Phase 2: Hee-kyung (3)
"Hey, what the hell happened?"
"What do you mean, what happened. I told you last time. Big bro Taesik's been watching some punk strutting around your neighborhood."
"We're going to deal with him?"
"That far, I don't know."
The second I stepped out of the house I called Kyung-jun. He'd just gotten the summons from Taesik himself, so we agreed to meet halfway and head over together. It had to be something tied to Kyung-jun's family business, so I prodded him for every scrap of detail I could get. But Kyung-jun was already sick to death of his own household and just wanted an ordinary life; he had nothing useful to give me.
"Why's your face so dark, though? Something going on?"
I wanted to spit it out raw. That Hee-kyung was making my guts churn and flip over. I'd told her I was out grinding for the family's sake, and that was the attitude I got. Living expenses, her pocket money—everything came from what I brought home—and not one word of thanks. Instead she latched onto yesterday's fight and kept scraping at me like a broken record. It made me so damn bitter I could cry…!
…The thought that just ran through my head was no different from the crap our old man used to spit. Self-loathing hit hard, yet my chest stayed knotted. I didn't need understanding or validation. I just wanted a little respect for the grind. That was all. And still Hee-kyung's icy voice kept replaying, treating me like nothing, spinning my head dizzy.
Petty bastard. Man's got a heart the size of a peanut.
Sorry I'm so small inside. Maybe growing up without a father left me without a heart as wide as your chest. I'd already done wrong, so I couldn't even call her out. Like every other father in the world I just swallowed the resentment and the hurt down my throat and kept working in silence. I was the one who screwed up first. I had to be the one who swallowed it.
"Your face really looks bad."
"Would you look good? Dragged back into this shit. Your color's no better."
"Guess so…"
"Yeah…"
Kyung-jun said he'd barely shaken off Eun-sol's calls. That pushy, clueless bitch had gotten so worked up when he refused that she was carpet-bombing him with KakaoTalks. At first he played along, matching her energy. Once we got close to the job site he blew out a long breath, shot back a single message that he'd be offline for a few days once work started, and killed the notifications completely.
"Still cute, though. Her man not at her side, so she's hunting for him this desperately."
I'll say it again: I never look down on Kyung-jun as less than me. But when the topic turned to romance, the urge to do exactly that hit hard.
"You two already dating?"
"No, man, come on. Don't you know a done deal when you see one? A fait accompli?"
"Kyung-jun, I still like things clear. Girls say they like you, then they don't. You hold back because they said no and suddenly they're pissed asking if you even care—I never know what the hell is going on."
"You're right about that much. Eun-sol definitely likes me, but she's holding out."
That's just so she can yank your leash, you idiot. I barely choked down the sigh.
"By the way, that biotech stock I mentioned last time? Buy more. Hold three weeks then dump it and you'll double your money."
"Wonder if I can actually catch the top. Okay. Thanks for the tip."
It was all one-way from Kyung-jun, but we still killed the walk trading stock talk and life talk until we hit the destination. Arriving meant the job had started. I wiped every expression off my face. Wiped every emotion. Kyung-jun did the opposite—grinned wide, burying whatever he felt behind the smile. Two grown boys who were still amateurs at love stepped into the hunting-dog territory their master had trained them for.
The moment we stepped off the bus the contact spotted us and came over.
"Oppa~."
One girl, two guys. We didn't answer. We followed them into a secluded pocket the way they indicated, each took the phone they held out, and pressed it to our ears.
"Hey, you made it? Don't answer. Just listen."
A flippant voice spilled from the speaker. Big bro Taesik was always like this—handing out heavy, dangerous gigs in a tone that said it was nothing. Miss a single word from this man and you couldn't live with the consequences. I straightened my spine and locked onto every rambling syllable.
"Kyung-jun already told me, yeah? There's an interesting punk in Gwanseo-dong."
"But this bastard's starting to overlap our distribution routes."
"Not just overlap—looks like he's deliberately setting up to fuck with us."
"So we're gonna chop his arms and legs and lock him up in Gwanseo-dong."
"This time we boil him slow like a frog in a pot so he never sees it coming."
"Gyeong-hun, you were worried sick because it's your neighborhood's problem, right? It'll take a little time, but hyung will clean it up proper for you."
"They've stockpiled a solid amount of product, so we take that too."
"Problem is their leads are thin. We've got a few of their contacts lined up already. Start from there. Secure at least where the product is stashed and how their structure runs."
"You trust hyung, right? Pay's sweet this round, and we scrub Gyeong-hun's neighborhood clean—two birds, one stone. Ah, shit, where else do you get volunteer work like this. Gyeong-hun, since I'm the one cleaning for you, we split half?"
Still a fucking bastard. Still a terrifying bastard. I clenched my teeth hard enough to keep them from grinding. Then Taesik's voice shifted into the signal that the mission had begun.
