You Can't Do This Here
On the last Monday of September, when the summer heat had finally begun to subside,
Dojin and his companions headed to Incheon International Airport.
It was their first outing in a long time, as none of them had left Paju since Dojin bought Sekki House.
"There aren't many people here."
"Yeah. And most of the ones who are here seem to be foreigners."
The Chuseok holiday was set to begin in just two days.
Yet, Incheon Airport was practically deserted.
Compared to the same time last year, when the entire airport was bursting at the seams with travelers, it was almost empty.
"Well, it's the pandemic era. People are hesitant to travel domestically, let alone go abroad."
Departing was one thing, but arriving at the destination was another.
No matter where you went in the world, you were immediately quarantined upon arrival to monitor your condition for several days.
That might be feasible for some European countries with over a month of vacation time, but it was impossible in Korea, where holidays lasted a week at most.
"Is Chang-sang—no, Chanar? Shanhu? What should we call him? Anyway, is Chanarshanhu really arriving today?"
"You can just call him Shanhu or Hun. I actually called him earlier, and he was at Chinggis Khaan International Airport. He should be arriving soon."
"A month... he returned faster than I expected. Given the current situation, I thought it would take much longer."
"The director helped a lot. He introduced us to an administrative expert who handled everything from visa renewals to the paperwork needed to stay in Korea."
Replying to Seung-wan and Do-hee, Dojin recalled the events of a month ago.
"A Mongolian...? Didn't you say before that they were Chinese?"
Dojin had asked, taken aback by the unexpected revelation.
He distinctly remembered Park Sang-hyun shouting slurs and calling them Chinese.
At that, Chanarshanhu had shaken his head.
"Former boss got it wrong. I explained to him. I am Mongolian, not Chinese. But former boss did not remember."
He then explained his situation with a bitter expression.
Shanhu's parents were an ordinary couple living in a ger district near Ulaanbaatar.
Like most residents of the ger districts, his parents were hardworking, honest people.
Growing up under them, Shanhu assumed his life would turn out much like theirs.
But his parents had other plans.
When he turned seventeen, his parents called him over.
"Shanhu, we have finished discussing this with your siblings. You are smart and wise, so from now on, all of our family's support will go to you."
"What do you mean, Father? What about my siblings?"
There were five people in Shanhu's family.
As the eldest son, he had two younger brothers.
Although his parents worked tirelessly without a single day of rest, the family remained poor.
If all the family's resources were funneled into him, what would happen to the others?
While middle school was compulsory, his younger brothers would likely be unable to attend high school.
If they don't even finish high school, there will be nothing they can do.
Knowing this, Shanhu had planned to find a job immediately after graduating high school that year.
Jobs were scarce in Mongolia, but their ger district wasn't too far from the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
He figured that if he went to the capital, he could at least earn enough to help with living expenses, even if he didn't strike it rich...
"Do not worry about your brothers. Your mother and I are still healthy, so what is there to fear?"
"..."
"Put aside those useless worries and focus on going to university."
"Father!"
Shanhu was shocked by the mention of university.
That was a completely different level from high school.
The household had already tottered just from sending him to high school.
And now university?
The tuition fees would be beyond anything they could imagine.
Yet, there was no hesitation on his father's face.
"Do not worry. Your uncles have agreed to chip in a little. So, Shanhu, you must never forget. It is not just your parents and siblings supporting you, but your relatives as well."
"..."
"We are not asking you to rebuild the family fortune overnight. But once your circumstances improve, you must look after your family, and then help ease the burden on your relatives."
The expression on Shanhu's father's face as he spoke wasn't particularly bright either.
Sacrifice and focus.
For a family with nothing, it was the most efficient strategy, but it was a path paved with immense sacrifice.
His parents, of course, and even his younger brothers would have to cut back on food and sleep.
On top of that, borrowing from relatives meant a heavy burden of debt would weigh on Shanhu in the long run.
But...
"Shanhu, your mother and I... no, all of us believe in you."
Their only choice was to place all their faith in the eldest son.
"Just like my father said, I was good at studying. I was even able to graduate early from a Mongolian university."
He had managed to graduate early despite double-majoring in Business Administration and Industrial Engineering.
Having graduated university, Shanhu believed a smooth road lay ahead of him.
However...
"All the jobs in Mongolia vanished. They said China retaliated economically."
In November 2016, the Dalai Lama visited Mongolia.
Although it was for a religious event and done unofficially, China used it as a pretext to impose economic sanctions on Mongolia.
This was because the Dalai Lama advocated for Tibetan independence.
There was no way Mongolia could withstand economic pressure from China—pressure that even Korea found difficult to ignore.
