Chapter 8

“What’s wrong with him? Is he hurt?”
“I think he got hurt a little when he fell earlier…”
“Oh, goodness! Let me see!”

It seemed the young chef had injured himself while rolling across the ground to save Ja-yeong. The old man hurriedly ushered him onto the wooden veranda and made him sit down.

Unable to bring himself to slap the young man on the back when he kept insisting he was fine, Deok-ho coaxed him gently until he finally took off his shirt. His broad back was packed with dense, solid muscle, and it was covered in bluish-purple bruises that looked as though they’d been glazed with celadon glaze and fired.

“What in the world…? Shouldn’t you go to the hospital? Where did I put the truck keys? Hey, Ja-yeong!”

“I’m fine. It’s just…”

Nothing seemed to be broken, so a quick spray of muscle pain reliever ought to do the trick. Eden wasn’t used to people making such a fuss over an injury this minor. Looking awkward, he gave an embarrassed smile, apparently self-conscious about being forced to bare his upper body.

“Grandpa, what is it…?”

Ja-yeong had been slowly following the two of them over. But when she spotted the bare back of the man she’d been shouting at just minutes ago, she stopped in her tracks, flustered.

“Go start the truck, would you? Looks like I’ll have to take Mr. Han to the hospital!”
“There’s no need, sir.”

Eden tried once again to stop the busy old man.

“No need? Look at all those bruises on your back!”
“I’m used to injuries like this. Besides, I don’t think anything’s broken.”

Eden gently covered Deok-ho’s phone with his large hand. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of this. Nor did he want to transfer the burden of guilt Ja-yeong ought to be feeling onto her grandfather.

“Don’t you dare refuse! You got hurt saving my granddaughter. Leaving you like this would be a disgrace!”

If the hospital was out of the question, then medicine was the next best thing. Deok-ho hurried up onto the broad wooden veranda with a surprising burst of speed. He opened a paulownia-wood cabinet beneath a wall calendar from the Nonghyup agricultural cooperative, revealing a medicine box inside.

It had been more than a decade ago, when the old man had taken in young Ja-yeong and raised her himself. Director Jang of Worak Oriental Medicine Clinic had given him the box as a gift. Kids that age were always getting hurt, he’d said, and the days of treating scraped skin with spit or soybean paste were long gone.

“The box may be old, but the ointments are fresh.”

When Deok-ho opened the faded medicine box, he found the medicines and ointments neatly arranged inside, looking almost brand-new. His remarkable knack for keeping a household in order was on full display.

Just then, Mr. Gwak’s voice rang out from a distance.

“Sir! I think you’d better come take a look at this!”

Hearing himself called, Deok-ho shouted back.

“Yeah, yeah! I’ll be right there! Ja-yeong, put some ointment on the young man for me. I’ll go help with the cleanup.”
“I’ll go instead.”

Ja-yeong hurried to volunteer, hoping to avoid being left alone with the man.

“It’s probably something to do with the drying area. That’s something your grandpa needs to handle, so do as you’re told.”

Deok-ho placed a tube of bruise ointment in his granddaughter’s hand, then hurried over the fence.

Like a baby bird left alone in its nest, Ja-yeong could only watch her grandfather disappear into the distance. Without realizing it, she tightened her grip on the ointment.

“……”

Eden was just as awkward about being left alone with her. With his bare upper body still exposed, he quietly picked up his shirt and began to stand.

“Wait…”

Ja-yeong spoke up.

“…Just stay there.”
“……”
“You need to put the medicine on.”

She lightly tugged at the hem of Eden’s shirt. Her grip was feeble, but the man, whose frame was bigger than her grandfather’s bedroom door, easily sank back down.

“Tell me if it hurts.”

Ja-yeong murmured the words before squeezing a generous amount of ointment onto her fingertips. Eden said nothing, simply sitting still and offering her his back.

The soft afternoon sunlight fell across Han Eden’s broad back. The large, bluish bruises bloomed across his smooth skin like blue balloon flowers.

That must’ve hurt…

The kiln yard wasn’t farmland or a residential courtyard. Its ground had been hardened over decades without anyone so much as clearing away the stones. He’d thrown himself onto it and rolled across the rough surface. There was no way he’d come away unscathed.

Ja-yeong, on the other hand, was practically unharmed. She’d scraped her palms and knees a little while crawling on the ground, but that was all. It was because the man had shielded her with his own body.

