#10

“If I were to talk about Dongjam-ri, it’s the least developed village in the entire county, or rather, it’s the one that has developed the least. The area around Mansusan is all like that. If you go there, you’ll see that it still feels like the 1980s. Unlike Icheon City, which has semiconductor factories, it’s also awkward for a beer factory or a logistics center to set up here. All the golf courses have gone to Giheung. Apartments are being built in Yongin. This place is just suitable for farming and living. Compared to Dongjam-ri, the town feels like a bustling city. The transportation is relatively convenient too.”

Han Dong-kyu, the president who has been in real estate in the town for 20 years, boasted about Hwangmu-eup while lamenting how much the nearby lands have depreciated compared to adjacent cities or villages.

“Since you came through Dae-ho’s introduction, I’m telling you everything honestly. It’s not a good investment, but it’s rare to find a place to take a break like this. The local people are generous, the air is clean. Well, it’s quiet.”

Tae-heun listened with a bored expression, half-heartedly absorbing the information. Next to him, Detective Park Dong-hee, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was dozing off.

It was exactly one week since Lee Seon-jae had died. When he heard the suggestion to go out, he took it as a chance to escape and immediately got permission. Naturally, he thought Detective Oh would accompany him on his first outing, but instead, he was joined by his peer, Detective Park Dong-hee. The code name was Rabbit. He was the same detective who almost broke his wrist trying to put a hood on Tae-heun in the van. Rabbit and Turtle. It wasn’t even funny.

“You’ll be seeing Detective Park often from now on. It would be good to get to know each other in the meantime. Oh, and please call him Supervisor Park instead of Detective Park.”

Detective Oh explained that he was concerned about misunderstandings if another detective appeared in the village while he himself was a detective. He assured Tae-heun that he could trust Detective Park.

Perhaps because of Detective Oh’s request, Detective Park was quite friendly despite Tae-heun’s not-so-great first impression.

Sitting behind the driver’s seat, Tae-heun stared blankly at the road lined with fields. The scenery was so dull it made him yawn, but he felt much better after dressing up for the first time in a while and getting some fresh air.

Occasionally, two-ton trucks passed by, carrying grandmothers with towels wrapped around their heads, huddled together as they were taken somewhere. Sometimes they carried cattle, pigs, or chickens, and occasionally passed by with fertilizers or farming equipment. There were few people in the fields.

“Looks like no one is working. There isn’t a single person around.”

“Oh, our manager must not know much since he’s from the city. It’s not like that. When it gets hot, everyone wakes up at dawn to work, has lunch, goes home to rest, and then comes back out around sunset. If you work in the blazing sun, you could die of heatstroke.”

President Han explained.

“Every summer, several old folks die from heatstroke. I don’t understand why they don’t listen. It’s not like they would starve to death if they don’t harvest. If you go there, you’ll see that the stubbornness of the rural elderly is something else. Even my mom doesn’t listen to a word I say. ‘What do you know to give advice? I know farming better than you, the farmer.’ Oh, don’t get me started.”

Tae-heun laughed at the amusing way President Han mentioned ‘mom’ at nearly sixty.

After about 40 minutes into the town, the already narrow road became even narrower.

“This is where Dongjam-ri begins.”

Just then, Tae-heun also saw the sign that read Dongjam-ri. The village scenery he had seen in photos so many times that he could memorize it looked no different from the places they had just passed, yet it felt special for some reason. So that’s the village hall, was it called a new settlement? He straightened his body, which had been slumped in the chair. Passing the only supermarket in the village, he eagerly scanned the endless fields and farms.

The cement-paved road, roughly laid out, was cracked in many places, causing the car to jolt continuously. As they drove deeper into the village, it turned into an unpaved road, and the weeds lying sideways, trampled by farming equipment like tractors, made it clear that this was indeed a road. President Han drove without slowing down on the narrow path where only one car could barely pass. He didn’t stop talking.

“I was going to avoid saying this so you wouldn’t feel embarrassed, but when I first saw you, I thought you were from Hollywood. I couldn’t help but admire you as soon as I saw you. You’re handsome, tall, and your physique is something else. Your shoulders are like the Pacific Ocean. You don’t seem to be mixed, but there must be Viking or Mongolian blood in your ancestry.”

Hearing compliments about his looks was nothing new to him.

“My eyes are purebred, you know.”

