#110

Not only the Man, but Tae-heun also completely forgot about the peaches he had gotten from the orchard on Monday. The the man regretted that the peaches had become overripe in the meantime. Fortunately, none were spoiled enough to throw away, so he hurriedly used a blender to make juice. It was 100% peach juice, undiluted with a single drop of water.

With his face bruised and cut, the man diligently blended the peaches that Tae-heun had washed. Tae-heun had already drunk three glasses, and he even offered a cup to the the child, who had barely wiped the sleep from his eyes. Not only that, but he added ice to a large thermos and handed it over.

“This is for the teacher.”

Then, he shoved a plastic bottle filled with peach juice into the the child’s backpack, saying, “This is for you to share with your friends.”

“When am I going to drink all this?”

The the child grumbled.

“If you drink one glass at a time, you’ll finish it quickly. Either give it to them when they’re hungry before lunch, or have it as dessert after they’ve finished eating.”

The the child’s lips protruded a mile.

Then, belatedly realizing that Father’s face looked strange, he rolled his eyes. “Father!” he shouted.

The nagging continued throughout the meal. The the man remained silent, only occasionally saying he was sorry. The the child seemed to sigh more than a hundred times. Tae-heun, the more he looked, the more frustrated he became. When he had been beaten by him before, he had only gotten a bruise on his left cheek and a slightly split lip. That was also because he had bitten his lip himself, not because he had been hit. It was also a mutual assault.

But this time, he had been beaten properly. One of the Man’s sparkling eyes had become a dead fish eye. It was more swollen than when he had seen it at dawn, and now he couldn’t open his left eye properly. The the man was seeing the world with only his right eye.

Those bastards. Couldn’t they find anywhere else to hit but the eye?

Tae-heun clenched his fist tightly.

“Let’s go to the hospital later. Even if it’s just the eye, it’s dangerous. Let’s go together when I go to town.”

Tae-heun pleaded, but the man didn’t think much of it.

“It’s just swollen, but I can see fine.”

“How do you know if you can see fine or not? You can’t even open your eyes properly.”

“It doesn’t even hurt.”

“How can it not hurt? Ki-beom, did you take drugs or something?”

“Not drugs, but I did take medicine.”

The the man made a bland joke and smiled slightly.

Of course, he took medicine. After Tae-heun disinfected the Man’s wounds and applied Fucidin, the man swallowed two tablets of Geborin. Then he went to the main room to sleep.

Before falling asleep, he openly said that he wanted to sleep alone today. He had expected it, but his heart sank. Tae-heun, who was flustered because he didn’t know the day would come so soon when he would ask to do that, really pretended to bite his tongue and die. Then the man frowned, but actually smiled, and allowed him to sleep together.

Only later did he realize that the man had been teasing him, and he gave a hollow laugh. Tae-heun hugged the man tightly, saying that he thought he was a bear, but he was a fox.

The the man woke up after only sleeping for two hours, but he looked somehow refreshed. He was a strange man anyway.

“the child, really. What’s wrong, Father? Go to the hospital!”

The the child shouted at the man for some reason. But the man only said ‘we’ll see’ and didn’t give a definite answer that he would go. He was unexpectedly stubborn.

Even after finishing his meal, the man was still busy grinding those peaches. Finally, after getting rid of all the peaches he had gotten, he gulped down his share of peach juice.

Glug, glug, he drank well. It must have tasted good. Tae-heun and the the child both glared at the Man. The Man, who had drunk about half of the juice, turned to Tae-heun and asked.

“But where did you get the Sikhye from?”

It seemed like he was only seeing the Sikhye now.

“Where else but the Chairman’s house.”

Tae-heun said it nonchalantly on purpose. The Man’s eyes widened. He choked.

“the child, be careful.”

Tae-heun patted the Man’s back. The the child quickly handed him a glass of water. The the man looked back and forth between the water and the juice, then used the remaining juice instead of water to soothe his choking. The the child turned away with a ‘tch’.

“When?”

He asked with a flushed face.

“You’re asking now? I went with Detective Oh on Monday because he said he had something to do. I got the Sikhye while I was there.”

“Ah.”

“Did I do well?”

“…Yes.”

Unlike his answer, his expression was dark.

“Pastor’s wife didn’t tell you?”

“Yes?”

“That I went there.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I thought Pastor’s wife would have told you for sure. And since the Sikhye is visible as soon as you open the refrigerator, I thought Ki-beom had already seen it.”

He preempted him before he could ask why he hadn’t said anything until now.

“Pastor’s wife is a busy person, so she must have forgotten. It’s not an important matter anyway. But was the Chairman there too?”

The the man asked as he closed the lid of the lunch box, which he had left open to let the hot steam from the rice and side dishes escape. His tone and actions were generally indifferent.

“No. It seemed like he had an appointment to meet Detective Oh, but he said he had an urgent matter and left for Seoul.”

“Ah. I see.”

“So I only met Pastor’s wife.”

Tae-heun, who hadn’t yet told the man about receiving the bills from Jo Young-ae, was nervous throughout the conversation. Fortunately, that was it. There were no further questions, and he still didn’t seem to know anything about the bills.

“Where are you going today?”

He hurriedly changed the subject.

“Watermelons.”

“Greenhouse?”

