“500,000 won. Wow, and installation fee is separate. Still, I felt like really cheap ones wouldn’t last long, so I looked for Samsung or LG or Winia, and even after choosing and choosing, it’s 500,000 won. Does that make sense? My university dorm fee is 300,000 won! Well, not that… I get a dorm scholarship so I don’t even pay that… Anyway. Isn’t it too expensive?”
“…Mm.”
“And they said shipping here is also separate. Something about remote island and mountainous areas. Isn’t it unfair enough for people living in the countryside to grab the back of their necks? But Grandma Sunja’s son is a doctor. He got her a really good air conditioner… what was it, energy efficiency rating? That’s good too, so the electricity bill doesn’t come out much either. Really… capitalism…”
Muttering while cleanly peeling all the fruit, Yoonjo held out a fork toward Seonwoo. Seonwoo took the fork and sneakily got up to turn on the air conditioner. When he turned around, Yoonjo’s eyes grew large and sparkled.
“But this isn’t hyung’s house, is it okay to turn on the air conditioner?”
“…I pay the utility bills.”
Even though that wasn’t the case at all, Seonwoo reflexively said that. Then Yoonjo raised both hands as if dancing and wiggled them, adding.
“Can I come visit often?”
Seonwoo burst into laughter without realizing it. Ah, he’s really like a kid.
The two ate watermelon and melons in the cool room while having various conversations. It wasn’t much of a conversation. For the most part, Yoonjo rambled on about farm work and university life, and Seonwoo just listened.
“Wow, Seoul kids are really stingy. If they dislike something, they dislike it; if they like it, they like it. They say that clearly, what’s so hard about that? And I don’t use dialect, but they kept laughing every time I spoke. I don’t use it anymore.”
Even now, he could feel the intonation here and there in his speech, but it wasn’t enough to laugh at. Seonwoo shrugged his shoulders and stabbed a square-cut piece of watermelon.
“There’s a bit of intonation left, but that much is…”
“…It’s left… It’s left… Ah, it’s okay. I just need to do well. I received perfect attendance awards from elementary school through high school without missing once. Rain or snow, I always went to school. I’m really good at doing things consistently.”
Yoonjo nodded to himself as if determined, then stabbed two pieces of melon and shoved them in his mouth. With both cheeks full of fruit flesh, he looked like an angry squirrel. The mole on his aegyo-sal made him look even more so.
“Getting a perfect attendance award is really hard. I didn’t get one.”
“Why not, hyung?”
Did he not get it because he was busy with acting? His cheeks repeatedly puffed up and deflated as he chewed. Yoonjo looked at Seonwoo and kept moving his mouth as if waiting for an answer.
“I went abroad in the middle. They don’t have perfect attendance awards overseas.”
“Wow, hyung, you’ve been abroad too? How was it?”
“It’s all just a place where people live. Ah, more than that…”
Seonwoo took out two tubes he’d briefly set down at the entrance and placed them on the living room table. They were two sunscreens with high UV protection. The tubes had printed names of brands Yoonjo was familiar with.
“Put on sunscreen. It’s good that your skin color looks healthy, but these days the UV rays are too strong, so it’s not good.”
“Hyung. Can I put this on our grandma and grandpa too?”
“It’s yours now, so do whatever you want with it.”
“But you’re the one who gave it, hyung. If I do whatever I want just because you gave it, it would ignore the giver’s sincerity…”
There were few people who said such things when Seonwoo gave them something. Especially since he sometimes saw items he’d given to fans being put up for sale as used goods. In the midst of this, Seonwoo looked at Yoonjo’s cheeks moving busily and smiled, folding his eyes beautifully.
“You’re kind.”
At that smile, Yoonjo felt his heart thump. Without realizing it, he pressed down on his chest area and blinked. If he opened his mouth, it felt like his heart would jump out of his throat. Hurriedly chewing and swallowing the melon, Yoonjo bowed his head.
“…Thank you.”
“What did you say?”
“Thank you…”
It was a soft sound that was barely audible, but Seonwoo managed to hear it and laughed. Yoonjo’s round crown with his head bowed and the tips of both ears were heated bright red. He’s a kid after all. With that thought, Seonwoo ate fruit with Yoonjo.
Unlike the expectation that he’d stay long, Yoonjo only ate fruit moderately then jumped up from his seat.
“I’ll go home.”
“The sun’s still up. You can stay longer and go.”
“Grandma and Grandpa are in a hot place too, so it’s a bit much for only me to be like this… Anyway, I’ll go! Ah, and hyung. Just call me by my name. Yoonjo-ssi is a bit… too much.”
