#224

Epilogue.

Dongjam Village in winter was very quiet.

Frankly, it was desolate. The Man’s house, already isolated from neighbors, was surrounded by a bleak forest with only bare branches, making it look particularly lonely.

However, as soon as you opened the gate and entered the yard, words like desolate or lonely disappeared.

First, Mansu and Mugang greeted the guests noisily, and in the expanded chicken coop, ducks quacked and pecked at their feed. The the man had decorated their nests cozily with electric blankets, blankets, and heating devices so the ducks wouldn’t get cold.

“Kang-woo, where are you?”

Seon-jae petted Mansu and Mugang in turn, checked that the ducks were doing well, and then stepped onto the porch.

There was no sign of anyone. Judging by the Man’s truck parked outside the gate, he seemed to have already returned home.

The the man was still careless about locking up.

“Seriously, why does he keep leaving the door open?”

Seon-jae grumbled as he opened the sliding door and entered the house.

The air inside the house was warm with the heat rising from the Ondol floor. The living room floor was so warm that just standing on it for a moment made him feel refreshed.

The kitchen clearly showed signs that the man had been there just a while ago. A pot larger than a earthenware pot was on the gas stove set to medium heat, and when he opened the lid, it was sweet potatoes. They were not cooked at all, as if they had just been put on.

“Kang-woo, I’m here.”

The the man was nowhere to be found in the room used as a storage, the the child’s room, the bathroom, or the utility room.

Seon-jae first went into the main room, took off his coat, and then left the house again to look for the Man.

He looked up from the yard. Smoke was rising from the blue roof.

Ah. He was there.

Seon-jae quickly left the gate and entered the alley leading to the blue roof. The alley, which Seon-jae had paid for to be maintained, no longer had weeds growing wildly, and even had a fence along the alley, giving it the feeling of a secluded villa.

He pushed open the half-open gate and entered the yard. The yard was also neatly maintained, but without completely removing the soil, stepping stones of basalt were placed towards the two-room Hanok. Thanks to this, there was no need to worry about getting his feet wet even when it rained.

The old house, which had seemed haunted, was also completely renovated. The Hanok-style frame was preserved, and the interior was replaced with a modern style. The only place that was not touched was the kitchen with the agungi. Only the kitchen remained in its old form.

It could be said to be Seon-jae’s fantasy.

Of course, for convenience, a portable gas burner and butane gas were always kept in the kitchen.

When he pushed open the kitchen door, the man was squatting in front of the agungi, fanning diligently.

“Kang-woo, what are you doing here?”

“I’m trying to warm up the room.”

“Aren’t they coming the day after tomorrow?”

“Still, I thought it would be good to warm it up in advance. The fire doesn’t catch as well as I thought, so it’s not easy to raise the temperature.”

“Hey, they’re Men, what does it matter?”

“Seon-jae, come on. How can I let the prosecutors sleep in a cold place?”

The the man shook the fan again with an absurd expression.

“Let me see. I’ll help you too.”

“It’s okay. Your clothes will get dirty.”

“If they get dirty, I’ll just wash them.”

Seon-jae squatted next to the Man.

“You came early?”

“It’s the weekend, I have to come early.”

The the man chuckled at Seon-jae’s words.

“But I don’t see our the child?”

He asked, taking the fan from the Man’s hand.

“So-jin went downtown.”

“Downtown? Why downtown?”

He knew that she went to the town every weekend, but going downtown was rare. He was puzzled because she always went with an adult when she did.

“She said she’s buying gifts for her great-grandmother and the guests.”

“Ah. But with what money?”

“She broke open her piggy bank.”

The the man said this and got up from his seat, patting his waist and legs.

A cold wind blew in through the back door, which was open for ventilation.

“I’ll go check the room.”

The the man said this and left the kitchen.

Seon-jae lowered his upper body and looked inside the agungi. It was burning so well that there was no need to fan it anymore.

“How is it? Can you feel some warmth?”

Seon-jae shouted.

Then, through the wall, the man replied, “Not yet. It’s still freezing.”

“I don’t think we need to touch the fire anymore?”

Seon-jae said as he got up. Seon-jae, who had gone out through the back door instead of the front door, stood in front of the cliff. A fence about waist-high was also placed in front of the cliff.

As he reached the front of the main room along the fence, the door opened as if he had been waiting.

