ACJY C22

Chewing on the unlit cigarette, Taeheun returned to the restaurant. While paying for the meal, he borrowed a coin. He went to the public phone and paged someone.

After hanging up, he looked at the man. The man was sitting with his back rounded, diligently working with his hands. The cold noodle bowl meant for bones was piled high with picked-clean remnants. Taeheun intended to wait outside until the man was finished, but just then, the man looked up. Thinking Taeheun had just entered, he gestured.

“Come and eat quickly. It’s gotten cold.”

Although it was difficult to hear over the noise, Taeheun could read his lips.

“It’s okay. I’m full,” Taeheun shouted back.

“Here’s your change.”

The restaurant owner belatedly handed over the change.

Only after seeing the wallet in Taeheun’s hand did the man hurriedly get up, as if he had intended to pay himself. However, after taking only a few steps, he stopped and winced. He seemed to have a cramp. Taeheun saw him wet his index finger with saliva and apply it to the tip of his nose.

“I was going to pay…”

Sitting on the low platform, barely reaching his shins, the man mumbled as he put on his red boots.

“I suggested we eat, so I should pay.”

“Still… I didn’t even make you breakfast…”

“That’s because I overslept. Are you done? Need a hand?”

Taeheun extended a hand to the man sitting on the floor.

The man hesitated, and only after his ears turned crimson did he take Taeheun’s hand. Even after taking his hand, he tried not to lean on Taeheun, nearly falling backward. Startled, Taeheun stretched out both arms and embraced the man’s waist, using the leverage to help him up.

“You’re surprisingly clumsy,” Taeheun teased.

As if burned, the man pulled away from Taeheun. His embarrassment was evident, not to mention the deep blush on his face. It wasn’t just shyness. Taeheun felt a certain conviction.

After leaving the restaurant, the man hurriedly climbed into his truck, saying he had to go to work. Taeheun had heard he usually didn’t work during the day; even the calendar indicated his next appointment wasn’t until 4 p.m., yet he drove off alone.

“What, how am I supposed to get home? Damn it. This is crazy.”

Left alone in front of the duck stew restaurant, Taeheun grumbled, watching the truck disappear.

He must be embarrassed, Taeheun thought. Figuring the man would soon come to his senses and return to pick him up, Taeheun waited for about ten minutes, but he never came back.

“This is driving me crazy.”

The hot weather was making his stomach churn. An iced Americano would be perfect right now, but this village didn’t even have a convenience store, let alone a cafe. The duck restaurant only had a hot instant coffee vending machine.

Wondering if the supermarket where he drank makgeolli with the village head yesterday might have something, Taeheun shuffled along in his beach sandals. Sweat poured off him like rain. His already sunburned face felt like it was on fire, stinging even without being touched. He should have brought sunglasses. Who knew the man would just leave him like that?

“This sucks.”

He was annoyed, yet he found himself laughing. The man was certainly interesting. His irritation from the conversation with Detective Oh had been offset by this encounter.

The tiny supermarket only had ice cream and cheap canned coffee of indeterminate age. The grandmother was gone, and a relatively young woman, who introduced herself as the daughter-in-law, was dozing. Taeheun bought a Candy Bar ice cream and sat on the supermarket’s wooden platform. His backside felt warm.

“You’re here again.”

The supermarket grandmother appeared out of nowhere, greeting him familiarly. Hot air wafted from the fan in her hand.

“A fashion model, you say? I didn’t recognize you yesterday. Have you been on TV?”

“TV? No way. I quit halfway through.”

He lied without hesitation.

“Oh, why? You should have stuck with it. You’re much better than the young men on TV these days.”

“I tried, but just being handsome isn’t enough in the entertainment industry.”

“Is that so? That’s strange.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Taeheun agreed, smiling at the grandmother. She looked at him with a pleased expression.

“Are you comfortable staying at Jihye’s father’s place?”

“Of course. Speaking of which, what kind of person is Jihye’s father?”

He asked casually.

“What kind of person? He’s a good man, unlike most young people these days.”

The grandmother praised the man as if he were her own grandson. She spoke enthusiastically, saying he was handsome and a hard worker. He did difficult tasks without complaint, accepted only food from elderly people who couldn’t afford to pay, and sometimes even worked for free. And even when he worked for free, he never did a half-hearted job.

“If he works for free so often, how does Jihye’s father make a living?”

“Oh, that’s only for the elderly who can’t afford it. He’s very good with calculations. He makes sure to get what he’s owed.”

