83.
No one in this refugee settlement knew his original name, what kind of life he had lived, or what kind of person he was.
He was accidentally discovered in a dense mangrove thicket three years ago. His body was covered with wounds so severe that it wouldn’t have been strange if he had died right away.
He was found and saved by a kind-hearted member of a non-profit volunteer organization. If that person hadn’t voluntarily covered all his medical expenses, he probably would have died long ago from infected wounds.
Several surgeries followed in succession, and he barely regained consciousness about a month after being discovered.
After regaining consciousness, he couldn’t remember anything about himself. He said he didn’t know why he had ended up there. All he could say was that he opened his eyes and found himself here.
It was fortunate that he hadn’t lost his language abilities along with his memories. Appearing to be of mixed Korean descent, he possessed somewhat awkward English skills and fluent Korean ability, but he mostly communicated in English with the local medical staff and volunteer organization members.
Having lost everything and only able to roll his eyes around, he was indeed in a pitiful and miserable situation, but people didn’t particularly consider him more pitiful than others. That’s because there were many people with similar stories in this refugee settlement.
Thanks to this, he wasn’t particularly lonelier than others. It was somewhat unfortunate that his appearance had become uncomfortable even to himself because of the burn marks and other scars that hideously covered his face and entire body.
The local hospital didn’t have dermatologists or plastic surgeons who could smoothly regenerate skin, and even if they did, he couldn’t even think about getting treatment because he didn’t have the ability to pay for it immediately.
The volunteer organization member who first discovered him and took responsibility for his treatment returned to their home country within a few months. Before returning, they set up a basic living foundation for him. Being discovered by someone particularly responsible and kind was an unparalleled stroke of luck in itself.
In fact, the organization member really wanted to find his original identity before returning home. So they thoroughly searched through lists of missing persons from South Korea at that time, which would be about 2-3 years ago from now, looking for someone in their early to mid-20s who had been missing for a few months, but couldn’t find any missing person whose personal information matched.
They expanded the range to include those in their late 20s and early 30s, but the results were the same. The fingerprints on his hands were also badly damaged due to burns, so they weren’t much help in the search.
Just because he could speak Korean fluently didn’t necessarily mean his nationality was South Korean, so it was difficult to have much hope from the beginning. At least for Asian countries, they could narrow it down to South Korea, but there were too many missing persons in their early to mid-20s from English-speaking European or North American countries to even count meaningfully.
In the end, he decided to permanently give up his original identity. After that, he settled here, in Tumbes.
Tumbes was a middle ground located between Peru and Ecuador. In central Tumbes, Spanish was mainly used as the common language. Fortunately, perhaps because he wasn’t unintelligent to begin with, after about a year, he was able to speak Spanish well enough that there was no inconvenience in daily life.
In fact, his living space couldn’t strictly be called Tumbes. Although it was very close to Tumbes, it didn’t have a specific name, so people just called it Tumbes.
The people gathered here were mostly those who had lost their homes due to dungeons or Esper rampages.
Feeling lonely, desolate, or solitary – all these negative perceptions were also relative values, so here, no one was lonely. No one was desolate. No one was solitary. Because everyone was in the same situation.
The people here called him “Won.” Although it was somewhat ambiguous as a name or title, it was the only word that remained in his memory, so they used it as his name.
“Wow. The weather is really nice today!”
“…Yes, it is.”
“Oh, honey. Shall we buy some fruit over there? It’s super cheap!”
Faced with a young couple excited by the exotic scenery and landscape, he habitually pulled up his mask that had slipped down a bit. He also pulled down his cap hat more firmly, casting a long shadow below his eyes.
His job was to volunteer as a guide for Korean tourists who occasionally visited like this. Most tourists, regardless of what worries they had left behind in their home country, only knew how to enjoy themselves at tourist destinations, so he couldn’t dampen the mood by revealing his disfigured face unnecessarily.
Originally, there were hardly any Asian tourists, including Koreans, in Tumbes. But around last year, after several famous celebrities from a Korean entertainment program visited this area, the number of tourists increased quite a bit. Naturally, he played the role of the local coordinator in that program, and thanks to that, Won’s life became considerably more comfortable.
If this trend continued, he might be able to move to downtown Tumbes next year. Ah, maybe he should first get a mobile phone for contact before that.
Currently, work was proceeding in a way where the local tourism office or small local travel agencies connected tourists with him.
Won took pictures with the camera given to him by this friendly young couple, treating it like a sacred object. Following his guidance over the past few days, this kind couple had enjoyed various activities such as surfing and diving, and toured the mangrove conservation area. Today’s city tour was the final course.
The couple, seemingly out of consideration, whispered quietly among themselves. “Isn’t he hot? Why is he wearing such stifling cap and mask… Shh, honey, be quiet. I glimpsed severe scars. That must be why. How… Judging by his voice, he seems young. It’s such a pity…”
Won was accustomed to receiving such sympathy. The more they pitied him, the more generously the kind tourists’ wallets opened, so there was no particular loss for him.
As expected, the couple shared their sympathy fully in the form of a tip. With this, Won moved one step closer to entering downtown Tumbes.
After finishing guiding the couple and returning to his lodging, he habitually looked up at the night sky again. What he missed, what he remembered – that was naturally a matter only he knew.
The next day, when he went to the travel agency office, an employee welcomed him with a bright smile, saying he had come at a perfect time. Although they weren’t on bad terms, such a friendly reception was unfamiliar as it was the first time.
“Perfect timing! I just got a call that someone from Korea is coming here urgently. They left earlier, so they should arrive tomorrow. Are you free? Can you start right away?”
“Ah, yes… I can, but…”
He nodded reluctantly. Even though Korean tourists had increased, the intervals between visits weren’t this short. At most, it would be three or four times a month.
“Good, good. I’ll let you know the time, so go to the airport tomorrow. This client is said to be very, very rich, so their spending will be big too. Treat me to a meal later!”
According to the travel agency employee, this client was the son of a wealthy family running a global-scale corporation. Even the employee’s face was flushed with excitement as he rambled on about how the tip and basic pay would be different, so the travel agency must have made considerable profit as well.
Won briefly suspected it might be a scam. It was strange for someone that wealthy to come all the way here in the first place, and even if they did come, they wouldn’t necessarily include tourism. Wouldn’t they normally just stay at a resort and leisurely rest before returning?
The arrival time was also strange. The few flights that landed at Tumbes Airport always operated on a regular schedule, which he knew well, but this arrival time was one he had never seen before.
Anyway, he decided to maintain his wariness until the very end and went to the airport the next day at the time he was given.
“Young master, we have arrived.”
And his suspicion was swept away like a sandcastle before waves the moment he arrived at the airport.
“As expected, it’s quite far.”
“Once we move to the accommodation and you’ve rested—”
“No. Let’s move right away.”
“Yes, sir.”
The men in black suits who filled the not-so-large airport moved as one body, following the instructions of the man called “young master” with disciplined momentum.
Somehow finding it difficult to intervene, he was watching from a distance when the aforementioned “young master” strode over with his long legs and quickly stood before him.
“Are you the local guide who was supposed to come?”
“…Yes, are you Mr. Choi Jae-won?”
“Yes. I’ve prepared everything we need to visit and transportation. I don’t need guidance; just make sure there are no errors or inconveniences in communicating with the locals. Now, let’s depart immediately.”
He was completely overwhelmed. It felt like another world entirely.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
