A Brother's Escape
This year, summer looks like it'll be hotter than usual. The weather forecast even mentioned that the cherry blossoms might bloom earlier than normal—an unusual prediction. I want to take Miju to the Jinhae Naval Port Festival, so I should lock in the schedule soon. It feels like global warming has crept one step closer. Floods and droughts, cold snaps and heatwaves—natural disasters representing these extremes are making the whole world suffer. They say that on one side of a mountain range there's torrential rain, while the other side faces drought? After just two semesters, I headed to school feeling like a proper senior, only to wonder why I only saw female students around. Still, when I entered the classroom, our Ocean World team was there, so I asked, "Where'd the guys go?"
"They enlisted," the class president answered.
Ah... off to fulfill their national defense duty. "What about you two?"
"I'm exempt. Myungjae got into the KATUSA program."
Our class president really is the son of God. "I heard from Employee Hyesun. She said you're doing well? Sorry I haven't been able to check in."
"It's fine, hyung. Hyesun noona gave us our salaries, so we covered this semester's tuition with that. Our parents even praised us for it."
Hyesun must've taken good care of them. "Hyung, I couldn't reach you to ask, but... would it be okay if we brought in a few more of our friends? We're actually short on hands."
What was this about? From what they explained, three people seemed overwhelmed. Before I got involved in Busan, I'd sent a second shipment, and apparently they'd been dispatching containers every two weeks since then.
"Do you have people in mind?"
Myungjae's face suddenly lit up. "Of course. Everyone in our department wants in."
"Hmm... Then I'll give you hiring authority. The three of you can pick three more."
The class president, who had been grinning, turned pale when I added one more thing. "If the people you hire cause trouble, you're responsible."
That day, the classroom turned into an interview room. The kids were dead serious. I just stamped my face on the process and left campus. Isn't it the golden rule to skip the first day of class anyway? This semester, the professors I like aren't teaching. A shame, but what can you do? I had to take the required major courses, so I added those to my cart. For the rest, nothing really caught my eye. When I asked the class president for recommendations, he suggested some liberal arts electives. What was it again? Marriage and Family? Without thinking much, I logged into the registration site and saw spots still open. After finishing enrollment, Myungjae asked what I was taking. When I mentioned the required major courses, an elective, and Marriage and Family as my liberal arts pick, he sighed like it was inevitable for someone like me to succeed. But when I pointed out there were still seats left, he looked like he was about to cry. Turns out both he and the class president had failed to register for it. Why was Yunjeong giving them that pitying look?
I left campus and headed to the Han River. After three hectic months, I'd missed this kind of leisure. It felt wonderful. The weather had warmed up, so plenty of people were out strolling, and a few cyclists were starting to appear. Taking in the blue sky and the river, I felt a wave of happiness wash over me, cleansing my eyes from the world's troubles. A song slipped out naturally.
"Bravo~ Bravo~ my life. My life, for the courage you've shown running this far. Bravo~ Bravo~ my life. My life, for our brilliant future."
While walking along the riverbank shouting "bravo" to myself, the Han River Railway Bridge on Line 1 came into view.
Ding~
'It's hyung.'
Wow... This hyung hadn't contacted me in over a year, and now he was reaching out like this? When was the last time? After Cancun, maybe? 'Hyung, you were alive?'
'I was overseas.'
'That's a relief. I really thought something bad had happened.'
'Where are you?'
'Noryangjin.'
'Meet me at Exit 1 in an hour.'
Same old hyung. An hour later, waiting under the overpass at Exit 1, a rental car approached instead of the usual Benz. Thinking it wasn't his car, I ignored it until the door opened. It was hyung.
"Where's your car?"
"Get in."
Still abrupt as ever. He took the Seobu Expressway toward Gimpo. "Have you been well?"
"Sorry I couldn't look out for you."
"No, my business is doing fine. Thanks to you, actually."
The conversation lapsed. I was used to it. He seemed to have something to say but kept swallowing his words. What could I do but wait? He'd speak when he was ready. We crossed Ilsan Bridge and parked at a park in Gimpo. He got out and lit a cigarette. He'd lost a lot of weight.
