Chapter 20
by GideonJuhyeon, who had been sorting papers while munching on a long stick snack, suddenly stopped. With the chewing of the snack and the turning of the pages ceased, the cramped room fell into a suffocating silence. Kang-i was sitting opposite him, but he was staring intently at his laptop screen. After registering the stifling quiet, Juhyeon felt an itch all over his body from the sheer awkwardness.
“Hey, by the way…”
Kang-i, who had been glued to his laptop, finally looked up. His large, round eyes gave him a cute appearance, yet there was a strange sharpness to his gaze. They saw each other almost every day, so Juhyeon thought they would have gotten closer by now, but there was still an invisible wall between them. Was it because our first meeting didn’t go so well? Juhyeon wasn’t exactly a social butterfly himself, but he hated being disliked.
“What should I call you? Should I call you Hyungnim…?”
“Ugh, no way.”
Kang-i scrunched his brow, his face contorted in disgust. Juhyeon had expected him to be like Taemo—to tell him to call him whatever he wanted—but this reaction was completely unexpected.
“Drop the honorifics and just call me Kang-i. That sounds like some gangster shit.”
“…Oh, really?”
So calling him Hyungnim made him sound like a gangster. Well, he was a former gangster lackey, but… Juhyeon smacked his lips and took another bite of a stick cracker. Silence fell between them again.
After Juhyeon had eaten a few more crackers, Kang-i slid something toward him. It was a yogurt drink with a straw already poked through the foil lid. He’d been stabbing straws into the lids of the entire pack as if he planned to finish them all today, and now he was generously sharing.
Maybe this is Kang-i’s way of trying to get closer to me, Juhyeon thought, her eyes sparkling. After all, nothing beat a little compliment-laced small talk when you were trying to break the ice.
“Kang-i… you gather a lot of information, don’t you? Do you ever look for people, too?”
“I do. There’s no one I can’t find, as long as they’re still breathing.”
His voice was brimming with confidence. Well, he does a job so dangerous he’d end up in prison if he ever got caught, so he couldn’t afford to make mistakes, Juhyeon mused. I guess that kind of confidence makes sense.
“Then… if I asked you to find someone, could you do it?”
Kang-i’s eyes narrowed sharply. Suspicion immediately clouded his face.
“No. I’m already buried in work.”
“Oh.”
Kang-i, having drawn a cold line, turned his attention back to his laptop screen.
Still, it would be uncomfortable to share this kind of story with someone I’ve barely met. Juhyeon understood. He nodded and looked back down at the English-language documents, then slowly lifted his gaze.
“…Are there no employee perks?”
When he asked in a voice that trailed off, Kang-i bowed his head and burst out laughing. Juhyeon didn’t even know what part of it was funny. As he just blinked, staring blankly, Kang-i suddenly snapped his head back up.
“Why? Someone you want to find?”
Only then did Juhyeon’s eyes sparkle.
“Yes, a hyung.”
“Your biological brother?”
“No, just a hyung I lived with. He disappeared suddenly.”
Instead of delving into his tragic past, Juhyeon kept it simple. A hyung he used to live with who suddenly vanished. That was the only way to describe Dongwoo right now.
“Did he run off with your bank account or something?”
“Uh, well… I guess you could say he ran off and then came back? Anyway, we just lost touch.”
He had run off with Juhyeon’s bank account once when they were younger, but he’d returned eventually. Juhyeon’s expression turned awkward. Kang-i, whose eyes had been darting around in silence, opened a small notebook and held it out along with a ballpoint pen.
“Write. His name, age, birthday. Any distinguishing facial features, medical conditions… everything you know.”
Juhyeon grabbed a pen, afraid she might change her mind. The tiny notebook, barely the width of a hand, quickly filled with words. She wrote down everything she knew about Dongwoo—even the trivial details, like the color of the motorcycle he’d used for deliveries and his favorite games. After filling two more pages, she still wasn’t finished and pressed the pen to a fresh sheet.
Suddenly, Kang-i reached out and snatched the notebook away.
“That’s enough. I won’t read more than three lines anyway.”
“Then you should have told me to write only three lines from the start!”
“I didn’t know you’d be this talkative. Anyway, I’ll look into it when I have some free time.”
