#80

The man and Tae-heun fell into a deep sleep. After staying up all night and not being able to take a nap, the man barely managed to do the laundry and had a can of beer with Tae-heun before heading straight to bed. Even Tae-heun, who usually only sleeps for about an hour, ended up sleeping for a whopping five hours next to the man.

Tae-heun wondered if such a day would come again, but it arrived the day after he confirmed the man’s sincerity. Tae-heun considered it a blessing from the man. He thought about how normal people could fall into cults, realizing that perhaps it was because they felt the same way he did about the man.

From the morning, Tae-heun was whistling, and a child looked at him with suspicion.

“Uncle, is something good happening?”

“Uh. No. Uh.”

“What is it?”

“Nothing. No, there is. There is and there isn’t.”

The child’s puzzled response made him pout.

“What is it? Is there or isn’t there?”

The child rolled their eyes in annoyance.

“You’re cute.”

When Tae-heun stroked the child’s cheek, the child opened their eyes wide. The expression seemed to say, ‘Is this uncle crazy?’ and Tae-heun burst into laughter. The child, frowning in thought, shook their head and took a step back.

The man, having not done any housework yesterday, was disoriented from early morning. Instead of just preparing breakfast and packing the child’s lunch, he swept and cleaned the entire room and living room as soon as he woke up, then took out the ironing board. He ironed the child’s taekwondo uniform as if it were a matter of life and death. After finishing the uniforms, he stood the iron up and went outside to collect the laundry, only to suddenly pick up a broom.

“Ki-beom, why are you so out of it today? I’ll clean the yard. Give it here.”

When Tae-heun snatched the broom from the man, he approached the dogs next.

“Tell Ji-hye to feed the dogs.”

Tae-heun chased after the man and stopped him.

“Ki-beom, just collect the laundry.”

“Yes. The dog food bowls over there.”

“I know, I know. Just wash them, right? Hey, Yoon Ji-hye! Come and give the pups some food and water.”

Tae-heun quickly washed the bowls and went to the shed to bring out a bag of dog food. By then, the child had come down to the yard, filled the water first, and then fed the dogs. Only then did the man collect the laundry.

Sitting on the porch, the man was folding the laundry when he suddenly remembered something else he needed to do and hurried back inside.

“Hey, why is your dad acting like that?”

“He seems like he hasn’t fully woken up yet.”

“Really?”

“He stayed up all night, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s because he hasn’t fully woken up. He always acts like that the day after staying up all night.”

The child said casually.

Tae-heun found it adorable that the seemingly normal man was actually acting like this because he was still sleepy. It wasn’t normal to find a man of his size cute, but who cares? He looked cute to me. Chuckling, he picked up the clothes the man hadn’t finished folding.

After finishing their tasks, Tae-heun and the child went inside. The man was standing in front of the gas stove with his back turned, frying ham and sausage for the child’s lunch. The child ran over to the man and got a piece of ham.

As Tae-heun watched the man packing the side dishes into the lunchbox, he took out six eggs from the refrigerator for the soy sauce egg rice.

“Should I fry them?”

“No, I’ve packed the lunch already.”

The man took the lunchbox to the rice cooker, opened it, and let out a groan.

“Why? Did you bump something?”

Tae-heun asked, as he often bumped into things in the narrow kitchen.

The man shook his head and looked down at the rice cooker with a despairing expression. When Tae-heun approached, he saw that the washed rice was still there. It seemed he had forgotten to press the cooking button.

“Ah, why are you making a fuss over something like this? It doesn’t take long for the rice to cook. In the meantime, let’s eat breakfast.”

Tae-heun comforted the man, pressed the cooking button, and pulled him away from the rice cooker.

Naturally, breakfast turned into ramen. The child jumped up and down with excitement. Tae-heun happily cooked the ramen. Even though it was a small thing, he felt joy in solving the problem for the man and comforting him.

A clumsy man the day after staying up all night, it felt like a stroke of luck.

“Where are we going today?”

Tae-heun asked as he served ramen into the child’s bowl.

“An-gol.”

“An-gol? Is that where the melons are all done and now it’s watermelon? You said peaches are next week, right?”

The child received the bowl with a “Thank you.”

“That’s not it. I think we need to go to the persimmon tree house in An-gol.”

“Why there?”

This time, he served the man’s portion.

“Because the fields got flooded with the rain. They barely drained the water, so it must be a mess. It would be a bit much for the two elderly people to clean up there….”

He trailed off.

“Of course we have to go! If it weren’t for that grandmother, how would we be able to eat this delicious kimchi, right?”

When Tae-heun exaggeratedly responded, the man’s expression brightened.

“But didn’t you have other plans? Are you going to do that first?”

He placed the man’s bowl right in front of him. The man picked up his chopsticks and answered Tae-heun’s question.

“I told them yesterday. I think I need to be in An-gol all day to tidy up the fields and plant seeds.”

“Okay. I can handle that. By the way, do you think the grandmother will make us cold noodle soup?”

When he subtly asked about the snack menu, the man smiled with a deflated expression.

“Do you really like cold noodle soup that much?”

“Not just like it, I’m crazy about it. It changed my life completely.”

The man, taking Tae-heun’s words as a joke, ate the ramen with a look that said he couldn’t argue.

It’s true. I fell in love with you because of that.

He thought to himself but didn’t say it out loud.

