“Unnie… there are a lot of handsome people.”
“Yeonsu, they’re forbidden fruit.”
“What’s that? I don’t eat persimmons anyway.”
“…”
While Shin Jisu was at a loss for words at innocent Yeonsu’s answer, Choi Yeonho’s parents, who had arrived a step late, approached the young men with pleased smiles.
“The distance is far too, but thank you for coming to help, students.”
“Three workers who were supposed to come got sick at the same time, can you believe it?”
“Hello.”
“Not at all, it’s nice to see Yeonsu after so long.”
“How is it that Jisu gets prettier with each passing day?”
Choi Yeonho’s parents had gentle, kind-looking faces befitting the people who had given birth to him. They looked at each of these admirable students who had come from afar one by one and gave their thanks. And finally, when they discovered Baek Iseon, their faces rapidly brightened with delight.
“Oh my, who is this tall young man? Yeonho, is he your friend?”
“Hahaha! Well, he looks like he’d be really strong!”
“Uh, um… He’s not a friend, he’s a sunbae from school.”
Choi Yeonho’s parents looked at Baek Iseon with very satisfied smiles. Tall and well-built, he seemed perfect for farm work. In their minds, they were already picturing him carrying three or four boxes on his shoulders. He was a most satisfactory talent.
“For clothes, you can wear work clothes here, but our tall student won’t have anything that fits. Oh dear, what should we do?”
Choi Yeonho’s mother clicked her tongue worriedly. She was already bestowing the title of ‘our’ upon Baek Iseon. This was rural power—a title only an excellent worker could obtain.
“It’s okay. I brought extra clothes.”
“And he’s kind too…”
Baek Iseon showed that characteristically good-natured smile of his. Including Yeonsu, Choi Yeonho’s family seemed to have already completely lost their hearts to him. A young man who looked strong and was even polite—he truly was a coveted talent.
“Jisu can share a room with Yeonsu, and these male students can share a room with our Yeonho. It might be a bit cramped for three young men, but…”
Next to her worrying about whether the room would be too small, Choi Yeonho began worrying in a different sense. His complexion turned deathly pale.
“…Mom, wait a minute!”
He had to share a room with Baek Iseon? He’d rather, he’d rather sleep in the living room!
“I’d rather sleep in the living room…”
Step. Suddenly Baek Iseon approached him. Despicably, he lowered both eyebrows and spoke with a worried expression.
“Yeonho, am I… making you uncomfortable?”
“No, sunbae, no…!”
“Then I’m counting on you.”
“M-me too…”
Behind Baek Iseon’s back, Jang Juwon and Shin Jisu were laughing at him. It was a dilemma.
The farm work started that very morning. After simply moving their luggage to Choi Yeonho’s house and filling their stomachs heartily with peaches and other snacks, they changed clothes. Jang Juwon looked at himself in the mirror hanging by the entrance. Wearing work clothes, rubber boots, and a large straw hat, he looked quite like a farmer. Jang Juwon wanted to see Baek Iseon in work clothes, but there really was no size that fit him. So he had no choice but to wear the clothes he came in with just a straw hat perched on top, giving off the vibe of someone who came alone to some beach. It was annoying.
After finishing changing, they all took a small truck to the peach orchard. The peach orchard they arrived at after driving for about ten minutes was quite large in scale. Jang Juwon looked around the field in a daze. Well-ripened pink peaches hung in clusters beneath green leaves. Worry came before the romance of the countryside. Surely they didn’t have to pick all of this to go home, right? Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
Each person was distributed a yellow plastic basket and a ladder. Jang Juwon took his allotted basket and ladder and moved to his designated spot. As he walked between the peach trees, a sweet peach fragrance pleasantly wafted over. Jang Juwon stretched out his hand and grasped one round peach. Even though he was wearing gloves, the rough texture was transmitted directly. Following what he’d been taught, he gently twisted the stem and the peach popped off. After bending his waist to carefully place it in the basket without damaging it, it felt quite rewarding.
And that thought didn’t even last half a day. His arms, waist, legs—the muscles all over his body ached. The sweet peach fragrance had long since numbed his sense of smell, and those round shapes reminded him of the back of a head he wanted to smack. As he moved a full basket with trembling arms, his teeth automatically clenched tight. He had never thought it would be easy, but he really didn’t know it would be this hard. Jang Juwon decided to cut ties with Choi Yeonho as soon as he got back.
It was only when the long summer sun began to set beyond the horizon that the day’s work was finally finished. After loading the plastic boxes full of peaches into the cargo bed, four people with tired faces squeezed together in the remaining space. Jang Juwon hugged his knees tightly and leaned his exhaustion-soaked face against them. The others were just as exhausted. No one opened their mouth. In that silence, the truck began to drive along the quiet dirt road.
