ACJY C58

As the ramen started to boil, Gibeom chopped the green onions, and Taeheun prepared to add the eggs. They worked together seamlessly, so well that words weren’t even necessary. Is this what they call a match made in heaven? Taeheun wondered, impressed. Every time he felt this admiration, he felt a warmth in his lower body.

The three sat around the portable stove and ate ramen. The child, who was usually quiet while eating, was unusually talkative. Mid-chatter, she suddenly asked,

“Mister, when my summer vacation starts, do you want to go on a summer trip with us?”

“Summer trip?”

“Jihye.”

Gibeom called the child’s name as if to stop her, but the child continued, undeterred.

“Every summer vacation, Dad and I go to Daecheon Beach. The sand is so wide. The water isn’t deep, so no matter how far in you go, it doesn’t even reach your neck.”

“Really? It sounds great, Jihye. But is it okay if I go with you?”

“Of course. Is it okay, Dad?”

Instead of answering, Gibeom looked at Taeheun. He had a slightly troubled expression, but then he subtly shook his head, as if to say, You won’t be here by then, so you can refuse.

Taeheun, however, was actually considering it. He had already lied about making kimchi together. That was fine because it was in December, but the summer vacation was just around the corner. If things went well, he might be able to enjoy a summer vacation. It’s okay to do that much before I go, he hypnotized himself.

“Mr. Gibeom, why aren’t you answering? I’m definitely going. I’ll go.”

“Wow! Awesome!”

Gibeom’s eyes widened, then he furrowed his handsome brow. He seemed to be blaming Taeheun: You shouldn’t have said that. Taeheun brazenly winked at him. Gibeom sighed softly.

Only after hearing Taeheun’s answer did the child close her mouth and start eating her ramen. As she usually did, she devoured the noodles. Gibeom admonished her,

“Eat slowly, you’ll get indigestion.”

The ramen after playing in the water tasted divine. Despite telling the child to eat slowly, both Gibeom and Taeheun ate hurriedly. The kimchi was quickly gone. The child, as if not full, immediately opened the bag of snacks after finishing her ramen.

Well, Taeheun couldn’t talk. He and Gibeom opened their second beers, using the excuse of washing Mott away the saltiness of the ramen.

After the beer, drowsiness naturally followed. They all dozed off, then lay down side by side on the mat. The child was the first to fall asleep, snoring.

Gibeom lay on his back, the ball cap Taeheun had given him covering his eyes. Taeheun lay on his side, facing Gibeom. He rested his head on his hand, then chuckled, remembering the island baby the child had mentioned.

Gibeom opened his eyes at the sound of laughter. He turned his head to look at Taeheun.

“I was thinking about the pillow. The one the ghost gave,” Taeheun whispered. Gibeom also let out a puff of laughter, barely suppressing it.

“Is it even possible for a baby to do that, like me?”

“I don’t know. Their arms are short.”

They chuckled, clenching their teeth to hold back their laughter, and ended up rolling around, clutching their stomachs. They laughed and laughed, careful not to wake the child. Wiping away their tears, they looked at each other.

Gibeom’s black pupils turned hazel in the light. Soft brown skin, hazel eyes. He was truly beautiful.

“Do my eyes look hazel too?” Taeheun asked.

“No, they’re lighter. They were originally lighter.”

“Really? Come to think of it, I don’t remember looking closely at my own eyes.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes without speaking. When Taeheun smiled, Gibeom smiled faintly as well.

When he was with Gibeom, there was no room for lethargy. The fact that he had been lethargic felt like a past life. If it weren’t for the insomnia that plagued him every night, he would have doubted he had ever suffered from such a condition.

The days flew by, and the next day arrived in the blink of an eye. The sleepless nights became bearable. He hated the recurring nightmares, but he could endure them because, without fail, the day would break after he had those dreams.

Taeheun naturally fell asleep in the bedroom. Gibeom laid out his own bedding and, without asking, laid out Taeheun’s as well.

He liked that the first thing he saw when he woke up to the alarm in the early morning was Gibeom. He was happy to greet the morning lying face to face with him.

Then, the thought that Gibeom and Kwon Yongjun might be involved romantically would hit him, and he would tremble with jealousy. He wondered if Gibeom had ever felt emotions similar to his. It wasn’t easy to imagine Gibeom swept up in a storm of intense emotions, whether love, jealousy, hatred, or anger.

Every time he saw Gibeom sleeping soundly beside him, he would fall into contemplation.

Why do I like you so much?

He asked himself.

“Mister! The skin under your eyes is dark,” the child said, pointing at his eyes.

“It’s because I haven’t been sleeping,” Taeheun replied indifferently.

“Why?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Why?”

“Just because.”

“How can you not sleep?”

“I don’t know.”

Gibeom, who had brought a plate of six fried eggs, looked at Taeheun with a worried expression.

“Is it because you’re not used to sleeping here?” Gibeom asked.

“Could that be it?” The child looked up at Gibeom.

“Yes, it could be.”

The child’s gaze returned to Taeheun.

“I sleep well at Sojin’s house. Mister, are you uncomfortable in our house?” the child asked cautiously.

