ACJY C75

The phone rang loudly. Having taken a nap, there was no way Taeheun would be able to sleep at night, so he was staring blankly at the ceiling when the bell jolted him awake. He hurried out to the living room. It was just past midnight.

―Jihye’s dad! You need to come over here!

An old man shouted, demanding the man out of the blue.

“Excuse me, but who is this?”

―This is the persimmon tree house in Angol, the fields are completely flooded. If you have a pump, bring it over. Ours is broken and won’t work.

Even after hearing Taeheun’s voice, the old man seemed to think he was the man.

The man, who had woken up at some point, approached and took the receiver from Taeheun’s hand. He listened silently to the other person, then said, “Yes,” and hung up.

The man, his face still full of sleep, opened the sliding door. It was still raining, and the downpour was quite heavy. When he turned on the porch light, he could see puddles had formed here and there in the yard.

“Looks like it’s been raining continuously.”

Taeheun said, and the man replied, “I guess so.”

“Do you have to go out now?”

“Yes. For the old man to call, it must be completely flooded. I think I need to check on the rice paddies, too.”

The man left the sliding door open and went into the master bedroom to get ready.

“I’m going with you. How are you going to check on those wide paddies alone?”

“It’s dangerous at night.”

“That’s all the more reason I should go with you. I’m getting dressed.”

Taeheun hurried into his room before the man could argue.

He threw on a white cotton t-shirt over his usual cargo pants and looked around the room. He thought hard about if there was anything else to take, but nothing came to mind. As far as farm work went, all he did was follow the man around, so he had no idea what to do on a rainy day.

The man bustled around the house, packing things into a plastic bag. Then, as he headed for the porch, he looked back at Taeheun.

“Please wake Jihye up.”

“Why Jihye?”

“I might have to work all night. I’m going to leave her with Sojin’s family.”

“Ah. Okay.”

Watching the man cross the yard, Taeheun went to the child’s room. The child was sleeping soundly, snore…snore… Taeheun went to her and crouched down.

“Jihye, Yoon Jihye. Wake up.”

He shook her gently. When she showed no sign of waking, he shook her a little harder, and only then did the child stir.

“Jihye, let’s get up.”

The child yawned widely and rubbed her eyes.

“Is it morning already?”

“No. Midnight. He says we have to go to work because it’s raining a lot.”

“Ah.”

As if it were a frequent occurrence, the child wasn’t surprised. With her hair sticking up like a bird’s nest, she sat up and stared blankly for a moment, then began to pack her school bag.

“Get ready and come out.”

“Yes.”

As Taeheun was about to leave the room, the child called out.

“Ahjussi!”

“What?”

“Are you going with my father, too?”

“Of course. Have you ever seen a needle and thread separated?”

“That’s a relief.”

The child smiled brightly.

“I mean, it’s a bit dangerous at night. If he goes alone.”

The child added words that didn’t need to be said and then pretended to pack her things busily.

Taeheun was so fond of the thoughtful child that he wanted to pat her head, but since she was so shy, he just smiled. He left the room, saying, “Take your time.”

The man had already put on a yellow raincoat and was carrying a water pump out of the shed. Taeheun also hurried to put on his raincoat and boots.

The child appeared in her pajamas, holding her school bag, a shoe bag, an empty lunch box, and a spare bag with a change of clothes.

“Give them to me.”

Taeheun took them from the child’s hands.

Having packed everything he needed, the man returned to the yard and checked on the fucking dogs. The child, in a pink raincoat and pink boots, even held a pink umbrella. Excited, she splashed around in the puddles with her booted feet. The man let the child play to her heart’s content, and just when he thought it was time to go, he called her.

“Jihye, let’s go.”

The child said, “Yes,” to her father’s words, and Taeheun also quickly ran out of the gate first. He put the child’s things in the truck.

Thanks to the man having generously covered the seats with clear plastic, all three of them could get in while still wearing their raincoats. The sound of plastic against plastic was quite loud, and the child, for some reason, laughed out loud.

The truck, with its high beams on, made its way through the bumpy road. The rain, which had seemed to be subsiding, grew heavier. The wipers worked ceaselessly to clear the windshield. The child, excited about going to Sojin’s house, chattered away.

The man took the child to Sojin’s house by himself. He had thought about seeing ‘Sojin unnie’s’ face, but the man stopped him, saying, “Next time.” The man returned in five minutes and got into the truck with a look of relief.

“What does Sojin’s family farm?”

Taeheun asked.

“They just have a small vegetable garden.”

“Do they have other jobs?”

“Not that, there’s just no one to farm.”

“They went to the city?”

“That, and other things.”

The man said no more. He barely talked about himself, let alone other people, so Taeheun hadn’t expected much. Everyone has their own circumstances. That was all Taeheun thought.

The persimmon tree house in Angol was on the complete opposite side from the man’s house. In other words, it was very far. It was so far that it would have been faster to go to town, making him wonder how it could be considered the same village.

He couldn’t understand why, of all the people, with neighbors around, the man had been the one to get the call. Unlike the disgruntled Taeheun, the man was calm as usual and seemed to have no particular thoughts on the matter.

