For someone who was staring at his own feet and clutching his seatbelt, it was quite a direct question. The man snorted and said:
“Should I?”
He was still looking at his feet, immobile while gripping his seatbelt. But his already tightly closed mouth became even more rigid, and his grip on the belt tightened noticeably. It seemed like he might start crying again. The man, who found himself wanting to tease the kid, had answered mischievously without thinking, but decided to stop joking at this point.
“But with your mediocre academic background and chronic illness, it would be hard to get a good price for you, so I’ll put that on hold for now.”
Though he had intended to stop joking when he opened his mouth, another mischievous joke came out. It was strange. Looking at the guy all huddled up and glancing around nervously made him want to tease him. Kyung Jiho let out a short, hollow laugh.
Though it was meant as a joke with a laugh, it didn’t sound like a joke at all to Geun-yeong, who was relieved by the “on hold for now” part. He was thinking that it was fortunate he only had a high school education and diabetes.
“…Thank… you.”
Only after seeing the guy finally unclench his fist that had been resting on his thigh and let out a held breath did Kyung Jiho ask:
“Why were you sobbing in the street?”
While he was taking a deep breath, considering how to answer,
“If you say it’s because of diabetes, I’ll really hit you.”
Thanks to the man’s words, Geun-yeong had to exhale with a “puhah” sound. The man had said something similar before, and he hadn’t properly denied it then either. Feeling wronged about that previous occasion as well, Geun-yeong quickly replied.
“It’s not because of diabetes.”
“Then what is it? If you say something like studying is hard, I’ll beat you severely, so don’t say that. Give me another reason. Why were you cry—why were you sobbing?”
Geun-yeong considered.
“Just…”
Should he tell the truth or not?
“Everything… is hard…”
In the end, he decided not to tell. He gave a vague answer that wasn’t quite a lie and lowered his head. He thought the man would click his tongue or snort at his answer, but the man driving remained silent. Curious about his expression, Geun-yeong slowly turned his head to look.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing. I’m sorry.”
Startled again so much that his whole body made a fluttering sound, Geun-yeong quickly withdrew his gaze and lowered his head.
One with his head lowered, the other with his hand on the steering wheel, rubbing his lips with the hand resting on the window frame, they traveled about a block.
Slowing down at a red light, the man stopped rubbing his lips, switched hands on the steering wheel, and shifted the gear to park with his other hand. Changing gears during a signal stop was a habit developed from driving manual transmission vehicles for a long time. After releasing the brake pedal and relaxing his posture, the man asked:
“Do you have problems with your parents?”
“What?”
“The way you packed your bag and left home, it looks that way.”
A slight nod indicated the bag in the back seat.
“Ah, no, that’s not it.”
“Then why is it so heavy?”
“That’s because of my laptop…”
“To sell it?”
“Yes. No!”
Having been hit right on target and inadvertently confessed, Geun-yeong shouted with a serious expression. Of course, he had thought about selling it if he needed money, but that wasn’t the only reason he brought it. The laptop contained all the study materials he had accumulated. It was something like “lingering attachment.”
“Yes, no.”
The man mimicked Geun-yeong’s response in a not-at-all small voice and snickered.
Hearing that sound and seeing that expression, Geun-yeong’s face flushed, and he turned his gaze away from the man so abruptly it could have made a “pack” sound, looking straight ahead. The reason his face was flushed now seemed to be embarrassment at having been found out. Or perhaps he was ashamed of the attachment he couldn’t let go. Or maybe the man’s smiling face—
“Ahem! Ahem!”
Startled by the direction of his own thoughts, Geun-yeong cleared his throat and hastily stopped his train of thought.
“What? Is there something that’s bothering you?”
“No. My throat is just a bit dry. Because of the fine dust…”
Geun-yeong timidly raised his index finger to point at the sky. Look, isn’t the sky yellow? Because of the fine dust.
