#129

It was a peaceful Sunday morning. The the man wore a shirt and suit pants as he did every Sunday, and the the child was decked out in pink from head to toe. Tae-heun, too, wore his most expensive shirt and pants for the occasion. Yesterday, after finishing work, he went to the barbershop in town with the man for a haircut, and on a whim, he slicked back his bangs with mousse and sprayed on cologne.

Now that he was officially married to the Man, he felt he should present a respectable image to the townspeople. He might not easily shake off the image of a liar and a swindler, but he hoped that if he lived diligently with the Man, things would eventually improve.

And he had to show off before God, too. He didn’t care about or want to know what God thought of homosexuals. But surely, the King of the World wouldn’t curse a newlywed couple; he would naturally bless them.

When Tae-heun opened the back door of the car for the the child, the the child was overjoyed. She was thrilled, saying she felt like a princess. Of course, he also opened the passenger door for the Man.

“I’m fine,” the man said, embarrassed, as he got into the passenger seat.

“No, you’re not. From now on, don’t ever get in until I open the door for you.”

“…Why?”

“That’s just how it’s done.”

“Who does that?”

Who else but newlyweds?

But because the the child was there, he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he sternly cut off the Man’s question.

“You ask too many questions. If I say so, then that’s how it is.”

Whoa. He almost made a sound.

Just because they spent their first night together, he had unknowingly become a patriarchal man. It was amazing how quickly a person could change.

Get a grip. You’ll get divorced if you keep this up.

He scolded himself and steeled his resolve.

Before closing the passenger door, he leaned in and explained to the man in a voice so sweet it could melt butter, “It’s just that I want to do that for you.” The the man glanced at the the child and pretended not to hear. His earlobes were red. The sight was so cute that Tae-heun playfully poked the Man’s earlobe with his finger. The the man was so startled he almost jumped out of his skin.

Tae-heun pretended not to notice and quickly went to the driver’s seat. He started the engine, rolled down all the windows, and turned on the air conditioning. He also tuned the radio. But the the child in the back seat kept sniffing.

“Father, what’s that smell?” the the child asked.

“What smell?”

“Sniff, sniff. Don’t you smell it?”

The the child leaned over the driver’s seat and asked, “Did Mister spray cologne?”

“See? Kids always know the good stuff first,” Tae-heun said, intending for the Man, who hadn’t said a word about the cologne, to hear.

“How is it? Good, right?”

“No! It stinks!”

The the child frowned and covered her nose with her fingers.

“It stinks?”

“Yes. It stinks. Ugh, it gives me a headache.”

The the child even stuck her head out the window.

That was impossible. This cologne, for one thing, was incredibly expensive, but every time he wore it, without exception, people of all ages would ask what he was wearing because it smelled so good. Just as Madonna or Marilyn Monroe wore Chanel No. 5 like underwear, Tae-heun had seduced women by spraying this cologne on his naked body.

But the the child said it stank. He was shocked to hear it for the first time. He decided that the the child’s nose must have been affected by smelling cow dung every day.

“Ki-beom, what about you? Does it stink to you too?”

Tae-heun looked at the man and asked earnestly.

He had forgotten to bring it on their trip to Chungju, but he had even packed it in his bag in advance for their next trip so he could wear it during sex, so the Man’s opinion was very important. But the man didn’t answer and instead subtly turned his head toward the open window.

Oh no. This couldn’t be happening.

The noses of both father and daughter must have been numb.

Tae-heun was shocked and became sullen. He thought they would get used to the scent, but the the child complained of feeling nauseous the whole time. He had no choice but to drive to church with the windows open in this heat. The the man didn’t say anything, but he didn’t seem to like it either.

“I like Tae-heun’s natural scent better,” the man said quietly, watching the the child jump out of the car as soon as it stopped.

“The cologne smells nice too, though,” he added.

At those words from the Man, a bright smile spread across Tae-heun’s sullen face.

“I like Ki-beom’s body odor too,” he whispered, looking into the Man’s eyes.

“That’s not… it’s not body odor…” the man said, his face turning bright red as he hurriedly got out of the car.