The sun dropped below in an instant and a dusky darkness gradually descended. A cool night breeze blew over the rattling cargo bed. Fresh air, a mixture of sweet peach scent and faint grass smell, pleasantly brushed against their faces. Jang Juwon took off his hat and stuck his head out as far as possible to enjoy the wind. He felt good. He thought this must be the privilege after labor. Jang Juwon slowly lowered his eyelids. He decided to let Choi Yeonho off just this once regarding his decision to cut ties.
When he opened his eyes because his hair tickled his face as it fluttered, he ended up making direct eye contact with Baek Iseon. With his head resting on his own knee, he was looking at him intently. How long had he been watching? The gazes of the two who met didn’t know how to break apart.
“Could you tone down the obviousness a bit?”
Suddenly Shin Jisu snapped irritably and kicked a peach basket with her foot. Only then did Jang Juwon snap back to his senses. He hurriedly lowered his eyes. He should be careful. Come to think of it, this was the first time someone had seen them close together like this. He suddenly felt embarrassed.
Choi Yeonho’s voice asking Shin Jisu “What? What obviousness?” felt extremely distant.
***
Thanks to the couple’s consideration, the three male students got to occupy the large master bedroom with an attached bathroom. Despite Jang Juwon and Baek Iseon’s strong refusals, the couple, who had already made up their minds, forcibly pushed the three people into the room. Thanks to this, the three people who had finished hard labor could rest comfortably in a more spacious room.
Choi Yeonho, who had insisted on showering last since he was the homeowner, finally entered the bathroom. Baek Iseon, freshly washed, approached Jang Juwon, who had showered first and was sitting on the bed, and plopped down beside him.
“Haah…”
Baek Iseon exhaled a refreshing breath with a languid expression. Having received all the couple’s expectations, he had ended up working his hardest even though it didn’t suit him. He had intended to slack off while following Jang Juwon around, but he couldn’t ignore those two middle-aged people with their gentle faces shining their eyes at him. They had a strangely mysterious talent.
“Are you tired?”
“Yeah.”
When Jang Juwon asked, Baek Iseon answered in a quite sunken voice. Just from hearing his voice, the languidness was transmitted as it was. What Baek Iseon needed was recharging, and fortunately, his energy source was right next to him.
Baek Iseon reached out his hand and plopped it on top of Jang Juwon’s hand, overlapping them. When Jang Juwon’s surprised hand squirmed, he inserted his fingers between each of his fingers and held on tightly. Feeling good from the warm, soft sensation, Baek Iseon rubbed his knuckles with his thumb and closed his eyes. In contrast, Jang Juwon, unsure whether to pull his hand away or not, wiggled his captured fingers.
“It’s okay, you can still hear the water running.”
“…”
There was no answer in return, but Jang Juwon’s fidgeting hand became docile. So he had been worrying about it after all.
“Haah, it would’ve been even better if there hadn’t been any interruptions.”
“Unfortunately, that interruption is the homeowner.”
“Next time… shall we go on a trip, just the two of us?”
From the moment he saw Jang Juwon standing among the peach trees, there was one thought that came to mind. A person could be more dazzlingly bright than the green leaves holding the essence of summer. So he wanted to grab his hand right away and whisper in his ear. That he was a more sparkling existence to him than the summer sunlight. That he wished only the two of them existed here and now in this place.
“……”
When no answer came back, Baek Iseon slightly lifted his eyelids and looked at Jang Juwon’s fair and beautiful face. His red lips were hesitating, barely moving. He seemed troubled.
“That’s fine, take your time answering.”
Baek Iseon chuckled. He wasn’t impatient at all. The answer had already been given, and what he needed was just time.
Baek Iseon unlaced their fingers and slowly ran his palm up along Jang Juwon’s arm. Jang Juwon flinched slightly. His skin, already reddened from the sun, became even redder. The sight seemed cute and made him laugh. Even though they’d done more than this. Just from stroking his arm a bit.
“You’re red.”
“It’s because of the sun……”
“Hmm… I see.”
Baek Iseon began to knead Jang Juwon’s arm more and more blatantly. Before he knew it, his hand had burrowed inside the t-shirt and lightly pinched the soft flesh of his upper arm.
Jang Juwon was going crazy because of Baek Iseon playing with his flesh. He had already been feeling hot from when their eyes met earlier. It was Jang Juwon who had wished more than anyone for there to be no interruptions. If Shin Jisu hadn’t interfered, he thought he might have just kissed him. He really never imagined that the sight of him sweating under the summer sunlight would turn him on so much. That light brown hair sparkling brilliantly and that tan skin moistly drenched in sweat were really……