“That’s good to hear, but he doesn’t seem to be very well off.”

Feigning concern, Taeheun trailed off and took a bite of his ice cream. The grandmother lowered her voice, saying, “That’s true, but…”

“Actually, the wages are a bit low considering the work Jihye’s father does. It’s like spitting in my own face, but those so-called village elders… they always complain about not having money and poor harvests, and all they think about is cutting wages. People have no conscience. If Jihye’s father quits and goes to the town, this whole village will be in trouble.”

Nopa spoke in a somewhat bitter tone.

“But doesn’t he have a girlfriend? He’s tall and handsome. Is it because of his leg?”

Taeheun asked, popping the last piece of ice cream into his mouth.

“Oh, a limp like that isn’t even a flaw. If you’re going by that, all the old men in this village are crippled!”

“Right? So why doesn’t he have a woman?”

“That’s what I’m saying! It’s such a waste. I guess it’s because he has a child. He doesn’t seem to be thinking about dating or remarrying.”

The grandmother clicked her tongue.

“Isn’t it because there are no young women in the village?”

“No, it’s not that.”

The grandmother turned her whole body to face him, ready to explain properly.

“The villagers have tried so hard to set him up. Everyone, even distant relatives, have tried to introduce him to any woman they knew, but oh, don’t even get me started. That’s the first time I ever saw Jihye’s father get angry. And it wasn’t just anger. He remembered the families who tried to set him up and refused to work for them when they asked. There’s no worker like Jihye’s father, so it was a disaster when he suddenly refused to work. What could they do? Everyone just shut their mouths and pretended it never happened. That was five years ago, but still.”

“Really? Maybe he has a secret girlfriend?”

“Nonsense! He has to go somewhere to meet someone. He barely leaves the village, maybe to the town’s agricultural cooperative or the market. He stays in more than I do, an old woman.”

The grandmother sighed. Then, as if she had just remembered, she made a subtle suggestion to Taeheun, slipping the fan into his hand.

“Would you be interested in being introduced to someone? My sixth cousin’s granddaughter just graduated high school and got a job as an accountant at an architecture firm in town. She’s a nice girl. She’s not as handsome as you, though.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I’ve been married before. I have a child, too.”

He lied without changing his expression.

“Ah… I figured as much.”

The grandmother smacked her lips. Since he had finished his ice cream, it was time to leave.

“Grandma, do you know what snacks Jihye likes? I’ll buy some on my way home.”

“She doesn’t like snacks. Sometimes I buy her Kkulkkwaebbagi (honey-twisted snack), but she has the palate of an adult.”

“What about Jihye’s father?”

“He’s the same. Oh, right. He likes this.”

The grandmother went inside and brought out a bag of instant coffee. It was Maxim Mocha Gold, which had been released last year.

“Then I’ll take three bags of Kkulkkwaebbagi and a box of that coffee.”

“There’s a 20-count box and a 100-count box. Which one do you want?”

“100.”

“I have exactly one box left. You’re lucky.”

The grandmother beamed as she took his money.

Carrying the black bag of snacks and the coffee box, Taeheun said goodbye. He received an effusive farewell from the grandmother, but he actually had nowhere to go.

“Where should I go?”

After a moment’s thought, he decided to go to the village hall to enjoy the air conditioning among the elderly.

At the bus stop in front of the village hall, three elderly people were chatting in the shade, waiting for the bus that came four times a day. They were unfamiliar faces, but they recognized Taeheun, calling him “celebrity young man.” He greeted them warmly and then hurried into the village hall courtyard as if he had an urgent matter. A large ginkgo tree, big enough to shade five or six adults, stood between the courtyard and the entrance to the hall.

Taeheun went into the shade of the ginkgo tree to cool off, put down what he was holding, and took a breath. He put an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

“Mr. Director! It is you!”

After standing there blankly for a while, someone grabbed Taeheun’s arm. Instinctively, he twisted the hand that grabbed him, but stopped just in time when he recognized the village head. The village head was dressed in a light-colored suit, as if he had been to town.

“Hello, Village Head.”

He greeted him with exaggerated warmth.

“Mr. Director, what brings you here at this hour?”

“Ah, I had lunch with Jihye’s father and I’m just taking a break.”

“Is that so? What delicious food did you have?”

“Duck stew.”

“Sounds delicious. It’s hot, let’s go inside.”

“Yes, let’s.”

Taeheun readily followed the village head.