37
Wooseok entered the Center Director’s office. A large desk and quite an elaborate nameplate caught his eye. Wooseok bowed his head slightly as a sign of respect.
“Oh, you’re here.”
The Center Director nodded. Then he gestured toward the sofa. Wooseok sat on the sofa. The Center Director didn’t join him but remained seated at his desk.
“You’re at the Center today. That’s unusual.”
“Huh?”
The Center Director looked at Wooseok with momentary confusion. Wooseok just stared at Jinsung without saying anything. Jinsung looked at Wooseok for a moment before nodding with a smile.
“Ah, that’s right. I’ve been a bit busy lately.”
Bullshit. As if I wouldn’t know you’ve been camping out at the Center every day. Wooseok swallowed his curse.
“What business does such a busy person have calling for me?”
Wooseok asked.
“Where is Director Woo Minjae?”
As expected. Just as he had anticipated. Whenever Minjae acted unpredictably outside his field of vision, the Center Director always called Wooseok. And asked about his whereabouts.
“Why are you asking me that?”
“…Because I thought you would know.”
Kim Jinsung’s gaze was sharp. How much does he know? Wooseok pondered briefly.
“Shouldn’t you know better, Director?”
At Wooseok’s question, the Center Director slowly placed his folded hands on the desk.
“Wooseok. How old are you this year…?”
The Center Director changed the subject.
“Twenty-six.”
“Time flies. Do you remember? When you first came here, you were just a small child.”
The Center Director looked at the empty space to the side, not at Wooseok. He seemed to be reminiscing about something. Wooseok thought the sight was creepy.
“I remember.”
I remember it clearly. Wooseok nodded.
“Those times were quite good. You and Minjae were… how should I put it… it felt like you were born from my heart.”
“……”
What kind of parent would treat their children like that? Wooseok didn’t respond.
“Now you’ve all grown up and look at me with eyes desperate to tear me apart.”
Kim Jinsung smiled. It seemed he wanted to make some kind of threat. But what could he use as leverage? Woo Minjae? Wooseok thought.
“What is it you want to say?”
Wooseok asked.
“I know Minjae is somewhere dangerous.”
So you knew and still asked. Wooseok was aware that the Center Director had placed something on Minjae, but it seemed he was monitoring him more meticulously than expected.
‘Is he receiving reports on every move? Then exactly how much does he know?’
Perhaps Kim Jinsung was just testing him right now. Wooseok thought he needed to be cautious.
“Is that so?”
“And I also know he’ll be in danger.”
“Are you warning me?”
“No. I’m informing you.”
What are you telling me? That he’ll be in danger? Why? Wooseok tried to understand the hidden meaning in his words.
“I’m quite fond of you both.”
“……”
“I’ll ask once more. Woo Minjae. Where did he go?”
Warning about danger to Minjae’s safety while asking for his location meant that the Center Director, for whatever reason, intended to go or send something to where Minjae was. Which direction would it be? To save Minjae? Or to harm him?
Wooseok looked at the Center Director. And he noticed his cheek twitching slightly. Anger? Or anxiety?
Wooseok had encountered the Center Director filled with anger several times. His current face wasn’t close to anger. An angry Kim Jinsung actually didn’t get excited easily. He was anxious right now.
Wooseok pulled out a small card to provoke the Center Director.
“He just said he was going out to refresh himself.”
“Where to?”
“I don’t know that. It depends on Minjae’s mood.”
A small sound of the Center Director grinding his teeth could be heard. Wooseok shrugged.
***
Minjae organized the cups and momentarily sent the man who would guide him to The Crow outside the café, saying he would follow. Jihwan, as if he had been waiting for this moment, approached Minjae and whispered.
“Sunbaenim, I really don’t think this is right.”
Should I kill him? Minjae closed his eyes tightly and opened them again. He briefly considered how much he should tell Jihwan.
Jihwan was still a rookie, so telling him wouldn’t be of much help for this stakeout.
Moreover, since Jihwan hadn’t disguised himself at all, the Crow man had even commented that he looked familiar from somewhere.
It’s fortunate he at least wore civilian clothes. Why does this guy have to show off so much? Minjae put his hand to his head.
“Are you dizzy?”
Jihwan made a fuss again. He kept saying nonsense like “sit down for a moment,” making Minjae clench and unclench his fist.
“I’m fine. And if you’re worried, you don’t have to follow me. I’ll say you had urgent business come up.”
“No, Sunbaenim. You really need to think about this. It’s clearly a cult.”
Good that you can at least recognize a cult. Minjae was exasperated by Jihwan’s lack of tact.
“I know that too.”
“Ah, of course! That’s a relief! Then let’s say we both have something urgent and…”
What, this guy thinks I’m some kind of pushover? Minjae was a bit dumbfounded that Jihwan genuinely thought he was being dragged into a cult.
“Park Jihwan.”
Minjae called out to Jihwan. Jihwan stopped talking.
“I told you to go. That man almost recognized you just now.”
Speaking a bit more seriously made Jihwan hesitate. Even if he couldn’t explain in detail, this much should be enough for Jihwan to understand and tactfully withdraw.
“If I don’t show up at the Center after three days, tell Director Choi Wooseok where you last saw me.”
Minjae said in a low voice. Jihwan’s pupils trembled.
“No.”
“What?”
“Something’s going on with you.”
Jihwan shook his head. What nonsense is this?
“Director Choi Wooseok won’t come.”
Jihwan was almost sobbing. He could be seen putting a lot of strain on his eyes as if holding back tears.
Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? Minjae couldn’t keep up with Jihwan’s rapidly changing emotions. Then he recalled what Wooseok had hinted to him.
“Wow. He will come. So…”
“You don’t know that. And according to what you just said, it’s dangerous.”
