119.
#Wandering
Bang! At the sound of Hayun slamming the desk, Director Park and the security guards flinched. Hayun glared at them as if he would devour them, then turned around abruptly. In the suffocating silence, Director Park thought it might be better if Hayun just shouted and got angry.
“Ha!”
After a long while, Hayun’s sigh broke the silence.
“Not Greece, but South Africa of all places.”
At Hayun’s voice filled with disbelief, Director Park bowed his head even lower. Although they had managed to find Dawoon’s whereabouts using every possible method, even Director Park was surprised by his destination.
It took time to find him because he had originally gone through departure procedures for London. They thought Dawoon was likely to have gone to Greece since they confirmed that Choi Seon-gyeom had canceled his flight yesterday and boarded a flight to Greece today. However, that wasn’t the case. They couldn’t find Dawoon on Choi Seon-gyeom’s flight or any other flights to Greece afterward. There was still no trace of him leaving the airport.
Only then did they start checking all other flights. This took several times longer. It wasn’t until evening that they confirmed Dawoon had boarded a flight to South Africa. It was a flight 20 minutes earlier than the original London flight. It could only be seen as pre-planned. Dawoon hadn’t moved an inch from home until coming to the airport and hadn’t accessed any airline websites on his phone or computer, so someone else must have gotten the ticket for him.
He had no connections in South Africa and had never been there before. Dawoon had never mentioned the place or shown any curiosity about it. It was truly an unexpected choice. That’s why they hadn’t even considered that direction. This was the reason for Hayun’s disbelief.
“Find me a flight to South Africa immediately.”
At Hayun’s instruction, Director Park couldn’t hide his bewilderment.
“Vice Chairman, you need to go to London first.”
The transfer to the London branch had already been announced. There were employees waiting there and work to be done. Even if the London branch transfer was canceled, he needed to visit at least once. Due to not departing on time today, all of tomorrow’s schedules had already been hastily postponed.
“Did you not hear me? Get me a flight to South Africa. The earliest one.”
“Vice Chairman!”
Although Director Park had always followed Hayun’s words without objection, this time it wasn’t a simple matter.
As Director Park stood his ground and didn’t obediently follow his words, Hayun, who had been glaring at him, frowned deeply. With an irritated gesture, he swept back his fallen bangs, let out a long sigh, and turned around. It felt like his insides were boiling with no way to release it, now burning up beyond boiling.
“I will continue to track Dawoon. So you need to go to London first.”
No matter how secure Hayun’s position was within the group, he couldn’t avoid criticism if abandoning his responsibilities caused significant losses. Until now, although Hayun had shown abnormal obsession and interference with Dawoon, he had never once let it interfere with work. Rather, he had accomplished more than his assigned tasks, more coldly and thoroughly than others. That’s why Director Park had been able to decide to follow him, turning his back on Chairman Jeong.
“I’ll adjust your schedule so you can go to South Africa as soon as you finish your work in London.”
At Director Park’s words, Hayun took a deep breath, so much that it sounded like a sigh. He clenched his molars tightly, swallowing the surge of emotions. Instead of saying he understood, he waved his hand for them to leave. Director Park stared at Hayun for a moment longer, then bowed his head and left with the security guards.
Knock knock. The immediate sound of knocking again made Hayun’s already taut nerves even more sensitive, as if they would snap.
“Hyung…”
He was about to ignore it, but the door opened and Haram peeked his head in. Perhaps because he had been neglected for hours while they searched for Dawoon, Haram’s face was full of anxiety.
Hayun’s eyes narrowed as he saw Haram. Jeong Haram. Come to think of it, this child was still by his side. The child that Jeong Dawoon cherished more than his own life.
“Come here.”
At his gesture, Haram, who had been hesitating, came in and approached Hayun.
“Dawoon hyung… is he gone?”
Haram’s voice trembled as he asked. Not fully understanding the situation, the child seemed to think Dawoon might have been kidnapped.
“Did something happen to hyung? Dawoon hyung… can’t you find him?”
Finally, tears welled up in the child’s eyes. He seemed unable to bear the anxiety any longer, thinking something bad had happened to Dawoon.
“It’s okay. Nothing bad will happen.”
When Hayun patted his head, Haram clenched his mouth shut, trying to hold back tears, and nodded.