“Open field.”

“Outside again? It’s going to be hot. Take your hat with you. Ki-beom, you seem to be getting more tanned these days. I don’t care if Ki-beom’s face gets tanned, but UV rays are so bad for aging. If we’re walking around in 20 years and people think we’re a father and son, Ki-beom will be sad, right? I have baby skin. Isn’t that right? So wear your hat.”

He was talking nonsense. Then the man chuckled. He muttered, “Father and son.”

“You’re coming to shower later, right?”

Tae-heun asked subtly.

“Yes?”

“Why are you so surprised? You always come.”

He dragged out the end of his words and acted cute. But the man pretended not to see it.

“No, I… I have to go to Mr. Lee’s place again today.”

“Again today? Why are you going there again?”

His voice became sharp without him realizing it. Even though he might see the bastards who had done that to him again, the man was voluntarily trying to go to Mr. Lee’s place.

“It’s the day of the encoffining.”

Unlike Tae-heun, who was getting angry, the man replied nonchalantly.

“Isn’t that something that only family members attend?”

“Here, we’re together throughout the three-day funeral. We’re like one family.”

Crap. Neighborhood friends are also relatives, huh.

“What time is it?”

“One o’clock.”

“Then I’ll go too.”

“Why would Tae-heun go there?”

The the man looked annoyed.

“You said yesterday that I should go with you?”

He asked accusingly.

“That was yesterday.”

“Honestly, I was worried that the townspeople would be disturbed because of me, but looking at Ki-beom’s face, it seems like there are many people who will cause trouble even if I’m not there. I don’t think there’s any need for me to be careful alone.”

He openly mocked him.

The the man pursed his lips tightly.

“But you have to shower before going to the encoffining ceremony. It’s not polite to smell like sweat.”

“I’m going to shower.”

“Where?”

He asked persistently.

“Anyway, it’s not possible until tomorrow. I have to go straight after work….”

He was asked where he was going to shower, but he was talking about something else.

“You said you were going to shower, right? You have to change your clothes too. You’re not going to wear your work clothes, are you?”

“Well, yes. I’m going to do that… but not there.”

“Then where?”

The the man openly showed that he was annoyed as Tae-heun kept pressing him. How disappointing.

“Just tell me where you’re showering.”

“Nearby.”

“Nearby where?”

The the man closed his mouth again. That stubbornness of his, anyway. Tae-heun glared at the Man.

“No, how long does it take to shower that you can’t come here?”

He grumbled as he chased after the Man.

“Still… that’s. Anyway, it’s not possible.”

“What kind of thing is that? You’re coming to shower, right?”

“…….”

“Decide quickly. That way I can make time to go too!”

He whispered in his ear. It was closer to a threat than a whisper.

But the man didn’t answer in the end.

“Ji-hye, let’s go.”

He called the the child. The the child put a pink backpack on his shoulder and held a pink lunch box. He also packed a thermos for his homeroom teacher. It was a lot to carry, and his lips were sticking out a mile, but he still didn’t refuse what the man had given him.

Tae-heun followed the two to the yard.

“Mister, I’ll go to school and come back.”

The the child bowed in front of the gate.

“Okay. Get along well with your friends, and don’t be too close with Suho, keep a proper distance.”

The the child’s eyes widened. He jumped as if to say why he was saying that. He looked at his father.

“Don’t take everything they give you. You have to pay it all back.”

“Mister!”

“Our Ji-hye has a good voice. You could do pansori.”

The the child glared at Tae-heun. Tae-heun stuck out his tongue.

“Why, is there something wrong with Suho?”

“It’s nothing, Father. Let’s go.”

The the child looked back at Tae-heun and cursed with his eyes. It seemed like he was saying ‘ssibal’ with his mouth.

Tae-heun waved his hand at the the child.

“Ki-beom, see you later. I’ll definitely see you!”

He fired a confirming shot so that the man wouldn’t forget.

Both the man and the the child hurried out of the gate. Somehow, they were both walking as if they were running.

He felt lonely when he was left alone.

“Mansu, Mugang. Let’s play.”

Tae-heun waved his hand at the dog bastards. The dog bastards, who had been wagging their tails diligently at the the child and the Man, turned away coldly.

“Hey, you guys shouldn’t be like this.”

He scolded them, but they didn’t listen.

They whispered to each other and then moved to the dog hole.

“Mansua, Muganga! Don’t go there, there might be snakes.”

He threatened them. Tae-heun still didn’t know which one was Mansu and which one was Mugang, but what did it matter? If he called them, that was their name. Despite Tae-heun’s warning, the dog bastards disappeared into the vegetable garden.

He was really left alone. Tae-heun stood in the yard for a while, touching the laundry hanging on the clothesline with his hands. The things that Tae-heun had washed in the washing machine yesterday were gone, and only the clothes that the man seemed to have washed by hand in the morning were hanging there. Including the Man’s underwear such as his undershirt and briefs, and even his dress shirt.

When did he wash this again?

The Man’s shirt, which had been stained with blood, was as white as new and hung on the clothesline. He was a very diligent person anyway. He smiled as he fiddled with the still damp fabric.

Then he felt something strange and looked up. It was instantaneous, but there was a shadow. There’s someone on that blue roof.