ACJY C73

Even when they arrived in front of Kwon Iltaek’s house, he couldn’t bring himself to wake the man. What time is their meeting? Just as he was starting to worry that the man would be late for his appointment because he hadn’t woken him, a foreign sedan entered the alley. It was Kwon Iltaek. His small, slender frame was the spitting image of his son, Kwon Yongjun. However, he looked much older than Taeheun had expected. At his youngest, he looked to be in his late 60s, and he seemed to be well over 70. If he wasn’t an adopted child, then Kwon Yongjun must have been the late-born baby of the family.

As soon as Kwon Iltaek saw the familiar truck, he smiled. 

Tap, tap.

He lightly tapped the truck with his palm as he approached the driver’s side. Taeheun rolled down the driver’s window. He wasn’t surprised that the driver wasn’t the man he expected.

“My, we have someone else here. A pleasure to meet you. My name is Kwon Iltaek. I heard a movie star had come to our village, but I never thought I’d meet you here.”

Kwon Iltaek spoke formally to Taeheun, who was practically his grandson’s age, and introduced himself cheerfully. The man immediately opened his eyes at the sound of Kwon Iltaek’s voice.

“A pleasure to meet you. My name is Kim Taeheun.”

Taeheun bowed his head respectfully.

The man also quickly rubbed his sleep-filled eyes and greeted Kwon Iltaek.

“Did I wake you up?”

Kwon Iltaek asked the man affectionately.

“Not at all. I was done sleeping, Chairman.”

That damned ‘Chairman.’

He really hated hearing it.

“Let’s not stand around here, let’s go inside.”

After saying this, Kwon Iltaek led the way with long strides.

“Honey! Gibeom is here. He brought a handsome guest with him.”

Unlike Kwon Yongjun’s mellow, high-toned voice, his was quite deep. His posture was ramrod straight, and even his walk was energetic. He had the typical appearance of someone who had aged gracefully, with no trace of hardship.

At Kwon Iltaek’s call, the front door opened.

“Come on in.”

A vibrant voice welcomed the three of them. The woman, who appeared to be in her mid-to-late 60s, had her salt-and-pepper bob tied back, and there was no sign anywhere on her person of an effort to look younger. Like her husband, her voice and demeanor exuded a sense of ease.

“What are you doing not coming in? Think of it as your own home.”

Kwon Iltaek urged Taeheun, who was standing at the door.

“Yes. Excuse me, then.”

Taeheun watched the back of the man who had already gone inside as he took off his shoes.

“Gibeom, why is it that you don’t even show your face once summer comes? Don’t work yourself too hard, take it easy. You’ll ruin your own health trying to do good for others.”

Unlike Detective Oh, Kwon Yongjun’s mother was concerned about the man’s health. The way her small, white hand patted his back was very natural. If the man hadn’t scratched his head and added ‘Ma’am’ after saying, ‘I’m fine,’ he could have easily been mistaken for this family’s son. For no reason, Taeheun felt his mood sour.

“Oh my. The rumors about a movie star were true. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Jo Youngae.”

Unlike other mothers who usually introduce themselves as so-and-so’s mom, Kwon Iltaek’s wife stated her own name.

“Hello. My name is Kim Taeheun.”

Taeheun hid his discomfort and smiled sweetly.

“Oh my, even your voice is so nice. Goodness gracious.”

Jo Youngae clasped her hands to her chest in admiration.

“Now, now, don’t just stand there, please sit down. Honey, could you get something to drink?”

“Oh, where is my mind? Having two handsome men here is so thrilling, I can’t think straight.”

At Jo Youngae’s joke, the couple looked at each other and laughed. It wasn’t an act for others to see, but a genuine expression. The epitome of a happy couple. The family these two had built must have been peaceful their entire lives.

Unlike when he saw the man and the child, which always brought back painful memories, this time he felt numb. He figured it was probably because it all felt too unrealistic, and he recalled Kwon Yongjun, whom he’d met at the room salon the day before.

