Chapter 69
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Flower Swallow
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Kangyul climbed out through the hole in the ground that Yi Eoksang had opened up.
The chilly night air wrapped around his body, and he quickly felt cold again.
"Ugh. It's definitely colder up north."
"You're telling me. If you stuff dry leaves or grass between your clothes, it'll be a lot better."
Yi Eoksang picked out some dry, non-prickly grass scattered around nearby.
And he tucked it not just into his own clothes, but into Kangyul's as well.
Sure enough, just as Yi Eoksang said, Kangyul felt his body warming up.
'Leaf padding, huh.'
Using knowledge he'd picked up in the military, he even camouflaged himself pretty convincingly.
With no trees on the bald mountain, he couldn't use leaves, so he smeared mud all over his body instead.
"Alright. Let's get going."
The two of them made their way toward a village, avoiding soldiers as best they could.
It was an incredibly tense and frightening situation, but they couldn't afford to stop.
"Everyone, we're currently coming down from a mountain in North Korea. As you can see, it's a treeless bald mountain."
Even in the midst of it all, Yi Eoksang kept whispering into the camera.
Kangyul couldn't help but stick out his tongue in admiration at the sight.
'Impressive. That's what makes him a pro YouTuber.'
"By the way, why do you think those guys tried to kidnap us?"
Yi Eoksang's face hardened at Kangyul's question.
He'd clearly been mulling it over on his own quite a bit.
"From what I've thought about... it seems like it's all because of me."
"Because of you, Yi Eoksang?"
Yi Eoksang nodded.
"In my recent video, I jokingly said I was going to sneak into the Amazon rainforest or Pyongyang for some filming. I think the North Koreans got pissed about that."
"...Nah, no way it's just because of that."
But Yi Eoksang's expression was dead serious.
"If not that, then there's no reason we'd get kidnapped. It couldn't be because of the boss here, right?"
"Yeah, I'm just your average elementary school kid."
Maybe because of that, Yi Eoksang always felt sorry toward Kangyul.
Though Kangyul himself wasn't bothered by it at all.
Kangyul and Yi Eoksang came down from the bald mountain and walked along the riverbank.
Guard posts dotted the path at regular intervals, but most of them were empty.
Once they were sure no soldiers were around, the two could finally relax a bit.
"Huh? Look over there. People."
Kangyul spotted a village ahead without even thinking about it, just plodding along.
Smoke was rising lazily from chimneys, and he could see people milling about.
"Must be a village."
Yi Eoksang turned off the camera and stashed it in his bag, just in case.
He only kept the one hidden under his wristwatch and headed into the village.
People glanced at Kangyul and Yi Eoksang as they passed by.
A few even scowled.
'Yeah, we're a mess right now.'
Their clothes were filthy with dirt and dust, and their shambling gait screamed homeless.
'Still, there's some wild stuff here.'
A market seemed to have formed along the river, with people laying out goods for sale everywhere.
Thud—
Distracted by looking around, Kangyul bumped into someone and fell over.
"Ow!"
The person he'd collided with was a girl about his age.
Her pigtails, polka-dot dress, and chubby cheeks made her look cute.
"Ah. Sorry."
"Sorry?!"
The girl glared as she checked the dirt stain on her dress.
She looked just like a feral cat.
"You little flower swallow brat! Wanna get your nose dunked in the Daedong River?!"
"Huh? Swallow?"
Kangyul tilted his head, which only made the girl jump up and down in fury.
"Flower swallow" came from the Russian word for nomad, referring to homeless street kids with no home to return to.
"Yeah! Where you lookin' with those eyes? Get on your knees right now!"
Kangyul grimaced at the girl's vicious words.
He was at fault for not watching where he was going, but her mouth was filthy.
And Kangyul hated rude kids the most.
"What'd you stuff in your mouth, a rag? Why's every word outta you so nasty?"
"What?!"
The girl gaped, eyes wide—she'd never heard anyone talk back like that before.
Kangyul's tongue, which never lost an argument, didn't stop there.
"Yeah, I bumped into you first, my bad. But that doesn't mean you get to spew crap like that. You look dirtier on the outside than me, but inside? You're way filthier. C'mon, Yi Eoksang."
"Right."
The girl just blinked dumbly at Kangyul's rapid-fire retort.
