“You bastard, follow me. I thought you’d straightened out after I threatened to transfer you last year, but what the hell are you doing with the college entrance exam right around the corner! You little shit, if your father can’t beat you, I’ll have to beat you half to death with a bat myself. Get over here!”
The detective ahjussi’s noisy nagging didn’t reach his ears at all.
***
On the morning of the first day of school, Hwang Jegu called Jeon Sangwon. After hearing the purpose of the call, Jeon Sangwon expressed his concern.
– You can’t go to school from the first day? Your Majesty, you can’t have any more unexcused absences, right? You said you had one left.
There’s no need for further kindness to a bastard who can’t remember even after being told multiple times that he has 4 left. Then again, there probably isn’t a soul on this earth who’s keeping track of how many unexcused absences Hwang Jegu has left.
“How are you so consistently stupid from years ago? If there are bastards trying to get me, they’ll go after a moron like you first, so be careful.”
– Hehe… who would mess with me, I’m Hwang Jegu’s right-hand man!
“Right-hand man? My right hand is crying, you fucking bastard.”
He pushed his chin to lightly close the cell phone, then opened the door to the committee representative’s office. The old geezer who served as chairman of the redevelopment committee for the entertainment district within the Cheonggyecheon commercial area was in his crisply ironed suit as usual today.
When he entered, he was guided to sit on the leather sofa.
“You look good and dependable every time I see you. You’re brimming with masculine vigor. Being young is great, isn’t it? You’re full of energy even when you have a lot to do. You stay energetic like this even after fighting all night, going to clubs, and rolling around with women.”
As is typical of the bastards rolling around in this world, he seemed to think Hwang Jegu would latch onto any opportunity. Even though it had been quite a while since Hwang Jegu lost interest in that sort of thing, the representative just assumed otherwise. He didn’t bother to refute it and just gave a wry smile.
The old geezer sitting across lowered his voice.
“A few days ago, things got a bit annoying, didn’t they?”
It was something that happened recently. One of the merchants who was squatting and holding out in the redevelopment zone got into a fight with their hired muscle. Hwang Jegu, who happened to be nearby, went to settle the commotion, but in the process there was a fistfight with the muscle hired by the merchant’s side.
He finished it quickly thanks to his compensation dating with Yeon Cheonguk. Even though it was a brief commotion, blood was shed on the other side, so tensions were high between both sides.
In this situation, the committee representative had summoned him, so he couldn’t attend school.
The old geezer scratched his head and began.
“It seems like things are being settled more slowly than expected.”
The process of getting settlement agreements from the merchants should have been finished in the first half of this year. Hwang Jegu was also supposed to be practically leading that work under the hyung who was given the muscle contract.
After coming to the redevelopment committee through the grapevine in the darkness through those known for using their fists, Hwang Jegu had been unstoppable. Until last year, no, even until early this year, he pushed forward smoothly without hesitation.
Making the greatest wealth through what he did best.
Because that was his one and only goal and way of survival.
However, it’s true that recently there’s been a brake on that.
It was none other than because of Yeon Cheonguk’s debut preparations.
The moment he saw that guy develop a close relationship with a juice shop owner who had eyes glittering with desire, action moved before calculation.
He had to buy time with money to separate Yeon Cheonguk from that owner bastard.
For that reason, recently Hwang Jegu had been keeping a low profile rather than taking the lead role in the committee.
“Our ace’s performance hasn’t been like before lately….”
It was exactly the business he’d expected. The representative began to make sarcastic remarks in a warm tone.
“The hyung you’re close with who’s in charge of the muscle is also dragging his feet. This isn’t what we expected when we brought Hwang Jegu-ssi into our committee from the start. If it weren’t for your reputation, would we have joined hands with a high school student? We could end up just becoming a target of gossip or having information stolen. You understand what I’m saying? If you… back out now… the disappointment will be great.”
Hwang Jegu realized that the representative had summoned him today both as a warning and to give him a final quest. He was provoking Hwang Jegu because the work of the one given the muscle contract was unsatisfactory.
“We need to sweep it all clean quickly, but a few shops are the problem.”
In the muggy heat after a long while, darkness slowly awakened. An invisible flame crackled to life within Hwang Jegu’s black pupils.
Hwang Jegu answered briefly.
“No. If squatters were the problem, you would’ve called hyung.”
“……”
“The problem is that hyung right now, isn’t it.”
The representative smiled sluggishly and answered.
“If I can’t personally confirm your reputation to replace him, the disappointment will be double. School life is okay? You’re not expelled yet, right?”
Hwang Jegu sneered with a smirking face.
“If you were going to worry about someone like me going to school, you shouldn’t have called me on the first day of school.”
The representative’s poker face twisted momentarily before returning to position. When his attempt to gain the upper hand by grasping school life as a weakness didn’t work, he brought out the main point directly.
