Seo Juhan came out of the gym with his hair dried fluffy and soft.
As he stepped onto the street, bathed in the bright light pouring from the sign, the cool night air wrapped around his still-warm body refreshingly. His short bangs swayed, tickling his forehead.
The commercial district of the old downtown was bustling even at night. Women carrying shopping bags passed by, laughing cheerfully like rolling jade beads.
Seo Juhan walked at a calm pace, turning familiar building corners again and again.
The headlights illuminating the road gradually dimmed. The number of passersby brushing past in hurried steps also gradually decreased. The atmosphere, quite different from before, was like glamorous stage lighting being shut off in an instant.
Before he knew it, Seo Juhan was walking through a dark alley with few people around.
The old apartment complex had cars parked in triple rows like Tetris. It was almost amazing that they’d slapped the name “apartment” on such low buildings.
Naturally, it was a place frequently mentioned as scheduled for redevelopment.
This area was mainly inhabited by foreign workers, illegal residents, and day laborers. They worked in the factory complex that had been formed according to the national development plan even before Jeonghan City had been upgraded to a “city.”
After going through the IMF crisis, many small factories closed down and deteriorated into industrial waste, but the surviving companies were still maintaining their existence.
Jeonghan City had many such rundown places. The difference from the new city district developed north of the river that divided the city was significant. It was a city with a large wealth gap and a mixture of various occupations.
Seo Juhan passed by a utility pole with badly tangled wires.
The sparsely placed streetlights cast dim amber light, stretching desolate shadows long behind him.
The reddish-brown bricks of the old multi-family housing and villas at the alley entrance were bleak. The shutters of the small mom-and-pop shops were tightly closed.
It was quite a desolate and gloomy scene, but it didn’t particularly move Seo Juhan.
The reason he’d gotten a studio in such a shabby neighborhood wasn’t particularly because he was poor. He was simply faithfully following the advice of a senior he’d heard at a drinking party once—that it’s inconvenient if the school is too close.
There was also the fact that the new teacher assignment notice had come out late, so he’d been pressed for time to find a place. On top of that, having lived only in dormitories for all four years of college, Seo Juhan found it bothersome to fuss over various details for a place he wouldn’t live in forever.
For those reasons, he’d only checked out one real estate agency and signed a contract hastily. Naturally, he had no idea he’d been tricked by an unscrupulous agent into paying brokerage fees exceeding the legal limit.
Juhan’s brain, specialized only in solving test problems, was useless in the real world.
Grumble.
The sound from his stomach awakened his mind that had been walking in a state of emptiness. Since he’d gone straight to the gym after work, it was understandable that his stomach was complaining shamelessly.
Though he wasn’t particularly hungry, Seo Juhan took out his phone from his pocket. The light from the screen illuminated his face. He opened a delivery app and slid his thumb across the screen, browsing through the list of restaurants.
Bzzzz.
Just then, the phone in his hand vibrated.
Seo Juhan, who had been seriously browsing delivery food reviews, flinched in surprise. What appeared on the screen was an unfamiliar number. Seo Juhan raised one eyebrow and pressed the answer button.
“Hello?”
Though it was an unknown number, he answered since it started with 010.
[Hello. This is Police Officer Lee Changhun from Dongpyeong Police Box. Is this Seo Juhan-ssi?]
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Seo Juhan answered stiffly, putting up his guard.
No matter how ignorant he was about how the world worked, he at least knew about voice phishing. The pronunciation was quite Korean-sounding to be a Korean-Chinese person or Chinese.
Even if it really was the police, Seo Juhan was confident. He’d lived his entire life doing what others told him to. He’d never even used those common illegal websites. He was upright, so he had nothing to be anxious about.
[You’re student Kim Gichan’s homeroom teacher, correct?]
Seo Juhan had to stop walking abruptly. The moment he heard the familiar name, he felt like he’d been hit in the head.
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
Seo Juhan answered, suppressing the anxiety that spread like fog.
[Student Kim Gichan is currently at the police box. He was caught stealing and arrested as a flagrant offender.]
“Ah… I see.”
[When we checked, he’s a minor so we need a guardian present, but we can’t reach his parents… Would you be able to come here briefly, teacher?]
Kim Gichan was born early in the year, so he was the only minor in the class. Usually, he had the feeling of a chirping baby chick that babbled on endlessly.
Among the delinquents, he had a face that at least resembled a student, so Juhan had found him somewhat cute, but he never expected to be stabbed in the back like this.
“…Understood.”
It was only a moment, but only after an innocent internal conflict could Seo Juhan barely answer.
[Please come to Dongpyeong Police Box.]
“Yes.”
Seo Juhan hung up the phone while sweeping up his brown bangs.
Haa. He let out a sigh into his mouth while pressing his throbbing forehead.
To think I’m even getting calls from the police box.
Kim Gichan’s cheeky way of speaking and gestures floated up in his mind.
