#74

During the journey home, the man didn’t say a word about what he talked about with Kwon Il-taek. Normally, the man quietly listened to the radio unless Tae-heun spoke first. Tae-heun didn’t bother to ask, thinking he might not get a proper answer even if he did.

As they passed through the bumpy road and turned a sharp corner, a familiar landscape unfolded. The tall gray wall, the orange slate roof, and the blue gate. In an instant, his heart felt at peace. The inexplicable frustration that had been tightening around Tae-heun since meeting Kwon Il-taek and his wife vanished in an instant.

“Gyeobum, I’ll take the mackerel, so you go in first.”

After sending the man inside, Tae-heun lingered outside for a few more minutes, using parking as an excuse.

He brushed his palm against the wall where he had stood with the man in the early morning. He felt the rough and coarse texture unique to cement. Looking up, he noticed how high it was. Just the other day, it felt like an unwanted partition set up on the highway, but now it felt just right. It even gave him a sense of being protected. Perhaps this wasn’t a wall but the man himself.

“My house is nice.”

He smiled slightly.

Kicking open the gate, he found the child already home.

“Didn’t you go to church?”

Tae-heun asked the child, who was already eating a red bean bun.

“They said there’s a meeting for the pastor’s wife.”

“How did you get home?”

“My uncles brought me.”

Seeing the child lump together the uncles, it seemed that Kwon Yong-jun wasn’t among them.

The man was washing his face at the sink.

“What do you have in your hand?”

The child asked.

“Oh, this. Mackerel.”

“Wow! Really?”

“Of course, it’s real. Want to see?”

“Yes!”

The child threw down the red bean bun he was eating onto the floor and took the bag from Tae-heun.

Though it smelled fishy and he could have disliked it, he was thrilled.

“Dad! Please grill the mackerel!”

The man, having finished washing his face, roughly dried his hands and said, “Okay.”

“Dad, we can each have one. Right?”

“Yeah.”

The child beamed with joy.

“Jihee, I’m going to take a nap.”

“You too, Uncle!”

The moment Tae-heun heard the man mention a nap, drowsiness washed over him as well.

“Yes. Go ahead. You both look really tired. Was work hard?”

“Yeah, really hard.”

It had been a while since work ended, but Tae-heun shamelessly replied.

Instead of pestering with questions, the child took the mackerel bag and went inside. Tae-heun picked up the leftover red bean bun and followed.

A cool breeze lingered in the house. It seemed that with no one around all day and only a few electronic devices, the air felt different.

The man showered first, and then it was Tae-heun’s turn. After washing up, he naturally entered the master bedroom. The man, who was making the bed, paused.

“I’ll sleep quietly. I find it a bit scary to sleep alone in that room.”

He feigned a whine, feeling a bit guilty.

Without saying much, the man prepared a spot for Tae-heun next to his own.

Seeing the man undress and lie down, Tae-heun also took off his shirt and carefully lay down beside him. Despite it being daytime, the heavily overcast sky created a perfect environment for sleep. The man soon fell into a deep sleep, breathing evenly. Only then did Tae-heun turn to face him.

He’s really handsome.

He admired the man’s profile inwardly. The more he looked, the more intricate he appeared. Overall, the man had a masculine face, but his prominently raised nose was surprisingly small and cute, and his double-lidded, clear eyes were refreshing without being overwhelming. In contrast, Tae-heun, who had always been told he was pretty, had a more Western-like appearance with his large features.

Their looks were truly a match made in heaven.

He chuckled to himself.

After staring at the man’s face, which he could never tire of, he dozed off.

Having stayed up for two nights straight because of Officer Oh, it was understandable, but he didn’t expect to fall into such a deep sleep. When he opened his eyes, he found himself alone in the room. Moreover, it wasn’t his own spot but the man’s. The pillow was also the man’s.

Tae-heun buried his face in the pillow and sniffed. It smelled like the man. It was a scent reminiscent of laundry dried in the sun, with a refreshing quality to it.

He felt surprisingly refreshed, realizing he hadn’t dreamt. Even when awake, reality and dreams often blurred together. In any case, it was a mix of giving and taking.

He heard the child running around, making a fuss.

“Dad! The mackerel is huge!”

“I’ll give the biggest one to Jihee.”

“Yay! I’m eating the biggest one!”

Thud, thud, thud, the child ran again. Soon, the smell of grilled mackerel wafted through the air. Tae-heun slowly got up and left the master bedroom.

“Uncle! The biggest mackerel is mine. Don’t touch it!”

“Okay. Jihee can have the biggest one.”

He realized he was scratching his belly while yawning and that he was still undressed.

Well, what’s the harm? I might as well make an impression.

But this thought was fleeting, and he went back into the master bedroom to put on a T-shirt. He wondered if showing his bare torso to a man who might not even look at him while showering would be effective. It felt a bit embarrassing in front of the child too.

“Watch out for the oil splatter. Stay back.”

As he approached, the man advised.

“Is there nothing I can do?”

“Yes. Just grilling the mackerel is enough.”

The soft tofu stew was bubbling away, having been simmering for a while.

“Then I’ll set the spoons and chopsticks. I’ll also serve the rice.”

“Jihee can do it.”

“I’ll do it. Let’s leave Jihee to run around like a whirlwind.”