“It looks like it’s going to be a cold winter.”

The the man said this and held out his hand. Seon-jae took the Man’s large hand and entered the main room.

As the man said, the floor was as cold as ice. But although it was not warm, the room looked cozier than before. It was because of the newly installed wallpaper and flooring.

The wallpaper that the the child had chosen had a design with balloons painted in all sorts of colors on a light pink background. There were even constellation stickers on the ceiling.

The the man opened the mother-of-pearl cabinet that had been in his room until recently and took out a thick mattress to spread on the floor. Seon-jae also helped the man put the blanket on top of the mattress. Originally, they had planned to put a bed in, but the structure became ambiguous because of the mother-of-pearl cabinet, so they switched to a floor-sitting style. Instead, they put a bed in the small room.

The room was full with two mattresses and two blankets laid out.

“How have you been?”

Seon-jae belatedly asked the Man.

The the man looked Seon-jae in the eye and replied, “Good.”

“Didn’t you miss me?”

He approached the man and hugged his waist.

“I missed you.”

The the man replied with a smile.

The two hugged each other tightly without either of them initiating it, and soon kissed.

As the kiss deepened, the man pushed Seon-jae away.

“Let’s go to the house.”

The the man grabbed Seon-jae’s hand and pulled him.

The two quickly left the blue roof. Holding hands like playful children, they ran down the alley, making “Woo-ah-ah” sounds.

In the meantime, the man petted Mansu and Mugang, checked the duck enclosure, and then stepped onto the porch. Seon-jae started taking off his clothes before he even set foot in the living room.

Unlike Seon-jae, who didn’t get cold easily, the Man, who was wearing layers of work clothes and even thermal underwear, took a while to take off his clothes. Seon-jae, unable to watch the man slowly stolen contentEND: stolen content -->taking off his top, knelt down and pulled down the Man’s bottoms, including his underwear, all at once.

Goosebumps rose on the Man’s smooth legs.

“Are you cold?”

“Yes.”

“How can a the man be so sensitive to the cold?”

Seon-jae, just in case, warmed his hands with his breath and then stroked the Man’s bare legs up and down to generate heat. Meanwhile, the Man, who had barely taken off his top, went into the blanket.

“Please close the door.”

He only peeked out his head and pointed to the open door with a gesture.

Seon-jae quickly closed the main room door with his penis dangling and then burrowed into the blanket where the man was lying.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

The the man shivered, pretending to be in pain.

“You said you liked it cold sometime.”

Seon-jae said this and kissed the Man. He pecked playfully at his lips, and the Man’s handsome mouth opened.

The hands of the two Men inside the blanket grabbed each other’s penises as if in competition.

The two massaged each other’s penises while chatting about what had happened during the week.

At times like this, they seemed like a couple of 10 years. Of course, they were panting in less than 5 minutes, and soon they let out erotic moans, and Seon-jae’s head disappeared into the blanket.

It had been a while since they had sex at the Man’s house. This time, without rushing, they spent time and effort doing whatever they wanted, as much as they wanted, sucking and caressing each other’s genitals. The penetration and ejaculation were also long and affectionate. A pile of wet tissues lay scattered near their heads.

They leisurely shared each other’s warmth. Sharing cigarettes with languid faces also became one of their post-sex rituals.

The Man, worried about the the child’s health, opened the window wide while smoking, even though he was very sensitive to the cold.

“Ji-hye’s nose is like a dog’s.”

He said this and snuggled close to Seon-jae.

The Man, hiding his body in the blanket and only sticking out his head, sucked the cigarette that Seon-jae gave him.

“You’re so good at smoking cigarettes, why doesn’t that get any better?”

Seon-jae teased him with an indirect remark, and the man openly provoked him, saying, “Seon-jae, you’re not that good either.” Now they didn’t get upset with each other even when they made jokes like this.

The two glared at each other and pretended to be sulky, but then shared cigarettes as if nothing had happened and finished the rest of their conversation. It was still fun and they chuckled at things that weren’t a big deal.

“Oh, the delivery Hyung told me the date of the year-end party.”

The the man brought up Kim Delivery’s name.

Since that day, Kim Delivery had never contacted Seon-jae separately, but he lived like a close brother with the Man. He asked how he was doing every day and met him occasionally.

“When is it?”

“December 22nd, Friday, 7 PM. Is that time okay for you?”

