Swallow Hunting - Chapter 9.2
At the thunderous scolding, Hae-jun jumped up from his seat. Following the boss’s advice, he washed his face with cold water in the bathroom and looked in the mirror. The reflection staring back at him was the color of a dying corpse.
“Even if the sky falls……. ……fuck!”
Mottos, sayings, nothing gave him energy. The holes to escape through were nothing. If the ceiling collapsed, everything would be crushed.
“Fuck…….”
He never wanted to see that man again. He did not even want to cross paths by chance. After all the work he had done as a sparrow, just because he could not refuse a single request, here he was plunging himself into the abyss. He was the biggest idiot.
Hae-jun muttered curses weakly and dunked his face into the basin of cold water. He opened his mouth and let out every scream and curse he could muster. Bubbles rose and popped on the surface.
***
When Yohan heard the full story, he laughed loudly as expected. Even if a friend were buried alive, he would find it funny and laugh until his belly hurt.
“Why did you even agree to that?”
“I couldn’t say no. That face, crying so pitifully……”
“Your nose is three feet long and you think you can help anyone?”
It was a realistic observation. Feeling as if he had been hit with a hammer, Hae-jun rubbed his forearm. Yohan took advantage of the distraction to scrape the remaining noodles from the pot.
“If you really hate it, just cancel the promise. You’ve never run off with Myking anyway, so how can it be used as a threat? There won’t be any evidence, right?”
“If it’s Han Young-hwa, she could probably make evidence out of nothing.”
Han Young-hwa was certainly capable of that. Witnesses could be bought if needed.
“Then just close your eyes and do it. You’re not being asked to die, just to say a few words. It’s not that serious.”
“You haven’t seen that man. He’s a gangster, seriously. Smells like blood.”
Even if no one else could tell, Hae-jun knew. The man carried an unmistakable metallic scent. No matter how much perfume he wore, it was embedded in every crease of his skin, in his entire body. From childhood, Hae-jun had been exposed to loan sharks and extortionists, and later to people selling others’ organs. He recognized it instinctively, not with his nose but with his senses.
His eyes were the same. Even with actor-level good looks, the light in his eyes was like a saw cutting meat and bone all at once.
“You’re a shark.”
“Really.”
Hae-jun nodded seriously. He knew this man was more dangerous than anyone he had ever met.
“But there’s no way to escape right now.”
“Exactly.”
“Then you have to face it.”
He knew the answer. Hae-jun tugged at his hair and screamed. Yohan grimaced at the thought of it starting again.
“Don’t worry. If you die, I’ll make sure there’s a proper memorial.”
“You won’t even find the body, so what memorial?”
“I’ll file a missing person report too.”
“Such tearful friendship, you bastard……”
Yohan cleaned up the dishes and put them in the sink. Hae-jun had no right to act shamelessly, even after raiding Yohan’s house for ramen, so he helped with the cleanup. He wanted to wash the dishes himself, but Yohan stopped him, saying he would break all the plates if he touched them.
“Don’t worry too much. No matter how reckless he is, he won’t hurt you immediately.”
Giving trouble and then a solution. Even if it was just plain water, Hae-jun wanted to cling to it. He shuffled closer to Yohan’s feet and leaned his back against them.
“You really won’t die, right?”
“You’ve survived so far without dying. Why worry? Your vitality is stronger than a cockroach’s.”
“How can you be so cruel with your words?”
“That’s a compliment.”
While exchanging trivial talk, his phone rang, interrupting the conversation. Hae-jun hesitated, sensing something ominous, and picked it up. A message from Han Young-hwa appeared.
“It’s from your sister.”
“Where?”
Yohan, gloves removed, leaned in. The message contained a time and place.
[Go meet CEO Lee Kang-ju. I trust Hajin will handle the rest well.]
A simple message, but unmistakably a threat.
Yohan searched for the location on his phone. The street view showed a normal building. Not a forest where someone could be buried, but a building by the main road, near a franchise cafe.
“Surely they wouldn’t kill someone in a place like this.”
Hae-jun let out a sigh. His heart had jumped at the smell from the man. Just like before, he had been scared by the scent of people who tormented him. As long as he quickly clarified to Han Young-hwa that he had no connection to the man and left the building, the mission would be complete.
It was a simple task. Hae-jun forced himself to summon courage.
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