By Zephyria 
From early morning, the sky was filled with dark clouds. The air was also quite humid. The man, who had been restless for two days, looked noticeably tired, unlike his usual self. However, he didn’t particularly show it. As always, he set the rice in the electric rice cooker and went to wash up. After washing, he swept and wiped the living room and kitchen, and went out to collect the laundry. Tae-heun followed him like a shadow.
The atmosphere between them was delicate. Ever since they shared a cigarette in front of the wall a moment ago, the man seemed to be conscious of Tae-heun. Or at least, it appeared that way. Regardless, Tae-heun was extremely concerned about it.
The man handed the laundry he had collected to Tae-heun. Each time he raised his arm, his slender waist peeked out from under his shirt, and Tae-heun swallowed hard at the sight of his toned waist and smooth skin without an ounce of fat.
“This one isn’t dry yet.”
The man muttered to himself.
Perhaps due to the humidity in the air, there was quite a bit of laundry that was still damp. Only about half of the laundry that passed through the man’s hands ended up in Tae-heun’s. After placing the other half on the porch, he climbed up to make a clothesline and hung it again. The clothes were thick fabrics like the man’s jeans and the child’s uniform.
“I’ll hang the laundry. You should check if the rice is done, Kibum.”
“Yes.”
He answered, but the man didn’t move. Tae-heun watched him fold the laundry and then reached out, saying, “This goes like this,” taking the clothes from Tae-heun’s hands. He then folded them again. Tae-heun observed the man skillfully folding the clothes. Their eyes met. It was Tae-heun, not the man, whose ears turned red. Whether it was truly blushing or not, his face felt hot.
“Hey, Tae-heun, if you drank a lot yesterday, should I make some hangover soup?”
“Hangover soup? Just make ramen. I’ll cook it.”
He hurriedly added, fearing the man might take over.
“I’ll finish folding the laundry, so you pack Jihae’s lunch first.”
“…Yes.”
With a doubtful glance, Tae-heun looked at him before the man went inside.
Recalling the moment from earlier, Tae-heun folded the clothes just like the man had done. The folds weren’t perfect, but they weren’t bad either. He stacked them neatly and took them inside, placing the child’s clothes in front of the child’s room, his own clothes in his room, and the man’s clothes in the master bedroom.
He heard the sound of the child running around, as if they had woken up.
“Jihae, your dad and uncle are having ramen. Do you want some? Or should I make rice?”
The man shouted from the kitchen.
“I want ramen too!”
The child dashed over to the man.
“Why ramen for breakfast?”
The child’s voice was filled with excitement.
Come to think of it, the man didn’t often feed the child instant foods like ramen. Even if it was just kimchi, he always made rice, and when he served noodles, he would always prepare the broth and toppings himself.
Tae-heun felt delighted that the man had chosen ramen for breakfast because of him.
“I’ll cook it.”
He hurried to the kitchen. He gently nudged the man aside as he was putting water on the stove for the ramen. The man’s face turned red, and the child behind him burst into laughter. The man cleared his throat and began to cover the lids of the child’s lunch boxes, which were still steaming.
“How many eggs should I beat?”
“Five.”
He asked the man, but the child answered.
“There are three ramen, but you’re putting in five eggs?”
“Uncle, who’s going to eat three ramen? You need to boil five. Right, Dad?”
When Tae-heun turned to look at the man, he nodded.
“I’ll add a bit more water.”
“I’ll do it. Kibum, you just sit down. Jihae, take out the kimchi.”
“Yes!”
The man hovered around Tae-heun as if he didn’t know how to sit still. This time, Tae-heun didn’t push him away.
“Where are you going today?”
“To Mr. Lee’s field.”
“Which Mr. Lee?”
He asked as if he would know exactly which Mr. Lee he was talking about. It was so natural that the man replied, “To the back valley.”
Tae-heun didn’t actually know much about the geography of Dongjam-ri. Other than knowing that the man lived in Yongdugol, he had no interest in which places were front or back valleys, or whether the side with the village hall was called Big Valley or if it was referred to as Saeter. The place the man was going was the road, the truth, and the life. There was no other religion.
“Is the field big?”
“It’s somewhat big.”
“What kind of work are you doing?”
“Plastic mulching and sowing.”
“Is it okay to do that on such a cloudy day?”
He blurted out a thought he had picked up somewhere. Fortunately, it seemed he wasn’t wrong.
“It’s actually best to do it the day after it rains. It would have been perfect if we had done it yesterday, but the uncle had a hangover, so we’re doing it today.”
The man made a displeased expression. It wasn’t like him at all.
“What if it rains while we’re working?”
“We’ll have to stop.”
“I see. I’ll go with you.”
“It’s not a paid job. We agreed to take beans in return.”
“But you’ll get food, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’s fine.”
“Hey, soup.”
Seeing the water boiling vigorously, the man tore open the soup package and handed it over.
“I can handle it myself. Kibum, you don’t trust me.”
Tae-heun pretended to glare at the man as he took the soup and put it in the pot.
“That’s not it….”
The man mumbled.
