#009
Kang Dojun’s “Rural Conquest.” It was the day entering the third day.
He wakes up early in the morning. However, if there was someone who woke up earlier than him, it was Lee Yeonwoo. When he opened Yeonwoo’s door, he was nowhere to be seen, having already gone out for a walk.
After attaching the microphone the staff had prepared to his clothes and hearing today’s schedule from PD Han Taegu, he looked at the clock hands and saw it was only 7 AM.
After neatly folding Yeonwoo’s blanket that had become a mess from however he had slept, he opened the wardrobe door.
“…Haah.”
A sigh he couldn’t hold back escaped.
Empty snack bags and crumbs, various clothes, and even dog food bags that he apparently took along when going for walks were positioned in one corner of the wardrobe.
Bug repellent sticky traps? He could understand those as beekeeping supplies. But he had no idea why there was a fishing rod inside the wardrobe.
Besides those, various other unheard-of objects were packed tightly inside.
If only he had at least separated the trash from the clothes that needed washing… He brought a laundry basket and plastic bags and began organizing.
A thick alcohol smell rose from Yeonwoo’s clothes as he sorted them. When he rummaged through the pile of clothes, liquor bottles revealed themselves.
‘He does recycling… right?’
One more plastic bag was added for the liquor bottles. When he separated the objects… or rather, trash from inside the wardrobe, the bottom of the wardrobe was revealed.
After wiping it clean with wet wipes, he left the door open to ventilate the terrible alcohol smell.
After finishing all the cleaning, he even replaced the bathroom light that Yeonwoo had asked for yesterday.
Despite moving energetically from the morning, when he looked at the clock it was still only 8 o’clock. Since Yeonwoo had come in yesterday a little before 9, he guessed he’d come in around that time today too.
To prepare breakfast, he went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. He could make most dishes. He was absorbed in thought about what to make with the ingredients he’d bought at the mart yesterday.
Yeonwoo had found the kimchi fried rice a bit spicy. Since he seemed unable to eat spicy food well, he’d pass on spicy dishes and was carefully looking through the refrigerator when he discovered ingredients he hadn’t seen yesterday.
A hollow laugh burst out.
“I was just joking.”
Four eggs were neatly arranged. Had he woken up Grandma Suni from dawn again today? Had he been terrified looking at the chickens? He felt regretful imagining Yeonwoo’s appearance that he couldn’t see directly.
It seemed like omelet rice would be appropriate for this morning’s breakfast.
As he was making the omelet rice, he heard the sound of the front door opening.
After rinsing his hands, he went out to greet Yeonwoo, who was endearing for bringing him eggs despite his fear of chickens.
“You’re back? …Ah, hello.”
“Well, is this grandma that welcome?”
The person who entered through the front door wasn’t Yeonwoo but Grandma Kyeong-i.
“What? You don’t seem happy to see me? Your expression completely cooled down.”
His first meeting with Grandma Kyeong-i hadn’t been good. He had thought she was Yeonwoo’s biological grandmother, but she was simply a grandma who stole things.
Now he knew that everyone in this village made stealing part of their daily routine, but first impressions were what they were.
Kang Dojun composed his expression and asked:
“Not at all. But why are you here…”
“That brat Yeonwoo seems to have stolen my eggs. I need to check.”
The grandma kicked off her shoes and strode in. Kang Dojun followed the grandma while defending Yeonwoo.
“Well… Yeonwoo is afraid of chickens. How could he have stolen eggs?”
It was the ‘our child isn’t like that, doesn’t bite, is good’ strategy.
Grandma Kyeong-i looked up at Kang Dojun with eyes as sharp as clock hands.
“How do you know our blockhead is afraid of chickens?”
“……”
“It’s obvious without looking! He definitely moved together with Suni.”
It was a sharp and accurate guess without a single error. Grandma Kyeong-i entered the kitchen with even more confident steps.
And seeing the eggs that had become omelet rice, she shouted:
“Look at this, this! Aren’t these my chickens’ babies!? Even though my eyes are dim with age, I can recognize our babies brilliantly!”