The man, looking delighted about something, was engrossed in catching up with Kwon Iltaek. In the meantime, Jo Youngae brought out homemade sikhye. It tasted the same as the one at the man’s house. However, drinking it from a crystal glass instead of a large bowl made him feel like he was about to choke.

“Is it to your liking?”

Jo Youngae asked with expectant eyes. Of course, it was delicious.

“Yes, of course. This is the same as the one at Mr. Gibeom’s house, right?”

He said, looking at the man. The man grinned broadly and nodded.

“Oh my, you can tell. This man here has been drinking it his whole life and still can’t tell the difference.”

Jo Youngae glanced at Kwon Iltaek with an affectionate glare. At that, Kwon Iltaek said, “Heh heh, honestly,” looking embarrassed, and the man watched them and laughed like a fool.

Fuck. Has 30 minutes ever been this long?

Taeheun regretted not sending the man inside by himself. Kwon Iltaek was constantly showing off, as if to say ‘I’m a good person,’ and Jo Youngae was busy chiding her husband for it.

Anyone could see they were decent people. There was no sense of artificiality at all. There are people who are born kind and good-natured, and it seemed that the two people before him, including the man, were just like that.

He more than understood why the man liked them. Nevertheless, Taeheun couldn’t. Perhaps because of his lifelong habit of seeing the world with a twisted heart, he couldn’t stand the sight of them. It would have been better if they were at least fake. How nice it would have been if they had at least pretended to be cultured and sophisticated. Or if they had been vulgar like the VIPs who, despite overflowing with money, were crazy for it, then he could have at least sneered at them to his heart’s content.

But the more they talked, the more he realized they were both humble and incredibly down-to-earth. The only stain on their lives must have been the fact that their late-born youngest son was a homo who got married while hiding it. That is, of course, assuming they knew that fact.

Completely unaware of Taeheun’s discomfort, the man was all smiles.

“There’s something I need to discuss with just Gibeom, would you mind excusing us for a moment?”

Kwon Iltaek asked for Taeheun’s understanding. Taeheun rejoiced. After cursing at him inwardly the whole time, he was so grateful for the chance to escape that he bowed without realizing it.

“Yes. Please do. Chairman.”

He even managed to say the word ‘Chairman,’ which didn’t roll off his tongue easily.

As soon as Kwon Iltaek and the man disappeared into the study, he stood up from the sofa. Jo Youngae looked slightly surprised.

“I’m sorry, but would it be alright if I went out for a smoke?”

He asked politely.

“Of course. Just a moment.”

Jo Youngae readily agreed and bustled off to the kitchen.

“Use this as an ashtray. There aren’t any trash cans outside.”

She handed Taeheun a paper cup. It was about a third full of water. Instead of telling him not to throw his cigarette butts on the ground, she had the consideration to prepare an ashtray for him. For some reason, it felt suffocating. Taeheun smiled and said he would. As soon as he was outside, he crushed the paper cup. He flicked his wet palm in the air.

The air had become even more humid, and the sky was still full of dark clouds. He had assumed his cigarettes would be somewhere in his pants pockets, but they weren’t there. When he opened the truck door to look for them, the fishy smell that had pierced through the plastic bag filled the inside of the vehicle. He hurriedly opened all the doors and windows.

Then he rummaged through the glove compartment. The cigarettes that Kwon Yongjun had supposedly left behind were still there. The number of cigarettes in the pack was the same as when Taeheun had last smoked from it.

The man hadn’t touched Kwon Yongjun’s cigarettes, yet he had gone out of his way to get the cigarettes from Taeheun’s personal car to smoke. He might have done it without much thought, but what mattered was the fact that he had thought of Taeheun before Kwon Yongjun.

