Looking closer now, the shopping basket sitting in the bicycle’s front basket had something written on it in marker by someone’s hand: [Hosan Supermarket]. Jihwan, not one to talk much, found himself asking about it before catching himself, clearing his throat awkwardly.
“Let’s head out first. Places like this, the sun drops fast.”
“Yes.”
Though the words had been meant for Jihwan and Yongsik, Jeongan answered instead, wheeling his bicycle around toward the front of the car.
“You sure you’ll be alright on that bike? The road looked rough.”
“I’m fine. It won’t take long.”
Yongsik asked from the driver’s seat as he started the engine. Jonghyeok, only now opening the back door, watched Jeongan glance back over his shoulder as he settled onto the bicycle.
“Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”
“Really, I’m fine. I get carsick.”
Jeongan held his ground, quite firmly at that. Both Yongsik and then Jonghyeok had urged him to ride in the car, but he turned them down with reasonably solid excuses. Jonghyeok drew in a breath deep enough to lift his chest, exhaled slowly, and climbed into the car.
Only after watching that did Jeongan turn his gaze forward again. At the same time, he set his foot on the pedal and pushed off.
The old bicycle shot forward. It cut through air that mixed the scent of the sea and the mountain, riding the familiar road with practiced ease. The hair falling over Jeongan’s forehead fluttered up lightly. The strands framing his round head lifted and danced in the air.
The bicycle gradually picked up speed.
The road wound on, long and curving. Riding along it for a good while, Jeongan found his thoughts drifting, unbidden, to the man who would be sitting inside the car. An inexplicable feeling still sat lodged somewhere beneath his throat. Maybe it’s just because it’s been a while since an outsider came into the village.
Perhaps because of that thought, the bicycle abruptly wobbled, its speed dropping sharply. Honk, a lazy horn sounded from behind. Jeongan rose slightly off the seat and pushed harder. For now, he needed to get the outsiders into the village quickly. Listening to the echo of the horn mixed with the wind rushing past his ears, he pressed strength into his thighs and rode on.
And yet the thought kept slipping back in through the cracks. The presence of the unfamiliar outsider, the one who spoke to him so formally, kept wrapping itself around his skin. Jeongan shook his head, trying to clear it, and picked up his pace as the village and the horizon drew steadily closer.
As the village drew nearer, a wind thick with the smell of the sea clung to his fluttering shirt and pale hair. Glancing back to check that the car was following well, Jeongan swung a wide curve past the signpost that read [Hosan Village].
The black car, turning the same wide curve right behind him, showed none of the same unsteadiness the bicycle did. There was a faint, unfamiliar sway to the ride compared to city driving, but it was nothing next to the way Jeongan bounced up and down, riding the unpaved road.
“What are the odds. Didn’t think we’d run into some kid crossing a mountain on a bike instead of a car.”
Yongsik, gripping the wheel, tapped it in mild frustration as he bore the noticeably slower pace. Jonghyeok glanced briefly at that tapping hand, then turned his gaze back to Jeongan’s figure riding ahead of them.
“Guess we’re finally past the mountain. We did come through it, but I honestly can’t remember how… Felt like we’d been hexed by a ghost or something. Same road over and over no matter how far we went.”
Jihwan looked back at the mountain they’d just descended, shaking his head in agreement. Jonghyeok said nothing and rolled down the window.
Through the gap left by the faintly humming window, a wind carrying an even stronger briny scent pushed in, wave after wave. Mixed into that wind was the rustle of leaves from the mountain’s trees, grown green with the arrival of spring. The scent of grass and the smell of the sea, felt at once. Breathing in that strange mixture of scents, Jonghyeok kept his eyes fixed on Jeongan, whose white shirt kept fluttering ahead of them.
Looks just like some sports drink ad model. Yongsik muttered, leaning on the wheel as he drove.
“Didn’t expect to find a guy like that in some backwater village. Looks like he’s twenty, twenty-one or so.”
“What’d he say his name was? Did you ask?”
“Na Jeongan.”
Remote as the village clearly was, even after passing the village signpost, the village itself still hadn’t come into view. With the tedious stretch of road still ahead of them, the men in the car naturally fell into talk about Jeongan, the one leading them just ahead. Jonghyeok put a fresh cigarette to his lips, wanting to smoke again now that meeting Jeongan had interrupted his last one.
“Excuse me, Jeongan.”
Honk, Yongsik sounded the horn again. Startled by the sound, Jeongan, already pedaling hard, began pedaling even harder.
Unable to watch any longer, Yongsik leaned his head out the window and called out.
“You can slow down. Take it easy.”
“…Ah, okay.”
Only then did Jeongan ease off, smiling. Just then, sunlight broke and spilled across his face. Damn, he’s good looking. Yongsik added, his tone offhand.
Before long, they arrived at the edge of the village. Jeongan circled back and matched his pace beside Jonghyeok, pedaling steadily.
“Is there someone you’re looking for?”
The village was quiet and worn down. Still, it seemed cared for, clean and tidy in its own way. Certainly not as developed as the city, but a neat, well-kept place all the same.