Kang-i closed the notebook without even glancing at its contents. Okay. At least he’s taken the case. He’d be more reliable than an errand service, after all. Juhyeon clenched her fist and gave it a small shake. Kang-i’s eyebrows twitched as he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye.
“It’s not free. I’m still charging a retainer fee. We did sign a contract, after all.”
“Of course. You said trust is money, didn’t you? How much are you thinking?”
Juhyeon swallowed hard. He stared intently at Kang-i’s lips, his body tense. If Kang-i named an absurdly high price, he’d have to call the whole thing off immediately.
“Just restock the snack bar later.”
Juhyeon pictured the space they’d set up as a snack bar. A hundred bucks should be more than enough to fill it completely, he calculated quickly. He nodded vigorously.
“And do me a favor.”
“Yes, sir. What is it?”
He felt like he could do anything right now. Though, he might have to think twice if Kang-i asked him to kill someone or clean up a crime scene.
“Go pick up my dry cleaning.”
“Yes, sir! I’d go ten times if you asked!”
Kang-i had pretended to make Juhyeon work in exchange for finding his older brother, but he’d even thrown in extra cash for the errand. The payment was generous enough that Juhyeon headed to the dry cleaner with a cheerful spring in his step. The pay was on a completely different level from the other thugs he usually ran errands for. His pockets were bulging, and his mood was soaring.
Even an elementary schooler wouldn’t be treated like this, Juhyeon thought.
Kang-i had drawn a map to the dry cleaner on a piece of paper, just like someone sending a child on an errand. Even though Juhyeon had told him he could find his way, Kang-i had insisted on drawing the route and even marking the destination with a star. Taemo had once described Kang-i as someone who loved unnecessary formalities; Juhyeon finally understood what he meant.
Still, Juhyeon diligently followed the map drawn on the torn notebook page. He had to weave through every nook and cranny of the alleys, wondering if this was a shortcut. Just as he was focusing on navigating the unfamiliar streets, a text message arrived. The sender was, of course, Lee Pro.
Where are you off to?
It seemed he was keeping a constant eye on my location. He’d messaged me almost immediately after I’d left the karaoke room.
Kang-i’s on an errand.
I tapped out a quick reply with one hand and shoved my phone back into my pocket.
“What kind of directions are these?”
According to the map, I just had to pass through a narrow alley between the shops to reach the starred dry cleaners. But the alley was way too rough. It was the kind of place where punks would hang out. Juhyeon knew this because he used to kill time in places like this when he hung out with his friends.
Turning back meant walking all the way to the end of the block, which was too much of a hassle. With no other choice, I stepped into the shadowed gap between the buildings. As soon as I entered the alley, I saw a group of students in school uniforms smoking. I held my breath and hurried past, knowing that getting their attention would only be a pain.
“Hey, Snowball.”
“…”
Juhyeon, who had been trying to slip past unnoticed, glanced down. He saw himself wearing a white hoodie. Are they talking to me? He stopped halfway, his posture awkward, and turned his head. The group of uniformed students, perched on the low wall and smoking, burst into snickers.
“Yeah, you.”
“Lower your eyes. What are you staring at?”
There were six of them, all dressed in a delinquent’s disheveled style. The only saving grace was that they were much thinner than him and about the same height. They had called out to a random passerby only to immediately spew insults. Usually, Juhyeon was the one who fit into groups like that, which made this situation feel a little awkward.
“Me? Why?”
The high schoolers exchanged glances and erupted in laughter at his blankly asked question. He couldn’t even begin to guess what was so funny about it.
“Why? You wanna know why?”
“What school do you go to? Can’t tell with you not wearing a uniform.”
The high schoolers, cigarettes dangling from their lips, leaned in, looking up at Juhyeon from their hunched positions. Juhyeon wasn’t a great fighter, but he knew his way around a fist. He’d spent enough time with punks to handle a few delinquents like these, but six of them was a bit much.
“I’m twenty-one.”
“So? I’m eighteen.”
The boys snickered, crushing their cigarettes out as they swarmed him. As they closed in, boxing him in, Juhyeon felt a flicker of nervousness.
Maybe I should try to intimidate them. He clenched his fist, and the recently healed bone on the back of his hand throbbed with a dull ache. Just as he drew a breath to throw the first punch—
“Made a friend already?”
A familiar voice drifted from the end of the alley.
