NTH 5

“The man they call a ‘lover’ lives in the village beyond Nowunjae Pass. The terrain of Nowunjae is quite rough, so it seems he can’t visit here often, coming about once every half a month.”

“Is he a decent human being?”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. He is a rotten bastard. Everyone in the village knew about it except for that Chobok fellow.”

“Who is Chobok?”

“The name of the tenant farmer you asked me to look into is Chobok.”

“Is that so? Then what kind of man is that fellow from Nowunjae?”

“He sweet-talked Chobok, who was living a hard life after losing his parents, into looking only at him, and then with honeyed words, he swindled him out of the meager fortune his parents left, stole the grain he had farmed, and even took all the straw sandals he had diligently woven to sell at the market.”

“Hah, really.”

“And that foolish Chobok still likes him, waiting with longing only for the day that man visits and sleeps over.”

“What do the two of them do on the nights he sleeps over?”

“The villagers say it seems they engage in pederasty all night, and that whenever that man visits, Chobok is listless for several days after. They said he wanders around with hollows under his eyes, as if his energy has been sucked out by a ghost.”

Taeseon thought it was a strange affair, but he soon lost interest in Chobok and forgot about him.

Not long after that, Taeseon was forced by his family to leave for the capital to take the state examination. When he returned to his hometown three months later, he heard the news that Chobok had died.

The day after the ruffian from Nowunjae had notified him that he was getting married to a young woman from a neighboring village and left, Chobok had apparently thrown himself into the cold, frost-covered river.

The Taeseon of that past life, upon hearing the news, did not feel sad for even a single moment.

*

The call from Nana came in the afternoon of the third day after Jeha had the dream of his past life.

Just as Jeha had finished his last class and returned to his office, his phone buzzed on the desk. Jeha usually ignored calls from unknown numbers, but this time, as if he had been waiting for the call, he pressed the answer button without hesitation.

“Kwon Jeha speaking.”

Then, an automated message with a voice that sounded like it came from a navigation system played.

[This is a collect call. Please identify the other party.]

Immediately, a familiar voice was heard.

“Hey! It’s me, Nana!”

[To continue the call, please press the pound key.]

In a way, he had called in the manner most befitting of Nana. Jeha, shaking his head in disbelief, pressed the pound (#) button.

“You’re connected, so talk.”

“How have you been?”

“Fine.”

“I found your hard drive.”

“How?”

“Well, there are ways. When are you going to pick it up?”

“You can decide whenever is convenient for you.”

“It’s risky for me to hold onto this for long, so I want to hand it over as soon as possible.”

“Then I’ll go to where you are on my way home from work today.”

“Today? When do you get off work?”

Jeha glanced down at the watch on his wrist.

“Where are you now.”

“Gangnam Station.”

“Then I’ll leave right away, so let’s meet there at six.”

“Six o’clock? Where am I supposed to be until then?”

Since Nana did not have a cell phone, they had to decide on a clear meeting place right now. Jeha tried to recall what was around Gangnam Station.

“Go inside the cafe next to exit 3.”

“It’s suspicious to just sit there for over an hour, so I’d have to order something. I don’t have money.”

Jeha had never met someone so destitute in this life. His head starting to ache, he pressed his hand to his forehead.

“Then go to the coffee shop on the first floor of the hotel right next to exit 5. You pay when you leave there.”

“So you’ll come and pay for me?”

“Yes.”

“If you’re going to spend money anyway, can’t you buy me a meal instead of coffee? I’m hungry.”

He had felt it last time too, but he was a truly shameless person. However, if Jeha refused, Nana might end up sitting among strangers again and hastily shoving food into his mouth.

Jeha let out a light sigh.

“Alright. There’s a Chinese restaurant in the first-floor lobby, so go there, then.”

“Okay. Got it.”

As Jeha was getting ready to leave work, he suddenly thought of the tenant farmer from his past life that he had seen in his dream. Was his name ‘Chobok’?

For the Jeha of that past life, that is, Park Taeseon, the encounter with Chobok was the first and the last, and it was something he had completely forgotten about until he had the dream.

Important moments or people from past lives remained in his memory even after being reborn many times, but Chobok’s case was an event that had no value worth remembering for Jeha. But he had no idea why he had dreamt that dream on the very night he met Nana.

Could it be that Nana was the reincarnation of Chobok?

However, if Nana was a soul who had been reincarnating for that long, he should have a strong body and a high social status by now, just like Jeha. Even if not to that extent, he should at least be able to live an ordinary life; it did not make sense for him to be born into a situation where he had to starve every day and resort to stealing.

It was surely just a coincidence that he had dreamt of Chobok that day.

