Fate or Ill Fate
Was it because it was peak summer vacation season?
The place was absolutely packed with people.
"Iseul, should we just head back to the hotel and eat there? Waiting number three-twelve means we're never getting a table today..."
"Just a second. Huh?? We have to go right now!"
"Go where??"
"There's only two groups ahead of us!"
"Crap...! Run!!"
I'd figured the wait would drag on forever, so we'd ducked over to Haeundae Beach for a bit—only for the crowd to thin out dramatically while we were gone.
I grabbed Iseul's hand and we sprinted across the sand, fretted through a crosswalk light change, then bolted for the restaurant.
"Number three-twelve~"
"Yes! We're here!"
"Hah...! Hah...! Hah...!"
"Come on in."
"Hooo...."
"Whew...."
That had been way too close.
All right, time to see what the fuss was about.
Just how good did a place have to be for the waiting numbers to climb past three hundred?
Then again... had last night really been so rough that I needed eel for recovery?
No way.
Iseul had been the one who conked out first from exhaustion.
"Hey, about last night—were you not fully—"
"Sorry! It's Grandma calling..."
"Go ahead and take it."
"Yeah, Grandma. Huh?? H-how did you know I was in Busan...? Chan told you?? Yeah.... Okay.. I'll come.... I said I'm coming!! Just let me finish eating first... Yeah..."
Iseul hung up looking thoroughly dejected, so I asked,
"You have to go?"
"Well... Chan told her I was in Busan, so Grandma wants me to come home... Hnnngh..."
"Eat first, then go. Spend some time with her—it's been a while."
"But this is our first trip together, Oppa...."
"This barely counts as a trip. We'll do it properly next time."
"Okay...."
After stuffing me full of eel rice bowl until I was ready to burst, Iseul finally headed off to her maternal grandmother's place.
I'd offered to drive her, but she insisted the bus was fine, so we compromised on a taxi.
"So what am I supposed to do now..."
I knew how precious time with a grandmother could be, so I didn't tag along.
Besides, last time I'd only shown up because I was drunk out of my mind. We weren't exactly on sober-visit terms yet.
"Hmm... I'm full. Maybe I'll just walk for a bit."
I stopped by a nearby café, grabbed an iced coffee, and started wandering with no particular destination in mind.
Whether it was fate or ill fate, I ran into her again—completely by chance this time.
"What do you think you're lifting with those toothpick arms? Leave it. I'll move it."
"No! I can do it! I'll handle it!"
"You're gonna get hurt!!"
Yoo Serin.
She was hauling a heavy sack stuffed with all sorts of junk out of a storefront under renovation, grunting with every step.
Hair tied back tight, clothes coated in dust, work gloves on her hands.
"What the hell is her mother doing that she's making a girl do this kind of work? Sheesh...."
I was about to shake my head and walk right past when—
"Hey, kid!!"
"Aah..!!"
"I told you to leave it alone!! Why don't you ever listen...!"
"Is that really what matters right now? Someone's hurt!"
"Who the hell...."
"Oppa..."
"Oppa?? You're this kid's oppa??"
"......"
Ah, damn it..! Why did I even...!!
Before I knew it I was standing right next to Yoo Serin, peeling the glove off first thing.
"Ah..!!"
"Water and some tissues, please."
"O-oh, sure...."
Blood was welling from her finger.
If the coated work glove hadn't torn instead, it would have been a deep cut.
"How are you even here, Oppa... Ah..! S-sorry.. Mr. Yoo Eunho..."
"......"
What the hell? Why does that piss me off?
Being called Oppa should have felt worse, but somehow "Mr. Yoo Eunho" grated even more.
"Here's the water and tissues..."
"Thanks."
I poured the water the guy handed me over her bleeding finger and carefully wiped it clean with a tissue.
"Ah...!!"
"Hold this tight. And take that other glove off."
"No! I still have to work...."
"Take it off. Before I take it off for you."
