#28

“Did you come?”

The man crouched in front of the dogs stood up quickly upon seeing Tae-heun.

Phew. Tae-heun let out a sigh of relief.

“You arrived early.”

“Yes. I finished work quickly.”

“It seems Ki-beom is lucky with food.”

He approached the man with a beaming smile. The smell of makgeolli wafted from him.

“You had a drink of makgeolli too.”

The words slipped out before he realized it. He was surprised by his own remark.

“…Yes. Just a little.”

The man scratched his head.

“Give it here.”

The man took the beer pack from Tae-heun’s hand. The man, wearing slippers, staggered as he stepped onto the porch. As soon as he entered, a wave of heat hit him. It was due to the warmth coming from the kitchen.

“I was boiling somyeon, and you came just in time.”

The man spoke in a tone higher than usual, perhaps due to the alcohol. He even seemed unusually cheerful. It was irritating to see him in a good mood after drinking alone when he wasn’t around, and Tae-heun couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful. It was absurd that he felt this way towards someone who was neither a friend nor anything else, but Tae-heun wasn’t in a rational state of mind to question it.

“Hey, Tae-heun.”

The man called Tae-heun’s name. It was natural and unrestrained. The tension in his heart melted away like snow.

“Do you want to eat on the porch or in the kitchen?”

“I’ll eat on the porch.”

He smiled at the man.

Tae-heun shoved one pack of beer into the freezer and put the other pack in the refrigerator.

“Oh, by the way, I bought some school supplies for Ji-hye. And a diary for Ki-beom.”

Feeling embarrassed for some reason, he placed the paper bag on the table. The man, who had turned his back to open a can of whelk, turned around and said, “Thank you.” He was smiling brightly. His already handsome face looked even more attractive.

“Ji-hye should be coming soon, right?”

It was a bit earlier than usual. He felt a twinge of regret that their time alone was being cut short. Of course, being with the child was nice too. But in such cases, the man usually didn’t say much.

This time, the man answered with his back turned.

“She said she’s sleeping over at So-jin’s.”

“So-jin?”

“Yes. She has a middle school sister named Park So-jin. Today, she’s one of the girls who are eating pizza and watching a movie with Ji-hye, and Ji-hye really likes her. The girl is also very nice.”

“Is that so? She knows how to sleep over at someone else’s house; Ji-hye has grown up.”

Tae-heun said with a noticeably brighter voice.

“Originally, she would sleep over maybe once a month, but since she became a fourth grader, she goes much more often. Sometimes I feel sorry for So-jin.”

The man rambled on, sharing information that wasn’t even asked for. He glanced back and made eye contact with Tae-heun.

“What about you, Ki-beom? On days when Ji-hye isn’t around, do you go somewhere nice too? You wouldn’t just stay at home, right?”

He threw out the question casually. There was no ulterior motive behind it. He was genuinely curious about what this man did in his free time, how he satisfied his desires, and such.

A moment of silence passed. The man, having grasped the intent behind the question, fell silent. The air between them felt heavy. Without answering, the man placed the whelk on the cutting board and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

“Could you take out some cucumbers and green onions from the fridge?”

The man spoke with his usual blunt expression.

Damn it. The atmosphere was nice before.

He scratched his eyebrow, pondering what he had done wrong.

Tae-heun offered the cucumbers and green onions, but the man didn’t even look at him and just reached out to take them. After washing the cucumbers at the sink, he quickly sliced the green onions and cucumbers.

“Do you need any help?”

“No.”

The man wiped the smile off his face, and his voice was low and quiet as usual.

The awkward atmosphere lingered. Standing next to him like a statue didn’t seem to change anything.

“I’m going to wash up.”

After saying this to the man’s back, he went to the room to grab his underwear.

The water was cold enough to make him curse. Thanks to that, he was able to wash away the sticky sweat he had been sweating since morning.

“Why is he acting like that? What did I do wrong?”

Was it a crime to ask if he was going somewhere nice? He had never thought of him that way, but now he realized he was being petty. He grumbled.

He reached for a towel to dry himself. Next to his excessively white towel hung the faded green towel that the man usually used. Feeling a bit spiteful, he wiped his body with the green towel. He deliberately scrubbed his genitals thoroughly.

“Shall I set the table on the porch?”

“Yes.”

The man still didn’t turn around.

Tae-heun picked up the round aluminum table he had set next to the living room cabinet. He opened the screen door and went out to set the table, placing the chicken bag on top. The dogs, thinking they were the owners, approached and then retreated. Unlike in the morning, they were on high alert. The way they bared their teeth and growled low was unsettling. It seemed that the rumors about the dogs biting at night were not lies.