“Old man Shin.”
“Old man Shin… if you mean the village head, he’ll probably be at the village hall. I’ll take you there.”
Woof, woof, a dog barked somewhere in the distance. Jonghyeok, who had been looking over the village, turned his gaze to the one riding steadily beside him.
He’d closed the window he’d cracked open earlier, and yet the faint, youthful scent that had reached him when Jeongan leaned down to speak still lingered, faintly, at the edge of his nose. Jonghyeok swallowed a short breath.
“There, that looks like old man Shin.”
Riding beside Jonghyeok, Jeongan pulled smoothly ahead and brought his bicycle to a stop near the village hall. Old man Shin, who had apparently been waiting outside and pacing, looked back and forth at the sight of the car pulling in alongside Jeongan. Then, as Jonghyeok stepped out of the car, he hurried over, his face clearly delighted.
“CEO Choi. That’s you, right?”
“Please, feel free to just call me Mr. Choi.”
Making some effort at courtesy, Jonghyeok had put his jacket back on, unlike when he’d first gotten out of the car on the mountain. Standing a short distance off, Jeongan buttoned his jacket and watched, quietly, as Jonghyeok extended a hand to old man Shin.
“I figured you must’ve gotten lost on the way here, seeing as you were running late. Still, you managed to find it.”
“I ran into Jeongan on the way.”
“Good, good. Mr. Choi, you must be worn out getting all the way out here.”
Even after hearing that Jeongan had guided them there, old man Shin didn’t so much as glance his way. All he did was extend a handshake to Yongsik and Jihwan, who had appeared behind Jonghyeok.
Standing a few steps away from that scene, only Jeongan felt his ears warm at the low sound of his own name in Jonghyeok’s voice.
“Hey, run an errand for me.”
“…Now?”
“Why, you busy? What’s there to be busy about in a tiny village like this? When an elder tells you to do something, you do it.”
Old man Shin, wearing his usual good-natured chuckle, waved Yongsik and Jihwan on inside while gesturing carelessly at Jeongan. Without so much as a moment to cool his warm ears, Jeongan glanced briefly into the basket holding the goods he needed to deliver.
“The guests need somewhere to stay tonight, so go clean out the empty house next to yours. I already told Mrs. Oh yesterday that guests were coming, so she should know.”
Jeongan ran the village’s only supermarket. Whether “ran” was quite the right word for it, he wasn’t sure, but in any case, he looked after the store. He placed orders on his own initiative, and when the delivery trucks came, he’d sort out and bring in whatever the village needed. Most of the villagers were elderly, and getting to other villages wasn’t easy for them, so he served an essential role, bringing in this and that on their behalf.
At some point along the way, Jeongan had also ended up taking on errands for the village elders. It had started small. A block of tofu, a bag of snacks, a bit of cigarettes and liquor. What began as deliveries for the elderly villagers who had trouble getting around had, over time, turned into odd jobs around the village more broadly.
“Then I’ll finish up quickly and come take a look.”
He had no complaints about doing the odd jobs. If anything, it was a source of quiet pride, having something useful to do in the village. But the timing right now wasn’t great. Of all times, his uncles’ deliveries had piled up. If those deliveries ran late, he’d catch an earful for sure, so his mind was already racing ahead.
“I’ll get going first.”
“Off on a delivery?”
“Yes.”
“Got any cigarettes on you? If you do, hand one over.”
Old man Shin, oblivious to any of that, caught Jeongan again just as he was about to dash off. Jeongan rummaged through the basket and pulled out a cigarette.
“Just put it on my tab.”
Naturally, no payment changed hands on the spot. Jeongan climbed onto his bicycle, thinking he’d write it down in the ledger once he finished his deliveries and got back.
And Jonghyeok, still standing there without having gone inside, watched the entire exchange unfold.
“…See you again.”
Jeongan gave an awkward little greeting from atop his bicycle. It was only after he caught Jonghyeok give him a light glance that he finally rode off. Old man Shin’s cigarette, old man Shin’s cigarette… he repeated to himself, so as not to forget to write it in the ledger. The day for collecting all the unpaid tabs was coming up soon.
Ring-ring, the old bicycle hurried away from the spot.
“Come on in, CEO Choi.”
Jonghyeok nodded briefly and walked over to where the bicycle had been standing a moment ago, bending at the waist.
“Let’s do that.”
It was a piece of candy that had fallen out while pulling out the cigarette. Jonghyeok picked it up, slipped it into his pocket, and looked back. The bicycle was already far off in the distance.
“Go make us some drinks, why don’t you. Hm?”
Before heading back to the supermarket, Jeongan made his delivery first. It was a pavilion with the shoreline visible right up close. There, a group of people who didn’t seem particularly glad to see Jeongan sat gathered, playing hwatu.
“This is all of it?”
“The next village over didn’t have much either. I’ll stock up more next time the delivery comes in.”
“Who’s supposed to make do with this… That little punk never does grow a head on his shoulders, no matter how much time passes.”
“Ease up, ease up. Blood doesn’t lie, does it? If he had a head like that, he wouldn’t have ended up the way he did.”
