The Visit
Work hard, and earn as much as you put in.
That was the rightful reward for labor that every person living in the modern age deserved.
Seong-min was no different.
Through gombang work he labored, and he received a daily wage commensurate with what he did. But not everyone received the same amount. Perform better, prove more capable, and you were treated accordingly—regarded as the ace of the job, for instance.
Seong-min was, quite literally, the team's ace. That was why he always received an extra hundred thousand won on top of what the other members got. As a result he earned anywhere from a hundred to two hundred thousand more. If he took two jobs in a single day he collected the daily wage twice, plus an extra hundred thousand per job, for a total of two hundred thousand more.
Calculated by the week, Seong-min made between five hundred thousand and a million won extra; by the month, two and a half to five million more than his teammates. Yet the others had no complaints whatsoever. They accepted it as only natural. They understood just how vital the role and influence of the team's ace truly were. Thanks to Seong-min their own pace improved, and as word of mouth spread through the industry, work kept flowing in. So even if he earned two and a half to five million more each month, they took it as a matter of course.
After months of pushing hard at gombang work every week, money piled up nicely in his account. With monthly earnings exceeding ten million won, he couldn't help but feel financially comfortable. The installment payments on the BMW 520d were no problem at all. Now that he was averaging two jobs a day, a single day's work was more than enough to cover the car payments and then some. Being able to casually pay over six hundred thousand won in installments with just one day's labor showed just how well Seong-min was earning.
As a result, even now—as summer faded and autumn approached—work on weekdays always ended after six in the evening. Not just for Seong-min, but for Min-hyeok and the rest of the team as well.
"Hyung~!"
And on the weekend Seong-min had an invitation from Min-hyeok, who insisted he absolutely had to come over for a surprise. So around ten he arrived at Min-hyeok's place and found him already waiting outside—along with A-reum.
"What was so important you had to drag me out here?"
"The reason I called you over is... heh heh heh..."
Min-hyeok stepped aside, then pulled something from his pocket.
"Ta-da~!"
In that instant the headlights of a brand-new Avante parked in the villa lot flashed on.
"You bought a car?"
"Yep~! And not just any car—a nearly new Avante, less than a year off the lot, just like yours, hyung!"
The lines and design of the parked Avante made it clear it was the latest model.
"It's got a sunroof and it's fully loaded!"
"So that's why you called me over?"
"I got a car—you've got to take it for a drive, right? Heh!"
"Okay."
Understanding at once, Seong-min headed straight for the vehicle. He opened the passenger door and checked the interior; it was certainly comfortable.
"Hyung~ hop right in! Time for a drive!"
Seong-min climbed in—only he took the back seat instead of the front passenger side. Min-hyeok, now behind the wheel, looked puzzled.
"Hyung, why are you sitting in the back?"
"So I can ride with A-reum noona. Noona, sit here~!"
A-reum likewise skipped the empty front seat and slid in beside Seong-min.
"What the hell... so neither hyung nor noona is sitting next to me?!"
"We can still go for a drive from the back. Right, noona?"
A-reum nodded.
"All right, Min-hyeok—let's go."
"This really feels like I've turned into a chauffeur..."
Grumbling, Min-hyeok still buckled up and started the engine.
"Ahh~ the way it fires up feels great... How about it, hyung? Comfortable, right?"
"We haven't even left yet."
"Heh heh heh! Heading out right now."
Min-hyeok eased the car out of the lot at a crawl, scanning the surroundings as he lightly pressed the accelerator.
"Why are you being so careful?"
"You've got to be careful in alleys..."
Both hands locked tight on the wheel, eyes darting everywhere—he looked thoroughly tense.
"You a total beginner?"
"N-not a total beginner... just a little rusty..."
"That means beginner, you idiot. Drive carefully so we don't crash. A-reum noona's in the car too."
"Don't worry... I even did a test drive yesterday. Heh heh heh...!"
It wasn't only the alleys. Even once they reached the main roads Min-hyeok stayed so focused on driving that he could barely hold a conversation. That alone made it obvious he was a complete novice.
"Where's this drive headed?"
"Figured we'd head out of the city for a bit...!"
"You sure you can handle the highway?"
"Hey! What kind of talk is that? A real man takes the highway, of course!"
A-reum pressed herself tightly against Seong-min's side.
"What's wrong?"
"Min-hyeok's... driving... is scary..."
"Noona, I've never driven scary, okay?!"
"You're nervous because he's a beginner, right?"
"...Yeah...."
"Noona~ come on~~!!!"
"A-reum noona's just being honest—what's the big deal? Don't start speeding just because you're mad. You'll crash, idiot."
