The employees who’d grabbed the money bowed their heads deeply and scattered in all directions. Jaeha picked up a 50,000 won bill that had fallen at his feet and tucked it neatly into Jang Hyeokjin’s suit breast pocket.
“Or put on a nice ass-show.”
Jaeha patted Jang Hyeokjin’s chest and turned around. Only then did the security guard who’d gotten up groaning carefully ask while reading Jang Hyeokjin’s mood.
“President, are, are you alright?”
“He’s the late chairman’s grandson. It seems the shock after the chairman passed made him like that.”
“Ah…”
Jang Hyeokjin threw down the 50,000 won stuck in his chest as if flinging it away and went inside. The security guard left alone picked up the bill and carefully stuffed it in his back pocket.
Even if it was money thrown by a crazy bastard, money was money.
“Hey kid, you’re Jaeha, right? Hyun Jaeha.”
‘This’ school was particularly far from home. Because they’d moved in a hurry, there were no vacancies at nearby elementary schools. His father, Hyun Sejun, teared up every morning saying sorry to Jaeha who had to leave home 30 minutes earlier than usual, but actually Jaeha didn’t care. Given the nature of their lifestyle with frequent moves, he knew he wouldn’t be attending this school for more than a few months anyway.
On this day too, when the friends who’d been walking home together scattered one by one to their homes and academies and Jaeha was left alone, someone suddenly blocked his path.
Jaeha gripped his backpack straps tightly and looked up at the person. A shaved head plump with fat like the god of wealth picture hanging in front of Chinese restaurants was smiling at Jaeha, showing yellowed teeth.
“Your father is Hyun Sejun. Right?”
Jaeha kept his mouth tightly shut and stared straight at the shaved head without even blinking. As if it was an unexpected reaction, the shaved head made an awkward expression and looked around. As if checking whether anyone was watching this scene.
“Right now Hyun Sejun was in an accident and was taken to the hospital. He needs to go into surgery right away, but he’s being stubborn saying he won’t have surgery until he sees his son. So this ahjussi came to pick you up. We need to go quickly so your dad can get treated.”
“Who are you, ahjussi?”
“Your dad’s work colleague.”
“Ah.”
Jaeha glanced at the black sedan parked in the alley behind the shaved head. The tinting was so dark he couldn’t see inside well, but the shadow of someone moving briefly appeared on the driver’s side. Jaeha put one foot back and quickly turned his body while watching the shaved head’s movements.
“This kid, when an adult is talking, fuck—”
But the shaved head caught his bag strap. Jaeha shed the bag without hesitation and ran into the opposite alley. He ran into a random villa and pushed the front door. But it was locked and wouldn’t open. While running away from the shaved head who’d quickly followed, Jaeha realized it was a mistake to enter the alley. He should have run to the main road. Still, if he could just get out of this alley, there was an academy district where many people passed by. He just needed to shake off the shaved head until there.
With that thought, as Jaeha ran with all his might until his breath rose to his chin, the pitch-black car he’d seen earlier rushed at him. The moment he flinched and stopped at the glaring high beams, his body tumbled onto the hood.
The shaved head, breathing roughly, covered Jaeha’s nose and mouth with his pot-lid-like hands. Bang, bang—Jaeha pounded his feet on the hood and struggled, but he couldn’t overcome the strength of the large adult.
Right before his consciousness became hazy, there was only one thought.
Ah, Dad’s going to cry again.
Blaming himself for sending me to a school far from home.
When he regained consciousness, Jaeha was tied to a metal chair with both hands behind his back. As he shook his body with rattling movements, the shaved head put something over his head.
It was a black plastic bag.
Every time he gasped for breath, the plastic stuck to his nose and mouth, cutting off his breath again. When Jaeha panted, someone shouted in an irritated voice.
“Hey, you idiot, shouldn’t you poke air holes!”
Fuck, then you do it.
The shaved head grumbled and tore the plastic below Jaeha’s nose with his crude fingers. Jaeha gasped for breath through the narrow hole. And when his breathing had stabilized to some degree, he blew out a breath to inflate the plastic. When he lowered his gaze, he could see the floor bit by bit through the air hole.
It was a shiny wooden floor. From all directions came the smell of damp wood. Feet wearing different hiking boots came and went into Jaeha’s field of vision. The shoes had dirt and grass clinging to them, all equally dirty. Maybe this place is in the mountains, Jaeha guessed.
