The Fog Horn (Angae Godong)

 The village head listened to the words of Dangol and the young shaman. And regardless of Nuri’s will, he became a lighthouse keeper. Many people objected to the idea of Nuri being a lighthouse keeper during summer months, when he was supposed to help with the field work. This was because even though Nuri may be a limp, his hands were faster than most people. “No! What would you do with a leg that can’t even climb a ladder?” “You can’t even work in the fields, let alone climb that thing.” “We are going to need a lot of hands for a long time, and even if a young man falls out, the whole year’s farming will be ruined.” “It’s better to be dead than alive.” At the village hall, there were loud voices about Nuri’s whereabouts. Nuri’s opinion was not necessary. Nuri sat in a corner eating rice mixed with the soup prepared by an old woman of the village. The rice at the village hall was expensive. He spent a lot of money on his mother’s funeral. As a result, there wasn’t much rice left in his rice jar. Nuri was the one to follow whatever the consequences were. He didn’t want to rebel against it. No matter what he did, he just had to get paid. But there was one thing holding him back. He couldn’t get the strangeness and voice of the young shaman holding his hand tightly out of his head. Nuri picked up the iron spoon and remembered the young shaman’s voice. She had told him to follow the map for the fortune of his mother and him. Nuri fiddled with driftwood with his left hand. The words kept ringing in his ears. “Are you eating rice?” It was Ko Cheol-woong. Nuri glanced at him and put another large mouthful of rice. As if anticipating his reaction, Ko Cheol-woong sat down firmly in front of Nuri. “That girl is bitch.” “Is that so?” Nuri answered while munching on his rice. Cheol Woong hit him for not answering, and also hit him for not liking the answer. Therefore, it was best to give an ambiguous answer. “Didn’t you see the way she looked at my father? I wanted to poke her eye out, but I didn’t. How dare she?” Nuri nodded. The village head was no different than a god in Chungdo Island. He knew all the important and trivial matters of every household, and made decisions for them. The villagers obeyed him without any objection. The only reason they could talk like this now was because the village head wasn’t around. Soon, after the village head would come back, everyone would be silent like clams. Nuri put more rice in his mouth, thinking he should hurry up and eat more. “Hey, who’s taking it away from you? Even My dog won’t eat what you are eating.” “I have to finish it before the village head comes here.” “Do you think my father gives a damn about feeding the likes of you?” Nuri nodded. But he didn’t stop his busy hands. The words of the village head’s family were as powerful as the words of the village head. No matter how forced it was, it would be absolutely right. No. He had to say it was right. That’s how you survive on this island. Cheol Woong kicked the

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