#151

We feasted properly on army stew and even hamburgers.

“Fucking delicious, right?”

“Yes. Fucking delicious.”

The the man gave a satisfied smile and put the remaining piece of hamburger in his mouth. Then he sucked the sauce off his fingers.

He should have asked me to suck them for him, Tae-heun thought nonsensically, and followed the Man, sucking his own fingers. Finally, he gulped down the cola, and it was like paradise.

Perhaps it was because he had eaten three meals in a mere four hours, but he felt hazy. It wasn’t because he was sleepy, but because he was so satisfied.

If I could just have sex with the man now, it would be the icing on the cake.

Standing at the urinal, he looked back at the man washing his hands at the sink, thinking such thoughts.

Was it because he was wearing a sky-blue checkered shirt? The the man looked like a college student. If he had to put it a certain way, he looked like a returning student.

Tae-heun scanned the bathroom. There were two doors. It seemed like he could occupy one. But the Man, completely unaware of Tae-heun’s thoughts, said, “I’ll be outside,” and left the bathroom.

“Hey, let’s go together.”

I can’t go until this damn piss is over.

Tae-heun sighed, looking down at his penis, which was spurting out urine without a care.

Yeah, having sex in broad daylight, especially in a public restroom at a hamburger joint, is a bit much.

What’s so much about it? I’d be fucking excited.

Clicking his tongue, he washed his hands.

The the man in the mirror, it goes without saying, was fucking beautiful. Khew. He was really blooming. The faded bruises suited his pale face perfectly, like eyeshadow.

Seriously, how can you not get a hard-on looking at this face?

He had kept his dick up all night, competing with the Man, and still he was only clicking his tongue in regret.

The the man was standing blankly outside the store, looking at the passersby. It was a busy street, and office workers in suits and young people who looked like college students dressed up were coming and going. As any the man would, he thought he might be looking at young women in miniskirts, but instead, he was looking at a boy about the the child’s age. The boy was walking while eating tteokbokki from a paper cup.

A smile must have spread across the Man’s face.

“Let’s go.”

Tae-heun briefly hugged the Man’s waist and let go.

“Yes.”

“Ji-hye will be fine.”

“Yes.”

Only after glancing back at the boy did the man walk with Tae-heun.

The Man, who would never have yielded the car keys before meeting Kwon Yong-joon, handed them over. His eyes were full of sleepiness.

“I’m not going straight to Mangi Temple, is that okay?”

“Yes. There’s still time anyway.”

He seemed to have become more generous now that he was full.

“Okay, then. I have some personal business to take care of too. Is it okay if I see to it?”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

He really wasn’t curious about anything. The the man didn’t even ask what kind of business it was.

“A relative lives near here. I thought I’d say hello while I’m here.”

He said it on purpose, but the Man’s only response was, “Yes.” The the man seemed to have no idea that his great-aunt lived in Pyeongtaek.

Tae-heun started the engine, turned on the air conditioner, and then briefly opened the map to check the direction of where he was going.

Mun-gok Village, where Yoon Ki-beom’s great-aunt was currently said to live, was about 20 minutes from Songtan.

“By the way, where was Ki-beom’s great-uncle originally from?”

He asked as if he had suddenly remembered.

“Daejeon.”

The the man answered readily, without any suspicion.

“Didn’t you say your maternal uncle lived there?”

“Well, my Father is from Daejeon. My maternal uncle got a job there later.”

“Ah. I see. Anyway, when you lied to Hyun-sook, I thought you were someone else. I would have believed it too.”

When he brought up yesterday’s events belatedly, the man looked embarrassed.

“Then your great-aunt and cousins must live in Daejeon too?”

“No. They’ve all left Daejeon and scattered here and there.”

“Really? Even your great-aunt?”

“…Yes.”

“It must have been hard for her to move from the place she had lived her whole life.”

He pretended to be worried and tried to elicit a reaction from the Man, but there was no response.

It was strange that he didn’t know about the residence of his great-aunt, whom he had been close to, even though he went to visit his great-uncle every month. He didn’t know why, but it seemed certain that the man had lost contact with his great-aunt.

The the man seemed to be in a good mood, humming along to the dance song coming from the cassette player and swaying his body slightly.

“Ki-beom, do you dance?”

“Ah, no.”

“Why, you look like you’d be good at it. Want to go to a nightclub?”

“No way. A nightclub, what for.”

The the man waved his hands, embarrassed.

“I dance a little.”

No sooner had he said this than Tae-heun took his hands off the steering wheel, and the man was horrified.

“Hey, why are you taking your hands off the wheel? That’s dangerous!”

“It’s a straight road.”

“Still.”

“Okay, okay. You’re being too serious.”

