#59

The man casually said “yes” and moved two fried eggs onto the child’s bowl. Soon, two fried eggs were placed on Tae-heun’s bowl as well, and the last two disappeared onto the man’s rice.

“Really, don’t misunderstand.”

“I’m not.”

“Oh. Is it because of the bruise? Look at my face, Ki-beom. How does it look?”

The man glanced at the child while subtly inspecting Tae-heun’s left cheek and the corner of his mouth.

“It looks fine.”

“No. I mean, isn’t there a bruise above my eye? Even if I don’t sleep, my under-eye circles aren’t that dark.”

As Tae-heun presented his forced logic, the man chuckled softly.

“Just in case. Or not. Ki-beom, your lips look much better.”

Feeling awkward, Tae-heun mumbled and wrapped up the conversation.

The lips that Tae-heun had bitten were still ugly with scabs just yesterday, but almost all of it had fallen off overnight. Only faint bruises remained on his earlobe. Tae-heun also had a slight bruise around his lips, but the traces of being hit by the man had nearly disappeared. It felt regretful for no reason. It was a secret only the two of them knew, even if others might have scolded them.

The man followed the child, who was mixing his rice, and poured two spoonfuls of soy sauce and sesame oil over it. The clattering sound of spoons hitting the bowls filled the air, accompanied by a savory aroma. The same smell would be coming from his own rice, but the man and the child’s rice looked much more appetizing.

Unlike the clumsy Tae-heun, both the child and the man skillfully mixed their rice with soy sauce and egg. When Tae-heun paused to look at the man’s bowl, the man swapped his bowl, which was now ready to eat, with Tae-heun’s.

It wasn’t that he was looking because he lacked the strength to mix his rice.

The man looked at Tae-heun with pity.

“It’s not that bad.”

Even though he said that, he didn’t return the bowl. He felt inexplicably happy, and his lips twitched. As he scooped up the rice that the man had mixed, the child secretly glared at Tae-heun, away from his father’s sight. Tae-heun stuck out his tongue like the child.

Now that he thought about it, his mother had never mixed rice for him or fed him. It was always his older brother. His brother, who had grown better than him, received the rice his mother gave him like a little child, while Tae-heun, who could barely use a spoon, ended up eating with his hands after spilling it everywhere. That memory was very vivid.

“Where are we going today?”

“To the melon house.”

“Again? Why are there so many melons planted?”

He was already tired of it after just one visit.

“This is the last time. The house is small.”

The man replied flatly.

“Let’s go together. Just because you can’t sleep for a day or two doesn’t mean you’ll die.”

Tae-heun stuffed his mouth full of rice.

The man placed some kimchi on the child’s rice and said, “It must be hard for you.” The child opened his mouth wide, showing off as he took a bite with his spoon.

Me too.

Tae-heun scooped a spoonful of rice and waited.

While eating, the man glanced at Tae-heun’s spoon. When he gestured towards the kimchi, Tae-heun hesitated for a moment before adding it. As Tae-heun finally put the rice in his mouth, the man smiled subtly. The child saw it, and a competition began. Even with Tae-heun’s childish antics, the man didn’t mind. He simply placed kimchi on the child’s rice once and on Tae-heun’s rice once, and when he had a moment, he ate his own.

“Do you know that Ki-beom is a really good person?”

Tae-heun said while washing the dishes. The sound of water seemed to drown out the man’s response, as he asked, “What?”

Tae-heun shouted loudly.

“A. Good. Person.”

The man blushed.

He was indeed a good father and would probably be a good lover to someone. Tae-heun felt a bit sad that the man was not his father, nor his mother. Not to mention, he wasn’t even his brother or sister. All that was left was the way to become lovers, but he felt like he was suddenly becoming a homosexual as he scrubbed the dishes.

The sky was overcast as if it would rain at any moment. In the morning, they went to the melon house to help with the harvest, and in the afternoon, they repaired someone else’s roof and walls. With news of rain expected tomorrow, they checked the backflowing sewer with the youth association members. Whenever it rained, they had to deal with overflowing alleyways and rice paddies throughout the village. On the other hand, there were worried complaints that this rainy season was a dry one, as it had rained little in spring and now summer was also lacking in rain.

