“Let’s go in.”
Secretary Yang pointed to the underpass. Park Hae-jun asked again in disbelief.
“Really? Is Lee A-gon really in there?”
“Yes.”
Park Hae-jun looked at the underpass bathed in the waning light of the sun. Homeless people were warming themselves by a fire at the entrance, and he glanced over at them, as an unpleasant smell wafted all the way to where they stood.
They had driven three hours from Seoul. At first, Park Hae-jun thought Lee A-gon might be recovering somewhere with clean air, but the destination turned out to be an underpass where homeless people took shelter.
Secretary Yang insisted that Lee A-gon was inside and urged him to enter, but Park Hae-jun couldn’t believe it. Why would a rich family’s son be in a place like this?
“What are you waiting for?”
Secretary Yang, who had already entered the underpass, pressured Park Hae-jun. After hesitating for a moment, Park Hae-jun finally followed Secretary Yang into the underpass.
The ability to bend a spoon in two hours. The power to take one step forward in half a day. In exchange for such trivial abilities, the minds of these power-holders became terribly tangled. When power-holders were first discovered, they say the government immediately raided mental hospitals. Power-holders had been mixed among patients suffering from delusions and hallucinations.
To be honest, Park Hae-jun had expected Lee A-gon’s condition to not be good. Secretary Yang had stipulated that they would wait until Lee A-gon regained his “orientation” and could be judged as “normal.” This meant that currently, Lee A-gon didn’t even know who he was.
But still, an underpass? A homeless person? He never could have imagined reuniting with that once adorable child like this.
“Excuse me. We’re looking for someone. Sorry. Please let us through.”
Secretary Yang greeted the homeless people with practiced ease and pushed through them. Park Hae-jun pinched his nose. The inside of the underpass was filled with a revolting smell.
The deeper they went, the more serious the condition of the people in the underpass became. Most were wrapped in newspaper and lying down, some looking so still they might be dead.
As Park Hae-jun looked around, he made eye contact with one homeless person. A man with what appeared to be severe jaundice glared at Park Hae-jun as if he wanted to kill him.
“Don’t look at them. Just follow me quietly. And don’t hold your nose.”
Secretary Yang whispered. Park Hae-jun released his nose and breathed through his mouth. The disgusting smell persisted even after he did that.
This underpass seemed to be abandoned, with the exit blocked. Overhead, they could hear the occasional sound of vehicles passing by. Secretary Yang knelt down and began checking people’s faces. Meanwhile, Park Hae-jun stood idly looking around the tunnel and made eye contact with another homeless person. It was the same man with jaundiced eyes.
“Secretary.”
Click—Secretary Yang turned on a flashlight and flipped over a sleeping man. A man who appeared to be in his forties was drooling on the ground. Secretary Yang immediately moved the flashlight to the next target.
“Secretary.”
“Shh. Be quiet.”
Secretary Yang ignored Park Hae-jun and continued what he was doing. He woke up people who were curled up sleeping to check their faces and turned over those lying with their backs turned.
During this time, Park Hae-jun anxiously watched several homeless people approaching them. They didn’t take any particular action, but their glares toward Park Hae-jun and Secretary Yang were very menacing.
“I think it’s that person.”
They finally reached the end of the underpass. Secretary Yang pointed his flashlight at a man. The man was lying with his back turned and was frighteningly skinny. He wore a thin, tattered military jacket and jeans, without even socks, his blackened bare feet exposed.
“No way.”
Park Hae-jun furrowed his brow. The man looked the filthiest among all the homeless people there.
“It doesn’t seem like he’s here. Let’s head back…”
Just then, Secretary Yang forcibly turned the man over. As the body moved, a long black insect escaped from the man’s clothes and quickly ran away. Ugh. At the horrific sight, Park Hae-jun instinctively stepped back. He felt sick to his stomach.
“Mr. Lee A-gon.”
Secretary Yang slapped the man’s cheek.
“Wake up. Mr. Lee A-gon. Mr. Lee A-gon. …This won’t do. Mr. Park Hae-jun, come here and help me support him.”
“Me?”
When Park Hae-jun questioned, Secretary Yang gestured as if to say who else was there.
“Come quickly.”
“…”
“Mr. Park Hae-jun.”
Secretary Yang finally raised his voice at the motionless Park Hae-jun.
Damn it, Park Hae-jun cursed inwardly as he helped support the man. As expected, a terrible smell hit him. Just being next to the man made him want to vomit.
