PAHO 77

Leaning tightly against the wall in the narrowed space, Nam Gyeonhwa looked up at Na Taebeom, who had thrust his head forward, with a subdued expression. Was he simply displeased with him getting involved with a stray dog? For someone acting so unreasonably, it was a strangely mild warning. In context, it was clearly a warning or distrust regarding his independent actions, yet it felt more like a tantrum than anger.

Quietly catching his breath, he suddenly reached out toward Na Taebeom. Na Taebeom, whose collar was abruptly grabbed, was pushed against the wall with no time to defend himself.

“What are you doing now, you mutt.”

Realizing the situation had been reversed, Na Taebeom scowled as if in disbelief. Nam Gyeonhwa gently dusted off the spot where he had grabbed his collar and spoke.

“Sorry, but I paid a bit too much for it to be confiscated right away. So I’ll just use it for a moment and return it immediately.”

“What? Ah, shit, wait a minute!”

Nam Gyeonhwa, who had pulled down the zipper that was all the way up to his neck, shoved his hand into the bulging inner pocket. Na Taebeom, pressed firmly against the wall, flailed in panic. Even though his struggles weren’t very strong, it was hard to hold him down, perhaps because of his large build. As he moved this way and that, his stray hand ineptly brushed against his chest and armpit, causing his whole body to flinch in disarray.

After a short scuffle, Nam Gyeonhwa, who had barely managed to snatch the phone from his inner pocket, checked his expression as if to confirm his strangely quiet demeanor. He had expected a punch or a slap to come flying, but his face was flushed red and he was only panting hot breaths. Contrary to his irritable expression, which looked as if he would start cursing at any moment, his body was completely still.

Nam Gyeonhwa’s face was reflected roundly in the dark, murky eyes filled with bewilderment. Na Taebeom, who swallowed audibly, covered his cheek with his arm and spoke brusquely.

“You, you did that on purpose just now, didn’t you?”

“On purpose?”

“I mean, ah, damn it, how can you suddenly… grope me. I thought I was going to die from being so damn ticklish.”

At the nonsensical confession that he was ticklish out of the blue, Nam Gyeonhwa blinked his eyes blankly. Normally, in a situation like this, he would have immediately resorted to force. Hadn’t he been beaten to a pulp in some unknown basement just a couple of months ago for the prior offense of touching his private property? Despite having snatched the phone he had seized under the pretext of confiscation, his hesitant attitude, rather than trying to take it back, was unfamiliar.

Na Taebeom, who was pouting, repeatedly and roughly rubbed the area around his chest where Nam Gyeonhwa’s hand had touched just a moment before. It seemed he had been very ticklish. Nam Gyeonhwa, who cast his eyes down with an embarrassed face, said.

“…Anyway, I’m not trying to hide it from Director Na, so I’ll just text him. If you don’t believe me, I can show you the content.”

Eyes full of resentment looked Nam Gyeonhwa up and down. Seeing as there was no sullen rebuttal, it seemed he was going to take it into consideration. As if to confirm the facts for him, Nam Gyeonhwa operated the phone right in front of his face. Among the useless spam messages, the one Na Taebeom had mentioned was left.

Heard you were looking for me hyung-nim so I’m contacting you. I’m out of Seoul right now so it’s hard to talk face to face. If you’re talking about that gun from last time, I’m keeping it safe.

The sender’s number was also incorrectly entered, and the spelling in the message was a mess, but the content was nevertheless clear. The gun story Kim Han-gyeol mentioned was the advice he had given him in the chaos at the medical center back then, telling him not to throw away the bullet that would be removed by surgery and to be sure to keep it. Fortunately, it seemed he had taken his words to heart even while trembling in fear.

A shell casing would have been more useful as circumstantial evidence, but it was natural that in such a situation, one wouldn’t have the presence of mind to care about shell casings or bullets. Besides, if the shot had been intentional in the first place, the decisive clue would have been collected long ago. For now, it was a given that they couldn’t meet, but would it be better to set a date and meet in person rather than talking on the phone?

“Wow, how many typos does this bastard have in his text.”

Na Taebeom, who was censoring the message from across him, frowned.

“And what’s this about a gun? Don’t tell me you’re planning to ask this guy to smuggle firearms or something?”

“It’s not like that. Last month, there was a firearms incident involving a civilian at Seoul Station.”

“A firearms incident?”

Na Taebeom asked back, frowning. He vaguely remembered a news flash on television about a hardline response against an unsavory reactionary group. Gil Useong hadn’t said anything in particular, so was it not just a scare tactic? His expression, which for a moment said this was the first he’d heard of it, was quickly followed by more words.

“Anyway, what does that have to do with this guy?”

“The bullet. I told him to keep it because it could be evidence. The more I think about it, the timing and the whole situation back then seemed a bit strange.”

“In short, are you trying to say that Samwon hired a sniper or something and intentionally shot a stray dog? As crazy as those bastards are, why would they do something like that to a mere stray dog? Seoul Station is in the middle of the city, and the presidential office is nearby. Are you sure you didn’t mistake it for a blank?”

