#23

“Thank you just for saying that. But I’ve already been once. I have a child, you know.”

Without changing her expression, she lied.

“Ah… I thought it was impossible that you hadn’t.”

The grandmother smacked her lips. Having finished her ice cream, it was about time to get up.

“Grandma, do you know what snacks Ji-hye likes? I’ll buy some on my way home.”

“She doesn’t like snacks. Should I buy some honey twist pastries? Her taste is more like an adult’s.”

“What about Ji-hye’s father?”

“Ji-hye’s dad is the same. Oh, right. This is good to drink.”

Saying that, the grandmother went into the store and brought out a bag of coffee. It was Maxim Mocha Gold, released last year or so.

“Then give me three bags of honey twist pastries and one box of that.”

“We have a 20-pack and a 100-pack. Which one do you want?”

“100-pack.”

“Just so happens we have exactly one box left, lucky you.”

The grandmother smiled brightly as she took the money.

Tae-heun said his goodbyes while holding the black bag of snacks and the coffee box. He received an excessive farewell from the grandmother, but he actually had nowhere to go.

“Where are you going?”

After a moment of hesitation, he decided to head to the village hall to catch a breeze among the old folks.

At the bus stop in front of the hall, three elderly people were sitting in the shade, waiting for the bus that comes four times a day, engrossed in conversation. They were unfamiliar faces, but upon seeing Tae-heun, they acknowledged him as the “celebrity young man.” Tae-heun greeted them warmly and hurriedly entered the courtyard of the hall as if he had something urgent to do.

In the middle of the courtyard and the entrance to the hall stood a large ginkgo tree, big enough to shelter several adults.

Tae-heun stepped into the shade of the ginkgo tree to cool off, placing the items he was holding down for a moment to catch his breath. He put a cigarette in his mouth, even though he had no intention of smoking.

“Director! That’s you, right?”

While he was standing there in a daze, someone grabbed his arm and acknowledged him. Instinctively, he tried to shake off the hand but realized it was the village chief and barely stopped. The chief seemed to have just come back from town, dressed in a light-colored suit.

“Hello, Chief.”

He greeted him warmly, adding a bit of exaggeration.

“What brings you here at this hour, Director?”

“Oh, I was having lunch with Ji-hye’s father and just taking a break.”

“Is that so? Did you have something delicious?”

“Steamed duck.”

“Sounds delicious. It’s hot out, so let’s go inside.”

“Yes, let’s.”

Tae-heun followed the chief obediently.

The village hall was a two-story cement building, with posters showing signs of age plastered everywhere. According to the sign, the large auditorium and small auditorium were on the first floor, while all the offices were on the second floor. The second floor was occupied by the youth association, women’s association, and village council, but the playroom for children was taped off, indicating it was not in use.

“Our village hall was selected as a national pilot project. You see that camera? That’s a security camera, and our village was the first to install it in the county. Everyone praises how hard the youth association president and I are working for the safety of the residents.”

After boasting about himself, the chief huffed as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.

The second floor had a narrow hallway with two offices facing each other. The village council and playroom were on the inside, while the youth association and women’s association were closer to the stairs.

The chief opened the door to the youth association and let Tae-heun in first. Right in front of the door was a desk facing the door, with a computer monitor and CPU on it, and two metal cabinets standing side by side against the left wall at a height suitable for a person. Inside, an old three-seater sofa faced each other across a table, and someone was napping on it, covered with a dark green military blanket.

In the path to the sofa was a water cooler, and on a small shelf next to it were various disposable items, including paper cups, along with bagged coffee and green tea, all in disarray. There was even a TV crammed in there.

“Looks like the president is here too.”

At the chief’s words, a face peeked out from behind the computer monitor.

“Did my father come?”

“Ah, yes. This is Kim Tae-heun, the director I mentioned before, who has been staying with Ji-hye’s family since yesterday.”

The man who called the chief “father” stood up from his chair. The sound of the chair scraping against the floor was loud.

“This is my son, Choi Gi-cheol. He’s the president of the youth association.”

The president of the youth association, a stocky man in his forties, stepped out from behind the desk and extended his hand to Tae-heun. His hand was smooth, as if he had never done a day of farm work in his life. His face, which looked to be in his forties, was glistening with oil.

Tae-heun greeted him with a polite smile and shook his hand. The youth association president squinted his eyes as if trying to gauge what kind of person Tae-heun was. His eyes were as small as a buttonhole, resembling his father’s.

“You seem older than me; can I call you hyung (older brother)?”

“Oh, of course!”