“I’m always okay. Who am I to refuse?”

Seon-jae joked.

“What kind of favor did you receive that made you change your attitude so much?”

The the man was genuinely curious.

“He’s the one who took care of Kang-woo. What could be a bigger favor to me than that?”

Seon-jae pretended not to know. Then the man smiled with an expression that he couldn’t help it. His smiling face looked particularly pretty, making his heart flutter.

“You’re handsome.”

Seon-jae said this and gave the man a peck, a kiss. Just as the kiss was about to turn into a deep kiss, the Man’s eyes widened.

“Sweet potatoes!”

He wondered where the burning smell was coming from, it was the sweet potatoes.

The the man ran out naked and turned off the gas stove.

Seon-jae also got up and walked to the kitchen.

“Are they all burnt?”

“I think so. What a waste.”

The the man grumbled and lowered the pot into the sink.

Unlike the blackened bottom, the sweet potatoes on top looked edible.

Seon-jae first quenched his thirst with barley tea and then handed a glass of water to the Man. The the man was also thirsty and gulped down the water, then transferred the two sweet potatoes he had barely salvaged to a plate.

The two Men, who had become hungry after having sex, ate the sweet potatoes naked. Their mouths were blackened by the peels, and they laughed loudly at each other.

It felt like they had just arrived, but it was already past 4 PM.

“I have to go pick up Ji-hye.”

After showering together in hot water, the two Men dressed.

They took Seon-jae’s used Benz and went to the intercity bus terminal. It was to pick up the the child who would be returning from downtown.

Under the pretext of picking her up, the two Men bought hamburgers in town and took out warm coffee for dessert.

The windows of the car were foggy because the heater was on.

“Did Ji-hye accept it well?”

Seon-jae asked.

“Yes. Fortunately.”

Last night, the man finally confessed Maria’s existence to Ji-hye.

Before confessing, the man had practiced with Seon-jae dozens of times, but he said he couldn’t say it as he had practiced. He said his head went blank and he couldn’t think of anything, so he had no choice but to say whatever came out of his mouth.

Rather, it seemed that it had properly reached the the child.

The the child looked at the photo of her biological mother that the man had given her and said that she looked a lot like her.

“I thought she looked like me, but now I see that she looks exactly like her mother, and she was amazed,” he said.

The the man smiled and recalled what had happened yesterday. The Man’s smile contained all sorts of emotions, but for some reason, sadness seemed greater.

“You didn’t tell her that you weren’t her biological father, did you?”

When he asked out of concern, the man shook his head.

“I felt sad when I thought that I would have to tell her that story someday.”

The the man honestly expressed his feelings.

“Don’t be sad in advance about something that will happen later.”

Seon-jae said this and patted the Man.

“But our the child is really admirable, right?”

At Seon-jae’s words, the man said, “Of course. Whose the child is she?”

Ji-hye’s steadfastness in front of the man made Lee Seon-jae truly proud. The deep-hearted the child would never reveal her shock at Father’s confession, especially not in front of him. It was Seon-jae’s job to listen to the the child’s true feelings and comfort her.

It wasn’t that the the child and Seon-jae were excluding the Man. Just as not all children share every inner thought with their parents, neither did the the child. She had So-jin, a good older sister and friend, but the the child enjoyed sharing secrets with Seon-jae.

Seon-jae felt that his role was particularly important this time, so he was nervous beforehand.

The the child and So-jin got into the car with flushed faces.

Chatter, chatter – the children in the back seat were so engrossed in their own world, with so much to say, that they paid no attention to the adults in the front.

After dropping off the children, who wanted hamburgers for dinner, at the town’s burger joint, the man and Seon-jae went for a bowl of hot bean sprout hangover soup.

As if they had forgotten they’d just eaten [stolen unauthorized copycontent]wm: stolen content -->hamburgers, the two of them savored every last drop.

Christmas trees adorned with tiny light bulbs were visible throughout the restaurant.

“We should buy a tree next week too,” Seon-jae said, pointing to a particularly elaborate tree.

“We’re surrounded by trees, why do we need to buy one?” the man asked bluntly.

“Is a Christmas tree the same as just any tree? I mean, sure, a Christmas tree is a tree, but it’s a different feeling.”

“It’s fake anyway.”

“Who says it’s fake? I’m going to get a real tree.”

“Then it’s even more of a waste of money. Just put lights on the trees behind the house. And on the roof.”

