Chapter 33
“Is he really your ex-boyfriend? Ah, no wonder….”
Despite having the cigarette he was smoking snatched and thrown on the ground, Son Dongha somehow seemed relieved.
“Then that’s even better. It would have been a headache if you were her boyfriend or in a ‘some’ stage. As you know, I don’t have much time.”
He was audacious to no end. Yohan let out a sneer, trying not to reveal his anxiety.
“You know one thing but not the other. An ex-lover is a relationship that can get back together at any time.”
“Heena noona doesn’t seem very interested in you, though.”
Yohan opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. Those words struck him in the chest. Recalling the conversation he had with Jeong Heena at the cafe, Son Dongha’s words had more merit.
However, between Jeong Heena and him, there was a river that no one could cross: a seven-year-long relationship. It wasn’t a period of time a fledgling who had just met her yesterday could trespass.
“Doesn’t it look like she’s trying hard to act uninterested? Have you ever thought about what that means?”
“……”
Son Dongha gulped. His nervousness was palpable.
From the looks of it, he hadn’t approached Jeong Heena as a joke. It seemed he was sincere, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch. I had to interfere somehow.
It wasn’t because I desperately wanted revenge right after being rejected by Heena, nor was it because I desperately wanted to get back together with her. It was because I wanted Heena to rest comfortably without any worries, at least here in Jinhong-ri.
“Hyung, you’re funny.”
Son Dongha muttered to himself as he turned his back to return to where Heena was.
“You’re nothing to Heena noona, yet you’re making it obvious you’re jealous, and you don’t have the courage to go for it, so you come to me and say things like this. It’s despicable.”
Despicable…? Did I really have to hear something like that from a wet-behind-the-ears kid? I could see right through Son Dongha’s intentions, so it didn’t affect me at all. But it was true that even I found my current behavior ridiculous, so I was slowly getting annoyed.
“And you, smiling all sweet in front of Jeong Heena and then your expression changing the moment you turn around, wow, that’s scary.”
“Aren’t you the same, hyung? I was trying to talk to Heena noona alone, but you cluelessly followed us out and won’t even give us a moment. It’s childish.”
“Why are you trying to keep luring away someone who’s enjoying her pork belly? Who’s the clueless one here? That girl is crazy for pork belly. She’s the type to stuff even undercooked meat into her mouth first so no one else can take it.”
“Just you watch. I’m going to get Heena noona’s number before I leave here, just you see.”
Yohan covered his mouth with his hand and laughed. He doesn’t even know her number yet? Then that was even better. It felt childish that his way of thinking wasn’t much different from that kid’s, but he couldn’t hide the smile that kept creeping out.
“Jeong Heena’s number has been saved in my phone for over 10 years. Go ahead and try your best.”
He patted Son Dongha’s shoulder, who was clenching both fists, and returned to the table first.
Oblivious to everything, Jeong Heena was excitedly playing drinking games with the students. And she was doing it with a bright smile as if she was having the time of her life.
“Heena’s favorite random game!”
Next to Jeong Heena, empty soju bottles were multiplying at a rapid pace. If she wasn’t stopped, she looked like she would stay up all night.
That hooligan is at it again…. Yohan clicked his tongue with a tzzt.
It was about time to head home.
✦⋆🍒.₊ ⊹
Today was the day to go out to the paddies and fields to remove weeds. Although they grew up in the countryside, it was the first time doing farm work for Yohan and Heena, who had never done it before.
As soon as they took off their shoes and socks and entered the paddy field, their feet sank deep into the mud. Heena wanted to quickly catch up to the field owner, who was striding forward, but it wasn’t as easy as she thought.
“Noona, are you okay?”
Just as she staggered and was about to fall, a hand shot out from somewhere and grabbed Heena’s wrist. It was Son Dongha.
“I almost fell. Thanks.”
“Be careful. The ground is slippery.”
Meanwhile, a man was sitting leisurely some distance away with his feet dipped in the paddy, glaring at them.
“What a soap opera.”
Seo Yohan despised physical activity for daily living that wasn’t for his muscles. The reason was that it was a hassle. That’s why even now, he was only watching to see if the students were doing well, not moving himself.
“My, my, what a soap opera you’re watching. But it’s somethin’ to be doin’ that soap opera at least, ain’t it?”
The field owner came over and sat down next to Yohan.
He was a Jinhong-ri fixture who had been close with Yohan and Heena since they were young. He was different from the other elders who had wrapped up their city lives and returned to farming after getting older.