“Is it raining a lot?”

He suddenly became curious.

“No. Not a lot.”

“Then why is the field flooded? If it floods with this much rain, isn’t there a problem with the drainage system?”

“That, and the land is a bit low.”

The man said nonchalantly.

“But why borrow your stuff, Mr. Gibeom? He has neighbors.”

“The old man is a bit rough with machinery.”

“No, then what about you, Mr. Gibeom? Is it okay if yours breaks?”

“Since I’m the one doing it, there’s no way it’ll break.”

He answered confidently, as if it were something to be proud of.

“What? You’re going to drain the water yourself, Mr. Gibeom, even after lending him the machine?”

When Taeheun hit the nail on the head, the man fell silent.

“Wow. They are really too much.”

“It’s not like they forced me.”

“It’s the same thing. Everyone refuses to lend him things because he breaks them and then pretends he doesn’t know, right? Am I right or wrong?”

“……”

“But you, Mr. Gibeom, you lend him your machine and even drain the water for him. If I were him, I’d call you too.”

Fuck. He spat out a curse. The man frowned.

“They aren’t bad people like you think, Mr. Taeheun.”

“What do you mean they’re not? They probably couldn’t call their own children at this hour.”

“Why do you have to talk like that again?”

The man finally got angry.

“Did I say something wrong?”

Taeheun shot back, not backing down.

It wasn’t for nothing that the man had earned the nickname ‘Dongjam-ri’s official servant.’ If you’re going to help, you should at least say something nice, what’s the deal with calling him a servant? Anyway, people were so mean.

“You know, I just don’t like seeing you suffer, Mr. Gibeom.”

“It’s not suffering.”

The man said stubbornly.

“If it’s not suffering, is it volunteering? That’s right. Volunteering. You don’t get paid, you even lend out your own machine and drain the water for them. Mr. Gibeom shouldn’t be a farmer, he should have been a pastor.”

The barbed words slipped out. The man clamped his mouth shut. A chill fell between them.

The atmosphere remained tense even after they arrived in Angol. After parking the truck in front of the persimmon tree house, the man got out without a word. Taeheun, in a huff, was about to stay in the truck, but then he decided he wanted to see the face of the person who had borrowed a water pump in the middle of the night, so he quickly followed the man.

“I’m so sorry every time.”

A hunched old man in a black raincoat was holding the man’s hand. Beside him stood a Nopa, who appeared to be his wife, wearing a raincoat of the same color. She too was hunched and so withered that it was a wonder she could stand.

Only then did Taeheun realize he had misspoken. It seemed impossible for such an old person to carry a water pump to the field in the pouring rain at night and drain the water. No matter how easy it was to operate, there was no way he could see the buttons properly.

“Not at all. There’s nothing to be sorry for. I’m enjoying the young radish kimchi so much thanks to you, grandmother.”

The man said, glancing back at Taeheun as if for him to hear.

Ah. Fuck.

It seemed that old woman was the one who had made the young radish kimchi.

“You should go inside and rest.”

“It’s flooded a lot.”

“Yes. I’ll take care of it.”

“It’ll take a while if you do it alone.”

“I’m not alone.”

At the man’s words, the two old people simultaneously looked at Taeheun.

The man probably hadn’t meant anything by it, but to Taeheun, it sounded as if he were boasting, ‘I came with my person.’ With the man himself boasting, of all people, he couldn’t just stand by.

“Oh my, hello. Sir. A pleasure to meet you. My name is Kim Taeheun, and I’m boarding at Mr. Gibeom’s house.”

Taeheun even let out an ‘Oh my’ as he bowed obsequiously. Not content with that, he approached the Nopa, grabbed both her hands, and showered her with baseless compliments, saying, “After eating the young radish kimchi you made, I was born again.” He heard the man let out a chuckle.

The old man and Nopa looked bewildered, then said, “Ah, you must be that rich young man.”

“Yes. I am that very young man. I’ll help Mr. Gibeom drain the water quickly, so please go inside and rest.”

“Let’s go.”

The man gestured with his eyes and urged Taeheun. Taeheun was about to follow the man, but he turned back and grabbed the Nopa’s hands again.

“Oh, and grandmother. Please teach me how to make young radish kimchi later.”

“Huh?”

“How to make young radish kimchi! I really want to learn.”

“Oh come on, let’s go.”

The man, unable to watch any longer, grabbed Taeheun’s raincoat and pulled.

“I’m counting on you! I’ll visit you soon.”

He secured a promise even as he was being dragged away by the man. Of course, the Nopa hadn’t made any such promise, and had looked at him as if he were slightly crazy.

“I’m sorry. I misspoke.”

Taeheun immediately apologized.

“Yes?”

“What I said about those people earlier.”

“Ah. Yes.”

“And I take back what I said to you, Mr. Gibeom. Farmer suits you best, Mr. Gibeom. What pastor? I hate pastors.”

The man chuckled. Taeheun nudged him with his elbow and asked, “You’ll accept my apology, right?” As if asking why he would even ask such a thing, the man nodded with a somewhat indifferent expression and walked ahead.

Taeheun smiled as he watched the back of the quickly walking man.