Popcorn Wants to Speak
Popcorn wanted to speak.
Life had never been kind to him.
Geob-bo kept his head bowed, staring quietly at the ground.
“Do you get what I’m saying?”
“If we stay like this, those bastards will use us up, work us until we drop dead.”
“Damn it all.”
“We have to do something.”
“You hearing me, Geob-bo!”
The men the villagers called thugs—this guy, that guy—had surrounded him again today, talking about something.
Most of it was despair over their situation and curses.
So what exactly did they want him to do about it?
They seemed to want something, yet Geob-bo couldn’t quite grasp what it was.
For days now they had avoided the main point, repeating only that the future looked bleak, that they would be worked like slaves and die without ever getting a house or a woman.
But… the people here…
Geob-bo let his companions’ words wash over him while he thought of the children’s faces and the villagers who sometimes slipped him food.
His companions only received stew and bread, but Geob-bo secretly got meat on the side.
Since the others snatched most of the stew, the bits of meat the villagers and children gave him felt truly precious.
It tasted wonderful, too.
Honestly, without the villagers he would have wasted away and died long ago.
His companions took that much.
The workload was the same story—they secretly pushed twice or three times his share onto him, so his body was utterly exhausted.
When he thought about it that way, it was his companions who were really tormenting him.
It had been a mistake to fall for their talk in the first place.
Geob-bo was drifting in a daze when he suddenly snapped back to attention.
He thought he had just heard a familiar name.
“…You listening?”
The companion had already finished talking, but because Geob-bo had been spacing out he hadn’t caught most of it.
The only thing that stuck was the name Ji-geu.
“…Uh, sorry. I didn’t hear it properly.”
“You idiot. I told you to listen carefully. What the hell were you zoning out for?”
When one of them shouted in frustration, another stepped in.
“Don’t be so harsh. We already knew he’s slow. That’s why we have to guide him properly.”
This man had become the new leader after their old boss disappeared.
Unlike the others, the new leader never hit him.
In fact, when the rest tried to strike Geob-bo, he would stop them.
The leader looked at Geob-bo’s face and smiled gently.
“You know that little kid named Ji-geu, right? The one who follows you around everywhere. He comes to you almost every day, doesn’t he? Tomorrow when he shows up, grab him.”
Geob-bo pictured the small child’s face.
Of all the village children, Ji-geu visited him most often.
His eyes would sparkle as he copied everything Geob-bo said and looked at him with pure admiration, as if he were some great hero.
Even when the other kids tilted their heads in suspicion, Ji-geu alone believed every word and exclaimed how amazing it was.
“Why do we have to grab Ji-geu?”
When Geob-bo asked, shrinking back, another companion raised his arm as if to strike him.
“Moron, just do what we tell you! Who said you could ask questions?”
“Enough, enough. Don’t scare him. If you keep acting like that we’ll look like the villains here.”
It was the leader who stopped them.
He spoke to Geob-bo the way an adult might scold a naughty child.
“We’re not planning to hurt the boy. We only need him to act as a hostage for a little while when we make our escape.”
One of the men beside the leader gave a nasty grin.
Geob-bo wasn’t clever.
But even he could tell the leader was lying.
There was something they weren’t telling him.
“Uh… are we really running away?”
He hadn’t heard anything about that.
The leader let out a small sigh.
“Looks like you missed what we said last time too. Staying here gets us nothing. We’ll just slave away until we drop. You don’t want to live like that, do you?”
“….”
“The only ways out are the forest or that open rocky field. The plains will get us caught right away. So we need a hostage until we’re completely clear.”
“B-but if you take a kid into a place like that for long, he’ll die.”
Just as the leader said, anywhere but the forest was a spot where they would be spotted immediately.
Running into the forest meant the villagers wouldn’t follow, but it also meant that much more danger.
To escape, the opposite direction was the only choice.
Yet the plain had occasional trees, sure, but it was full of rocks and offered almost no shade.
