ACJY C38

After lettuce came peppers. Like the lettuce, he tried to pick the peppers by hand, but it wasn’t easy. Thinking he needed pliers or scissors, he stood up. He figured they’d be in the shed, but since it was someone else’s house, he decided to ask and walked over to the man.

“Mr. Gibeom, do you have any scissors? If I pick the peppers by hand, I think the whole stem will come off.”

The man, who was squatting and digging up weed roots with a hoe, stood up. Covered in sweat, his face was flushed and he was panting. He didn’t know the man well, but even so, he seemed different than usual.

“What’s wrong with your face? Are you feeling unwell?”

Taeheun asked, surprised.

“It’s nothing like that, I’m just a little short of breath.”

“You must have a heat stroke. Just rest for a bit. Let’s go inside quickly.”

Perhaps because he also felt unwell, the man readily agreed.

Taeheun supported the slightly swaying man and helped him sit on the porch.

“I think the lunch I ate upset my stomach. I ate a little too quickly.”

The man offered an excuse.

Knowing the man never ate quickly, Taeheun figured it wasn’t indigestion. It was definitely heatstroke. He guessed the farmer was embarrassed to admit he’d gotten heatstroke, something even city folk didn’t get. Taeheun rushed to the kitchen and brought out some cold barley tea.

“Drink some water quickly. Drink this and go inside and rest for a while.”

He poured water into a cup and placed it in the man’s hand. The man obediently drank the water with a tired expression.

“Mr. Taeheun, you should drink some too.”

The man held out the empty cup.

“I’m fine.”

“Your face is red.”

Hearing the man’s words, Taeheun felt his face flush.

“I should have given you a hat. I don’t usually wear one, so I didn’t think of it. I’m sorry.”

Taeheun felt both grateful and frustrated that the man was thinking of him even while feeling sick.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll wear one if I need to. Just go inside and rest.”

“Okay.”

The man took another sip of water and then went up to the porch and lay down flat on his back in the living room.

Taeheun wanted to lie down too, but even if he was fine, he needed to work in the field so the man would have less to do. He hurried back to the field.

Giving up on picking peppers, he chose to tackle the weeds. First, he pulled out the weeds taller than his knees with his gloved hands. Some came out by the roots, while others just had their leaves ripped off. After pulling out everything he could, he picked up a pickaxe. Sweat poured down like rain, but he didn’t care.

He had never been this driven, not even in the military. His superiors used to hit him with their boots for slacking off while shoveling, so they would be shocked to see him wielding a pickaxe now. He’d only served for six months before being discharged for medical reasons, yet he was thinking about the military. He thought he was just a typical Korean man after all.

Wherever Taeheun went, piles of weeds accumulated. When his face had turned red and started to sting, the man reappeared. His face, as he looked around the field, showed gratitude, apology, and surprise all at once.

“Thank you, Mr. Taeheun.”

“Oh, it’s nothing to be so grateful for. You’re making me feel embarrassed.”

He didn’t know if the man was truly that grateful, but he just spoke his mind.

“Mr. Taeheun, your face is really red. I’ll take care of the rest, so please go rest.”

“It’s okay. I’m almost done. Leave the weeds to me, Mr. Gibeom, and you pick the peppers.”

The man started to say “But still…” but then went to pick the peppers. After harvesting the peppers, they tidied up the dying green onions.

He thought that was the end of it, but then the man picked up a shovel. The work seemed endless.

The man began to vigorously dig into the harvested field with the shovel. Taeheun, who had been about to rest after weeding, went over to him and asked,

“Why are you doing that?”

“This softens the soil so the crops can root well. It also helps with nutrient absorption.”

The man calmly demonstrated. It was called tilling. Wherever he dug with the shovel, hardened clumps of soil came up. Then he took the pickaxe and broke up each clod of dirt. It was laborious work.

“Don’t you have another shovel and pickaxe?”

“There are some in the shed.”

“Okay, I’ll get them.”

Taeheun quickly went through the side gate and ran to the shed. Finding the shovel and pickaxe was easy.

“Want to make a bet? From here to there, who can dig faster?”

“No, thanks.”

“Why? Are you scared? Oh, you are scared.”

Taeheun provoked the man.

“No, it’s not like that. It’s because I’ll obviously win.”

The man replied with a confident expression.

“We’ll see about that.”

Taeheun wouldn’t back down.

“Digging is harder than you think.”

“So, you in?”

“Yes.”

“What should we bet on?”

He didn’t need to think about it. He was hungry because he had barely touched his food at the church. Even though he wasn’t good at cooking, he figured he could at least make ramen if he lost.

“The loser makes a snack. How about it?”

