The Fog Horn (Angae Godong) - Chapter 10

“Now the ancestor gods can breathe!”

Ko Won-taek shouted from the dock, laughing heartily. The day was clear, and the ships were lined up and preparing to set sail.

“Even after the Gutpan ritual took place, people who had been taking a break while being cautious began to reveal their faces one by one.”

Nuri walked quietly through the dock. No one tried to talk to him. They just mumbled and looked away.

As Nuri walked, he felt an urge to give Ko Cheol-woong a good beating. Or maybe he wanted to beat up his past self for bringing back those memories. It would take quite some time for them to approach and talk to him again.

Ko Cheol-woong, who was the culprit behind the incident, noticed Nuri and quickly went into the wheelhouse.

What a spineless jerk. Nuri muttered something under his breath and headed for the lighthouse. As usual, there was a pile of bird droppings near the lighthouse today.

“What the fuck are these damn birds pigging out…….”

Nuri took out his anger on the bird poop. He swept it vigorously with a big green plastic broom and sprinkled seawater over it.

The bird droppings then naturally flowed down. Down the rocky mountain, between rocks and boulders, and finally into the sea.

After staring at the sea for a while, Nuri turned his gaze and then stormed back into the lighthouse like an angry man.

There were six potatoes in Nuri’s small wrapping cloth. It was a lot for one person to eat.

But if Ason came to visit……. That thought came to Nuri’s mind and he added more potatoes to the pot.

Then he hastily closed the lid. Nuri’s house did not have gas. He had an electric rice cooker, but for everything else, he had to rely on a fireplace [1] and a pot.

That’s how he steamed six potatoes. However, in the back of his mind, Nuri vaguely wondered if Ason would not come again today either.

The day was clear, and the people were cheerful. The only thing that was calm was the sea waves and Nuri.

Nuri watched as the boats lined up and set sail in formation. He turned the lantern and ate the potatoes in the white light that shone from the lantern.

The soft, fluffy and crumbly texture of the potatoes breaking apart was like his own heart. Something that crumbled and broke so easily without any resistance.

Nuri thought quietly in regards to his desires and emotions that could be easily scattered by just a little bit of force from others. It broke so easily and naturally like these potatoes.

Nuri didn’t know any difficult words, but he could definitely feel that the potatoes, breaking apart without any resistance, were like him.

Are all the guests like that? Why did his mother love the guest? Nuri didn’t love the guest. He didn’t yet, and still his heart was in turmoil.

Nuri couldn’t finish the potato and put it down. The sea was calm, the sky clear. He leaned back against the lantern and watched the boats, as they grew smaller and smaller and were out of sight.

There was no work for the lighthouse keeper today, so there would be no pay either, because that’s the kind of people they were.

Nuri didn’t even know if they would question why he was paid when he did nothing.

There was no one to talk to and no one to stand by his side. Nuri stood still for a while, then climbed down from the lighthouse.

After stretching once, Nuri wandered around the lighthouse. It was a place where nothing was there and no one was looking for anything.

Although he didn’t like it, Nuri had no way of avoiding it. He didn’t like being alone.

As Nuri was thinking this, a rock suddenly came tumbling up from a distance and landed near him with the splash of seawater.

Nuri hurriedly turned his head to the fallen rock, which had landed with a clunk in the water.

There was Ason, who was smiling while leaning against the rock.

“Guest!”

“Hii.”

Ason raised his hand and waved. Nuri felt like he was about to burst into tears at the sight of him, but he held it back.

Nuri didn’t cry over things like that. Because that was how he lived, and that was how he has been taught.

Nuri looked into Ason’s green eyes, and then he remembered the freshly sprouted potatoes. He had steamed some potatoes for him.

“Oh, wait a minute! Don’t go yet!”

Nuri hurriedly went into the lighthouse to get the potatoes. Ason just smiled softly.