Fortunately Min-hyeok didn't floor it the way they'd feared. He simply wasn't skilled enough, and the pressure of possibly causing an accident weighed heavily on him.
"Hyung~ nice car, right? Super stable and it just glides, you know? How about it?! Good pick, right?!"
His driving might have been cautious, but his mouth was running at full throttle. Without pause he chattered like a magpie, spitting as he went on about the feel of the steering, the way the car surged forward, how great it was being brand-new—an endless stream of praise.
"Doesn't your mouth get tired?"
"Why would it? More importantly, isn't the car great?!"
"Yeah, it runs well."
"Heh heh heh! Right~? I checked every little detail before signing the contract, you know! If you're getting your first car you might as well hunt down a good one and do it right~!"
Even on the highway Min-hyeok never exceeded the limit. He cruised at a steady speed. Even without speed cameras he refused to push any harder—too worried about an accident.
Driving aside, Min-hyeok spent the entire day talking nonstop about the new Avante he'd bought, boasting without ever resting his mouth. It was a truly remarkable set of jaws.
In this way, not only Seong-min but Min-hyeok and A-reum as well were gradually finding their footing. At the job the welfare center had introduced her to, A-reum worked hard and said she found real fulfillment in the work she was given. Min-hyeok needed no explanation.
The scorching summer had passed. The season was tipping into autumn.
It might have looked like an ordinary daily life. But Seong-min knew better than anyone that simply being able to enjoy days like these was nowhere near as easy as it appeared.
How long has it been?
Seong-min opened the car door in the empty lot and stepped out carrying a fruit basket. His plans had run far later than expected. If not for the debt he would have come to pay his respects much sooner.
There, hanging on one side of the main gate, was a long signboard. On it were the words Hanmaum Orphanage.
Dressed in a clean suit, Seong-min walked through the entrance. Beyond it lay a yard and garden; off to one side a playground with swings and other equipment had been built. Children who looked like kids were playing in the dirt, riding the swings and seesaws. Among them, the slightly older ones looked after and played with the younger ones.
"Kids~! That's enough playing—come inside~! Time for lunch~!"
A woman in her mid-forties wearing an apron and glasses emerged from the building and called to the children on the playground. Watching her, Seong-min found a smile rising unbidden to his lips.
The woman who had summoned the children noticed someone standing there with a gift basket and turned her gaze toward him. Seong-min nodded in greeting; she approached slowly.
"Who are you...? Did you... make an appointment beforehand?"
At her words Seong-min spoke again.
"Teacher. Have you been well all this time?"
"Do you... know me?"
Under her searching look Seong-min gave a bitter smile. Of course she wouldn't recognize him. After raising his Appearance Stat he now stood over 180 cm, his face had slimmed, and his nose bridge had sharpened until anyone would call him a handsome young man.
"It's me, Teacher. You don't recognize me?"
When Seong-min smiled as he spoke, the woman finally studied his features carefully. Then her eyes gradually widened.
"C-could it be... Seong-min...?"
"You finally recognize me."
"Oh my goodness~!!! Is it really Seong-min? For real?!"
"Teacher Ju A-ram, have you been well?"
"Oh my! It really is him! Director!!!"
The woman called Ju A-ram spun around and dashed back into the building. Seong-min could only smile wryly at the reaction.
How much time passed? A woman who looked to be in her early sixties, with a warm, gentle face, appeared—and from the way she came out together with Ju A-ram, she was clearly the director of the orphanage.
"Is it true?"
"I'm telling you it is~! That young man really is Seong-min!"
"Oh my... good heavens...."
Hurrying toward the waiting Seong-min, the director's wrinkled eyes flew wide open.
"You... are you really Seong-min?"
"I left home and only now came back to pay my respects... Have you been well all this time, Director?"
"Good heavens...! It really is Seong-min... Oh my...! ...Seong-min's here...!"
Director Kim Geum-rye clasped the hand that wasn't holding the basket, overjoyed beyond measure.
"First... let's go inside. We'll talk inside, Seong-min..."
And so Seong-min was led by Kim Geum-rye's hand into the building.
"How have you been all this time...? After you left the orphanage we couldn't reach you—do you know how worried we were...?"
A cup of coffee was set in front of Seong-min; the director and Ju A-ram sat opposite him, watching.
"I always meant to come visit... but things just weren't possible, so I couldn't come pay my respects until now..."
"I know... I know everything... Once you step out into the world, how hard and exhausting life must have been... Oh my..."
Kim Geum-rye clasped Seong-min's right hand; her eyes were full of pity.
"Here..."