Jihwan’s expression was resolute.
“It’s not dangerous. I’m just preparing for any contingency.”
“Either way, it means it could be dangerous.”
“Are you talking back to me now?”
Minjae’s voice lowered, but Jihwan paid no heed.
“If you tell me to leave again, I’m going to grab that cult guy and reveal everything—that you’re Woo Minjae.”
This little…? Minjae glared at Jihwan. Jihwan pretended to be casual as he picked up a tray and went to the recycling station. When he returned to Minjae, he asked cautiously.
“Can’t you take me with you? I’ll be quiet.”
“……”
“We’re partners, after all.”
That damn ‘partner’ nonsense again. Minjae looked outside. The cult man, perhaps tired of waiting, was peering inside. If they continued this standoff, it might look suspicious.
I really don’t understand why my life keeps getting complicated like this. Minjae looked at Jihwan with a troubled mind.
“I won’t get caught. I’ll be completely undercover.”
Jihwan continued to appeal. What the hell does ‘completely undercover’ even mean? Minjae sighed.
“Can you act like you hate heroes?”
“What?”
Jihwan’s expression turned blank.
“If anyone asks if you’re Park Jihwan or says you look like him, can you say you hate hero stuff so much that you don’t even watch TV?”
“Um…”
“If you can’t do it, go back. Just know that what you’re doing now isn’t helping.”
Minjae warned. Jihwan pressed his lips together firmly.
“I can do it.”
Jihwan insisted. He’s really immature. Minjae really didn’t want to enter The Crow’s den with Jihwan. He wished Jihwan would give up and turn back at this point.
“Really. I really hate heroes.”
Even saying just one line, Jihwan hesitated. It was unclear whether he couldn’t act or if his conviction was too strong.
“Aren’t you coming?”
The man standing outside opened the café door and asked. Shit. Minjae patted Jihwan’s back.
“Let’s go!”
From in front of the café, the man began to guide the way. The three left the main road and headed to a secluded area. This is so cliché? Minjae looked around.
“Do we still have far to go?”
Jihwan asked.
“We’re almost there.”
The cult man smiled. Even after hearing that, they still had to walk for a good 10 minutes.
“At our retreat center, we create an analog environment so that we can empathize with each other and focus.”
As soon as they arrived at the building, the cult man demanded they hand over their phones.
“I don’t have one. My screen broke recently and I haven’t bought a new one yet.”
Minjae said confidently. The cult man was momentarily taken aback, then looked at the guitar case Minjae was carrying.
“That looks heavy. Please leave it here at the entrance.”
So he wants to keep something of ours to prevent us from escaping. Minjae thought as he handed over the guitar case. He could almost hear Wooseok screaming, but since it wasn’t his, it didn’t matter. Jihwan was looking at Minjae with an expression that said he was mortally offended.
“If you have a phone, let me borrow it for a moment. I want to check the time.”
Jihwan reluctantly handed his phone to Minjae. Minjae quickly manipulated the shortcut command buttons to reset Jihwan’s phone. Jihwan seemed to have forgotten, but for security reasons, all Center employees’ phones had a reset program installed.
Now Jihwan’s phone was bricked. It didn’t seem likely that they would have someone capable of cracking the password or bypassing the program, but it was always better to be prepared.
Minjae handed Jihwan’s phone to the cult man. Huh? He heard Jihwan’s surprised voice but paid no attention. Having secured both of their collateral, the cult man led them inside, saying he would show them around the retreat center.
The building was quite old. When Minjae looked at the wall stained with indelible rust, the cult man laughed awkwardly.
“Well, volunteer organizations are not exactly in good financial condition. But all the spaces inside where activities take place are kept clean.”
The cult man said something that hadn’t been asked. Do people usually feel sorry for them and donate money when they talk like that? Minjae wondered as he nodded.
Jihwan walked right behind Minjae. When Minjae looked back, he saw Jihwan staring intensely at the nape of his neck.
After climbing stairs and walking through a corridor, the cult man stood in front of what looked like an auditorium door.
“We’re conducting a mind training session inside, so please just stand quietly and experience it with us.”
The cult man said. The sound of Jihwan swallowing hard could be heard right behind him. Minjae nodded.
The door opened, and Minjae discovered people holding hands in a circle, like they were playing a traditional Korean game.
Minjae stood near the circle without saying anything. Jihwan stuck close to him.
“Let’s share our feelings from this week.”
“I… actually haven’t eaten a single meal this week.”
A woman so thin her cheeks were sunken spoke in a small voice.
“Oh dear.”
Someone sympathized. There were also people sniffling. They’re really good at showing empathy here. Minjae thought.
“I still can’t forget. That child… we were eating together.”
Sob. The woman wiped away her tears. The hand of the person next to her was pulled along, but they didn’t let go.
“His limbs were shaking… he was in agony, but I couldn’t do anything to help. And then that child…”
The woman couldn’t easily continue her words.
“He was screaming, and suddenly the table split. The light bulbs shattered too. There were broken glass and ceramic fragments everywhere.”
“Oh my.”
“My ears… my ears hurt, so I covered them for a moment, and there was blood on my hands. But now…”
The woman paused again.
“Now my child will be okay too.”
“He’ll be okay.”
The people in the circle holding hands nodded. They also offered comforting words like “Stay strong.” They pulled each other’s hands to wipe their tears.
Minjae felt like he was beginning to understand how things worked here. On the surface, it really was similar to group therapy for people who had been hurt by some kind of incident. Minjae briefly considered whether to dig deeper and ask what these stories were about, or to pretend to empathize and continue observing.
“I’ve seen it too.”
Minjae spoke up. He could feel everyone, including Jihwan, turning to look at him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
