#38

The smell of instant coffee wafted through the air. Gradually, the church members who had finished their meals were mixing coffee in paper cups. The child appeared, holding a paper cup filled with cider in both hands after cleaning his tray.

“Father, here, drink this.”

“Thank you.”

The man was still eating, but he took a bite of what the child offered him. After finishing his meal a bit late, he brought over a cup of coffee and sat down.

Tae-heun, who had no appetite, quickly handed in his tray. He dumped the leftover food into a blue container and pushed the empty tray into a red basin filled with detergent. He felt nauseated.

By the time lunch was almost over, the annex was filled with women. The youth leader hinted that the washing up was the sisters’ responsibility. Kwon Yongjun and the youth leader called Tae-heun over to smoke a cigarette.

“Mr. Kibum, aren’t you coming?”

“Go ahead without me.”

“What about you, Mr. Kibum?”

“I have to wash the dishes. Ji-hye, go out and play.”

The man sent the child outside first.

“Why is it only Mr. Kibum doing it when none of the other brothers are?”

He asked, displeased.

“I’m strong. It’s right for someone strong to do this kind of work.”

The man replied nonchalantly.

Tae-heun gestured for Kwon Yongjun and the youth leader, who were waiting outside, to go ahead.

“I’ll help too, then. I can’t just pretend to be good.”

He grumbled and stood next to the man.

“We’re going to heaven together.”

At Tae-heun’s words, the man shyly smiled.

He seemed to respond with a small “yes.”

* * *

After finishing the dishes, the child ran off to Sojin’s house in the same outfit. Kwon Yongjun and the youth leader urged Tae-heun to have a drink, but he made an excuse that he had to take the man home, promising to do it another time.

“I can hitch a ride with the elderly living nearby.”

The man repeatedly apologized for making Tae-heun unable to play before getting into the car. Even if he hitched a ride, it wouldn’t be far, and from there, it would take a long walk to the man’s house.

“It’s not because of you; I just don’t feel well. And drinking is better at night.”

“…Yes.”

“What will you do when you get home?”

“I’ll do some farming.”

“Oh, right? Let’s go.”

It was unusually hot, with temperatures exceeding 32 degrees. It was quite hot for mid-June. The heated car seat was so hot that he couldn’t sit down immediately. Tae-heun opened the car door and windows with the man’s help, waiting for the car to cool down.

“Hyung Kibum, don’t do that; let’s cool off in town together, okay?”

Kwon Yongjun, unable to let go of his desire, urged the man this time.

“I want to, but I have to pick lettuce and peppers and pull out some green onions. If I leave them in this heat, they’ll all die. You wouldn’t believe how much weeds have grown.”

“Hyung, do you really have to work that hard? There are plenty of lettuce and peppers around. Everyone is eager to give them to you, so why make it hard on yourself? At least try to be a little like Ji-hye.”

Kwon Yongjun’s scolding made the man awkwardly laugh.

“I saw on the weather forecast that it might rain next week; let’s have some pancakes and makgeolli then.”

Tae-heun chimed in to support the man.

“Well, yes. That sounds good.”

Kwon Yongjun replied reluctantly.

“Director Kim, are you coming to the youth association office tomorrow?”

“Of course. Is there anywhere else I need to go?”

The youth leader smiled happily.

“It seems to have cooled down a bit; let’s go.”

“Yes. Go ahead. Please go in, hyung.”

The man greeted Kwon Yongjun and the youth leader one by one before getting into the passenger seat.

Tae-heun glanced back at the rearview mirror. Kwon Yongjun and the youth leader, whom he thought would go together, were parting ways like strangers, each going their own way.

As soon as he got home, the man changed his clothes. He put on a black short-sleeved work shirt and jeans, then threw on a long-sleeved checkered shirt over it. After that, he tossed his and Tae-heun’s clothes, which were soaked with sweat and grime from washing dishes at the church, into the washing machine and sat down on the floor to put on his boots.

“Tae-heun, you should rest.”

“What do you mean rest? We should do this together.”

“I’m fine with it.”

“I’m not fine.”

Tae-heun also hastily put on the work clothes he bought at the market. Without boots, he wore his Nike sneakers again.

The man went to the shed and came out with three large baskets, a hoe, a pickaxe, and a shovel. Tae-heun took the pickaxe and shovel from him.

“Is there a lot to pick?”

“Yes. I should have done it earlier, but I’ve been busy lately.”

The man walked quickly through the side gate. The dogs chased after him.

“By the way, I have one thing I’m curious about.”

The man turned around.

“That chicken coop, why is it empty? Is raising chickens hard?”

“No, it’s not that.”

The man hesitated before speaking.