The the man recounted a story he’d seen on the news recently about a house in America decorated with Christmas lights.

“Ah, that one?”

Seon-jae remembered seeing the same thing.

A tree would be nice, but decorating the house wouldn’t be bad either. Especially since the house was unauthorized copystyle="position:relative;display:inline;">[stolen content]in such a remote location, lights would make it visible from far away.

“Since we’re talking about it, should we do it today? We have guests coming the day after tomorrow.”

“Should we?”

The Man’s eyes sparkled.

They hurried to the local hardware store.

They bought all the tiny light bulbs and wires in the hardware store, and then stopped by the stationery store to buy a large quantity of Christmas decorations. They also bought a wreath from the flower shop. The the man was delighted by the sight of the round wreath, saying it reminded him of his childhood.

Of course, it wasn’t nearly enough to decorate the whole house.

“Let’s do as much as we can with this for now, and I’ll buy more from Seoul next week.”

“Okay.”

They got into the car, their hands full of plastic bags.

As soon as the children were in the car, Seon-jae announced the plan for the day.

“Wow, that sounds fun.”

“It’s going to be so pretty.”

The children were excited and fidgety.

The the man and Seon-jae were in charge of stringing the lights on the roof, including the dog house. The the man held the ladder while Seon-jae climbed onto the roof. While he used tools to attach the lights to the edge of the roof, the children were busy cutting out colored paper and stringing it together, and hanging glitter on hooks, making small decorations and knick-knacks.

Seon-jae’s hands were freezing in the cold.

Even after using all the lights they had bought, they only managed to put lights on the dog house and half of the roof.

Nevertheless, the four humans, two dogs, and five ducks gathered in the yard for the lighting ceremony.

The wind was so cold that Ji-hye kept sniffling, and So-jin covered her ears with her hands and stamped her feet. Mansu and Mugang ran around without a care in the world, jumping on people and rolling around with each other, while the ducks waddled around, flapping their wings in their own way.

In one corner of the yard, a generator roared loudly as it ran.

“Is it ready yet?”

The the child urged, looking towards where the man and Seon-jae were standing.

“Almost done,” Seon-jae shouted.

“All done?”

“Yes. Just wait a little longer.”

The the man checked the generator one more time.

“This is more complicated than I thought.”

“I know. We should have just bought a tree.”

The the man regretted his choice and looked at the dog house and roof with a troubled expression.

A moment later, the lights flickered and then came on.

The colorful tiny light bulbs glowed with all their might.

“Wow!”

The children exclaimed at the same time.

Ji-hye and So-jin jumped up and down, making a fuss about how pretty it was.

“Not bad,” Seon-jae admired.

The properly decorated dog house was the prettiest, and even though it was only half done, the roof was quite charming.

It would probably take a truckload of lights to get the same feeling as the one in the news, but it was worth the effort.

A smile spread across the Man’s face as he stood beside him.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It’s very pretty.”

They looked at each other and exchanged glances.

Seon-jae subtly took the Man’s hand. The the man looked down at their joined hands and squeezed them.

“Oh! It’s snowing!!”

At the children’s shouts, Seon-jae and the man looked up at the sky at the same time.

It was true.

Snowflakes were falling from the dark sky.

It was the first snow.

Seon-jae raised the Man’s hand that he was holding.

“There’s still some balsam dye left.”

He turned his hand over and pointed to the faint balsam dye remaining on the tips of his fingernails.

“Where?”

The the man asked playfully.

“Where else? Can’t you see my pinky finger?”

Seon-jae held the Man’s hand tightly and brought it in front of the Man’s eyes.

The the man laughed, saying, “Eesh.”

The snowflakes grew larger.

The children and dogs ran around the yard. The ducks flapped their wings and walked. Amidst all the chaos, the man and Seon-jae stood their ground.

Seon-jae gave the man a surprise kiss on the back of his hand.

The the man smiled brightly.

The man’s jet-black eyes sparkled like stars.

The the man and Seon-jae stood side by side, holding hands, and welcomed the first snow.

Seon-jae thought.

Dongjam-ri in winter is very noisy,

The man’s house is more vibrant than anywhere else in the world.

Lee Seon-jae and Shim Kang-woo lived in such a place. They were going to live there.

That was all that mattered.

Seon-jae looked up at the sky and smiled.