ACJY C34

He was awkward around the man. Ever since he’d unilaterally lashed out at Taeheun in town, the man had been walking on eggshells around him. There had been no opportunity to tell him not to, so the uncomfortable atmosphere persisted.

“Mister, you bought this at the market in town, right? At the entrance to the market.”

The child, oblivious to everything, asked excitedly as usual.

“How did you know?”

“I can tell just by looking. This place is the best. Dad, you eat too, quickly.”

The child shouted toward the man who had just come in after feeding the dog.

“Dad, after you finish the tteokbokki, eat the red bean bun too. I bought it with my allowance.”

“Why did you buy that? You should eat it yourself.”

“Eh, I ate some and it was so good, I bought one for you too. Come on, quickly. It’ll get cold.”

Normally, he would have grumbled at the child, asking why he didn’t buy him any, but he didn’t want to ruin the pleasant mood, so he kept his mouth shut.

The man reluctantly sat down next to the child.

“How did you know I like the tteokbokki from this place?” the child asked with a bright smile.

“I didn’t know. But when I passed right by that stall, I couldn’t bring myself to walk away for some reason. Must have been because you like it.”

Taeheun answered brazenly, and the child giggled.

The man glanced at Taeheun and picked up some tteokbokki. Unlike the child who was enjoying it, the man was indifferent, eating it on and off. Taeheun, also feeling unwell, only pretended to pick up his chopsticks. Then, at the same time, they both reached for the odeng broth with their spoons. Taeheun pulled back first.

“Mr. Gibeom, you have some.”

“No, you go ahead.”

“I said you have some first. Actually, wait a minute.”

Taeheun, acting as if it was his own house, opened the cupboard under the sink and took out a soup bowl. The man, feeling awkward sitting there, started to get up, but the child stopped him, saying, “Mister, you do it.” The man, half-perched on the edge of his seat, thanked Taeheun as he ladled the broth into the bowl. After adding a piece of odeng, Taeheun served himself the same way and sat down.

“By the way, Mister. I heard you went to work with my dad today?”

The child asked, looking at Taeheun. News sure traveled fast.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Mister, you didn’t ruin someone else’s melon farm, did you?”

“What are you talking about? Ask your dad. Ask him how well I worked.”

Taeheun looked at the man.

“I worked well, right? Honestly, not that well, but I didn’t ruin anything. Right?”

The man replied, “Yes” to Taeheun’s question, and the child, seeing his father’s lukewarm response, glanced suspiciously at Taeheun.

“I knew it.”

The child clicked his tongue.

“Hey, Mr. Gibeom, you’re betraying me here. We had lunch together in town and even went shopping. Isn’t this too much?” Taeheun complained.

“Really? You went to town with my dad?” The child asked with wide eyes.

“Of course. How else would I have bought this tteokbokki? After we finished work in the morning, I went to town with your dad, ate naengmyeon, and bought work clothes at the market.”

“Wow.”

Taeheun didn’t know what was so “wow” about it, but the child looked impressed as he glanced at the man and then at Taeheun. Then, he gave a satisfied smile. The man, sitting next to the child, didn’t see it, but Taeheun noticed that the child was very pleased with the fact that they had gone to town together.

“But where do you wander around so much? There’s nothing to do in town.”

“Don’t underestimate our town. Even if there isn’t much, it has everything it needs!” the child retorted.

Taeheun chuckled, wondering how he could be so different from his father. He teased the child a bit more and then stopped at an appropriate point.

Dessert was the melons they received from the greenhouse. They each received a bag of melons that weren’t good enough to sell, but they were so sweet that the house was filled with their fragrance. Still feeling nauseous, Taeheun barely managed to eat a slice of melon before giving up. The man saw this and showed a slight hint of concern.

Between 7:30 and 8:30, around the time everyone had finished dinner, the phone rang. It had been like this ever since Taeheun started living at the man’s house. At first, he was startled by the ringing, but now he was used to it. The phone rang that frequently.

Most of the calls were for the man, and all of them were work-related. The man politely responded to each call, filling his already packed calendar even further. Occasionally, the child also received calls, and in those cases, he would take the cordless phone and go into his room to talk.

