#181

Tae-heun stared intently at the door the man had exited, forgetting even to breathe.

Belatedly, he took a deep breath, but then he became so breathless, he collapsed, feeling as if someone was strangling him.

Huff, huff. Huff.

He couldn’t breathe at all.

It felt as if he had been thrown into the pitch-black universe without a spacesuit.

Or as if he was submerged in the deep sea with his bare body.

He felt like he was going crazy because he couldn’t breathe no matter what he did.

Eventually, he gagged, retching. Then he could barely breathe. He only drooled because he had nothing in his stomach. Tears flowed along with it. At the same time, laughter burst out. He cried and laughed, then cried again.

And he laughed loudly.

“Crazy bastard.”

Jeong Jae-jin muttered with a sigh.

Only then did Tae-heun realize that he was still inside the greenhouse and that he was with Jeong Jae-jin. He came to his senses. He wiped away his tears and snot.

“You’re quite the drama queen.”

Jeong Jae-jin reached out his hand.

Tae-heun ignored his hand and stood up on his own. Then he glared at Jeong Jae-jin.

“You son of a bitch, you called for an SOS, you should have just followed orders, what is this? You just made things more complicated.”

Jeong Jae-jin took the initiative.

“Who are you to talk? Ki-beom was exposed because of your actions, you fucking bastard.”

“You son of a bitch, look at the way you talk.”

Jeong Jae-jin sighed deeply and swept back his hair.

Tae-heun glared at Jeong Jae-jin as if he could kill him. It was unlike him not to have strangled that bastard already. He was clearly furious, but now he didn’t have the energy to be angry. Not to mention the strength to fight. He could barely breathe comfortably, but even standing was difficult.

He wanted to finish this quickly.

“I’m going to Lee Seok-doo. In the meantime, you take Ki-beom and run away.”

Tae-heun spoke his decision out loud.

Jeong Jae-jin looked disgusted, but at the same time, he seemed relieved.

“Do you really have to go there?”

His voice lacked confidence.

“I have to. Otherwise, he’ll keep chasing you and Ki-beom to find me. You know that.”

Tae-heun sneered.

“Let’s just hold out for one day. We can get an arrest warrant issued by today.”

Jeong Jae-jin insisted, even though he knew that an arrest warrant wouldn’t solve anything.

Il-gwang already knew that Lee Seon-jae was alive. Not only Il-gwang, but organizations across the country knew. A bounty had been placed on Lee Seon-jae’s head, so even if an arrest warrant was issued and Lee Seok-doo and Lee Hyun-joon were imprisoned, the bounty would not disappear.

Il-gwang would devote all his energy to catching the traitor until the day he completely collapsed. It went without saying that Jeong Jae-jin and the Man’s safety could not be guaranteed unless Lee Seon-jae was caught.

“It might have worked if I hadn’t been exposed, but now the Prosecutor can’t handle it alone.”

Jeong Jae-jin’s lips twitched as if he had a lot to say to Tae-heun’s words, but in the end, he couldn’t say anything. Then, “I’m sorry.”

He apologized in a gloomy tone.

“Would you rather I turn myself in?”

Jeong Jae-jin asked, unable to let go of his lingering feelings.

“Why, so you can clean up my corpse in the detention center?”

“You son of a bitch, you always have to say something like that.”

Jeong Jae-jin grumbled.

Tae-heun didn’t add anything more, thinking that he must be frustrated enough to be grasping at straws, since that was the reason he hadn’t recommended Lee Seon-jae to turn himself in in the first place.

This was probably the first time in Jeong Jae-jin’s life that he had experienced such a defeat. That’s why he was so uncharacteristically flustered, and he was desperately trying to hold on to anything because he couldn’t accept this reality.

He knew. He knew, but that didn’t change anything. Except to resolve this crisis quickly.

“Did the Incheon guys smell something here?”

“Yeah.”

Jeong Jae-jin scratched his forehead, cursing.

“How?”

“It’s because of me, what else. I don’t know why they’re after me, but.”

He smiled bitterly.

Kim Delivery’s words were true. Of all places, this greenhouse was caught by the Incheon bastards who had skinned Kwon Il-taek. That meant they were approaching Jeong Jae-jin with other intentions. It seemed Lee Seok-doo was planning to take out Jeong Jae-jin as well as Lee Seon-jae. There was no way Jeong Jae-jin didn’t know that.

“Who’s going to Cheongyang right now?”

Tae-heun asked.

“Kim Delivery’s guys.”

“Where to?”

“Shindae Reservoir. And one car is moving towards Seoul.”

Seoul, huh. Then one of Director Choi’s hunting dogs would be heading to Seoul, Kim Kyung-soo, his left-hand man.

It was fortunate for Tae-heun that Il-gwang’s essential personnel were split into two groups.

Tae-heun looked pathetic and said, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you leaving?”

“I’m talking.”

“Do you still have something to say?”

“What about you? If you get caught like this… Ugh, you son of a bitch. Really.”

Jeong Jae-jin kicked the dirt floor with his sneakers.

