Chapter 1.4
“Hi.”
The man’s eyes tenaciously scanned over my face. It was not an unpleasant gaze, but it also didn’t feel innocent. I could just ignore him and leave, but it was hard for me to do that. Every place touched by that man’s gaze stung like being shocked with electricity. When I realized those were the place hit by Lee Sugeol, the man’s lips rose again.
“Wanna hop in? If you have nowhere to go.”
The man nonchalantly said that obviously suspicious line. Only then did I move my frozen gaze and looked at the watch inside the car. The time just passed by midnight, and the road was very quiet.
There was Benz written in the middle of the steering wheel. The Benz which the inside was neat and decent, a watch worn by the man on his wrist, and a formal suit with a necktie that was so messy that I wonder why he wore it. None of those proved the man’s identity.
The man didn’t even throw a poor bait like he would buy me tasty things if I followed him, or if he could let me stay in a warm place. He only watched me with a smiley face as if the choice was mine.
I had no reason to follow him. Nevertheless, there was also no reason for me to not follow him at all.
The worst scenario if I followed the man would be one of my internal organs getting taken out. I couldn’t judge someone just by looking at their face, but the man didn’t look like he took organs and sold them. He rather looked like he would eat it himself.
Since there was no goodwill with no price, surely I had to give something in return to this man. If it was a small amount of money, then it was cheap, but if it was not, then I had to escape no matter what. Would I be able to escape? This felt somewhat different from when I followed Lee Sugeol. I had to think carefully, but I was also tired of doing that. Right now I wanted to go anywhere and lay down. The areas hit by Lee Sugeol throbbed.
“What do I have to do?”
The short question turned the man’s smile deeper.
“Nothing.”
It meant I can do nothing. It sounded like he saw me as an idiot who believed that, or that I should act like that.
Then what will you give me? It was a question I wanted to ask him, but since I would find out if I followed him, it would only hurt my lips if we quarreled here. The seats looked soft, and it looked warm inside the car. It was meaningless to think if the man would harm me or not. Because that was enough, I opened the door and got in.
It was so comfortable that it was incomparable to the bus seat. Then, when I was about to touch the soft seat with my fingertips,
“Fasten your seatbelt.”
The man said that, and as soon as I fasten the seatbelt, we departed. Feeling the soft movement as if floating in the air, I looked at the man through side glances. He looked like he was in his twenties, but he also looked like he was in his thirties. Looking at the car he rode or his clothes, I thought he might be in his thirties, but considering his age, I was sure he was a rich man.
When he didn’t smile at all, he looked completely cold. No, I meant he looked cold but also looked tired. Bored, maybe? As I kept staring at him, the car stopped because of the traffic light, and I met the gaze looking back at me. The corner of his lips slanted upwards again.
The man asked nothing, and I also didn’t ask. It seemed like the car wouldn’t leave Seoul. In order to memorize the way, I focused on the signposts outside the window. Perhaps because the wind blown by the heater was warm, I tried to close my eyes. When I started to think it was fine to not reach anywhere and spent the day like this, the car gradually slowed down.
The car entered the underground parking lot under a building. It looked like an officetel, not an apartment, and because the surroundings looked the same, it was quiet. The parking lot was wide, and there were a lot of expensive cars.
The man cracked his neck to both sides then got out of the car. I touched the sleeky leather for a while, then I followed him. We were standing in front of the elevator when he glanced at me. The elevator quickly came down. For now, I thought a criminal act wouldn’t happen in a place like this, but I couldn’t be sure. This man didn’t look like a pervert, but he seemed like he could order me to do a pervert thing while smiling and not even blinking.
Objectively, he wasn’t small built, but he was shorter than me and didn’t look like he could easily subdue me. Then, when I was about to think about the possibility that there were also other people in the officetel,
“Since earlier…”
“…”
“You’re so passionate.”
The man turned his head, then smiled as he looked at me. I didn’t react to his smile that looked like teasing me and turned my gaze. The elevator stopped on the 11th floor.
There were only two houses on one floor. After the man pressed the password down without any intention of covering it, the door opened. The password was four numbers. It was absurd to boot. There seemed to be a manager below and good security from the parking lot to the entrance, but from the number combination that only needed to get pressed down straight without moving fingers much, I could guess some of the man’s personality.
The entrance was clean. The only shoes were a pair of slippers and a pair of shoes the man had just taken off. I took off the dirty sneakers far from the man’s shoes and walked inside. After passing through the short hallway, I arrived at the living room.
The living room under the bright light was empty. Except for the TV on the wall and decoration under it, also the sofa, there was no other furniture or decoration. The night view glittered beyond the wide and big window.
The doors that came into view were only three, and even there was no household utensil in the kitchen. There was a staircase next to the section where the corridor ended, and it seemed like I could go up to the second floor.
“Sit down.”
