By Zephyria 
There was no need to persuade the Man. He packed his bags immediately to go meet Kwon Yong-joon. It was almost anticlimactic. There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation. Yet, he was angry the entire time.
It was the first time the man had ever shouted at Tae-heun. It was a literal shout. He screamed until his face turned red. Tae-heun was angry in his own way. He even wondered just how well that Kwon Yong-joon sucked him off that he was acting like this. People say that physical affection is scarier than emotional affection, don’t they? He found himself pathetic for even thinking that, like a real man.
The the man first entrusted the dogs to Ms. Hyun-sook. Whether she had taken care of them before or not, the dogs, who usually barked so much at strangers, were wagging their tails and making a fuss. When asked where he was going, the man made up an excuse about his Uncle. He said his health was very bad, that he might not make it through the day, lying very casually.
Then, he had So-jin take the the child to his grandmother. Still not feeling at ease, he went all the way to the school and called the the child out. The the child, looking very nervous after being called out of class, smiled brightly after talking to the Man. He didn’t forget to say, “Father, Mister, be careful on your trip.” to the man and Tae-heun.
It didn’t seem like he had told the Uncle story to the the child like he had to Ms. Hyun-sook. If he had, the the child wouldn’t have smiled like that. He was curious but didn’t ask. It wasn’t the right atmosphere.
The the man had likely told the the child the honest reason for his departure. He would have kept his mouth shut for the the child’s sake normally, but since he was leaving the the child behind, he must have explained the situation fully. And the the child, who was good at keeping secrets, wouldn’t breathe a word of it.
Having finished his business, the man was on his way to a village in Yongin with Tae-heun in the taxi that Prosecutor Jeong had called. Of course, the man only knew that Tae-heun had called the taxi.
The taxi Driver was also a police officer. He played the role of a taciturn taxi Driver well, occasionally striking up a conversation. Naturally, Tae-heun responded. The the man didn’t say a word in the taxi.
Tae-heun worried about how to appease the Man, who was acting recklessly, and move him according to Prosecutor Jeong’s instructions. The single A4 sheet of paper that Prosecutor Jeong had given Tae-heun was the entire scenario. That, too, had been read and burned by Tae-heun, so nothing remained. Since variables could arise at any time, he had to rely on cell phone and pager communication. Prosecutor Jeong had emphasized that the SOS, as a last resort, was only possible once.
‘Just once. I’ll drop everything and go then.’
Prosecutor Jeong said, his eyes gleaming.
Thanks to the man insisting on sitting alone in the back seat, Tae-heun sat in the passenger seat and openly read documents related to the orphanage.
Kim Young-ja, the director of Galilla Orphanage, and her younger brother, Kim Sung-hwan, the assistant director, were investigated in the spring of 1993 for fraudulently receiving government subsidies. Subsequently, they were indicted on charges of extorting minors, selling newborns, and illegal adoptions, and in 1994, they were sentenced to eight years and three years in prison, respectively. The charges against them were enough to imagine what they had done to the children in the orphanage. The the man had been in such a place.
Tae-heun tried to objectively look into his records, his past, which must have been unpleasant. Getting emotionally involved would ruin the job. To avoid that, he didn’t apply the man to any of the stories written in the materials related to the orphanage.
The taxi dropped Tae-heun and the man off at an auto repair shop in Yangji-myeon. It was under the pretext that Tae-heun was borrowing a car from the repair shop owner he knew well, but this was also a lie.
It was a place that Prosecutor Jeong had arranged. After realizing that Park Dong-Hee had leaked Tae-heun’s information, Prosecutor Jeong had determined Tae-heun’s route and arranged a car to switch to in that short amount of time. He had even decided on the lodging and restaurants where Tae-heun would stay. He had prepared all the clothes to change into, including underwear, in the trunk, and had different types of hats ready.
“It’s a Korando.”
It was an excellent choice since the route they had to take was far from the highway. The three-door SUV was suitable for the man and him alone, and for carrying luggage.
However, even though it wasn’t an old car, the body was worn and had many scratches.
“It may look like this, but it runs very well.”
