서연이 고향에 돌아온 건 십오 년 만이었어요.

It had been fifteen years since Seoyeon returned to her hometown.

그녀는 다큐멘터리 감독으로서 재개발로 사라져가는 동네를 기록하러 왔어요.

She had come as a documentary director to document a neighborhood disappearing due to redevelopment.

그런데 막상 골목에 들어서자, 카메라를 들기도 전에 발이 멈춰버렸어요.

But the moment she turned into the alley, her feet stopped before she could even raise the camera.

익숙했던 일상이 낯설게 느껴지는 건 오랜 시간 탓이었어요.

That the familiar daily life felt unfamiliar was due to the long time that had passed.

벽에는 어린 시절 낙서가 고스란히 남아 있었어요. 비바람에도 지워지지 않은 채로요.

Childhood graffiti remained intact on the wall — not erased even by rain and wind.

서연은 주민들과 하나씩 인터뷰를 시작했어요.

Seoyeon began conducting interviews with the residents one by one.

할머니 한 분은 수십 년간 살아온 집의 철거 통보를 받은 날을 증언했어요.

One grandmother testified about the day she received the demolition notice for the house she had lived in for decades.

"이 집이 무너지면 내 몸 일부도 같이 무너지는 것 같아요."

"When this house crumbles, it feels as though part of my body crumbles with it."

서연은 렌즈를 들이대면서도, 그 시선이 감당할 수 없을 만큼 무겁다고 느꼈어요.

Even as she pointed the lens at her, Seoyeon felt that gaze was heavier than she could bear.

볼수록 그 상실감이 자신과 무관하지 않다는 걸 알게 됐어요.

The more she watched, the more she came to understand that this sense of loss was not unrelated to herself.

편집실에 혼자 앉아 영상을 들여다보던 밤, 서연은 불현듯 깨달았어요.

One night, sitting alone in the editing room reviewing footage, Seoyeon suddenly realized something.

자신이 십오 년간 외면해왔던 건 이 동네가 아니라, 이 동네 안에 새겨진 자기 자신이었다는 걸요.

What she had been avoiding for fifteen years was not this neighborhood, but the self imprinted within it.

어릴 때 떠나면 모든 게 달라질 거라고 믿었어요. 그 믿음대로 살아왔고요.

She had believed that if she left when young, everything would be different. And she had lived according to that belief.

하지만 장소는 기억하는 사람이 없어도 스스로 기억해왔어요.

But a place had gone on remembering, even without anyone to remember it.

서연은 그 밤 오래도록 모니터 앞에 앉아, 자신이 외면해온 모든 것과 맞닥뜨렸어요.

That night Seoyeon sat in front of the monitor for a long time, coming face to face with everything she had been avoiding.

다음 날 아침, 서연은 다시 골목으로 나갔어요.

The next morning, Seoyeon went back out into the alley.

이번에는 카메라를 내려놓고 그냥 걸었어요.

This time she put down the camera and just walked.

사라져버렸을 것들을 포착하는 게 의무라고 생각해왔는데, 어쩌면 그건 핑계였는지 모른다는 생각이 들었어요.

She had thought it was her duty to capture the things that would have disappeared, but perhaps, she thought, that had been an excuse.

진짜 의무는 기록이 아니라, 이곳을 안고 계속 살아가는 것일지도 몰랐어요.

Perhaps her true duty was not to document but to carry this place with her and keep living.

골목 저편에서 할머니가 손을 흔들었어요. 서연도 손을 들어 화답했어요.

From the other end of the alley the grandmother waved. Seoyeon raised her hand in response.