A Windfall Even When I Spend Money – 10
"Pleased to meet you."
When Seo Jinwoo offered a simple, unpretentious greeting, I returned it with a gentle smile and a slight bow.
"It's an honor to meet a famous actor in person. What brings you all the way out here, though?"
"I was having lunch with the director when he suddenly insisted we go for a drive, and that's how we ended up here. Your house is absolutely lovely, by the way. It has real character."
So while I'd been sitting there going huh? over lunch, Seo Jinwoo had somehow been whisked all the way out here.
Apparently the director had sweet-talked him into the car first. Judging by the sound of it, he'd spent the whole drive working him hard—how starring in his film would be a career transformation, how it was bound to be a massive hit.
But what is that thing?
A handprint had flickered into view at Seo Jinwoo's neck, then vanished again.
And I could feel the aura of an evil spirit clinging to his back.
"Mr. Seo Jinwoo? Are you feeling unwell at all lately? Nightmares, say—or sleeping constantly and still waking up exhausted?"
"Yes, actually, I have been a bit off lately. Why do you ask?"
For an instant, something like the fear of a secret discovered flashed across Seo Jinwoo's face.
"You just look tired, is all."
"Ah, that's why I've been cutting back my schedule. But Woochul-hyung keeps pressuring me to work more."
So in private, he called Jo Woochul 'hyung,' it seemed.
Still, what exactly was that thing attached to Seo Jinwoo?
Even if I wanted to step closer and examine it, the thing was plastered flat against his back, making it impossible to identify what kind of evil spirit it was.
Unlike No. 1, it refuses to show its face. Honestly.
More than anything, it seemed to be hiding inside Seo Jinwoo's clothes. Precisely speaking, in the space between his clothes and his body.
What was I supposed to do about it?
I could hardly ask a man I'd met for the first time today to take off his shirt and turn around for me.
Besides, this pair hadn't come with any plan—they'd simply improvised the whole trip.
Even now, they were surely calculating their own interests in their heads. Jo Woochul was dead set on casting Seo Jinwoo no matter what, while Seo Jinwoo was busy weighing what benefit each option held for himself.
The real problem is that none of it has anything to do with me.
I looked at Seo Jinwoo and spoke.
"This is just something I'm mentioning in passing, so please take it lightly."
"Of course. Please, go ahead."
"If your nightmares get worse, or your health starts failing you, get my contact information through the director and give me a call. I believe I can help you."
That much, at least, I could offer. If I handed the thing over to No. 1, it would gobble up spirits like that one as a delicious snack.
"Sorry? Oh—ah. Yes, of course."
Seo Jinwoo answered with unmistakable fluster.
Next, I turned to Jo Woochul and delivered a word of caution.
"When we spoke on the phone last time, you said you'd be filming episode 3 in my front yard, and episode 5 at the vacant house. That's correct, isn't it?"
"Yes, that's right. I'll coordinate the shooting dates with you, Mr. Kim."
"Understood."
Keep it to exactly that. Got it?
"Well then, enjoy your tour of the village and drive back carefully. I have an important gathering today."
A film director and a top-tier actor were merely passersby to me.
My farming school classmates were a different matter entirely. If they ever gave up farming, that would be one thing—but they were the friends who would live in this neighboring village for the rest of my life, planting and harvesting alongside me.
Naturally, they were far more precious to me than any celebrity.
"We're having a get-together at my place to celebrate the end of farming school. Ah, here they come now."
Down by the riverbank, my classmates were walking toward us, laughing and chattering after parking their cars.
Park Seoktae spotted Seo Jinwoo first and made a huge fuss.
"Hey! Isn't that Seo Jinwoo over there?"
"It is. That's Seo Jinwoo."
"Wait, but what is Seo Jinwoo doing here?"
Only then did Director Jo Woochul grasp the situation and look awkward.
"It seems we've come at a bad time."
"Please call ahead next time. I'm away from home quite often. Oh—that reminds me."
I launched into a performance of suddenly remembering something.
