ACJY C63

At the entrance, Detective Oh greeted everyone while scratching his head. He called the elderly men “ahjussi” or “samchon” (meaning mister or uncle), and addressed the middle-aged men and women who seemed to be his peers by their names in a friendly manner.

A child raised both hands and waved them widely.

“Samchon! Here I am, here!”

He was anxious that Detective Oh might not see him. A man also grinned and waved towards Detective Oh. ‘Oh, hey there,’ Detective Oh acknowledged him. As if it was something grand, both the child and the man were overjoyed.

Detective Oh finally reached Taeheun’s group after having about five glasses of makgeolli (Korean rice wine). Seizing the opportunity when the already-drunk Mr. Hwang was rambling and practically lying down, Detective Oh squeezed in and sat down. He patted the man’s shoulder.

“Samchon! What brings you here on a weekday?”

“I came to see our Jihye. Have you been well?”

“Of course. How about you, Samchon?”

“I’ve been well, too.”

Saying this, he exchanged glances with Taeheun.

“Hyungnim (older brother), have some pajeon (Korean scallion pancake).”

The man put some pajeon on a plate and offered it to Detective Oh along with chopsticks.

“Thank you. I was about to get sulky because everyone kept giving me drinks but no food.”

Detective Oh feigned a complaint and quickly popped a piece of pajeon into his mouth. When Taeheun filled a makgeolli glass and handed it to him, he drank it in one gulp.

“Ah. That hits the spot.”

Detective Oh exclaimed with a big smile.

“Sir, you’ve become a local. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

Detective Oh teased as he looked Taeheun up and down.

“I guess I was born to be a farmer. The work and this place are so comfortable.”

Taeheun retorted, and they exchanged drinks.

The man, who had a low tolerance for alcohol, was already tipsy and laughed frequently. As there were no young men like Kwon Yongjun or women around, and most people were at least ten years older than him, Taeheun wasn’t particularly bothered this time.

While catching up with each other, Detective Oh gestured outside with his head and said, “Cigarette?” It seemed like he had something to say. The two left the sarangbang (guest room) together.

It was past 9 p.m., so it was quite dark outside. The temperature was pleasantly cool. The two men walked out to the front yard of the village hall under an umbrella. Since the front of the hall was crowded with people going home and people just arriving, they decided to walk a little further. They stopped when they reached a spot overlooking a vast rice paddy.

He offered a cigarette, but Taeheun shook his head. Lighting his cigarette, Detective Oh said,

“I haven’t been in touch much, have I? I apologize. Things have been so hectic that I haven’t had time to contact you.”

His cheerful voice suggested that he was busy with something good.

“Is your wish to go to Toronto still valid?”

Detective Oh asked, puffing out cigarette smoke.

“Has… my passport arrived already?”

Taeheun asked hesitantly.

“Ah, not yet, but your ID will be ready sometime next week. You’ll probably get it as early as Monday. The passport will take a little longer, but it will be processed by mid-July at the latest. Since the dates are roughly set, they were thinking of buying the plane ticket in advance.”

“Is that so?”

“Thanks to you taking the risk and helping us, things are progressing very quickly. Of course, you’ll have to do a couple more jobs.”

“I’m happy to do whatever it takes.”

He replied, trying to hide his mixed feelings.

“Will we meet in Seoul again?”

“Oh, no. Once was enough. You have no idea how anxious I was back then.”

Detective Oh laughed, pretending to wipe his chest.

“You can do it here.”

He felt strange. He knew this day would come. It was something he had been thinking about for a long time, so he should have felt either deeply moved or indifferent. But the words “new ID,” “passport,” and “flight ticket to Canada” that he heard from Detective Oh felt unfamiliar. It felt surreal, like he was listening to someone else’s story.

“By the way, do you happen to know anyone in Canada?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve never been abroad before.”

He smiled bitterly. Lee Hyeonjun used to travel abroad like it was his own backyard, but Taeheun had never been overseas. It wasn’t by choice, but by circumstance.

“That’s good then. Every time we asked, you said ‘Canada, Toronto’ without hesitation, so we suspected you might have a hidden wife there or something.”

His tone was almost joking, but he must have been genuinely concerned. Even if he had a girlfriend, not a wife, it would have been a different story. Their secrets could have been leaked, and they might have had to create a new identity for her as well, doubling or even tripling their workload.

“Is Canada that strange of a choice to warrant such suspicion?”

“Not really, but usually people prefer the United States.”

“Is that so? The United States…”

Taeheun responded lukewarmly.

As long as he could go to Niagara Falls, he didn’t care where it was. He happened to see the falls in a travel magazine and learned that they were in Canada, so he just said Canada. He had truly intended to die. Since he was planning to jump down that massive waterfall, the country didn’t matter. If he had seen Iguazu Falls in the magazine that day, he would have said Argentina or Brazil.

“You must be feeling very uneasy. I would be, too.”

Detective Oh, who had been quietly smoking beside him, patted Taeheun’s back. He offered a kind smile and words of comfort. Since he indeed felt uneasy, Taeheun accepted his comfort without a word.

“Let’s go back inside. Let’s have a few more drinks and then have a second round at Gibeom’s place. I bought some hoe (raw fish).”

Detective Oh winked.

“Sounds good.”

The two walked side by side in the rain.

“Oh, by the way, the village head keeps mentioning a TV show.”

“Huh? What show?”

“You know, that ‘6 O’Clock My Hometown’ show. He asked if you’d like to appear on it with the head of the youth association.”