The chief readily answered instead of his son. The youth association president frowned slightly.

“Hyung, I don’t know much about rural life. If I make any mistakes, please teach me firmly.”

Feigning humility, Tae-heun pretended to be submissive, and the youth association president responded with a reluctant “Sure.”

“Feel free to speak casually.”

“Okay.”

“What do you mean ‘okay’? Director Kim said to speak casually first, so you should do it out of courtesy.”

The chief slapped the youth association president on the back.

“This guy is a bit shy.”

Under his father’s urging, the youth association president reluctantly dropped the formalities.

“Thank you for your help.”

“No, thank you for your help.”

The chief looked at the two of them with a satisfied expression.

“Director Kim, while you’re staying here, consider the youth association as my guest room and come by often. I’ll mostly be in the village council office, so if you need any help, feel free to come by anytime. If you have any questions, our youth association president will let you know everything.”

The chief didn’t stop talking until he left the youth association office.

Once they were alone, the youth association president awkwardly pointed to the water cooler.

“We have coffee and green tea, so feel free to drink something and take a break.”

“Yes, I will. You don’t have to worry about me; please go about your business.”

Tae-heun went to the sofa and sat on the side where no one was. The cushion sank down, causing his knees to rise to his chest. He had no choice but to stretch his legs out and push them under the table.

The person lying on the opposite sofa was curled up tightly, sleeping. Despite the chief’s loud voice, he didn’t budge, so he must have been very tired. As Tae-heun naturally observed him, he noticed something familiar at the foot of the opposite sofa: faded red rubber boots.

He said he was going to work, but here he was.

Tae-heun smiled, raising the corners of his mouth.

The man hadn’t moved an inch for over two hours. He had woken up at 4:30 AM and worked until meeting Tae-heun, so it was understandable. Still, he should at least have turned over. Wondering if he might be dead, Tae-heun gently touched the blanket. The body stirred slightly.

What kind of blanket is this in this heat? Tae-heun clicked his tongue and, not even 20 minutes later, covered himself with the blanket like the man. The air conditioner was very close to the sofa, and it was set so low that it was cold enough to give him goosebumps.

It seemed the air conditioner remote was on the youth association president’s desk. Unfortunately, the desk was the farthest from the wall-mounted air conditioner, and in the meantime, the temperature that was cold for others was just right for the stocky man. So, even wearing short sleeves and shorts, he didn’t complain about the cold.

After asking the youth association president, Tae-heun found a blanket and lay down on the sofa in a similar position to the man. He stared at the ceiling aimlessly until that became boring, then got up and headed for the bookshelf. The books on the shelf had no particular taste or organization. From comic books to books related to the Saemaul Undong movement from the 70s and 80s, it was a hodgepodge. Tae-heun picked up “Treasure Island” and “Monthly Champ.”

It looked like the book cover had been used as a ramen stand, with clear pot marks, and there were several stains from ramen broth on the pages. It was pointless to mention the torn spots. After all, he hadn’t picked up the comic book for the purpose of reading, so he flipped through the pages with a casual glance.

Spending time idly didn’t make him anxious. He was calm enough to forget the anger he felt from his call with Officer Oh.

However, the peace didn’t last long.

“Work starts at 10 AM tomorrow. The key is under the flower pot.”

The message was concise.

Tae-heun closed the comic book, recalling the blue roof.

With a rustling sound, the blanket stirred, and the man stretched his arms and legs, yawning. Then he locked eyes with Tae-heun. The man blinked a few times with sleepy eyes before suddenly jumping off the sofa in surprise. At the sound, the youth association president, who had been burying his face in the computer monitor, shot up. He clicked his tongue at the man sitting on the floor.

“Hey, be careful. Did you fall asleep?”

“…Yes.”

The man rubbed the spot where he had bumped and awkwardly stood up, looking at Tae-heun as if to ask why he was there.

“You said you were going to work; is this where you work?”

Tae-heun teased. The man’s face turned bright red in an instant.

“How could I go that far alone?”

“Should I give you a ride?”

The man asked cautiously in a sleepy voice.

“No, it’s fine. You have to go to work again, right? Why make it troublesome?”

At Tae-heun’s response, the man just blinked.

“What time do you start working?”

“…I plan to leave at 3:30.”

Looking at the clock, there was about an hour left.

“What about the truck?”

“It’s in the parking lot.”

“When is Ji-hye coming?”

“At 4.”

“When she comes, where will she be?”

“On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she studies at church, and on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, she usually studies in the playroom.”

The man answered, looking very intimidated. It seemed he felt guilty for leaving Tae-heun behind.