“The situation has gotten complicated, so it looks like we won’t be able to study abroad right away. What should we do?”
“That doesn’t matter. Just find Dawoon hyung quickly. Okay?”
“Alright, let’s do that.”
When Hayun nodded, Haram wrapped his arms around Hayun’s waist and clung to him. As he stroked the child’s head, Hayun’s eyes sank deeply.
As long as Haram was here, Jeong Dawoon would return. So Haram’s study abroad plans needed to be put on hold for now.
***
An unfamiliar landscape was visible through the hotel window. Although it wasn’t the first time he had been abroad, being alone in an unfamiliar place felt different. Everything was new and strange. It felt completely detached from reality.
He made a rectangle with his thumbs and index fingers and checked the scenery framed within it. Looking through the square frame was different from just looking with his eyes.
It would have been nice to have a camera.
He chuckled at the sudden thought. He had deliberately not carried a phone. But he didn’t expect to miss the conveniences of civilization so quickly.
Knock knock. At the sound of someone knocking on the hotel door, his head turned reflexively. For a moment, he was so tense that his voice wouldn’t come out. Maybe… Just the thought made him feel like he couldn’t breathe.
“Dawoon, are you in there?”
Even at the man’s voice, his stiffened body wouldn’t move.
“It’s Jeff. Are you not in?”
At the words accompanied by another knock, he finally let out a long breath. When he got up and opened the door, he saw Jeff fanning himself, probably because of the heat.
“Why didn’t you answer if you were inside?”
Jeff asked as he came in.
“Just because.”
Jeff frowned at the awkward answer. Dawoon couldn’t tell the truth. That he had been nervous thinking it might be someone sent by his hyung, no, that his hyung might have come himself.
Although a week had passed since entering South Africa, he still flinched unknowingly whenever someone knocked on the door or he bumped into someone on the street.
“Are we changing hotels again today?”
Dawoon nodded at Jeff’s question. Thinking that Hayun might be tracking him, he had been changing accommodations every day. It didn’t matter if it wasn’t a luxury hotel. He was moving without any plan, just going wherever his feet took him, and finding accommodation each day where he ended up.
“I don’t mind since I’m getting paid to follow you around, but do you know how unusual this is?”
Jeff repeated what he had already said several times. He was acting as Dawoon’s travel guide at Choi Seon-gyeom’s request. From their first meeting at the airport, he had been amazed at how Dawoon had no luggage. Seeing that Dawoon didn’t even carry a phone, he had jokingly asked if he had committed a crime and run away from Korea.
After spending a few days together, he asked why someone who seemed to have been raised so well was wandering around in a place like this, and if he had run away from home. Dawoon hadn’t thought about whether he had been raised well or not, but it seemed to show to others. Well, remembering Jeff’s expression when he said he had never cooked, washed dishes, or cleaned before, that was the answer.
“It’s convenient to move around since you don’t have any luggage, but where do you want to go today?”
This was the first question he asked every day when they met. Since Dawoon wasn’t moving according to any pre-made plans, he found this question quite challenging every time. At least on the first day, Choi Seon-gyeom had booked accommodation, so there was no need to worry, but from the second day on, it was really daunting. Jeff had suggested resting for a day and bringing some travel guide books to consider, but Dawoon was anxious about staying in one place for too long. Surely Hayun would be chasing him, and he would have confirmed that Dawoon had taken a flight to South Africa.
After entering the country, there was no card or phone, so further tracking should be impossible, but he still couldn’t feel at ease. Even if it wasn’t within Korea, there were many places where the Haedo Group’s influence reached, and Hayun might have connections within South Africa.
“I’m thinking of looking around the area today and leaving the country tomorrow.”
“Leaving the country?”
Jeff’s eyes widened.
“So suddenly?”
Looking at Jeff, who couldn’t understand, Dawoon just smiled faintly. It had been just as sudden when he came. Since it didn’t matter where he went, he had just accepted the ticket Choi Seon-gyeom offered and boarded the plane without any plan.
“Well, it doesn’t matter to me… I’ll let the writer know that too. Where are you going? I need to know that to book the ticket.”
At his question, Dawoon looked out the window and pondered. Well, where should he go? He hadn’t thought about that either.
“Should we go to Tanzania?”
At the words that were more of a question than an answer, Jeff frowned. His expression seemed to ask if Dawoon was really asking him that now.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