“Yes, it is. It’s the same thing,” Tae-heun shouted after him.

Just like Tae-heun, the man liked Tae-heun’s natural scent better. He confessed that he liked his body odor. To say such a racy thing just as they arrived at church, the man was really something. Thanks to that, Tae-heun sang a lullaby in the car. “Island Baby.” He imagined a baby with short arms lying down with its arms as a pillow, and he recalled the the child’s ghost story, waiting for his lower body to calm down.

The the man was waiting for Tae-heun near the vacant lot used as the church parking lot, greeting the neighbors he encountered.

As Tae-heun, who had barely managed to calm his cock, got out of the car and approached the Man, the elders of the town who had been chatting amiably with the man turned away. They gave the man a look as if to say, “Don’t associate with that kind of person.” But Tae-heun wasn’t one to be intimidated. He greeted them even more familiarly and loudly.

The the man apologized to Tae-heun on their behalf.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he said, scolding him for no reason.

Ms. Hyun-sook, who came to church every other week, showed up this week as well, following her appearance last week.

“Why did you just leave on the day of the funeral?” The Chairman even bought us beef,” Ms. Hyun-sook said, looking back and forth between Tae-heun and the Man.

It seemed Kwon Il-taek had splurged after the funeral. He should use that money to pay off his debts to the villagers. Tae-heun cursed inwardly, but outwardly he looked regretful.

“Well, we had to go to the hospital,” the man mumbled.

“Hospital? Why there?” Ms. Hyun-sook asked, her eyes wide.

“Ki-beom’s leg was hurting. He said the hospital he goes to is in Chungju, so we went there. As you know, Ms. Hyun-sook, they don’t have late hours on Saturdays.”

“Oh my. Was that so? And I was just making you work. Is your leg okay?” Ms. Hyun-sook asked, looking at the man with concern.

“Yes, Ms. Hyun-sook. They said it’s because I overdid it a bit.”

“Oh dear, you work too hard. Work is important, but take care of your body.”

“Yes.”

“And next time, at least say something before you go. I was worried when you suddenly disappeared.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Hyun-sook,” the man said, scratching his head apologetically.

“I was going to tell only Ms. Hyun-sook, but I couldn’t find you no matter how hard I looked. Anyone would think you were the chief mourner,” Tae-heun interjected, making excuses with a straight face. Ms. Hyun-sook shook her head as if she couldn’t help it.

“If you can’t say it right. By the way, are you free next Tuesday?”

“Even if I’m not, I have to make time. But why?”Come to the village hall for ginseng chicken soup in the evening.” It’s the first day of summer.”

“Ah. That? I heard about it yesterday while working.”

Time really flew by.

It had been late May when he left Il-gwang, and it was already mid-July.

“Is that so? You must have been working with Ki-beom yesterday too,” Ms. Hyun-sook said, looking at Tae-heun with an expression that said, “Is he really trying to settle down in this village?” She said the same thing to the Man.

“Ki-beom, you come with Ji-hye too. It’s an annual event, so we didn’t send out a separate notice this time.”

“Yes,” the man replied tersely. What was so difficult about saying one more word? The more he knew him, the more taciturn he was. Tae-heun chuckled to himself.

“By the way, is watermelon season ending?” Ms. Hyun-sook continued her questions, not at all bothered by the Man’s reaction, as if she was used to it.

“Yes. We’ve already shipped everything to the Agricultural Cooperative.”

“I see. You’ve really worked hard in this hot weather.”

“It’s nothing. I’m getting paid for it, you know.”

“Are you the only one getting paid? You’re doing the work of three or four people by yourself, that’s why.”

“No, Tae-heun is doing well too, so it wasn’t as hard this time.”

When the man mentioned Tae-heun, Ms. Hyun-sook’s eyes narrowed.

“If someone that big can’t work, that’s a talent in itself.”

She spoke as if scolding him, still suspicious of Tae-heun’s true intentions.

“Anyway, I’ll get you the biggest one on the dog days of summer.” Got it?”

“Yes,” the man smiled.