Even Geob-bo could see they would be caught quickly if they fled that way.
He studied the leader and the others’ faces.
These men were planning to drag a child along on a run like that?
It’ll be dangerous.
His companions hit without mercy.
They wouldn’t spare a child.
And even if they escaped safely, the real problem came afterward.
The farther they got from the forest, the harder it would be to find water.
What would they do for food?
Stealing supplies while fleeing would be nearly impossible.
The places storing food and important goods were watched in shifts by the villagers.
No, that’s not important right now.
He was supposed to be thinking about the child.
Geob-bo worked his sluggish brain as hard as he could.
Even if the villagers chased them, they wouldn’t stay in sight the whole time.
Even if the men released the boy without killing him, he would be left alone for a while.
What if the child couldn’t find the villagers during that time?
Geob-bo’s body trembled without him realizing it.
Beasts rarely attacked adults, but they thought nothing of charging a child.
Ji-geu was smaller than any of the other children.
That boy will really die.
Looking at his companions’ faces, Geob-bo pleaded with the leader.
“Um… if we’re running, couldn’t we just leave at night? The villagers probably won’t chase us far anyway. They’ll give up after a little while.”
Once he said it, he realized it was true.
The villagers wouldn’t pursue them to the death even if they ran away.
“Haah, I was being nice and this stupid bastard doesn’t know his place and starts talking back.”
The leader’s tone had completely changed.
The moment Geob-bo made a sound, the leader kicked him hard in the stomach.
“Urk!”
Geob-bo crumpled to the ground, wheezing.
“You son of a bitch. When I speak nicely you should nod and listen. Who the hell do you think you are, talking back?”
The leader squatted down, grabbed Geob-bo’s hair, and yanked his head up.
“Tomorrow when that brat comes, you catch him and tie him up. You know the rock near the forest? Hide him there. Understand?”
“….”
“Not answering?”
With a dull thud, the leader slammed Geob-bo’s face into the dirt.
Pressing down on the back of his head with his palm, the leader whispered into his ear.
“If you’d rather die in that kid’s place, go ahead. You think I’ll kill you cleanly? I’ll start by popping your eyes out, then beat every inch of you with a club.”
His teeth had clenched so hard he bit his tongue.
Blood filled his mouth.
A thin, whimpering sob leaked from Geob-bo.
“Oh, and don’t even think about running to the chief or the other villagers.”
The leader’s voice grew darker.
“You think they’ll believe a guy like you? Even if they do, you’ll just stay a slave. Don’t dream about becoming one of them. And if we get caught before that, I’ll kill you first. I’m ready to die after I kill you, so keep that in mind.”
Somehow mealtime had already ended.
“What the hell are you lot doing!”
Several villagers came running, shouting.
The leader stood up lazily and raised both hands.
“Ah, sorry. Just a little disagreement. My bad. Hehehe.”
“Tsk tsk. Look at how they act.”
The villagers helped Geob-bo to his feet and drove the thugs away like stray dogs.
“Geob-bo, you poor fool. How did you end up tangled with those kinds of men?”
“Looks like you won’t get anything warm today.”
The village men brushed the dirt off Geob-bo’s clothes and saw the overturned bowl on the ground.
“They took it all again.”
“I keep telling you to eat alone. Don’t share with them.”
Even while clicking their tongues and scolding him, the men brought him another bowl of the cooled stew.
“….”
Unable to even say thank you, Geob-bo simply stared down at the bowl.
What should he do?
How could he fix this?
He didn’t want Ji-geu to get hurt.
But he didn’t want to die or be beaten either.
“….”
It would be best if Ji-geu simply didn’t come.
If the boy stayed away, he wouldn’t have to decide whether to catch him or not.
…It would be lonely, though.
Tears dripped from Geob-bo’s eyes.
Still… please don’t come, Ji-geu.
Yet when dinner time arrived that evening, Ji-geu slipped through when no one was watching and came to him again.