Nuri quickly came down from the rocky mountain. Despite limping down he walked with determination. Ason’s face was languid as he spoke.

“Slow down. You might hurt yourself.”

“No, why are you coming now? Were you busy?”

“Yeah, I was busy.”

“Do you eat? Do you want some potatoes?”

Ason shook his head at the three ugly potatoes that Nuri had brought to him.

“You can’t eat potatoes?”

“I don’t need to eat anything.”

“How can a person live like that……. Oh, you’re not a human.”

“Nuri eat it. You are too skinny.”

Nuri sat down on a wide rock. He stretched out one leg and plopped down. Then he took a big bite of potato.

Ason just looked at him lovingly. As Nuri ate the potato until his cheeks were puffy, he realised that this soft, fluffy and crumbly texture of potatoes could be felt in another way.

He felt fluffy inside. It was soft and warm. Just being in the presence of someone who meant you no harm was enough.

“Will you come tomorrow? Will you not come tomorrow?”

“It’s going to rain tomorrow.”

“Isn’t it good to have guests when it rains? You could have come outside last time, with legs like a man, and nice clothes.”

“I just wanted to see Nuri.”

Nuri was silent. Why does this merman keep coming to see him? Of course, he had been waiting, but hearing it so directly made his heart flutter.

The guest was the one who had been waiting for him, the one who had saved him. At the same time, he was someone who wanted to see him, the one who was looking for him.

It didn’t matter if he was from the village head’s family, a stranger, or a cripple. Nuri changed the subject, feeling uneasy.

“If it’s sunny tomorrow, I was planning to paint the roof with coaltar [2] .

“Don’t come to the lighthouse tomorrow.”

“Is it raining a lot? How do you know that?”

Ason laughed softly and ran his hand through his hair. A long red mark was visible on the back of his arm.

“Are you hurt?”

“Ah.”

Ason lowered his arms, burying himself in the water up to his neck. Nuri frowned. Ason stammered out the words hastily.

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. It’s gotta hurt like hell. Isn’t it a burn? It looks really bad……. What is it like to live underwater? Come here.”

“It’ll be better soon.”

“Who did that? Did the villagers do that?”

Ason shook his head.

“I had to protect the person I serve.”

“Who’s the person you are protecting? Is it the dragon king?”

“……How did you know?”

Ason asked, tilting his head. He looked genuinely curious. Nuri put down the potato he was eating as he watched Ason answer his casual remark.

“Why didn’t the Dragon King protect you, since it’s his job to protect the guest? It’s ridiculous.”

“He didn’t hit me.”

“Still, he should have helped you before you got so hurt. Can’t he do anything if he’s the all-powerful Dragon King?”

Asong grinned, seeming to enjoy Nuri’s impulsive words. Ason dipped into the water and spun around, his tail flicking in and out of sight. Then he swam a little closer to Nuri.

“I’m glad Nuri cares about me.”

“I’m just… I mean, I don’t want you to be in pain.”

Nuri bit his lip as he fiddled with his hands covered in boiled potato crumbs.

The villagers never really liked him, no matter what he did. But this person in front of him was different.

He was genuinely pleased when he showed the slightest concern. Nuri could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice. It wasn’t fake affection, it was real affection.

Ason and Nuri were so close that they could touch each other just by stretching out their arms. Nuri rubbed his hands absentmindedly against his clothes.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“It’ll get better soon. It doesn’t even hurt right now.”

“Can I, can I take a closer look?”

Ason nodded and extended his arm to Nuri. The wound looked even bigger and coarser up close. It looked as if someone had hit it with a hot rope and burned the flesh.

It was a huge wound that could make one shudder just by looking at it. When Nuri couldn’t say anything, Ason withdrew his arm.

“It won’t be there the next time we meet.”

“When will we meet again?”

“When the rain stops.”

“The sun’s been shining all this time, and you haven’t even been here, and that bird, Argo or whatever, thinks it’s a shitty place to shit.”

