#113

The only person who attended Tae-heun’s aunt’s viewing was Tae-heun himself. He might have attended his grandparents’ viewings, but he didn’t remember. And now, out of the blue, he was going to Mr. Lee’s viewing, a complete stranger with whom he didn’t have particularly good memories. It wasn’t that the man had urged him to go; he was insisting on going himself. Still, he felt strange.

At the viewing, his aunt had looked so small. He hadn’t thought she was that small, but in the coffin, she looked like a skinny, small the child of thirteen or fourteen. She looked peaceful.

Tae-heun had been too busy taking care of himself to notice that his aunt had suffered from depression, which had caused her to lose weight, her complexion to worsen, and even her speech to diminish. Whenever his aunt met Tae-heun, she always wore bright makeup. He didn’t realize she was trying to hide her pain and just thought she was still beautiful.

His aunt had no appetite in the fall because it was fall, and no appetite in the summer because it was summer. So Tae-heun had simply assumed that was how she was and made a show of prescribing her a tonic every season.

Mr. Lee was small too. Was he always such a small Man, or did everyone shrink when they died? Would he shrink to that size too? Still, the coffin would have to be bigger than that. Considering the length of his bones, he wouldn’t fit in there without cutting off his legs.

How much would a big coffin like the one he would need cost? What kind of wood was that made of? As he was thinking aimlessly, it suddenly occurred to him that two people who should be there were missing.

“The Village Chief and the head of the youth association aren’t here.”

Tae-heun looked around and whispered to Man.

“Yes. Mister’s family blocked them. The head of the association didn’t say anything either.”

man spoke so quietly that he could barely hear him.

“Just the viewing?”

“No. They’re banned from entering throughout the funeral.”

The Village Chief and the head of the youth association, the leaders of the village, were not allowed to attend the funeral, which was considered the most important event in the village after the wedding, perhaps even more so. Kwon Il-taek had condoned it. Yet he had personally allowed Tae-heun, who had ambushed and run away from the Eagle Five Brothers, to visit.

The person who shouldn’t be there was Kwon Il-taek. But he, accompanied by his wife, Jo Young-ae, and his youngest son, Kwon Yong-joon, watched the viewing with solemn expressions, standing at the very front with Mr. Lee’s family. They occupied the best seats after the bereaved family.

“You said you wanted yukgaejang.”

Ever since entering Mr. Lee’s house, the man had been grumbling at every opportunity.

That was because the Eagle Five Brothers were glaring at them as if they wanted to kill them. As soon as he saw their swollen, bruised, and cut faces, the man realized what Tae-heun had done.

Tae-heun hadn’t expected the man to be so flustered. He had been the one who got beaten first, even by five of them, but he was fidgeting as if he had committed a great crime. He couldn’t even look his Hyung in the eye and kept his head down.

“Are you scared?”

“It’s not that.”

“Then?”

“Why are you making things worse?”

“Well, who told you to get beaten up?”

As he said this, he stroked the back of Man’s hand where he had kissed it. He caressed it as if it were a treasure, and the man pretended not to notice. He kept his mouth shut.

The sound of weeping was loud. Was that what it meant to cry with all one’s might? The wails of Mr. Lee’s wife and Mother were so desperate that they were painful to hear. In comparison, Mr. Lee’s children, who were standing beside them and sniffling, and the neighbors who were just wiping away tears, didn’t seem to be grieving at all.

“Be careful on your way home tonight.”

As soon as the viewing was over, the eldest Hyung passed by Tae-heun and warned him in a low voice. Why bother waiting until night? Their threats were so absurd that he couldn’t even laugh.

Lunch began. The family members who had been wailing were now busily preparing lunch for the guests with the women’s association members, as if nothing had happened.

The order in which the meals were served was also determined by rank. Naturally, Kwon Il-taek and his wife and Kwon Yong-joon were the first to be guided into the main room. The person who seemed to need people’s attention was Mr. Lee’s dying old Mother, but no one took care of her.

Once the Kwon Il-taek family and the village elders had taken their places in the main room, the rest of the people took their seats in the empty spaces in the main room, the small room, the living room, and the veranda in that order. Everyone was eager to have a late lunch, so it was chaotic and noisy.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

Man, who must have been more than hungry because lunch was two hours later than usual, went to the kitchen and asked if he could help the women’s association.

“Oh, no, it’s okay. Just go and sit down. We’ll bring you your food.”

“Are you okay? Let me see your face. Tsk, tsk. Those men are so petty.”

“Ji-hye’s father, I’ll pack some pancakes for you later, so take them to Ji-hye. Don’t forget to stop by.”

The women’s association members each said a word of concern to Man. When they refused his help, the man shouted, “Still,” and looked for work. Because he had a limp, he couldn’t carry the tables, so he did small errands such as carrying side dishes. He was so manly that it made him laugh.

Compared to the men who waited for their meals to be served without lifting a finger just because they had a dick, the man was an angel. Yes, an angel. He had to hide his winged clothes well so he wouldn’t fly away. He stroked the back of his hand with a silly thought. It was a new habit that had only developed in the last few hours.

Tae-heun looked down at his hand. the man had kissed this ugly, dirty hand. The moment his lips had touched it was still vivid. His cheekbones kept twitching.

Ms. Hyun-sook, who found Tae-heun loitering in front of the kitchen following Man, stopped carrying the table and scolded him.