The man quietly checked the waterway and looked for pests in the fields that would be his from next year. A smile never left his lips.

“I see you look at me like that.”

Who would have thought he would become jealous of rice?

The man took Tae-heun’s words as a joke and just laughed.

* * *

There had been no news from Officer Oh at all. The cellphone and pager were quiet. There were no emails coming from that side either. He thought no news was good news. After all, the prosecutor had said that for a while, or rather, there would be hardly any reason for anyone to look for him in the future.

Tae-heun took the wheel instead of the man, who was heavy-lidded from not having taken a nap. The child chattered away, and the man leaned his head against the car window and fell asleep. Raindrops began to fall.

“Ji-hye, doesn’t your father like movies?”

“Movies? Hmm… I don’t know.”

“Have you ever watched one with him?”

The child thought for a moment and was about to shout “yes,” but barely lowered his voice.

“I have. I went to see Ants when I was in third grade.”

“Ants? What’s that?”

“What do you mean? It’s an animated movie.”

“Is that the last one?”

“Probably. I haven’t heard of him going to the cinema since then.”

“Ants.”

Tae-heun smiled slightly, imagining the man watching an animated movie with the child.

“But why?”

The child asked.

“Oh, I was just curious. Since he doesn’t watch TV at all, I wondered if he watched movies.”

“I thought so too.”

The child looked disappointed.

Just as Tae-heun was about to ask why, the man woke up. He seemed to sense they had arrived home. Both the child and Tae-heun got out of the truck, feeling deflated. As Tae-heun handed the car keys to the man, he thought, “He really has no sense.” The man looked confused, not understanding what that meant.

Desperate people dig wells, and finally, Tae-heun broke the ice.

“It seems like Gi-cheol watched a movie. What was so fun that he was making such a fuss?”

The child silently exclaimed “Wow” and then bit his lips inward.

“What was it again? Gladiator or something. Ki-beom, what did he say?”

“Yes?”

“No, earlier Gi-cheol was making a fuss while we were working. He said he watched a movie and it was amazing.”

“Well, I didn’t hear it well.”

“Gladiator!”

Tae-heun shouted as if he had just remembered. In fact, he had been keeping the title in mind since earlier. While the youth association president was talking about the movie he watched, Tae-heun had thought about wanting to go to the cinema with the man.

“I heard it’s about gladiators, and it sounds really fun.”

“Oh, yes.”

The child seemed frustrated and hit his chest.

“Father! The uncle wants to go to the movies with you. Right?”

“Wow. Our Ji-hye can read minds too. That’s awesome!”

Tae-heun winked with one eye.

Only then did the man go “Ah,” and his face turned red. He buried his head in his rice bowl.

“Since we’re passing by Namchon-ri, we can watch it there, right?”

“……”

“After church on Sunday, we can go to Namchon-ri and then watch a movie.”

“Father, I promised to go play with So-jin that day.”

The child said decisively.

The man ate his rice without answering. The child looked at his father with a dissatisfied expression. When he made eye contact with Tae-heun, he shook his head.

After finishing dinner, Tae-heun sent the drowsy man to the bedroom and cleared the table with the child. Tae-heun did the dishes while the child swept and cleaned the living room. The man kept coming outside, as if he felt uncomfortable.

“I can handle it myself. Don’t you trust me, Ki-beom?”

“No, but still, you’re a guest.”

“Oh. That hurts my feelings. Do I still look like a guest?”

“No, it’s just….”

When Tae-heun pretended to be hurt, the man became flustered.

“Hurry up and wash up and get some sleep.”

Taking advantage of the moment, Tae-heun pushed the man’s back.

“By the way, the laundry.”

“The washing machine is working hard.”

“Then, don’t hang the laundry in the yard, hang it on the porch. I tied a rope to one of the pillars. Just untie it and tie it to another pillar.”

“Got it. Ki-beom, were you always this nagging? You have a mother-in-law after all.”

Seeing Tae-heun and the man bickering, the child giggled. The man, whose face had turned red, hurriedly entered the bathroom.

“Uncle.”

“What?”

“I just called you.”

“How bland.”

Like a couple of scheming villains, they often exchanged glances and laughed.

