#75

The phone rang loudly. Tae-heun, who had just taken a nap and was unlikely to fall asleep again at night, stared blankly at the ceiling before jumping up and heading to the living room. It was just past midnight.

Ji-hye, come here for a moment!

An old man shouted, looking for a man without any preamble.

“Excuse me, who are you?”

This is the house with the persimmon tree in Angol. The field is completely flooded. If you have a pump, please bring it over. Ours is broken and not working.

It seemed the old man still thought he was speaking to a man, despite hearing Tae-heun’s voice.

A man approached and took the receiver from Tae-heun’s hand. He listened silently to the other person’s words and then said ‘yes’ before hanging up.

The man opened the sliding door with a sleepy face. It was still raining, and the downpour was quite heavy. When he turned on the light on the porch, water had pooled in various spots in the yard.

“It seems it has been raining continuously.”

Tae-heun said, and the man replied, “Indeed.”

“Do we have to go out now?”

“Yes. If the old man is calling, it must be quite flooded. We should also check the rice paddies.”

The man prepared to leave, keeping the sliding door open as he went to the inner room.

“I’m going with you. How can you check that vast rice field alone?”

“It’s dangerous at night.”

“That’s why we should go together. I’m getting dressed.”

Tae-heun hurried into his room before the man could say anything else.

He threw on a white cotton t-shirt over his usual cargo pants and looked around the room. He thought about whether he needed to take anything else, but nothing specific came to mind. Since farming mostly meant following the man around, he had no idea what to do on a rainy day.

The man busily moved around the house, gathering items into a plastic bag. Then, as he stepped out onto the porch, he turned back to Tae-heun.

“Please wake Ji-hye.”

“Why Ji-hye?”

“She might need to work all night. I’m leaving her with So-jin.”

“Ah, got it.”

Seeing the man cross the yard, Tae-heun went to the child’s room. The child was sleeping soundly. Tae-heun crouched down in front of the child.

“Ji-hye, Yoon Ji-hye. Wake up.”

He shook her gently. She showed no signs of waking, so he shook her a bit harder, and only then did the child stir.

“Ji-hye, it’s time to wake up.”

The child yawned widely and rubbed her eyes.

“Is it already morning?”

“No. It’s midnight. It’s raining heavily, and we have to go to work.”

“Ah.”

The child didn’t seem surprised, as if she had experienced this situation often. With her hair in a messy bun, she sat up and stared blankly for a moment before starting to gather her backpack.

“Get ready and come out.”

“Yes.”

Just as Tae-heun was about to leave the room, the child called out.

“Uncle!”

“What?”

“Are you going with my dad too?”

“Yes. Did you see the needle and thread fall?”

“Thank goodness.”

The child smiled brightly.

“Well, it’s a bit dangerous at night if you go alone.”

The child added a comment that didn’t really need to be said and then busily pretended to pack her things.

Tae-heun found the child’s perceptiveness endearing and almost reached out to pat her head, but seeing her blush, he just smiled instead. “Take your time,” he said as he left the room.

The man had already put on a yellow raincoat and was moving a pump from the shed. Tae-heun hurriedly put on his raincoat and rubber boots.

The child appeared, still in her pajamas, carrying her backpack, a shoe bag, an empty lunch bag, and a tote bag with a change of clothes.

“Give it here.”

Tae-heun took the items from the child’s hands.

After confirming that he had everything he needed, the man returned to the yard and checked on the puppies. The child, wearing a pink raincoat and pink rubber boots, even had a pink umbrella. Excited, she splashed in the puddles with her booted feet. The man called out to the child after letting her play long enough.

“Ji-hye, let’s go.”

The child responded with “Yes,” and Tae-heun quickly dashed out the front gate first, unloading the child’s things into the truck.

Thanks to the man covering the seats generously with transparent plastic, all three of them climbed into the truck wearing their raincoats. The sound of the plastic crinkling together was quite loud, and the child laughed heartily at the noise.

The truck, with its high beams on, navigated the bumpy road. Just when it seemed to calm down, the rain intensified. The wipers worked tirelessly to clear the windshield. The child, excited about going to So-jin’s house, chattered away.

The task of leaving the child at So-jin’s was handled solely by the man. Tae-heun thought about seeing So-jin’s face, but the man said, “Next time,” and discouraged him. The man returned after five minutes, looking relieved as he climbed back into the truck.

“What kind of farming do they do at So-jin’s?”

Tae-heun asked.

“They just have a small vegetable garden.”

“Do they have other jobs?”

“Not really, and there aren’t many people to farm.”

“They went to the city, huh?”

“Something like that.”

The man only said that much. He was a man who hardly talked about himself, let alone others, so Tae-heun didn’t expect much. Everyone must have their own circumstances. Tae-heun thought to himself.

The house with the persimmon tree in Angol was located directly opposite the man’s house. In other words, it was very far away. It was even faster to head into town, making Tae-heun wonder how this could be considered one village.

