ZERO
“I have to go.”
Even at this moment, Kang Siwon was moving away from him. A sense of crisis that he might lose him forever if he didn’t chase after and grab him right now pierced his chest. Ray Jun moved his steps anxiously, but this time a cold remark grabbed his ankle.
“On what grounds are you going to hold him back?”
“…….”
“Your friend left of his own will. That friend has better judgment than you. He’s a fully grown adult who says he’s returning to his homeland—what can you possibly do to stop that!”
“There must be some misunderstanding.”
“Get a grip, Ray.”
His mother sternly rebuked Ray Jun.
“Li Hou will request the police to reinvestigate soon. It wouldn’t be strange to assume lobbying is already going on behind the scenes. A cooperation order could come down as soon as tomorrow, and in this situation you’re going to go stalking?”
“That kind of investigation……! You know too, Mother, that it’ll be concluded with no charges anyway!”
“You think the law really moves according to law? If you needlessly provoke your friend and he joins Li Hou’s side and testifies! You were roommates. Considering that relationship, even just one statement that Ray Morrow seemed unstable on the day Zhang Weiren died would work against you. Is that really what you want?”
“……Kang Siwon wouldn’t do that.”
He wouldn’t do that…….
Ray Jun muttered emptily. Right, he really wouldn’t. Just yesterday he said with a sincere voice that he liked me, so there’s no way he’d leave like this……?
However, it was a clear fact that Kang Siwon had left his side. Between the cold reality and his belief, Ray Jun couldn’t get a grip on himself at all.
It felt as if all the blood in his body was draining through his toes. No, it was more like the ground itself was collapsing. He couldn’t breathe well, and even the air that did seep in felt like it was sharply stabbing his lungs.
“Get ready to return to Macau right away. That’s the only thing you can do right now.”
His mother’s stern voice barely awakened his consciousness. Ray Jun tightly clenched his finely trembling hands into fists.
The happiness he’d believed he’d definitely captured was flowing down between his fingers like grains of sand.
* * *
Even after arriving at Incheon Airport, it didn’t feel real that he’d returned to Korea. He still felt like he was wandering Macau, or Hong Kong or Singapore like a stranger. Only after boarding an express bus and reaching the city where he was born and raised did he slowly feel his homecoming.
Screech―.
As the bus stopped, passengers got up from their seats one by one. Kang Siwon, who got off among them, pulled out his suitcase from the luggage compartment.
Meanwhile, people blatantly glanced at Kang Siwon. Young people coming down to this small city at a late weekday afternoon hour were rare. Moreover, Kang Siwon was tall, so he naturally tended to catch people’s eyes.
Kang Siwon pressed his cap down low to avoid their gazes. The place was so small it was embarrassing to even call it a city, so at one time rumors that his father was a gambling addict had spread widely. It would be awkward if he ran into someone who knew such a father.
Rattle, rattle…….
Pulling his suitcase, he headed to the village bus stop. Walking along the road without a shred of shade, the humid air clung to his entire body. A bead of sweat that had rolled down his forehead flowed down along his jawline.
“Phew…….”
Checking the timetable posted at the stop, the next bus was in 50 minutes. Thinking he had to wait 50 minutes in July’s sweltering heat, a sigh came out naturally.
It would be nice if he could call a taxi, but he wasn’t in that situation. When he’d booked the flight ticket to Incheon, he’d already scraped his bank account balance down to the bottom. Fortunately he’d managed to catch a last-minute discount flight ticket, otherwise even after barely escaping from Ray Jun’s grasp, he wouldn’t have been able to leave Singapore.
After arriving in Korea, the first thing he did was buy and activate a cheap phone. The money left in his possession now was exactly 85,926 won. An amount that wasn’t even enough for one night’s lodging. In this situation, instead of thinking about a taxi, he had to avoid becoming homeless first.
At least Kang Siwon had something to rely on. The reason he’d returned to his hometown after 4 years was because there was someone he could depend on here.
“I hope he’s doing well…….”
He muttered worriedly while thinking of Uncle Gyucheol. Actually, as soon as he’d activated his phone, he’d called his uncle, but only a message saying it was a disconnected number had played. Business people usually don’t change their numbers, so he felt ominously worried. But in the end, it was something he could only know by meeting him in person.
