Juvenile Delinquents (4)
Seong-cheol hyung's eyes bulged out before blinking rapidly.
"B-Byung-sik, I think I gotta head out today!"
"Me too! S-something urgent came up at home."
They plopped down on the ground and scrambled backward. Rusty nails dug into their hands, but they didn't feel a thing. They didn't even glance at Byung-sik groaning from the arrow in his leg. That teenage loyalty they bragged about? Nowhere in sight.
The alley fell silent, save for the eerie whistle of the wind, after the whole crew bolted.
As if he'd made up his mind, Byung-sik hauled himself up on his injured leg.
"Fine! Fuck! Kill me then. Go on, try it!"
His face, twisted in rage under the moonlight, looked downright monstrous.
"Fuck, can't even kill me and you're putting on this show...!"
The moment he hawked up a glob of spit—
Thwip!
A second arrow whistled from somewhere and slammed into his knee.
Thud!
Byung-sik toppled forward like a felled log.
* * *
Awooooo!
Stray dogs howled back from every corner of the alley, startled by Yoon Byung-sik's scream.
"Middle school syndrome only works if you pick the right target. Why the hell you yelling your lungs out in the dead of night?"
I zoomed in on the crossbow's scope. Blood was pooling around the worm wriggling on the ground. Under the moonlight, it gleamed with a grotesque black sheen.
"Not bad on the magnification. Should've just bought a proper hunting crossbow, though. Tried to save a few bucks with this sports model, and the power's too damn weak."
This was my message: one lesson won't cut it. I'll keep watching, no matter where you go or what shit you pull. Even a slow learner like you should get it now.
I stood up from the window of the rundown villa in the demolition zone. My knees were numb from squatting so long. The moonlight felt especially bright tonight.
* * *
"Jin-wook, how many days has it been? What happened? Skipping school is one thing, but you have to eat!"
His mom's worried voice didn't register. Every time he closed his eyes, that arrow flying at Byung-sik replayed in his mind—the whistling slice through the air, the blood spraying like a fountain under the moon.
The thought that it could target him next filled Im Jin-wook with terror.
School? Forget school! Just stepping outside the house was horrifying.
"Jin-wook, I don't know what's going on, but you need some fresh air. You'll make yourself sick like this. Sitting alone in the dark—what's that about?"
His mom yanked open the curtains. Sunlight pierced the gloom like a knife.
"Aaaah! Don't open the window! That guy, he's gonna... he's coming for me too...!"
Im Jin-wook thrashed like a fish freshly hauled onto dry land. He buried his head under the blankets and screamed.
* * *
A low sigh escaped Jeong Su-cheol's lips unbidden. His wife, with their baby less than a hundred days old strapped to her back, was peeling an apple beside him. They both knew they shouldn't, but they kept avoiding each other's eyes anyway. The couple was too fragile to endure this sudden calamity.
"...I'll ask my family for the hospital bills somehow. You just focus on recovering."
"......"
"...Their parents still haven't said a word?"
"Don't even bring it up. Those inhuman little shits wrecked everything—what the hell...!"
Jeong Su-cheol snapped at his cautious wife. He knew she wasn't at fault. Still, he couldn't contain the boiling rage.
They'd sunk every last penny into that convenience store. He'd worked like a maniac on four hours of sleep a day. Things were finally stabilizing—until those devil kids ruined it all.
It started with the part-timer refusing to sell booze, then escalated to him. The result? Blindness in one eye. A lifetime as a disabled man.
He'd hired help to keep the store running, but rumors spread—no one came. He tried selling it cheap, but buyers shook their heads. In the end, HQ unilaterally terminated the contract and slapped him with massive compensation fees.
What did I do wrong?
No answer, no matter how he racked his brain.
That's when it happened.
Knock knock.
A lady with a designer bag slung over her shoulder opened the hospital room door.
"...Wh-who are you?"
As his wife straightened up, adjusting the baby on her back, Jeong Su-cheol's eyes widened like he'd seen a demon. His body froze, then he shook his head violently.
Behind the flashy-dressed woman stood a boy—the one who'd laughed and filmed on his phone while Byung-sik stomped Su-cheol after knocking him down.
"...I don't even know what to say. Our Cheol-hyeong is truly sorry. He hasn't eaten a bite and cries every day. He's scared and regrets it. We're so sorry we didn't come sooner."
The woman pulled a white envelope from her bag.
"...And this is for medical bills and compensation. It's plenty—should cover everything."
She bowed her head. From his bed, Jeong Su-cheol could see it: the boredom and irritation shadowing her eyes.
These people aren't sincere—not even at the end!
"...Get out."
"Pardon?!"
"Get out! What? Your son can't eat and he's crying?"
His throat felt squeezed; he could barely breathe.
"I lost an eye because of your son! My lifelong dream business went up in smoke! And you say... 'it's plenty'?! If you really want forgiveness, bring me one of your son's eyes!"
