Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator : M.N 1391
Chapter: 22
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Is it that people can’t stop paying attention to others, or is it that the bastards who’ve done things worthy of being thrown into prison are born with rudeness as a passive skill?
If he had come in for committing some shameful crime, he might’ve been annoyed, but since Kyung-wan had come in for something he could be rewarded for, he answered confidently.
“I just walked in.”
“Bullshit.”
The man snorted, certain that Kyung-wan must’ve been arrested for something too embarrassing to admit. But Kyung-wan boldly opened the cell door. Then, ignoring the man who stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, he went to the bathroom and came back.
The man shut his mouth.
“Here, your blanket. And clothes to change into.”
Detective Gu brought the items to prepare Kyung-wan’s sleeping space. If he were a civilian, he would’ve filed a complaint saying the sleeping arrangements were garbage, but for a homeless man like Kyung-wan, they were perfectly fine.
“Where do I wash my clothes?”
“You’re gonna wash that and wear it again?”
Detective Gu frowned deeply, and Kyung-wan objected.
“It’s just a bit stained and has some dirt on it.”
He had taken the risk of a theft charge and picked it out from a clothing donation bin. For regular people, clothes were fashion, but for the homeless, they were survival gear. The clothes Kyung-wan had chosen were practically a wearable blanket, something he could sleep anywhere in as long as they kept out the cold wind. And anyway, don’t clothing-collection companies make their living off clothes people donate to get rid of? For someone like Kyung-wan, they should let it slide.
Detective Gu made a disgusted face at Kyung-wan defending his shabby outfit, but he still told him where he could do laundry inside the police station. It was a sort of welfare facility for detectives who worked night shifts or on stakeouts.
After about three days, there wasn’t a single person in the station who didn’t know who Kyung-wan was.
= = = = =
Visiting someone in the hospital wasn’t an unfamiliar event for Park Jung-hoon. A senior or junior would occasionally need a hospital visit. For gangsters who lived off illegal profits, hospital visits were as routine as going to school.
But he could confidently say that this kind of visit was his first.
“Huuuk! Jung-hoon-ah!”
Park Dong-chil, with casts on all four limbs and looking half-crippled, saw him and immediately burst into miserable tears.
“No, hyungnim. What happened to you? Did those bastard cops torture you or something?”
With casts on all limbs, Park Dong-chil had become someone who couldn’t even relieve himself without a caretaker.
But in truth, it was even worse. According to the doctor, the ligaments in his right shoulder were completely torn, and he would no longer be able to lift his arm above shoulder height. And the ligaments in his right ankle and knee had also been torn in a complex pattern, without rehabilitation, he would be a limping cripple for life. Even with successful rehab, running was forbidden.
After hearing this diagnosis, no matter how hard he tried, Park Dong-chil simply couldn’t forget that little demon brat. The more he thought about it, the sadder, more resentful, more frightened, and more bitter he felt.
With a face soaked in tears, Park Dong-chil pleaded with Park Jung-hoon.
“Jung-hoon-ah! Heeuuung!”
“Calm down and tell me.”
As he listened, Park Jung-hoon’s expression stiffened more and more. After hearing all of Dong-chil’s sobbing story, he nodded and spoke.
“Don’t worry, hyungnim. I’ll do exactly what you want.”
“Thank you, Jung-hoon-ah.”
“Take good care of yourself, then.”
Leaving the fully-casted Park Dong-chil behind, Park Jung-hoon stepped out of the hospital room. A detective guarding the entrance glared at him sharply, but he ignored the look with complete composure.
He replayed the conversation with Dong-chil, but there was no way that detective would understand its true meaning.
Summarized, Dong-chil talked about how he had been beaten by that bum and that since he had become like this, he was entrusting the safety of his boys to Jung-hoon.
On the surface.
The true meaning was: I’ve been ruined like this, so take revenge for me, and if you do, the organization is yours. Thugs who had no loyalty were always the ones who emphasized loyalty the most; their words always had different fronts and backs.
Park Jung-hoon accepted Dong-chil’s offer. There was a second-in-command, but he was just a figurehead installed to divert the cops’ attention, the real power was with Jung-hoon. Sure, the organization would naturally fall into his hands once the half-crippled Dong-chil retired, but legitimacy mattered more than people thought. If he didn’t secure it now, some bastard with ambitions might raise a rebellion under the pretext of legitimacy. For example, that so-called lieutenant who was nothing more than a puppet…
They called themselves men of loyalty, but they were the kind you only felt safe around if you constantly suspected and watched them.
Leaving the hospital, Park Jung-hoon made a call.
“Daegwi-ya, it’s me. Yeah. Yeah, he’s not in good shape. Yeah. Everything else is fine. But he asked me for the request of his life. So about that… don’t we have a straw in ○○ Police Station? I’m gonna need to use it. Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
Ending the call, he put his phone in his pocket and disappeared into the night with a proud stride.
= = = = =
“So you’re only telling me now what you didn’t say then. Thanks for saving me.”
“He was coming for me, so it’s nothing to be that thankful for.”
At Detective Jang’s words, Kyung-wan waved his hand.