Today, there were no calls for the child, and the man only answered the phone once. It seemed they rested on weekends too.

While the child and Taeheun were watching TV in the main room, the man went out to the yard and swept and cleaned the already clean yard.

“Mister,” the child called.

“Yeah?”

“My dad is boring, right?”

He asked, unusually dejected.

“No, he’s fun.”

“Really?”

The child shouted so loudly that Taeheun’s ears rang. His eyes widened at the same time. Startled by his own outburst, the child quickly covered his mouth. Taeheun laughed.

“Is that so surprising?”

“Yes! Well, you see, the other uncles here don’t think so. My dad is funny sometimes, but he doesn’t talk much, so everyone just thinks he’s a boring person.”

The child, arms crossed, complained about the uncles. Then, he looked up at Taeheun with a curious face and asked, “But Mister, what did you find fun about my dad?”

He was genuinely curious.

“Just… I like being with him.”

“Wow.”

The child’s jaw dropped. The way he looked at Taeheun was so affectionate, it was almost sickeningly sweet. Uncomfortable with the child’s intense gaze, Taeheun pretended to smack him.

“What’s with the ‘wow’? If you keep this up, I’ll tell your dad.”

“Oh no. You absolutely can’t!” the child quickly waved his small hands.

“Then stop asking questions and watch TV.”

“Yes!”

While they were forced to watch a daily drama because the child had no say in choosing the channel, the child, who had insisted on watching the drama, only stared at Taeheun’s profile.

“Yoon Jihye. Stop staring. You’re going to burn a hole through my face.”

Taeheun turned to the child unexpectedly, and the child quickly looked away.

“Don’t pretend you weren’t looking. You got a good look at my face, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

The child, who Taeheun expected to deny it, unexpectedly admitted it readily.

“Then you have to pay the price.”

“What price? There’s no such thing.”

The child protested, sticking out his lip.

“There is. It’s right here. Can I ask you just one thing?”

“Depends on the question,” he replied indifferently, but his face was etched with an expression that screamed he was dying to know what Taeheun would ask.

“Okay, just listen first.”

“Yes.”

“Why do you call him ‘Father’? Everyone else calls their dad ‘Dad’.”

The child looked disappointed, saying, “Ah, that.” Taeheun wondered what kind of question he had been expecting.

“Because my father said he likes being called ‘Father’ better.”

“Really? Did he say there’s a special reason why he likes being called ‘Father’?”

Taeheun was genuinely curious. He, who couldn’t say he had a good relationship with his parents, had called them “Mom” and “Dad” casually until his mid-twenties. It felt strange that the child, who clearly had a loving relationship with his father, called the man “Father” instead of “Dad.” Of course, depending on the family environment, some might prefer the more formal terms. This was especially common in families with a strict patriarch or a formal atmosphere. But the man was far from a strict person.

“Yes. When my father was young, he called his grandfather ‘Dad,’ but his grandfather wasn’t a good dad. So, when he hears the word ‘Dad,’ he thinks of his grandfather, and he doesn’t like it.”

“Ah, I see.”

Taeheun nodded unconsciously. He could fully understand the man’s feelings behind that decision.

“Is your father a good person, Mister? Is he still alive?” the child asked.

“Yeah, he’s alive. But he’s not a good father.”

At Taeheun’s answer, the child didn’t ask any further questions. Instead, he sighed deeply.

“I wish everyone in the world was like my father.”

“You can say that again.”

Taeheun wholeheartedly agreed. He truly, seriously thought how nice it would be if all fathers in the world were like the man.

At Taeheun’s agreement, the child beamed, knowing it was praise for his father. Taeheun stroked the child’s hair.

As if on cue, the man came back inside as the drama ended.

“Jihye, it’s time for bed.”

“Yes, Father.”

The child jumped up to leave the room, but turned back to Taeheun and whispered, “This is a secret from my father.”

“Okay.”

“Promise.”

“Promise.”

“Sealed with a stamp.”

“Sealed with a stamp.”

The child dashed out to the living room.

As the opening song for the 9 o’clock news started, Taeheun turned off the TV.