Mongolia's economy collapsed rapidly, and fresh graduates like Shanhu were instantly plunged into unemployment.
"I crossed over to China to find work. I hated China, but I had to protect my family."
Shanhu hadn't just graduated quickly.
He had met his girlfriend in college, married her, and had a child in rapid succession.
Because his wife became pregnant right after their marriage, they had no time to save any money.
"While looking for a job in China, the labor agency boss asked if I wanted to go to Korea. He said they couldn't go themselves."
This was the aftermath of the Hallyu ban that began in early 2017.
Chinese laborers were banned from traveling to Korea, and those already in Korea had to return home in a hurry.
In their place, foreign laborers working in China headed to Korea.
"The team members here, I called them all. We went to university together or they are younger brothers from my village. The former boss called everyone Chinese, but they are all Mongolian."
Chanarshanhu had become 'Chang-sang' simply because Sang-hyun complained his real name was too long and called him whatever he wanted.
Dojin, who had been quietly listening to Shanhu's story, asked a question.
"Hmm, but why was your visa the only one that hadn't expired, Chanar? Everyone else's had."
If Shanhu was the one who brought them all over, it meant he had been in Korea the longest.
Yet, his visa was the only one still valid.
"I went back to Mongolia a few years ago. My child was sick and hospitalized. I renewed it then."
"Ah... is she okay now?"
"She is okay. Much better now."
"..."
Dojin wore a bittersweet expression at Shanhu's words.
Saying she was "much better" didn't mean she was completely cured.
Shanhu looked up at the sky with a bittersweet expression.
"Thanks to working here, my brothers could study again, and I paid back the money borrowed from relatives. So, I hate Korea, but I am also grateful to it."
"..."
Dojin couldn't find the words to respond.
He knew all too well how they had been treated in Korea.
A monthly salary of 1.8 million won, with Shanhu receiving 1.9 million won—just 100,000 won more.
That was the money they received for working the entire month without a single day off.
They sent almost all of this money back to Mongolia.
Since they had lodging and were provided with meals—meager as they were—they sent everything home, keeping only the bare minimum for themselves.
One of the reasons they had suffered from malnutrition was that they refused to spend money on food, eating only what Sang-hyun provided.
"My brothers are the same. Everyone pays back borrowed money, raises children, and sends living expenses."
"Does everyone have plans for the future?"
Shanhu shook his head.
"I do not know. I think we will only know once we go back to Mongolia. Everyone is worried but also excited. It has been a long time since we returned home."
Dojin looked around.
Shanhu's brothers were all gathered around the grills.
Since there were more grills than people, the security team was helping to grill the meat; otherwise, those men would have probably grilled all of it themselves.
"Your friends certainly work hard..."
"Mongolians work hard. Much better than Chinese."
Shanhu spoke up, having overheard Dojin's muttering.
He thumped his chest as he spoke, radiating pride.
But Shanhu wasn't finished.
"Former boss told us. The Chinese workers who worked before ran away after one month. We do not do that. We take responsibility for our work. We are different from Chinese."
"Y-yes, of course. Mongolians are much more remarkable than the Chinese!"
"Thank you for recognizing that."
Shanhu choked up, clearly touched by Dojin's acknowledgment.
"*Sniff!* The smoke is stinging my eyes. The meat is ready, please eat more."
Hastily blaming the smoke to hide his tears, Shanhu offered the freshly grilled meat to Dojin.
At the same time, he began stuffing food into his own mouth.
C-can all of that actually fit in there?
Watching him shove five or six pieces of meat into his mouth at once was like watching a professional competitive eater.
"Hah, hah! It is hot. Please eat carefully."
"...I think you're the one who needs to be careful, Shanhu."
Despite Dojin's warning, Shanhu's eating show didn't stop.
In fact, as if this were only the beginning, he began to chew and swallow the meat in earnest.
"H-here! Please bring more meat!"
Dojin shouted as he saw the meat supply dwindling rapidly, but it couldn't be replenished fast enough.
"Over here first! We're completely out of meat!"
"Just bring some pork neck first! No, anything we can grill!"
"Did someone starve them? Why are they eating so fast?"
"If you were hungry, you should have said so. Why be so stubborn? Here, have some water."
"I told you to eat as we go. Do you need anything else?"
As if Shanhu's eating show had served as a signal fire,
his brothers also began eating in earnest.
The meat, which had seemed more than enough, vanished in the blink of an eye. Only after devouring sausages and instant ramen did their feast finally come to an end.
"How does all of that fit in there?"
"Those seven ate more than all of us combined."
"...Are they actually full now?"