“But why do you both look like that? Did you fight again in Chungju?” Ms. Hyun-sook frowned, looking back and forth between Tae-heun and the Man.

The Man, his face bright red, made excuses, saying, “Well, we kept washing because it was hot, and it must have gotten worse because of the water.”

He couldn’t say that the wounds had opened up from having rough sex. Honestly, the Man’s words weren’t entirely wrong. The water in the bathtub was water, and the sweat and saliva that the man and he had shed were also water. And semen was mostly water. Come to think of it, the man had been drenched in water all day that day. Soaked. Tae-heun was the same. Hehe. He laughed to himself.

Ms. Hyun-sook didn’t believe the Man. She seemed convinced that they had fought again. She clicked her tongue, looking back and forth between Tae-heun and the Man. She said that was a lame excuse.

“You two, please just behave. If you can’t control your strength, go do some work, instead of fighting all the time,” she advised, shaking her head in disgust. Then she walked away with a short man who seemed to be her Husband.

Ms. Hyun-sook’s Husband was very taciturn, unlike the affable Ms. Hyun-sook. He was even worse than the Man. He didn’t seem to get along very well with the townspeople either. He was definitely old enough to be a member of the youth association, but he had never seen him there. And not just the youth association.

“But isn’t Ms. Hyun-sook’s Hyung from this town? Why don’t I remember seeing him at village events?”

“Ah. He’s from Seojeon-ri.”

“Really? But didn’t you say he lives here?”

“Yes. He runs an apple orchard.”

The the man replied casually.

Right, he remembered hearing Ms. Hyun-sook say that she ran an apple orchard with her Husband, taking care of her in-laws, on the day Ms. Hyun-sook brought Detective Oh and him to the Man’s house while drunk. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t remember seeing her Husband’s face. It was impossible not to run into him in this small town.

“That’s strange. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him here. He didn’t come to the funeral home either, did he?”

“Well, they don’t live together.”

“A married couple doesn’t live together?”

“Yes, well. There’s a bit of a situation.”

The the man was tight-lipped.

Judging by the way they walked side by side, they didn’t seem to be on bad terms. But the orchard was here, and he was living with his parents, so a Husband who lived separately was useless.

Anyway, it seemed like there wasn’t a single decent man in this village besides him and the Man. Tae-heun clicked his tongue.

“Ki-beom, don’t worry about anything. I have no intention of living apart from Ki-beom for even a moment,” he said, preemptively reassuring him even though the man hadn’t said anything.

“Why would a married couple be a married couple? Don’t you think?” he asked, but the man walked quickly toward the church without answering.

“Where are you going? Do you have something urgent?” Tae-heun asked teasingly. He quickly caught up with the Man, whose neck had turned red. He wanted to hug the Man’s waist, but there were too many eyes watching, so he just stroked his back.

The chapel was excessively deserted. Last week, the chairman of the agricultural cooperative, along with villagers who usually never showed their faces, had come because they thought Tae-heun was a wealthy man who had come to buy land, so it was understandable, but the number of people had definitely decreased even compared to two weeks ago.

Even though the Pastor visited the funeral without the Pastor’s wife, making him seem out of favor with the villagers, Mr. Lee had never been a church member, so it seemed unlikely he would turn his back on the church for such a reason.

Despite the decreased numbers, the Pastor greeted the church members with enthusiasm. In fact, his actions and tone were more resolute and booming than ever. He insisted that the more bad things happened in the village, the more difficult the circumstances, the more they should rely on God. Those of you who have come to this place are special. When the time comes, God will save you first among the many church members, he shouted.

It was when they were about to sing a hymn after the responsive reading.

“Something terrible has happened! The chairman’s house is empty!”

The church door burst open, and someone shouted. Their voice was so hoarse that at first, no one recognized who it was.

“The chairman’s house is empty! Those bastards ran away!”

Another person who followed wailed as if spitting blood.

In an instant, the church became noisy. Not only the villagers but also the Pastor and the Pastor’s wife’s faces turned pale. Everyone stood up and stared at the person who had shouted.