#86

The two had been like that for over twenty minutes. Just when it seemed they should do something, the phone rang at that moment. At the pleasant sound breaking the silence, Tae-heun hurriedly picked up the receiver.

“This is the home of Yoon Ki-beom.”

There was a commotion on the other end of the line.

Hello?

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

Hello? Hyung?

At first, he thought it was Kwon Yong-jun, but the voice was different. Moreover, he had never called a man ‘hyung’ before. So it couldn’t be Kwon Yong-jun.

“Who is this?”

Hello? Hyung? Ki-beom hyung?

A man approached and took the receiver.

“Oh, yeah. It’s been a while. What brings you here?”

It seemed the other party had mentioned his name, and the man raised his eyebrows in surprise. Given the man’s connections, he was curious about who it was.

“Well, it’s always like this in summer. How’s work going for you? Yeah, you must be having a hard time. Oh, oh, drinks?”

The man glanced at the desk calendar.

“I told Yong-jun, but it seems you didn’t hear… Yeah, I know. Anyway, that day seems tough, but Wednesday is fine. Oh, yeah. Let’s do that. Thanks. Bye.”

The man hung up the phone. Tae-heun turned his gaze to the wall calendar. He figured it was about the upcoming Wednesday.

“Who was it?”

Tae-heun asked.

“A younger brother I know.”

“Which younger brother?”

The man hesitated for a moment. He seemed to think that Tae-heun wouldn’t know who it was even if he told him. As Tae-heun stared at him expectantly, the man finally answered.

“Jo Mu-seong. He was close with my deceased younger brother. The three of us were really close.”

Jo Mu-seong. The name didn’t ring a bell, but the moment he heard that he was close with Kwon Yong-jun, he recalled the man he had met at the room salon. The other one who was with Nam Ji-hoon.

“Is he the tall, skinny friend? With a long face?”

“Oh! How do you know that, Tae-heun?”

The man’s eyes widened.

“That’s right. I ran into him at a bar when I went out to town with Officer Oh before. With a friend named Nam Ji-hoon.”

“Oh, I see.”

Tae-heun nodded vigorously.

In this town, Jo Mu-seong, whom he had never seen before, called the man. From the man’s reaction, it didn’t seem like they were in regular contact, which piqued his curiosity even more. He also wanted to know if he was acquainted with Nam Ji-hoon. He had a belief that those who instinctively gave him a bad feeling were always worth it, so he couldn’t help but be concerned about Nam Ji-hoon as well.

“He’s half and half, that friend named Nam Ji-hoon.”

He casually threw out the comment as if he wasn’t interested.

“Oh, that guy?”

The man responded. Tae-heun, who was actually eager to hear the answer he wanted, felt anxious.

“Are you on good terms with that friend? Nam Ji-hoon, I mean.”

Thirsty for information, Tae-heun asked again.

Despite hearing Tae-heun’s question, the man hurriedly hung the child’s pants on the hanger. After awkwardly hanging the clothes on the child’s door, he returned with a shirt this time. As he pondered whether to ask again, the man slowly replied in a nonchalant tone.

“No. I met him through Yong-jun, but I don’t know him well since he wasn’t a friend from this town.”

So that makes sense.

There was no way the man would be close with such a scoundrel.

“Oh, so he wasn’t from here. I thought since Officer Oh said the three of you were inseparable, that you were close with Ki-beom too. But what did Jo Mu-seong call for?”

Tae-heun leaned in closer to the man.

“He wants to have a drink.”

“Just the two of you?”

He moved in so close that their faces almost touched. The man subtly pulled away, perhaps feeling burdened.

“No. With Yong-jun and a few other friends.”

“It must be something special if he even made a phone appointment.”

He tried to probe, but the man kept his mouth shut and threaded a white thread through the needle. It seemed like he was just reattaching a button that had come loose, not one that had fallen off.

Just answer me.

Tae-heun shot a glance at the man.

If the man enjoyed nightlife, he would think nothing of who he met or what he did, but that wasn’t the case. He only drank soju or makgeolli with the neighborhood guys, and that was only at the supermarket, someone’s house, or the village hall. For such a man to make plans, not just with Kwon Yong-jun but also with Jo Mu-seong, and a few others, the location was likely to be in town.

As Tae-heun watched the needle go in and out of the buttonhole, he suddenly thought of the man’s deceased younger brother. He felt foolish for not realizing it even after receiving the hint. What reason would a friend of a deceased younger brother, whom he didn’t often contact, have to call? The anniversary. He was almost certain.

“What was your younger brother’s name?”

He asked abruptly.

“…Eun-beom.”

The man replied two beats late.

“Is it Eun-beom’s anniversary? The day he meets that friend Jo Mu-seong?”

“Yes. The upcoming Monday is the anniversary. It’s the second day of the sixth lunar month.”

This time, the answer came back three beats late.

“I’m sorry for asking something unnecessary. I can’t help but be curious.”

He said it out of courtesy, though he didn’t feel sorry at all.

“It’s okay.”

The man was looking for a pair of scissors, so Tae-heun quickly handed them to him. With that, he removed the second button.

“But…”

Since the man said it was okay, Tae-heun thought he might as well find out more.

“When did Eun-beom die? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“…It’s been exactly 20 years this year. It happened in 1980.”

His voice was flat as he answered. He was looking down, focused on sewing, so Tae-heun couldn’t read his expression.

“How old was he?”

“Twelve.”

