AGENT 32

Right, what exactly was done to me? The only thing that was attacked was my dignity by his face.

“That is…”

As Yongnae quickly rolled his brain to invent a reason, one of the lackeys who had tried to knock him out with a punch spoke up first.

“Just like those bastards threw our hyung-nims out as bait! Don’t you think they threw this teacher out as bait for a murderer too?!”

It was a very plausible reason and a fitting excuse for revenge. Yongnae immediately nodded his head and agreed with those words.

“What? Using a civilian as bait? Those bastards really are no good.”

At Yongnae’s nod, the hyung-nim empathized with Yongnae’s thirst for revenge, muttering about what kind of trash would do such a thing. The Black Horse Gang, who sold methamphetamine to ordinary people, were trash themselves, so it was absurd to hear them call anyone else that.

“Alright then, great. Let’s have the civil servant teacher come along too.”

Well, whatever the case, an opportunity had been created for him, so it was fine. Since a moment of courage and an opportunity had arisen that he couldn’t have discarded everything to pursue on his own, now…

“Changsik. Search for the earliest flight to Hong Kong.”

…What? Search for what?

“Weren’t we going to take a smuggling boat or something?”

“Hm? It takes two days if we go by boat, you know. And none of us have warrants out, so we can take a plane.”

“…Then how am I supposed to go?”

“You have to take a plane too, teacher.”

He had naturally assumed they would take something like a smuggling boat, as seen in movies, but they were just taking a regular plane?

“Then, I need a passport.”

“Ah, that’s right. Pilgu, turn the car around. Teacher, where is your house?”

“…Pardon?”

No, what on earth. He had to pretend to be kidnapped right now, but he was supposed to go home to get his passport?

“No, excuse me.”

“Hmm?”

“If I go to Hong Kong and do whatever for revenge, won’t it take at least over a week?”

“Well, yeah.”

“I am a civil servant, so I can’t be away for that long.”

“Ah…”

“If I want to take that much time off, I either have to use my annual leave, or I have to appear as though I’ve been kidnapped.”

“Then using annual leave is…”

The man’s organization had considered even these things when making a proposal to him, but it seemed the thought didn’t reach that far for these people.

“If I were going to use my annual leave to go get revenge, I would have gone two months ago as soon as I opened my eyes in the hospital. The reason I’m asking you to take me is because I don’t have the desire to get revenge while using up my precious annual leave.”

No. If he could see the man by throwing away this much annual leave, he wanted to use as much as it took to see him. He just needed an excuse. To the man? No, to himself.

He felt like if he went of his own complete will and was abandoned by the man again, he truly wouldn’t be able to endure it. So, he was creating an excuse to defend himself.

That he was dragged here by these people by force to see him, that it wasn’t of his own complete will.

Even if he were abandoned again, he felt it would be less miserable.

As for why he spoke with such certainty that the man would abandon him, it was obvious. Until he met the man, he was someone who had the ordinary dream of meeting a woman at thirty-three, getting married, and having children. Would it be any different for the man? Furthermore, he wasn’t a woman, nor did he possess a beauty that came to mind even when one closed their eyes, like the man.

To the man, he was just an extra who was used, or just an extra who helped catch a murderer.

So, being abandoned by the man was only natural.

“After I help you guys, I’m going to go to the Korean Embassy and say I was kidnapped and then released. And then I’ll return to Korea and maintain this life again.”

Yongnae finished his long-winded false explanation as to why he had to look like he was kidnapped. Of course, the last part was true. After he met the man, he would go to the Korean Embassy and say he had been kidnapped by the Black Horse Gang and then released. And then he would return to Korea and maintain this life again.

Not by his own will, but like a person who had no choice but to see the man again, as if it truly couldn’t be helped. He would maintain this life again while comforting himself like that. Because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to hold on.

“Changsik. Call Captain Park and see if there are any spots on the boat.”

At Yongnae’s persuasion, the hyung-nim decided to change the route to Hong Kong. It was a relief. He was annoyed because the Black Horse Gang seemed a bit stupid, but it was a relief that they listened to his demands.

“Ah… I get really bad motion sickness when I ride a boat…”

“Don’t you get motion sickness just by riding a train?”

“Changsik gets motion sickness even on the train? Hey, then how do you get laid? That shakes more than a train.”

“Aw— hyung-nim. That’s different.”

Of course, their conversation was low-class and disgusting, but it was actually a relief. If they were intelligent, they wouldn’t have come looking for him in the first place, and they would have found the man on their own and done him great harm.

He thought entering Hong Kong via smuggling wouldn’t be easy, but he never imagined it would be this difficult.

Was it because of inspections during departure? Or inspections during arrival? It was neither.

“Bleaaargh—.”

“Our Changsik is gonna spill his guts.”

Changsik, who said his motion sickness was severe, vomited more than twenty times during the two days from departure to arrival. Twenty was the number Yongnae stopped counting at midway. No, to think seasickness could be this severe. He could understand why the guy had grumbled when they suggested smuggling.

Changsik, who looked like he had lost 3kg since departure, ran out to vomit again with 30 minutes left until arrival.

“Ugh…”

And behind him, Yongnae also ran out. Yongnae discovered for the first time in 27 years that his own seasickness was also this severe. At first, he felt sorry for Changsik, who was vomiting a ton, but as the waves got stronger and they went to vomit together, that sorry feeling disappeared.

And so, currently, after spending two days vomiting endlessly together.

“We have arrived at Hong Kong Bay! Now we will change to a sightseeing boat from here!”

Finally, they had arrived in Hong Kong.