The man pointed to the sofa with his eyes. The current situation in this place was unrealistic. His house was much more normal than I thought, but it was more like an office than a house. Anyway, it wasn’t a place where I could be.
“Do you want a drink?”
The sofa was very soft. I felt like I could quickly sleep if I closed my eyes.
“There’s only water.”
The man opened the refrigerator door, then took out a bottle of water and shrugged. He handed me the small water bottle.
“What about dinner?”
My stomach was still hungry, but I gave no answer. He was rather suspicious because he showed no sign of observing or being wary of me. As I only looked up at him, the man completely loosened his necktie and held his phone.
“I have to order first since there’s nothing to eat. Do kids your age like chicken?”
“…”
“Ah, what’s your age?”
The eyes focusing on the phone turned. If he raised his eyes like that, the scleras were exposed more as though he was glaring, which made me wonder if he often got misunderstood.
Looking at how he mentioned age, it seemed like he knew I was young. If perhaps he brought me in because I was underage, then the due date wouldn’t last long…
“I’m underage.”
In response to my ambiguous answer, the man tilted his head sideways, relaxedly loosening the corners of his mouth. Then, he called somewhere and ordered a box of chicken.
“Pay with this when it comes.”
He put the card and mobile phone on the table in front of the sofa. The man took off his suit jacket. He looked like he was about to take a shower. I quietly chased after his figure, then opened my mouth.
“Why are you so confident to leave me alone?”
I didn’t care whether the man believed me or not. Even though it was better to be alone, I asked that question on impulse. However, the man looked so relaxed that I didn’t want to take back my question. That somehow annoyed me.
He looked back then let out a small smile again. His smile felt like ridiculing but I didn’t feel offended.
The man put his hand on the suit jacket he took off, then he took out something and gave it to me. It was a business card. I looked at the protruding calluses on his middle finger and received the business card.
The first thing that caught my eye was the word prosecutor with five blue lines on top of it. Prose… cutor? When I quickly turned my head, the man’s smile deepened.
“It’s embarrassing if a prosecutor’s house gets robbed, right? So try to hold yourself.”
Ending it with that, the man turned back. He opened a door and got in. Glancing at the tile, it looked like a bathroom.
I barely woke up from the trance and looked down at the business card again. A prosecutor? The prosecutor I thought of wasn’t like that. I thought a prosecutor was someone who was forceful, looked like an old man, and was stubborn. Rather than a prosecutor, that man was more like a swindler who pretended to be a prosecutor.
I belatedly saw his name next to the word prosecutor. My forehead furrowed. It was a name that completely and would never suit the man. It was more trustworthy if the man said he stole the business card somewhere.
Yeon Woojeong. I kept repeating the man’s name and then put the business card in my pocket. The ‘Yeon’ surname was very soft and the ‘Woojeong’ name was a very optimistic word. While thinking that it didn’t suit the man at all, I turned my gaze and looked around the house. (TN: Woojeong means friendship)
All the doors were closed, and I had no desire to open them. My gaze went upstairs, but it was dark and couldn’t be seen from here. I slowly leaned my back on the sofa. I felt like my body would melt down just like that. Thinking that I was wearing clothes that didn’t match this comfortableness, I rather felt uncomfortable. I repeatedly leaned and took off my back on the sofa, then I let out a long breath and slowly buried my body there. Even though it was very soft, my body didn’t disappear.
Because it was a tranquil place with no clock, I could hear the faint water sound. Come to think of it, I realized I would eat something even though it was already past midnight. My stomach was still rumbling even though it was time to sleep.
The man didn’t come out of the bathroom. Why is he taking a shower so long? I blankly stared at the turned-off TV, then suddenly the bell rang. I raised up hesitantly, but the water sound didn’t stop. I pondered about it for a moment, then I took the card the man left. I went to the entrance and opened the door.
There was no one outside. I opened the door wide and even checked the backside of the door, but there was no space enough for someone to hide. My forehead creased as I wondered if it was a prank, but the bell sounds continued. As I turned my head to the source of the sound, there was an intercom. I quietly closed the door and got in, then I stood before the intercom. There were various buttons there, and after I roughly pushed some buttons, the face on the monitor disappeared as if the door was opened.
After waiting for a while, the bell rang again. I opened the door while holding the card left by the man. After paying for it, I went to the kitchen and put it on top of the dining table. I opened the plastic bag and the package, then I sat quietly waiting for the man to come out. I could eat first, but I didn’t do that. It didn’t mean I was being courteous. I just couldn’t believe that I entered someone’s house and there was something I could eat in front of me.
Is he really a prosecutor? What is the reason he brought me in? Is he going to order me to do volunteer work?
Anyway, it was not important to me whatever the man’s intention was for now. I had to fill my stomach first. The golden fried chicken spread a greasy smell. He was a man with no sense. The thing I wanted after being hungry all day was warm rice. There was no way this greasy thing could easily enter my stomach.