Juhyeon turned his head, his expression brightening with relief. A delinquent silhouette stood there, hands shoved into the pockets of a thin windbreaker. It was definitely Taemo. He didn’t spare a single glance for the kids surrounding Juhyeon, keeping his eyes locked solely on him.
“Hey, newbie. Guess you’re the type who’s popular with the younger crowd, huh?”
“What’s with that big guy?”
The high schoolers’ attention shifted from Juhyeon to Taemo. Perhaps because Taemo was half-hidden in the shadow of the commercial building, the kids acted recklessly.
“Who the hell are you? A cop or something?”
“Mind your own business and get lost, you old fuck.”
Taemo didn’t flinch, even at the sound of their snickering. He just kept closing in, hands shoved deep in his pockets. As the distance shrank, his massive frame and menacing face came into sharper focus. The high schoolers’ taunting laughter gradually died down.
“Hey, kids. Weren’t you the ones who interfered?”
“…”
“Whin-dung-i was just running an errand. Why’d you have to get in the way?”
The joke was laced with amusement, but no one laughed. The moment Taemo pulled his hand from his pocket, the students visibly flinched. He draped a thick arm over the shoulders of the largest boy in the group.
Then, Taemo’s gaze shifted to Juhyeon.
“You should’ve struck first. Why the hell aren’t you using what I taught you?”
His gaze seemed to ask why I couldn’t handle a bunch of kids who still had milk on their breath. I felt a bit awkward, but honestly, six against one is a bit much. While I was busy rationalizing, Taemo rolled something in his large hand. I hadn’t even noticed him take out a lighter.
“See? This is a vital spot.”
Taemo tapped the student’s collarbone with the end of the lighter. With every touch, the high schooler’s face drained of color.
“If that doesn’t work, try here.”
Next, he tapped the boy’s jaw. Even as everyone froze in terror, Taemo continued his explanation of vital points. No one was actually listening, but everyone was terrified. Even Juhyeon.
“You remember what I taught you, right?”
“…Yes.”
As Juhyeon murmured his reply, Taemo lowered his head to meet the eyes of the student he was holding.
“Did your friend understand too?”
“…”
But the boy only stared straight ahead, desperate to ignore him. Taemo chuckled softly and pulled his hand off the boy’s shoulder. The high schooler immediately turned and scrambled toward his friends.
“…Hey, let’s go. They said to meet by three.”
Taemo hadn’t even flexed his muscles, yet the tension had completely vanished. The atmosphere was entirely different from when Juhyeon had been alone.
“Oh, right. I fucking forgot.”
The bullies acted as if they had some secret agreement, completely ignoring the two of them. They grabbed their jackets and bags from the wall and slipped away in the direction Taemo had come from.
“How do you let a bunch of kids like that shake you down?”
“I was about to say something, but you showed up right on cue.”
“Ah, really? I guess I’m just fucking clueless.”
His smirk made Juhyeon feel strangely awkward. He gripped the map in his hand tightly and started walking in the opposite direction. Taemo followed, his pace slow and leisurely.
“By the way, Superman, were you on your way somewhere?”
“No.”
“So? Do you have business around here…?”
Taemo stopped dead in his tracks just as they reached the end of the shopping street. Did I annoy him by asking too many questions? Juhyeon kept his head fixed forward, his eyes darting sideways to gauge Taemo’s mood.
Taemo pulled a cigarette from his pocket and flicked the lighter he’d been fiddling with the whole time.
“You wrote the pledge with your own hands. Did you forget already?”
“Ah.”
Rescue me when I’m in danger.
Juhyeon recalled the pledge’s condition, which wasn’t even that impressive. Still, it seemed Taemo was remembering it with surprising detail. Juhyeon scratched his left chest vigorously.
“The dry cleaner is over there.”
Taemo gestured vaguely toward the direction with a half-hearted glance. The dry cleaner was located much further to the right than it was marked on the map. Juhyeon stood there, glancing back and forth between the map in his hand and the dry cleaner’s sign.
The name is the same, but the location is way off…
As if sensing the silent question, Taemo gave Juhyeon a light shove on the back.
“It’s the right place. Just go on.”
“Ah, okay. I’ll be right back.”
He wasn’t even sure if Taemo would still be here after he got the laundry. Still, he turned toward the dry cleaner’s sign. He’d promised to help find Dongwoo, so he had to at least get this errand right.