“No, not at all! How could I be uncomfortable?” Taeheun retorted defensively.

“Okay, just asking,” the child said, sticking out her tongue.

“Mr. Gibeom, it’s not because I’m uncomfortable that I have insomnia. Don’t misunderstand. I had insomnia before I came here.”

Taeheun emphasized this again, just in case Gibeom misunderstood.

Gibeom nonchalantly replied, “Okay,” and placed two fried eggs on the child’s rice bowl. Soon, two fried eggs were placed on Taeheun’s bowl as well, and the last two went onto Gibeom’s rice.

“Really, don’t misunderstand.”

“I don’t.”

“Ah, is it because of the bruise? Mr. Gibeom, look at my face. How does it look?”

Gibeom glanced at Taeheun’s left cheek and mouth, mindful of the child.

“It looks fine.”

“No, I’m asking if there’s a bruise above my eye. Even when I don’t sleep, the skin under my eyes wasn’t this dark.”

Gibeom chuckled at Taeheun’s forced logic.

“Just in case. Never mind. Mr. Gibeom, your lips are much better.”

Embarrassed, Taeheun mumbled and ended the conversation.

Gibeom’s lips, which Taeheun had bitten, had been unpleasantly scabbed until yesterday, but they had almost completely healed overnight. Only a faint bruise remained on his earlobe. Taeheun also only had a faint, birthmark-like bruise around his lips; the marks from Gibeom hitting him were almost gone. He felt strangely disappointed. Even though he had been subjected to the villagers’ gossip, it had been a secret between the two of them.

Gibeom, following the child who was already mixing her rice, added two spoonfuls of soy sauce and sesame oil. The clinking of the spoon against the bowl and the savory aroma filled the air. Even though his own food would have the same smell, Gibeom’s and the child’s rice looked much more appetizing.

Unlike Taeheun, who was somewhat clumsy, both the child and Gibeom expertly mixed their soy sauce and egg rice. When Taeheun stopped mixing his rice and stared at Gibeom’s bowl, Gibeom swapped his finished bowl with Taeheun’s.

‘It wasn’t that I didn’t have the strength to mix my rice.’

Gibeom looked at Taeheun with pity.

“It’s not that bad,” Taeheun said, but he didn’t return the bowl. He smiled, pleased for no reason. As he picked up a spoonful of the rice Gibeom had mixed, the child glanced at Taeheun, hiding it from her father. Taeheun stuck out his tongue at the child.

Come to think of it, his mother had never mixed or fed him rice. It was always his older brother. His brother, who was more developed than him, would eat the food their mother gave him like a child, and young Taeheun, who was just learning to use a spoon, would make a mess and end up eating with his hands. He remembered it vividly.

Why do I keep remembering things I don’t want to remember?

Taeheun shook his head.

“Where are we going today?” he asked Gibeom.

“The oriental melon greenhouse.”

“Again? Why did they plant so many oriental melons?”

He had only been there once, but he was already sick of it.

“It’s the last time. The greenhouse is small,” Gibeom replied calmly.

“Let’s go together. You won’t die from missing a day or two of sleep.”

Taeheun stuffed his mouth full of rice.

Gibeom placed some kimchi on the child’s rice, saying, “It must be hard for you.” The child opened her mouth wide and took a bite, as if showing off.

‘Me too.’

Taeheun scooped a spoonful of rice and waited.

Gibeom, pausing mid-meal, glanced at Taeheun’s spoon. He gestured towards the kimchi with his eyes. After a moment of hesitation, he placed some kimchi on Taeheun’s rice. Only after Taeheun put the rice in his mouth did Gibeom smile slightly. The child saw and the competition began. Even with Taeheun’s childish behavior, Gibeom didn’t mind. He simply placed kimchi on the child’s rice, then Taeheun’s, and ate his own food when he had a chance.

“Mr. Gibeom, do you know you’re a really good person?” Taeheun said while washing the dishes. Perhaps Gibeom couldn’t hear him over the sound of the water, as he asked, “What?” Taeheun shouted, “Good. Per. Son.”

Gibeom blushed.

Gibeom was a truly good father, and he would probably be a good partner to someone. Taeheun felt a pang of regret that Gibeom wasn’t his father, nor his mother. He even regretted that he wasn’t his brother. The only option left was to become his lover, and he scrubbed the dishes vigorously, thinking, I’m going to become a homo all of a sudden.

The sky was heavily overcast, as if it was about to pour. In the morning, they went to the greenhouse to help harvest oriental melons, and in the afternoon, they repaired the roof and walls of someone else’s house. With the news of rain coming tomorrow, they checked the overflowing sewers with the other members of the youth association. They took care of various areas around the village, like alleys and ridges between rice paddies, which overflowed with sediment whenever it rained. At the same time, worries were voiced about this year’s monsoon season being a dry one – how there had been little rain in spring and now little rain in summer.

Gibeom stealthily checked the water flow and inspected for pests in the area that would become his paddy next year. A smile never left his face.

“Look at me like that sometimes.”

‘To think I’d be jealous of rice.’

Gibeom simply laughed, taking Taeheun’s words as a joke.