When Tae-heun showed a hint of disappointment, the man scolded him, saying there was a lot to be disappointed about.

Tae-heun wondered where he should drop the man off. At first, he had even entertained the reckless idea of taking him all the way to his great-aunt’s front gate, but there was no point in stirring up trouble for no reason.

In any case, he had to take the man to Gimje no matter what, and he would have to move with him no matter where he went in the future, so he couldn’t afford to make the relationship with the man uncomfortable. Above all, if the man started to distrust Tae-heun, and therefore went back to Dongjam Village, it would all be over.

Just then, he saw a cafe.

“It’s hot and I’m sleepy, let’s have a cup of coffee.”

He slowed down in front of the cafe.

The two-story log cabin, which looked like a Western bar, had a very large parking lot.

“I’m full, why are we drinking again?”

The the man grumbled, but followed Tae-heun anyway.

Loud pop music blared inside the cafe. It seemed they sold beer as well as coffee, as there were young people drinking beer here and there, even though it was early. Of course, there were also a few foreigners in military uniforms.

“I’ll go check out the second floor.”

Tae-heun went up to the second floor, even though there were plenty of seats. The second floor was quieter than the first floor, and there was a bathroom, so it didn’t seem like it would be inconvenient even if the man stayed for a long time. He went back down to the first floor, ordered, and then took a seat by the window on the second floor.

“You said you were full, but it’s a parfait.”

When he nitpicked about the menu, the man said, “There’s always room for dessert,” and sucked up the sweetness with a straw.

“Isn’t it sweet?”

“No.”

“Just looking at it makes my teeth ache.”

“It just tastes good.”

Tae-heun drank his black iced coffee and looked at his watch.

“Ki-beom, do you want to come with me? I’m just going to show my face for a bit.”

“Ah. Your relative?”

“Yeah. They’re distant relatives, so we don’t visit often, but I’d feel bad if I came all the way here and didn’t show my face.”

“No, it’s okay. Go by yourself.”

Tae-heun had expected him to say that, but he pretended to be disappointed on purpose.

“Why don’t you come with me? It won’t take long.”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll stay here and eat this. Go ahead.”

“If you insist, there’s nothing I can do. Order something else if you want.”

“This is enough.”

The the man said, holding up a long-handled spoon.

Whether Tae-heun left or not, the man began to eat the parfait with his back hunched over. To be pushed aside by a parfait of all things, he resented the indifferent Man. He was upset even though he had planned to go alone.

Wasn’t it said that in love, the person who loves more loses?

Tae-heun chuckled and went down the stairs.

Of course, there would be a store there too, but just in case, he stopped by the supermarket and bought a box of orange juice and coffee mix for a gift in advance. If nothing else, he had never seen an elder who didn’t like this damn instant coffee.

As he got closer to Mun-gok Village, the proportion of rice paddies and fields increased. Yoon Ki-beom’s great-aunt, who had mainly worked in restaurants in Daejeon, wouldn’t suddenly be farming. He also thought that the house prices were cheap, so she might have settled in this neighborhood. That meant the house might be empty now. He could think about what to do in that case when the time came.

The house where Yoon Ki-beom’s great-aunt lived was a single-story house with a slate roof and a small yard, commonly seen even in Dongjam Village. The gate was locked.

“Hello, is anyone there?”

Tae-heun shouted inside.

Just then, a woman who looked to be in her late 60s was coming out of the house dressed to go out. She locked the front door and asked, “Who is it?”

“Excuse me, are you Park Mal-ja?”

“Yes, I am?”

He was lucky. Yoon Ki-beom’s great-aunt, Park Mal-ja, was home.

Tae-heun gave a polite bow between the fences with a business smile. Then Park Mal-ja looked up at Tae-heun with a puzzled look and opened the gate without any suspicion.

“Who are you?”

“Hello. My name is Kim Tae-heun. Please accept this first.”

Tae-heun pushed his way in and handed over the gift. When she tried not to accept it, he practically forced it on her, and Park Mal-ja had no choice but to accept it.

Park Mal-ja was 59 years old, but she looked six or seven years older.

“But who are you? I don’t think I know you.”

She was worried that she might not have recognized Tae-heun.

“Oh, it’s natural that you don’t know me. We’re meeting for the first time today.”

“Ah. If you’re a peddler…”

“Absolutely not. I’m not a peddler, and I didn’t come to sell insurance either. I came to see Mother.”

“Me?”

At the words that he had come to see her, Park Mal-ja showed concern first.

“I’d like to talk somewhere inside…”

When Tae-heun deliberately looked around and looked at the house, she reluctantly reopened the locked front door and led Tae-heun inside.

