Even at unfunny jokes, Baek Sang-eun laughed as if he’d fall over. Only after playing in the water until his fingers got all wrinkly could he escape from the rubber basin.
After drying his hair, applying lotion, and picking at bread or fruit that Grandma had bought for snacks, Grandma would return. The three of them would sit facing each other eating and watching TV, and then he’d put Baek Sang-eun to bed as he dozed off while sitting, even though he had nothing to do.
The baby tightly held Go Seok-jun’s pinky finger until he fell asleep. Then when he fell into slumber, the strength would leave his finger. Go Seok-jun also pressed his lips firmly against the baby’s plump cheek. His eyelashes were as long as an adult’s, and his small red lips were always dampened with saliva. Only after roughly wiping the baby’s lips with the back of his hand was Go Seok-jun free.
“Grandma, Jeong-ho hyung abandoned the baby at our house, right? He won’t take him back, right?”
“Aigo! You little brat!”
Grandma picked up the fly swatter and smacked Go Seok-jun’s forearm. Go Seok-jun yelled “Ow!” while sticking close to Grandma’s side and watching the drama together.
The adolescent boy wished time would hurry up and pass. For Baek Sang-eun to grow up quickly, and for himself to become an adult too. Yet at the same time, he hoped this strange combination of a family would never break apart.
***
It was still too early to wake up. When he opened the window, the sound of gently lapping waves entered the room. He could hear a ship’s horn in the distance too. Even though he’d lived in this house for twenty years, he suddenly felt like he’d come to a resort.
Go Seok-jun’s hometown house didn’t completely face the sea, but being at the entrance of an alley, the sound of the sea could be heard well. Most of the private houses were inside narrow, winding alleys.
On the main road, there was only a fishing tackle shop (even calling it specialized, it wasn’t that big) and a few restaurants. Until Grandma passed away, there had been a supermarket at the entrance of the alley leading to the guesthouse. Even calling it a supermarket, it didn’t have as many items as a convenience store. That spot was now empty too.
Just as hyung said, this village would disappear now. There were no young people in the village. He’d run into and exchanged greetings a few times with the friend called Tuan that hyung had mentioned. That friend also said he didn’t live in Saetgol because it was boring. It was the same for Baek Sang-eun and his big friends.
It was a very dull and lonely neighborhood for young people to live in, but for Go Seok-jun who wanted to stay quiet without drawing attention, there was no place more suitable than this.
“Think of it as a vacation!”
He muttered to himself and opened the door. A chill hit the skin exposed below his short-sleeved T-shirt. It was cold dawn air that made his body shrink reflexively. He walked toward the yard, breathing in deeply the smell of grass moistened with dew.
Swish, swish. At the sound of sweeping, Go Seok-jun quickened his pace. Hyung should be working at this hour, he thought as he walked toward the sound.
“Sang-eun-ah?”
Baek Sang-eun, with his shoulder-length hair loose and disheveled, was sweeping in a corner of the yard. Wearing matching gray rustling tracksuit top and bottom, he looked exactly like a civil service exam ronin who’d studied in the forest for a long time, or a Taoist who’d cultivated his way in the mountains for ages.
The dog also freely roamed around the yard like it was her own home, then approached Go Seok-jun and sniffed at his feet. Go Seok-jun had never raised a dog, so he didn’t know if she wanted to be petted or what she wanted him to do. He just said “Good morning” to the dog circling around him as if greeting a person, and patted her head once.
“Did you sleep well, Uncle?”
Without even looking at me properly, I told him to greet adults when he sees them, and he does greet well. Even when he got closer, Sang-eun just pretended not to notice and kept sweeping diligently.
“What are you doing here?”
“Cleaning.”
“Why are you cleaning our house… No, well, even though you are the homeowner.”
Why is he cleaning a house he doesn’t even live in? Go Seok-jun snatched the broom from Baek Sang-eun. The broom handle was warm from being held for a long time.
“It’s still cold. Come inside and down a cup of coffee, then let’s do it together.”
The guy he thought would refuse obediently followed Go Seok-jun. At the sight of him crouching his body to pass through the door, Go Seok-jun burst out laughing. Not so much because it was funny, but because living with that bulk must not be easy either.
He’d brought him in, but when he tried to serve him, there was nothing to offer. The hometown house he’d returned to after a long time felt as unfamiliar as someone else’s house. Although it was maintained, the refrigerator was completely empty.
Go Seok-jun, who’d been looking around the kitchen, tore open instant coffee mix and put two packets each in one cup, just as hyung had done. He pushed the cup with boiling water from the electric kettle in front of Baek Sang-eun.
Contrary to the momentum of grasping the mug with his long fingers, his drinking speed was slow. Along with the instant coffee scent, the shampoo fragrance wafted up from his wet hair. Go Seok-jun unknowingly took a deep breath. It was fragrant.
“Did you come right after washing your hair?”
“Yes.”
“You have to dry your hair thoroughly or you’ll catch a cold. You drink your coffee. I’ll dry your hair.”
Go Seok-jun brought a hair dryer and stood behind Baek Sang-eun. Listening to the whirring motor sound, he dried his hair like when he was young.
