“This is… a train…”
Our country girl Emma, naturally seeing a train for the first time, reacted as if she had just seen an actual dragon.
I chuckled at her and whispered in her ear.
“Emma. Don’t tell me this is your first time seeing a train? You’re such a country bumpkin.”
“……”
Emma, finally embarrassed, blushed and asked.
“…And has the Boss ever ridden a train before?”
“Me? Of course.”
It’s been years since the transcontinental railroad was first laid.
I’m not exactly familiar with Western trains, but I’ve ridden them a few times.
Plus, didn’t I come from 21st-century Korea?
“I’ve ridden things way more impressive than a train.”
“More impressive…?”
“There are things that a country bumpkin like you couldn’t even imagine.”
From the perspective of a modern person who’s flown on planes multiple times, this train was no big deal.
“Then let’s get on, country bumpkin.”
“…If you call me a country bumpkin one more time, I won’t stay quiet. …Is this the door?”
“Yep, they said 3-A, so this must be it. If we go in here… whoa…”
…or so I thought.
*Shabang-*
“…Is this our seat?”
As soon as we stepped inside, I couldn’t help but be amazed.
Well, of course…
“It’s really luxurious.”
“…Yeah, it is.”
The dazzling splendor of this first-class cabin was beyond my imagination.
Clean white walls with gold-leaf decorations.
Flowers here and there adding a cheerful vibe.
While I was still stunned by the unexpected extravagance, an employee approached us.
“This is the common area. If you show me your tickets, I’ll guide you to your private room.”
“…Oh, right.”
…So this was the common area.
Flustered, I showed the employee our tickets and followed him.
Seeing me struggle to adapt to the formal atmosphere, Emma, who was behind me, smirked and said.
“You called me a country bumpkin, but you’re not so different, Boss?”
“……”
Having no comeback, I pretended not to hear and quietly followed.
And then…
“Here we are, this is your seat.”
“Wow…”
When we arrived at the room the employee guided us to, I was amazed once again.
A private space, a window with bright sunlight, a sofa, and even a bed…!
It wasn’t huge, but it had everything you could need.
Huh? But…
“There’s only one bed?”
“This is a Couples’ Private Room.”
“Ah, I see.”
As I nodded in understanding, the employee bowed and closed the door.
“Have a pleasant journey. I’ll take my leave now.”
*Click*
As soon as the employee left, I jumped onto the bed.
“I had no idea there’d be a bed on the train. What a treat!”
It takes about a week by train from Salt Lake City to San Francisco.
For someone who thought they’d be spending a week on cold, hard seats, the bed was a huge windfall.
But…
*Plop*
Unlike me, who cheered and jumped onto the bed, Emma, despite being a country girl, sat primly on the sofa like a rich young lady.
“…You can have the bed, Boss. I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“Huh?”
Sensing Emma drawing a line, I patted the spot next to me on the bed.
“Why? There’s plenty of room here. Just sleep next to me.”
“……”
Emma gave me a cold look.
Even though it wasn’t strictly “men and women shouldn’t sit together after seven,” it was still a time when men and women were kept separate.
Naturally, people found it strange for a man and woman who weren’t married to sleep in the same bed.
Of course…
“What’s the big deal? We slept together in my office bed before.”
“Th-that was…!”
Even though I was a modern person with an open mind.
I was willing to share the bed if Emma wanted to.
But it seemed like it was too much for her.
“…That was a mistake because I was drunk! It won’t happen again! Never again!”
“Why? I liked it, hehe.”
“……”
“If you miss my embrace, you can always crawl under the covers?”
As I lifted the blanket, Emma, with her usual cold expression, muttered in disgust.
“What was I thinking that day, making such a mistake with someone like you…”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I was just saying that the Boss is the worst.”
“Sounded a bit different to me.”
Teasing the always-cool Emma was one of the great joys of my life.
I was enjoying that joy to the fullest when…
*Chug*
*Whoooosh-!*
“……!”
The train jolted violently, roaring like a dragon breathing fire, and then…
*Rumble*, *chug*
*Chug*, *chug*
It finally started moving.
“Looks like we were the last passengers.”
“…Seems like it.”
As the train started, Emma and I stopped bickering and began looking out the window.
From a modern perspective, it was painfully slow, but since it had been a while since I’d ridden a train, watching the scenery outside was quite fun.
I spent a long time staring out the window, especially toward the west, where the train was heading.
And then…
“Boss.”
“Yeah?”
