The front of the supermarket was the sunniest spot in the village. That was why people came here to dry chili peppers, or, like now, to gather for the little tasks the aunties liked to putter away at. It was also a well-situated spot where both the sea breeze and the fresh wind blowing down from the mountains gathered.
Jeongan shook his head, feeling good just taking in the aunties’ lively energy.
“This one’s just on me.”
“Aigo, our Jeongan can’t even earn much yet and he’s already so generous.”
“Yeongi! When’s the ramen going to be done?”
“It’s done. Just bring the plates over.”
“Oh my, that smells good.”
Jeongan hurried into the supermarket to grab plates and spoons. He gathered water and cups in his other arm and carried them all out to the platform. Auntie Yeongi had set a pot big enough to boil ox bone broth in on top of an old phone book on the platform. Well-cooked eggs and a fiery red broth were boiling away inside.
“Ramen really is the best when you’re working. It’s always what I crave at times like this.”
“Next time we should throw some crab in and boil it up. Just catching this sea breeze makes me crave seafood ramen so bad.”
“You’ve been married into this countryside for forty years now and you’re still like that? At this rate all the crab around here’s going to run out from your ramen cravings!”
The boisterous aunties naturally scooped out the ramen, passing bowls along, sharing spoons, and laughing. Jeongan gathered up the baskets, knives, and greens the aunties had been handling until just a moment ago and pushed them off into a corner.
“Should I boil some more?”
Jeongan asked, looking at the pot, its ramen already gone. The auntie sitting closest to him rummaged through her clothes and shook her head.
“Cold rice mixed in will do fine. You’ve got that instant rice, right? Just go sell us some of that.”
“Let’s collect payment before everyone eats.”
Though these were people who’d long lived without much distinction between “your house” and “my house,” they still waited without eating until Mrs. Oh picked up her chopsticks. Mrs. Oh gave the table a quick once-over, then abruptly picked up her chopsticks and slurped down some ramen.
“I know full well everyone’s been running up tabs without paying. Do I really have to say it out loud every time to get you all to pay up?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“You all know better. Why do I always have to raise my voice like this to get through to you, at your age?”
“Aigo, sister. My head’s been foggy lately, that’s all. Ever since I had my Hyeonjong, I’ve had this forgetfulness.”
“I saw Hyeonjong recently and his hair’s gone completely white. Wrinkles all over his face! And you’re still going on about baby Hyeonjong? Hyeonjong’s an old man himself now!”
Another round of hearty laughter burst out among the aunties. Jeongan pressed down the corner of his mouth, which was twitching to smile, remembering how during the last holiday, Hyeonjong hyung, now a middle-aged man with a paunch, had come to visit the village loaded down with gifts.
“Jeongan. Here. Payment for drying chili peppers on the platform last time, and last month’s tab.”
“Thank you.”
“This is for the drinks I ran up a tab on before. Right?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“How much do I owe again? Jeongan, last time….”
Thanks to Mrs. Oh, Jeongan managed to collect on the overdue tabs and carefully tucked the money into his inner pocket. He wasn’t particularly fond of money itself, but the moment of receiving it still felt good, like proof that living honestly paid off. Not that there was much to spend money on in this small village anyway.
“Jeongan, go on and get back to work now.”
“Missus. The boy needs to eat first.”
“What’s a boy doing wanting to sit in on us womenfolk having fun. He’s got yesterday’s lost business to make up for too.”
“Oh my, we can’t have Jeongan’s pepper falling off now, can we.”
Even at the aunties’ teasing jabs, Jeongan rose from his seat with a practiced blush, used to it by now. He handed out one more portion of instant rice for free before heading out, then threw open the back door of the supermarket. Today the sea surrounding the village was relatively calm. As spring came on, the waves seemed to be growing gradually warmer.
The gently rolling waves made a crisp sound as they stirred up white foam. It scattered without any clear sense of where it broke apart, mixing back into the next incoming wave and sinking down into the deep sea. Watching the waves push up toward the shore, then finding his eyes already following the next wave rolling in, Jeongan felt his mind get swept away in the blue and white currents.
After taking in the sea to his heart’s content, Jeongan remembered the delivery request for around lunchtime and got on his bike. Even though the supermarket wasn’t far, the villagers loved using delivery. Mrs. Oh knew Jeongan used deliveries as an excuse to run all sorts of errands for people, and she’d say in her sharp voice that he should charge a delivery fee on top, but that was out of the question. Living in the same village, seeing each other’s faces every day, it felt wrong to charge for something like that.
He was just glad if he got paid on time for the goods themselves. Running a tab was such an everyday thing in the countryside that a delivery fee was something he’d never even dream of.
In any case, once Jeongan finished his deliveries, he went back to the supermarket and had a quick lunch. He wrapped up his work fast, delivered makgeolli to the aunties who’d moved over near the beach, and came back to sweep the floor. He was about to clean up around the snack section when someone came in without a sound and tapped on the counter.
It was Yongsik, waving his hand loosely, dressed in a shirt with a flashy pattern and baggy work pants. A gold necklace hung around his neck, and, perhaps in an attempt to dress up, his shirt collar was popped all the way up to his chin.