Detective Jang smiled faintly. He hadn’t forgotten that Kyung-wan had deliberately revealed himself, when he could have stayed hidden.
“When I’m discharged, I’ll treat you.”
“How am I supposed to wait that long? Detective Gu said he’s buying me pork belly today.”
At Kyung-wan’s words, Detective Jang looked at Detective Gu. Gu smirked and shrugged.
Jang looked back at Kyung-wan.
“My wife wants to express her thanks…”
Kyung-wan shook his head.
“I’ll accept the sentiment only.”
What a strange kid, Jang thought.
After wrapping up the visit, Kyung-wan and Detective Gu headed straight to the pork belly restaurant as promised. There were no major health issues for Jang, he’d be back in about a month after some rest.
While grilling the meat, Detective Gu spoke.
“You don’t need to worry about that bastard Park Dong-chil.”
“That the perpetrator’s name?”
“Yeah.”
Gu nodded. Dong-chil’s injuries were treated as unavoidable injuries during the arrest, and the case was settled. The last three days had been spent handling the paperwork.
Even if he brought in a lawyer, it was pointless. Detective Jang wasn’t going to testify in favor of someone who stabbed him intending to kill him. And worst case, they’d just write a report and move on.
“So I can go home now?”
Gu snorted.
“You don’t even have a home.”
“Anywhere you can grow attached to is your hometown, and anywhere you can fall asleep comfortably is your home.”
“You really find that empty lot without a roof comfortable?”
“Well, it’s not perfect yet, but I’m thinking of hanging a hammock or something.”
Hearing that, Gu cautiously spoke.
“Why don’t you go to a homeless shelter?”
Kyung-wan shook his head.
“There’s no such thing as free in this world.”
“They don’t charge money.”
“Even if they don’t charge, you’re expected to have the will for social rehabilitation. Someone like me would be a burden.”
There’s no such thing as free kindness. If you start believing that kindness comes with no cost and treat goodwill like a right, you’ll face sharp stares. And if you ignore those stares, the goodwill vanishes like foam. In a world where people grumble that kids on basic welfare eating pork cutlets are being extravagant and don’t know their place, how much worse would they be toward a homeless shelter?
Gu stopped flipping the meat and stared at him with disbelief.
“So you’re saying you’re gonna live like that forever?”
As Gu paused, Kyung-wan snatched the tongs from his hand and flipped the pork belly himself.
“Life is like a swamp, the more you struggle, the deeper you sink.”
“What does a kid like you know about life…”
“Just because you’re old doesn’t mean you know life.”
People just get more shameless and thicker-skinned. True adults who feel shame and reflect on their wrongdoings are rare.
“Then why not stay at the police station for a while? Do some part-time work. Living somewhere that uncomfortable will only make life harder later.”
Gu’s nagging came purely from goodwill. Kyung-wan knew that.
But that was exactly the problem.
“If you start compromising one thing at a time, eventually greed starts raising its head.”
Kyung-wan didn’t want to be greedy. If he was going to live a life he’d repeat even if he died and was born again, he wanted it clean and simple. But such a life wasn’t easy. It required effort.
Seeing Kyung-wan never backing down even a little, Gu shook his head, then put several pieces of pork belly on Kyung-wan’s plate.
“Just eat, you brat.”
He appreciated Kyung-wan saving Jang, but all he could say to a kid with such a rotten mindset was that.
The next day, Kyung-wan left the police station. The only things different from when he arrived were his complexion, freshened by good food, good sleep, and good showers, and his clothes, now clean from washing.
= = = = =
Four men dressed in flashy, tight shirts and casual dress pants, a thuggish style, walked into the mountain foothills.
Their solid builds and arms covered in multicolored tattoos proved they were anything but ordinary.
“Damn it! How far do we have to go?!”
One man exploded in frustration, and another replied calmly.
“Calm yourself.”
“...Yes, hyungnim.”
If he ignored that command, he might get his jaw smashed.
The man who silenced them, Park Jung-hoon, was heading to the location Park Dong-chil had prepared to take out a narcotics detective who interfered with business.
Walking the same path Dong-chil had taken, he thought of the organization that would soon be his. It wasn’t large, but it was efficient, low-risk, high-profit. As the distribution hub for illegal drugs, it had abundant work and connections thanks to Dong-chil’s broad network.
Even if Dong-chil retired soon, he wasn’t worried. He was the one who’d handled all the dirty work and built rapport with Dong-chil’s connections.
If he granted Dong-chil’s wish, he’d gain the legitimacy to inherit everything.
He had come to this empty lot to find the sacrificial offering for that legitimacy: a kid named Lee Kyung-wan.
He couldn’t be sure the kid was still here, but it was worth checking. The young homeless man who saved Detective Jang had become famous at the station, using it like his own house, along with his rotten determination to stay homeless.
And the cops had even driven him back near where he’d come from. Odds were good he had returned to his original spot.
“This looks like it, hyungnim.”
Checking the GPS app, Park Jung-hoon confirmed this was the empty lot Dong-chil had described. But he didn’t see any sign of the kid.
Still, he wasn’t disappointed. It was obvious from the traces left behind that the kid still lived here.
Now all they had to do… was wait for him to return.