#122

After the funeral, Tae-heun and the man fled the village as if running away. Since they were already in suits, all they had to do was take off the black jacket and black tie that evoked the funeral.

“Why the bag?”

man asked, pointing to the black Boston bag in Tae-heun’s hand.

“I’ve been wondering since we left the house. Where are you going?”

He asked a bizarre question.

Where am I going? I’m going to spend a hot night with you.

“Chungju.”

“Why a bag to go there…”

“I’m just naturally thorough, so I get anxious if I don’t have a bag.”

“What’s in it?”

Man, who only brought his wallet and handkerchief, was genuinely curious.

“Underwear, a change of clothes, and stuff. I even packed Ki-beom’s in case we get wet riding the Paddle boat.”

“It’ll dry quickly since it’s hot.”

“We might get soaking wet.”

“Ah…”

“I packed well, right?”

“Yes.”

Man, knowing nothing, smiled brightly.

“Condoms too.”

He said quietly, almost inaudibly, to the man belatedly. He didn’t seem to hear it.

Since the man preferred the intercity bus, the two parked Tae-heun’s Benz in the public parking lot and walked to the intercity bus terminal. They even ate toast like before.

The intercity bus terminal smelled even more strongly of urine than it had a month ago, but there was no time to worry about such smells. His heart was about to burst with excitement.

man went to the public phone, saying he had to make a call. He was probably reporting to Detective Oh. Tae-heun didn’t know if he would make the excuse of visiting his Uncle, which was still more than two weeks away, or the excuse of his sore leg. It was true that his leg hurt, so it wasn’t an excuse, but he certainly wouldn’t say he was going to Chungju Lake with Tae-heun.

Tae-heun watched the direction the man disappeared in and turned on his cell phone. It wasn’t the one Detective Oh gave him, but the one he received in Icheon last time. They looked exactly the same, making it difficult to tell the difference. Especially for Man, who didn’t use cell phones. the man wasn’t the only one with things to do.

He called the nursing home where Yoon Ki-beom’s Uncle was. He received confirmation that visits were possible on Saturday. He had contacted them in advance in case he needed to bribe them with money, but it worked out well. He didn’t have much time since he had to meet him while the man was receiving physical therapy, but there was only one thing Tae-heun wanted to ask.

man returned from his call with two cans of Let’s Be coffee in his hand.

“Come to think of it, we’re the same as we were two weeks ago.”

“……?”

“Your face, I mean.”

“Ah…”

man smiled awkwardly, saying, “That’s right.” He popped open a can and handed it to Tae-heun.

Unexpectedly, both the man and Tae-heun’s faces were a mess like that day. The difference was that Tae-heun’s face was now scabbed over and dark red, while Man’s was starting to turn yellowish. Tae-heun, who had to see the world through his left eye because his right eye was swollen, and Man, who could only see the world through his right eye because his left eye was swollen, were a well-matched pair on the outside.

The sweet smell from the Let’s Be coffee was strong. Tae-heun didn’t dislike it. He watched the man sip from his can and took a sip himself.

“Sweet.”

“Yes.”

The two drank their coffee without saying a word until the bus arrived. They simply basked in the early morning sun and heat. They savored the meltingly sweet coffee.

It was the tail end of rush hour, so the terminal was deserted. The bus to Chungju was the same. Except for two men in suits who appeared to be late for work and an old woman, the seats were almost empty. Nevertheless, the two sat side by side in the narrow seats. They turned to each other to fasten their seatbelts and endured the heat with the poorly functioning air conditioner.

Tae-heun felt his breathing was louder than the bus engine. He felt awkward and embarrassed, unable to bear the silence. So he opened his mouth. He regretted that all the jokes he knew were vulgar, but he tried to control the level and talked non-stop.

Fortunately, the man laughed heartily at even the lamest jokes, and even though he was conscious of his surroundings with the dirty jokes, he seemed to enjoy them subtly. He was genuinely happy, despite his battered face. Tae-heun was just as happy. He felt proud of himself for having the brilliant idea to bring the man out of the village.

In the blink of an eye, they entered Chungju city. When tall buildings appeared in the landscape that had been nothing but rice paddies, the man and Tae-heun sighed almost simultaneously. Even though there were more interesting things outside the bus, they excessively enjoyed this uncomfortable seat where they were pressed against each other.

“This reminds me of the old days.”

Even though it was only two weeks ago, Tae-heun used the expression “old days.” the man agreed with Tae-heun, saying, “Me too.” Two weeks ago, Tae-heun never dreamed that he would become lovers with the man and visit Chungju again. the man probably felt the same way. Unless it was a friendship trip.

The two took a taxi and first stopped by the orthopedic clinic the man was attending. They took an X-ray and met with the doctor to hear his opinion. As the man said, there was nothing particularly wrong. He said it was just fatigue, and that just as ordinary people’s arms and legs hurt when they overdo it, the man was the same. They received a month’s prescription for painkillers and moved to the physical therapy room.

The physical therapy room was crowded with people waiting on the weekend. Most of the patients were quietly waiting for their turn, but occasionally some raised their voices at the physical therapist, asking when their turn would be. Tae-heun quickly grabbed an empty seat and sat the man down. Even if he hadn’t, people would have made way for him because of the wounds on his face.

“Ki-beom, wait here and get your physical therapy. I’ll go outside. I feel like I need a smoke today.”

Tae-heun patted his chest and conveyed his intention to have a smoke. the man nodded.

“Don’t give up your seat. Ki-beom is a patient too. Got it?”

He left the hospital with these earnest instructions.

He put a cigarette in his mouth in front of the hospital. He had no intention of lighting it. He just needed some time.

The arrest warrant for Uncle was rejected again. He had some hope that it might be issued, but the miracle didn’t happen.

