“Are you the team leader?”
He greeted with a smile warmly, but what came back was an unkind gaze. The middle-aged man asked Eunchan after confirming the nameplate on the office desk.
“Ah, yes. I’m Kim Eunchan. I look young for my age, right?”
“Where’s the boss?”
“He went to Daejeon briefly for work. He’s coming up now. Let’s talk with me first. Hyungsik-ah, go get the files from outside.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“The weather is getting hotter day by day.”
Eunchan flapped his t-shirt and smiled cheekily. However, since what he was wearing happened to be Miro’s oversized clothes, even though he flapped his nape briefly, his collarbone was fully exposed, so Eunchan hurriedly adjusted his clothes. Worried that the rolled-up pants hem might show, he also sat with his legs politely together.
“Should we go somewhere else?”
“I don’t know what it’s about, but let’s talk first. We also have fields we’re good at.”
One man who grew suspicious at Eunchan’s loose appearance spoke to his companion. Eunchan laughed heartily and dissuaded them, saying it would only be hot if they went outside now.
“Hyung, here.”
“So what field is it? Well… collecting evidence of infidelity?”
Looking at the middle-aged customers, Eunchan continued speaking while making a rough guess.
“It’s not that, I just want to have you do a small job.”
“Please speak comfortably.”
“I want to relocate a grave.”
“Relocate a grave?”
“Let’s move a tomb. Quietly.”
At the unusual task, Eunchan wiped the smile from his face. Hyungsik, who was coming in carrying a file folder behind him, was also surprised and stopped at the doorway, blankly staring at the client.
“Whose tomb are you talking about?”
“It’s my father’s grave. We made a grave in the family burial ground, then recently moved it to another place, but we want to bring him back to the family land.”
“What do you mean by doing it quietly?”
Just from hearing it, there didn’t seem to be a problem. However, jobs that fell to an errand center all had one flaw each, so he had to be as careful as possible. He could be unfairly blamed and receive punishment, or it could lead to a big dispute.
“Just without the family knowing, without those rural elders knowing.”
“Because relocating father’s grave again isn’t a good thing.”
“Ah, are you two brothers?”
Eunchan smiled and looked back and forth at the two middle-aged men with similar faces.
“Yes, we’re brothers.”
“I thought you looked alike, haha.”
“I want to do it as quickly as possible.”
“Our schedule for this month is already all booked. Um, well, if you’re okay with an additional fee, we can start within this week.”
“I’ll pay any amount of money, so just do it quickly.”
Looking at the client showing his urgency, Eunchan slowly worked his brain. Brothers who looked to be in their mid-forties at most. They came wearing ordinary casual clothes and comfortable shoes. A matter urgent enough to visit on a weekday morning… Have their dreams been unsettled since the relocation? For people who believe in superstitions a lot, it’s a plausible enough situation.
“First, let’s have you meet the boss and write a contract. Hyungsik-ah, when did the boss say he’d arrive?”
“He said he’s almost here.”
“Is the time okay with you?”
“If we definitely pay the additional fee, can you do it even tomorrow right away?”
“Generally speaking, yes.”
He planned to consult with the boss and if it didn’t seem right, he’d back out using the excuse that the additional fee was too small. Eunchan smiled innocently while trying to get even a bit more information.
“Where is the family burial ground located?”
“Over there, it’s in South Chungcheong Province.”
“Where did you move it to?”
“We collected the remains and temporarily placed them in an ossuary. After that, father kept appearing in dreams and business wasn’t going well.”
“That spot must have been an auspicious site.”
“…Yes.”
Eunchan sent Hyungsik, who was waiting behind, outside to buy a cold coffee and held out the boss’s business card on the desk to the clients.
“Our boss is a former detective, so he has many connections and handles work cleanly. If there’s anyone around you who needs help, please introduce us.”
“Ah, yes.”
“You must do big business. I felt like you were a boss as soon as I met you.”
He didn’t wear an expensive brand watch and his face didn’t show signs of wealth, but Eunchan said pleasant-sounding things. It seemed to be more comparable because the person he met before coming here was Miro.
“Roughly how much will the amount be?”
“It depends on how many people we use, but South Chungcheong is pretty far, from here. Um, at least 2 or 3 hundred? That’s my opinion, and we’ll have to wait for the boss to come to get the accurate size.”
How much does it cost to relocate a grave? It was regrettable that he couldn’t search on his phone right away with the customers in front of him. It would be at least over 100, but he wondered if calling 2 or 300 as the base price was too low.
Eunchan pretended to look for a contract and slipped out of the boss’s office. He sent the request details to the boss by text, sat down at the desk and was turning on the computer when soon the company door opened and the boss came in with hurried steps.
“They’re inside.”
“Oh, okay.”
