#153

Midnight was fast approaching.

Life is a traveler’s path, where do we come from, where do we go?

Like clouds flowing, drifting on the road,

Let’s not hold onto affection, let’s not hold onto regrets.

Life is a traveler’s path, like clouds flowing, drifting aimlessly.

The song “Lodger” played on the radio. It was the first time Tae-heun had listened to the lyrics so intently.

Tae-heun felt like the song was telling his own story. Or maybe it was the Man’s story, and perhaps it was the story of the two of them right now. Except for the fact that they had a destination.

A pleasant breeze blew through the car window. Maybe it was because they were in the mountains, but the air felt refreshing against his skin.

“Americans call it a ‘road trip.’ Driving long distances in a private car like this.”

At Tae-heun’s words, the man repeated, “Road trip.”

“It’s my first time traveling in a private car. I’ve taken intercity buses, though.”

“Besides going to Daecheon with Ji-hye, where else have you been?”

“Well, mostly around Daejeon or Dongjam-ri. I’ve been to Seoul a few times, but it was to look for work, so it wasn’t really a trip.”

“What about Busan?”

The the man shook his head.

“I’ve never been to the Gyeongsang Province. Or the Jeolla Province either.”

“So, Chungcheongnam-do was your limit?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

The the man laughed.

“It’s my first time traveling too. And alone with someone I like.”

Tae-heun said this, looking at the man with a subtle gaze. He was about to move closer to kiss him when the tactless digital clock beeped. The Man’s head turned from Tae-heun to the clock.

“Five minutes left.”

The the man stared intently at his wristwatch, as if he were about to start a countdown. He silently read the numbers, following the second hand.

“Seriously, who starts counting down five minutes before?”

Tae-heun, feeling deflated, chided him, but the man remained silent.

“And he could be early or a little late. How could Yong-jun possibly arrive exactly at midnight?”

“Ah…”

The the man looked chagrined.

“I shouldn’t be here; I should go out and wait.”

As he spoke, he opened the car door.

“Are you going out already? There’s only one entrance here anyway.”

“I’ll be waiting outside.”

As if in a hurry, the man cut off Tae-heun’s words and went outside. He was such a rigid person.

Tae-heun reluctantly got out of the driver’s seat and followed the Man.

It was the middle of the night, so it was hard to see, but the man meticulously straightened his clothes.

“Who are you trying to impress?”

Tae-heun asked sarcastically, and the man replied nonchalantly, “It’s a habit.”

“A habit, my foot. Okay, let’s say it’s a habit. But do you really have to tuck your shirt into your jeans?”

“I like to be neat.”

“You’ve been wearing it untucked all this time, and now suddenly?”

“It’s because my shirt got wrinkled from being in the car.”

“What about me?”

“Tae-heun, you can tuck yours in too.”

Tae-heun persistently questioned him, but the man didn’t back down and answered him clearly.

“Tch. That bastard must have sucked you off real good. You’re practically running out barefoot.”

He tried to provoke him with these words, but only earned himself a mouthful of abuse.

“Tae-heun, why are you like that? Is that all you ever think about?”

“Yes. That’s all I ever think about. Do you have a problem with that?”

The the man frowned as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

In fact, Tae-heun’s mind was filled with thoughts of the boy who was nicknamed Rocky.

Did the man like boxing? His hands were big and rough, but there were no signs that he had ever fought. He had seen stars only once when the man hit him, but that was easily possible given the Man’s physique. Nevertheless, Tae-heun kept looking at the Man, wondering if he could be that boy.

Yoon Ki-beom, who called himself Rambo, and Rocky, who secretly plotted with him.

It just so happened that the actor who played the main characters in both movies was the same.

And Kim Eun-ha. The only girl on the list who was the same age. Of course, the the child’s real Mother was also likely missing from the list. Kim Eun-ha might simply have been a fellow orphan with Yoon Ki-beom.

Park Mal-ja had said that it was a very common name, so Tae-heun wondered if the name Kim Eun-ha was common. It sounded like a pretty name to Tae-heun, and it wasn’t a common name. So, that girl probably wasn’t the the child’s Mother. Nevertheless, the image of the girl with the swollen belly, who had come all the way to Daejeon, resembling the the child, was vivid in his mind.

Then Tae-heun realized that there was a major flaw in his hypothesis. Not just a flaw, but a huge defect that shook the hypothesis itself. That was Yoon Ki-beom’s disability.

How could anyone want to live under someone else’s identity to the point of imitating that person’s disability? Especially a physical disadvantage that they would have to live with for the rest of their lives. Above all, Yoon Ki-beom hadn’t lived a life so great that he would sacrifice a leg for it, nor was he rich. He didn’t have any outstanding talent or a job that would guarantee a future either. Frankly, he was a boy who was likely to have been in and out of prison.

So, did that mean that the man was the real Yoon Ki-beom?

The once affectionate and charming boy had become twisted due to the abuse he had suffered at the orphanage and the disability he had acquired as a result. Unable to simply let it go, he finally decided to take revenge with his friend. But the clumsy revenge of the immature boy failed miserably, and he was separated from the the child’s Mother. He then ran away, fearing retaliation.

What if the the child’s Mother had been a victim of Yoon Ki-beom’s desire for revenge? And if only the the child had survived? What if Yoon Ki-beom had been tormented by regret and guilt over the incident, and had even changed as a person?

