Chapter 18

#18 <The Wind Blows (3)>

***

Dad brought home a black-boned chicken.

Giving a chicken as a New Year’s gift, how simple and heartwarming are these neighbors?

‘It looks really scary.’

The black-boned chicken, known for its ferocious temperament, became a tyrant as soon as it entered the coop. Though smaller than other roosters, it excelled in strength, speed, and stamina. With a single flap of its wings, the other chickens instinctively avoided it.

This tyrant not only pecked at the eggs laid by the hens, breaking them and eating the yolks, but also caught and ate mice that tried to steal feed from the coop.

Good heavens, a chicken eating mice?

The sight of it swallowing a mouse whole was so grotesque that the Son family had to hug each other and tremble in fear, thinking they might die if pecked.

‘Oh, what a remarkable creature.’

Jin Hyuk’s eyes sparkled.

The glossy feathers resembled those of a crow, the emperor of the sky. And those sturdy legs? They reminded him of Ben Johnson.

‘From now on, your name is Chicken Johnson.’

Jin Hyuk quietly opened the coop.

As expected, Chicken Johnson, with its strong desire for freedom, strutted out. It scanned its surroundings with menacing eyes. Jin Hyuk, who fully understood that longing, even felt a sense of camaraderie. Just a few days ago, he too had been running around seeking freedom.

But camaraderie aside… he lightly tapped the black-boned chicken’s head with a stick.

*Peck-.*

*Flap flap flap!* Chicken Johnson reacted in a hundredth of a second. Truly living up to its sprinter name.

As the black-boned chicken lunged, Jin Hyuk stomped the ground.

He took off running!

“Ahhh!”

His butt got pecked. He was off to a bad start.

He needed to create some distance.

From afar, he threw a small stone to provoke it.

*Peck peck peck!*

The black-boned chicken charged, flapping its wings. Like Chicken Johnson, its posture and balance were perfect.

Jin Hyuk quickly dodged.

‘Great! This will help with my starts.’

The day he beats Jang Gun-i in a sprint isn’t far off.

But Chicken Johnson was no pushover.

*Peck peck peck!* A triple beak attack landed on his butt.

“Ahhh! That hurts, man!”

Chicken Johnson must have been holding back its strength.

Good heavens, a strength-hiding chicken.

Jin Hyuk’s eyes sparkled. Geniuses are destined to live with the envy and jealousy of those around them. Perhaps Chicken Johnson knew this and hid its strength.

‘Chicken Johnson… I respect you.’

Jin Hyuk clenched his left fist with his right hand and extended it. It was a gesture of respect toward Chicken Johnson, acknowledging it as both a mentor and a formidable opponent.

Dad, who was watching, held his stomach and laughed.

From the wooden doghouse, Jang Gun-i gave a pitiful look.

Ignoring Jang Gun-i’s gaze, Jin Hyuk delved into serious contemplation.

‘If I had known Chicken Johnson earlier, my reflexes would have improved.’

Then he wouldn’t have been humiliated in the short-distance race against Jang Gun-i.

Even now, with a physique and speed that belied his age, Jin Hyuk felt regret.

Talent shines brighter the earlier it’s discovered and the longer it’s honed, like a gemstone. So he made a decision.

“Dad, can you buy a few more black-boned roosters?”

“Sure.”

Dad, who was busy building a sled in the yard, readily agreed.

Dad had been amused watching Jin Hyuk train his starts by tormenting the black-boned chicken daily. He had already planned to get more. He had bought a computer and game consoles, but his son only played with his younger sibling or read books at home. Thinking his son had unique tastes, Dad decided to become the kind of father who buys chickens if his son enjoyed playing with them.

‘Acting all high and mighty as a rooster, using all its energy for mating.’

Son Kwang-yeon chuckled, recalling the hen whose neck feathers had been completely plucked by Chicken Johnson. Roosters often pecked the back of hens’ necks during mating. Was the back of a hen’s neck an erogenous zone?

Anyway.

After about ten training sessions, Chicken Johnson would tire and retreat to the coop on its own. Living up to its name, Jin Hyuk mixed medicine into its feed and even fed it gochujang, following folk remedies. As the ruler of a harem of hens, Chicken Johnson had clear limits as Jin Hyuk’s training partner. Speaking of harem chickens, it had a certain maker vibe.

As Son Kwang-yeon pondered this, his face brightened.

“It’s done-.”

“Why did you make another sled when we already have one?”

“Soo Jung should ride too.”

“Ah…”

Since half the vacation had passed, it was time for guests to arrive from Seoul.

At eight years old, Soo Jung should be able to ride the sled alone. How many times had Jin Hyuk carried her on his lap, only to fall through thin ice? The shallow rice fields weren’t dangerous, but the fear of the ice breaking, regardless of depth, was enough to terrify anyone.

‘Even if his butt gets wet, he laughs it off.’

He’ll be safe riding alone.

Jin Hyuk rubbed the new sled against sand and dirt, putting more effort into his arms to forget the inexplicable sadness of having to ride alone.

He sharpened the wire attached to the wood. This made the sled glide better on ice, especially for girls who struggled with weak arms and tired easily on ice.

***

In rural areas where rice is grown, water is stored in the fields after the autumn harvest. The water is drained before plowing in spring. Plowing is called “rotary,” and after using a tractor for rotary plowing, the soil clumps together. Farmers then had to break the clumps with shovels or pitchforks, which required significant labor, especially in winter when the soil was hard.