“By the way, Mother, it looks like you’re on your way out?”

“Yes. I have to go to work.”

“I was lucky.”

Tae-heun sat on the floor of the small kitchen-cum-living room that she led him to. The furnishings were simple, but spotless.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I don’t have anything to offer you. Would you like some barley tea?”

“It’s okay. Don’t stand there, sit down.”

Park Mal-ja hesitated and then took a seat opposite Tae-heun.

“By any chance, did, did my husband cause an accident?”

Before Tae-heun could answer, she lamented, “I knew it. Oh, my fate.”

“What did he do this time? I mean, I gathered all the money I had and sent him to a nursing home, so he should be quietly getting treatment. Ugh. I can’t live like this.”

“I didn’t come about your husband’s affairs. By any chance, do you know Yoon Ki-beom?”

As soon as the name Yoon Ki-beom came out of Tae-heun’s mouth, Park Mal-ja froze. But soon she forced a smile and said, “Of course, he’s my nephew.”

“But why Ki-beom…”

Park Mal-ja looked at Tae-heun cautiously.

“He’s not the type to cause trouble.”

“Yes. He’s not the type to do that. I didn’t come about that.”

“Then what did you come about?”

Park Mal-ja tilted her head.

“I’m from a child abuse investigation organization. I’m a volunteer.”

Tae-heun found a Namsan Industry business card in his wallet and wrote his contact information on the back of the card.

“This is my work business card, but I wrote my personal contact information.”

Park Mal-ja received Tae-heun’s business card with a bewildered expression. She barely looked at it.

“Our human rights organization is investigating the facts of child abuse that took place in orphanages and other childcare facilities in the 80s and 90s.”

Tae-heun added.

Park Mal-ja nodded, but she didn’t seem to understand why he was telling her this, as the words “human rights organization” were still unfamiliar to her.

“Yoon Ki-beom said you took care of him from the first year of middle school, is that correct?”

Tae-heun even took out a notebook and pretended to ask questions and write down the answers. Park Mal-ja’s gaze lingered on the notebook for a moment and then disappeared.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“How did you end up taking care of your nephew?”

Park Mal-ja was still unfamiliar with the term “human rights organization,” so she answered the questions with a bewildered look throughout.

She, looking rather timid, wasn’t the type to fabricate stories of hardship, adding and embellishing where there was none. She spoke plainly, sticking to the facts as much as possible. She didn’t badmouth anyone.

“It must have been difficult raising your nephew, especially a teenager. You’re amazing.”

Tae-heun’s praise brought a quiet smile to Park Mal-ja’s face.

“I got along well with my sister-in-law, and even though Ki-beom caused some trouble, he was good to me. Oh, if it weren’t for my brother-in-law, she wouldn’t have left us so soon.”

Park Mal-ja deeply regretted the death of Yoon Ki-beom’s Mother, Kim Eun-ok. She lamented that a beautiful, kind, and capable woman had ruined her life by meeting the wrong Man.

“Ki-beom was a charmer, just like his Mother. Our children are all so stoic, but Ki-beom was so affectionate. He was outgoing, handsome, and a good talker. That’s why he had so many friends and girls chasing after him. One day, he even brought a love letter and read it to me for my opinion.”

The Yoon Ki-beom that Park Mal-ja described was definitely different from Man. Tae-heun imagined the man being affectionate and quickly shook his head.

“You sent him to an orphanage a year later?”

“Yes. My third the child suddenly fell ill…”

Park Mal-ja’s smile vanished at that point. Deeper wrinkles etched themselves onto her wrinkled face.

“Galilla Orphanage, is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Nodding, Park Mal-ja finally seemed to understand Tae-heun’s reason for visiting. “Was there… something that happened at the orphanage?” she asked with a worried expression. Tae-heun replied in a serious tone that there was.

“He was beaten?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, dear. What should we do?”

Shocked, Park Mal-ja couldn’t speak, only sighing, “Oh, dear.”

“I guess there were many children like that? Judging by the fact that you’re investigating all the victims.”

She asked with difficulty, her voice choked with emotion.

“The investigation is still ongoing, but unfortunately, that’s the case. We’ve confirmed evidence of continuous abuse by the director and assistant director of Galilla Orphanage at the time. And some children acquired disabilities as a result of that abuse, and we believe Yoon Ki-beom is one of them.”

Tae-heun threw it out there.

“Disabilities?”

Park Mal-ja’s face turned pale in an instant.

“Yoon Ki-beom is denying it, though.”

“Oh, Ki-beom.”

Park Mal-ja finally burst into tears.

Bingo!

Even with a crying person in front of him, Tae-heun inwardly rejoiced.

Chapter 152