‘I expected it. That bastard won’t die easily.’

The Helper’s tone was sharp as he said this. The Helper must have been upset too.

But what bothered Tae-heun more than the fact that the arrest warrant was rejected was Detective Oh’s attitude. Even if he was late in answering his calls, Detective Oh, who already knew the fact when they spoke yesterday, didn’t say a word about the arrest warrant to Tae-heun. It wasn’t something he could forget, so it was highly likely that he didn’t say it on purpose.

‘Let’s boil that turtle bastard alive.’

The Helper suggested.

‘We’ll see.’

Not yet. He wanted to give Detective Oh a chance. He was someone he had firmly believed in, so he felt he should give him a second chance to be fair. He told himself that he could waver because he was human.

In the meantime, Detective Park entered Hwangmu-eup last night. It was an unscheduled visit. He had never visited Hwangmu-eup alone except for Tae-heun’s case. He always appeared with Detective Oh like a guardian. But yesterday, he appeared alone in downtown Hwangmu-eup in the early evening, before 7 p.m.

It was a coincidence. He ran into him. Of course, Detective Park didn’t see Tae-heun, and only Tae-heun recognized Detective Park. He saw him entering a bar called “Flower Carriage” on his way back from buying beer and snacks to drink at the motel. Flower Carriage had an entrance and a small window, but the interior was blocked by a cement wall, so nothing could be seen. The window was also covered with a thick red film so that the inside could not be seen. It was obviously a room salon.

He belatedly realized that the purpose of his visit must have been because of “Nam Ji-hoon.”

But why did he come alone?

Nam Ji-hoon was not someone Detective Park could handle alone. Even if it was possible, Detective Park was in a very unfavorable situation once he entered Nam Ji-hoon’s den. Frankly, if Nam Ji-hoon was determined, he could be stabbed and killed without anyone knowing. Yet Detective Park went in alone.

When he contacted the Helper’s side, he found out that Detective Oh was also entering Hwangmu-eup. But he didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all. Tae-heun couldn’t help but think that Detective Oh had given the other side a heads-up in advance. Detective Oh was not such a heartless person that he would send Detective Park, whom he cherished like a younger brother, into the enemy’s den and be so carefree.

Tae-heun returned to the store about two hours later. The nearby bars were crowded with customers because it was Friday night, but Flower Carriage’s sign was turned off at a time when they should have been receiving customers.

After informing the Helper of this news, he returned to the motel. Detective Oh arrived in town almost at 10 p.m., and only after leisurely visiting the police box did he enter the darkened room salon. Of course, the man the Helper had assigned could not follow them into the room salon, so there was no way to know what they did inside. Obviously, they either reconciled and received a grand reception, or someone got screwed. Whether it was Nam Ji-hoon or Detective Park, he would naturally find out over time.

The filter tasted bitter because he had chewed it. Tae-heun took the cigarette out of his mouth and broke it with his fingers. After throwing the cigarette in the trash can in front of the building, he raised his hand to take a taxi. Now it was time to meet Man’s Uncle.

He might get valuable information, so he couldn’t go empty-handed. Tae-heun bought three cartons of cigarettes that he was crazy about and entered the nursing home.

Yoon Kyung-seok looked worse than he had two weeks ago. Whether he had been drinking in the meantime, the tall, skinny man looked like a living corpse.

He was very frightened when he saw Tae-heun. Tae-heun didn’t know if it was because of the wounds on his face or because he remembered that he had come with the man before. Yoon Kyung-seok hesitated in front of the visiting room door with his head bowed. Thankfully, the male nurse who brought him in pushed him inside with a look of annoyance.

“Uncle, how have you been? It’s me, Ki-beom.”

Tae-heun mentioned Man’s name and pulled his hand. As soon as the visiting room door closed, Yoon Kyung-seok was horrified and fell to the floor. He buried his head in the floor and raised both hands above his head, begging.

“Please save me. Please, save me!”

He was off to a bad start. He was going to tease him a little, but he thought he might kill someone. Tae-heun threw a carton of cigarettes in front of Yoon Kyung-seok. He, who had been trembling as if he was about to die, smelled the cigarettes like a ghost and raised his head. He licked his dark, mottled lips that were glistening with saliva and grabbed the cigarettes with his bony hands. The eyes that looked up at Tae-heun gleamed with a strange light. It was the look of a typical addict. It was disgusting.

He had a purpose, so he decided to overlook the fact that he had upset him. He knelt down in front of him on one knee.

“You remember me, right?”

“Of course, I do.”

“Who am I?”

“Aren’t you the person who came with that ghost who claimed to be our nephew back then?”

His memory was pretty good.

“I came because I have something I’m curious about.”

He spoke gently, as if coaxing a child, and shook a carton of cigarettes. His eyes flashed with greed. Saliva dripped from his white, scabby chin. He belatedly raised his hand to wipe the saliva with the back of his hand. The nails were black.

“Let me ask you just one thing.”

“Yes, yes. Anything.”

“Why do you say Yoon Ki-beom isn’t your nephew? You said that back then. That’s not Yoon Ki-beom. That guy wouldn’t come to visit you.”

As soon as Tae-heun’s question was finished, Yoon Kyung-seok grabbed Tae-heun’s hand. His grip was so strong that Tae-heun was surprised. The man’s eyes, which had been full of greed, now changed slyly, as if he was plotting treason.

“I’ve been waiting. I’ve been waiting for a noble person to ask me that question!”

His hoarse voice was filled with joy.

“Is it really Yoon Ki-beom, or not?”

Tae-heun asked.

Yoon Kyung-seok smiled without answering. He tightened his grip on Tae-heun’s hand. His hand, tanned from working in the field with the Man, began to turn white before he finally spoke.