#32

The man poured himself a couple of cups of coffee from the kettle but didn’t touch the melon at all.

“But hey, young man, you didn’t get any poison ivy.”

Mrs. Jang looked at Tae-heun’s upper body, scanning him with curiosity.

“Oh, me? I don’t get that stuff. My skin is really good.”

“That’s a relief. You know, when Ki-beom brought Ji-hye here about ten years ago, he got poison ivy while working and suffered for months.”

Mr. Jang chuckled as he brought up the man’s past.

“Months? More like he suffered for almost a year. He said that after living in the city for a few years, he got poison ivy that he never had before.”

Mrs. Jang chimed in.

“They say it can still happen these days. Isn’t that right, Ji-hye’s dad?”

There was no response.

It was unexpected. He looked tough enough to chew stones, yet he had suffered from poison ivy. Moreover, it seemed he had lived here all his life, but had gone out to the city and then returned. Learning two new facts about the man made her unreasonably excited. As the topic of conversation turned to him, the man chewed on his paper cup with a characteristic sulky expression that appeared when he heard something he didn’t want to.

About thirty minutes of short break time flew by.

It was unbearable to go back to the greenhouse, but since he had already started working, he thought he might as well get at least half of the daily wage. The sweet scent of the melon, along with the suffocating humidity and heat, hit him all at once. Tae-heun frowned and tried to put his wet T-shirt back on. Then the man pulled out a black T-shirt from a plastic bag he had brought in the morning and handed it to him.

“When did you pack this?”

“I’m going to change into it.”

“What? Are you telling me to wear it or not?”

“Put it on.”

“Thank you.”

When Tae-heun smiled, the man turned away as if he hadn’t seen it. Seeing the back of his neck turn red, it seemed he was embarrassed again.

“But won’t it be a bit small for me?”

He muttered to himself as he put on the man’s T-shirt. It smelled of cheap detergent. He sniffed the shirt, burying his nose in it.

The work in the greenhouse was tough, but eventually, it was time to finish.

As soon as the man finished his work, he took Tae-heun to the village hall. Tae-heun wondered why they were going there, and it turned out it was to take a shower. The village hall had shower facilities for residents, which were mainly used by young men like him in the summer, and in the winter, it served as a bathhouse for the elderly in the neighborhood, the man explained. After finishing work, he always took a shower there and changed from socks to T-shirt. It was strange that he didn’t smell of sweat; now it all made sense.

Since he had given his spare T-shirt to Tae-heun, the man put on his own sweat-soaked shirt again. He added that if he didn’t have clothes to change into, he would just walk around without a top. Tae-heun recalled the day he first met the man. He thought he was just showing off his body, but that wasn’t the case.

Tae-heun was in the same boat, having no clothes, so he was still wearing the T-shirt he borrowed from the man. Fortunately, thanks to the man, who had found him green tracksuit pants from the youth association, he avoided the embarrassment of going into town wearing pants that were soaked and clinging to him.

“Take a nap on the way to town.”

Tae-heun said to the man as he turned on the air conditioning.

The man replied with a curt “Yes.” And within five minutes of the car starting, he really fell asleep.

“What the heck. At least pretend to have a conversation before you sleep.”

He grumbled.

It had only been three hours since they had their snack, but he was already hungry. The struggle he had with the bibimbap seemed trivial now.

Thinking they should eat lunch first and then do some shopping, he turned on the radio. He lowered the volume for the man. The weather caster expressed concern about the early heat and then, in a bouncy voice, announced the rain forecast. It seemed that due to the northward movement of the monsoon front, the metropolitan area would be under the monsoon influence starting mid-next week. Would it be easier to work if it rained, or would it be more of a hassle? Tae-heun glanced at the man, who was lost in sleep.

The man, who had been deeply asleep the entire way to town, opened his eyes as the car stopped, as if he were a ghost.

“Let’s eat first.”

“Yes.”

“Cold noodles are okay, right?”

Noticing that the car had stopped in front of a cold noodle restaurant, the man replied shortly, “Yes.”

“Let’s have dumplings too.”

Without responding, the man got out of the car.

Seeing the man stretching, Tae-heun turned off the engine. His whole body ached and felt heavy. The money Tae-heun earned from working for just over six hours was less than 20,000 won. Mr. Jang had boasted that it was because the man was there that he got that much. No wonder everyone would rather do manual labor than farm work. Rubbing his stiff shoulders, he entered the cold noodle restaurant.

It was obvious that the men at the tables were public officials from the town office, their heads buried in their meals. As two hulking men over 180 cm tall entered the restaurant, everyone looked up, recognizing them. The only available seats were in the corner, so the man headed there.

“Where are you going? It’s cool here.”

Tae-heun grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him to a table where the air conditioning was blowing well.

“Is it okay to share a table?”

After sitting down and asking, a middle-aged couple eating cold noodles at a four-person table reluctantly nodded.

“Ah, it’s cool. I have a knack for finding the best spots.”

He joked.

The restaurant staff brought a kettle of broth and two cups.

“I’ll have the water cold noodles. What about you, Ki-beom?”

“I’ll have the same.”

“Two water cold noodles and two king dumplings, please.”

“Just one dumpling.”

The man corrected the order while looking at the staff.

“No, make it two.”

The staff checked again to confirm the order and shouted towards the kitchen.

“I’m just trying to eat a lot. If there’s any left, I can take it home.”

“Yes.”

The man poured broth into a cup and handed it to Tae-heun.

“I’ll grab some utensils.”

Tae-heun reached out towards the middle-aged man at the shared table. The man frowned. He didn’t care either way.

Tae-heun was born with a bold personality. To put it nicely, he was outgoing. His uncle often said, “You take after your mother, you’re so frivolous.” It was ironic for someone with such a frivolous son to be nagging. Tsk. Just thinking about his uncle made his appetite wane, but just then, the plates of cold noodles and king dumplings were placed on the table.

“Looks delicious. Eat a lot since I’m treating.”

The man, holding the bowl of cold noodles in both hands, paused before drinking the broth and looked at Tae-heun.

“You got paid, right? If you eat something delicious with this, it’s a good deal. Isn’t that right?”

“Still.”

“Here we go again. It’s my hard-earned money, so I have a special feeling about it.”

“You didn’t earn much, did you?”

“Come on. I’m just trying to treat Ki-beom to a meal with my money, do you have to be such a buzzkill?”

Reluctantly agreeing, the man gathered his arms inward, as if to avoid the woman sitting next to him, and slurped the cold noodle broth. Tae-heun also picked up his bowl of cold noodles.

The two of them silently slurped down the cold noodles and ate the dumplings. Occasionally, when Tae-heun said, “It’s delicious,” the man would nod. When Tae-heun finished off the two king dumplings the man had left, their meal came to an end. He felt like he might burst. Even though he didn’t like the feeling of being full, he was just satisfied at that moment.

Sucking on a peppermint candy each that had been left on the table, they stepped out onto the street instead of the parking lot. They were going shopping. The man led Tae-heun through a small shopping area towards the market.

“Where are you going? I don’t wear brands.”

“Why does it matter if it’s a brand for clothes to wear while working?”

“It doesn’t look cool.”

He grumbled, but he couldn’t help but smile.

Seeing the man walk briskly, it seemed he had a favorite clothing store he often visited.