Kim Ha-yoon arrived at an inn located at the entrance of District B in the morning. Anna was already out front when he parked the car.
“You’re here.”
“The kids?”
“They’re getting examined inside. They were startled, but there doesn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong.”
“The fire suddenly spread?”
Anna looked troubled at Kim Ha-yoon’s question before answering.
“It seems someone deliberately poured oil. There were traces of it on the ground.”
Damn it. He was too complacent. People are just the type to be jealous even when their cousin buys land. District A directly sponsored a place where only orphans lived, so they must have been incredibly envious.
Still, he didn’t expect them to actually set a fire. He ordered Lieutenant Park to find and punish them no matter what, but it didn’t seem like they would be caught easily. There were no surveillance cameras, and if the residents banded together and kept their mouths shut, there was nothing much he could do.
“Ire?”
Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Anna gestured with her eyes. Ire was sitting on a chair in the hallway, looking exhausted. After telling her to go inside, Kim Ha-yoon walked over to him. Even when he got right in front of him, Ire kept his head down.
“Did you drop something on the floor?”
He sat down next to him and looked at his face, which was haggard. He frowned when he belatedly noticed that the back of his left hand was red.
“Are you hurt?”
“Just a little…”
He took his hand to examine it. It was bright red and shiny, as if ointment had been applied. He asked if he was okay anywhere else, and he just nodded. Seeing him so dejected made his mouth feel bitter. Just as he was about to put a cigarette in his mouth and light it, a little kid popped out of nowhere and ran over.
The child was unbelievably cheerful, considering his home had disappeared overnight. Kim Ha-yoon crumpled the cigarette he was holding and shoved it back into his pocket.
“Hello…”
The child greeted him politely and glanced at Kim Ha-yoon. Mister, you came to our house last time, right? Where do you live, mister? Do you live with Michael? Kim Ha-yoon’s expression grew increasingly distorted as the questions poured out.
“I’m not a mister. Call me ‘hyung’.”
When the child hesitated, Kim Ha-yoon took out his wallet and handed him some cash. Come on, call me ‘hyung’. Ire, who had been exhausted, was dumbfounded by the sight and snatched the money away, telling the children to go play over there.
“Do you want to be called ‘hyung’ by kids who could be your sons?”
“Sons, my ass.”
He scoffed, but if he had gotten married in his early twenties, he could have had a son that age. He took out another cigarette, but this time the doctor came out. He reported to Kim Ha-yoon about the children’s health. There were no serious injuries, and some of the children had been given sedatives and had fallen asleep.
After the doctor disappeared, Ire went to check on the children one more time. Then, he came outside, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He still couldn’t forget the cold stares of the people he had seen while putting out the fire.
After standing there for a while, he went out to the road, and Kim Ha-yoon followed him.
“Where are you going?”
“Home…”
“What for? You’re leaving tomorrow anyway.”
Ire looked bewildered at the word “leaving.” Leaving?
“I said you’re moving to District A. I was going to wait until you officially enlisted, but since your house burned down, now isn’t a bad time either.”
“But…”
“Is there a better way?”
“……”
“You heard, right? That someone deliberately set the fire.”
When he kept his mouth shut, Kim Ha-yoon came and stood next to him.
“There’s no guarantee they won’t do it again. Think carefully about what’s best for your siblings.”
He bit his lip and sighed deeply. Then, he noticed Kim Ha-yoon’s car in front of the inn. It used to be a sleek car, but now it had a rugged exterior similar to a military truck.
“I’ll just go home for a bit. I’m going to see if there are any belongings left…”
“You want me to take you?”
“I’d appreciate it if you would…”
He expected to be scolded for doing something pointless, but he readily agreed and got into the car. As soon as he sat in the passenger seat, the car started. Kim Ha-yoon didn’t say anything else during the drive. Ire was also deep in thought. Who set the fire? Who on earth?
When they arrived home, he noticed someone pacing back and forth. He got out of the car and approached, and Gangsan raised his head. He had rushed over after hearing the news at dawn and had been putting out the fire, so he was a mess. His face was covered in soot and tears.
“The kids? Are they okay?”
Ire nodded. Gangsan belatedly looked at Kim Ha-yoon, who was sitting in the driver’s seat. He awkwardly greeted him and stood close to Ire.
“Is that him? The one from back then? Your superior?”
“Yeah.”
Smoke was still rising like a haze from the collapsed building. The sight of the devastation broke his heart.
“I should have slept here last night. Then I might have caught whoever did it.”
Ire pressed down on his head at his self-reproachful voice. It wouldn’t have made a difference even if he had been there. How could he have stopped a fire that spread so quickly?
He stirred the ashes with a stick to see if there was anything salvageable, but there wasn’t much to be found. He sighed quietly and stared blankly at the debris, when Gangsan came close and lowered his voice. “Wait a minute.” He soon pulled Ire away from the car. He didn’t forget to keep an eye on Kim Ha-yoon the whole time.
“About yesterday. You asked if I remembered.”
“Huh?”
“Matteo.”
“Ah.” He asked if anything came to mind, and he made a V shape with his index and middle fingers.
“There was a shape like this in front of the stick. My grandmother remembered it exactly.”
His grandmother was old but still sharp. When he asked what it was, Gangsan, who had been gloomy until just now, confidently raised his chin.
“Who do you think I am? So I went to see the doctor this morning. You know, he’s the smartest guy in our neighborhood.”
He couldn’t agree with that.
In fact, he had prescribed the wrong medicine many times and was a quack who misdiagnosed patients all the time.
“Two sticks with a V in front of them, that’s seven.”
“Seven?”
“Yeah, the number 7.”
When he asked why it was the number 7, Gangsan shook his head. Then, he took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. The paper was covered with drawings similar to what Gangsan had described.
Starting from here, numbers 1, 2, 3, 4… And among them, there was one that looked like the one tattooed on the man’s finger in the sewer. According to this order, the number written on the man’s body was the number 4.
“Was it helpful?”
To be honest, he didn’t know what it meant no matter how much he looked at it. But he couldn’t disappoint someone who had gone out of their way to help. After thanking him and putting the paper in his back pocket, Gangsan looked around the collapsed house site with a gloomy expression.
“What about the house? It’ll take a while to get a new one…”
Ire hesitated at Gangsan’s words.
“Gangsan…”
“Yeah?”
“I was going to tell you in advance…”
He struggled to say that he was leaving this place and going to District A. Silence fell. He expected him to resent him for not telling him sooner, but he smiled brightly and hugged Ire tightly.
“You bastard! Why are you telling me this now!”
Hey, I can’t breathe, let go!
“That’s great. That’s really great!”
After finally getting him off, Gangsan’s eyes were watery.
“I actually expected it all along. You’re special. That’s why they came to get you in person! I can’t believe my friend is a resident of District A! Can I brag about it?”
He suddenly felt choked up and his nose tingled. He was the only friend he had confided in here, and Gangsan knew him better than anyone.
“Why are you making that face? You should be happy.”
Ire deliberately smiled brightly. “Thank you.”
“Come visit sometimes. And come to my wedding, too.”
He would have told him not to talk nonsense in the past, but today he just nodded. He heard the sound of a door closing and saw Kim Ha-yoon, looking bored, had come outside and was leaning against the car. He looked over here and put a cigarette in his mouth.
“How long are you going to keep me waiting?”