After Story 262

He walked cautiously along the field covered in a plastic sheet. He walked alongside the spring onions before stopping after finding a squiggly vine. He could see a large watermelon through the stems that looked like curly hair.

“Elder! Why don’t you give me one of these?” Maru turned around and said to Moonjoong, who was picking some cherry tomatoes.

“Hey, that one’s more expensive than you are.”

“Don’t say that and give me one. It looks perfectly ripe and ready to be split.”

“I sent you over there to get some chives and spring onions, but you set your eyes on something else. Just get those chives and spring onions!”

“You’re so cruel.”

He tried tapping on the watermelon with his palm. Based on his experience running dozens of fruit vendors, this was perfectly ripe.

“Come over here now.”

“Yes, I’m coming.”

He left the field with the spring onions and chives in a basket by his waist.

“Isn’t it hot?”

“Isn’t field work better done when it’s hot? That way, the food tastes more delicious.”

The elder laughed before saying that he was right. They walked along a narrow road next to a ditch. Not long later, the elder’s house could be seen.

“Why did you invite an important guest to make him work,” said the madam who was cleaning up some green plums in the garden.

“Isn’t the one in front of you not a guest?”

“Haneul is such a sweet girl that she’s helping me out even if I tell her not to.”

“This guy also followed me to the field because he has a good nature.”

“He looked at me like a cow being dragged for slaughter though?”

Maru only smiled awkwardly at the madam who looked towards him, looking for an agreement.

“Stop making people work and you come here. Haneul, Maru, you two can go for a walk. Behind our house is a path that leads up to the entrance of the mountain, and it’s nice and cool there. There’s a stream too.”

“I’ll go once I’m done with this,” Haneul said.

The madam frowned and snatched the plum from Haneul’s hand.

“Now.”

His wife stood up with a smile.

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“Then we’ll go take a look around. Actually, I was curious about what was around here.”

“This one looks like he wants to go for a walk too. Should we take him?” Maru asked as he picked up a puppy that hung around his feet. It was a small pup with yellow fur. According to what the elder said, he hung around the house back when they moved here, so they took him in.

“Yes, you can take him too.”

They left the house with the puppy on a leash. The pup, who had left the house, rejoiced and sniffed the ground for a while before hiding in the shade.

“The ground must be hot. I should pick him up.”

The ground, scorched by the sun, was just as hot as asphalt. Maru picked up the pup. As though used to having someone carry him around, the puppy stayed still.

“I’m glad to see both of them doing well,” Haneul said.

“Yeah.”

“But when did you change your way of addressing him? You called him sir when we visited them by ourselves last winter.”

“I had a chance to drink with the elder a while back. I called him ‘elder’ out of habit like before, and he told me to call him that in the future, saying that it was much easier on the ears.”

“That’s good. You must have gotten used to that way of calling him. It was like that just in the last life too.”

His wife seemed to have recalled the previous life as she spoke with a smile.

“This place definitely is cooler,” he said as he entered the foot of the mountain. Trees with a lot of leaves were blocking out the sun.

He put down the puppy in his arms. The puppy ran around with his short legs and sniffed around the nearby trees. He really liked sniffing.

“Living in the city makes me long for these sceneries while living here makes me miss the conveniences of the city.”

His wife gestured to him and left the mountain path. When he followed her, he saw some mugwort there.

“Should we pick some and make some soup?”

“Summer mugworts are too bitter and can’t be eaten. You know that.”

“Who knows? It might actually be good if you try it out.” his wife said with a smile.

They moved along the mountain path until they eventually smelled some water. It was the stream that the madam talked about. This place seemed to be a popular resting spot in the neighborhood as many kids were dipping their feet in and playing around.

She took off her sandals and walked over to the stream.

“It’s not as cold as I thought.”

Haneul sat down on top of a rock. Maru watched her for a while before taking out his phone. The sunlight that broke down through the leaves was reflected off the surface of the water, and that light hit her face. This place was practically a studio with natural lighting.

“What are you doing?” his wife turned around and asked.

“Don’t look here and look in front of you. The side of your face is prettier.”

“But I don’t want to.”

She stared at the camera lens.

He smiled and kept tapping on the button. His wife, who had been staying still, also changed her pose as though she was posing for a photo shoot.

“It doesn’t look all that good. This one’s lacking too,” Haneul said as she looked at the photos taken.

“This is the limit of what phone cameras can do. It’ll be better if it’s touched up though.”

“It’s not a problem with the photographer?”

“How many years of experience do you think I have?”

His wife, who grumbled about not liking the photos, eventually picked a few of them. He sent them over to her phone.

“People are asking if I’m here with you,” his wife said as she showed him her phone screen.

Comments were coming up as soon as she uploaded the photo on social media. Half of them said that she was pretty, and the other half said that they should take a photo together if they were there together.

“Try standing next to me,” Haneul said as she raised her phone up high.

He stood side by side with her before pulling his head backward.

“Why are you going back?”

“Because my head looks too big when I’m next to you.”

He picked up the puppy and took a photo with the puppy between them. They left the stream and took a stroll around the mountain before heading back to the elder’s house.