"I gave you permission to film in my front yard only. Please bear in mind that the back yard is strictly off-limits."
"May I ask why the back yard is a problem?"
"There's a sarangchae—a separate quarters—in the back, and a cat has just given birth to kittens there. She's resting now."
Just as No. 1 had boasted, a total of twelve kittens had been born.
Their names ran from 1-Shin to 12-Shin. No. 1 had declared it would sire twelve copies of itself to protect me and the village, so I'd named them accordingly.
And I have to be very careful with the pronunciation on 6-Shin. Every time I call out "Yuk-shin-ah," I worry it'll sound like I'm saying "yuk-sil-al"—six testicles.
Anyway, the wriggling little newborns had barely opened their eyes, and the sarangchae was crawling with them. Imagine a stranger wandering into the back yard right now—No. 1 and the three wives were bound to get anxious.
And then there was Chai, who was still technically an illegal overstayer. He'd applied for a case review after finding a witness to testify that he'd never once struck his girlfriend, and until the verdict came through, he had to stay careful.
"One of the many reasons I left Seoul and moved to this remote mountain village was that I wanted to spend every moment entirely for myself. Of course, that turns out to be easier said than done."
Life being what it is, you end up spending time on other people, and carving out hours for the animals you live with, too. The point was that I wanted to be the one making those choices.
My feelings hadn't changed even when I granted permission for the film shoot. The production crew could not set foot anywhere beyond the spaces I'd designated.
"I ask for your understanding of my position. Please restrict your filming to the front yard and the village roads."
"W-well, actually—if we set aside the sarangchae with the cats, we'd love to film inside the house as well. Haha. Couldn't we pay you a location fee?"
"No."
I'm rich, pal. I don't take a few hundred thousand won in location fees.
"You're very firm about this."
"As I said before, opening additional spaces would cost me not only my time but my privacy as well. The damage would simply be too great, so I'm afraid it's out of the question."
Shoot quick and hard, and get out—that was my policy.
Jo Woochul clearly harbored regrets, but he seemed to have judged that there was no persuading me now.
"Very well. We'll take it as settled, then. Let's head back. Come on, Jinwoo."
Jo Woochul gave Seo Jinwoo's shoulder a light pat.
"Mr. Kim Yunho? I'll see you again soon."
When Seo Jinwoo spoke as though we were guaranteed to meet again, Jo Woochul's eyes went wide.
"You—have you decided to be in the film? You said you hated that one-top-female-lead setup."
"I've changed my mind."
Seo Jinwoo looked straight at me as he said it.
"You wouldn't let us film inside your house, but if we get to know each other, we could still share a cup of tea sometime, right? I'm quite fond of cats."
Inviting me to tea—wasn't that just a roundabout way of saying he intended to come back to my house? And saying he liked cats meant he wanted to come inside and see them.
"You told me to call if I have nightmares or feel ill. I was moved by how concerned you were for me. I'd really like to meet with you properly and become friends."
"The honor is mine."
At my consent, Seo Jinwoo broke into a bright smile and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Mr. Kim. I'll be in touch, I promise."
"And with that, I'll take my leave as well."
Flustered by Seo Jinwoo's sudden change of attitude, Jo Woochul climbed into the car.
"Wow—is this a dream or reality?"
Once Jo Woochul turned the car around and disappeared with Seo Jinwoo, my classmates, who'd been standing there slack-jawed the whole time, finally came over.
"Okay, what on earth was that? You know Seo Jinwoo?"
"Class President, your connections are honestly insane."
"Wow, personally, what stunned me was how our class president held his own standing right in front of Seo Jinwoo. I knew he was handsome, but turns out he's top-actor level gorgeous."
Everyone was looking at me differently now over a single exchange of words with Seo Jinwoo. The fuss was unreal.
Even Hwang Yuhyeon—the self-proclaimed 'farming royal' who'd been distant with me since the Trout Festival—was blinking his eyes brightly as he spoke.
"Get me his autograph sometime, will you? I became a fan after watching Our Neighborhood Hero."
