Chapter 28

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Good-for-Nothing
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As Taeseo scowled at the words "another man's woman," the convenience store door opened with the chime of a bell. Yuna stepped out and placed a bottle she was holding on the table in front of him. Glancing nervously at Jaeseop, she added an unprompted explanation.

“It’s water. To thank you for helping me get to the hospital the other day.”

Watching Yuna’s back as she cleaned up her half-eaten meal and went back inside, Taeseo abandoned the thought of questioning why the man had called her his woman. It seemed better for An Yuna’s peace of mind.

Jaeseop watched Yuna like a hawk before stubbing out his cigarette and heading up to the second floor.

The weather had been gloomy, and now a rumble of thunder echoed from between the clouds.

He’d felt an undercurrent of irritation from the moment he stepped outside, but now Taeseo’s mood had truly soured.

He couldn’t tell if it was because of the brute who called An Yuna his woman, or because of An Yuna herself, who had approached him to eat together only to flee at the sight of that same brute.

Raindrops began to fall, darkening the asphalt.

Taeseo drove toward the village chief's house. The chief was already outside his gate, waiting for him.

When he pulled over, the chief climbed into the passenger seat. His muddy feet dirtied the mat, but Taeseo let it go, figuring it was nearly impossible to keep a car clean in the countryside on a day like this.

“Is Manager Woo Hyunwoo not coming today?”

“No. He had to stay at the site office to file a report.”

Taeseo drove toward Kim Kkotnim’s house. The raindrops hit the dust-covered car, creating reddish streaks.

“That guy really can’t hold his liquor. Did I tell you I’ve never seen someone pass out after just three drinks?”

“I know. I’m not sure how he’ll manage in the professional world with a tolerance like that.”

“Must be tough for you, Manager Kwon, working with him. You probably have to drink his share, too.”

The gate to Kim Kkotnim’s house came into view up ahead.

Taeseo had been about to say that drinking sessions rarely got that intense, but he held his tongue and parked in front of the gate.

He knocked on the steel gate, but there was no response from inside. After knocking a few more times, Taeseo raised his voice and called out.

“Excuse me. Is Mrs. Kim Kkotnim home?”

With a creak, the gate opened, and Kim Kkotnim peered out, her hand on the gate.

“We’re from Namgyeong Development.”

Upon spotting Taeseo under his umbrella, Kim Kkotnim’s face hardened into a scowl.

“I told you not to come back.”

It was an order to leave before they had even set foot inside. Seizing the opportunity, the village chief stepped in.

“Ma’am.”

Spotting the village chief emerge from behind Taeseo, Kim Kkotnim’s wrinkled eyelids relaxed. She had let her guard down upon seeing a familiar face.

“Chief, what are you doin’ here? With a scoundrel like him.”

“I came to hear what the folks from Namgyeong Development have to say. If it’s good news, I’ll back them up. If not, I’ll chase them off myself.”

The village chief subtly took Kim Kkotnim’s side, and the old woman finally opened the gate.

Taeseo and the chief stepped inside. The old house, with only its roof and walls repaired, still had its traditional narrow wooden veranda and main hall.

The chief sat on the edge of the veranda under the eaves, and Taeseo took a seat next to him.

“Looks like Yunho’s dad is home today, too.”

The chief’s gaze fell on a pair of shoes below the veranda. They were old, dirty sneakers caked in mud.

“He came home drunk as a skunk last night and is passed out inside.”

“Goodness, he needs to get his act together. What’s he going to do, drinking like this all the time when it’s the peak of the farming season?”

Kim Kkotnim answered the chief’s words curtly.

“Don’t you go talkin’ bad about my son. You need a plot of land to farm. He’s got nothin’ to do since he sold it all off, so what else is he gonna do?”

“If he doesn’t have a plot, he can work for hire. There’s plenty of work this time of year.”

“The hell you mean, work for hire? We may be livin’ like this now, but this family used to be the most respected in the village. A man is useless without land. It’s all because of the land.”

Taeseo let Kim Kkotnim’s words wash over him as he glanced at the door on the far side of the hall.

Hearing that An Yuna’s uncle was sleeping inside, he felt it was a good thing he’d come today. The sun had been up for a while; even if the man had drunk himself into a stupor, his ears would still be working.

If he dropped a hint about compensation money, An Yuna’s uncle, a man desperate for cash, would surely seek him out on his own.

If Taeseo were to approach the uncle himself and try to negotiate, he’d be criticized for trying to buy land from a man who couldn’t function properly. But if the uncle came to *him*, he would have a way to sidestep that criticism.

Taeseo was prepared to use An Yuna’s notorious good-for-nothing uncle to resolve the land issue.

“There’s no rule that says a person can only work in the fields.”