"The ones who brought you—one girl, two guys."
"First time seeing them?"
"You get it by now, yeah? Get ready~."
We both exhaled, phones still in hand, and wrapped the masks we'd brought around the lower half of our faces—navy cloth, no printing, plain as handkerchiefs.
"Go ask them, you bastards."
The hunter's call rang out. The hunting dogs now had to find the prey under their own power and drag it back. Let's see—girl in front, two guys behind her.
Beep-beep-beep.
The line died. Kyung-jun held the phone out toward the girl first.
"Is it over? Ugh—!"
The second she stepped forward to take it, he drove the fist still gripping the phone straight into her eye socket. She dropped where she stood, breath stolen, and I vaulted over her, slamming between the two men. An awl-driver came out of my pocket—one thrust into the left guy's nape, one under the right guy's ribs—then I twisted both in the middle.
"Khuk!"
"Gueh!"
"Hey. Don't move. You twitch and those awls twist, you bleed out internally and die. Hold the pose."
At the flat words the men froze half-crouched, shaking like aspens. The girl clutched her eye and made no attempt to run. When Kyung-jun closed in she flinched hard yet stayed put—total amateur.
"Trying to hit a big-org operation with trash like these? That bastard really is a fucking idiot."
"S-spare… mmph! Mph! Mph!"
He clamped a hand over her mouth and hammered her gut and side several times. That was Kyung-jun's method—leave zero half-measures, crush the spirit completely, then ask questions. To the girl thrashing uselessly, limbs gone limp, sobbing raw, he whispered:
"Keep crying and I'll snap the ribs and kill you."
"Uuu… kheup! Heup!"
Terror finally choked the tears off. Only then did Kyung-jun lean down and ask,
"Don't you have something to say to me?"
"Mom. Don't you have something to say to me?"
The moment Gyeong-hun left, Hee-kyung bolted into the living room and fixed her glare on Mom.
"Something to say about what?"
Mom—Kyung-ae—met the stare without a single blink, a faint smile still on her lips.
"Dad hasn't given money in a long time, right?"
"…Gyeong-hun told you?"
"I kept asking where he was going all morning while he packed, so he finally said."
"How hard did you nag him for that~. He doesn't usually talk about those things."
"Is that what matters? Why am I the only one left looking like a clueless brat! Oppa knew, Mom knew, and nobody said a word!"
"Hee-kyung, lower your voice. Don't yell at Mom."
The tone was nothing like the one she used in front of Gyeong-hun. And because the words were right, Hee-kyung took a half-step back.
"Gyeong-hun was deliberately keeping it from us~. Even if Mom knew, she couldn't just open her mouth whenever she wanted."
"If you knew, you should have told me."
Kyung-ae's hands, folding laundry, went still. What now? She weighed the options. Scold the childish daughter hard enough to snap her awake? Or leave it alone the way she always had? She shook her head. Neither. If scolding worked, the old man would have sorted it years ago. Leave it alone and Gyeong-hun's household stayed a permanent mess. So she chose honesty—honest, in her own way.
"Even if Mom had told you, nothing would have changed. Being the ones who take the money, you'd only feel guilt."
"Of course we should feel guilt! And what do you mean nothing changes? Mom or I could just get part-time jobs."
"Hee-kyung, Mom's not blaming anyone, but except for Gyeong-hun… with your father brawling and the whole neighborhood watching, the rumors spread so bad we can't even find part-time work around here."
"……"
The words sealed Hee-kyung's mouth. Inside them she felt the quiet consideration. Dad was dad, but the real reason mother and daughter couldn't get hired nearby was Hee-kyung herself—her reputation was toxic. Even now, if she walked through the nearby downtown or the entertainment district she caught the whispers. She had nothing left to say.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But it truly wasn't something we could fix."
"Yeah…"
"And Gyeong-hun, every time Mom tried to talk about it, he'd come up behind me, wrap his arms around me, and tell me not to worry~. He's really all grown up."
Sparks leapt in Hee-kyung's eyes. Same as that dinner the other night—she felt Kyung-ae checking her, fencing her off from Oppa. Could Mom be doing it too? She couldn't get a clear read. If Kyung-ae was checking her, then why? Mom had been casually flirting with Gyeong-hun, rubbing against him. Because she saw him as a man? Or because she'd sensed the strange current between Hee-kyung and Gyeong-hun and was trying to cut it off? Hee-kyung wasn't the brightest, but this time she decided she would dig it out herself.
"Mom."
"Whaat~?"
"I've got a romance problem."
Every motion in Kyung-ae froze. The soft maternal brow crumpled, eyes went wide with shock, mouth dropped open.
"Is that something to get that shocked about?!"
Pride stung raw again. Tears pricking, Hee-kyung dropped hard onto the floor beside her mother and barked,
"Listen! To my romance problems!"