"Honey! Please calm down."
The bed rocked like a ship in a storm. The baby on his wife's back wailed, startled by dad's roar.
"Ma'am, get out!"
"...Yes."
The awkward woman took the boy's hand and left the room.
Moments later, his wife returned—familiar envelope in hand. Jeong Su-cheol's eyebrow twitched.
"What's that in your hand?"
"......"
"What is it?!"
His wife's knees buckled. She burst into angry sobs.
"...I-I didn't want to take it. But what can we do? We have to live! Are we just gonna die like this, all three of us?! Should we all just kill ourselves?"
Jeong Su-cheol's lips quivered. He knew she was right. Yeah, they had to survive.
The room filled with the couple's sobs and the baby's innocent babbling.
* * *
"Please, just arrest me! I'll pay for my crimes!"
"What's with all the noise? Gwang-il, what's going on?"
A childish bellow echoed through the entire Gangcheon Police Station. I asked Kim Gwang-il, who was shaking his head as he approached.
"Ha! Unbelievable. What kinda mood swing is this?"
"What's his deal?"
"Remember the main perp from that Wonju-dong convenience store case? Yoon Byung-sik. Fucker shows up out of nowhere begging us to throw him in jail."
"Really?"
I stood up. Down in the first-floor lobby, there he was, screaming his head off. His thigh was wrapped in bandages, propped up precariously on crutches.
"Officer, put me in jail! Otherwise, I'll die!"
"I'd love nothing more than to lock your ass up, but this shitty country's laws won't let me. So beat it."
Choi, the detective who'd first questioned Byung-sik, waved him off like trash and shook the fabric of his clothes like it'd been soiled.
"Officer, please arrest me...!"
Byung-sik collapsed on his own, writhing on the floor like a bug. Groans turned to whimpers.
"If I stay here, I'll die—that guy! Sp-Spider-Man’s gonna kill me!"
"Hyung-nim, what's wrong with this punk?"
Kim Gwang-il had sidled up beside me.
"Beats me. Probably huffed some glue. C'mon, let's head in. Back to work!"
* * *
"Aigoo, Sung-tae, you don't need to come out. Making you suffer like this since dawn?"
"Don't say that. How's grandma supposed to carry this heavy stuff alone?"
The traditional market buzzed before sunrise. His shoulder, still sore from that Spider-Man beatdown, didn't hinder lifting the fish crates.
"Aigoo, Sung-tae, helping grandma again today? You're so mature—not like kids these days! Here, down this ssanghwatang in one go."
Park ajusshi, handing over goods, poured from a thermos. The musty herbal scent wrinkled Kwon Sung-tae's nose.
"Ajusshi, I can't drink this stuff!"
"Aigoo, still a kid. Crack a raw egg yolk in it—it's killer. Thought you were all grown up, haha."
"Park, quit yapping with the kid and get going. Sung-tae, take this and head to school quick. Don't come next time. Sleep's the best medicine at your age!"
Despite refusing several times, grandma stuffed a 10,000-won bill into his pocket.
Friends are gonna tease me about smelling like fish again today.
Kwon Sung-tae chuckled and leaned against the bus stop.
* * *
Today's canvassing better turn up something...
My eyes were bleary from back-to-back overnights. As I rubbed my neck and turned the Jeep's key—
"Hyung-nim, wait up!"
Kim Gwang-il came lumbering over, shaking his massive frame.
"What's up? Something happen?"
"Huff huff. Hey, hyung-nim. Everyone still at the station—full assembly for all cops not out on cases! Emergency."
"What? More urgent than cops catching crooks?"
"Aigoo, no idea. Anyway, message delivered."
Gwang-il, panting to his chin, said his piece and dashed off again. Coulda just called—why run himself ragged? What a simpleton.
* * *
"Team Leader Hwang, what's this sudden full-staff call? President's dropping by or what?"
"Beats me. Just got the order through the chief's line—don't know details."
Hwang Woo-sik scratched his head with a hollow laugh.
"Attention, please."
Station chief Kim Dong-sik entered through the door, face flushed red.
"Sorry to pull you all in like this while you're working hard. We've got a very important guest today, so I gathered everyone."
Kim took a deep breath, then boomed each word.
"Assemblyman Yoon Kyung-yeong of the Minhyuk Party will be visiting Gangcheon Station in person today."
The detectives' pursed lips froze mid-grumble. Even Hwang Woo-sik's forced chuckle caught in his throat.
"Minhyuk Party's Yoon Kyung-yeong? Opposition number two?!"
"No wonder the chief's hyped if that Yoon Kyung-yeong's coming!"
Excited voices erupted everywhere.
Crash!
My mug slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.
Yoon Kyung-yeong coming here?
My lower lip trembled. My heart pounded so hard, I could hear it in my ears.