If you have a long tail, it gets stepped on – the stealing should have ended yesterday. In fact, it was also his fault for enticing Yeonwoo.
“Ma’am, it’s my fault. I’ll somehow handle the eggs, so please don’t scold Yeonwoo too much…”
“Scold what scold. That kid has thick ears, he’s not the type to listen even if you scold him.”
Kang Dojun grabbed his throbbing head.
To put it bluntly, Grandma Kyeong-i had started the stealing first by taking away all the liquor from Yeonwoo’s house. Kang Dojun very carefully brought up the topic so as not to hurt the grandma’s feelings.
“Ma’am, you also stole all of Yeonwoo’s liquor.”
At his words, Grandma Kyeong-i’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out. Soon after, a piercing loud shout was heard.
“That blockhead took our house’s vacuum cleaner!”
“…Excuse me?”
Kang Dojun’s heart sank at Yeonwoo’s tremendous stealing record. The source of the vacuum cleaner he had just used was unexpectedly revealed.
“I don’t know, he said he’d borrow it and hasn’t returned it for a long time. Still, I’m letting it slide because he comes to clean my house. Normally there’d be no mercy.”
With the situation like this, Kang Dojun had nothing more to say. He could only keep his mouth shut and watch what the grandma was doing.
“I’ll bring the vacuum cleaner back.”
“Nah, forget it. If the house is this dirty, what would we do without even a vacuum cleaner? Still, it’s clean today. Did he clean everything up because a guest was coming? Our kid isn’t a complete blockhead.”
“…Yes.”
Looking at Grandma Kyeong-i smiling with satisfaction, Kang Dojun couldn’t bring himself to say he had done it this time either.
“And about stealing. It’s daily life, daily life. This is the countryside’s affection, so don’t worry too much about it, young man.”
Having said that, Grandma Kyeong-i grumbled as she opened the refrigerator door, looked inside, and her eyes lit up.
“Oh my, why is the refrigerator packed full?”
“…Yes.”
* * *
“I’m back.”
This time, the voice that came with the sound of the front door opening was clearly Yeonwoo’s.
“You’re back?”
Kang Dojun came out to greet him once more. The greeting he uttered finally reached the owner he’d been waiting for.
“Yes.”
Yeonwoo took off his shoes, came in, and asked with eyes full of anticipation:
“Hyung, did you see the eggs in the refrigerator? You said you wanted to eat them, so I specially brought them early this morning. How is it? Do you like them?”
“…Yeah. I made omelet rice with them. First, go wash your hands so we can eat.”
At Kang Dojun’s more lukewarm reaction than expected, Yeonwoo blinked his black eyes. Soon his lips protruded like a duck’s bill.
“You weren’t craving eggs today? You didn’t want to eat them?”
“Well… no, I was craving them. Thanks.”
Only after hearing the word ‘thanks’ did Yeonwoo go wash his hands with a grin.
Meanwhile, Kang Dojun began setting the table. Yeonwoo, who came back after washing his hands, saw the omelet rice and showed a smile that bloomed like a flower.
“Wow, did you make this, hyung? With the eggs I brought?”
“Yeah.”
“It looks just like store-bought.”
He praised it without hesitation and took a big bite. Yeonwoo’s eyes gradually grew larger.
“It tastes like store-bought too! You’re good at cutting hair and cooking – there’s nothing you can’t do, hyung.”
Even such a Kang Dojun had exactly one thing he couldn’t do. He couldn’t even put the omelet rice he’d made himself in his mouth and kept waiting for the right timing to speak.
He needed to tell Yeonwoo to return the vacuum cleaner to Grandma Kyeong-i, and also tell him not to steal eggs anymore in the future.
“Hyung? Why aren’t you eating?”
“Yeah, I should eat. Want some water?”
“Thank you.”
Even as Kang Dojun got up from his seat, he kept glancing at Yeonwoo.
‘When should I tell him…’
He worried whether he’d get indigestion if he spoke while eating. Whether Kang Dojun knew his thoughts or not, Yeonwoo kept chattering away.
“Among the neighborhood dogs, there’s one called Kkamie, and when I saw her today after a long time, her belly was this big. Turns out she was pregnant. No wonder lately…”
“Here, drink this and then talk.”
