#44

It was a relief that the sound of the machine was loud. Otherwise, I would have suffocated in the awkward silence. Tae-heun plowed the field with his mouth tightly shut like a man, and as soon as he finished his share, he handed the machine back to the man.

As they took turns working, the stiff atmosphere gradually relaxed. Tae-heun started joking with the man again, and the man smiled faintly, as if he were trying to hide it. He was a good person.

“By the way, after we finish work, I’m going to town. I got a call saying your boots have arrived, but I forgot to tell you.”

The man said.

“That’s great. Let’s have lunch in town while we’re at it.”

“Sure.”

“Do you like hamburgers?”

“Yes. I don’t have any preferences.”

“Then lunch will be hamburgers.”

The man reached out to take the machine back from Tae-heun. Tae-heun pretended to hand it over but tightly gripped the handle. The man looked at Tae-heun with a puzzled expression.

Aren’t you curious about me?

Was it the first day or the second? The man had said he knew nothing about Tae-heun and wouldn’t ask. So, he wanted a curious child to ask but to keep it a secret until the end. That was the only condition the man had for Tae-heun. Perhaps because of that, even when Tae-heun opened his mouth, there were no follow-up questions.

“Don’t you want to know why I’m doing this here?”

“……”

“You must be curious. Right?”

The man stared at Tae-heun quietly. Then he shook his head.

“Well, not really.”

That could be possible. It was understandable not to be curious. He knew he had no right to say anything to the man about a topic he hadn’t even asked about. Still, he felt a bit disappointed.

“Why? Why aren’t you curious? Am I that unappealing?”

He fired off questions in succession. He felt anxious.

The man only made a troubled expression and kept his mouth shut.

“Jihye’s dad. It’s time to eat.”

Conveniently, the snack had arrived.

Was she in her 50s? A middle-aged woman sat on a motorcycle and called out, “Bring the snack.” The man quickly ran over and received the red basin that was loaded on the back seat of the motorcycle.

“Eat it all and just cover it up. I’ll come back for it later.”

“Yes. Thank you for the meal.”

“Okay. Good work.”

“Yes. Drive safely.”

Before the man’s words were even finished, the motorcycle sped off in the direction it had come.

The man set the snack down on one side of the field.

“Tae-heun, let’s eat.”

“Yes.”

Wiping the sweat from his neck with a towel, he walked over to the man.

As he got closer, the man reached out his hand to Tae-heun. Tae-heun took that rough hand. He leaned his weight onto it. In the midst of it, a playful impulse struck him, and he hugged the man tightly while saying “Whoa.” Instead of turning red, the man chuckled softly.

The snack was bibimbap, as if it had been legally mandated. The yellow kettle contained makgeolli. The two sat down on the bare ground without a mat and ate their meal, pouring and drinking the makgeolli. The makgeolli went down easier than the rice. The man never left any rice behind, so neither did Tae-heun. Whether it was because of the alcohol or the food, he felt invigorated.

“I guess I made you a bit late with my presence?”

“It’s okay. With two of us, it’s faster than doing it alone.”

“That’s a lie. It’s obvious.”

Tae-heun teased.

“But why can’t you sleep?”

The man asked.

“Oh! First question. I’m so moved!”

At Tae-heun’s words, the man scratched his head awkwardly.

“Well, maybe I have too many thoughts.”

“Do you stay up all night?”

“Sometimes, but I doze off for an hour or two.”

“Is it often?”

“Not really. If it were, I wouldn’t be able to maintain this physique.”

Tae-heun extended his arm to the man and smiled. The man chuckled softly, saying, “You don’t have to show me that,” while extending his own arm. In terms of thickness, Tae-heun was slightly bigger. It might be because his skin was fair, making him look larger.

“You don’t look like that, but you’re muscular and have big hands. But you can’t work well.”

“What is that, an insult or a compliment?”

“Both.”

“You casually say hurtful things.”

Tae-heun grinned.

“If you really can’t sleep, watch TV in my room like yesterday. I won’t even know if you carry me away once I fall asleep.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes.”

The man answered briefly, then turned around and started organizing the empty bowls in the red basin. He stacked them neatly. Tae-heun watched the man work with admiration. “Capable” was the perfect word to describe him.

“If Ki-beom were a woman, she’d be a perfect daughter-in-law. She would have given birth to children easily.”

“Is that a compliment or an insult?”

“Both.”

The man laughed.

They started working again. The man only worked until 12:30, so they had only about two hours of leeway.

While Tae-heun was turning over the remaining field, the man briefly disappeared and returned with a sack. Then he disappeared again and brought back another sack. Tae-heun turned off the machine and followed the man. He stopped the man from shouldering the sack and offered his own shoulder.

“Add one more on me.”

“It must be heavy.”

“Want to bet if I can carry it or not?”

“It must be heavy….”