As the three of them exited the underpass, the murmuring behind them grew louder. “They say they take people like us for biological experiments.” “Look. They’re taking someone away right now.” “Bastards. Is that true?” “Shh, lower your voice. The government is wiretapping us. We need to be careful not to be monitored…”
Several men followed them. The sound of Secretary Yang’s dress shoes echoed widely in the damp underpass. The rhythmic footsteps changed to sounds of kicking the ground as the number of men following increased. Park Hae-jun and Secretary Yang ran with the unconscious man slung over their shoulders.
“The government bastards are running away!”
“Catch them! They’re planning another experiment!”
Deranged men chased after them. A stone flew and hit Park Hae-jun on the back. It hurt despite his thick padded jacket. What on earth is happening? Park Hae-jun clutched the filthy man and ran for his life.
When they reached the car, Secretary Yang got into the driver’s seat and shouted for him to get in quickly. Park Hae-jun stuffed the man into the back seat and found himself sitting beside him. As the car suddenly accelerated, Park Hae-jun’s head fell into the dirty man’s lap from the momentum, and he screamed as he pulled himself up.
“Fasten your seatbelt.”
The car drove backward. Homeless people were crawling up the ridge leading to the underpass. As Secretary Yang quickly cut through a side path and reached the road, he saw the lights of an approaching truck from the opposite direction. Park Hae-jun closed his eyes. They were driving against traffic.
With a loud honk, the truck passed by. Secretary Yang avoided the oncoming traffic with perfect cornering. When Park Hae-jun opened his eyes, they were already driving steadily on the road. The underpass and the homeless people were far behind them.
“…Who were those people anyway?”
“You heard them. Wiretapping, experiments. Drug addicts and mental patients. You won’t meet them again, so don’t worry about it. More importantly, could you check on Mr. Lee A-gon? How is he?”
At those words, Park Hae-jun looked at the man crumpled beside him. He was extremely dirty and thin. His face was so emaciated that his bones protruded, covered with an unkempt beard, and his cheeks were covered in eczema. His white lips were all cracked, and his long black hair that hung down was terribly greasy.
The stench intensified in the confined space. The man was like a living garbage bin. Park Hae-jun couldn’t understand how a human being could smell like this.
Is this really supposed to be Lee A-gon?
It was truly unbelievable. Park Hae-jun was scanning the man from head to toe again when he suddenly screamed. Secretary Yang hastily asked, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“A bug.”
Park Hae-jun shuddered. A long black insect had fallen from the man’s wrist. As the bug crawled toward him, he quickly stepped on it, making a crunching sound. Goosebumps spread across Park Hae-jun’s entire body.
“Don’t scream over something so trivial. You startled me.”
Secretary Yang, having assessed the situation, expressed annoyance over the matter. But it wasn’t trivial. Park Hae-jun hated bugs more than anything in this world.
From then on, Park Hae-jun kept his eyes on the man, never letting his guard down. He couldn’t look away for fear another bug might fall and crawl toward him.
The car stopped at a motel parking lot. Park Hae-jun, who had been suffering from the man’s smell for hours, jumped out first.
“Are we staying here tonight?”
Without answering, Secretary Yang brought the man out from the back seat and pushed him toward Park Hae-jun. Park Hae-jun grimaced as he caught the man in his arms. There didn’t seem to be any more bugs, but he couldn’t let his guard down.
“I’m not sure if they’ll let us check in with this man…with Lee A-gon.”
Secretary Yang got back into the car. Thinking he must have something else to retrieve, Park Hae-jun looked at the motel. He doubted the motel owner would accept a filthy homeless person.
There was a rumbling sound. The car engine started. Watching blankly, Park Hae-jun realized the car was actually moving. He practically threw Lee A-gon down and ran after it.
“Secretary, what are you doing?”
Park Hae-jun frantically pulled at the door handle. It just rattled without opening.
“Secretary. Hey, Secretary?”
Bang, bang—he chased after the car, pounding fiercely on the window until Secretary Yang finally stopped and lowered the window about an inch.
“There’s a second test.”
“What?”
“From now until I return tomorrow, please assist Mr. Lee A-gon. Prove your skills for one day. That’s the test.”
What is he talking about? Park Hae-jun was momentarily dumbfounded.
“If you need anything, use this to resolve it. Rest well.”
Plop—a thin card flew through the window gap. Park Hae-jun stared blankly as the card hit his chest and fell to the ground, then frantically chased after Secretary Yang.
“What are you saying? You never mentioned this! Secretary Yang!”
No matter how fast Park Hae-jun ran, he couldn’t catch up to the car. It disappeared in an instant.
“Wow, that bastard.”
Park Hae-jun swept back his short bangs and cursed. A second test? What was that supposed to mean? After bringing him all the way here, was he still reconsidering whether to hire him or not?