"Who knows? If we brought out more meat, they might just keep going."
"No way... I think those seven just ate at least thirteen pounds of meat."
The security team, having witnessed the eating show firsthand, stared at Shanhu and his companions in sheer disbelief.
You would think they would rest after eating that much, but they were already cleaning up the aftermath of the dinner.
Of course, the most shocked among them was Dojin, who had watched the entire spectacle from the very beginning.
"But Oppa, what made you decide to hire Shanhu?"
"Yeah. You're usually so cautious when it comes to hiring people, Dojin."
Dojin, pulled from his memories by their questions, pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Well, let's see. First of all, he's just a good person."
"I'll grant you that. Not just Shanhu, but all of them were really kind."
"Even though nobody asked them to, they woke up early in the morning to pick up trash around the area."
"And they worked hard."
"Yeah, that's true. They were incredibly efficient. When Ttorang-i was digging a hole to bury her poop, one of them walked over and dug a pit in seconds. It was big enough to bury a person."
"When I came back from taking Bo-ri and the kittens for a walk on the playground, they had already cleaned the entire playroom. It took them less than an hour."
"They eat well, too."
"Ah, seriously! That's cheating! Watching them eat makes me hungry too."
"They're like a natural digestive aid."
"..."
Dojin stopped listing reasons and stared at the two of them.
He was dumbfounded by how they chimed in after every single sentence.
Realizing their own silliness, both of their faces flushed slightly.
Chuckling at the sight, Dojin brought up the most fundamental reason.
"Most of all, the animals took to them."
"The animals? Who? Hwindung-i?"
"Not just Hwindung-i, but all of them in general. Even Ttorang-i and Bo-ri, who are usually so wary, didn't seem to mind them much."
On their channel, the two were already being called the genius dog and genius cat.
Yet, those very animals took quite a liking to Shanhu and his brothers.
Though they seemed a bit wary at first, after crossing paths a few times, they began treating them more comfortably than they did some members of the security team.
"One of the security team members was actually quite hurt by Ttorang-i."
Ttorang-i still kept her distance from most of the security team.
So it was bound to be shocking when she acted all cute and affectionate toward Shanhu's group, whom she had barely met.
"Is that it?"
"We needed someone to help us anyway. I just hired them because they happened to be good people."
Of course, that wasn't the only reason.
Shanhu's group were genuine, solid people, as even Yeong-jin had acknowledged.
They had no criminal records, and before Sang-hyun's accusation, even the residents of Mabong-ri had recognized them as diligent and sincere.
There was no reason to delay hiring them.
"Ah, there he is."
Looking toward the arrivals gate, Dojin spotted a familiar figure.
It was Shanhu, who had ended up shedding tears at Dojin's offer a month ago.
"Shanhu!"
At Dojin's shout, Shanhu, who had been looking around as he exited the gate, turned his head toward him.
Dojin waved his hand.
Due to the pandemic, Shanhu would have to go straight to a quarantine facility, but Dojin and the others had come to the airport just to show him a warm welcome.
But right then, Shanhu did something unexpected.
"Boss!"
The moment he saw Dojin, he abandoned his luggage and ran straight toward him.
"Uh, wait. Hold on a second!"
Before a startled Dojin could even react,
an emotional Shanhu threw his arms around Dojin.
"Thank you, Boss. I will work very hard!"
"Right, right... I look forward to working with you. But please..."
Patting the overly excited Shanhu on the back, Dojin looked around.
Tweet! Tweet!
Sure enough, the airport security team, who had been keeping a close watch, was already rushing toward them.
"O-Oppa?"
"It's fine, just step back."
Dojin waved his hand at Do-hee, who was startled by the sound of whistles blowing from all directions.
Fortunately, Seung-wan grasped the situation and quickly pulled Do-hee back.
Right on cue, the airport security officers arrived.
"Excuse me, sir! There are quarantine regulations in place. You can't do this here!"
"Alright, both of you will have to go to the quarantine facility. You cannot have any further contact with others."
"Huh?"
Shanhu looked flustered by the officer's words.
Calming him down, Dojin spoke.
"It's fine. It's because of the COVID-19 quarantine guidelines. We just need to follow their instructions. Let's go."
"Uh, Boss, did I make a mistake?"
"No, not at all. I was glad to see you too, so it's fine. More importantly, you should look after your family. They look startled."
Dojin pointed toward a spot nearby.
Shanhu's family, who had accompanied him to Seoul, had all come along at Dojin's suggestion.
"O-Oppa."
"It's fine. I'll be back in a few days. Go on ahead."
With those final words, Dojin and Shanhu headed toward the quarantine facility.