a truly amazing biochemical cosmic show was unfolding. When the absorbed moisture activated the gibberellin hormone in the embryo, the amylase enzyme began to break down dormant starch into glucose and maltose, supplying explosive growth energy. Guided by gravity-sensing balance stone cells, young roots (radicles) dug vertically deep into the ground, and conversely, guided by light-sensing phytochrome pigments, young stems (hypocotyls) arched their backs and soared toward the surface.

Each and every cell of the fragile plant was complying with the laws of the universe and achieving miraculous harmony. Two days later, when Eunseo woke up early in the morning and approached the window, a small, overwhelmed exclamation came out of the girl's mouth. “Oh my...! It’s sprouted!” Pushing the soil in the middle of the flower pot, a small dicotyledon, as bright as a light green jewel, was sticking its head out. It was only about a centimeter in height, smaller than a baby's fingernail, but on the delicate green leaf, a clear dewdrop that had formed overnight was catching the morning sunlight and emitting rainbow light like a prism.

It was so cute and lovely to see them wearing the seed shells at an angle like a small hat on their heads as they were breaking through the soil. “Oh my... it really has sprouted! Nice to meet you, little cherry tomato!”

Eunseo put both hands together and placed them on her chest, smiling brightly like a child. After returning from school, eating alone, and struggling with worksheets in the cold room, the quiet rooftop room was finally visited by a living, breathing little friend. Sprout Popo breathed in the dazzling scenery of the outside world with his whole body. 'Waaaa—! This is heaven! 'This is Eunseo's room!'

Outside the window, the high blue April sky and white clouds like cotton candy stretched out endlessly, and the spring breeze gently tickled the soft cotyledons of the popo plant beyond the window frame. Popo's whole body trembled and he threw off the seed husk he was wearing on his head. Now, the two intact cotyledons are wide open, bathing in the morning sunlight. In the world of flower pots, which were as elaborate as a miniature diorama, Eunseo's hand was like the hand of a huge guardian angel that came down from the sky. The fine water mist that spewed out every time Eunseo held the spray bottle was like a mysterious morning fog in the forest, and the soil grains stood majestically like huge rocky mountains.

As Popo's height grew by a millimeter, the scenery of the small universe above the flower pot also changed. When the morning sunlight shines through the small green moss forest growing on the edge of the flower pot, the transparent dewdrops sparkle like a brilliant jewel chandelier, and even an earthworm passing through the soil seems like a friendly spirit of the earth, cultivating the soil to be fertile. This small art of coexistence created by plants and humans was singing a song of life more beautiful and sublime than any grand opera in the world. From that day on, a big change came in Eunseo's daily life.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, the first thing I did was run to the window to say hello to the cherry tomato sprouts, and started the day by spraying clear water droplets with a spray bottle. “Popo, did you sleep well? The weather is very clear in Seoul today. Get a lot of sunlight and grow well.”

Eunseo gave the sprout a cute name, ‘Popo’. Even during school study time, when I was solving a heavy workbook and suddenly looked at the blue sky outside the window, the image of little Popo bathing in the sunlight by the window came to mind and I couldn't help but smile. In the midst of the dreary stress of studying, the small, warm warmth of life became a healing respite that soothed Eunseo's tired heart. Popo also grew up day by day, receiving plenty of love from Eunseo. Cute, serrated true leaves began to sprout between the dicotyledons, and white, soft downy hairs grew densely on the surface of the stem, protecting the young stem from the cold wind.

The fresh green blooms of chlorophyll flowing between the leaf veins were as clear and transparent as a living, breathing emerald. 'The dew dances on the small leaves, and the wind gently whispers. 'I want to chase the sunlight and learn about the sky, little bell, and shine in the world.' Every time the wind blew, Popo danced, shaking its cute leaves. A small ladybug flew by the flower pot, sat down gently on a leaf, and dust fairies dancing in the column of sunlight shining through the window tickled the stem of the pawpaw plant.

One small flower pot was already becoming a mysterious and cozy microcosm where the lives of the entire universe were whispering. Surprisingly, as the third and fourth true leaves sprouted between the cotyledons, the Popo's body began to emit a very unique and fresh scent. Small oil droplets formed on the tips of the fine glandular hairs (trichomes) that grew on the surface of the stems and leaves, and each time the fingertips grazed the tip of the nose, the refreshing, spicy, unique scent of tomatoes spread throughout the room. It was a natural aroma that immediately purified the air in the rooftop room, which had been saturated with urban exhaust and dust, like a fresh greenhouse in a rural farm.

Every morning, Eunseo began writing ‘Bullet Observation Diary’ in a small notebook. [April 18: 2 true leaves appear, height 2.3cm. The stem fluff is very fluffy. Spray 50ml of water. Popo seems to like pigeons outside the window!]

A photo of a small sprout taken with a Polaroid camera was neatly attached to one side of the diary with colorful masking tape. At 6 a.m., the city morning began to spread outside the rooftop window. The cheerful sound of the engine of a milk delivery motorcycle rattling through the alley below at dawn, the delicious smell of freshly baked red bean bread and croissants wafting from the bakery at the corner of the alley, and the sound of the shoes of diligent office workers hurrying towards the subway station from early morning. Popo would rest his chin on the window sill of a flower pot and watch the vibrant morning scenery of the city with curious eyes.

A family of small sparrows that had built a nest in a crevice in the red brick of the window flew in and sat on the window sill, chirping and chirping greetings, and a baby lizard climbed up the wall, waving its tail and looking enviously at the green leaves of the popo tree. The small flowerpot of cherry tomatoes had already turned the gray city rooftop window into a living, breathing fairytale forest garden. The time when the lazy afternoon sunlight dyed the room scarlet. Eunseo returned late at night after finishing Yaja (night self-study) and flopped down in front of her desk. It was the day I received my mock exam report card.