Emma, who had been quietly watching me, spoke up.
“You might not realize it, but you often look toward the west.”
“…Huh?”
Confused, I tilted my head, and Emma continued calmly.
“Many people in America migrate from the east to the west, don’t they?”
“True.”
“They carry big dreams, but they often look back toward the east, where the sun rises.”
“……”
“That’s where their hometowns are.”
In modern times, America is a superpower, blah blah, but in the 1800s, life wasn’t so easy for Americans.
In the early days of the United States, Americans huddled together in the East, but as the territory expanded, they gradually started heading West.
The reason they came West was simple.
Life back East was a living hell.
They wanted to flip their crappy lives around in the West.
But the West wasn’t paradise.
It was more like a battlefield where survival of the fittest ruled harder than anywhere else.
Emma’s words about people in the West always looking East made sense.
When you’re struggling in this hellhole of a West, you can’t help but think of the hometown you left behind.
And I was no different.
“Same here. I’m always looking toward my hometown too.”
Except my hometown wasn’t where the sun rises—it was where it sets.
Emma nodded as if she understood my answer.
“Ah… so your hometown is in California, Boss.”
But she was wrong.
“Nope.”
“Huh? But the western edge of America is California…”
My hometown was way further west than California.
As I silently stared out the window, Emma tilted her head and asked.
“There’s nothing west of California except the Pacific.”
“……”
“Don’t tell me your hometown is Hawaii?”
“…Further west.”
Not wanting to suddenly become Polynesian, I dodged the question, and Emma continued.
“West of Hawaii is Japan.”
“…Further west.”
“West of Japan is China.”
“Do you think Asia is just Japan and China?”
These damn Americans think Asians are just f***ing Chinese and Japanese.
Of course, I understood.
In 1874, Korea—or Joseon—wasn’t exactly a familiar name to most Americans.
“…Are there other countries in Asia besides Japan and China?”
“……”
No matter how smart Emma was, there were limits to her knowledge.
Not wanting to suddenly become Japanese or Chinese, I stopped answering.
Then…
“…Actually, I’ve always been looking west too.”
“……?”
“Because I have a fantasy about the wider world, more than just longing for my hometown.”
This time, Emma calmly began her own story.
She rarely talked about herself, so I listened closely.
“California…, Hawaii…, Japan, and China.”
“……”
“Hong Kong, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, India, Egypt, Africa, Europe. And even the East Coast of America.”
Emma’s eyes sparkled like stars as she spoke.
“I want to leave Justice Town… and see all those places.”
“……”
“That’s my dream.”
I had already guessed she wanted to leave Justice Town when she asked me to take her to San Francisco.
But Emma’s dream seemed much bigger than I thought.
It wasn’t just about going to San Francisco—she wanted to travel the world.
In this era, as a woman… and with me paying her a measly $10 a month, how could she ever afford to travel the world?
It was an impossibly big dream, but I couldn’t laugh at her.
Because Emma, who always wore a cold, expressionless face…
Smiled.
For the first time, she smiled while talking about her dream.
Not a big, toothy grin, of course.
Just a slight lift of the corners of her mouth.
But…
“……”
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
I always thought Emma was pretty, but… smiling Emma was even more beautiful.
I stared at her for a while, then…
Sigh.
Turned my head back to the window and casually replied.
“…Yeah, make that dream come true. I’ll make mine come true too.”
If Emma’s dream was to travel the world, mine was to go back home.
And…
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I was almost there.
That’s why I decided to go to San Francisco, even though I didn’t want to.
I planned to save up as much as I could from this job and get out of this game.
Just imagining leaving this crappy Western game and returning to the real world made me happy.
‘What should I eat first when I get out? Grilled eel? Kimchi stew?’
As I happily pondered what to eat, Emma, who had been smiling out the window…
Bowed her head and spoke, as if her earlier talk about hometowns was leading to this.
“Thank you for taking me to San Francisco this time, Boss.”
“……”
“I really wanted to say this.”
Emma thanking me?
Taking her to San Francisco must’ve meant a lot to her.
I chuckled and replied.
“…Don’t expect everything to go smoothly once we get to San Francisco.”
“…Huh?”
“Never mind.”
Once we got to San Francisco, Emma would probably miss her hometown and look back toward Justice Town, just like the other immigrants.
She’d realize that living in a backwater like Justice Town was a blessing compared to the harsh world out there.
But I didn’t want to wipe the smile off her face, so I kept that to myself.