"Hoo... I never thought it'd come to this."
Then he started talking—more than I'd ever heard from him. I learned about a past I'd never known. "When I was at the welfare facility, the government made me an offer."
To orphans like us? It sounded like something out of a movie. They recruited orphans, trained them, and used them as informants. At first, they lured people with promises of salary and room and board—like a job offer. Even I wouldn't have fallen for that. Naturally, hyung had been suspicious too. When he asked outright, they told him the truth. Would he live for the Republic of Korea? With no hope left at the facility, hyung accepted. After basic ideological training and operational guidelines, he was deployed in the field. So hyung was special forces? He followed orders exactly as given. His first assignment was product distribution, which looked like a decent way to make a living, so he'd recommended it to me. The timing matched—about a year after he started, he suggested it to me.
He said he felt sorry for getting me into it. Not at all. I had nothing else going on. Back then, it seemed manageable. If you were careful, you wouldn't get caught, and even if you did, it was just a warning. But after a few years, he realized how dangerous it had become and wanted me out. I'd refused, though. I had to eat somehow. Following orders, he'd risen to mid-level management. The problem was that besides product trading, he started handling organizational work, and the orders grew heavier. Steal internal intel, spark wars between groups, even stage a coup. During that time, he met his wife. Wait, what? The story suddenly jumped genres from noir to romance, and I was caught off guard. I listened in disbelief until he got to the point.
"I'm done living for the Republic of Korea."
He hadn't had a wedding, but he was married and had a child. The pregnancy had been what changed his mind. He showed me a photo—cute kid. But why was it in an incubator? That was ominous. "Help me."
Was this what he'd been building up to with that long story? Right now, if he asked for everything I had, I'd hand it over. Hyung must've underestimated me. Making a request like this... "Of course. You raised me like this. I'll give you everything."
"Where are your sister-in-law and nephew?"
"In the Philippines."
An idea struck me instantly. "Help me with something." I pictured hyung starting a new life as the manager of a Philippine hotel. When he heard my proposal, he looked at me with fresh eyes and asked for details. He was interested. Since I had nothing to hide from hyung, I told him everything. His face brightened, and he regarded me with pride. Then, looking like he'd found hope, he explained what had happened. When he told the organization that had recruited him he was quitting, they asked him to do one last job. Because of their history and the support he'd received, he'd agreed and proceeded. As he spoke, a familiar name came up. Senior Banjjagi. So hyung and the senior had been connected. Damn. From what he said, though, he hadn't been under the senior directly. They'd started the preliminary work, but when it came time for the main operation, he'd sensed something was off. A betrayal in the making. Anyone would've done the same. Before the main job, he'd sent his wife abroad and stayed behind alone to finish it, but he only managed to escape with his life, the job unfinished. While hiding for a year, he'd realized why organizations existed. There was only so much one person could do alone. He'd been living off hidden emergency funds, sending money for his wife's hospital and living expenses, but it was running out and he felt trapped. The only person unrelated to the organization he could turn to was me. The story was complete. It could make a whole movie.
I called Haisa and roughly explained the situation, asking if three people could get new identities. Thirty minutes later, a reply came. 'Making them Filipino would probably be cheaper. -HamoHamo(37.0)' When I told hyung, who was standing beside me, he asked to go with that. Leaving Korea for the Philippines shouldn't be a big issue. Since the organization hadn't come for him yet, his current passport was probably still fine. I told hyung I'd send the new identities and asked him to help with the Philippines side. I gave him the details of the hotel business there. When I asked if he had a Sky Apple account, he smiled. "Didn't I teach you that?"
"What's the ID?"
"wisestone"
Ah... So hyung was the one who'd sent the money at the beginning. I coolly transferred all the dollars I had. "If you need more, just say so."
"Compared to what I received from you, this is nothing."
"Next time, let's meet with your wife and nephew."
Hyung left right away, and that afternoon I saw the message confirming the dollars had been returned.