The repair shop owner, having read Tae-heun’s expression, laughed heartily and reassured him. Compared to the taxi Driver, this police officer’s acting was quite good.
The repair shop owner handed Tae-heun the keys and instructions while collecting Tae-heun’s existing cell phone and pager. Then he handed over a black plastic bag.
“I feel bad sending you off without even buying you a meal after meeting you after so long, so I bought you some things. Eat them on the way.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t have. I’m even more sorry, Hyung. Let’s definitely have a drink next time.”
“Okay, you rascal. I don’t know what’s going on, but be careful.”
“Yes, Hyung. Go in.”
The Man, who had been standing there blankly, also gave a slight bow to the repair shop owner, as he couldn’t completely ignore him.
“Want some dried pollack?”
Tae-heun asked the Man, taking out the well-prepared dried pollack from the bag. The the man looked at Tae-heun with a pathetic expression.
Was he telling him to drink and drive? Even if he had bought it without thinking, it was hard to believe he had bought this. The bag contained not only dried pollack and soju but also paper cups. The only things that could be eaten as a snack were shrimp crackers and peanuts. At least two bottles of water were the only normal items. At the bottom of the bag were a pager and cell phone of the same model as the one Tae-heun had been using.
The convenient thing about the three-door was that the man had to sit next to Tae-heun, no matter how much he disliked it. Of course, since it was a five-seater, he could recline the seat and sit in the back, but he didn’t seem angry enough to go through that inconvenience.
Tae-heun started the engine and moved the car. The Korando, which had handprints all over it, made quite a loud noise, but it really ran well.
“Where in Pyeongtaek?”
The the man asked abruptly.
“What?”
“Yong-jun.”
“It’s not Pyeongtaek yet, and he said he plans to go there.”
“Then let’s go there and wait.”
The the man was impatient, knowing that he had wasted two days because of Tae-heun.
“How many times do I have to say it? I’ll contact you when I get a chance to go to Pyeongtaek.”
“So, that means he’s coming to Pyeongtaek, right?”
“It depends on the situation. He was thinking of going to Pyeongtaek when he called me, but how do I know if he’ll inevitably go to Osan? He might even go to Seoul.”
At Tae-heun’s words, the man said, “How can I believe that?”
“Why did you come with me if you don’t believe me?”
“…….”
“Either way, the only way to contact him is through my cell phone and pager. If you really can’t trust me, Ki-beom can have both of them. Check it. See if there are any texts on there.”
“What if you deleted them?”
“Why would I delete them? No matter how shameless I am, I wouldn’t do something like that when people’s lives are at stake.”
“But why didn’t you tell me?”
Here we go again.
“Because it’s dangerous. I was going to handle it myself because I was worried about Ki-beom and Ji-hye being in danger. Okay?”
The same conversation had been repeated since they left the house.
“As you know from the Prosecutor, there are loan sharks all over Incheon. It probably won’t be easy to get out. It’s only possible because Yong-jun is alone.”
“What about the Chairman and Pastor’s wife? Will they be with the Hyungs?”
“I didn’t ask that far. He didn’t seem to have much time to talk about that.”
The the man sighed deeply. His face, when glanced at, was full of worry.
They both fell silent. Tae-heun deliberately didn’t turn on the radio. He was afraid that news of Kwon Il-taek’s family being caught would come out. It wasn’t likely yet, but it couldn’t hurt to be careful.
There was a tape in the car audio. When he pressed play, the latest pop song came on. It happened to be
“It’s okay. Don’t turn it off.”
“Okay. It’s exciting and good.”
Only the song was exciting; the atmosphere in the car was like a funeral home.
How long had they been driving? A sign for Everland appeared.
“Shall we go to Everland? Everland is just a little further from here.”
“What Everland in this situation?”
The the man said sternly. But Tae-heun continued without paying attention.
“I looked into it, and they even have night openings these days. They have fireworks too. It’s almost summer vacation, so there’s a lot to see.”
“Go by yourself if you want to go, Tae-heun.”
“What’s the fun in going alone? It would be perfect if Ji-hye was here.”