Who asked him to throw himself in harm’s way to protect me, anyway…?

Ja-yeong pursed her lips as she spread the ointment over his back. The weight of that three hundred million won had come back to haunt her.

Perhaps she pressed too hard, because Eden’s skin twitched and tightened beneath her fingers. The man remained silent, but Ja-yeong, the one pressing on his bruises, was startled enough to ask:

“Oh… did that hurt?”
“Apparently.”

His answer was utterly nonchalant, and Ja-yeong’s face immediately flared red.

“T-then why didn’t you say anything?! I told you to speak up if it hurt!”

The fingertips still coated with ointment began patting briskly against Eden’s firm skin. This time, though, she was careful to avoid the bruises, striking only the uninjured flesh. Watching her sulk like a petulant child, Eden, who had been sitting quietly until then, turned his head. His massive back curved toward her.

“It hurts.”

A response that came far, far too late. Han Eden said it with an utterly untroubled expression. His lips curved upward so gently that he almost seemed merciful.

“……”

Ja-yeong stared at him, her face burning red.

Are we… a little too close?

The sharp, refreshing scent of the bruise ointment mingled with the man’s natural scent. An inexplicable tension made the back of her neck stiffen. Without realizing it, Ja-yeong curled her fingers into a tight fist.

“I’m… sorry I yelled at you earlier.”

When things started feeling strange, changing the subject was the best course of action. Ja-yeong seized the opportunity to apologize.

After all, she had accepted Han Eden’s help. And it was a fact that he’d gotten hurt in her place as a result. Now that she had the chance, it was only right to address what had been weighing on her conscience all this time.

“When I saw the pottery smashed to pieces, I lost my temper for a moment…”
“Are you not going to thank me?”

Honestly, could this man not let her get through one nice moment without ruining it?

“Thank you! Happy now?”

Ja-yeong shot him a sharp, sulky look as she answered. She’d apologized and applied ointment to his back. Surely, that was enough. She sprang to her feet, ready to leave, but Eden caught her.

“Your hand’s in this state. Where do you think you’re going?”
“I-it’s just a few scrapes.”
“Put some medicine on it, too.”
“I’m fine…”
“Do it before you go. I know hands well.”

She tried twisting her hand free, but he wouldn’t budge. Eden’s hand was so large that it felt as though he’d swallowed her entire wrist. After scanning the medicine box, he took out a bottle labeled povidone.

Ja-yeong had no choice but to let him do as he pleased. His fingers were surprisingly gentle as he dabbed the dark reddish-brown liquid onto her little scrapes. And he seemed completely unconcerned by the thick warmth spreading between their clasped hands.

“……”

The sight of the large man bending over to sit beside her seemed a little excessive, as though her hand required an especially thorough inspection. A few strands of hair fell across his smooth forehead, swaying lightly in the breeze.

Ja-yeong watched the movement of his head with quiet fascination.

When she thought about it, there was nothing remarkable about the scene. Just one hand holding a medicine bottle. A few strands of hair swaying in the wind. Nothing worth a second glance, yet she kept finding herself looking at him. Something deep in the pit of her stomach felt strangely tight.

Hoo.

A soft breath brought Ja-yeong back to her senses. Startled, she cried out.

“H-hey! You’ve already applied the medicine, so why are you blowing on it?”
“Povidone-iodine disinfects the wound as it dries.”
“What kind of medicine works like that…?”
“Oh, you didn’t know because you’re just a little girl.”

Eden’s teasing earned him another sharp glare from Ja-yeong. The hulking man simply let out a languid chuckle, completely unbothered.

“You’ve finished applying it, so I can go now, right?”

Just then, Eden’s thick fingers slipped between hers, parting the gaps between her fingers where the dark reddish-brown solution had dried. Startled by the sensation, Ja-yeong looked up.

“I’m sorry, too.”

Eden was looking at her now, his smile gone.

“I didn’t need to raise my voice like that… I was so focused on protecting these hands that I let my emotions get the better of me.”

Han Eden’s gaze was fixed steadily on Ja-yeong, without the slightest wavering. She couldn’t bring herself to part her lips. Instead, she gently bit down on them, unable to stop the tumult in her chest. Eden glanced at her lips, pressed between her pearly white teeth, and continued.

“So…”

“……”

“Let’s give it a try. Just once, for now.”

“…What?”

Ja-yeong snapped back to her senses. Their gazes tangled as he leaned in until he was right in front of her.