# Chapter 79
I decided to return to Paris.
I stayed in Berlin for a few days, but no one knew anything about the missing information broker, and I occasionally had to flee from encounters with the police, so I felt I couldn’t stay there any longer.
If Hund was watching me, he probably wouldn’t expect me to move to Paris at this point. Certainly, the best way to find Hund right now would be to search for another information broker in Berlin.
That’s why I had no choice but to go to Paris. Once there, the priority would be to clear up my fugitive status first.
I dragged my tired body to the bus terminal. Since taking a direct bus to Paris would mean too long a detour, I planned to transfer to a bus from Nancy, France to Paris.
Nancy wasn’t far from Jang’s house where I had been imprisoned until recently, which made me reluctant, but knowing that the thought of meeting him was far-fetched, I tried to erase it from my mind.
I showed my ticket to the bus driver and went upstairs. Although it was a weekday, perhaps because the weather was good, the bus was already fully occupied with people.
Since all window seats were taken, I sat down in an empty seat and closed my eyes. Perhaps due to being tired for several days, drowsiness came all at once.
‘When I arrive in Paris, I should contact Woosang…’
By now, Woosang would have arrived in a new city and be preparing for his performance. If he had been doing nothing and waiting for me at home, I would have been anxious, but I was relieved that we were each doing what we needed to do.
As we continue doing what we need to do, we will eventually meet again. We both know that well.
‘So it’s okay.’
I glanced at the passenger in the seat next to me. I was slightly surprised to see them reading a book while listening to music on headphones in the swaying bus.
I was concerned they might get motion sickness, but when the gentle sound of music leaking from their headphones faintly reached my ears, somehow it felt like the tension in my body was releasing.
What did it matter anyway? Taking the song as a lullaby, I closed my eyes and relaxed. I wasn’t sure if sleep would come in this situation, but fortunately, my eyes closed naturally.
Somehow, I was unbelievably tired. A life without a place to settle was more harsh to me than I had thought.
***
I felt someone shaking my shoulder and opened my eyes with a start. Then I realized that the person sitting next to me had woken me up and was looking down at me blankly.
“Uh…”
The passenger said something to me, but realizing I didn’t understand, they pointed outside with their finger.
It seemed we had already arrived in Nancy.
Surprised that time had passed so quickly without even dreaming, I blinked and slightly moved aside for the person next to me. Then I gathered my belongings and got up from my seat.
The passenger left first, and I followed.
The hot air and busy streets came into view at once. When I had been here before, it was early dawn, so there weren’t many people, but now it was midday with the sun high in the sky, so it was so crowded there was barely room to step.
Since I was going to take another bus to Paris anyway, there was no need to look around.
First, I went to the ticket counter and asked if there were any tickets available.
“Hello. Could you book me the fastest bus to Paris?”
“Hello. Yes, let me check. Well, there are some, but it’s peak season now, so most seats are taken. The fastest bus among those available is in six hours. Is that okay?”
Six hours. I hesitated at the rather long waiting time, but having no other option, I nodded.
“Yes. I’ll take that.”
Having to wait on the street was troublesome, but at least I was fortunate that my body felt light, probably because I had slept soundly on the bus without being woken up.
Looking around, the surroundings were packed with people going on trips, and there wasn’t a single empty bench on the street.
‘I think I’ll walk a bit.’
After buying a cup of coffee to clear my mind, I roamed through the downtown. Since I rarely had the leisure to wander around the city center alone, I noticed things I hadn’t seen before.
Perhaps because it was near the central station where people transfer to other cities, there were many homeless people, and conversely, many well-dressed tourists.
After staring at the contrasting scene for a while, I noticed a sign indicating a park 500 meters away. Since I had nothing particular to do, I thought it would be good to spend time there, so I waited for the signal to cross to the other side.
But then, at the edge of my vision, I saw a familiar car. Wondering if I was mistaken, I looked carefully and realized it wasn’t a mistake when I saw the license plate behind the car.
“That’s Jang’s car…”
I muttered unwittingly in surprise. I didn’t understand why this car was here, but there was no way I could have misread the number of the car I had encountered several times.
Since it would be suspicious to run in a different direction, I threw away the coffee I was holding in the trash bin and quickly walked away in another direction.
‘Why is he here? Was he perhaps scouting to kidnap someone else?’
That was entirely possible.