At Taeseo’s words, a flash of anger crossed the old woman’s face.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your granddaughter works at a convenience store and a factory, not in the fields. If a young girl like her can do that, your son should be working too.”

“Don’t give me that nonsense!”

He had brought up the possibility of working without land as a lead-in to mention that the new golf resort would create more jobs in the village.

But Kim Kkotnim seemed to hate the very mention of An Yuna’s name coming from Taeseo’s mouth.

“Don’t you dare speak Yuna’s name, not with that mouth of yours!”

“That wasn’t meant to be just about Miss An Yuna.”

“Enough! I know you’re renting a room in our house, but if you so much as lay a finger on Yuna, I’ll tear your eyes out. So you watch how you behave!”

Sensing the murderous intent, the village chief intervened.

“Oh, ma’am. Why say something so terrifying? I know him, and Manager Kwon here isn’t that kind of person. He’s a decent man, even rolled up his sleeves to help out with farm work when we were short on hands.”

“Decent or not. Outsiders are no good, so don’t you take my words lightly. If I catch you tryin’ any funny business, I’ll chop your manhood right off.”

It seemed the idea of An Yuna getting close to an outsider had triggered the grandmother’s trauma from her daughter’s pregnancy and childbirth.

In any case, to get the deal done, he had to clear up Kim Kkotnim’s misunderstanding.

“Ma’am, there are plenty of women in Seoul who are crazy about me. And I’m not interested in country girls, either.”

But Kim Kkotnim, having already branded Taeseo a scoundrel, didn’t believe a word he said.

“You can say anything with that mouth of yours.”

“Ma’am, Manager Kwon isn’t that untrustworthy. Please, just listen to what he has to say. He came here with a pretty good proposal…”

At the chief’s mediation, the grandmother fell silent with a sullen expression and looked at Taeseo.

“As the chief said, I’m not here to talk about the land today, but about what happens after the golf resort is built.”

“…”

“Once the resort opens, it will create at least a hundred new jobs. It’s unlikely people will move all the way to the countryside for work, so most of the positions will be filled by locals.”

“What’s more jobs got to do with my family?”

“Although it’s a public golf course, Namgyeong will eventually take over the operating rights. To minimize changes when the rights are transferred, Namgyeong and the local government have agreed to consult on operations. It’s even possible to hire staff by giving extra points to the immediate family of those who sold their land to Namgyeong. That means Mr. An Yunho or Miss An Yuna could get a job at Namgyeong.”

The word “job” seemed to sway her a little, as the old woman’s expression softened. The village chief, who was keenly interested in the town’s development, seized the moment and raised his voice.

“I was so impressed when I heard that from Manager Kwon. What a great idea! This town has no work besides farming, but now there’ll be jobs. Then restaurants will open, and people will be looking for studio apartments. It’s a hundred times better to sell the land for a fair price and get Yunho a job than to just sit by and have it appropriated for pennies.”

But he shouldn’t have said the land would be appropriated for pennies. The chief’s words once again struck a nerve with Kim Kkotnim.

“So you were Namgyeong’s stooge all along.”

“What?”

“Is this some communist country? What era are we in that you can just appropriate someone’s land!”

As Kim Kkotnim’s demeanor changed, the village chief grew flustered and tried to backtrack.

“No, ma’am, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that the law is the law. Namgyeong Development can’t proceed with construction because of your land, and they’re losing money every day. It’s not like you’re going to cover all those losses. Why not take this chance to sell the land to Namgyeong and think about getting Yunho a job there later—”

“So you were in on it together, trying to buy up my land for cheap!”

“No, ma’am, that’s not it…”

Kim Kkotnim crossed the yard barefoot and grabbed a sickle that was lying by the water tap.

“You goddamn bastards! I oughta take this blade and slice your mouths right open, you good-for-nothing mutts!”

“Ma’am, why are you suddenly grabbing a sickle?”

Startled, the chief grabbed his shoes and fled barefoot into the yard.

“You sons of bitches. I’m gonna send you to an early grave today!”

Faced with the grandmother’s fury, Taeseo fled to the chief’s side without even putting on his shoes. In his hand was a pair of black dress shoes.

“I don’t think today’s the day. That old woman, she’s always been the type to see red and lose all reason.”

The chief grabbed Taeseo’s hand and pulled him through the half-open gate.

As he was being dragged out, Taeseo glanced back.

From inside the main hall, a door opened, and An Yuna’s disheveled uncle appeared, yelling out into the yard.

“Mom! Why are you making such a racket and disturbing the whole neighborhood!”

Thinking that was enough, Taeseo turned his head away without a second thought.

After today’s commotion, An Yuna’s uncle would know he was the person in charge of land acquisition.

All that was left now was to wait for him to come calling.