While spending time like that, the village bus came rattling into the stop. Kang Siwon boarded the bus with his suitcase.
* * *
Entering the neighborhood, a familiar scenery unfolded. It was 4 years, but nothing had changed. Kang Siwon stood in front of the detached house he’d once frequented daily.
“……”
After taking a deep breath, he pressed the doorbell. Since he’d come without any contact, he thought Uncle Gyucheol might be uncomfortable. Of course, before that, whether Uncle Gyucheol still lived in this house was the issue.
“Who is it?”
However, the voice heard from beyond the gate was familiar. Kang Siwon opened his mouth with a bit of relief.
“……Hello. It’s Kang Siwon.”
“Huh? Who? Wait, Kang Siwon!”
The sound of rattling as he unlocked the lock continued, then soon the gate opened wide. Uncle Gyucheol, who appeared with a surprised face, warmly patted both of Kang Siwon’s shoulders.
“Wow, how long has it been. Huh? Have you been well? Actually, I called you during last New Year’s but you didn’t answer, so I was so worried thinking something big had happened! You didn’t even look at my texts, huh?”
“I’m sorry for making you worry. I had some things going on.”
“It wasn’t something bad, right? It’s all settled now? But what’s with this suitcase.”
“Well…….”
“This won’t do, it’s hot out—let’s go inside and talk. Come on.”
Uncle Gyucheol personally carried Kang Siwon’s suitcase and moved it inside. The worry that he might not welcome him seemed to have been groundless. Kang Siwon let out a sigh of relief and followed him into the house.
Uncle Gyucheol sat Kang Siwon down and first prepared dinner for him. Even though he said it was okay, Uncle Gyucheol insisted and pressed a spoon into his hand, so Kang Siwon was able to eat a warm home-cooked meal for the first time in a while. Rice with bulgogi, fried eggs, kimchi, and soybean paste soup. While eating a meal more delicious than a feast, Uncle Gyucheol talked about what had happened in the meantime.
“I was dragged away by those gang bastards and somehow got released, but how could I live in fear like that. I wanted to close the business and move, but moving your base at this age isn’t an easy thing. I had no choice but to at least change my phone number.”
“I see…….”
“Are you okay, Siwon? There’s no way those bastards didn’t look for you.”
Uncle Gyucheol sent a gaze full of concern. Eyes as gentle as a cow’s. He must have co-signed for his friend because he was so kind like that.
But it was all over now. At least his father was no longer in this world.
“……They came. I had a hard time too.”
“Oh my……. At such a young age…….”
“Don’t worry, it worked out well anyway. There won’t be any more gangs coming or threatening us. Not me, and not you either, Uncle.”
“Really? I hope so…….”
Uncle Gyucheol’s wrinkled face relaxed a bit. Come to think of it, was it also a year since they’d met? In that short time, he seemed to have aged considerably, which made his heart ache.
“So, what are you going to do from now on?”
“I…… don’t have anywhere to go right now, but if it’s okay with you, could I stay for a few days.”
His voice died down, embarrassed to make such a shabby request. But Uncle Gyucheol answered readily, just like in the old days when he’d taken in a child who was wandering the neighborhood with nowhere to go.
“Of course! I live alone anyway, so it’ll be nice and not lonely if you’re here. Are you planning to look for work here?”
“Yes, I’m going to look. Anything.”
He had to earn money quickly. To pay back the debt of 4.8 billion won.
Ray Jun’s mother, Elisa Morrow, didn’t seem to expect Kang Siwon to pay back that large sum—or perhaps worried that cornering him would interfere with her son’s future—she’d generously set the repayment deadline. To exaggerate a bit, long enough that he could get away with not paying it back for life.
But Kang Siwon had no intention of going with the so-called ‘sue me’ approach. Since he’d promised to pay it back, he intended to repay it sincerely and steadily.
“Haa……. After your father passed away, you must have suffered a lot too, it would be nice if you could rest a bit before working…….”
Uncle Gyucheol must know that he couldn’t afford that. Perhaps that’s why, his gaze looking at Kang Siwon gradually became more sorrowful.