Looking at the boss who went straight inside, Eunchan continued searching. Grave relocation cost, grave relocation period, how to relocate a grave. Looking it up roughly, if you entrusted it to a company that professionally does grave relocations, it was basically 1 million won. There was also time to wait since you had to avoid inauspicious days or leap months, and if you included ancestral rites and village donations, you had to pay even more money.
After skimming through the information, Eunchan entered the boss’s office again. Inside, as if the conversation had roughly finished, the boss and one client were shaking hands with each other.
“Then I’ll contact you as soon as possible.”
“Yes, I’ll trust you.”
As if the contract had finished well, the boss who was organizing documents soon asked about Hyungsik, who wasn’t there.
“Where’s Hyungsik?”
“I sent him to buy coffee for a moment.”
“Have coffee before you go.”
“No, we’re busy. Well then.”
To see off the clients who stood up, the boss and Eunchan followed behind the customers.
“I’ll contact you soon.”
“Yes.”
“Goodbye.”
Looking at the customers going down the stairs, Eunchan turned around.
“Did you sign the contract?”
“I just did a preliminary contract first. Phew, it’s getting hotter. Don’t send that bastard Hyungsik to buy coffee. He’s coming back damn late.”
The boss who walked to the air conditioner complained while wiping the side of his forehead.
“There are separate grave relocation companies though, why would they entrust it to us? It’s a bit unsettling.”
“They said their dreams were strange. They probably heard from a shaman somewhere.”
“How much did you quote?”
Well, the reason isn’t important. The most important thing is the amount. Eunchan sat in a chair and looked at the boss.
“Five hundred.”
“Five hundred?”
“Yeah.”
“You inflated it well.”
“Make some time. You, Hyungsik, and I, the three of us will go and do it quickly and come back.”
“Have you dug a grave?”
“I did manual labor in the old days. Digging dirt is the same wherever. How about you? The work. Didn’t you say you were going down last time?”
Eunchan randomly tapped the keyboard and clicked the mouse. He had taken on the work, but the problem was there was no progress at all. He had to meet Han Inju too…
“Actually, I changed the date again. He said he’s busy.”
“Do well. I entrusted you with the big one. Just roughly finish that stalker thing. It’s only a million won. If only you had been careful with your mouth. Phew, fuck.”
“Did I know he lived that well?”
He’d only said one million won thinking it would be easy work, but his head hurt at the unexpectedly burdensome client and the clues that were hard to catch.
“Do it quickly and focus on that work. Hyungsik and I will take care of most things. Got it?”
“Yes, yes.”
Eunchan answered the boss while closing the empty mailbox. Anyway, since he also told Miro he’d solve it within a week, it wouldn’t take long.
“Hyung, huh? Boss, you came?”
“Where were you playing around?”
As he was getting the cool air conditioner breeze, Hyungsik returned holding coffee. The boss frowned and cursed at Hyungsik who returned late.
“Give me the sweet one.”
Looking at the choco frappuccino that would have been bought for his portion, Eunchan opened his mouth. That’s why he’s late, buying something like that. Looking at Eunchan who cleverly demanded the best drink, Hyungsik whined.
“Hyung, just drink coffee.”
“No, give me that.”
Hyungsik made an unwilling face, but when Eunchan kept demanding, he eventually yielded his drink.
* * *
Other than the busy morning, there was no work in the afternoon, so it was leisurely. Only after taking a long nap did the boss say he’d leave first and left the office at 4 o’clock. Hyungsik yawned long while playing a phone game, and Eunchan also sat with his arms crossed and eyes closed.
“Hyung, what are you doing today?”
“I have to stop by the hospital later.”
“I was going to ask you to eat dinner together.”
“Let’s eat together. I’m craving kimchi stew.”
“Oh, should we go to that grandma’s place?”
“Yeah.”
It’s a day that makes him think of the kimchi stew restaurant at the intersection. Hyungsik responded in agreement with a smile at Eunchan’s words. Eunchan endured at the office as much as possible while ignoring his constantly ringing phone. That’s almost a call rather than a text. At the texts coming in succession, Eunchan briefly considered whether to turn off his phone.
“Hyung, but what text keeps coming? Did you get hacked?”
“There’s a crazy bastard.”
[When.are you.coming?]
It was already the 20th message with only the same content continuing. It was also strange that he kept texting without using a messenger app. At first, he replied that the work wasn’t finished yet, but after this repeated a few times, he just naturally ignored it.
“The boss left too, so should we just leave now?”
“It’s hot outside. Let’s get more air conditioning and go.”
Should he stop by home first before going to the hospital, or should he quickly stop by the hospital first and then go straight home? Eunchan worried in his head and set priorities. Anyway, there was nothing to do at the hospital, so he’d just show his face and leave.