Detective Oh stopped walking. He frowned and cursed, “Crazy old geezer.”

“At first, I thought he was just joking, but since he brought it up again today, I think he’s serious.”

“That man, really. Ha. I apologize. I’ll talk to the village head.”

A familiar figure appeared in front of the village hall. It was the man. He was standing there awkwardly among the smokers, even though he didn’t smoke himself. Taeheun waved at the man. Instead of waving back, the man looked down at his feet and shuffled his boot-clad feet in a small puddle. A shy man. The thought of him blushing under that umbrella made Taeheun’s heart ache instead of making him laugh. It must be because of the rain.

Taeheun helped the drunken man from the village hall, and Detective Oh carried the sleeping child on his back. Ms. Hyunsuk, the general secretary of the women’s association, gave them a ride home in her minivan. She was an elementary school classmate of Detective Oh and worked on an apple orchard with her in-laws and husband. Because of her husband’s obsession with alcohol, she loathed alcohol and wouldn’t touch it, not even jokingly. Thanks to her, they got home comfortably.

“Hey, Five-O. You know about the alumni reunion next month, right? If you skip this one, you’re out.”

“Got it. I definitely won’t miss it.”

“Easy for you to say. You used to come around all the time when you needed something, but now you don’t need me anymore, huh?”

“Come on, enough nagging.”

Detective Oh grumbled playfully.

“Anyway, I’ve made myself clear.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll definitely attend this time.”

“Drink in moderation.”

“Heading straight home? Won’t you have some hoe with me?”

“It’s alright.”

Taeheun found it amusing that Ms. Hyunsuk and Detective Oh were classmates of the same age, so he quietly watched them converse. As if their conversation had ended, Ms. Hyunsuk’s gaze shifted to Taeheun.

“Taeheun, was it? Gibeom, take him inside and lay him down quickly. He’s practically sleeping standing up. Get some rest. I’m leaving.”

Without giving him a chance to reply, Ms. Hyunsuk said goodbye.

“Drive safely.”

Detective Oh saw Ms. Hyunsuk off.

As Ms. Hyunsuk had said, the man was practically sleeping standing up, so Taeheun laid him down on the veranda. He wanted to bring the man inside first, but Detective Oh said, “Please take Jihye,” so he took the child from Detective Oh’s back. Detective Oh followed him into the child’s room and spread out a yo (Korean mattress), and Taeheun laid the child down on it. The child smelled of makgeolli.

“Oh my, the kid drinks alcohol like it’s juice.”

“Everyone does it here. I grew up drinking makgeolli, and look how well I turned out.”

Taeheun laughed at Detective Oh’s words.

“Now all that’s left is to bring Gibeom in.”

“I’ll do it.”

“That big guy, by yourself? No way, what if you hurt your back? Don’t bother.”

Saying this, Detective Oh strode towards the veranda. Taeheun quickly followed and overtook him.

“I’ll do it. Detective Oh, please prepare the hoe.”

“But he’ll be heavy…”

Taeheun put his arms around the man as if to show off. He was heavy, but not so much that it would hurt his back.

While listening to Detective Oh’s sounds of amazement, Taeheun carried the man to the main room. Like when the man was a child, Detective Oh laid out the yo, and Taeheun carefully laid him down on it. The man also smelled of makgeolli. He had a low tolerance for alcohol, yet he always accepted and drank whatever he was offered. After Detective Oh left the room, Taeheun pinched the man’s cheek lightly.

“Missing out on the hoe and all. ”

He grumbled pointlessly, then stood up.

“The mullet is in season, so it tastes amazing.”

Detective Oh smacked his lips as he set the table.

The two, already full from the pajeon and makgeolli, had a few pieces of hoe each with three or four glasses of soju. Although it wasn’t incredibly fresh, it was definitely delicious being in-season fish. It was a shame the man couldn’t eat it. Then he remembered that the man never ate fish at his house.

“Doesn’t Mr. Gibeom like fish? I’ve hardly ever seen him eat it.”

Detective Oh laughed at Taeheun’s question.

“Of course not. He likes it, but he doesn’t know how to prepare it.”

“Really? Don’t they prepare it at the market?”

“They do. But he’s so busy that even though he frequently goes to town, he forgets to buy fish. If he forgets, he can’t buy it, and if he can’t buy it, he can’t eat it. That’s it, really.”

Detective Oh poured alcohol into his empty glass.

Taeheun made a mental note to buy fish the next time he went to town and tried to guess what kind of fish the man would like best. He listed mackerel, hairtail, croaker, pollack, and so on, and then wondered if the man knew how to eat hoe. Living far from the coast, he probably hadn’t had much exposure to it. It wasn’t that there were no sashimi restaurants in town, but the man wasn’t the type to spend his own money on something so expensive.

He wanted to feed the man fresh hoe. Since they were going to eat it anyway, it would be nice to be near the sea. He let his imagination run wild, picturing them stopping by a sashimi restaurant after visiting Daecheon Beach. His body and mind were already on the vast sandy beach. Imagining the man in his swimming trunks under the sun made his mouth water even though he wasn’t eating anything.

“But how did you end up working on a farm? I doubt Gibeom suggested it.”

Detective Oh’s question brought Taeheun back to reality.

“Well, I’ve been stuck with paperwork my whole life, so I wanted to do something different. Preferably something physical.”

Taeheun gave a vague answer. Unaware of the truth, Detective Oh nodded vigorously.

Silence fell. Fortunately, the sound of the rain prevented any awkwardness.