In response to his humble yet indifferent reply, President Han loudly countered.

“Oh, come on, purebred? If you say that, what does that make me, a real purebred? Your long and clear eyes are your charm point. Ha ha.”

Tae-heun let out a small laugh.

Everyone he met, including President Han, praised his clear eyes, but Uncle disliked them. They looked just like the eyes of his beloved aunt, whom he adored.

“From here on, the road gets a bit rough, so hold on tight.”

Just as he wondered what that meant, the car jolted violently. Detective Park, who had been dozing off, woke up startled.

That was the beginning of a series of jolts. The scenery had definitely changed. The gentle winding road turned into sharp curves, and even the few houses that had been visible disappeared. After about ten minutes on the bumpy unpaved road, the surroundings suddenly darkened, revealing a dense forest ahead.

In front of the forest, incongruously stood a tall wall and an orange slate roof commonly seen in the countryside. The cement wall looked like a partition set up along a highway, and without the roof, one would never think there was a residence inside.

“That’s it.”

President Han pointed into the air with his finger.

“See that blue roof above the orange one? That’s the house you’ll be using, manager. It’s located in the mountains, so the air is good, and above all, the view is stunning.”

The orange roof, surrounded by mountains on three sides, was situated in a low valley that descended like a foot, while the blue roof was positioned slightly higher. The house was quite deep in, making it almost invisible, with only about one-third of the roof showing.

“That mountain is Mansusan, where a legend says a celestial being came to visit, was so taken by the scenery that he settled down and enjoyed eternal life. It may look low, but it’s quite high.”

Aside from the air and scenery, the land was indeed good. As the saying goes, even a dog raised in a school for three years can recite poetry; Tae-heun had developed an eye for land to some extent. He could at least gauge whether it was suitable for a factory or a golf course, and he quickly realized that this place could accommodate a large apartment complex and that infrastructure would soon be established nearby. The moment he stepped into a place that seemed dubious for redevelopment, he could feel the difference.

And this land was undoubtedly good land. However, it wasn’t a place he would recommend for a young man to live with a young daughter. There were hardly any houses to call neighbors, and the location was quite isolated. If Tae-heun decided to go in with a knife, he could handle things in five minutes and slip away without a trace. That was likely the reason they chose this place as Tae-heun’s residence.

President Han parked next to a blue porter he had left in front of the wall. Tae-heun got out of the car and stretched his long body. It was unusually hot. Just standing there for a moment made sweat pour down from under his shirt. He took off the jacket he was wearing and held it in his hand.

“Oh, it’s hot. What kind of early June weather is this?”

Detective Park, who got out of the car last, wiped his neck with a handkerchief and chimed in, “Right?”

“From here on, we have to walk. The road is too narrow.”

President Han, holding a fan, took the lead.

The alley was too narrow for two adults to walk side by side, but wide enough for one. Although it was called an alley, it was overgrown with weeds. People must have lived here in the past, but the alley was a dirt path without even the common cement, and it was desolate. Dust flew up with every step.

How long did they walk in? Suddenly, the slope steepened, and the road turned at a 90-degree angle.

“Oh my, what is this? They could at least mow the grass a bit.”

Stopping at the corner, President Han gasped for breath and turned back with a troubled expression.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was in this condition.”

As they turned the corner, only dense underbrush greeted them. Weeds as tall as a person’s waist grew wildly, making it doubtful if there had ever been a path.

“I’ll call someone tomorrow to clear it all up.”

President Han said this and boldly pushed through the weeds. Tae-heun and Detective Park had no choice but to follow. After pushing through the weeds for a few more meters, a dilapidated house came into view. The path they had just passed was surrounded by overgrown grass that seemed to laugh at them.

“Dae-ho said he would have cleared it all up, but what is this?”

Detective Park complained.

“Oh, I did tell Dae-ho that, but I forgot. I’ve been a bit busy lately. As you know, just because it’s the countryside doesn’t mean it’s leisurely. And who would have thought it would be this serious?”

President Han rambled on with excuses.

“But this is a bit much, isn’t it? You didn’t even come to check. Dae-ho trusted you with this, and isn’t this a bit too much?”

“Oh, why do you have to say it like that? Well, yes, I do feel a bit embarrassed.”

As Detective Park continued to press, President Han found himself at a loss for words and absentmindedly stared into the air.