Swallow Hunting - Chapter 15.1
This was not even a plain greeting like hello. Just a single sentence, and yet it suited Lee Kang-ju perfectly.
“Hello. My name is Cha Hae-jun. We met on the bridge yesterday.”
-Ah.
The simulation was already over, but the moment he heard that voice, his tongue stiffened. Hae-jun rubbed his sweaty palms roughly against his thighs.
“Thank you for yesterday. For saving me, and for paying the hospital bills too.”
-That was nothing.
“But yesterday I was kind of out of my mind. I am not usually someone who acts that recklessly. Um, sir. You know, the thing I said.”
-What thing? The part about selling your body?
Hae-jun raked a hand through his unkempt hair. He pulled the phone away for a moment and smacked his own shameless mouth.
“Yes. But that was something I said when I was not in my right mind. So could you please pretend you never heard what I said yesterday?”
-Hm.
“I will absolutely pay back the money and the hospital fees you gave me. That will be my top priority. I promise. If you want, we can even get it notarized.”
The other end of the line was silent. He wondered if the mute button had been pressed and checked the screen. There was no problem. Thinking maybe his ears were broken, like a chili pepper gone bad, he tapped them with his fingertips and said ah, ah out loud. Everything was normal.
“Um.”
Hae-jun cautiously called out to the other person. He could not even hear breathing. Had he decided it was not worth listening to and hung up?
-So when you were clinging to me, saying you would work hard, what was that about?
He waited aimlessly, and then the voice came through without warning. Startled, Hae-jun pressed his body flat against the wall.
-You really have a talent for ruining someone’s mood.
“That is not it, sir. You said it was not really your thing either last time. And I was completely cornered back then, so I just blurted out whatever came to mind.”
Even though there was no way the other side could see him, Hae-jun dropped to his knees. He hoped his sincerity would reach him. Right now, he almost wanted Lee Kang-ju to change his mind, curse at him, tell him he did not need someone like him, say the money was charity, and order him never to show his face again before hanging up.
-Then you should not have taken the advance.
“I am sorry.”
Hae-jun’s voice shrank down to a crawl. He had nothing else to say except apologize. Thinking about it again, he realized how shameless he had been. Lee Kang-ju had saved his life and even given him money, and now he was asking to pretend it never happened, saying he would pay it back later.
-If you have said it out loud once, that is the end of it. Do not make me say it twice. Come to the office.
“Pardon?”
-You know where it is.-
“Sir, do you mean?”
-There are things to give you.
After telling him what time to come by, Lee Kang-ju hung up. Hae-jun stared at the darkened screen. His own reflection on it looked painfully stupid.
***
He went to work at the shop, but all that echoed in his head was Lee Kang-ju’s voice. Even when he got lucky enough to be sent into a room, he spaced out and missed his self introduction, only to get cursed at for ignoring the customer and thrown back outside. That happened twice. For the rest of the time, he was not chosen at all.
As he wandered the hallway, the boss smacked the back of his head and said,
‘What, did this bastard leave his brain somewhere else?’
Even then, Hae-jun’s mind, which had wandered off into the clouds, did not come back. When a coworker slung an arm around his shoulders and asked what was going on, pretending to be friendly, Hae-jun could not answer.
He was anxious. Anxious enough to need sedatives. His eyes kept flicking to the clock on the wall, and whenever an ad text or notification popped up on his phone, he snatched it up to check. There was a chance Lee Kang-ju might change his mind and cancel the appointment.
But it was a pointless hope. Soon, the promised time approached. Since he could not get into any rooms anyway, he took advantage of the moment when the boss left early and slipped out quietly.
Afraid of what kind of thunderous scolding would come down if he was even a minute late, he hurried his steps. He crossed the bridge where he had nearly lost his reason and jumped last night, and arrived at the company. Streetlights, traffic lights, buildings, and signs all gave off light, but it was not as bright as the nightlife district where he lived. This was a typical office area, where people worked during the day and slept at dawn.
Inside, he followed the guard’s directions and got into the elevator. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst out of his chest.
“It is fine. It is fine. You are not going to die.”
He was the kind of coward who shrank at the slightest thud. Hae-jun crouched in the corner of the elevator, soothing himself as he watched the floor numbers climb. Soon, with a clear chime, the doors opened. Unlike the private elevator, a long hallway stretched out before him. In contrast to the black exterior of the building, bright lights illuminated the corridor.
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