“I don’t think Argo did it.”

“How do you know? There’s a pile of poop here.”

Nuri pouted his lips and grunted. Ason chuckled at the sight. Nuri’s mouth fell open at the look of amusement on Ason’s face. Ason smiled for a while and then spoke.

“Can you stay at home tomorrow?”

“Will it rain a lot? I’ll have to come out a lot when it stops raining, because everyone else has to go out on the boat.”

“It’s going to rain a lot.”

“But honestly, even if it rains a lot, I have to come when I’m called. It’s not my choice.”

“Why?”

Ason asked with a stern expression, and Nuri couldn’t answer why. It has always been that way. Ever since he was born and every moment of his life since then.

Nuri couldn’t tell him why. Even he didn’t know why, but it was the way it was. That was who he was.

When Nuri lowered his head a little, Ason moved a little closer to him. His moist hand grasped Nuri’s rough hand. Making his hands clean, as if he had taken away all the potato crumbs left from Nuri’s hands.

His hands were clean, as if they had been washed in the salty water of the sea. Nuri turned to face the hand that held his hand.

“When the rain stops, will you really come back again?”

“Yes.”

“How long will you keep coming?”

“Continuously. As long as Nuri is here.”

“Really? Truly?”

Ason nodded, and Nuri took hold of Ason’s dry hand. There were no calluses between the fingers. It felt just like a human hand, but with a different level of moisture.

Nuri flipped Ason’s hand over and over looking at it from different angles.

“Where does this water come from? There aren’t even any holes in your hand.”

Ason laughed out loud. Nuri curled his lips at the sound of his laughter. It was a low, pleasant sound, like being in a mysterious cave.

“Nuri makes me laugh.”

Nuri lifted his bowed head and locked eyes with Ason. Ason gently squeezed his fingers, then let go.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes. The people will be back soon.”

“……How do you know?”

Ason smiled again, an unreadable smile. Then he kissed the instep of Nuri’s foot. There were traces of crushed seashells left behind.

The instep shimmered in the cheap slippers and looked beautiful, perhaps even more beautiful than before. Nuri couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, or if his heart just felt that way.

“I’ll come back again.”

“Goodbye, guest. Be careful of the waves when it rains. Oh, and watch out for the boat of the village head, it’s called the Chugdo’s No. 1. They might kill you if they catch you.”

Ason laughed once, and then went deeper into the sea, Nuri sat on the rock until his trace was no longer visible in the black shade of the sea.

The sparkle of seashells on the tops of his feet slowly disappeared, and his numb legs felt a little better.

Nuri ate the rest of the potato with relish, his mood suddenly relaxed after days of sinking, and his appetite vigorous.

Nuri laughed out loud at the base of the rocky mountain and slowly made his way up to the lighthouse.

It was not long before the boats returned, as Ason had said. It was much earlier than usual. Nuri watched the boats coming in and then came out of the lighthouse. He could hear the grumbling of the men as they arrived at the dock.

“I didn’t get anything.”

“No way, how could this happen? The fishes are gone.”

“Even the village head couldn’t get any fishes, so we don’t need to say anything more.”

Cheol Woong cleared his throat, as if he could hear everything that was said.

Nuri picked up the remaining potatoes as if he had nothing to do with them, and hurriedly moved his feet, though they were only steps.

“Nuri.”

It was the old and worn-out voice of the village head. Nuri stood up straight, but did not turn around. He thought he might have misheard.

“Nuri, come here for a moment.”

The village head called out to Nuri. He said he wanted to talk to Nuri directly. The dock was suddenly quiet. No one said a word. Nuri turned away. He had no choice.

1. An agungi (Korean: 아궁이[1]) is a firebox found in traditional Korean kitchens which is used to burn firewood or other fuel for cooking.)
2. A dark brown, highly viscous liquid substance produced by carbonization of coal. It is used as an antiseptic paint and is easy to install in summer