This bastard, I didn’t think he was the type to go around committing crimes even if he was a bit cheeky.
More than worry, he felt annoyed. A police box at this hour. It was an unexpected disaster.
It had been just a little over a month since they’d met, so there was no way he’d developed great affection as a teacher. He was just irritated at having to waste his precious time.
He’d suddenly ended up working overtime. Not that he’d receive overtime pay for it.
Though he’d said he’d go, since his studio was right in front of him, his feet wouldn’t easily move. Seo Juhan, who had been agonizing while stomping his feet in place, eventually gave in and turned around.
He’d lived his entire life as a model student and had never once opposed public authority.
* * *
Dongpyeong Police Box was close to the old city district where delinquents from all over Jeonghan City gathered.
Seo Juhan looked up at the angular, rigid two-story building.
A blue sign reading <Police> floated in the darkness. Next to it, a quite imposing yellow eagle emblem flashed garishly.
He passed the police car parked in front of the police box and opened the glass door. Unlike outside, it was blindingly bright.
Just then, something like a black sack moved and made a rough sound. Seo Juhan, who had just entered, flinched in surprise.
Looking now, he saw a heavily intoxicated man slumped over asleep on a chair. Seo Juhan frowned at the vibrating smell of alcohol. There was also a fishy and unpleasant scent mixed in, as if he’d vomited. He held his breath and walked further inside.
Crackling radio sounds whose meaning couldn’t be understood came from all directions. Two police officers wearing fluorescent vests over their uniforms hurriedly passed by and left the police box.
A woman sitting in a corner looked shabby like a homeless person. She seemed mentally unstable.
The overall atmosphere was chaotic and disorderly.
Two police officers sat looking at monitors at the civil complaint desk. Seo Juhan approached the one he made eye contact with and spoke to him. He was the younger-looking one.
“Hello. I just received a call that student Kim Gichan is here.”
“Ah. Are you the student’s homeroom teacher?”
It was a businesslike tone that seemed kind yet kept its distance.
“Yes.”
“The student went to the bathroom for a moment. Ah, here he comes now.”
Seo Juhan turned his body in the direction he pointed.
He saw Kim Gichan coming out of the men’s bathroom. He was walking while shaking water droplets from his hands in all directions.
“Oh! Teacher!”
Kim Gichan, recognizing Seo Juhan, raised his voice and acted friendly.
“I didn’t think you’d actually come.”
Kim Gichan made a fuss in a high tone for a guy.
“Right now my parents can’t answer their phones because of work, so I gave them your number instead, teacher.”
The tight-fitting shirt and skinny jeans Kim Gichan wore conveyed visual displeasure.
“…Is that so.”
But Seo Juhan was already in an unpleasant state, so there was nothing to get worse.
“That’s okay, right?”
Kim Gichan asked shamelessly. Just looking at the kid’s atmosphere, it seemed like this wasn’t a police box but a neighborhood coin karaoke room or something.
“Uh… sure.”
Seo Juhan answered half-heartedly.
“Teacher, but dressed like that, you look really young.”
Seo Juhan was wearing comfortable training pants and a sweatshirt. When he commuted to work, even if not in a suit, he dressed formally enough to look like a working professional.
In any case, being told he looked young when he was a teacher who should maintain authority didn’t sound like a compliment.
“So what happened?”
Seo Juhan ignored Kim Gichan’s words and asked the police officer.
“Ah yes, teacher. First, please come this way and sit down.”
The officer said while getting up from his seat.
“Yes.”
Seo Juhan moved to the table the officer indicated.
It happened to be close to the woman who looked like a beggar from earlier. The strange woman was occupying a seat without doing anything. She was disgusting and filthy.
Seo Juhan sat as far away from her as possible without hiding his revulsion.
Perhaps having that much sense, Kim Gichan also took the seat next to Seo Juhan.
“Right now Police Officer Lee Changhun is out on a call, so I’ll explain instead.”
The police officer sitting across from Seo Juhan began speaking.
“There’s a convenience store at the intersection ahead, and this student stole cigarettes from there.”
The officer pointed at Kim Gichan with his eyes while saying “this student.”
Kim Gichan sat in a relaxed posture leaning against the backrest, only his legs bouncing restlessly. He seemed like he was listening to someone else’s story.
“At first, another student called out the part-timer at the counter to ask for help. Then this student tried to steal cigarettes and run away but got caught.”
Seo Juhan nodded slowly.
Until now, he’d never harbored particularly bad feelings toward Kim Gichan, but he thought it served him right.
Doesn’t a needle thief become a cattle thief? Instead of the collapsed teacher authority, he should get struck down by the people’s staff to come to his senses.
He should be locked in a cell and get humbled while eating prison food. Thinking of the long-term future, it was actually good for Kim Gichan.
Such shallow expectations of Seo Juhan’s were shattered like a glass window by the officer’s following words.
