#79

A disjointed conversation began. The dry monsoon was the first topic to come up, followed by stories about someone’s peppers being ruined by anthracnose, and another person starting to grow organic cabbage. Farming stories dominated the discussion. Since he had no interest and little knowledge, Tae-heun quietly smoked his cigarette.

As always, the conversation drifted to money. Someone mentioned that fertilizer prices had risen significantly, which served as the starting point. Everyone sighed at the tales of increasing bank debts and interest, and how someone’s land had ultimately been taken away because they couldn’t pay it back. When someone mentioned that another had given up farming and moved to the city, admiration tinged with envy erupted rather than concern.

“I hear they’re going to develop Namchon-ri these days.”

Choi Gi-cheol unexpectedly brought up Namchon-ri.

“In Namchon-ri? What’s there to develop?”

“Maybe a factory will be built?”

“No, not that. Apparently, there’s someone among the village head’s seniors who deals with money. I don’t know how they managed to persuade him, but they say they’re going to build a silver town or something.”

“A silver town? Again? Don’t you remember how they made a fuss about building one in Seojeon-ri five years ago and ended up losing everything?”

“Oh, come on, brother. That was because of the IMF back then. Still, those who sold their land were in trouble.”

Seojeon-ri’s silver town was a place Tae-heun was familiar with. It looked like a pension, but it was certainly the hideout where he had stayed for 16 days. Feeling a bit pleased, he wanted to acknowledge it, but the others exchanged glances. Their expressions seemed suspicious.

“By the way, how long is Manager Kim going to be around?”

The eldest brother, the destination of the glances, asked with exaggerated gestures.

“Well, I’m not sure. Nothing has been decided yet.”

“Didn’t you say it was a vacation?”

“Yes. Well, that’s right.”

Tae-heun held back his words. It seemed that what they were curious about wasn’t Tae-heun’s vacation at all.

“Hey, Manager Kim. I heard you’ve been going around looking at land whenever you get the chance? They say that’s why you’re hanging out with Ki-beom.”

It was obvious who had said that. When Tae-heun looked at Choi Gi-cheol, he cleared his throat and pretended to be distracted.

“Hey, I have a piece of land that’s just sitting idle. Want to come take a look? It’s not that great, but it’s not completely worthless either.”

“Hey, you shameless bastard. Are you trying to sell that because you have nothing else to sell? Hey, Manager Kim. I’m not saying this just because it’s my house, but the location of my family’s ancestral land is amazing. You know, it’s got the mountains behind and water in front, just like they say. It’s exactly like that. Even now, there are people lined up wanting to buy it.”

One by one, they began to gather, talking about the land they had lying around. It was land that anyone could tell was worthless, completely useless and just sitting there, but they were determined to sell it somehow and make a lump sum. That was likely why they had brought up Namchon-ri.

Unlike usual, Tae-heun actively responded. “Just call me anytime. What’s so hard about going to see it? Let’s go right now.” He said things he didn’t mean at all. He thought he had caught them well, planning to take advantage of them while using the land as an excuse, enjoying their hospitality and showing off a bit.

The reaction from the Eagle Brothers and Choi Gi-cheol was very enthusiastic. They acted as if they were old friends and began mentioning a so-called “good place.” The brothers, unaware of the real reason Tae-heun was staying in Dongjam-ri, were eager to expand their territory beyond the town and were desperate to go to that “good place.” They seemed ready to go all the way to Seoul.

As always, the man did not join the conversation. Since he wasn’t the one paying, he busily moved around, looking for things to do. Even surrounded by the youth association brothers, Tae-heun’s gaze followed the man, but he didn’t look back even once.

They chatted for a long time about meaningless things. Having almost finished his cigarette and said what he wanted to say, the atmosphere began to shift toward work.

“I’ll contact you soon.”

The eldest brother patted Tae-heun on the back.

“Yes. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Tae-heun squinted and extinguished his cigarette.

Work began again. It was time to connect the pipes that would be used for the ceiling. With several people holding the pillars, one person had to climb up the aluminum ladder and securely tie the pipes with wire and cable ties. Naturally, the man went up.

“Whenever there’s work, it’s all Ki-beom who does it.”

Tae-heun grumbled, but even the man didn’t respond.

Better to die than to suffer.

Tae-heun stood among the brothers, holding the ladder the man had climbed, and looked up with a nervous heart.

With his shirt off, the man’s slender belly and waist were fully exposed as he worked with his arms raised. Even if he didn’t want to see, he couldn’t help but look. Every time the man exerted himself, his ribs rose, and his waist seemed to narrow, giving the impression that he could fit into one arm. The thought of wanting to hold him made it hard to breathe. He swallowed hard.

“Move!”

The eldest brother commanded. At that sound, Tae-heun returned to reality.

Move, move. At the eldest brother’s shout, everyone moved in unison. As the work picked up speed, there was no time to savor the man’s body. They rebuilt the left barn as if it were new, and of course, it took all day. Just when they thought they might be done as the sun began to set, the eldest brother ordered them to work on the right barn as well. He couldn’t just leave it as it was, feeling uneasy.

Dinner was at least jjajangmyeon. Two of the brothers took a truck to the Chinese restaurant and brought it back themselves. There was no sweet and sour pork, of course. They only served instant noodles and jjajangmyeon, and only Mr. Kim, who had built the new barn, had a windfall.

When they returned to the village hall, it was well past 9 PM. The youth association brothers, seemingly not tired at all, insisted on having a drink of soju. The man, who never knew how to refuse alcohol, was expected to follow along.

“Go ahead, brothers. I have to go pick up Ji-hye.”

The man looked extremely apologetic, as if he had committed a great sin.

“Right. Who else would take care of Ji-hye if not you? Good thinking.”