After washing up, the man went into the bedroom and spread out the blanket before Tae-heun could start nagging. The child, who had finished cleaning the living room, went out to the yard to feed the puppies.

“Ji-hye, is it raining?”

“No, it stopped. But the clouds are really dark.”

“Got it.”

Tae-heun peeked into the bedroom while waiting for the laundry to finish. The man had already fallen asleep. Afraid of waking him, he tiptoed carefully into the living room.

The dishes he had just washed were neatly placed on the drying rack. The dining table was tidy, and the sink was dry, just as the man had left it. Tae-heun was taking care of the man’s belongings, which bore his fingerprints. It felt inexplicably overwhelming and ticklish. A pleasant fluttering sensation was interrupted by the washing machine.

“Kid, you have no sense at all.”

Muttering to himself, he went to the boiler room where the washing machine was.

The boiler room was located at the innermost part between Tae-heun’s room and the bathroom. It was adjacent to the back mountain, so the air was quite chilly compared to inside the house. With only a small incandescent light and the view of the back mountain through the window, it looked somewhat desolate. Even the fearless child had confessed that he would never go in there at night.

Tae-heun shivered in the cold air as he took the laundry out of the washing machine. He transferred each piece into a basin, just as the man had done, and carried it out to the porch. Forgetting the man’s instructions, he went down to the yard. After shaking out the laundry, he hung it on the line, securing it with clothespins.

The child quickly approached and took some laundry from the basin, offering it to Tae-heun. Instead of the laundry, Tae-heun picked up the child and adjusted their heights to the laundry line. The child excitedly hung the laundry on the line.

“Uncle, it feels like you’ve always lived with us!”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because you act like my father. The order is the same.”

“That’s true. I’m doing everything Ki-beom does.”

“I think it’s nice.”

“I like it too.”

Tae-heun lifted the child higher, giving him a piggyback ride. The child screamed with delight. Tae-heun wondered if the man would come out after hearing it, but he seemed to be sound asleep.

Even after hanging all the laundry, the two sat on the porch for a long time, chatting away. Somehow, they ended up sharing stories from their childhood, recounting tales of being discriminated against and feeling sad. The child then shared how he had gotten into a fight with Su-ho, the grandson of the old lady at the supermarket.

The child said he was furious when Su-ho called his father “a crippled servant” instead of the words like “beggar” or “you don’t even have a mother.” His father only had a slight limp and was definitely not a servant. He worked fairly for his pay. Yet, Su-ho boasted that his father was a servant from Dongjam-ri and would run anywhere if called. He claimed that if their grandmother just gave him a bag of snacks, he would fix their house and plow their fields. He even bet that if he gave him 500 won in front of all their classmates, he would come running immediately.

The child couldn’t bring himself to tell his father about this for fear of hurting him, so he swallowed his anger. Fortunately, the teacher was a good person. The newly appointed young female teacher, who had just graduated from college, sided with the child and comforted him, even punishing Su-ho.

The child was deeper in thought than he appeared. Yet, he did not lose the unique innocence of a child. Tae-heun felt more proud of the man for raising such a thoughtful child.

After the child had washed up, Tae-heun was the last to enter the bathroom. He had told the child to wash with warm water, but out of laziness, he used cold water instead. The water felt like ice, but the sensation was refreshingly exhilarating. It was surprisingly nice to use the same soap and shampoo as the man.

Before drying off, he didn’t forget to clean the bathroom. He thought it would be simple, but to his surprise, it was quite difficult. Just tidying up the bathroom made him break a sweat. From now on, he should suggest taking turns cleaning with the man. Only after dousing himself with cold water did he finally dry off with a towel. He sniffed the scent coming from the towel.

Since the man was asleep, he gave up on the daily soap opera and the child also went to bed early. Tae-heun naturally headed to the master bedroom. His bedding was laid out next to the man. The man, who had fallen asleep with his upper body bare, had his chest rising and falling at a steady pace.

Tae-heun lay down beside him and stared at the ceiling. The fan whirred noisily as it rotated, and a cool breeze wafted in through the slightly open window. Even with two adult men radiating heat, it was still bearable. His eyes slowly began to close.