There’s no reason Jang would be targeting me here. He seemed to just want to raise a man around my age, so he might have come out here to take someone who was reasonably similar.
Contrary to such speculation, I felt like my insides were burning up.
‘Where should I go?’
From here to Paris was about 4 hours by bus. By train, it would take only 2 hours, but I couldn’t use that option for fear of being caught by a conductor on the train.
But waiting for the bus was risky now that Jang’s car had caught my eye. I thought about taking a taxi even if it cost a lot, but it was unlikely that there would be a driver willing to drive from here to Paris.
Somehow, my chest felt tight, as if my breath was blocked.
“Excuse me, just a moment.”
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice from behind. It was a voice I had heard continuously for months, so it couldn’t be easily forgotten.
But there was no reason for me to stop at his words. I adjusted my bag and ran down the street, disregarding his voice.
I heard him calling me from behind, but I ignored it and pushed through the crowd, making my way through.
Sweat seeped from my hands due to tension. My leg, which had been broken and healed, even trembled slightly, as if it knew I was nervous.
‘Let’s just get on any bus and move. From there, I’ll go to Paris.’
In my urgency, I had no choice.
If I hadn’t slept properly on the bus earlier, I wouldn’t have had time to think like this. That was fortunate. And on the other hand, it was also desperate knowing that now I couldn’t let go of the tension no matter where I went.
The voice calling my name from behind grew louder and louder.
“Ichen!”
A name I had abandoned long ago was chasing me. Somehow, I couldn’t escape the thought that the ghosts of my parents and ‘Hund’ from my childhood were still chasing me at his call.
Just then, a bus was stopping at the bus stop right in front of me. The bus was overflowing with people, but ignoring the displeased passengers, I forced my way in.
Fortunately, the bus door closed without any problems, and through the closed door, I could see Jang running in this direction.
Holding my breath, I watched him getting smaller as the bus departed.
“Ha……”
A sigh of relief burst out naturally. My head was throbbing, but I was just happy to have shaken off Jang.
After just a few stops, a group of passengers all got off the bus at once.
I was about to get off with them and look for a way to go to a different area, but after confirming that the final destination on the bus electronic board was a different region, I decided to just continue riding.
I went to a corner of the now-quiet bus and sat down. As I blankly looked down, I saw my leg trembling slightly.
‘I never used to tremble like this before…’
At times like this, I couldn’t bear how unfamiliar I was to myself. It was even more so when Woosang wasn’t around.
It seemed like I would never get used to facing my changed self alone.
As the bus moved, people sporadically got on and off, but since we were getting further away from the train station and bus terminal, not many people noticeably boarded.
Suddenly, looking out the window, I saw a familiar car again among the unfamiliar scenery.
It was Jang’s car.
It seemed he had followed the bus with his car. I couldn’t understand why he was following so persistently.
I wasn’t worth it. Even when I was with him at the villa, I thought I had shown my suspicion of him while acting friendly.
Jang also suspected me and didn’t seem to trust me at all.
‘What does he want to do by catching me?’
Suddenly, this situation felt frighteningly alien. Both Jang’s car, which seemed to be waiting as if he knew I would come to Nancy, and some people in Berlin who disappeared as if they expected my arrival.
Looking only at what happened in Berlin, there wasn’t a big issue, but seeing Jang convinced me. That Hund was watching everything I was doing.
Strong anger rose within me. But now wasn’t the time to be angry. If I continued like this, the bus would run to its final destination, and Jang would definitely continue to follow me.
‘If I get off right here, I’ll definitely be caught.’
So I had to act carefully. I swallowed hard and looked at the road. Perhaps because we were moving away from the city, the road was quiet, and the intervals between bus stops were getting longer.
The fortunate thing was that there were taxis passing by on the road.
If there was a taxi nearby when the bus stopped, I thought I could take it and move to another city.
Just then, a vibration sounded in my pocket.
Perhaps because I was so tense, I couldn’t help but be startled even by the small vibration sound. As I fumbled to take out my phone from my pocket, Woosang’s number was on the screen.
‘I can’t answer right now.’
If I took the call now, I would surely sound weak. That couldn’t happen. Woosang needed to prove his consistency on stage with this performance.
His performance was also nearing its peak. So I absolutely didn’t want to cause anything that would shake him.
I turned off the phone and focused again on the cars on the road.
Protecting myself. That was all I could do right now.