Strictly speaking, not quite like when he was young. If before he’d ignorantly tousled the hair, now he dried it strand by strand delicately. He’d learned a new way of drying hair while drying his girlfriends’ hair when dating. His fingers kept getting caught on earrings, so he couldn’t dry it roughly either.
“What did a guy like you do to your ears like this?”
He hadn’t told him to take them off, but Baek Sang-eun removed the five earrings one by one and placed them on the dining table. Just as his ears became obedient, his thick, disheveled hair gradually settled down calmly. Baek Sang-eun obediently received Go Seok-jun’s touch. He was so docile it was confusing whether he was the same guy who’d been growling last night. I guess it’s the same for any beast—they become obedient when you touch their head.
“Aigoo? You should’ve said something if it was hot.”
When he turned off the dryer, both of Baek Sang-eun’s cheeks were ripe red. Go Seok-jun cupped Baek Sang-eun’s face with both hands.
“I thought you were making boiled meat again.”
He couldn’t tell whether it was a joke or serious, said without any change in expression. Go Seok-jun, who was ridiculed for honeypot investigation or not but was counted as one of the best investigators in the station, missed the timing to retort.
Standing blankly behind Baek Sang-eun, he slipped his hands between the hair that was stiff from being soaked in salt. It was fluffy and warm. When he combed it smoothly with his hand-comb and tied it into one neat strand without a single stray hair, the round head shape of the long-headed skull was pretty. It was worth raising him prettily.
“Why does a boy grow his hair so long? You have a pretty head shape, so it would suit you well even if you cut it clean.”
“Then I should cut it off.”
As soon as the words fell, he grabbed scissors from the pencil holder on the table. Startled, Go Seok-jun firmly grabbed Baek Sang-eun’s wrist and snatched the scissors from his hand.
“Calm down, calm down. I was being a bit like an old man, right? Do whatever you want.”
“Okay.”
“Even now you’re huuu-gely big and pretty. I didn’t know you’d grow this big. Wow, you’re really tall and have a good body too.”
“……”
“What are your three sizes?”
While he rambled on about anything out of embarrassment for his old-man behavior, Baek Sang-eun got up without responding. Go Seok-jun downed the completely cooled coffee in one shot.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“Really? Uncle will buy you a meal. Let’s go out and eat.”
Rudely enough, Baek Sang-eun didn’t answer and just walked outside by himself. Go Seok-jun had to trot after him. He was convinced that Baek Sang-eun’s rudeness was because Baek Jeong-ho hadn’t properly given him home education.
“Sang-eun-ah, let’s eat with Uncle.”
When he drew out his words and acted cute, Baek Sang-eun stopped. He put his hands in his pockets and bent his waist slightly. Matching their heights, he looked straight into Go Seok-jun’s eyes. Not yielding to the sharp gaze, Go Seok-jun blinked and acted cute. Even folding his eyes completely to smile. Even though it’s fucking annoying, when I made this face, even malicious complainants who were throwing fits would lose some steam.
“If you’re going to leave soon anyway, what meal?”
“Uncle won’t leave. Let’s eat. Please?”
It was an uncle acting cute to his young nephew, but one must know when to bend. He didn’t know why Baek Sang-eun was upset, but they had to keep seeing each other until he returned to Seoul. Baek Sang-eun’s face, which had been consistently serious, gradually softened. Of course.
“When are you leaving? Tell me clearly.”
“I told you I’m not leaving, Mr. Sang-eun.”
He lowered his voice tone slightly and answered in the way he’d respond to malicious complainants. Including narrowing his eyes to make an eye smile. Of course, he was counting the days until he’d leave, but for complainants, pleasant words took priority over facts. The cheeks of the complainant standing in front turned bright red.
They stood for a while with their eyes meeting. In the silence where even breathing couldn’t be heard, the familiar acacia scent that he’d grown used to, the sound of waves heard from afar, poured down like a flood.
“Really?”
“This brat can’t trust his uncle. Why would I lie to you?”
“Promise.”
Baek Sang-eun held out his thick pinky finger. Go Seok-jun decided to play along with Baek Sang-eun’s childish act and hooked his pinky. He even pressed a firm stamp with his thumb.
“I said I’m really not going. Can’t trust people.”
“Then let’s go eat.”
Suddenly, dawn began to break behind Baek Sang-eun. It felt like time had stopped. No, was time flowing too fast? In an instant, the view became bright.
“Sang-eun-ah… What is this?”
“Truck.”
“I know it’s a truck… Is it yours?”
Baek Sang-eun opened the passenger door of the live fish truck. Go Seok-jun’s parents were also fishermen, and although hyung wasn’t a fisherman, he worked at the auction house anyway, so the live fish truck wasn’t unfamiliar, but riding in a live fish truck was a different matter.
“It’s mine. Get in.”
“Why should I get in?”
Looking at the guy standing in a crooked posture with one leg cocked, holding the door, it seemed he couldn’t help but get in. Go Seok-jun had no choice but to climb into the truck. The live fish truck had a subtle fishy smell permeating it. He’d just showered and was neatly dressed in fairly expensive slacks and a short-sleeved knit shirt. He climbed in with the feeling of wanting to at least lay down a handkerchief on his butt.