“I’m going to win.”

“Deal?”

“…Okay.”

The man reluctantly agreed.

They both sat facing each other in the same position.

“Ready, set, go!”

Taeheun shouted.

It was a predictable match. It wasn’t just about speed; the man knew what he was doing. While Taeheun missed and flung dirt around, the man dug with a steady and precise rhythm, turning over the soil.

Had they reached the halfway point? The man, having finished his share of tilling, stood up. A victorious smile played on his lips.

“See? I told you I’d win.”

“Wow, the difference is that big? I can’t beat Mr. Gibeom.”

Taeheun threw down the shovel and raised his hands in surrender.

The man laughed.

“Shall I make you some noodles?”

“Oh, I can’t let you do that. The loser should do it.”

He politely refused, even though he was happy about the offer.

“It’s okay. Let’s have some young radish noodles.”

“Huh? How did you know I like that?”

He shamelessly accepted right away.

The man picked up the shovel again and finished the remaining work. Taeheun used the pickaxe to break up the hardened soil the man had dug up. The task, which he thought would end quickly, took nearly an hour even with two grown men working at it. It was hot and tiring, and there was no room for any other thoughts.

By the time they finished, they were drenched in sweat. Taeheun took off his shirt and held it in his hand. The parts of his body that had been covered by clothing were fine, but his arms, exposed to the sun, were as red as his face.

The man, still wearing his long-sleeved shirt, wiped his sweat with his forearm and picked up the basket containing the green onions and peppers.

“Aren’t you going to plant more lettuce?”

“I’m planning to plant it next week.”

“Good thinking. The amount we picked just now will last us a week.”

At Taeheun’s words, the man scratched his head, looking embarrassed. Worried that he might have sounded like he was calling him lazy, Taeheun added, “You have a generous hand, Mr. Gibeom.”

“Since we have so much lettuce, want to buy some pork belly and grill it tonight?”

“Yes.”

“We need to go to town, right?”

“Yes. We can buy it at the agricultural cooperative.”

“Ah, the co-op. Let’s go after we eat the noodles.”

“Yes.”

The man squatted by the outdoor faucet and thoroughly washed the lettuce and peppers he had just picked. Hearing the cool sound of the running water made Taeheun thirsty. He could have drunk barley tea, but he pretended to be oblivious and went over to the man, putting his mouth directly under the faucet. Water splashed everywhere. Even that felt refreshing.

“Shall I wash your back?”

The man asked as he set aside the basket filled with washed vegetables.

Taeheun, who had his shirt off, didn’t answer and immediately placed his hands on the ground, getting into a position suitable for having his back washed.

The man turned on the faucet, filled a dipper with water, and poured it over Taeheun’s back.

“Ah, fuck.”

The refreshing sensation made him curse involuntarily.

“Mr. Gibeom! This is fucking awesome.”

Each time the man poured water, his large hands rubbed his back.

Like a middle-aged man, Taeheun kept exclaiming, “Ah, so refreshing.” It truly was refreshing and pleasant.

“Now it’s Mr. Gibeom’s turn.”

Taeheun stood up, not caring that he was dripping wet.

The man willingly took off his long-sleeved shirt and cotton t-shirt and knelt in front of Taeheun. Just as the man had done, Taeheun scooped water into the dipper and poured it over the man’s back. The man flinched slightly.

“Refreshing, right?”

“Yes.”

The man’s skin, felt under his palm, was much softer than he expected. He half-jokingly commented that the man’s skin was like silk, but the man didn’t seem to hear him over the sound of the water. Taeheun continued to pour water over the man’s back, thoroughly washing his back, neck, and even his waist with his palms.

After receiving a satisfying back wash, the man stood up with a smile.

“I’ll wash up first and then prepare the noodles.”

“Okay.”

The man disappeared into the house.

After showering in the bathroom, the man called Taeheun. Wearing only shorts, he headed straight for the kitchen. Taking his cue, Taeheun went into the bathroom, washed himself thoroughly, and then, also shirtless and in shorts, went out and sat on the porch.

“It’s hot, so hot.”

Through the light blue mosquito net, he could see the man moving about in the kitchen. Taeheun lay down flat on his back. The sky was a piercing blue, and there wasn’t a breath of wind. The puppies were fast asleep under the porch.

The sound of boiling water, the smell of cooking noodles, the fishy and savory aroma of anchovy broth.

It was truly peaceful.

Taeheun closed his eyes. When was the last time he felt this content? He couldn’t remember. These smells and sounds weren’t in his memories, yet a sense of longing washed over him.

“Could you set the table?”

The man’s voice made Taeheun open his eyes.