Having organized his thoughts, Jeha drove his car toward Gangnam.

*

After parking in the hotel’s basement, Jeha went up to the first floor, found the Chinese restaurant, and went inside. To the employee who greeted him politely at the entrance, Jeha asked.

“Did a man who looks to be in his early twenties happen to come in alone?”

“Pardon? Um, I think he might have……. I am sorry. Please wait a moment.”

Only after calling over others and talking for a long while did the employee turn back to Jeha.

“I apologize for making you wait. He is in the Orchid Room. Strangely, I can’t seem to remember clearly, so I’ve been rude. I will guide you.”

Jeha followed the employee inside. It seemed Nana, despite having no money, had occupied a VIP room, a private room that came with an extra charge.

Upon entering, Jeha let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.

The round, rotating table was laden with dishes, from Peking duck to Dongpo pork, abalone and scallop with truffles, cream shrimp, and even three-delicacy jjamppong. Nana was sitting in the center of that huge table, stuffing his face until his cheeks were about to burst.

He was wearing a plain black short-sleeved t-shirt, jeans, and a black baseball cap. During their three encounters, Nana’s attire was always the same, making one suspect that was all the clothing he owned.

Seeing Jeha, Nana waved cheerfully as if meeting an old friend.

“Hey, you’re here?”

“What is all this?”

“It’s food. I thought you’d be hungry, so I ordered in advance. Hurry up and eat.”

“How are you going to eat all of this?”

“It’s fine. They said I can stay here until I finish everything. No one came to take my order, so I even had to write it on a piece of paper and hand it to them. By the way, did you bring money? You’re a working man, so you must have a credit card, right?”

Nana picked up a leg of the Peking duck and tore into it. Jeha decided not to expect any common-sense behavior from Nana and sat down to his right. As Jeha put a little food on the plate in front of him, Nana held up the Peking duck in his hand toward him.

“Try this. It’s really delicious. This is my first time having something like this. The outside is crispy, but the inside is so moist.”

“Right……. Wait. You, what’s with your face?”

It was not very visible, but Nana’s left cheek looked strange somehow. Nana gave an awkward laugh.

“Ah, this. Well, let’s just say there was a bit of a sacrifice involved in trying to steal back what I’d offered up.”

“What did you say?”

Jeha frowned and grabbed Nana’s chin, turning it toward him. His entire left cheek, from the cheekbone down, was bruised a bluish color, and the left corner of his lip was torn and bleeding.

“You, where did you get hit?”

“It’s nothing. It happens often.”

“Who on earth did this?”

“It’s better you don’t know.”

“Is it that person, by any chance? The person who was the first to remember your face.”

Jeha asked, recalling the story Nana had told him at the rice soup restaurant a few days ago, but Nana shook his head.

“Hey, no. If I’d been caught by him, I wouldn’t have even been able to come here today with at least one of my legs broken.”

“Then who on earth, and why did you get hit?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, is this what you were looking for?”

Nana took something out of his familiar black backpack and handed it to Jeha. It was Jeha’s external hard drive.

“It is, but…….”

“Then that’s settled.”

Nana grinned and stuffed a cream shrimp into his mouth with his chopsticks. His face, smeared with the white, sticky cream around his mouth, had a somehow sensual air to it.

Jeha handed him a napkin and said in a scolding tone.

“Wipe your mouth. You’re not a child, so why do you always eat with stuff all over your face?”

“Why do I have to keep wiping while I eat? It’s just going to get messy again when I eat something else.”

“If it’s messy, it’s right to wipe it. By your logic, there’s no need to wash your hair and shower every day either. Since you’ll just get dirty again.”

“Wow, you’re smart. I guess you really are a doctor who writes papers.”

Nana giggled teasingly and started gobbling up the other dishes. Jeha poured some jasmine tea from the teapot into a cup and handed it to him.

“And please eat slowly. Just watching you eat makes me feel like I’m going to get indigestion. I’ll buy you some medicine when we leave later, so take it and apply it to your wound.”

“What medicine is there for a bruise? It’ll heal on its own over time.”

“There’s medicine that helps it heal faster if you apply it to a contusion.”

“Really? That’s amazing. By the way, did you come here straight from work?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of work do you do that you’re wearing such an expensive-looking suit? Are you a salesperson by any chance? Do you sell foreign cars or something?”

Come to think of it, he had worn casual clothes to the general meeting, but today, he was dressed as usual in a shirt, suit pants, and even a tie. Jeha shook his head.

“No.”

“Then an advertising model?”

“No.”

“What is it that you can’t say? Ah! I got it! You work at a host bar!”