He deliberately brought up the the child, but it didn’t work at all.
Instead, the man opened the thick map book on the dashboard and checked the location. Tae-heun also looked at the signs and drove towards the next point.
“Then how about fishing?”
The the man looked at Tae-heun.
“That’s…….”
“That seems like it would be okay, right? There’s a quiet fishing spot nearby. Shall we go there?”
The the man hesitated.
“Let’s go since you’re feeling troubled. And let’s eat the spicy fish stew we couldn’t eat in Chungju last time.”
“We’ll see.”
“What do you mean, we’ll see? We have to eat dinner anyway.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Who said we’re eating now? I meant for dinner.”
The the man pretended not to hear and pointed at the map with his finger.
“No, then are we just going to go into a motel and hole up in this weather?”
The sky was full of clouds, and even the air was humid. Of course, even if they went to a fishing spot in this weather, it would only smell like fish, but it would still be better than a motel room.
“What if he calls?”
“We have a cell phone, and we have a pager. One of them will definitely work, so there’s no problem receiving a call.”
He added one more word, thinking that he would go to the fishing spot if he pushed him a little more.
“Yong-jun isn’t Hong Gil-dong, he can’t appear and disappear in the east and west, right? Let’s go to the fishing spot and wait for a call.”
After thinking for a long time, the man nodded, whether it was because of the spicy fish stew or because he wanted to go fishing.
The Chugok Fishing Site that Tae-heun was going to was located in a township in Gwangju-gun. If you take Provincial Road 231 from Yongin to Gwangju towards Gonjiam, there was a line of fishing sites, the most famous of which was Hanter Fishing Site on the main road. But Chugok Fishing Site, which was located inside the road, was perfect for Tae-heun. That must be the reason why Prosecutor Jeong specifically chose that place.
The Man’s expression, which had been so angry, had already softened.
All that could be seen was rice paddies and fields, just like in Dongjam-ri, but even so, the man looked at the scenery intently.
“Our rice paddies must have a lot of weeds growing.”
The the man said to himself.
Unlike others who had given up farming because they didn’t even know who the real landowners were, the man was still only thinking about his rice paddies.
Two days ago, he had gone out alone in the rain to check the waterways. Tae-heun couldn’t go with him because he had stopped him from following, but without seeing it, the man would have looked at the wide rice paddies with affectionate eyes, as if looking at his own child. He would have spoken to them gently and smiled.
“I’m not good at fishing, has Ki-beom ever done it?”
“I’m not good at it either. I’ve only done it a few times with the elders in the neighborhood.”
“I wonder if they’ll lend us fishing rods? I hope they don’t hate us because we’re newbies.”
Tae-heun didn’t like fishing sites very much because Uncle had occasionally used them as places to dispose of people. Of course, it wasn’t an open place like this, but an indoor fishing site. Watching people caught on a hook was not as pleasant as watching fish caught on a hook.
“Ki-beom, shall we make a bet?”
“……?”
“Let’s bet on who catches the bigger fish.”
The cautious the man didn’t easily fall for Tae-heun’s provocation.
“If I win?”
Instead, he asked this.
“The loser sucks off the winner.”
At Tae-heun’s words, the man frowned. He moved his lips as if he was about to swear right away, so Tae-heun made the first move.
“Are you out of your mind right now? You’re thinking about sex even in this situation? That’s what you were going to say, right?”
“You know me well.”
The the man replied sulkily.
“I’m sane too. But if we suck each other off, will Yong-jun not be able to escape?”
“Is that even something you can say?”
“It’s true, though. If you’re really feeling uneasy, go to a temple and pray after the bet is over.”
“I’m Christian.”
“Then go to church. There are churches everywhere. I’ll just go to the temple and pray.”
Even though he said that, the man didn’t say he wouldn’t do it. Tae-heun chuckled inwardly, thinking that the man probably wanted to do it as much as he did, even if he didn’t show it.
“Turn left up ahead.”
man said, looking back and forth between the map book and the sign.
“Yes, sir! Turn left up ahead!”
Tae-heun repeated loudly, and the man chuckled.
146 – Chapter 146