Just then, the man came out with a plate of whelk and somyeon salad. The dogs jumped up on the porch, excited. The man bent down to pet the small dog first and then stroked the larger one. It felt like he was receiving less attention than the dogs.

Losing his motivation, Tae-heun went to get the beer he had put in the freezer. It wasn’t as much as he wanted, but it was cold enough. He opened a can of beer and handed it to the man. The man silently accepted the can and drank it without a toast, waiting for Tae-heun to open his own.

If that was the case, why did he wait? Seriously.

The man furrowed his brow. Tae-heun made a similar expression and let out a “Wow.” It was refreshing, and the carbonation burst in his mouth, filling it with a sweet and bitter flavor. It went down his throat smoothly. The man stared into space, sipping his beer silently. Even when he tried to meet his gaze, he couldn’t.

Unable to hold back, Tae-heun spoke up.

“Did my question upset you that much? I really don’t understand.”

He continued with a serious tone.

“You’ve been a dad since you were born, Ki-beom. You could go somewhere nice when there’s no kid around. What was so wrong with my question? Can you tell me? Huh?”

Even after pressing him, the man remained silent. After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“But Tae-heun, you have a child too, right?”

“Who? Me?”

What was he talking about? He raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself with his finger.

“Who says that?”

“The old lady at the supermarket.”

“Oh. That.”

It seemed the man had heard it from someone.

“That old lady really says the strangest things. I just said that because she suddenly offered to introduce me to a woman. I’m single. I don’t have a child.”

The man glared at Tae-heun. It was a look he had never seen before. It wasn’t particularly scary.

“Then I don’t understand.”

“What is there not to understand?”

It was frustrating.

“Have you never thought it was strange, Ki-beom? Are you the only one in this town with a child? Are you the only widower here? Honestly, Ki-beom, you could date all the women in the neighborhood, and no one would say a word. Why? Because you’re a widower. Am I wrong?”

Somehow, Tae-heun had become the one to persuade him.

“You’re young. Ji-hye isn’t around, so isn’t it natural to go somewhere nice?”

“I don’t go to those places. Why would I pay for it?”

“Hey, I’m not saying anything about prostitution or anything like that. You’re making me sound like a weirdo.”

It was true that the question had that implication. He felt a bit guilty and raised his voice.

Looking at the man, who had tightly shut his mouth, Tae-heun spoke soothingly.

“You know we haven’t known each other for long. But still, it would be nice to get along a bit more as peers. I was hinting that if you know a good place, you could take me along. Is that really something to get angry about? Look at this awful atmosphere. Who would dare to ask you a question?”

The stubborn expression on the man’s face softened a bit. He waited for an apology or acknowledgment, but the man didn’t say a word. He simply crumpled the beer can.

“Ugh, I don’t know. Stop sulking and let’s eat some chicken.”

Tae-heun picked up a chicken leg and offered it to the man. The man accepted it without hesitation.

Though it was awkward, the atmosphere was no longer as tense as before. Both Tae-heun and the man picked up their chopsticks to eat the whelk somyeon salad and tear into the chicken. The six-pack of beer was quickly finished.

“I’ll go get more beer.”

Tae-heun stood up.

By now, there were twelve empty beer cans and three bottles of soju scattered on the porch. It was barely a little past ten. The man, who had drunk makgeolli as well, could hardly keep himself upright. As for Tae-heun, aside from feeling full, he was pleasantly tipsy.

The drunken man raised his voice like before and laughed often. He grinned widely, and then suddenly burst into laughter. Under the dim incandescent light, his eyelashes looked quite long. Each time he closed and opened his eyes, drowsy, his eyelashes cast long shadows around his eyes.

The man was more talkative than usual, but all he talked about was the child. He reminisced proudly about every trouble the child had caused from infancy to now, remembering every detail.

How did it come to be that the man’s entire world revolved around the child? Was that even possible? Tae-heun couldn’t understand.

“Tae-heun, your hands are surprising.”

The man said with his mouth agape.

“Oh, I hear that a lot. If you just look at my face, I look like a nobleman.”

Tae-heun pulled the man’s hand and placed his own next to it. The hands of the man, who worked in farming, were large and rough. Next to them, his own hands, which were whiter and paler, were also large and coarse.

The only feature he inherited from his mother. Since childhood, he had big, ugly hands. Yet, he never mentioned that it was because he resembled his mother. He had said it before, but the memory of being denied by his mother lingered.