Following Geun-yeong’s finger to glance at the sky and back down, the man burst into laughter again.
“Really now. You’re such a funny guy. A person who wants to die is so concerned about his health.”
Geun-yeong felt somewhat unfairly treated by the man’s comment about being health-conscious. He forcibly suppressed the pout that was forming on his lips. It would be foolish to fully express his feelings of unfairness just because the terrifying gangster’s words made him feel wronged.
The signal changed. The man stepped on the brake pedal and shifted gears at the yellow light, then smoothly accelerated as it turned green. There was no particular conversation for a while. Even the phone that had been ringing busily was quiet. Geun-yeong swallowed once and then asked:
“So… where are you going?”
“Home.”
“Home?”
“Yeah. You said you live in Green Village in Cheongdam-dong.”
“WHAT?!”
Shouting loudly, Geun-yeong looked around. Now that he thought about it, that was true. They were on the way to his home.
“Um, excuse me, I, I left ho—!”
Turning almost sideways towards the man in confusion, Geun-yeong finally had to confess. The speaker was so surprised that he couldn’t finish his sentence and covered his mouth, but the man who heard it had an expression that suggested he’d known all along.
Somehow those fierce eyes examined Geun-yeong’s eyes, then the hand covering his mouth, and then the wrist that was revealed as the sleeve slid down when he raised his hand to cover his mouth. Feeling the gaze on his wrist, Geun-yeong lowered his hand and pulled down his sleeve.
The gaze following his lowering hand was withdrawn. And now, with his head turned and glaring ahead, the man began again with questioning that resembled an interrogation.
“Why.”
“…”
At a loss for an answer, Geun-yeong turned back to face forward with stiff movements like a wind-up doll with loose screws. Sitting facing the road, he wondered how to respond. Before that, he wondered why this man kept asking about his reasons for leaving home. He wished the man would just let it go.
After waiting long enough for Geun-yeong to have answered three times, the man said:
“Roll up your sleeve.”
“What?”
At the command to roll up his sleeve, Geun-yeong instead pulled his sleeve down further, grasping it with both hands, and asked again. Why did he want him to roll up his sleeve?
“You probably wouldn’t think so at all, but I have a bad temper.”
No. Anyone could see that his temper wasn’t good. Geun-yeong had known from the beginning that the man’s personality wasn’t exactly gentle. He knew that, but why the sleeve?
Ignoring the question in Geun-yeong’s eyes, the man spoke again:
“Roll it up.”
If you know I have a bad temper, then roll up your sleeve.
Glancing nervously at the man, Geun-yeong hesitated for so long that an impatient person might have died waiting. Finally, he grabbed the sleeve that covered down to the back of his hand. And following the instructions of the man who claimed to have a bad temper, he rolled it up.
Kyung Jiho watched, squinting his almond-shaped eyes. He hadn’t intended to squint so much, but since he was driving, he had to keep an eye on the road as well, so it couldn’t be helped.
And Geun-yeong rolled up his sleeve. He did it slowly. After a minute of pulling it up just a fingernail’s width, it still only revealed the back of his hand.
Fuck.
Growing impatient, the man suddenly reached out and grabbed Geun-yeong’s arm, and while the guy was letting out a “Hik!” sound in surprise, he yanked the sleeve up to below the forearm.
The car was still moving. He had to twist his eyes that should be watching the road. With eyes fiercer than a hunter’s just before shooting his target, the man glared at Geun-yeong’s wrist, then withdrew his gaze. And he released the forearm he had roughly grabbed, almost throwing it back onto the thigh where it had been.
Geun-yeong grabbed his pulled-up sleeve and lowered it. He hid his wrist, which was bruised red and blue, and covered it down to the back of his hand as before. The man, whose expression had been unpleasant from the beginning and remained so, asked:
“Who was it? Your adoptive father?”
“…”
“Did he tie you up and beat you?”
“…”
“What did you do wrong?”
“…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