There had been three years, not just a month or two. It was a long time, enough for a person to change completely. During that time, Yoon Ki-beom, who had changed so much that he couldn’t find his original personality, returned to his hometown, worked, and devoted himself to the the child.

This was much more plausible. It was convincing enough. The blood type was likely to have been tested incorrectly from the beginning, so it wasn’t a problem at all.

Still, was it possible for a person to change so much that even his beloved aunt was afraid of him?

Tae-heun tilted his head again, but whatever the case, it was more logical than thinking that the man had harmed himself to imitate Yoon Ki-beom’s disability.

He thought he was close, that it was only a matter of time before he found out who the real ‘Man’ was, but that wasn’t the case at all. Meeting Park Mal-ja had been a poison. He should have heard from her that Yoon Ki-beom had no disability at all. That he had been perfectly healthy until he left Daejeon completely, and that his nephew had returned three years later with the the child, a cripple.

Only then could he have been sure that the man had stolen Yoon Ki-beom’s identity. The disability that was first recorded during the Divinity Test that every man in Korea had to take could be definitive proof that the man was not Yoon Ki-beom.

Are you Rambo, not Rocky?

Was the boy who dreamed of becoming an action actor you?

Was the reckless boy who boasted that he would make his aunt live in luxury you?

The certainty that the man was not ‘Yoon Ki-beom’ began to waver.

“He’s coming!”

Tae-heun returned to reality at the Man’s shout.

The the man realized that his voice had gotten louder without him realizing it and quickly covered his mouth.

Tae-heun also watched the approaching taxi. It was too dark inside the taxi to see how many people were in it.

What if that taxi was a trap?

The thought suddenly occurred to him.

Tae-heun looked back and forth between the man and himself, who were standing defenseless.

Shit. He had been too complacent. How could he have been standing here so leisurely, not knowing what was coming?

Tae-heun couldn’t forgive himself for neglecting his vigilance. He didn’t care if he was caught or killed, but the man couldn’t be. The Man, who had come all the way here purely because he had been deceived by Tae-heun’s lies, had a the child waiting for him. Yet he was lost in his own thoughts and hadn’t even thought about protecting the Man.

Tae-heun immediately stood in front of the Man. It was the only protection he could offer right now. The Man, annoyed by Tae-heun blocking his view, grumbled.

“Why are you suddenly blocking the way? There’s plenty of room.”

The the man tried to move past Tae-heun.

“Stay there. Don’t move.”

Tae-heun spread his arms to block the Man. The the man laughed as if he thought he was playing a joke.

“You’re impossible.”

He even said this.

Tae-heun raised his hand to prevent the taxi from coming any closer. The taxi slowed down and then stopped.

Tae-heun and the man were standing in the headlights. The taxi was still running.

“Yong-jun!”

The the man couldn’t wait and ran past Tae-heun. But he couldn’t take a single step. It was because Tae-heun had snatched him back. The the man almost fell backward from the sudden force. Tae-heun caught him as if he were embracing him.

The the man grumbled. “What’s wrong with you, really?” He frowned.

“Are you here to meet Kwon Yong-joon?”

Then the taxi Driver peeked his head out of the car window and asked loudly.

Tae-heun let out a sigh of relief only after hearing the Driver’s words. If he knew Kwon Yong-joon’s name and that he had promised to meet him here at midnight, it was certain that he had been sent by Prosecutor Jeong. Assuming that the information hadn’t been leaked.

“Yes, that’s right.”

The the man pushed Tae-heun away and ran towards the taxi Driver.

He’s impossible.

Only then did a smile spread across Tae-heun’s face.

The Man, who had been blocked and snatched by Tae-heun until just now, glanced back with a dumbfounded expression as Tae-heun showed a relaxed attitude. He seemed to really think that Tae-heun was playing a childish prank. That was better. Tae-heun didn’t want to reveal that he had been more frightened than ever. He felt embarrassed for some reason.

“Are you Yoon Ki-beom?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m sorry, but could I see your ID? I was asked to make sure to check your ID.”

The Driver said, watching the Man’s reaction. He was worried that he might not give him his ID, as this was his first time doing something like this.

Without any suspicion, the man took out his wallet from his back pocket and handed over his resident registration card.

“Let’s see… That’s right, Yoon Ki-beom. Here, take this.”

The taxi Driver handed over the Man’s ID and a memo through the car window with a relieved face.

The the man checked the contents of the memo, using the taxi’s headlights as a light.

Ki-beom hyung, I was going to the meeting place, but it seems like someone was following me, so I got off in the middle. I’m safe for now, so don’t worry too much. I’ll contact you again soon.

Tae-heun also read the memo over the Man’s shoulder.

It was nothing special, but it was a memo that only someone who knew the promise well could write. So, from the Man’s point of view, it would have seemed like Kwon Yong-joon had written it. If the handwriting he knew was correct.

But the man looked at the taxi Driver with a somewhat dubious expression. It seemed that the handwriting was very different.

“Excuse me, Driver, what did the person who gave you this look like?”

The the man asked. The Driver said, “Let me see,” and pretended to think for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

“He was shorter than you, and his build was much smaller. Hmm. He had a pretty face. His voice was like a kid who had just gone through puberty, and, let me see, that’s right. He was wearing clothes that are popular these days? You know, the ones where the top is tight and the pants are baggy. Anyway, he was probably in his mid-20s at most? He sounded older than that when he spoke, though.”

The Driver’s description was accurately pointing to Kwon Yong-joon.

154 – Chapter 154