By Zephyria 
“Father!”
The the child’s voice was so loud it burst through the receiver.
“My daughter. How have you been?”
The the man tried to sound cheerful for the the child’s sake, but he soon swallowed hard, as if his throat was tightening.
“Yes. I’m doing great. Father! I went to the department store with my great-aunt today, and there…”
The the child chattered away, not giving the man a chance to speak.
The the man didn’t even know who the great-aunt was, but he smiled so brightly with jealousy as he responded enthusiastically, “Really? Is that so? Wow, Ji-hye must have had a great time.”
Then, he began to cry silently. The Man’s large, dark eyes became moist. Tae-heun stood close to the Man, hugging him and wiping away his tears. He listened attentively to the the child’s words and laughed along. He didn’t forget to keep feeding coins into the phone, afraid the call might be cut off.
The the child was safe and sound under the Helper’s protection. She seemed even happier with So-jin and So-jin’s grandmother with her. She ate well and slept well, and said maturely, “Father! Don’t worry about me!”
“Okay. Ji-hye, don’t worry about Father either.”
“Yes!”
“Listen to the adults.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t fight with So-jin, okay?”
“Oh, Father. I would never fight with So-jin. Really, don’t worry.”
“Okay. Father will finish work soon and come back.”
“Are you coming to Seoul too, Father?”
The the child asked innocently.
“Why? Do you want to stay in Seoul longer?”
“No, it’s not that. I just have so many places I want to go with you, Father, so I was wondering.”
The the man was touched by the the child’s thoughtfulness. He teared up again at her words.
“Okay. Then Father will go to Seoul. We’ll go to all the places Ji-hye wants to go, and then we’ll go home.”
“Wow! Really?”
“Of course. Really.”
“Wow! Father, I found a really delicious tteokbokki place, you know? It’s so much better than the ones in our town. We have to go there together!”
The the man laughed out loud at the mention of tteokbokki.
“Okay. We’ll definitely go together.”
Just as he was about to end the call, the the child seemed to have so much more to say and showed no sign of wanting to hang up.
Tae-heun felt proud, as it meant the Helper was taking good care of her. And he was truly grateful to the Helper. He must have been incredibly busy because of him, but he still took such dedicated care of not only the the child but also So-jin and her grandmother.
The the man was completely captivated by the the child’s voice, grinning foolishly and occasionally responding mechanically. Tae-heun couldn’t help but laugh at how different the father and daughter were.
They talked for over ten minutes before finally hanging up.
A bright smile spread across the Man’s face.
“He’s so happy he could die.”
Tae-heun teased him, but a smile bloomed on his face as well.
“By the way, our Ki-beom, you cry so much. Look at this. Your eyelashes are so heavy they’re drooping.”
Tae-heun teased the Man, gently brushing his wet eyelashes with the back of his hand. The the man was embarrassed.
“Where did you say we have to go now?”
He changed the subject.
“Hyeonchungsa Shrine.”
“Ah. Right. That’s right.”
“We just need to deliver the envelope and then we’ll head straight to Gimje.”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
The two got back into the car.
In the back seat lay a secure envelope containing new cell phones and pagers for future use.
To the Man, the item was merely an envelope that Tae-heun was to deliver to Hyeonchungsa Shrine at the request of his sixth cousin. Tae-heun simply had to go to Hyeonchungsa Shrine, hand this envelope to the guard who was a friend of his sixth cousin, and leave. Of course, he had to switch it with the devices he had been using before handing over the envelope.
The day to end all these lies was not far away.
Just until Gimje, only until there.
Just wait a little longer, Ki-beom.
I’ll tell you everything.
Tae-heun glanced at the Man, who was unfolding a map in the passenger seat, and resolved. He would never lie to him again, and if there were any secrets between them, they would all be things of the past.
Tae-heun didn’t care if his past was exposed. He would do anything if it meant protecting the Man. This long journey of meeting the Man’s great-aunt and visiting the orphanage officials was all for the Man’s sake. Tae-heun’s sole purpose was to eliminate the Man’s weaknesses with the information he obtained and provide him with a strong shield. All the information he learned would be kept to himself, and then there would be no secrets between the man and him.
The road to Hyeonchungsa Shrine was more cheerful than ever. Both the man and Tae-heun acted as if nothing was wrong. They sang along to the music and laughed heartily at trivial things.
After parking the car in the Hyeonchungsa Shrine parking lot, he got out with the yellow envelope.
The grounds were more extensive than he had expected.
“Ki-beom, take your time and look around. I’ll just run this errand.”
He showed the man the envelope.
The the man nodded and looked around, tilting his head.
Tae-heun went to the management office and handed over the devices he had been using to the guard who was waiting for him, and took out the new devices from the envelope.
“You’re a bit late. Use this phone.”
The guard, who had received Tae-heun’s devices, pointed to an empty desk in the corner of the office. There was only a telephone on the desk, and the receiver was hanging crookedly, as if there was a call waiting.
When he picked up the receiver, a thunderous scolding came back.
The Helper was furious. It was only natural.
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but if something like this happens again, I won’t be able to take your side anymore!”
Tae-heun listened silently to the Helper’s cold warning and apologized politely. He didn’t make a single excuse. A mistake was a mistake. And he had made a very big one.
“Ugh. This is frustrating. Once you go into the Safe house, I won’t be able to talk to you at all.”
“Why, do you miss me?”
“Are you kidding? I’m frustrated, that’s why. It’s frustrating to only talk on this damn phone!”
“Me too.”
A deep sigh could be heard over the receiver.
“Why is it so hard to live like a normal person?”