On their way there, his wife said that she was hungry. She said she was eating little these days and had a hard time. While Maru thought that it wasn’t something that someone would say after eating two bowls of rice for breakfast, he didn’t say anything and stayed still.

“People are all saying the same thing after seeing the photo I uploaded,” said his wife.

“What are they saying?”

“That your head looks big.”

“See? I should’ve pulled back a little more. They don’t know that your head is abnormally small. I’m the normal one, you know?”

As they walked while having a conversation, they arrived in no time. Maru could see a low wooden platform over the fence.

And on it was a watermelon. He went inside feeling delighted.

“You said you wanted to eat a watermelon, didn’t you?” said the madam.

“You’re the best, ma’am.”

“I didn’t bring it here. My husband did. That one is the watermelon he told me not to touch because it had to be picked in a week, but he brought it here when you said you wanted to eat it. Geez, you gotta acknowledge his love towards his student.”

“But he told me not to even dream about it.”

“That’s just what he says on the outside.”

Maru picked up a slice of watermelon and shouted to the inside of the house.

“Elder! You should have some watermelon.”

“He went to the supermarket.” The madam pointed at a spot in the garden. The scooter that was there before could not be seen. “He’ll be back soon, so don’t mind him and just eat it. Haneul, you should have some as well. It’s really sweet.”

His wife made a soft smile and received the watermelon. The madam looked at Haneul who took a big bite out of the watermelon and complimented her for eating so deliciously.

Fruit juices seeped out of her lips as she smiled. She was a total kid in front of the madam. Maru pulled out some napkins and wiped her.

“Sounds like he’s here.”

The scooter’s sound could be heard. Over the fence, the elder could be seen wearing a helmet.

“You should’ve asked me to do it,” Maru said as he approached the elder.

The elder smiled and shook his head.

“The supermarket is nearby. Also, take these.” The elder lifted the seat of the scooter. Inside were various foods that he bought from the supermarket.

The first thing that caught his eye was some thick pork belly.

“Didn’t Haneul say she wanted to eat pork belly? That’s why I bought some right away.”

“But I said I liked ribs better…”

“You eat whatever’s given to you.”

“Did you know that your treatment of me has gotten a lot stingier ever since Haneul started coming with me?”

“That’s very good of you to know that.”

He smiled and picked up the luggage. He went to the kitchen and started washing the vegetables he picked in the field. Halfway through, the madam came in and told him to just leave them be.

“Us two men will prepare dinner so get some rest.”

The madam said to the elder, “Don’t order Maru around too much.”

“I don’t order him around, it’s the other way round.”

The madam smiled and left the kitchen. The elder, who was peeling some onions next to him, spoke,

“I thought this when I first met you two, but the two of you suit each other.”

“She’s too good for the likes of me.”

“You two are saying the same thing there too. Yes, that’s what’s good. The small arrogance that comes from thinking you’re better than your partner will bring about irreparable problems later on in life. I hope you two can wisely spend your lives.”

“We will. Just like you and the madam.”

“That will be difficult. We are no ordinary husband and wife.”

The elder, who was laughing, suddenly teared up. He ended up touching around his eyes with the hands he was peeling the onions with.

“I’ll do it.”

He took over preparing the vegetables and finished them off. He put the ceramic pot on the stove and fried some meat before pouring water and doenjang.

The elder, who was watching by his side, spoke,

“I heard that these days, men have to be good at cooking. I see that they were right when I see you.”

“It’s fun if you get the hang of it. You should try learning it too.”

“My wife will let me do anything besides stuff in the kitchen. I just don’t have the dexterity.”

He nodded before putting some ssam vegetables[1]?in a bowl.

“That script of yours.”

“Have you read it?”

“I went through it a little last night.”

When they arrived here yesterday, his wife gave the elder a scenario. Casting the elder in her work was one of the reasons for visiting.

“If you don’t like it, then you can refuse. Haneul will be very disappointed and she might even cry, but that can’t be helped.”

“Why don’t you just outright threaten me instead?”

“I also hope that you can do it, elder.”

The elder smiled.

“It is a principle of mine to not do a cameo appearance unless it’s a special occasion. I did that a couple times in the past and had multiple people tell me they were disappointed I didn’t accept their offer. I would normally refuse, but…”

As the elder was speaking, his wife poked her head inside the kitchen.

“I’ll help out as well.”

“No. It’s almost over, so go play around in the garden.”

“I’ve been playing around too much. You’re going to grill the meat on the pot lid, right? I’ll light the fire in the garden.”

“You know how to?”

“Of course, I’m good at it.”

His wife came inside the kitchen and gave them some bite-sized pieces of watermelon.

The elder smiled and thanked her. Maru also received the watermelon with his mouth.

After Haneul left, the elder continued where he left off.

“I’ve got the watermelon now, so I can’t refuse.”

“Haneul will be very happy to hear that. She really likes you.”

“I’m grateful that she likes an old actor like me.”

The elder put the side dish containers from the fridge onto a tray.

“Haneul must be getting hungry. Let’s set up and get to eating.”

“You should think about me too.”

“You’re just a sidekick for her.”

Maru smiled faintly and followed the elder.

[1]?Vegetables that are used for ‘ssam’ (wrap). Usually, lettuce and sesame leaves.