The eldest brother said, as if doing a favor. No one among the brothers, including the youth association president, tried to hold the man back.

“Manager Kim is going to go with us, right?”

It seemed natural to ask, as if going to a good place and having a drink of soju were separate matters.

“Let’s do it next time, brothers. Ki-beom, let’s go together. I’m feeling a bit sluggish; I think I might be coming down with something.”

Tae-heun feigned illness to decline. Then everyone began to fuss and hold him back.

“Oh, Manager Kim! Why is a young man without a wife trying to leave so soon?”

“Come on, go with us. You’ll think it was a good idea to come once you go.”

“What’s a cold? We have a secret remedy that will cure even a serious illness, so just trust us.”

They wiggled their pinky fingers and openly grinned mischievously.

They said they were just going to drink soju. Damn it.

So that’s why the man had been avoiding it. He had been making excuses about Ji-hye, and Tae-heun thought he was genuinely worried about the child, but that wasn’t it. He had preemptively made a move because he knew where they were planning to go.

However, no matter how he looked at it, it didn’t feel like the man was voluntarily skipping out on that gathering. The gestures, glances, and tones of the youth association brothers were all too familiar. They were exactly the same as what Tae-heun had seen from his family. Even though they were blood relatives, they had openly excluded Tae-heun and used those same gestures to subtly ostracize him.

Tae-heun frowned.

“Is today the only day? Let’s do it next time. I’m leaving, brothers.”

After speaking so decisively that it felt almost cruel, he didn’t look back and got into the man’s truck. While the youth association brothers were flustered, the man started the truck.

Unlike the indifferent man, Tae-heun felt disgusted. It boiled his insides as if he had been wronged.

“Has the supermarket closed?”

At Tae-heun’s question, the man glanced back.

“Let’s grab a can of beer just the two of us.”

The man nodded slightly, as if he could barely see, and stopped by the supermarket before heading to So-jin’s place.

The sign was off, but a small incandescent light was on above the sliding door entrance. It seemed that, like any rural supermarket, the owner’s grandmother lived in a room attached to the store.

As expected, when the man knocked on the door, the grandmother came out.

“What brings Ji-hye’s dad here at this hour?”

The grandmother greeted the man with a big yawn. She was pleased to see Tae-heun standing behind him.

“I’m here to buy some beer.”

“Come in. Don’t you need any snacks? I just stocked up on fresh goods yesterday.”

The display shelves didn’t look much different from the last time he had seen them, but he accepted it.

After buying four cans of beer and adding some snacks like squid and peanuts, he paid for the items and got back into the truck.

“Hey, Tae-heun.”

For some reason, the man spoke up. Tae-heun was subtly curious about what he was going to say.

“The brothers think very highly of you.”

What?

Tae-heun felt a bit deflated.

“Me? Why?”

He asked with a lack of enthusiasm.

“They say you work well and have a good personality. Brother Gi-cheol said he found your stories at the drinking table really funny and wants to hear them again.”

The man seemed pleased as if he had received praise for Tae-heun from the brothers. He didn’t even know what story Tae-heun had told Choi Gi-cheol, but he added that he wanted to hear it next time too.

“Ki-beom would faint if he heard it.”

Tae-heun muttered.

It wasn’t the kind of compliment he had been hoping for, but he was nonetheless grateful that the man had opened up first.

To lighten the mood and shake off his gloomy feelings, Tae-heun brought up plans for an outing next weekend.

“Has it really been that long already?”

The man seemed flustered, as if he had completely forgotten, and added, “I’ve been so busy.”

Tae-heun wasn’t at all upset that he hadn’t realized how busy he was.

“Of course. It’s been ages since we went to the stream. I’ve been thinking about it since the brothers were talking about Namchon-ri earlier. I was planning to go with Ki-beom.”

He winked.

“Do you remember when I suggested we watch a movie on the way back from Namchon-ri? Gladiator?”

“Yes, I remember.”

The man replied somewhat bluntly.

“Let’s have popcorn and squid too.”

“Yes, sounds good.”

Only then did the man smile brightly. It seemed he was more excited about the popcorn and squid than the movie.

Tae-heun had also been more interested in the food than the movies when he was younger. What was it about that popcorn? He earned the money himself, but his mother would buy his brother the big one while he had to share a small one with his younger sister. It had always frustrated him, so he always bought the large popcorn when he went to the movies and never shared it with his girlfriend. He would eat it all by himself, even if it meant throwing some away.

“Let’s each get our own popcorn. The big one.”

“Yes.”

“Do they have squid grilled in butter here?”

“Is there such a thing?”

The man glanced back.

“There is, I’ve heard. I’ve only had it once at Everland. I don’t know if it’s only sold there or everywhere, but there’s a machine that grills squid in butter. Maybe that’s why it’s super savory and tender.”

The man tilted his head, looking somewhat clueless, and smiled widely. His innocence made Tae-heun’s heart swell.

“I’m going to take Ji-hye to Everland soon. We’ll ride the rides and eat squid grilled in butter.”

The words slipped out before he realized it.

“Yes, that sounds good.”

The man replied shyly.

“Ji-hye will love it.”

“Won’t you like it, Ki-beom?”

“Of course, I will.”

“Me too!”

Tae-heun smiled foolishly because he liked seeing the man smile.

He didn’t worry at all. As long as the man and the child could be happy, he felt he could do anything. Taking care of the aftermath was entirely his responsibility, and he was confident he could handle it. At the very least, he wouldn’t run away.

Just yesterday, thinking about himself not being with the man and the child made him sad and hopeless, but changing his mindset somehow made him feel joyful.

If the two of them were happy, what was there to be sad about?

Meeting the man had turned him into an unlikely optimist.

Tae-heun smiled brightly.