Swallow Hunting - Chapter 13.2
Hae-jun felt a surge of bitterness. Someone was standing precariously at the crossroads of life and death, while someone else was calmly treating it like a spectacle. It was painfully obvious that he had not even the slightest intention of stopping him, which only made it feel more miserable.
How was it that even the person he met at the very end of his life was not someone on his side. This life was wrong, utterly and completely wrong. If he were to meet the god who had assigned his fate in the afterlife, even if he was too scared to curse, he felt like pointing a finger at them at least once would ease his heart.
“I will jump after I finish this cigarette.”
“I will wait.”
Hae-jun deliberately smoked the cigarette slowly. With each drag, the reason that had run away from home took a step back toward him. By the time only the filter remained, the last thread of his sanity had fully returned.
The man took the shortened cigarette directly from Hae-jun’s lips. Then he pulled a portable ashtray from his coat and placed it inside. He looked like the type who would toss a cigarette butt into the river without hesitation, yet he strictly observed public manners.
While not stopping a suicide.
Lee Kang-ju said nothing even when Hae-jun finished smoking and did not jump. He simply stood there, gazing at the flowing river like someone who had come out to get some fresh air.
“Are you not leaving? Your car has been waiting over there.”
Hae-jun gestured with his chin toward the car parked on the shoulder. Lee Kang-ju merely shrugged.
“He is probably asleep. He likes it better when I come back late.”
“……”
Hae-jun looked down beneath the bridge. There were no more excuses left, not even a cigarette. The will to jump had faded away. A vague sense of emptiness washed over him at the thought that jumping now would truly be the end.
Even if he went back, reality would be the same. He would be harassed by loan sharks until he dried up and died, or have his belly cut open to sell his organs, or be sent to some island and worked like a slave until death. If that was the case, was there really any reason to hesitate.
Do not cling to regrets. Just fall.
Even so, fear made Hae-jun turn to Lee Kang-ju with a face like a frightened child. Lee Kang-ju was looking at him as well. A considerable amount of time had passed, yet there was no boredom in his expression. He simply stood there like a stone statue, as though he would listen to whatever Hae-jun said.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind. Since he was going to die anyway, it would not be too late to fall after being rejected. With that thought, Hae-jun opened his mouth. His lips, cracked white from being exposed to the cold wind for so long, trembled softly.
“CEO.”
“Yes.”
“Would you buy me?”
“Cha Hae-jun.”
“I can do everything well. And if I cannot, I will try until I can.”
“Hm.”
Lee Kang-ju tilted his head slightly. He narrowed his eyes and looked Hae-jun over, as if weighing his value.
“I have never bought someone with money before.”
“Then you can try it this time.”
At the bold reply, Lee Kang-ju let out a short scoffing laugh. His gaze turned toward the river. Judging by the mocking curve of his lips, it seemed he was about to refuse.
If it had been someone else, Hae-jun would have tried to persuade them, telling them to think carefully and promising they would not regret it. But in front of Lee Kang-ju, the tongue that had served him well his entire life became useless. He even felt a piercing sense of self reproach.
If only he had thrown himself off the moment he ran into Lee Kang-ju, things would not have come to this.
Even so, whatever lingering attachment to life was, Hae-jun kept clinging to the railing. Whether the answer was yes or no, he wished it would come quickly. Strength was gradually draining from his arms and legs.
If more time passed, he would not fall by his own will but slip accidentally when his strength gave out. He bit his lip and tightened his grip with his fingertips. That was when it happened.
“Shall we?”
“What?”
Thinking he had misheard, Hae-jun asked again. Lee Kang-ju turned back with a faint smile.
“Really?”
“You said you would work hard, so I will trust you, even if it is just to see what happens.”
It was an unexpected answer. The moment Lee Kang-ju gave his permission, the city lights seemed to shine brighter. Unable to believe it, Hae-jun asked once more, and Lee Kang-ju turned his head away, saying it was fine if he did not want to.
“Thank you, thank you!”
Unable to let go of the lifeline that had dropped from the sky, Hae-jun bowed deeply again and again. He almost fell while doing so and hurriedly wrapped his arms and legs around the railing. Finding the sight amusing, Lee Kang-ju laughed out loud.
“Alright, then let us come over to this side now.”
Just as the car was lifting a leg to cross the road, Lee Kang-ju slipped his hands under Hae-jun’s armpits. It must have been quite heavy, yet without even bracing himself, he easily lifted Hae-jun and brought him back inside the railing. Like a toy lifted into the air by a child’s hand, Hae-jun was hoisted up and then set down on the ground, blinking in a daze.
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