As long as Hwang Yuhyeon didn't try to use me, there was no reason for me to keep him at arm's length.
"Really? All right. If I happen to see Seo Jinwoo again, I'll get one for you."
"Me too, please!"
"Me too!"
Hadn't this been the scheduled hour for everyone to visit my farmland and talk things over?
The conversation rolled on among my classmates, all about Seo Jinwoo and the film.
"Since my cat has newborn kittens, we'll keep it to a stroll around the yard for today."
Just as I had with Director Jo Woochul and Seo Jinwoo, I let my classmates look around the front yard only.
"My farmland is down that way, so take your time walking over to look at it, and then we'll head to the valley. I've built an outdoor drawing room out there."
"An outdoor drawing room?"
Park Seoktae and Choi Hogyeong had come by yesterday to help me pitch the tarps and borrow chairs from the village hall storage to set everything up—and now the two of them carried on their banter as if they knew nothing at all.
"Did you pitch a tent and haul chairs out here or something?"
"But it's still cold out. Don't tell me you're planning to set up a brazier and light a bonfire?"
"Why? Is there some reason I shouldn't?"
At Choi Hogyeong's words, Park Seoktae's eyes went wide as saucers.
"Of course you shouldn't. Farm visits gave the best response so far, after all. We made such happy memories at the Butterfly Exhibition Hall, remember?"
"But wouldn't camping get an even better response, honestly?"
I burst out laughing and put an end to their little skit.
"Haha, that's enough, you two. Seoktae, Hogyeong—your acting is way too obvious."
"They were acting? I had no idea."
At Instructor Woo Jang-ho's remark, Hwang Yuhyeon nodded along.
"Neither did I. Wow, now that I think of it, the three of you prepared this whole after-party for today, didn't you?"
"In truth, with the cat having kittens for real, the plan was to just show everyone my farmland and then move on to a restaurant or a café."
The moment I finished speaking, Park Seoktae spoke up.
"We couldn't let you do that. Even I, living in a shipping container without so much as a proper house, managed to invite everyone out in style and give them a wonderful time."
"That's exactly why we came up with the idea,"
Choi Hogyeong said with a radiant smile.
"You'll see when we get there—this is going to be a one-night, two-day retreat to celebrate the end of farming school. A round of applause!"
The reason I'd specifically said "one night, two days" was simple. Everyone was bound to have a drink today, and no one could drive after drinking, could they?
If we were in the township center, maybe. A designated driver might show up on short notice.
But calling a designated-driver service out to Ugok 1-ri was impossible. Anyone who drank would simply have to sleep here tonight.
Hence the tents we'd pitched.
"All right, shall we head down?"
Park Seoktae strode ahead, practically buzzing with excitement.
Smiling, I turned to Woo Jang-ho.
"Instructor, while we're moving between spots, could you take a good look at my farmland? I bought it cheaply through an acquaintance, and I'd like your opinion on whether I can plant soybeans here. And I'd appreciate guidance on cultivation methods, too."
As rice consumption plummeted and warehouses filled with more grain than the government could handle year after year, it had begun promoting paddy soybean farming—soybean cultivars specially bred to grow in converted rice paddies.
Hook a paddy-soybean seeder to a tractor and drive forward, and the machine automatically formed the ridges and dropped the seeds as it went. Once the plants grew, branching them out produced more pods, done with a brush-cutter-style cutting attachment.
Last year, a farmer with a 200-hectare paddy had produced paddy soybeans and, in a single year, earned what he would have made from five years of rice.
He literally created a legend.
Meju soybeans, on the other hand, were a dry-field crop. They hated water and thrived only in well-drained soil.
"Could you take a look and tell me whether my land would suit meju soybeans?"
"You mean this soil here?"
Woo Jang-ho ran his fingers through the earth of a field that Grandpa Hosik had spent a lifetime tending, hauling fallen leaves over it year after year—and then his eyes lit up like lanterns.
"This isn't soil. This might as well be gold."