1 Coal Road

Author: (Korean) Li Zehuan / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features:
Imagine the moment the beef soup delivery arrives at the office, and everyone immediately gathers there to eat. Just then, the office door opens, and Kim, holding the arm of the cleaning lady, walks in. "Why are you eating alone? We're about to eat too. Why don't you join us? Come, sit here." One hand of Kim holds a bento box, while the other insists the awkward cleaning lady sit down.
"No, I'd rather eat alone outside." "Auntie, I brought a bento too. Look!" With enthusiasm, Kim snatches the cleaning lady's bento and places it on the table, then puts his own bento beside it. "It's just terrible. How come there's no place for a cleaning lady to eat in this building?" "That's right!" "Exactly! It's so cold, and she's sitting on the steps leading to the rooftop?" With an anxious expression, Kim tells his colleagues, and Chang-su, sitting nearby, nods vigorously in agreement.
The bento box the cleaning lady brought was filled with dried kimchi. Feeling embarrassed, the cleaning lady lowered her head and carefully ate her meager meal. Kim, meanwhile, repeatedly pushed his wife's carefully prepared seaweed, fermented meat, and Miratae sauce toward the cleaning lady, while eating the dried kimchi the cleaning lady had brought.
"Kimchi is so delicious, Auntie." Hearing Kim's words, the cleaning lady remained silent, merely smiling. The other colleagues were also eating the kimchi brought by the cleaning lady with great enjoyment, but Chang-su didn't put a single bite in his mouth. He thought the kimchi was unclean.
Turns out, the kimchi was already extremely dried out, and the wooden bucket it was placed in was too old, with white patches and peeling everywhere. The bucket was mixed with some "red broth." After finishing the meal, Chang-su felt a bit guilty toward the cleaning lady. So, he wanted to give her the Jobyeot tea his wife had packed for him in an insulated bottle during his commute.
Actually, a paper cup could have held two cups, but he filled a plastic cup to the brim and gave it all to the cleaning lady instead of drinking it himself. Although the cleaning lady refused repeatedly, she couldn't resist Chang-su and finally took the cup.
Chang-su bought four cups of coffee from the vending machine and shared them with his colleagues, while the cleaning lady nervously sipped her tea, her eyes fixed on the wall.
"Delicious, but I drank it all. I really feel bad." "It's okay." The cleaning lady finished Chang-su's Jobyeot tea and sincerely thanked him, then washed the plastic cup and returned it to Chang-su before leaving.
That night, Chang-su came home around 7:00 PM. As soon as his wife saw him, she asked, "Did you drink the Jobyeot tea you brought in the morning?" "Of course." "How could I not? Didn't it taste a bit strange?" "What's wrong?" "Ah! I was supposed to add sugar to the tea, but I accidentally put salt in it. I only realized it when I was preparing dinner."
After hearing his wife's words, Chang-su was speechless. He slowly sank into deep thought.
"When I thought the kimchi the cleaning lady brought was unclean, the cleaning lady drank the Jobyeot tea I gave her, which I had put salt in, and didn't leave a drop, even saying it was delicious."
That night, Chang-su couldn't fall asleep until late. His restless tossing and turning broke the silence of the night. P3-6