"......"
Yoo Serin peeled the glove from her left hand. I picked up both gloves from the floor and pulled them on myself.
Then I finished the work that had been hers.
About an hour and a half later, around three in the afternoon, the job was done.
"Good work, young man. If you've got time tomorrow too...."
"I don't. Take care."
I took the envelope with the day's wages and handed it to Yoo Serin, who was hovering awkwardly nearby.
"Take it."
"......"
"And go to a hospital. You could get tetanus or something."
"U-um..!!"
"What?"
"Here..."
Yoo Serin pulled a fifty-thousand-won bill from the wage envelope and held it out to me.
I let out a small sigh, snatched the whole envelope instead of the bill, and checked inside.
A hundred thousand won.
She was offering me fifty out of a hundred-fifty daily wage.
"What time did you start?"
"Uh, six in the morning..."
At least they hadn't lowballed her just because she was a girl and a kid.
I took the fifty-thousand-won note, stuffed it back into the envelope, and returned the whole thing to her.
"Use it for hospital fees. I'm not exactly hard up for cash."
"....Thank you for helping me...."
Yoo Serin bowed deeply at the waist, then turned away. I left too, carrying my coffee that had long since melted into plain water.
I was going to leave....
"Why the hell am I following her again..!"
Just like last night, I tailed Yoo Serin.
She didn't go to a hospital. She went into a pharmacy.
When she came back out she had a bandage on her finger. Then she stopped by a bank and stayed for about an hour.
Maybe depositing her wages—or maybe just sitting in the free air-conditioning like the old folks, sipping free water and killing time.
Before five she walked into a gukbap place with a massive line out front.
After waiting about an hour myself, I finally got inside too.
Not because I was curious what she was doing—I just needed dinner anyway.
"One gukbap and a small plate of boiled pork."
"Yes~ One gukbap and small pork~"
I polished off the quickly served soup and meat, then on my way to pay I casually glanced into the kitchen.
Even with a cut finger that had been bleeding, she was wearing rubber gloves and washing dishes.
"You've got to be kidding me.."
If she was friends with Chan and Minju, she was eighteen.
An eighteen-year-old girl doing demolition day labor and washing dishes in a restaurant.
Demolition from six a.m. to three p.m.
Dishwashing from five p.m. to ten-thirty p.m.
Then she'd head to that same spot from last night, sing for about an hour, and get home after midnight.
"Wait, what about studying? She's a senior next year...! Oh. She is studying."
The light stayed on until four in the morning.
It went out for maybe an hour, flickered back on briefly, then went dark again as Yoo Serin left the house.
"What is she, some kind of iron woman..? Hwaaam..!! Ugh... Why am I even still here..."
This time I didn't follow.
Barely keeping my eyes open, I grabbed a taxi and went to pick up my car.
I'd sleep at the hotel.
I was way too tired.
In the end I slept in the car.
"Ow, my back..."
I climbed out, rubbing my lower back, then stretched as hard as I could.
"Uuughh...!!!!! Whew... What time is it even?"
Under the blazing sun I got back in the car and checked the clock.
12:17
I'd slept more than six hours in the car.
First things first—call her back.
"Iseul, sorry. I was asleep and missed your calls."
"It's fine. Are you at the hotel right now?"
"No, not the hotel... just out for a walk."
"Ah..."
"Why does your voice sound like that? Something happen at home?"
"Well... Grandma wants me to stay one more night... What should I do..?"
"Is that all? Go ahead. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Are you sure..?"
"Of course~ It's time with your grandma. Don't worry about me—just rest easy and come back."
"Thank you for understanding, Oppa.."
All right, then I'd head to the hotel myself, shower, and sleep some more.
I still felt short on rest.
"But why did the boss call? It's the weekend."
I dialed Hong Mincheol, whose missed call was sitting on my screen.
"Boss, what's going on?"
"You mentioned last time you were looking for investment opportunities, so I wanted to reach out."