“Oh dear, that was the age of mischief. Your parents must have been heartbroken. You must have been shocked too, Ki-beom.”

He consoled the man. Then he threw out the next question.

“What happened?”

“……”

“Was it a traffic accident?”

“……”

That was a sign he didn’t want to answer. Then, pass.

“Did your family move because of your younger brother’s incident?”

“…Just me.”

“To that uncle you saw at the nursing home?”

Tae-heun’s voice grew louder. No matter how much a child had died, it didn’t make sense to send the only remaining child to a relative’s house. Especially not to a good person.

“Not at first, but later on.”

The man said only this much and then sealed his lips tightly.

If it were up to him, he would want to dig deep into the man’s past, but it seemed better to leave that to a professional. Moreover, the fact that the taciturn man had shared this much must have taken a lot of resolve. Perhaps it was because it was Tae-heun, someone he liked, that he had said it. Thinking this made him feel grateful and fluttery for no reason.

“Do you hold a ritual for Eun-beom?”

Tae-heun asked with a more relaxed heart.

“No. My mother dislikes it, so we don’t hold separate rituals. After becoming an adult, I’ve been too busy with making a living, so we only put a spoon on the table during Seollal or Chuseok.”

“That’s how everyone is. At least they remember during the holidays.”

He comforted the man.

“My uncle also died when he was six or so. But I’ve never even heard his name in my life. I didn’t even know such a person existed. Most families are like that.”

The man turned to look at Tae-heun. In his dark eyes, there was a sense of consolation. Although he had the name of the uncle he borrowed, he honestly didn’t feel sad or regretful at all. You need to know something for those feelings to arise. So receiving the man’s consolation felt somewhat awkward.

“You have good friends, remembering the anniversary of a friend who died long ago.”

He wrapped up the conversation he had been steering.

“Yes. The kids are kind.”

A smile flickered across the man’s face.

“Dad! I finished my homework!”

The door burst open, and the child dashed out, holding out a workbook and notebook to the man. The man set down his shirt and took them. The child’s handwriting was neat and more mature than the man’s.

“Are you still writing in your diary these days?”

Tae-heun asked as he examined the notebook.

“Of course.”

The child didn’t even try to hide his diary. Today’s entry was likely about Su-ho.

The man flipped through the workbook and opened the notebook with the alphabet written in it. He didn’t take long to check if the child had done it or not, just confirming it.

“Good job. Go wash up and watch TV.”

“I’ll wash up later. I don’t have to watch TV. Dad, can I take the phone? It might take a while.”

Without asking, the child casually requested to use the phone for a long time. It seemed he wasn’t going to call So-jin. Quick-witted Tae-heun almost said something but held back. The man had just given permission, and the child likely had friends his age besides So-jin.

Now it was just the two of them left.

“How many buttons are there? Let’s take a break too.”

Tae-heun said to the man, who was still holding the shirt.

“Give it here, I’ll hang the shirt.”

As Tae-heun took the shirt and hung it up in the room, the man organized the sewing kit.

“Want to have a beer?”

“Yes.”

“Stay in the room.”

As he watched the man head into the bedroom, Tae-heun made his way to the refrigerator. After a hearty dinner, he grabbed only beer without any snacks.

The man had already laid out the bedding. The two sat side by side in front of the TV, which was showing a daily drama. He opened a can and handed it to the man. Without any need to decide who would go first, they both took a sip of beer almost simultaneously.

Tae-heun wiped the beer foam from his hand and looked at the man. The man was doing the same, wiping the foam from his lips. He then turned his gaze back to the screen.

“You still haven’t answered.”

He said deliberately in a nonchalant tone.

“The answer to the question I asked earlier.”

In other words, it was the answer to the question Tae-heun had asked while hugging the man.

“Now?”

The man asked, sounding somewhat incredulous.

“Then when do you plan to?”

Both of them were looking at the TV.

“It feels a bit off here.”

The man muttered, almost in a grumbling tone.

“What’s wrong with here? It’s cozy and nice.”

The man peeked into the child’s room, which was a mess from the phone call.

“You can’t even hear it from over there. If you’re really worried, just go outside.”

“Not to that extent…”

“I don’t like it here, and I don’t like it outside either. Surely, you have a reason for liking me, right?”

It wasn’t something Tae-heun should say, but he was already feeling disappointed, wondering if that was really the case.

“I do.”

“Then tell me.”

“……”

Sigh. His lips were quite heavy.

“Are you deliberately not telling me because I said I wasn’t sure earlier? Still, I confessed that I like you. With all my heart.”

Tae-heun asked, turning his head toward the man. The man stubbornly kept his gaze forward. Frustrated, Tae-heun took a sip of beer.

It was only after a moment that the answer came.

“When I’m with you, I feel relieved. That’s why I like you.”

The man said bluntly, still looking ahead.

It might have been a deflating answer or an ambiguous confession, but Tae-heun understood it immediately and felt very happy.

He felt the same way as the man. When he was with the man, he didn’t feel powerless, and even when he suffered from insomnia, he could endure it. Every moment spent working and eating with him was filled with happiness. This was what it truly meant to live. He wanted to live, and live well.

“What does that even mean? Am I an oxygen tank or something, making you feel relieved?”

Tae-heun complained playfully, even though he was happy. He looked at the screen instead of at the man, who was likely blushing. He gulped down the remaining beer in one go.

Ah, this is amazing.

Both the beer and the mood were fantastic.

Before long, the daily drama ended, and the 9 o’clock news began.

Tae-heun wiped the smile off his face.