Taeheun thrilled at the memory of sharing a cigarette with him at dawn that day. With a smile on his lips, he took out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth. Tak, he flicked the lighter’s flint and lit it. He took a deep drag. Huu, as he exhaled a long plume of smoke, he looked at the name written on the lighter. It was the very same room salon where he had met Kwon Yongjun and his crew yesterday.

“The bastard must be a regular.”

He scoffed.

Exhaling smoke, he cast his gaze far into the distance. Everywhere it landed was covered in dark clouds. Smoking without thinking, it had soon become a butt.

It seemed the conversation between the man and Kwon Iltaek was dragging on. He was hesitant to smoke another one, though. If possible, he wanted to use the fishy smell as an excuse and smoke together with the man.

As he was thinking this, he turned his gaze to the beautiful country house and saw Jo Youngae standing in front of the living room’s picture window. She was motionless, as if she had been watching Taeheun the entire time. She waved at Taeheun. Taeheun returned the greeting in the same manner.

By the way, did that woman also see the bruise on Kwon Yongjun’s face?

Although the bruise had mostly faded, if she had seen it on the day he got it, even the most generous mother would have been shocked. If Kwon Yongjun was an affectionate youngest son, he would have told her who did it, and even if he hadn’t, rumors of him getting drunk and causing trouble would have spread throughout the neighborhood, so she couldn’t have been unaware of its connection to Taeheun and the man. Despite this, neither Jo Youngae nor Kwon Iltaek had said a single word about it. There was no hint of blame either.

Well, look at the saints we have here.

He chewed on his cigarette.

“Why aren’t they coming out?”

For someone who had left so eagerly, he was getting antsy after only 15 minutes had passed. The man was probably looking at Kwon Iltaek with a gaze full of something close to affection. And Kwon Iltaek would be doing the same. They weren’t even dating, but he was seized by a baseless jealousy. He felt like storming back inside and causing a scene.

Let’s just wait five more minutes.

Taeheun vowed to himself, glaring at the front door.

How long had he been like that? Just as he was about to charge in, the front door burst open. The man finally appeared. His relief was short-lived, as the man kept bowing his head, looking so grateful for something. The humble couple waved their hands, telling him not to, and helped him straighten up, stroking his back. Jo Youngae even gave the man a hug.

But as if that wasn’t enough, even after the front door closed, the man bowed towards it again.

He felt dizzy. The sight was just like the final moments of the father from the two-story house. Their height, build, and age were completely different, but the two figures overlapped.

In an instant, the world turned upside down. Taeheun was standing in the flowerbed of the two-story house. A burly man covered in tattoos was waving, saying, ‘Director, aren’t you coming in?’ He was utterly sick of it. He wanted to scream, just leave me alone.

He breathed heavily and closed his eyes.

“You’ve been waiting long, haven’t you? I’m sorry.”

He opened his eyes again at the sound of the man’s voice. He knew he was in Kwon Iltaek’s garden, but his mind was still at that two-story house. Guilt, a guilty conscience, regret. Countless emotions that couldn’t be defined by any single word tormented Taeheun.

“I guess I should have come alone. I wasn’t thinking.”

The man blamed himself for Taeheun’s silence.

“What are you talking about? I really wanted to see what kind of person the Chairman was, too.”

He was being sincere. The man had sung the Chairman’s praises so much that he had become curious about what kind of person he was.

“The Madam is a beautiful woman. Though not as much as you, Mr. Gibeom.”

He tried hard to act cheerful, mixing in a joke.

He wanted to get out of here quickly.

“Where shall I take you this time?”

As he gestured towards the truck with his hands held out respectfully, the man smiled.

It was rare for the man not to have work in the afternoon. He had naturally expected him to say they should go to someone’s field or paddy, or if not, a greenhouse. But the man answered, ‘Home.’ The moment the man said home, Taeheun also wanted to go home.

The man’s home and the child’s home. And now, Taeheun’s home as well. That place, like a remote island. Taeheun got into the truck with vigor.