“Mister, I want to hear more city stories. What’s popular in the city these days? The oil from last time was a failure. Everyone said it was weird.”
When Geob-bo kept his head down and said nothing, Ji-geu walked right in front of him and squatted.
“Coward mister, what’s wrong?”
Ji-geu’s eyes suddenly widened.
“Did someone hit you? Why does your face look like that?”
Geob-bo drew in a breath and lifted his head.
I’ve decided.
He muttered it to himself, then pushed Ji-geu.
“Shut up, you brat. Be quiet.”
“Uh, mister…?”
Ji-geu approached, confused.
Geob-bo put on his fiercest expression and shoved the boy again.
The light-bodied child staggered and fell backward from even that slight push.
Did that hurt?
He felt a flicker of worry, but Geob-bo quickly hardened his face.
His decision was right.
A child who fell over from a tiny push like this would die the same day if he fell into his companions’ hands.
“Get lost, you brat! It’s noisy. You’re annoying. Don’t come back!”
After quickly checking that none of the others were watching, Geob-bo hissed the words in a low voice.
Ji-geu stood frozen with wide, shocked eyes. A moment later, tears began rolling down his cheeks.
The sadness in the child’s eyes stabbed at his heart.
Geob-bo raised his arm as if to strike him.
“Get out of here!”
“Mister… you’re mean….”
Crying, Ji-geu turned and ran away.
“….”
Watching the small back disappear, Geob-bo’s own eyes grew wet.
He wanted to cry too.
But… this was the right thing.
Now tomorrow Ji-geu wouldn’t come looking for him.
* * *
After the meal came the village meeting.
Our village still didn’t have any proper houses.
Everyone simply wrapped themselves in a single blanket and slept by the campfire.
It was heading toward spring and, luckily, it hadn’t rained yet, so things had been manageable.
But it couldn’t continue like this forever.
We had to start building something.
The ideal was for everyone to have their own home as quickly as possible, yet a house could not be built alone.
Raising walls, setting up roofs—every step required many hands.
That meant some people’s houses would be finished first while others would be delayed.
Those without houses would have to keep living outdoors.
“So I believe we should first build a large hall the whole village can use together.”
Once the hall was built, it could later serve as a public warehouse.
“That sounds like a good plan.”
“We were suggesting we build the chief’s house first.”
“But… like the chief said, having a hall would be really useful.”
No one opposed the idea.
He had heard that lumber for houses normally needed to dry for at least a year.
That was impossible right now.
For the time being they selected usable trees and cut them down.
They would use the wood once it had dried a little.
There were no carpenters in the village, but several people had experience helping build houses.
The main materials were wood, stone, and mud, they explained.
Listening to them, it didn’t sound impossibly difficult.
They should be able to build houses among themselves.
The village construction would be led by those with experience.
After the meeting, they took a short walk to help digestion.
The sky that had been violet when they started eating was now completely black.
As I walked beneath the starlight, Popcorn came flying over.
When he reached me he raised both arms high and shook his head.
Then, like the heroine of a tragedy, he flopped forward in midair and trembled slightly.
What was this—pretending to cry?
I opened my palm. He landed on it and resumed his tragic-heroine act.
It seemed he had witnessed something utterly shocking and heartbreaking.
What could trouble a spirit so much? Yet this little guy went through the same routine a dozen times a day.
He would do this even after seeing a pebble someone had stepped on.
“There, there. It’s shocking, I know. The world is full of things like that.”
When I spoke, Popcorn stretched both arms upward again, gazing into the empty air.
He still had more he wanted to tell me.
Sorry. I really don’t understand a word.
Since he couldn’t get his message across, he seemed to grow even gloomier.
Popcorn’s shoulders drooped. He turned away.
He staggered through the air, then glanced back.
It looked like he wanted me to follow.
Wondering what it could be this time, I smiled and strolled after him at an easy pace.