“In summer, the new moon only rises at dawn. Did you know? Three or four in the morning, that’s the darkest time.”
“……”
— I originally like the new moon. In other words… I also like the darkness where you can see the stars.
Yeon Cheonguk’s words heard in the abandoned warehouse flashed through his mind. Hwang Jegu pulled himself together properly lest his eyes glaze over.
It was the same new moon, but the meanings were polar opposites.
One was a new moon that made stars more visible.
One was a new moon that hid blood.
He let out a hollow laugh inside. Could there be another irony like this in life?
“Friday at that time would be just right, wouldn’t it….. Oh, Ms. Jeong!”
Having finished speaking, the representative hastily opened his cell phone folder at the ring tone. Hwang Jegu’s eyes were fixed on his cell phone. Ms. Jeong’s call must have been so welcome and urgent that the representative gestured for him to leave during the call.
Hwang Jegu stood at a crossroads. Which new moon to choose was up to Hwang Jegu’s decision.
***
His throat felt scratchy. Seeing how he coughed occasionally, he might catch a cold if he wasn’t careful.
It was because he wandered outside in the drizzle from fighting with his father last night until going to Kim sunbae’s house. Today’s sky seemed to have forgotten yesterday’s cloudy weather and was blazing with summer sunlight.
The detective ahjussi saw Yeon Cheonguk all the way to the front door of his house before leaving.
No one was home. Something must have been smashed during the night – small glass fragments and such stepped underfoot. Yeon Cheonguk’s insides still felt like they were being hacked up with a knife. It was even more painful to think about where his father might be working right now.
There was a note his mother had written on the dining table.
[Cheonguk, Mom is sorry
If you read this, please
Don’t think about anything else and come home
Dad won’t do that again
I can’t live worrying about Mom.
Come home, okay?]
But this house wasn’t a place for Yeon Cheonguk to be. He’d already made his decision last night.
[It’s okay, I’ll call you.
I’ll be an adult in a few months anyway]
He stuffed only the important belongings into his backpack and left the house. Fortunately, Manager Kim didn’t wait in front of the school or bother Yeon Cheonguk. He must have been embarrassed about being caught in his hypocritical duplicity and kindness. He would have been afraid of the curses Yeon Cheonguk might hurl at him too.
Thanks to being extremely late on the first day of school, the homeroom teacher poured out all kinds of nagging. He must have talked to the detective and knew what had happened, but he seemed particularly angry. Maybe he’d decided he needed to discipline him properly to get his act together in front of the other classmates. Yeah, there are other students watching too, so he can’t not be angry, he thought while secretly employing his zoning-out technique.
“You bastard, you’re spaced out again. Are you off in Andromeda even when you’re being scolded?! Hurry up and come back to your senses!”
What surprised him a bit more was the fact that Hwang Jegu was also absent today.
So now he has 3 unexcused absence opportunities left. It’ll be tight to spread them out until graduation, won’t it…?
Yeon Cheonguk, who had been anxiously tapping his desk, took out his earphones and closed his electronic dictionary. He left the building and got in line at the pay phone.
There were 5 minutes left of lunch break. Even though cell phones have become common these days, not many students carry them yet, so the line at the pay phone is always long. He came on impulse so the timing was tight.
Eventually the bell rang. Only after everyone rushed back inside did Yeon Cheonguk’s turn come. Yeon Cheonguk didn’t go into the classroom and pressed the familiar number.
– Fuck, what.
He laughed at the cursing that came immediately.
“……What. Why curse first? As if you know who it is.”
– Is this Yeon Cheonguk?
“Yeah.”
– Unless it’s some really shitty business, there’s no reason to call from the school pay phone, so I curse first and see what happens. Why?
“Don’t you know it’s the first day of school?”
He hadn’t told Hwang Jegu about the series of events Yeon Cheonguk had experienced since yesterday, and had no intention of telling him. He just called because he was worried about today’s absence. And he needed money to find a room.
– You slacker, are you skipping class now too?
Unaware of how much kindness and patience it was from Hwang Jegu’s perspective to hold onto an unwanted call and give a rebuke, Yeon Cheonguk bluntly threw out the main point.
With the feeling of spilling everything that had happened since last night.
“I need quite a bit of money.”
– …….
It was an absurd request. Maybe he wanted to be indulged. He wanted to throw out aggressive words and just laugh it off as a joke.
A short answer came back.
– I’m busy today. Shit….
He didn’t know why the attitude of not asking anything felt warmer somehow. I’m busy today, shit. Why those six syllables.
It wasn’t even like he needed it today or meant to meet today. His heart tickled for no reason.
Hmm….. Hwang Jegu, who had been contemplating for a moment while exhaling a long breath, made his decision.
– Fine, I’m interested. Eight o’clock. Wait at the hiking trail entrance.