“Is this the time to worry about me?”

Ignoring Tae-heun’s pathetic words, he asked,

“Do you have any countermeasures? Or are you just going in blindly?”

Jeong Jae-jin must be curious. What was Lee Seon-jae trusting in to go to Lee Seok-doo, knowing that he would never be in good shape if he went?

“Chairman Shin.”

Jeong Jae-jin, who had been kicking the dirt with his head down, stopped at Tae-heun’s answer.

He heard him curse, “Shit.”

“Is he coming?”

“I don’t know.”

Jeong Jae-jin looked up.

“You call that an answer?”

“It’s good if he comes, and if not, there’s nothing I can do.”

“…He’ll definitely come.”

Jeong Jae-jin asserted. It was close to wishful thinking.

“If you call him, he’ll definitely come, if it’s that man.”

“Who would use a traitor? You know this world well.”

Tae-heun was somewhat skeptical.

Uncle and Chairman Shin were almost first-generation gangsters. To them, loyalty was the greatest virtue, and betrayal was the worst vice, unforgivable even by death.

“He’ll come because he knows you won’t betray him again.”

Nevertheless, Jeong Jae-jin was firm.

“How does the Prosecutor know that?”

“Yoon Ki-beom.”

The moment he heard the Man’s name, Tae-heun’s heart trembled again. It was like that even though he had only heard his name.

“That clueless guy managed to figure it out.”

Tae-heun chuckled.

“Oh Dae-ho knew too.”

“Ah.”

“He went to Lee Seok-doo. That’s how I found out.”

Shit. Tae-heun hadn’t thought that far.

Right, Oh Dae-ho had several spies planted in the neighborhood, there was no way he wouldn’t have found out that he liked the Man. He hadn’t been careful, and he hadn’t intended to be.

“I’m sorry that it turned out this way.”

Jeong Jae-jin apologized. Tae-heun raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘I’m the one who did the homo stuff, why are you apologizing?’

“In the end, you crawled back into that world.”

He wasn’t talking about the Man. The moment he heard the Man’s name, his head was filled with the Man, and he even forgot that he had just been talking about Chairman Shin.

“It’s my choice.”

Tae-heun said casually.

“I know. But I’m the one who made it that way. Because I used the wrong person in the first place. That son of a bitch Park Dong-Hee.”

Jeong Jae-jin gritted his teeth, recalling his painful mistake.

Park Dong-Hee, he had completely forgotten that name too. As Jeong Jae-jin said, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that things had come to this point because of Detective Park alone. If it hadn’t been for that damn immigration bag, Tae-heun would have been walking through the fields with the Man, working diligently.

Of course, he wouldn’t have been able to prevent the man from falling into despair after losing all his assets due to Kwon Il-taek’s fraud, but at least he would have been by the Man’s side, helping him in every way. Husband and wife are one in body and mind. He would have said such trivial things and worked his young body to the bone as if the Man’s debt was his own, gradually paying off the debt.

“Does the Prosecutor think he did well?”

Tae-heun sneered, and Jeong Jae-jin blushed, uncharacteristically embarrassed.

“I know, you son of a bitch. Can’t you see I’m regretting it now?”

“What regret? Just go quickly. You’ll get caught by the Incheon guys and Kim Delivery will be exposed.”

“That’s why I’m not going. If I get caught, Kim Delivery will be in danger too.”

“What are you going to do?”

“There are cops, you know.”

Then, he added,

“There are so many rats that I’ll have to move diligently to find someone on my side.”

“Do you have the time for that?”

“I have to make it.”

With that, he handed Tae-heun the car keys and cell phone and explained where the car was parked.

“There’s a walking path connected to the greenhouse. You’ll have to cross a small hill, but it’ll be safe.”

He straightened his posture as if it was really time to go.

“Good luck.”

Jeong Jae-jin said.

“Just stay alive. I’ll take you down with my own hands next time.”

Tae-heun retorted.

Jeong Jae-jin laughed heartily.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

He acted as if this was the last time.

His intuition might be right. Neither of them could guarantee their own safety.

Tae-heun reached out his hand to Jeong Jae-jin, who might be seeing him for the last time.

“Please take care of Ki-beom. I have no one else to ask.”

He was sincere.

“You crazy bastard. Why are you asking me to take care of your Husband?”

Jeong Jae-jin said seriously.

Even in this situation, Tae-heun was about to correct him, saying that Yoon Ki-beom was not his Husband but his Wife, but he stopped himself. Anyway, it was silly. He smiled, thinking that he must be a very bland person, as the man said.

“Live. Make sure you live and bicker with Yoon Ki-beom or whatever.”

“I’ll try. You have to live too, Prosecutor. That’s why I’m sending you away.”

He acted like he was doing him a favor.

“We’ll see.”

Jeong Jae-jin retorted arrogantly.

“And please get that arrest warrant. Get it while I’m still alive, so I can at least see it.”

“Okay, you bastard. I’ll plaster it all over the walls so you can see it as much as you want.”

Even in this urgent situation, the two exchanged banter as usual. They acted as if that was the only way to avoid this tragedy.