Even though she worked hard, her score wasn't as high as she had hoped, so the girl's shoulders were hunched over and traces of secretly shed tears were drying around her eyes. "Ha... Why am I so lacking... Everyone else is moving ahead, but I feel like I'm the only one standing still..."

Eunseo’s quiet sigh dispersed into the cold air. At that time, the night wind blew through the gap in the window frame, gently shaking the small true leaves of the pawpaw tree. Slurp, slurp. The leaves gently brushed the tips of Eunseo's fingers on her desk. Eunseo raised her head in surprise. A small pot of cherry tomatoes caught in the moonlight revealed a soft silver outline. Popo straightened its thin stem and stretched out its small green hand, caressing the back of Eunseo's hand as if patting it.

‘Eunseo, don’t cry. are you okay. Until a few days ago, I was also scared that I would be trapped in the cold, dark dirt and never get out. But as I continued to spread my roots and raise my leaves little by little every day without stopping, I was able to encounter this dazzling moonlight. You are much bigger and more beautiful than me. It's okay if you're a little late, you will definitely shine brightly like a star.' The plant’s pure and warm comfort passed through the tips of her fingers and into Eunseo’s heart. Tears poured out of Eunseo’s eyes.

But they were not tears of sadness. They were healing tears that warmly lifted a tired and wounded heart. In fact, during the national joint mock exam in June held the next day, Eunseo faced the math test paper, and in front of the difficult killer questions, her breathing became short and her fingers trembled for a moment. The ticking sound of the clock hanging on the wall was loud, like a hammer hitting my heart. But at that very moment, Eunseo was fiddling with a piece of dried leaf from a small pawpaw that she had carefully kept in her school uniform pocket. The spicy, fresh scent of tomatoes reaches your fingertips.

'It's okay to grow slowly. 'You just have to create your own light.'

The clear eyes of a small green sprout looking up at me from the window appeared brightly before my eyes. Eunseo took a deep breath and relaxed. The chaotically twisted mathematical formulas began to unravel in an orderly manner, like the leaf veins of a flower pot, and the girl was able to calmly and calmly fill out the answer sheet perfectly, up to the last question. “Thank you, Popo... you comfort me.”

Eunseo wiped away her tears and gently stroked the soft leaves of the popo with her fingertips. The weak but strong pulse of life coming from the stem of a small plant revived the courage and hope that had been lost in the girl's heart. ‘Feel the light hidden within me, even the little tomato shines like a star. 'My story dancing in the sunlight, little cherry tomatoes dreaming.' Eunseo turned on the lamp and opened the book again. There was no more impatience or fear. As long as there was a little companion breathing together by the window under the starlight of the night sky, no darkness could block the girl's dreams.

Popo looked up at the North Star in the night sky and whispered. ‘Eunseo, let’s welcome the clear sunshine together tomorrow too. When I grow up, I will fill your room with the sweetest, red ruby-colored fruit in the world!' Under the soft moonlight of a spring night, the sacred and affectionate growth period of a girl and a young cherry tomato was beautifully anchored in a small flower pot by the window. That night, Eunseo had a friendly phone call with her maternal grandmother in her hometown's rural village, saying hello to her for the first time in a long time.

“Grandma, I started growing cherry tomatoes on the rooftop window. They sprouted a few days ago and they’re so cute!”

Grandma’s sweet and warm laughter came through the receiver. “Oh, my good granddaughter knows how to take care of life. A tomato is a child that loves sunlight with its whole body. Tell it that you love it and that it is pretty every morning. Plants also understand the hearts of people. If they grow up with plenty of your love, they will bear fruit sweeter and more fragrant than any other candy in the world.” Eunseo nodded at her grandmother’s warm advice and looked at the small flower pot by the window. It is a quiet night, when the noise of the city subsides and Namsan Tower outside the window illuminates a brilliant blue light.

At the window of the small rooftop room, the girl and the plant were tightly connected by an invisible bond of soul, breathing the most dazzling dreams into each other's tomorrow. The night view of downtown Seoul breaking beyond the window frame was sparkling distantly like grains of golden sand scattered on the sea. The night wind passed between the rooftop television antenna and the clothesline, making the clear sound of wind chimes echo. Popo fell into a deep sleep in the flower pot and had a sweet dream. In the dream, Popo was growing high into the sky, like a giant Jack's beanstalk, through the roof of the rooftop, touching the Milky Way in the night sky.

Thousands of red cherry tomatoes hanging from every stem twinkled as little stars, and Eunseo was dancing under the starlight, smiling brightly. My story dancing in the sunlight, little cherry tomatoes dreaming. The song of the world whispering in the wind, the light of time passing through my body.' The lyrics spread softly into the starlight of the night sky, promising a miracle of brighter sunlight to come tomorrow morning. It was a night when I realized that even a small grain of soil or a delicate leaf contains the love and providence of the entire universe.

The first breath of a small life sprouting from the soil was now opening its arms wide towards the brilliant summer to come, opening the door to the most dazzling growth. Even the harsh winds of the cold world could never cool the warmth of this pure love shared between the girl and the small plant. The starlight illuminated the window and blessed their blue dreams all night long. Tomorrow morning, even more dazzling morning sunlight would fill the window. The lovely story of Eunseo and little cherry tomato Popo was just beginning brilliantly. In eternal light and warmth.

Forever. The memories and emotions of all those moments remained forever as a brilliant light deep in my heart, giving me calm comfort.