It was puzzling why the old man had called the man among so many people nearby. Unlike the dissatisfied Tae-heun, the man remained calm and seemed to have no particular thoughts.

“Is it raining a lot?”

Tae-heun suddenly became curious.

“No, not too much.”

“Then why is the field flooded? If it’s flooding from this much rain, there must be a problem with the drainage.”

“That’s true, and the land is a bit low.”

The man said nonchalantly.

“But why borrow Ki-beom’s machine of all people? You have neighbors.”

“The old man handles the machine a bit roughly.”

“Then what about Ki-beom? Is it okay if his machine breaks?”

“If I’m using it, it won’t break.”

He answered confidently, as if boasting.

“What? Is Ki-beom personally coming to drain the water, even after lending you the machine?”

When Tae-heun hit the nail on the head, the man fell silent.

“Wow. This is really too much.”

“It wasn’t forced.”

“That’s the same thing. Since you break other people’s things and act like you don’t care, no one wants to lend you anything. Am I right or wrong?”

“…….”

“But Ki-beom lends you his machine and even comes to drain the water himself. If I were in your shoes, I’d contact Ki-beom too.”

Tae-heun spat out a curse. The man frowned.

“They’re not as bad as you think, Tae-heun.”

“Not as bad? They probably wouldn’t call their own child at this hour.”

“Why do you have to say it like that?”

The man finally got angry.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Tae-heun refused to back down.

It wasn’t for nothing that the man had earned the nickname “Dongjamri’s official servant.” If he helped, he should at least say something nice, not call him a servant. People were just rotten.

“I just don’t want to see Ki-beom struggling.”

“It’s not a struggle.”

The man stubbornly replied.

“If it’s not a struggle, then it’s a service? Right, service. He doesn’t even get paid, lends you his machine, and drains the water for you. Ki-beom should have been a pastor, not a farmer.”

The sharp words slipped out. The man clenched his mouth shut. A chill settled between the two.

Even upon arriving in Angol, the atmosphere remained tense. After parking the truck in front of the persimmon tree house, the man got out of the car without a word. Tae-heun, feeling frustrated, thought he might as well see the face of the person who borrowed the pump at this hour and quickly followed the man inside.

“I’m sorry every time.”

An old man with a hunched back, wearing a black raincoat, was holding the man’s hand. Next to him stood an old woman, presumably his wife, wearing the same colored raincoat, also hunched over and looking so thin that it was almost astonishing.

Only then did Tae-heun realize he had misspoken. It seemed impossible for such an old man to carry a pump to the field in the pouring rain at this hour. No matter how simple the operation was, the buttons would hardly be visible.

“No, it’s fine. I should be the one apologizing. Thanks to your grandmother, I’ve been enjoying the young radish kimchi so much.”

The man glanced back at Tae-heun as if to let him hear.

Ah, damn it.

So the grandmother was the one who made the young radish kimchi.

“Please go inside and rest.”

“It’s very flooded.”

“Yes. I’ll take care of it.”

“If you’re doing it alone, it might take a little time.”

“I’m not alone.”

At the man’s words, both old people turned to look at Tae-heun simultaneously.

The man might have said it without any particular meaning, but to Tae-heun, it sounded like he was boasting, “I came with my person.” Since it was the man himself who was boasting, Tae-heun couldn’t just stand by.

“Ah, hello, sir. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kim Tae-heun, staying at Ki-beom’s house.”

Tae-heun bowed deeply, even adding an “Ah, my!” for effect. Not stopping there, he approached the old woman, took her hands in his, and said, “I was reborn after eating the young radish kimchi you made, grandmother,” showering her with endless praise. He could hear the man chuckling softly.

The old man and old woman looked bewildered for a moment before realizing, “Ah, he must be that wealthy young man.”

“Yes. I am that young man. I’ll help Ki-beom drain the water quickly, so please go inside and rest.”

“Go on.”

The man urged Tae-heun with a glance. Tae-heun was about to follow the man out but turned back to grab the old woman’s hand again.

“By the way, grandmother, please teach me how to make young radish kimchi later.”

“Huh?”

“How to make young radish kimchi! I really want to learn that.”

“Oh dear, just go already.”

The man, unable to bear it any longer, tugged at Tae-heun’s raincoat.

“Please! I’ll come visit soon.”

Even as he was being pulled away by the man, he managed to get a promise. Of course, the old woman didn’t make any promises and looked at him as if he were a bit strange.

“I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

Tae-heun immediately apologized.

“Yes?”

“The words I said to those people earlier.”

“Oh. Yes.”

“And I’ll take back what I said about Ki-beom. He suits being a farmer the best. What kind of pastor? I dislike pastors.”

The man chuckled softly. Tae-heun nudged the man with his elbow and asked, “You’ll accept my apology, right?” The man nodded with a somewhat indifferent expression, as if to say, “Why are you asking that?” and walked ahead.

Tae-heun smiled as he looked at the man’s back, who was walking hurriedly.