Still vividly remembering what had happened the day before, Jeongan bowed his head in greeting with a slightly tense expression.
“Hello.”
“Got cigarettes?”
“The boss bought this kind.”
Jeongan pulled out and showed him the brand Jonghyeok had bought, since the selection wasn’t very wide. Yongsik seemed lukewarm about it, as if it didn’t quite match his taste.
“Anything besides this….?”
I’ll probably need to stock more brands of cigarettes next time I get a delivery. Seems like they’ll be staying a while, after all…. Jeongan called out the names of the cigarettes one by one, checking if there was something Yongsik wanted. Yongsik picked out a reasonable option from among them.
“Can I use card? I only have card on me.”
“Yes.”
Yongsik pulled his wallet from the pocket of his floral shirt and held out a card.
“Heard you brought this over yesterday. Thanks for the clothes. Fits better than I expected. What do you think?”
While running the card, Jeongan looked over Yongsik’s outfit. It was the clothing he’d brought over the day before for the two of them, soaked through with water. Red and purple, with a loud floral pattern. A five-thousand-won shirt sold at the market in the town center, which was a good ways off even though it was technically the next town over.
“It’s just that you’ve got the body for it, so anything looks good on you….”
The clothes really did suit Yongsik in an oddly fitting way. His huge build and thick neck covered in floral print made for a strangely good match.
Watching the payment confirmation appear, Jeongan asked carefully.
“Is your back okay?”
“…My back? Ah, I thought you meant something else. I got hit plenty as a kid, so this kind of thing’s nothing. It’s been a while since I got hit that hard out of nowhere, but well…. Oh right, there was ointment on top of the towel too. Used it, thanks.”
Yongsik didn’t seem to think much of it. He even thanked Jeongan for the ointment, scratching hard at the spot he’d been hit with the broom.
“Uncle Yongsik.”
“…Yes?”
“Feels like I’ll be sticking around here a while, so we should get friendly. You’re Jeongan, right. I’m Park Yongsik. Call me Uncle Yongsik. Twenty-two, was it?”
“Ah… yes.”
“Right, so uncle it is, then. Twenty-two, good age to be.”
He had a different look from Jonghyeok, but Jeongan already knew about that solid build and the images drawn all over his body. Even though he’d only seen Yongsik being fierce the day before and had been tense because of it, seeing him like this, he seemed to have a fairly friendly personality. He showed off a shirt city people would never wear, and threw around all kinds of comments in the same easy manner the village grandmothers used, chatting away without any reserve.
“Mind if I hang out on the platform for a bit? A bowl of makgeolli would hit the spot right about now.”
“Sure. We’ve got more kinds of makgeolli too.”
Yongsik, who’d just told Jeongan to call him uncle, pulled two bottles of makgeolli from the fridge and immediately ran his card again. Not used to having payments go through so quickly and easily like this, Jeongan filled a bowl with roasted corn snacks and brought it out to the platform.
Looking touched by that, Yongsik grinned and grabbed Jeongan, who tried to decline, pulling him in to share the makgeolli. He even grabbed the back of Jeongan’s neck and slapped it roughly a few times, expressing his satisfaction in his own rough way.
“Aigo, what’d you come to buy?”
Having quickly polished off both bottles, Yongsik still seemed to want more but held back, smacking his lips instead. He struck up conversation with the customers coming into the shop instead. The villagers were taken aback at first by Yongsik’s easygoing, playful manner, but ended up commenting that they liked his clothes before heading out.
Watching Yongsik blend in with the villagers so quickly, Jeongan couldn’t help a small smile. Seeing him stay calm even as people reacted awkwardly to him, and even settling in for a nap under the lazy afternoon sun, made a laugh slip out of Jeongan without meaning to. He really did seem to have quite the easy, sociable nature.
Quite a while later, Jeongan came out to clear away the empty dishes Yongsik had used and found himself glancing at the vivid images visible through the gaps in his shirt. He’d caught a brief glimpse the day before, but this was the first time he’d actually looked at someone’s tattoo with his own eyes like this. The only thing he’d ever known as “tattoo” was the village grandmothers riding the van out to get their eyebrows tinted. But here it was, something that really did look like a dragon, or maybe a tiger, actually inked onto skin.
Those incredible images, hidden behind that red and purple shirt….
Riiiing, riiiing. Riiiing, riiiing. His phone suddenly rang in his pocket. Startled, Jeongan flinched and picked up.
Bring a carton of cigarettes. The kind I usually get. Bring soju too. If you’re late like last time, you’re in for it.
It was a delivery request that got straight to the point without so much as a greeting before hanging up. Jeongan finished writing in the ledger, then glanced down the alley, which had grown noticeably quiet.
Evening came early to the village. Once the sun went down, everyone headed home. Leftover tasks were saved for tomorrow, and people hurried home before the sea grew rough. The lack of proper streetlights along the alleys played a part in that too.
By that time, there was no point keeping the shop open, since there’d be no customers anyway. Jeongan packed cigarettes and soju into a basket and shook Yongsik awake.
“Um….”
“…..”
“Um, uncle…. You need to head back now. Uncle.”