Soon, they squeezed each other’s hands. As if they were reluctant to part, the handshake lasted quite a long time.

Tae-heun was the first to let go of his hand.

“Go.”

“Okay, I’m going.”

Unlike the Man, Jeong Jae-jin looked back several times. He walked backwards as if he was dancing before leaving through the door and disappearing.

Now Tae-heun was alone. Tae-heun searched the greenhouse thoroughly, in case they had left any traces behind. He gathered all the surrounding trash, wrapped it in a visible plastic bag, and left the greenhouse with it.

As Jeong Jae-jin had said, he climbed the mountain along the walking path behind the greenhouse. When he reached the gentle summit, he saw two vans rushing towards the greenhouse with a loud noise. He figured those were the infamous Incheon guys. Jeong Jae-jin had managed to shake them off by a hair’s breadth. He hoped he would shake them off until the end.

Tae-heun hid in the forest and quickly crossed the mountain and ran down. The world tilted to the left every time he ran because of his dress shoes. He tried not to lose his balance, but instead, he stumbled. At that moment, he kept thinking of the Man’s back, and he felt like he was going to die. Sniff, sniff. He wiped away the tears that kept flowing down his hand. He crossed the mountain like that.

Finding the car he was going to drive, Tae-heun looked around carefully once again as he walked to the place where the car was parked. There was no sign of anyone, not even the sound of birds. It was still safe. He quickly got into the car and opened the map book. He estimated the distance to travel. It would take an hour to get to Cheongyang.

He started the car, turned on the air conditioner, and turned on the audio. Then, the voice of Chet Baker, whom Tae-heun loved so much, flowed out. It was definitely a tape that Jeong Jae-jin had put in.

“Is this a farewell gift?”

He said to himself and covered his face with his hands, which had become dry from the tears that had dried up.

The the man would be heading to Seoul with a joyful heart right now. He might even be humming, thinking about seeing his daughter again. Yes, he definitely would be. Tae-heun calmed himself, imagining the Man’s handsome face smiling. Before he knew it, a smile spread across his own lips.

He took his hands off his face and called Chairman Shin. He hung up before he answered, only intending to leave his number. One call was enough. He had no intention of begging for his life. If Chairman Shin needed Lee Seon-jae, he would come to save him; if not, then so be it.

Tae-heun then took a deep breath, preparing to contact someone he never thought he would see again, someone he didn’t want to see.

It was just past 5 a.m. He was calling a man who was so obsessed with sleep that anyone who disturbed him during his sleeping hours had to be prepared to give up their life. He lived and breathed the saying that sleep is the best medicine.

But since he was on the move, he would probably be awake, so perhaps he wouldn’t have to give up his life.

He chuckled and dialed the number.

“Hello?”

A familiar voice answered.

Lee Seok-doo, my stepfather and Uncle. My cruel overlord.

He felt strangely glad.

“Uncle, it’s me. Seon-jae.”

“Where are you?”

His voice trembled.

It was so out of the blue that he laughed.

He certainly wasn’t happy to hear from him like he was, but trembling with excitement at finding his prey. Still, it was enjoyable to hear him agitated with his own ears.

“I’m coming to you. Where are you?”

Lee Seok-doo was silent for a moment before answering, “Cheongyang.”

Tae-heun hung up the phone.

Hoo.

He let out a long sigh.

The the man is safe. That was all that mattered.

With a light heart, he stepped on the accelerator.

If he lived, he wouldn’t be able to use the name Kim Tae-heun anymore. Of course, he couldn’t die as Kim Tae-heun either. Whether he lived or died, he was now Lee Seon-jae.

He had barely gotten used to the name Tae-heun, and he felt a pang of regret. Like the owner of the name who lived a short life, Tae-heun, or rather Seon-jae, enjoyed happiness, even if only for a brief moment. He tasted great joy. That was enough.

“Kim Tae-heun.”

He spoke his name aloud.

He thought he had gotten used to it, but it felt as awkward as when he first uttered the Man’s real name.

Nevertheless, it was good.

Chet Baker sang.

I’ve telegraphed and phoned and sent an airmail special too Your answer was goodbye and there was even postage due I fell in love just once, and then it had to be with you Everything happens to me

Tae-heun always burst out laughing at that “postage due.”

He had met a life partner with whom he could share laughter, but he had never once played this song for him. That’s just how it turned out. He always said it couldn’t be helped, but there were countless opportunities. He blamed fate when he was the one who missed the chances. He was a coward.

Tae-heun sang along to the lyrics, laughing and laughing again.

He was being more foolish than ever.

The scenery, which had been all fields, gradually turned into mountains. The area around the national highway had already brightened, and the temperature had risen. Although it was cloudy, the sky was much clearer than yesterday.

Several cars began to travel on the road. They lined up in front and behind, heading to their respective destinations, as if not wanting to be alone.

May luck be with them wherever they go.

Tae-heun wished everyone good luck with an unusually cheerful heart.

Except for himself.

182 – Chapter Title Without Number