Thinking he was just boasting, the man hesitated for a moment before placing another sack on the other shoulder.

Tae-heun walked to the field with sacks on both shoulders.

“If it’s too heavy, put it down. You might get hurt.”

“It’s not heavy.”

It wasn’t heavy at all. With his current condition, he felt like he could run while carrying the man.

The man followed Tae-heun, shouldering the remaining sack. He walked a bit further, telling Tae-heun where to place the sack. When he looked back, he noticed that the sacks were not piled in one place but distributed evenly throughout the field. He had a good sense.

“Is this fertilizer?”

“Yes. It’s compost and fertilizer.”

“Do we spread all of this?”

“Yes. After spreading it all, we turn the soil again.”

“Again?”

“To mix it well.”

The man let Tae-heun finish plowing the field while he spread the fertilizer and compost.

Tae-heun watched from a distance as the man worked, then after turning over the entire field, he spread the fertilizer and compost as the man had done from the opposite side. Spreading it wasn’t difficult. The only problem was the terrible smell. His head throbbed.

He wrapped the man’s towel around his nose and mouth like a mask. The man must have smelled the same thing, but he only slightly frowned without making a fuss like Tae-heun.

As he spread the compost, the sun grew hotter. It was hard to believe it was June, and because of that, he was practically bathing in sweat. Finishing work at 12:30 was out of the question. By the time he spread the compost and turned over the field, it was nearly 2 o’clock.

Feeling guilty for making the work late, Tae-heun sat in the driver’s seat. After going to the village hall and finishing his shower, he took the wheel again.

“Take a nap while we drive to town.”

“I’m fine.”

“Fine? Your eyes are full of sleepiness.”

The man immediately fell asleep.

Quietly driving through the vibrations of the rattling truck, the loud engine noise, and the lukewarm air conditioning, he arrived in town but couldn’t bring himself to wake the man.

He quietly observed the man. It was clear that he had farmed under the blazing sun for over ten years, as his skin was smooth. Beneath his long eyelashes, freckles dotted his face, and his straight nose bridge and tip were neither too high nor too low. His lips, which looked modest, were quite plump and red. The darker skin tone made them less noticeable.

What kind of woman had this man dated? Why did she leave him and the child? Had she died?

Looking closely, the child seemed to resemble the man yet not entirely. Just as he thought the child might resemble the mother a bit more, the man’s long eyelashes fluttered. Tae-heun, who had originally intended to wake him, shook the man.

“Ki-beom, wake up. We’re almost there.”

The man slowly opened his eyes. He straightened his body, which had been leaning against the seat, and yawned. He wiped his tears and rubbed his eyes.

“Shall we eat cold noodles?”

“Yes.”

A voice thick with sleep responded.

Tae-heun got out of the truck first. Seeing the man follow him, he locked the car door.

The two ate cold noodles and king dumplings, then went to the market to find Tae-heun’s boots and sneakers. They felt a bit small due to the thick socks, but they were not unwearable.

After buying tteokbokki for the child, they each took an ice cream and got back into the truck. There were no quarrels like last time, and they were affectionate towards each other. It felt comfortable, as if they had known each other for years, or even a lifetime. Tae-heun appreciated the sense of stability the man provided.

Should I live with the man like this?

As if to wake him from a futile dream, Tae-heun’s phone vibrated at that moment. Sitting in the passenger seat, he opened the folder to check the caller ID.

“Could you pull over for a moment?”

At Tae-heun’s words, the man parked the truck by the roadside.

Tae-heun got out of the car and answered the call.

I heard you’ve been working with Ki-beom lately?

Detective Oh asked. The memory of meeting Detective Park on Sunday made him feel embarrassed. Fortunately, Detective Oh’s voice was bright.

“Yes. Just a bit bored.”

Can I take that to mean you’re doing well?

“Of course. Thanks to you, I’m doing well.”

He reiterated that he was indeed doing well.

It’s not just that; I have good news. I know it’s more polite to tell you in person, but I thought it would be better to let you know over the phone first.

Detective Oh spoke unusually at length. It seemed he was still concerned about upsetting Tae-heun a few days ago regarding the chief of Gyeonggi’s in-law. Anyway, this person is kind. Tae-heun chuckled softly.

“Go ahead. I’m listening.”

The initial DNA results have been delivered to Lee Seok-du. It seems Lee Seok-du has connections and pressured the National Forensic Service. Thanks to that, the initial results came out quickly. The final results will only come out in three weeks, but it seems the National Forensic Service has firmly stated that Lee Seon-jae is the one. He can’t be wrong. Well, if the country’s top authority says that, what can Lee Seok-du do? Anyway, the funeral will be held starting tomorrow. It’s a three-day event.

Finally, Lee Seon-jae’s funeral will be held. Lee Seok-du, the uncle, has acknowledged Lee Seon-jae’s death. For a moment, he felt dazed, but soon he felt relieved.