To skip this labor, farmers soaked the soil in water throughout winter, creating winter paddy fields. This allowed for smooth leveling, seedbed preparation, and rice planting in spring.

After the introduction of tractors, winter paddy fields almost disappeared. Tractors, with their power and versatility, could finely plow without prolonged soaking, drastically reducing labor and time. Tractor owners became popular, and some even worked as tractor drivers, farming less and earning extra income.

During farming season, Dad’s fields were the first to be plowed by a tractor. This was partly due to his financial resources but also his character. With vast farmland, Dad also instructed work on neighboring fields, which no one minded. Farming in Dunaeri began and ended on Son Kwang-yeon’s land.

“Plowing with a tractor makes the soil too fine, so it should be done a month before planting. Otherwise, the soil won’t hold the seedlings, and they’ll float away.”

“Then shouldn’t you avoid storing water in the fields, Dad?”

“Still, we need to store water in a few for Jin Hyuk to sled.”

Ah, Father.

Jin Hyuk silently followed Dad’s explanation.

The two men carried red rubber baskets and shovels, the latter modified with a grinder to make them sleek. Inspired by the shovels used by men digging for octopuses in summer mudflats, they made similar ones.

“Jin Hyuk, do you think there are any loaches?”

“Some are hibernating.”

In summer, with little pesticide use, the water-rich fields were teeming with crucian carp, loaches, and pond smelt. Jin Hyuk decided to catch hibernating loaches using a method he learned from Kang Jin-soo. He could make loach soup to nourish his parents, and spending time with Dad was enjoyable. He also wanted to divert Dad’s attention from his winter sparrow obsession.

The father and son entered a field without stored water.

They wore boots, but the ground was so firm their feet didn’t sink.

“Dad, look, there’s a hole as thin as a pencil.”

“Yeah. It’s similar to an octopus’s hiding hole.”

Indeed, it resembled the octopus holes Jin Hyuk had learned about while catching octopuses with Choi Jang-hwan and Yuk Young-gu. Though Dad had been too tired to catch many that day, he was good at learning through observation.

“Don’t dig too deep at once. The loach might break.”

“Ugh, that would hurt.”

Dad, as expressive as Yoo Jin learning to talk, seemed to empathize with the loach.

Jin Hyuk suppressed a laugh as he scooped soil with the shovel. It moved smoothly, like an ice cream scoop. Each scoop wasn’t much—about two adult fists’ worth, after three digs.

“Wow, there really is a loach! But is it frozen to death?”

The loach, with a bright yellow belly, was curled up, exposed to the cold winter air.

“It’s hibernating. It’ll move if you catch it.”

As Jin Hyuk picked it up, the loach flapped vigorously.

“Winter loaches are good for health. Loach soup will be delicious.”

“Loach soup…”

Jin Hyuk pretended not to see Dad drooling. It seemed like hand, foot, and mouth disease.

The lesson was over.

With Dad’s eyes burning like a warrior facing a demon king, Jin Hyuk moved to find another hole.

“Hahaha, this is fun. Doing this with my son is so great.”

It’s really fun. Jin Hyuk muttered.

Watching Dad, excited like a child while digging, filled Jin Hyuk with happiness. ‘If I could live again,’ how much had he thought about it, how earnest was that dream? Living each day filling that dream with happiness, he felt no greed.

In the distance, other men were catching loaches. Their unfamiliar figures and gait suggested they were from another village.

‘Are those men catching loaches too? That’s Dad’s field.’

What comes from the land belongs to the landowner.

Even without legal considerations, that was a given truth. Though he had no intention of arguing, having lived half a century in a capitalist world, Jin Hyuk found it unpleasant how some, under the guise of ‘country hospitality,’ freely took others’ property.

Of course, he had no particular grievance against those men.

“Dad lent them the field for side work. They should enjoy life too.”

“Okay.”

Dad is a remarkable person.

He seems to read Jin Hyuk’s thoughts just by his gaze. In his past life, Jin Hyuk had closed his heart to anyone outside his family, always wary due to deep scars. Seeing Dad, respected by all for his kindness, made him reflect.

“If I’m not losing out, sharing is good. Even if called a fool, if I gain more, I ultimately win.”

I don’t understand, but I get it.

He tried to ponder, but Dad’s cheers broke his concentration.

“Yay! One is one! Two is two! Three is three-!”

“…”

“Jin Hyuk, I named them.”

“…What did you name them?”

“Mecander.”

Dad answered nonchalantly, engrossed in digging.

Jin Hyuk intended to ask why he named them that, as it seemed polite. But Dad’s work song was faster.

“Ah, Mecander the first! Ah, Mecander the second! Ah, Mecander- the youngest-. When the three Mecander warriors unite-.”

Why is he suddenly like this? That show ended three years ago. Catching loaches must be more fun than octopuses. Jin Hyuk quickly looked around. Thankfully, no one was watching.

“- Fight bravely-. Mecander- ppeee-!”

Good grief, he even did an action pose. One hand on his hip, the other making a V-sign.

Jin Hyuk stared blankly at the loach hole.

Maybe they’re hiding in the ground out of embarrassment.

‘My friends didn’t act like that at his age.’

Jin Hyuk’s eyes turned sad.

Hormonal changes had heightened his sensitivity and sense of shame.

‘But he looks happy, so that’s good.’

Though I keep missing Mom.