“A bullet came out because someone was actually hit, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’d better not believe it too much unless you saw the scene yourself. Lying through their teeth to extort settlement money is the only way those bastards make a living. I’ve seen those bastards extort money with their pathetic tricks in Nakdo more than once or twice. They’re illegal immigrants without visas and have no identity left on paper, so what can’t they fabricate when it’s impossible to even confirm the facts if they just insist someone is dead?”

For a moment, Nam Gyeonhwa’s expression darkened slightly. Who would believe the words of a tax-leeching parasite like you. Evidence? I can just say it’s fabricated. Every time he submitted a plea and a complaint about the gang rape, the prison guard would scoff, and on that day, shredded paper would be mixed in with the rice on his meal tray. He closed and opened his heavy eyelids once, then continued to speak indifferently.

“…Since I’m also of unknown identity on paper, it won’t be a big problem to believe it.”

“It’s different. I’m vouching for you mutt now.”

That might be true for the short term, but in the end, the stray dogs and Nam Gyeonhwa were of a similar kind. Transparent people who existed but did not exist. It was unlikely that Na Taebeom had meant to belittle him, but he couldn’t help the feeling of unease. Suppressing the bitter aftertaste, Nam Gyeonhwa closed the phone and held it out to him. At that moment, the curtain of the hospital room swayed, and Nam Haejin poked his face out.

“Hyung.”

After looking around for a moment, he found Nam Gyeonhwa standing up perfectly fine and ran over to hug his waist tightly.

“Are you okay now? Does it not hurt? Your fever?”

Nam Haejin, who was hopping up and down as if to put a hand on his forehead, teared up. His voice, though he was still half-asleep, was filled with worry. Nam Gyeonhwa, smiling faintly, gently stroked the small head.

“Yes. Hyung is okay. They said the fever went down, too.”

“Really? I’m so glad. You were in so much pain, hyung, I was so worried. The doctor said it was a body-ache? cold, and that you get it if you don’t sleep a lot and don’t eat a lot. But that’s what you always tell me, hyung. That you have to eat well and sleep well to be healthy.”

“That’s right. Hyung tried to sleep well and eat well, but I guess it was a little lacking.”

“Then from now on, Haejin will have to see if you eat well too, hyung. That way you won’t get sick again.”

Nam Haejin, who was carrying on the pleasant conversation, turned his eyes to Na Taebeom standing next to him. Nam Haejin unclasped his hands from Nam Gyeonhwa’s waist, brought them together, and then bowed his head deeply.

“Director, thank you for the ride.”

Nam Gyeonhwa wasn’t the only one surprised by the sudden thanks. Na Taebeom, who was glancing around with a dazed face, scratched his head.

“Um, uh, it’s a bit, embarrassing when a kid says that.”

“What’s embarrassing?”

“Uh, well, it’s, like, a thought you have when you hear something a little unexpected?”

“Why? It’s something to be thankful for.”

“Your hyung said the kid is scared of me. So, that’s why.”

Nam Haejin, who blinked at the clumsy excuse, tilted his head and then looked back at Nam Gyeonhwa.

“Hyung, why did you say that? I’m not scared of the Director anymore.”

“Oh, you’re not?”

“Yeah. The Director carried you to the car, hyung. A person who helps someone in need is a good person, right?”

“Uh-huh, that’s right.”

“See? And the Director once cut an apple into a rabbit shape for me to eat.”

“A rabbit?”

The moment Nam Gyeonhwa asked back at the unexpected remark, Na Taebeom coughed loudly as if deliberately trying to change the subject.

“Hey, kid. Come here for a second.”

“I told you I’m not a kid. They said seven years old is a child.”

“Alright. Child.”

At his gesture to come closer, Nam Haejin approached Na Taebeom without hesitation, before Nam Gyeonhwa had a chance to stop him.

Because his height barely reached Na Taebeom’s waist even when he stood on his tiptoes, Na Taebeom naturally bent his body way down and brought a hand to the child’s ear. Nam Haejin’s expression was completely hidden by the large figure, but not a trace of fear could be felt in his occasional giggling laugh as he said his ear tickled.

“You understand what I said, right?”

“Yeees.”

After the short conversation, Na Taebeom gently pushed Nam Haejin’s back in the opposite direction. He looked up at Nam Gyeonhwa and opened his mouth.

“Well then, I’m tired, so I’m leaving. I’ve been staying up until now without any sleep, so I feel like my eyeballs are going to fall out. I’m not going anywhere today and I’m going to rest, so you stay quietly cooped up here too.”

“Uh….”

“Kid—no, child. Take good care of your hyung. See you later.”

Waving his hands as if to say not to follow, Na Taebeom walked toward the other end of the hallway. Nam Gyeonhwa, who was quietly watching him walk away, gently pulled Nam Haejin, who was waving at his side.

“Haejin. What did you just talk about with the Director?”

“That’s, a secret.”

“Still. Can’t you just tell hyung? I won’t tell the Director.”

“No. It’s a secret. You have to keep a secret.”

Nam Haejin put a finger to his lips and made a shushing sound. He had no idea what they had talked about, but judging by his reaction, it didn’t seem like he had said anything particularly bad. Normally, he would have let it go, but for some reason, he couldn’t understand why he was so curious now.