Clang—something hit the floor. Jaeha turned his head toward where the sound came from. He saw a dirt-covered shovel. Jaeha swallowed dry saliva and deliberately turned his head. It seemed they shouldn’t know that he could see ahead through the air hole. Otherwise they’d devise a way to completely block his vision.
“I told you to bury him.”
“That’s why I’m saying, bastard, since we’re going to bury him in the mountains anyway, how about we make some more money? Honestly, even if he’s a kid, he’s still a person, and does it make sense to only get 5 million for burying one person?”
“What if there’s a problem? That bastard’s hair color is unusual too, so even if we sell him somewhere, we’ll get caught quickly.”
“Just sell him overseas. You saw it earlier too. From what I see, goods like that can go for two. Ah fuck, what a waste. If he were an omega we could get twice as much, but we can’t lock him up somewhere until he manifests.”
“Does omega happen just because you wait?”
“Hyun Sejun is an omega. Since he gave birth to him, there must be a separate alpha. Then there’s a high probability this kid is also either alpha or omega.”
While eavesdropping on their conversation rumbling beyond the plastic, Jaeha wriggled his hands diligently. They’d tied his wrists and body with something like a thin, tough cord rather than rope. Whether they were careless because he was a young child or predicted he couldn’t run away in the mountains anyway, the rope was looser than expected, so it seemed he might be able to slip out if he did well.
“If we get caught by Jang Hyeokjin, we’ll all die, hyungnim.”
‘Jang Hyeokjin.’
Jaeha heard that name for the first time in that moment.
“Is that bastard Jang Hyeokjin God? If you guys just keep your mouths shut, how will he know whether we buried the kid in the mountains or sold him overseas? And bastard, for Jang Hyeokjin it’s all okay as long as this kid just disappears from sight. Since Hyun Hongwon is gradually testing bringing in his son, he’s just trying to clear everything away. Even if we get rid of Hyun Sejun, if the kid’s alive, he’ll inherit everything.”
The knot wouldn’t come undone easily, and because he couldn’t breathe properly, his head grew heavier. Just when he was thinking of giving up, his father’s name struck through Jaeha’s mind. Jaeha held his breath to listen more clearly to their words. His panting breath gradually subsided. Someone’s murmuring voice came unclearly, blocked by the plastic.
Hyun Sejun… accident… kill…
He didn’t know why they were trying to eliminate Hyun Sejun, or why they’d captured Jaeha. But one thing—they were trying to kill not just Jaeha but Hyun Sejun too.
I have to escape. I have to escape, tell Hyun Sejun about this, and run away somewhere. Just like we’ve moved frequently and wandered here and there, this time too Hyun Sejun and I can hide alone on a small island and wait for the storm to pass.
“We need to finish before the chairman returns.”
Someone declared in an authoritative voice.
“I’ll ask President Lee. If there’s a place to sell him right away.”
“Then what about the photo to send to Jang Hyeokjin?”
“Just stuff those miscellaneous things in a sack and sprinkle some blood around. Say we beat him to death and bury him.”
“Where will you get the blood?”
“There are lots of stray dogs wandering around nearby.”
“Crazy. Anyway, I don’t know anything about this, so you guys, okay? You guys clean it up nicely.”
The sound of a door opening. The chaotic sound of footsteps as people went outside. The surroundings became quiet in an instant. Jaeha looked around through the air hole. If there was someone behind him it would be a problem, but given their temperament, they wouldn’t keep silent even seeing Jaeha thrashing around like this.
Now might be the last chance.
Groping with his hands, he barely found the knot. He hooked the knot on the sharp hinge of a folding chair with an unfinished edge and pulled with all his might. After repeating it several times, the knot loosened.
Only after the rope binding his body came undone did Jaeha realize his wrists were separately bound. But there was no time to untie his wrists too. Relieved that they hadn’t tied his legs, he carefully stood up from his seat. Peering at the path through the air hole, he approached the door and listened. He couldn’t hear people’s voices. He lowered the doorknob with his elbow and struggled outside. In the brightly pouring sunlight, the scenery beyond the thin plastic began to appear faintly.
I don’t know where this is.
If I just follow the downhill path, the mountain will end eventually.
Then I’ll have a way to ask for help.
Jaeha recklessly jumped into the bushes. It was hard to balance with both arms tied. In one moment, one ankle twisted. Jaeha rolled tumbling down the mountain slope. Even while falling, rather than fear of death, his first thought was relief at getting away from them.