While Tae-heun broke the noodles in half and put them in, the man quickly chopped the green onions beside him.
“Dad, the ramen smells really good!”
The child said. Tae-heun and the man turned to look at him simultaneously. The child was sitting at the table, resting his arms on it, smiling brightly.
“Is this your first time eating ramen? Why do you like it so much?”
“Who likes it just because it’s ramen?”
“Then why?”
“It’s a secret.”
The child answered coyly.
Tae-heun laughed. He didn’t say it without knowing why the child liked it. The child was simply happy that his father had made a friend.
Sorry, but it’s not pure friendship, kid.
He silently apologized.
Thus, the three of them sat at the table. Just one day, the awkward breakfast time caused by an uninvited guest returned to normal.
Tae-heun frowned, recalling how Officer Oh, who was a wonderful person when he was with him or Detective Park, had treated the man poorly. What about the child? Even the elderly neighbors they saw every day were eager to dig into their pockets to give even a penny, but Officer Oh, who only visited occasionally, never handed over even a thousand won.
He was just acting like a loan shark.
Grinding his teeth, he felt a loud noise escape his mouth. The man and child looked at Tae-heun simultaneously. The child frowned as if he had bitten into a stone.
“Spit it out here.”
The man casually extended his palm to Tae-heun.
Ah. How could I not love this man?
Looking down at the rough, calloused palm, Tae-heun felt a surge of emotion. Not wanting to be caught with red eyes, he hurriedly lowered his head and slurped the ramen.
“It’s delicious.”
“Uncle! It’s all splattered!”
Even hearing the child’s complaints, Tae-heun smiled.
While the child was thoroughly disgusted, the man calmly wiped the dirty table and tore off a piece of tissue. Tae-heun wiped his mouth with the tissue the man offered. Whenever their eyes met, he felt like he would confess his love right then and there, so he busily moved his chopsticks while keeping his head down.
The clouds hung low. It seemed like it would rain at any moment, but not a single drop fell. It wasn’t as hot as yesterday. The humid air felt quite refreshing.
Mr. Lee’s field in the back valley was, as the man said, somewhat big. Mr. Lee, who looked to be in his early sixties, was pleased to see Tae-heun and the man appear together. With two strong men to help him, he seemed to think he could take it easy. Like a master directing his servants, he stood smoking a cigarette and pointed at the man and Tae-heun.
“Hey, Jihae’s dad. Do it properly. Why are you so slow? You weren’t like this before.”
Unlike Tae-heun, who was boiling with anger, the man was as calm as ever. Not wanting to complain in front of such a person, Tae-heun silently cursed him.
Tae-heun and the man covered a large black plastic sheet over the ridges. After covering the length of the ridge with plastic, they pressed down the corners with stones.
“Jihae’s dad, save some plastic. You’re using it too recklessly since it’s not yours.”
Mr. Lee nagged. Regardless, the man quietly continued his work.
Each took a hoe and dug up the soil so they could cover it with plastic. Squatting down to dig was easy yet not easy. Digging the ground with a hoe was something one could do mindlessly, but the problem was that both the man and Tae-heun were tall. Even the man, who was experienced in fieldwork, had to stand up occasionally to pat his thighs and knees, so how much worse was it for Tae-heun?
The short, skinny Mr. Lee just puffed on his cigarette.
“Here’s some barley tea. Drink it if you’re thirsty.”
Pretending to be generous, he said this.
You bastard. Tae-heun glared at Mr. Lee while rubbing his legs, which felt like they were going to cramp.
Only after covering the entire field with black plastic did they have a break. It was noodles. They had ramen for breakfast, and now it was noodles again for the break. He grimaced as soon as he took a bite.
Like husband, like wife. Perhaps he didn’t want to waste the anchovies for the broth, so he hastily seasoned it with store-bought soy sauce, and even that was bland. The only topping was a single chive. If they had at least added some ice to make it cool, it might have been bearable, but it was lukewarm. After that, they left, saying they would go home to eat.
The man ate the noodles again without a word.
“Kibum, aren’t you angry?”
“Yes?”
When Tae-heun slammed his bowl down, the man’s eyes widened.
“I mean, that uncle. He treats it like it’s his field, but he acts like a master. And what’s with this noodle?”
“Ah….”
“Oh, it’s not the time for that. How many beans are we supposed to get? Three or four sacks?”
“It’s edible….”
The man said something irrelevant. So, it meant that the beans they were supposed to receive in place of wages weren’t worth much.
I’m not eating!
He wanted to throw a tantrum like a child, but since the man was eating without complaints, he held back, thinking that if he said something like that, it would make the man look bad. He lost his appetite and drank barley tea instead. Even that cool barley tea didn’t help his anger subside.
The man patiently finished his share of noodles and cleared the bowl. He felt sorry seeing Tae-heun’s noodles untouched.
“Are you hungry?”
“It’s okay. I’m not hungry.”
“You didn’t eat much ramen in the morning.”
“I ate a lot. I usually have a small appetite, so that’s enough for me.”
Saying that made him a bit embarrassed. He had never had a small appetite in front of the man. The man seemed to know that, as he let out a small, deflating laugh.