“I raised chickens a few years ago. Originally, I brought them to eat on the hottest day of summer, but as I raised them, I grew attached. So I gave up on eating them and let them roam in the yard. I made sure to eat the eggs right away so they wouldn’t keep having chicks. By the way, did you know? Chickens recognize the person who feeds them. They’re surprisingly smart.”

The man opened the side gate wide and let the dogs out to the field.

“Is that so?”

“One day, I woke up to find that a raccoon had killed them all. A few were taken away.”

“Oh no!”

“I’ve left it empty since then.”

The man looked pained, as if it had happened just a few days ago.

With such a kind heart, no wonder.

Tae-heun glanced at the empty chicken coop before stepping through the side gate.

The fairly spacious field was carefully bordered with stakes and barbed wire, and a green net was draped over it. Even under the wire, glass shards were embedded to make it difficult for wild animals to dig in.

The man busily walked around the field. He sighed at the dying crops and overgrown weeds. The green onions had turned yellow from the heat. The lettuce and peppers looked wilted but still seemed edible.

The man took a pair of red gardening gloves from his back pocket and handed one to Tae-heun.

“Please pick some lettuce and peppers. Just pick them all. I’ll start pulling out the weeds.”

Without waiting for a response, the man walked off to the far end.

Tae-heun stood in front of the lettuce under the blazing sun.

“How do I pick this?”

He squatted down to examine the lettuce and began to pull it out by the roots. It was easier than he expected. He muttered to himself, wondering how they had planted so much lettuce for just the two of them.

Just because it was easy didn’t mean it wasn’t hot, and his legs weren’t any less sore. Since he hadn’t brought a towel, the only thing he had to wipe his sweat with was the shirt he was wearing. As he lifted the hem of his shirt to wipe his sweat, he noticed the man was also wiping his sweat in the same way, as if he had forgotten his towel too.

The dogs that had been running around wildly were nowhere to be seen. They were probably hiding from the heat under the porch. Lucky dogs, he muttered to himself.

After the lettuce, it was time for the peppers. He tried to pick the peppers by hand like the lettuce, but it wasn’t easy. He thought he might need pliers or scissors, so he stood up. They might be in the shed, but since it was someone else’s house, he decided to ask the man.

“Kibum, do you have scissors? If I pick the peppers by hand, the stems will come out too.”

The man, who had been squatting down to dig out the roots of the weeds, stood up. The man, drenched in sweat, looked flushed and was panting. He seemed different from usual.

“What’s wrong with your face? Are you not feeling well?”

Tae-heun asked in surprise.

“Not really, I just feel a bit out of breath.”

“You must be overheated. Just take a break for now. Let’s go quickly.”

The man, realizing he didn’t feel well, agreed to take a break.

Tae-heun supported the slightly swaying man and helped him sit on the porch.

“I think I might have indigestion from lunch. I ate a bit too quickly.”

The man explained.

He was definitely not someone who ate quickly, so it couldn’t be indigestion. He must have overheated. It seemed embarrassing for a farmer to suffer from heat that even city folks wouldn’t endure. Tae-heun ran to the kitchen and brought back some cold barley tea.

“Drink some water quickly. After drinking, go inside and rest a bit.”

He poured water into a cup and handed it to the man. The man drank the water quietly with a tired expression.

“Tae-heun, you should drink too.”

The man offered the empty cup back to Tae-heun.

“I’m fine.”

“Your face is red.”

Hearing the man’s words, Tae-heun realized his face was indeed burning.

“I should have brought a hat. I didn’t think of it since I don’t usually wear one. I’m sorry.”

Even while feeling unwell, the man was considerate of Tae-heun, which made Tae-heun feel grateful yet frustrated.

“You’re worrying too much. If I need it, I’ll wear it myself, so just go inside and rest.”

“Yes.”

The man took another sip of water and, with a groan, lay down flat in the living room.

Tae-heun wanted to lie down too, but he knew that even if he was fine, he needed to do some fieldwork to lessen the man’s burden. He hurried back to the field.

He gave up on picking peppers and chose to pull weeds instead. He started by tearing out the weeds that had grown taller than his knees with his gloved hands. Some came out with the roots, while others only had their leaves torn off. After pulling out as many as he could, he picked up the pickaxe. Sweat poured down like rain, but he didn’t care.

He had never had this level of combat readiness even in the military. If his superiors had seen him digging the ground with a pickaxe instead of slacking off, they would have been shocked. Having served only six months and already thinking about the military, he realized he was just another typical man in South Korea.

Everywhere Tae-heun passed, weeds piled up. By the time his face was red and starting to sting, the man appeared again. His face, as he surveyed the field, showed gratitude, guilt, and surprise all at once.