If I’d known I’d be demoted, I should have at least gotten a car.
He tossed and turned while having useless thoughts. Lying on the hard floor made his back ache. Should I reply, or not?
Unable to do either this or that, uncomfortable no matter how he lay down, he could even hear a dog barking outside. It was pitiful.
“Oh my. Sergeant Go, what is this state?”
His self-deprecating voice was completely blocked up. The dog kept barking woof woof. Is someone catching a dog again… He felt nauseous again as he even recalled that bastard Sang-eun eating dog.
As he opened the gate thinking to go out and tell them not to bother the puppy,
“Did you come out to greet hyungnim?”
Hyung stood there grinning, wearing dove-gray work clothes. Hyung smelled of cigarettes. Though he himself was also a smoker, he slightly frowned and fanned himself with his hand.
“Did you come straight after finishing work?”
“Yeah. Let’s go inside and talk.”
When he handed hyung water, hyung emptied a glass of water refreshingly as if he’d been waiting for it. As if that wasn’t enough, he tore open two packets of the instant coffee stuck all over the table and made two cups of coffee. The old but high-performance electric kettle quickly boiled enough hot water for two cups.
“I was actually going to talk to you when you came down, but you said you were busy during New Year’s and didn’t come. So, the thing is…”
“Ah, scary. What are you trying to say?”
“Hyung’s situation was a bit bad. There was also some money to repay…”
Hyung’s face as he spoke looked incredibly tired. Hyung had been working at the fish market since before he even turned twenty. He probably named his child ‘Go Han-yang’ to send him to Seoul, but what Seoul—Han-yang lived his whole life stuck in Yongju County. Because when parents die, the eldest son must act as the parents.
Whether it was because hyung was busy or a genetic problem of the Go family men, he didn’t have children for over ten years after marriage, then had a son after turning forty. Hyung, who had acted as a parent his whole life, only became a real father after marrying off Go Seok-jun, whom he’d raised like a son.
“Does it cost a lot of money to raise Hae-yul? I’ve never raised a kid.”
“It’s not that. Anyway, I disposed of this house a while ago.”
“The house? You sold the house?”
Go Seok-jun’s eyes widened. He’d never imagined the words “disposed of the house” would come out of hyung’s mouth.
Hyung was someone who considered the family home important. Even when grandmother passed away, he flatly said not to talk about the house. The reason was that siblings living away from home needed a hometown to return to.
Hyung’s words that the family home was the family’s center of gravity were correct. It was obvious that if even the house disappeared, the three siblings would have no reason to meet. Neither noona who went to America nor Go Seok-jun who established himself in Seoul would have a place to return to.
The immediately pressing problem was that even the residence of Go Seok-jun, who had to work ‘temporarily’ at Misong Police Substation of Yongju Police Station, would disappear.
“To be blunt, even if you list a country house with a real estate agent, they won’t even look at it. If this were a tourist spot like Yongju Beach, people wanting to do business would come in, but who comes for tourism to a port reeking of fish? It’s not like there are many fishing customers like in the old days either.”
“Even so,”
“At this rate, when our generation passes away, this village will disappear too. Or else, what, only kids who came to work like Tuan or Sergey will remain, right? I heard even Tuan goes around the beach area these days. The best plan is to sell when you can.”
“No way!”
“Seok-jun-ah.”
Hyung’s eyes were saying it. That no matter how much you throw a fit, the house is already sold and no longer ours. That there’s no such thing as a family home anymore.
“Then what about me! Where am I supposed to live!”
“Well… you can still live here?”
“You can? You caan? What crazy bastard bought a country house without even a boiler installed? Is he drowning in money? Or. Are they going to tear down this house and build a building or something? Unless their economic sense is shattered.”
“Sigh, youngest. Don’t talk like that.”
“No, if you needed money in the first place, why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped! Why didn’t you tell me? I may be the youngest to hyung, but I’m almost forty too!”
Everything was like this. Noona, who wasn’t even in Korea, and hyung, the actual head of household, decided everything and only notified Go Seok-jun. If they’d recognized him as a member of the family, as an adult, it wouldn’t have been like this.
That’s right, I thought it was strangely clean. Not even knowing it’s someone else’s house.
“Listen to the end, Seok-jun-ah. Hyung really… I didn’t want to say it because I’m embarrassed…”
“I really want to see the face of whatever crazy bastard bought this house.”
“You know the face too. Because Sang-eun bought it.”
The name coming out of hyung’s mouth deflated him. If it’s Sang-eun, he’s as good as family. His body lost strength and he sprawled on the wooden veranda. The moon hanging on the edge of the eaves was bright.
“Eh, what… Then I can just give Sang-eun money and buy it back. Making a big deal out of nothing.”
He raised his hand and put the moon between his fingers. He repeated the meaningless act of closing and opening his fingers. His spine felt cold.
Though he acted nonchalant, he couldn’t help but think of his account balance. The money he received from his ex-wife and the money he’d saved so far were tied up in the jeonse deposit for the Seoul house, and on a civil servant’s salary, his account balance was obvious.