“Ah, it’s hot.”
He took off his straw hat and fanned himself. He even fanned it towards the man.
Exactly 20 minutes later, Mr. Lee appeared.
“Uncle, I think we should sow after the rain passes.”
The man spoke to Mr. Lee as if he had been waiting for this.
“Why?”
“Look at the sky. It looks like it’s going to pour any moment. The weather forecast said it would rain too.”
“Just plant it.”
“What if it rains and washes it all away?”
Mr. Lee paused for a moment in thought.
“Then will Jihae’s dad come back to do it after the rain?”
“You should do that, uncle.”
“Oh, then just do it.”
“No, it’ll all get washed away in the rain.”
Mr. Lee waved his hands as if he had nothing more to say.
The man sighed.
“Uncle, we’ll sow, but don’t blame us if it gets washed away. I’ve warned you.”
“Got it. Don’t act like you’re doing me a favor by helping out. Tsk.”
Tae-heun, who had been listening from the side, felt anger rising at Mr. Lee’s attitude. As he took a step towards him, the man shook his head.
“It’s okay. He’s just like that.”
He stopped Tae-heun with a resigned expression.
“You bastard.”
Even though he must have heard Tae-heun cursing, Mr. Lee pretended not to notice and settled down on the embankment. He started looking for the kettle filled with makgeolli, claiming he had a bottle of alcohol.
“Drink this and get to work.”
Mr. Lee pretended to be generous as he handed over a cup of makgeolli. The man accepted the cup without a care. How could someone so gentle and naive survive in this harsh world? Disliking both of them, Tae-heun stood up first.
“Is it because you’re from Seoul that you have such a bad attitude?”
“No, it’s just that the work is tough.”
“Are you really complaining just because you covered it with plastic and did a bit of hoeing? Tsk. What a waste of your size.”
“Why are you saying that? To someone who’s working hard.”
“No, it’s just that Ji-hye’s father worked harder. Why did you bring a burden with you when you could have come alone?”
Unable to hold back any longer as they were openly gossiping behind his back, Tae-heun stopped in his tracks and turned around. He strode over to where the two were and grabbed Mr. Lee by the collar, lifting him up. In the blink of an eye, Mr. Lee’s legs dangled in the air.
“Hey, have you said everything you wanted to say? Damn it. Whose field is this? It’s not yours. If it were your field, you should be working it yourself instead of making us do it! Is Ki-beom your servant or what? Huh?”
He shouted with his eyes wide open.
At that, Mr. Lee stammered, “Uh, why are you doing this?” while glancing at the man for help.
The man sighed and walked toward the field without intervening.
“Ji-hye’s father! What are you doing just leaving? This jerk…”
Tae-heun tightened his grip on Mr. Lee’s collar. Gasping dramatically, Mr. Lee grabbed Tae-heun’s right hand with both of his, trying to pull it away. But it was no use. He was gasping for breath, flailing wildly. Not feeling inclined to let go just yet, Tae-heun applied more pressure to his grip, enough to bend his neck back.
“Stop it and come here.”
The man shouted.
“Tae-heun, stop it and come here!”
He was uncharacteristically angry.
When Tae-heun turned around, he saw that the man really was angry. Since he was someone who rarely got angry, Tae-heun decided to back off.
“Let’s be careful, okay?”
Tae-heun released his grip on Mr. Lee’s collar. Spitting on the ground, he walked over to the man.
Since he had already gotten angry, he naturally expected a barrage of scolding to follow. He braced himself and stood in front of the man. However, the man merely adjusted his straw hat and acted as if nothing had happened.
“We’re going to drill holes at regular intervals now.”
Aside from his somewhat heightened voice, he had returned to his usual self.
“You can do it like this, with this size and this spacing.”
The man demonstrated.
“What are you planting in these holes?”
“Red beans.”
“Red beans grow where you plant soybeans.”
At the corny joke, the man laughed.
“I’m sorry. I just got mad seeing that jerk lying around.”
“It’s okay. I only do this work for this house once a year, if that.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
At that, he recalled the elderly men he had seen at the village hall, talking to the man. Someone among them must have pressured him to do this work. The man must have reluctantly agreed. Thinking that way made him feel a bit better. After all, the man wasn’t just someone who passively accepted everything.
“Hey, little sparrows! Get out of here! Hey, hey!”
As he was drilling holes in the mulching plastic, Mr. Lee flailed his arms in a panic. He must have noticed the bag of red bean seeds he had left on one side of the field had opened, and the birds were pecking at it. They were sparrows.
“Ki-beom, your friends are here!”
Tae-heun shouted. The man, who had been lost in drilling holes in the plastic, looked up, confused.
“Your friends are here, Ki-beom! You should greet them!”
While saying this, he gestured toward the sparrows. The man’s gaze shifted to the sparrows. A smile appeared on his previously expressionless face. He bit his lip, trying to suppress a laugh.
Under the sun, the man was dazzling.
“Pretty. My sparrows.”
Tae-heun casually uttered a cringeworthy line and smiled brightly.