That was what he told himself, but his mood was completely different when he walked out of the shop than when he’d walked in.
Holy shit, how much stuff did he leave here?
Whether she’d sent out every single winter coat she owned, the laundry was piled so high it filled her entire embrace. The long plastic covers on the puffer coats brushed against her ankles, but she had no time to check. She was too busy trying to keep the mountain of outerwear from collapsing as she peered ahead.
She finally reached the alley where she’d left Taemo. But there was no sign of him smoking. He really just left. He acted like he had a sense of loyalty, but it was a fickle thing. Then again, he had no reason to help her.
Just as she turned into the narrow alley, breaking into a cold sweat, a familiar, sarcastic voice drawled, “You’re about to get eaten alive by those clothes.”
She peeked out from behind the pile of laundry. He was tossing a cigarette butt into a can tucked in the corner. The shadows cast over his face made his lopsided smirk look exceptionally cold.
“Could you help me out just a little?”
Tsk. He clicked his tongue and reached out without a word, lifting several hangers from the pile in one go. The weight that had been dragging my arms down vanished instantly. He didn’t seem to find the load heavy at all, casually draping his arm over his shoulder with the hangers still dangling from his fingers.
“Man, you’re a handful.”
His muttered comment, clearly meant for me to hear, made me flush with embarrassment. I’d always prided myself on my independence, seeing myself as the one who took care of others rather than the one being taken care of. Yet, ever since I’d started spending time with Taemo, I found myself needing his help more often than I’d like to admit. It was the same when I’d been surrounded by those high schoolers earlier.
“I’m usually fine on my own, but this is just… how things turned out.”
“Who’s saying anything?”
“You’re judging me…”
Juhyeon felt awkward with his arms suddenly light and his vision no longer obstructed by the laundry. The discomfort he’d felt when first entering the alleyway had long since vanished.
“I was complimenting you. You look exactly the right age.”
And then came that unexpected remark. Juhyeon found the whole situation utterly strange, yet he couldn’t pinpoint a single reason why.
They walked side by side, sharing the load of laundry as they headed toward the karaoke room. Kang-i didn’t even flinch at Taemo’s sudden appearance. He simply took the entire pile of dried outerwear and carried it into one of the rooms.
Juhyeon took a sip of the drink he’d been nursing earlier. In the meantime, Taemo, who had gone to grab a canned beverage, flopped down into the seat opposite him. As usual, his choice of drink was incongruously innocent.
“Did you sign the logbook when you went to get that, Hyungnim?”
Instead of answering aloud, Taemo simply gave a short nod. The image of a man who looked like him following such a clumsy, ridiculous rule made Juhyeon stifle a laugh. He pressed the bottle to his lips to hide his smile.
“What are you smirking at?”
The low murmur, spoken with a completely expressionless face, made Juhyeon swallow hard. Even though he knew Taemo wouldn’t actually hurt him, the man still had a way of radiating an aura that could terrify anyone. Juhyeon gulped down the lukewarm drink and carefully spoke up.
“Hyung, what did you used to do for a living? Be honest. You were a thug, weren’t you?”
“Am I you? Why would I ever do something like that?”
“…”
But there’s no job that suits him better. Of course, imagining him as a hitman didn’t feel too out of place either.
Juhyeon pouted, trying to think of a few more jobs that would fit him. Just then, the room door swung open. Kang-i peeked his head in and gestured to Taemo. Taemo nodded in return and rose from his seat, turning the laptop screen toward Juhyeon as he stood.
“Stop talking nonsense and study. If you keep slacking off, you’ll end up like those guys from earlier.”
“…”
Juhyeon scowled, turning his head away from Taemo. The video on the screen was paused. It showed a blood-spattered floor, with three or four people in coveralls frantically scrubbing the blood away. He’d watched this video a hundred times, studying it until he was sick of it, but now the drink he’d been sipping suddenly tasted foul. He frowned and set the bottle down, and Taemo let out a soft chuckle.
After the two of them left the room, Juhyeon had no choice but to keep studying on his laptop. It felt like robbing every single person passing through Seoul Station would be an easier task. Even through the screen, the stench of blood seemed to fill the air, forcing Juhyeon to press the space bar repeatedly and take deep breaths.
How much time had passed in this agonizing silence? It was only when the long video finally ended that Taemo returned.
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