“I wonder if Sang-eun would sell it.”
“Really. Why would a young greenhorn buy a house in this Saetgol valley? No. Where does he have the money?”
“……”
“Ah, geez, how could you squeeze money from a kid who’s still young, hyung? He’s still in his twenties. It’s prime time for saving money.”
“What squeezing? I sold it because it was worth it. Stop the gloomy talk, and since you’re here after a long time, let’s go have a drink of soju.”
Hyung got up first, dusting off his butt. Go Seok-jun’s gaze followed hyung’s crown. Only then did hyung’s face properly enter his eyes. Even though he’d aged, hyung was a middle-aged handsome man. Even in Go Seok-jun’s very old memories, hyung used to come home clutching armfuls of letters and snacks he’d received from noonas.
Even while grumbling at hyung, he felt an emotion similar to pity. Even hyung who was pretty has completely become an ahjussi now that he’s aged. For no reason, he sniffled once and raised the corners of his lips.
“Where are we going? Is Aunt Bong-seon still doing business?”
“I was actually going to go there. It’s chilly in the evening. Put on a jacket.”
He said to just put on a jumper and come out, but Go Seok-jun changed out of the sweatpants he was wearing into a crisp shirt and jeans. A jumper? He didn’t even bring such a thing. Seeing Go Seok-jun putting his feet into loafers even though they were going to the neighborhood food stall to drink, hyung snorted.
“Anyway, you do all sorts of things for your looks.”
“Maintaining the dignity of a public official, you know?”
“Are you the president or something? Even the National Police Agency Commissioner doesn’t make as much fuss as you.”
The nagging about how a male bastard is only interested in dressing up continued until his ears hurt. Then what, should I go around shabby and live hearing I’m a divorced man? Even though he was hearing it all, he pretended not to hear and didn’t respond, so the nagging stopped too.
The brothers just walked silently along the completely darkened port after the sun had completely set. The faint light coming through the tent of a food stall began to be visible from afar.
“What were you doing that you got into debt?”
“Just, trying to live a bit better.”
“Did selling the house solve the debt?”
“Yeah. Thanks to Sang-eun.”
When he asked how much, hyung mumbled. In the end, he didn’t even hear the important story until they arrived.
There were a few small food stalls at the entrance of the breakwater, but they always only went to Aunt Bong-seon’s. Go Seok-jun didn’t remember when she started doing business either, but as soon as he turned twenty, he learned to drink from hyung at this place.
The night breeze rustled gently. As hyung said, it was weather that would have been just right if he’d brought a jacket. Smelling the thick salt scent and lifting the tent to go inside, a bright incandescent bulb emitted light so bright it was dazzling.
“Jun-ah!”
Baek Jeong-ho, who was sitting on an orange plastic chair, stood up and waved his hand. Naturally, he’d expected hyung’s friend to come along like a set. Since they’d been together from such a young age, Baek Jeong-ho was like a real hyung too. So it was natural that Baek Sang-eun called him uncle.
“I heard Jun, you came down, so I begged Han-yang to let me join. I told Sang-eun to come too.”
“Sang-eun drinks too?”
“Are you the only one who ages? It’s fortunate Sang-eun didn’t take after me; if he’d taken after me and caused trouble early, he’d already be an elementary school parent, man.”
Baek Sang-eun flickered across his face as he grinned broadly. They were a father and son whose faces didn’t really resemble each other, only their builds were similar. Since they were young, Go Han-yang had teased Baek Jeong-ho calling him ‘butcher bastard,’ and for good reason—looking at his build alone, he was on the cattle-butchering side rather than fishing. They looked like completely different species from the Go brothers who had a thin, lean build. It was a mystery why the two became friends.
In the distance, Baek Sang-eun, who was a bit bulkier than Baek Jeong-ho, was walking over. Even in the darkness, his massive outline was clearly revealed. Still, wearing a long-sleeved anorak, he looked quite neat. Should he be glad it wasn’t the brutish sleeveless t-shirt outfit like he saw during the day?
He came close and bowed his head with a nod. Rudely, only after greeting did he take out his wireless earphones one by one. Even living in the countryside, the things young kids did were all similar.
‘Gangsters have it tightly gripped, or even if they’re not gangsters, the people are rough…’
Go Seok-jun, who had been observing Baek Sang-eun for a while, suddenly recalled what the taxi driver had said. Just looking at his appearance, he looked exactly like a college student, but his brawny build or the long hair with curly stray strands strangely evoked a sense of dissonance.
Gangster? It’s not entirely wrong, and maybe it was said about Baek Sang-eun and his friends. If an order comes down to sweep up fishing village gangsters, what should I do? Should I let it slide, or should I bring them in and at least investigate?
Baek Jeong-ho, not knowing that Go Seok-jun was thinking of his son as a gangster, tilted the soju bottle and filled four glasses. Aunt Bong-seon brought basic side dishes including braised quail eggs, pickled radish, and kkakdugi. After making a fuss several times saying she was glad to see him, she brought and served a mountain of seafood and raw fish slices, saying it was for his good looks.