Seong-min held out the fruit basket that had been sitting beside him.
"You couldn't come empty-handed, so you bought this?"
"Yes—it looked nice, so I got it. And..."
Seong-min slipped a hand into his suit jacket and drew out an envelope, placing it forward.
"Oh my... and what's this now...?"
It was thick and did not look light.
"I put five million won in it."
"Oh my!"
"F-five hundred?!"
Ju A-ram and Director Kim Geum-rye both started in shock and stared.
"What money do you have to be giving this... It's all right... put it back..."
"Really, Seong-min... five hundred is far too much..."
At their words Seong-min only smiled.
"It's fine. I have more than enough to spare, so I'm giving it. I'd like you to use it to buy the kids something delicious, or school supplies, or clothes..."
"Oh my... Seong-min!!!"
In the end Kim Geum-rye showed tears, wiping at the corners of her eyes with her hand. She had worried about what he was doing, what he was eating to survive—and now the child they hadn't been able to contact had grown into a fine young man and come back to see them.
"Director..."
Ju A-ram tried to comfort the weeping Kim Geum-rye, but her own eyes had reddened just the same.
"For you to grow up so well and come find us... We didn't do much for you... yet you came back to tell us you're doing well, and I'm so grateful... Truly... thank you..."
"That's not true... Without this place I don't know what would have become of me. Without the director and the teachers I... never would have been able to go to school properly or grow up whole."
In a way, Seong-min's hometown was none other than this Hanmaum Orphanage. He had grown up here; he had spent his childhood here. So calling it home was no exaggeration.
After talking with the director for a while, Seong-min stepped outside with Ju A-ram.
"So you're living in Seoul now?"
"Yes—working there in my own way and getting by."
"That's good... Both I and the director worried about you so much all this time."
At that Seong-min smiled.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Seeing you, Teacher, just brought back old memories."
"What kind of memories?"
"That rainy day I snuck out of the orphanage because of Haengboki. You secretly let me back in, remember? Thanks to that I didn't get scolded by the director—I was really grateful."
"I had no choice... Do you know how shocked I was when you brought that sick little kitten? The way you begged me to treat the baby cat—how pitiful you looked..."
"Yeah... that happened..."
In the end Haengboki hadn't been able to overcome the illness and had passed away. But Teacher Ju A-ram had tried so hard to grant his request.
"Want to go see it?"
"Pardon?"
"Haengboki's grave..."
At those words Seong-min started in surprise.
"It's still... there?"
"Of course. Even after you left I went to visit it every now and then."
Seong-min was astonished. Even as he had come today he had been full of doubt whether Haengboki's grave would still be intact after he left this place. Hearing that it remained exactly as it was, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"All because of me..."
And he realized that the reason Haengboki's grave had been tended all this time was thanks to Teacher Ju A-ram.
"I know how much you loved Haengboki... the little one who left this world and went to Cat Star."
"......"
That was right. Seong-min had once told Teacher Ju A-ram about it—the story of Cat Star that he had heard from the class president.
"Want to go together...?"
"Yes... I'd like to."
Seong-min nodded.
Asking him to wait a moment, Ju A-ram went inside, removed her apron, changed her shoes, and came back out. Together they climbed the small hill behind the orphanage.
The surrounding scenery had changed in the meantime; buildings he had never seen before had gone up. The mountain path itself had been improved, making the climb more comfortable—it also connected to the trail leading to a small medicinal herb plot.
"The path's gotten a lot better."
"Hasn't it?"
Smiling, they climbed halfway and then took a side path; a familiar place came into view. A little farther up, a small burial mound appeared.
Haengboki.
Haengboki's grave.
Seong-min approached slowly. Then he bent one knee and sat.
"It's been a long time... Haengboki..."
Seong-min offered a greeting to Haengboki after so long. The feeling—the emotion—was too complex to put into words. He had never expected to face Haengboki like this again.
For a while Seong-min stayed like that, clearing the weeds that had grown over Haengboki's grave and sharing a quiet communion. Ju A-ram waited behind him.
"Have you said enough of a hello?"
When he rose and came over, Ju A-ram asked.
"Yes, we said our hellos properly."
Being able to face Haengboki again when he had never expected it—it made him so happy.
"Um... Seong-min."
"Yes?"
"What should I do..."
Seeing Ju A-ram hesitate, Seong-min grew puzzled.
"What's the matter?"
"The truth is..."
Ju A-ram let out a small sigh and opened her mouth.
"Three years ago..."
"Three years ago?"
"Yeah... three years ago... she told me not to say anything, but..."
She sighed again and spoke.
"Three years ago, Ji-ah came here."