“Thank you.”
Yeonwoo’s throat seemed blocked too, so he gulped down the water Kang Dojun offered and continued talking.
“No wonder I haven’t seen her lately, it must be because she’s pregnant. I thought Kkamie was male all this time, but she’s female.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Grandma Suni says she’ll probably give birth tomorrow or the day after. She’ll be staying at Grandma Suni’s place for now.”
Kang Dojun wasn’t properly hearing what Yeonwoo was saying. He was just busy timing when to speak.
When Yeonwoo saw he wasn’t responding, he tugged at his collar to prompt an answer.
“Hyung. Kkamie is going to give birth soon.”
“Ah… yeah. That’s interesting.”
“Right? Interesting, right?”
“Yeah.”
It was a soulless answer, but to Yeonwoo who was already excited, only the word ‘interesting’ stuck in his ears.
“So, I asked Grandma Suni to let me know when it’s time for Kkamie to give birth.”
“I see.”
“Yes, I told her we’d go see it together, hyung. You’ll go, right?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing Kang Dojun’s answer that came out without going through his brain because his mind was elsewhere, Yeonwoo gave him precautions.
“Still, she’ll be sensitive during birth, so we have to be really careful when we watch. We can’t make noise or anything.”
Probably if only Yeonwoo stayed quiet, they’d get through it safely.
“Hyung. What are you doing today?”
“Today?”
“Yes, today’s schedule.”
Kang Dojun told him the schedule he’d heard from Han Taegu this morning.
“Store.”
“Store?”
“Yeah, watch the store.”
It was a parade of short words, but Yeonwoo easily caught on.
“Ah, Grandpa Beom was happy that the store would be closed, so you’re watching it instead.”
“Grandpa Beom?”
“Yes, if you go down the lower road, you’ll see it. It’s an old corner store, so it’ll be much easier than yesterday’s farming.”
Old corner store – if Grandpa Beom had heard Yeonwoo describe it that way, it would have been a statement that would have made him furious.
Yeonwoo turned his head to look at Han Taegu, who was waiting in front with bright, round eyes.
“Am I working together too?”
Han Taegu made an apologetic expression and lightly clasped his hands together.
“Please, just until today.”
Yeonwoo didn’t really care as long as the appearance fee came in generously. But then he felt a question about his words.
“Just until today?”
“Yes. The filming schedule for Dojun-ssi watching the store is two days. Please just join us today, Yeonwoo-ssi. Tomorrow is… um, it’s fine.”
Han Taegu mumbled his words. Yeonwoo’s expression stiffened slightly.
‘Don’t they want to pay me?’
Strictly speaking, for Yeonwoo, filming was similar to a sweet part-time job. The feeling of being cut from such a sweet job wasn’t entirely pleasant.
He nodded his head while feeling a bit sulky.
“I understand.”
Kang Dojun was also a bit curious about why Han Taegu had said that. Yeonwoo working together wasn’t in the original plan, and it wasn’t written on the schedule he’d received from the production team either.
Since they’d farmed together, he knew they’d work at the store together too. But why only until today?
As curiosity welled up, Yeonwoo, who had quickly regained his spirits, asked him:
“Hyung, what’s for dinner today? No wait, is there anything you want to eat? I’ll make it for you this time.”
Since Kang Dojun came here, Yeonwoo had always eaten the meals he made. Even though he wasn’t without conscience, he was just thinking that today he’d make an effort to do it himself.
However, that thought was mercilessly shattered by Kang Dojun’s answer.
“…No dinner.”
“…What? Why? We bought a full cart of groceries yesterday.”
At Yeonwoo’s innocent question, Kang Dojun’s lips twitched. After pondering how to say it so Yeonwoo would understand immediately, he bluntly said one thing:
“…It got stolen.”
“What?”
Yeonwoo flinched slightly and asked back. Kang Dojun gave certainty to his question.
“By Grandma Kyeong-i.”
Along with the following words, the sound of a spoon clattering to the floor echoed. The hollow expression on Yeonwoo’s face, captured on camera, looking like his world had collapsed, was a bonus.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