It was awkward to hear. When everyone calls him Yoonjo-ya, Yoonjo-ya, it was just strange for Ki Seonwoo alone to say Yoonjo-ssi. Yoonjo slipped his feet into his slippers and added.
“If not, I’ll just call you ajussi.”
“Wow, isn’t this too much of a threat?”
“Come on, try saying it! Ji Yoonjo!”
His voice was bold, but his expression didn’t look very expectant. Yoonjo called his own name several times toward the silently smiling Seonwoo, then soon grasped and turned the front door handle. Then,
“Yoonjo-ya.”
“…Yes?”
“Ji Yoonjo.”
At the quietly heard words, Yoonjo turned his head.
Seonwoo’s white skin with sunlight cast upon it looked as clear as well-crafted porcelain. Unusually red lips, lustrous hair tied and lightly resting on his shoulders, eyes with long eyelashes cast over them.
He was the actor Ki Seonwoo he’d always seen only through screens. Yoonjo unknowingly made a gasping sound and gave a thumbs up.
“Hyung is really cool.”
“……”
“Wow, I almost really got fluttered just now. Your smile is really amazing. Ah, right.”
Yoonjo fumbled to take out his phone from his pocket and held it out to Seonwoo. It was a somewhat old smartphone, but from its appearance, it looked clean.
“Your number, hyung. Still, I’m a local here, so sometimes you’ll want to go out, right? I’ll take you out.”
“On the cultivator?”
“You keep disrespecting my cultivator. If you won’t give me your number, never mind. Give me my phone. I’ll just go.”
Toward Yoonjo who was about to leave with his lips pouting, Seonwoo returned the phone with the number entered and smiled as if painted.
“Not the cultivator, let’s go by car. What I said about teaching you to drive isn’t a lie, so think about it. Before we get closer.”
They say you can’t spit on a smiling face. Yoonjo looked at Seonwoo’s face then whipped his head around. But his ears had already turned bright red. I guess his ears turn red when he’s flustered. Seonwoo watched the back of Yoonjo hurriedly leaving after opening the door, then closed the front door.
***
Picking watermelons under the scorching sun, Seonwoo plopped down on the spot. Even the ground full of dirt was hot. It felt like he was sitting on some heated concrete pile, not the ground. Even when he wiped his face with the towel around his neck, it was only for a moment. Sweat flowed like rain, so the shirt he was wearing was already completely soaked.
“I’m dying…”
“Farming is a bit hard, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s manageable.”
“Oh my. I thought all Seoul kids were weak, but this tough boy isn’t like that.”
It wasn’t just hard, it was just drying people out completely. Seonwoo had to contemplate why he had to be doing this here when it wasn’t even his field. It started with one trivial text message.
A text did come from Yoonjo the previous evening. At a time when it was almost 9 PM.
「Hyung, it’s me. Yoonjo. Ji Yoonjo.」
「I thought about what you told me earlier…..」 8:50pm
The message that followed was an emoticon of a pink rabbit with drooping ears crying and wiping tears.
「If hyung is really really really really truly truly okay with it, please let me know. Then I’ll teach you how to drive a cultivator instead. Or a village tour?」
「But not right now… I think it’ll be late tomorrow evening. I have to help with farming in the morning and in the evening too… I’m the only young person, so I have to help.」 8:51pm
This time it was an emoticon of a white rabbit sobbing. He seemed to use only ones like that. Seonwoo thought for a moment then sent a reply.
「Should I help? I’m also a young person.」 8:55pm
He never dreamed that would become digging his own grave like this. Seonwoo let out a hot breath and was blinking his eyes slowly when he felt something slip under his armpit and raised his head. It was Yoonjo. He lightly lifted Seonwoo’s body and handed him an ice water.
“That’s why I told you to just rest, hyung. Did you eat breakfast? If you ate, you shouldn’t be this weak…”
Muttering, Yoonjo just hoisted up Seonwoo’s body and carried him with big strides under the tree shade. The thought ‘I have my pride…’ briefly crossed Seonwoo’s mind, but it was very brief. When you’re about to die, what does pride matter?
“Rest here. It’ll be done soon.”
“…I’m sorry. I said I’d help.”
“Hey, farm work is originally hard. Let’s go in together after eating the mid-morning snack. Today the sun rose early, so everyone said they’ll go back after eating.”
Yoonjo, who gave two more ice waters to Seonwoo’s hand, fluttered back to the field.
He said it’d be quick, but only after two more hours passed did people straighten their backs. They gathered closely and ate chive pancakes, cucumber salad, and braised potatoes heartily with white rice. Of course, kimchi was included too.