“You used to trail after Heena everywhere when you were kids, and you’re still the same now that you’re older, ain’tcha.”
“It’s the opposite. Jeong Heena was the one running all over the village, and I was the one who was reluctantly dragged along.”
“One way or another, you’re still stickin’ together, ain’tcha?”
“That’s not because we both want to, it’s because of circumstances we can’t help….”
“You still don’t back down from a single word, do ya? And you still sittin’ there watchin’ gracefully like a princess, huh?”
This was why meeting people who knew him too well was uncomfortable. It felt like they were searching for the past Seo Yohan in the present Seo Yohan.
“In your opinion, sir.”
“Huh?”
“Is Jeong Heena still the same too?”
Yohan was continuously watching Jeong Heena, who was giggling and laughing with Son Dongha. The field owner’s gaze also shifted in that direction.
“Hmm.”
The field owner seemed to be thinking deeply about something before finally offering an answer.
“Heena’s the same, too.”
“……”
“That unpredictability of hers, I mean.”
Yohan took a short breath. He couldn’t agree more.
There were often times when he acted like he knew everything about Jeong Heena, but then wondered if he actually knew nothing at all. It happened when, even after all that time together, he couldn’t guess what Jeong Heena was thinking or what she would say or do. At times like that, Yohan felt helpless.
“Anyway, don’t you youngsters just hang out by yourselves, let this old man join in too.”
“You’re busier, sir.”
“What’s there to be busy about when my whole day is workin’ the fields, sellin’ the crops, cookin’ meals, and sleepin’. When are you headin’ back up to Seoul?”
Yohan scratched the back of his neck. He knew he had to return to his place eventually but was procrastinating.
“They say it’s hard to get re-employed these days if you have a gap in your career, ya know?”
“I can make a living even without being employed.”
“Even so, a spring chicken in the prime of his life like you ain’t gonna live here forever, right?”
“I’ll have to… go back up.”
If possible, he wanted to go back up at the same time as Jeong Heena, or later than her. He really didn’t feel like going back up leaving Jeong Heena here alone. But looking at her now, she seemed to be rather enjoying the rural life.
“Look at her, having the time of her life.”
Yohan muttered to himself as he watched Heena scurrying around the paddy, pulling weeds.
“Do you even know you’re smilin’ right now?”
“Me? No way.”
Yohan, wiping his mouth to hide the smile, immediately retorted.
“If ya like her, confess like a man. If you drag your feet, you’ll lose her to a young pup like that.”
The ‘pup’ the field owner pointed at with his fingertip was Son Dongha. He was stuck right next to Heena, watching to see if she would fall, stray onto the wrong path, or pull the wrong thing.
“From a third party’s perspective, a happy ending might be to courageously confess, have the feelings be mutual, and live happily ever after, but reality isn’t that simple.”
“Huh? What’re you sayin’?”
“We’ve already dated once.”
“Then date twice. What’s the problem?”
Yohan listened intently to the old man’s unfunny joke.
“What would change if we dated a second time?”
“A person is different today and different tomorrow. If you watch them your whole life, sides of them you never knew will just pop out. But everyone endures and lives on anyway.”
“……”
“Ah, that’s the fun of livin’! We live for the fun of watchin’ the person next to us, who lives by lookin’ at the ground? Or lookin’ at the sky?”
“…You must love your wife very much.”
“Ah, of course. Needless to say, my mouth hurts talkin’ about it.”
There was a time when he doubted whether a love that doesn’t change even after decades could exist. And whether it was possible to love someone completely different from him more than himself.
It was like that when he fought with Heena, but when they quickly made up and were together, he would feel a conviction that they could love each other for a thousand years. Every time he saw Jeong Heena in pain, he wanted to be the one in pain instead.
Thanks to Jeong Heena, he was exhausted by the emotional roller coaster that went up and down a dozen times a day, and there were times when he wondered if we could really make it to marriage, and was afraid because he couldn’t predict at all what would unfold after they got married.
He still likes Jeong Heena, but looking back at that time, he becomes careful with his words and actions. A feeling like he shouldn’t approach her carelessly. It was for Jeong Heena’s sake.
“Do you think you’re the only one who’s having a hard time? I’m tired and exhausted too!”
The words Heena had spat out during a fight once seemed to echo in his ears.
Jeong Heena was probably feeling the same emotions he was feeling right now. That must be why she was pushing him away. Yohan could confidently say that he knew Jeong Heena better than Jeong Heena herself.