“Tell me about it. I must have sold the country in my past life.”
The Helper chuckled at Tae-heun’s words. The Helper’s voice softened as he said, “You always have a silver tongue.”
“Please help me live like a normal person a little longer.”
Tae-heun asked with a bitter smile.
Lee Seon-jae had never wanted to live in the first place. Even the name Kim Tae-heun was taken from a dead person, so that said it all. Lee Seon-jae’s only desire and goal was to fall spectacularly from Niagara Falls. His only dream was to die in a way that his body would never be found. But now, he agreed with the Helper’s words. He openly asked the Helper. Because he wanted to live like a normal person.
“Anyway, there shouldn’t be any problems until Gimje.”
“Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, lying is what you’re best at, so I’m sure you’ll handle it.”
The Helper laughed lightly, saying something that was hard to tell whether it was a compliment or an insult. It was probably a compliment.
“I’m tired of lying too. I can’t do it anymore.”
Tae-heun conveyed his true feelings with a sigh. He had made a living and enjoyed wealth by deceiving people his whole life, and only now did he regret it.
The other side of the receiver was silent.
“Go in. I’m really sorry about today. It won’t happen again.”
“Lee Seon-jae.”
The Helper called out as he was about to hang up. A slight tremor could be heard in his voice.
“Oh, are you touched again?”
The Helper clicked his tongue at Tae-heun’s jest. “You really know how to play with people’s emotions. Anyway, if you make another mistake, we’re both dead, got it?”
“Yes. I understand.”
The Helper still thought Tae-heun had done it on purpose. He still suspected that he had done it with some intention. No matter how unlike Lee Seon-jae the words he had spoken were, the Lee Seon-jae that the Helper knew was capable of anything. That’s why he fully understood his feelings.
Tae-heun was also bewildered. He couldn’t believe that he had suddenly called the Helper’s personal number. He was struck by the fact that he had endangered not only his own life but also the lives of others for the Man’s sake.
Tae-heun looked at the Man’s back as he looked around Hyeonchungsa Shrine with longing eyes. He gazed at the love he had almost lost due to his mistake with affection.
The the man moved and waved at Tae-heun, telling him to come over, making a fuss.
“I’m coming!”
He shouted towards the Man.
To Tae-heun, it was just another relic, but the Man’s eyes sparkled and he didn’t take anything for granted.
“It’s amazing. That Joseon Dynasty artifacts are still around. And in pretty good condition too.”
“Did you see the tomb?”
“Of course.”
“Is it intact?”
“Yes. It’s well maintained.”
The the man looked at him as if asking why he was asking such a thing.
“I see. Someone stuck a kitchen knife and iron stakes into Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s tomb last year. Do you remember?”
Tae-heun mentioned the incident that had made headlines in newspapers and the 9 o’clock news in the first half of last year.
Someone had stuck kitchen knives and iron stakes into Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s tomb and even the tombs of his son and father-in-law within the Hyeonchungsa Shrine grounds. He remembered that his Uncle, who was obsessed with shamanism, had watched the news closely.
The the man asked in shock, “Really?”
“Yeah. I think it was around April.”
“Why? Why did they do that?”
“I don’t know exactly, but I heard it was because of some personal grudge or something.”
The the man frowned at Tae-heun’s answer.
“There are so many strange people.”
“Yeah. We have to be careful.”
Tae-heun winked slyly at the Man.
“I like Admiral Yi Sun-sin.”
The the man said like a child. He went on to scold the people who had done bad things to his tomb, saying they would be punished by heaven.
“I have to come here with Ji-hye later. If there are a lot of people, they won’t do anything stupid.”
He resolved.
“Okay. If we come, let’s come in the winter and go to the hot springs too.”
The the man was delighted at Tae-heun’s suggestion. The Man, who had been excited about Admiral Yi Sun-sin, looked forward to the future with an excited face, saying that he had never been to a hot spring before.
“I should have studied harder when I was in school. I can’t read any of the Chinese characters.”
The the man was embarrassed, and Tae-heun chimed in, saying, “I’m illiterate too.”
“But is your leg okay? Do you want to change into sneakers?”
The the man was limping much more severely than before. Even though they were specially made shoes like boots, it seemed like his feet were very uncomfortable.
“It’s okay. I can handle it.”
“You can handle it? Give me those shoes and change into my sneakers.”
“It’s okay. If you wear them, the height won’t match and it’ll be hard for you to walk.”
“How hard can it be? Stop it and come here.”
Just then, he saw a bench, so Tae-heun forcibly sat the man down.
He knelt down in front of the man and took off his shoes. The the man was worried that people would stare and said, “It’s okay,” but he didn’t stop Tae-heun, probably because his feet hurt.
The shoe on his healthy left foot came off easily, but his right foot was severely swollen and the shoe was tight. Even though he carefully took off the shoe, the man frowned. He gritted his teeth.
“Look at this, look at this. It’s all swollen. Why did you keep holding it in?”
“I could handle it.”
The the man answered in a faint voice.
When Tae-heun covered his foot with his palm and pressed down, the man flinched. He groaned.
“You should go to the hospital. Something bad might happen.”
“It’s really okay.”
“What’s okay? You didn’t bring painkillers, did you?”
“…No.”
man stubbornly refused to go to the hospital. He said that physical therapy would be a waste of time anyway. Even though his appointment with Kwon Yong-joon was at midnight, he seemed worried about being late. It was only 5 p.m., but perhaps because the day was gloomy, it felt later than it actually was.
“Okay, then. Let’s skip the treatment and just get some painkillers. Is that okay?”
Tae-heun barely managed to persuade Man.
164 – Chapter Title Without Number