Slurping, Tae-heun ate ramen straight from the pot for the first time in his life. It wasn’t intentional; it just happened that way. There was too much ramen to transfer to a bowl and not enough to leave behind. The man, who never left food uneaten, might eat what looked like leftovers, so he voluntarily brought the pot to eat from it.

One less dish to wash.

He found it amusing that someone might think he had spent his whole life washing dishes.

Suddenly, he remembered how his mother used to eat ramen or soup straight from the pot if there was any left. He had always found it so unappealing, but now that he was doing it, he understood a bit why. His mother, who still seemed inferior to others in his memory, was someone he could understand just a little bit now, which felt quite strange.

While the man was getting ready to leave, Tae-heun washed the dishes with the child. The child brought a step stool to match their height and placed the washed dishes on the sink.

“Uncle, how long are you going to live with us?”

The child asked cautiously, in a small voice that the man couldn’t hear.

“Well, why?”

“Just curious.”

“Do you want me to live with you for a long time, or do you want me to leave soon?”

Tae-heun tested the waters. The child’s intent was obvious from the question, but he wanted to hear it directly from the child.

“I hope you live with us for a long, long time.”

The child said shyly.

“I feel the same way.”

“Wow, really?”

“Of course. I really mean it.”

“I really hope that happens.”

“Me too.”

The child fell into thought for a moment.

The clever child realized that Tae-heun’s answer wasn’t a definite “let’s live together for a long time.” In the past, he would have lied and said, “Let’s do that,” but this time he didn’t want to do that.

Tae-heun would live with the man for a long time. Naturally, he would also see the child for a long time. But there would be a price to pay before that. It could be a year or perhaps several years. He wanted to handle it carefully before it became certain.

The child seemed disappointed but didn’t show it openly.

“Ji-hye, you need to get dressed.”

The man called the child.

The child, still in pajamas, replied, “Yes,” and as they got down from the stool, they pointed a finger at Tae-heun. Secret. They mouthed silently. Tae-heun winked back in agreement.

“Tae-heun, you get ready too. I’ll finish tidying up.”

“Okay.”

There wasn’t much to prepare. He just needed to go to the storage room and change into his usual work clothes.

After the man, Tae-heun and the child also finished getting ready and waited for the rice to finish cooking. The man took a seat at the dining table, while Tae-heun and the child sat side by side on the porch. The child played with their feet silently. When Tae-heun played the same game, the child only smiled but kept their mouth shut. It was both pitiful and adorable, so Tae-heun patted the child’s head.

Finally, it seemed the rice was done. The man was seen approaching the rice cooker with the child’s lunchbox. Tae-heun stood up from the porch. He went to the storage room to check the equipment that could be used at the persimmon tree house in An-gol. He didn’t know what he would use on a rainy day, but at least he thought he would know the equipment used for fieldwork. He had gotten familiar with it by following the man for about half a month.

He loaded the equipment into the truck bed and checked the time. It was about 40 minutes later than usual, but it was only 6:10. He thought about going back inside but decided to sit in the driver’s seat since he would be going out anyway.

However, ten minutes passed, and the man and child still hadn’t come out. It was strange since it was time to pack the rice into several bowls. He wondered if the child had a stomachache or if the man had diarrhea. Just as he was about to check out of curiosity, the front gate opened. The child approached the truck with a sulky face.

Tae-heun spoke to the child through the open window.

“Why? Did your dad scold you?”

“No. He’s on the phone.”

“With whom?”

“I don’t know.”

The child replied cheekily, pretending not to know.

“Get in the car first. I turned on the air conditioning, so it’s cool.”

Tae-heun got out of the driver’s seat as he watched the child get into the car.

As he entered the yard, he could hear the man flustered. Since most of the people he was talking to were elderly, his voice naturally got louder during the call.

“No, that’s not it. I told you yesterday. Today is An-gol… No, sir. Why are you speaking like that? When did I ever say I couldn’t do your work? I mentioned that yesterday too…. Yes. Yes, I know. But… there are three others besides me. Huh, yes… yes. Sir, why do you keep repeating the same thing?”

It was a call from the place he had originally agreed to work. Even though he had asked for understanding the day before, it seemed they were angrily scolding the man on the other end. The kind-hearted man couldn’t just hang up.

What can I do? I have to help.

Tae-heun stepped inside and pressed the hook switch on the phone. The man, who was passionately engaged in the call, shouted “Hello, hello?” and only realized that Tae-heun had hung up when he saw him standing next to him. A look of disbelief crossed his face.

“Let’s go. I was about to lose my patience waiting.”

The man still held the receiver, hesitating to call back.

“Let’s go.”

Tae-heun snatched the receiver from the man’s hand and placed it back on the hook. Then he grabbed the man’s arm and pulled him along.

“Ki-beom, you’ve done enough.”

“But still….”

“But still what? Just get in the car, and whether you want to do it or not, we can figure it out. I’ll help you for as long as it takes.”

The man stood up, his face still clinging to reluctance.

During the drive to the village hall, both the child and the man became silent as if they had eaten honey. The child was upset because his father was being scolded by someone else, and the man was uncomfortable because he had received unpleasant words from a neighbor.

In contrast, Tae-heun, who was in top condition, took the initiative to chat. He sighed or cursed at the news coming from the radio, sang along to songs, and even threw out some corny jokes that made the usually cheerful man not laugh.

“I’ve become quite good at talking to myself, haven’t I? All because of you.”

He threw a pointed remark at the man, but all he received in return was silence.

Regardless of that, Tae-heun still felt as if his mood was soaring. Love, love, who said it? He recalled a line from an old song and whistled.