“Okay.”

The man smiled at the child.

Tae-heun first placed the man’s and the child’s utensils and then set his own across from the man. He took out two types of kimchi from the fridge that they always ate.

“Is it okay to take the pot now? It seems to be done.”

“Yes.”

He quickly placed the stew stand in the center of the table and gently nudged the man with his body.

“I’ll borrow your towel.”

Saying this, he took the towel from around the man’s neck and wrapped it around the handles of the pot. After safely placing it on the stand, he stood behind the man and draped the towel back around his neck. His hands naturally settled on the man’s shoulders.

“Look at the color. How do you grill it so well?”

He admired while looking over the man’s shoulder at the frying pan. As he gently massaged the shoulders he held, the man’s nape flushed red. On one side of his nape, a dark bruise from a bite that no one had noticed was now visible. Why didn’t he notice this? Feeling a bit regretful, he traced it with his finger. Of course, he drew it in the air.

After massaging the man’s shoulders a couple more times, he served the rice.

“Here, the plate. This is Jihee’s, and we’ll share ours since we’re facing each other anyway.”

“Okay.”

After placing the largest piece of fish on the child’s plate, the man moved the other two pieces to one plate. It was Tae-heun’s job to carry the plate.

The child dashed over and sat down. Without catching his breath, he immediately grabbed his chopsticks and aggressively filleted the mackerel. The man, feeling embarrassed, said, “Eat slowly.”

“I bought fish after a long time. I keep forgetting.”

The man explained.

“It’s only natural to forget. Gyeobum, you’re a busy person. Let’s eat quickly.”

Tae-heun also picked up his chopsticks for the fish.

The man started by serving the stew and then ate rice. He was a bit slow to get to the fish. Tae-heun noticed during lunch that the man’s fish filleting skills were quite clumsy. The child, however, was much more skilled than the man. Compared to his father, he was practically a professional.

“Gyeobum, wait a moment.”

Tae-heun deliberately pulled the plate toward himself and filleted the man’s share first. The child looked at the man and Tae-heun with curious eyes.

“Jihee can fillet so well, but how come Gyeobum can’t?”

“My dad is good at it too!”

The child immediately protested, perhaps taking Tae-heun’s words as a slight against his father.

“No, it’s just that compared to you, it’s like that. Jihee, you’re so good at it.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“You’re lucky, Jihee. You have great dexterity.”

Adding nonsensical praise, he quickly separated the flesh from the bones. In no time, only the bones remained.

“Gyeobum, eat.”

He pushed the plate toward the man. The man seemed pleased. Tae-heun eagerly awaited the moment the man would take a bite, but the man first offered the flesh to the child.

What are you doing giving the piece I filleted to the child?

He shot a glare at the man, who, of course, didn’t notice.

“Tae-heun, you eat too.”

The man placed some on Tae-heun’s rice right after the child. Tae-heun felt delighted, as if the man had served it to him, even though he had filleted it himself. He felt overwhelmed by such kindness.

“Oh, it’s delicious.”

“It’s tasty, Dad!”

Even though it wasn’t the man who filleted it, both the child and Tae-heun gave the man a thumbs up.

Tae-heun was happy. He felt like he could burst from happiness. To feel such emotions over just grilled mackerel was truly strange; it felt like a family possessed by a spirit.

After finishing dinner, the child lay on the floor, rolling around. The man went to the porch to hang the laundry, and after finishing the dishes, Tae-heun stepped out into the yard. The puppies wagged their tails. He pretended to pet them and then swept the yard like the man had done. The damp air made the soil in the yard feel heavy.

The sky was literally dark. The clouds looked like they could pour rain at any moment. It had been this kind of weather all day, yet not a single drop had fallen.

“It’s going to rain soon.”

The man, hanging the laundry, looked up at the sky and said.

“I’ve heard that more than twenty times. It’ll come when it comes.”

“Right? Why isn’t it coming?”

Tae-heun also set the broom aside and climbed onto the porch. From the porch, the dark clouds seemed so close they could be touched.

“It really will come soon.”

Tae-heun murmured softly.

The rain finally began to fall a few hours later, at 8 PM. The child, with so much to say, went into the room with the phone, chatting away with Sister So-jin. The man, unable to sit still, had brought out the ironing board and was preparing to iron.

“Anyone would think we have ten people living here. Just take a break.”

Tae-heun nagged.

“I need to finish quickly so I won’t have to worry about it. The day after it rains is busy.”

The man said this as he placed the child’s taekwondo uniform on the ironing board. Steam began to rise from the iron, which had absorbed heat. As the man held the iron with his large hand and glided it over the fabric, a scent reminiscent of a sauna wafted through the air.

“Nice.”

“Pardon?”

“The sound. The sound of ironing. And the sound of rain too.”

Tae-heun pointed to the ceiling with his finger. The man glanced at Tae-heun and listened for a moment. He nodded and smiled.

“Indeed.”

The man replied.

Tae-heun sprawled out next to the man. Lying down, he looked up at the man ironing. The man tried hard not to be conscious of Tae-heun, but he failed. The changing colors of the man’s face were amusing. Not just amusing.

“You look cool.”

He whispered so only the man could hear.

The man’s face turned red. Squeak, the iron glided over the fabric. Tap, tap, the rain hit the slate roof.