“Are you satisfied?”

“Well, not that much.”

“You’re really awful.”

Ms. Hyun-sook put the table down altogether and began to scold him in earnest.

“Do you think Ki-beom got beaten because he doesn’t know how to fight? Those Hyung, Ki-beom can win even if they come at him 10:1 instead of 5:1. But he took it because he has to keep living here. Because he has to bump into those Hyung every day and get help from them and help them.”

She beat her chest.

“Still, there has to be a limit.”

Tae-heun retorted.

“What limit? Ki-beom was the one who started it in the first place.”

Not knowing anything.

Ms. Hyun-sook glared at Tae-heun as she said this.

“He didn’t start it, he just questioned them. Even if he did start it first, would Ki-beom have started it for no reason?”

Tae-heun stubbornly took Man’s side.

“If you start a fight because someone said something nonsense while drunk, what else is going to happen but a fight? You have to know how to let it go. I’m not saying those Hyung did well, but Ki-beom was also being sensitive. It would have been better if he had just drunk and fallen asleep as usual.”

“Aren’t we getting a meal here?”

“I’m going!”

Ms. Hyun-sook only said that, but she didn’t move.

“Anyway, isn’t it the Hyung who slandered him and beat him first? No matter how drunk they were, beating someone like that is a gang assault. If this were Seoul, they’d be going straight to the police station.”

“Well, you’re great, really. Then what about what Tae-heun did? Isn’t that assault? I may be uneducated, but I know what retaliatory assault is. If you’re going to talk like that, that’s also going to the police station.”

Ms. Hyun-sook didn’t give in either. She was a strong woman and wise. Tae-heun liked Ms. Hyun-sook so much that he didn’t dislike her nagging. His playfulness was also triggered.

“If the Hyung are really wronged, they can do it according to the law.”

He smiled and mimicked her words as if he were talking to a the child. Then Ms. Hyun-sook shuddered.

“Ugh, the way you talk is just like the son of old man Kang from Angol.”

“Why, am I as handsome as him?”

At Tae-heun’s words, Ms. Hyun-sook pretended to punch him.

“Doesn’t Ki-beom tell you about old man Kang?”

“Who is that?”

“You know, the old man from the persimmon tree house in Angol.”

Tae-heun knew the persimmon tree house in Angol well. So that old man’s last name was Kang. But why was she suddenly talking about that house? Tae-heun looked down at Ms. Hyun-sook with a puzzled expression.

“It looks like you haven’t heard. Well, he’s not the type to go around talking about other people. Anyway, if you don’t want Ki-beom to end up like that family, Tae-heun, you apologize to the youth association Hyung first. If necessary, kneel down and beg, saying that you did it all alone.”

“Why the persimmon tree house? I need to know to kneel down and apologize.”

“Do you really need to hear it to know?”

“Yes.”

When Tae-heun waited for an answer, Ms. Hyun-sook pointed around as if to show him.

“Look around, see if they’re here. They’re not. They can’t even enter village events or the community center. Because of what they did. Anyway, listen to the details from Ki-beom.”

She cut him off at the important part, making him curious, and then continued to nag.

“Do you think anyone is just putting up with it because they don’t know how to get angry? Do you think Ki-beom is putting up with it because he doesn’t know how to take revenge? Anyway, you have to have farmed to know. Really. That’s why I hate city people. My own children are studying in the city, but I hate seeing them act like teachers. How can they be so short-sighted? They think they’re the smartest just because they’ve eaten some city food. They’ve only looked at books in the classroom, but what do they know to give advice?”

Ms. Hyun-sook got excited.

“Aren’t we getting food here?”

“If you’re in a hurry, get it yourself! Do you not have hands and feet? Do you think this is your living room, really.”

Ms. Hyun-sook shouted in the direction of the sound. The the man who had been urging them to bring the food never showed his face. They were lazy people anyway.

“I was short-sighted.”

Honestly, he didn’t regret it. If he were in the same situation, he would have done the same thing ten or a hundred times. Still, he wanted to get along with Ms. Hyun-sook, so he bowed his head first.

“You’re leaving soon anyway. Isn’t that right? So don’t get involved in our village affairs in the future. It only makes the people who stay here suffer.”

Ms. Hyun-sook picked up the table again. She added that he should apologize for the sake of ‘Ki-beom’, who would be staying.

“No. I’m not leaving.”

Tae-heun said firmly. Then Ms. Hyun-sook raised her eyebrows.

“Then? Are you going to settle down here?”

“Yes. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“What are you going to live on?”

“I’m going to farm.”

“Oh my, Tae-heun, you’re a funny person.”

Ms. Hyun-sook really burst out laughing. It seemed like Tae-heun was joking.

“Okay. Do whatever you want.”

“I’m not joking.”

“I know.”

She still had a smile on her face as she turned to carry the table.

“Give me the table.”

When Tae-heun reached out to help, she shook her head.

“Go and sit down. I’ll just take this and set the table for you quickly.”

She took care of Tae-heun even while thinking he was pathetic.

“Oh, farming, really.”

She chuckled to herself.

She would fall backward if he told her that he was going to raise ducks with the man next year.

Her laughter didn’t make him feel bad. Tae-heun smiled as he looked in the direction where Ms. Hyun-sook had disappeared.