The same day I'd called Choi Hyunil the PB, Park Daehan the lawyer, and Kim Jeonghoon the tax accountant, I'd also called Hong Mincheol.
I'd asked him to tip me off if any decent investment targets came up.
"You've got something solid?"
"It's on the animated film side... The amount is a bit large, though...."
"Animation? Like Demon Slayer?"
"A little different from that."
"Then what?"
"Well... if you only hear the pitch it might sound a bit childish. It's about using the power of K-pop to exorcise demons."
"....Have you been really tired lately?"
"I know how it sounds, Representative. But it's being produced by Sani and invested in by Metflix."
Sani? Metflix?
I could invest in a project being made by companies that big?
Was that even possible?
"Does Metflix even do co-investments with outsiders?"
"It's not exactly co-investment...."
Thud-thud-thud!!!!
"What was that..?"
"Pardon?"
"Nothing.. Just thought something ran past... B-Boss! I'll call you back!"
The woman sprinting past with long hair streaming behind her was Yoo Serin.
Even at a glance her expression was deadly serious, sweat pouring off her as she ran.
"Where the hell is she racing off to now..! No, why does she keep showing up right in front of me!!! Goddammit..!!"
I jumped in the car, fired the engine, and tore after her down the road, laying on the horn.
Beep!!
A short blast, then I rolled the window down and pulled up alongside her.
"Get in."
"Hah..! Hah..! Hah..! Mom's...."
"Get in. I'll take you."
"Th-thank you..!"
The second Yoo Serin buckled into the passenger seat I hit the gas.
I'd already been there twice, so I roughly knew the way.
Not perfectly, but close enough.
"Which way from here?!"
"L-left!"
"So what's going on?"
"....Nothing's going on..."
"Nothing, and you're running like that?"
"....I appreciate the concern, but... it really is nothing...."
"Fine. We'll call it nothing."
"......"
When I stopped near her house she scrambled out, bowed quickly at the waist, and sprinted inside.
I'd completely lost my appetite. Might as well just go to the hotel and sleep.
"Mom!!! What the hell are you doing?!!!! Let go of her right now!!!!"
"Ah...."
A deep, weary sigh left me as I climbed out of the car.
Walking toward the house I saw Yoo Serin's mother being dragged out by her hair.
"Please stop!! Let her go!!!!!"
"J-just give me one month..! One more month and...."
"Bullshit. Just pay with your body, you bitch. Or should we take your daughter too?"
"No!! Don't you dare touch my daughter!!!!"
"Then you pay with your body."
"Serin, go inside! Get in the house right now!!!"
"Mom!!! I'm calling the cops! I'm reporting all of you!!!"
"Please do. Tell them how wronged we feel! You borrow money, you pay it back!!"
"I will pay it back!! I already said I would!!!!"
"You? With what money?"
"Here!! Take this and let my mom go!!"
Yoo Serin flung her bankbook at the rough-looking man and pulled her mother into her arms.
The man picked the bankbook up off the ground, flipped it open once, then snorted a laugh and passed it to the guys next to him.
"Wow~ One-point-five million? Aigoo~ How on earth did you scrape together such a fortune?"
"I'll pay it! So just..."
"Ten times."
"What..?"
"Exactly fifteen million eight hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three won. That's one month's interest we are owed."
"That's insane....."
"Insane? It's all written right there in the contract...."
"Who let a dog off its leash? Why am I hearing so much barking?"
I muttered the words under my breath as I walked closer. One of the thugs in a black suit looked at me and pointed a finger at his own chest.
"Me?"
"Oh, you heard my little monologue?"
"Haha~ Hahaha~ Hahahahaha!!!"
Whatever he found so hilarious, he was clutching his stomach and laughing his head off.
And honestly? I was scared.
One guy I could maybe handle. Three meant I was definitely getting my ass kicked.
Maybe I should have gone with a friendlier approach after all?