Only after her nanny returned from an errand did she snap out of it and look around for him late.
But by then, Kangyul and Yi Eoksang were already long gone.
'...What was that? He doesn't talk like a flower swallow.'
"Miss Jin-a, why do you look so out of it? Did you see a national actor or something?"
"National actor?"
Jin-a recalled the bold way Kangyul had spoken, prompted by the nanny's words.
Come to think of it, he kinda looked like a young Bae Yong-joon from that Korean drama she'd secretly watched at home.
'Hmph. That cocky jerk... He even had a South Joseon accent! I'll find him and give him a piece of my mind!'
Jin-a huffed and told her nanny about the kid who'd shoved past her moments ago.
But despite her angry tone, her face was flushed red.
"...A flower swallow dared to talk smack to you like that? I'll find him and give him a good thrashing."
"Yeah! Bring him to me!"
"To you, miss?"
"Yeah. I'll chew him out myself!"
"This must be one of those jangmadang markets."
"Jangmadang?"
"Yeah. You know, those markets in North Korea where you can get anything."
North Korea didn't promote a market economy.
But ironically, the jangmadang markets were bigger than anywhere else in the world.
Defectors said you could buy anything there except cat horns.
From drugs you couldn't get in Korea to plastic surgery.
Though most were quack doctors who wouldn't take responsibility for the results.
"...Boss, look over there. Isn't that...?"
Yi Eoksang was pointing at some Samsung and LG TVs.
And not far off, all sorts of electronics were on display.
'...Huh. They've got everything.'
From Japanese brands to Korean ones—pretty much every kind of electronic gadget.
"How much for this?"
"Don't get cocky, scram. It's expensive."
When Kangyul pointed at a camera and asked, the woman who seemed to be the owner snapped curtly.
"So, how much?"
"You know the price, can you even afford it?"
"Lemme hear it."
The woman glanced indifferently at Kangyul's face and burst out laughing.
"This flower swallow punk's got guts! Fine. A South Joseon TV like this? Five hundred bucks minimum."
Kangyul was shocked by the price.
These beat-up things that wouldn't sell as used in Korea for any amount were over 500,000 won.
The shop owner laughed again when she saw Kangyul's reaction.
"What? Too pricey? You couldn't buy it even if you sold your soul, so don't touch. Here, go get some corn noodles."
The woman handed Kangyul a single dollar bill.
Just one dollar, so Kangyul looked unimpressed, which surprised her even more.
'I gave him a whole dollar, and he's that nonchalant?'
In practice, North Koreans used dollars like common currency over their own won.
The local currency was seen as worthless paper that could lose value anytime.
They'd even confiscated traders' North Korean money multiple times through currency reforms.
"Sis, how much for a sack of rice?"
"Sis? You little twerp, sly as hell!"
Despite her words, the shop owner seemed to like Kangyul.
"A sack of rice? Around 40 dollars."
A sack was 40kg, so about a dollar per kilo.
'Definitely cheaper than in Korea.'
Then something familiar caught Kangyul's eye as he scanned the stall.
An iRiver MP3 player you couldn't even find in Korea anymore, stacked next to AAA batteries.
"How much for this?"
"Music player? That's gotta be 30 dollars."
"No, the batteries."
"Those are 10 dollars. Now quit bugging me and beat it!"
The shop owner shooed him away like a fly.
With flower swallows hanging around the stall, no real customers were coming, it seemed.
Kangyul backed off without a word.
Then he sidled up to Yi Eoksang and whispered.
"Yi Eoksang, how many batteries you got?"
"...Batteries? Why?"
Yi Eoksang eyed him warily.
"You said you had a bunch. Gimme a few."
"...No can do. We don't know when we'll escape this place—I need 'em for emergencies."
p>"Think of it as seed money. I'll multiply it several times over for you."
Yi Eoksang clutched his bag and shook his head.
"Sigh. C'mon, think about it. To get out of North Korea, we need a broker or to slip into China. Either way, we need cash."
"Being the boss doesn't mean you can just make money, y'know."
Kangyul smirked at Yi Eoksang's guarded tone.
"Don't you know me? In this North Korean market, give me a month—no, three months tops—and I'll turn your investment into several times what you put in. I'll even buy you batteries."