<11>
The place Kang Seok-ju brought him to was an area densely packed with old buildings. Far from the bustling streets, empty shops with "For Lease" signs lined the roads. The complex alleyways twisted like a spider's web, and pushing through them revealed a relatively clean building.
There were no CCTV cameras, no passersby in front of the building—only two guards standing watch.
Why would rich young masters play in a place like this? The moment he stepped inside, the question vanished instantly. Unlike the shabby exterior, the building's basement was truly a different world. The flashy interior and lighting went without saying, and the ear-piercing music made his heart rate quicken in response.
Cigarette smoke and marijuana smoke filled the air, and youths soaked in alcohol and drugs tangled together naked without a shred of shame. Gold curtains were drawn aside as he entered further, revealing a small swimming pool inside. In the water, men and women were laughing and chattering, completely lost in the moment.
"Our new hideout we just opened up. Even Manager Kang probably doesn't know about this place."
Kang Seok-ju put his lips close to Ja-kyung's ear and chuckled. Perhaps thinking they'd gotten close, his form of address had changed from "hyung" to "Manager Kang." Past the swimming pool and up shallow stairs appeared circular tables and sofas. Kang Seok-ju's companions who had already arrived waved their hands and greeted them warmly. Some already had white powder on their noses and dilated pupils, oscillating between heaven and hell.
Once seated, people's attention focused not on Kang Seok-ju but on Lee Ja-kyung.
"Who is he? A guest?"
"That friend from Hong Kong they mentioned?"
"Look at his glasses. People still wear these kinds nowadays?"
A woman in short shorts and a bikini top stared penetratingly at Ja-kyung.
"He's good-looking, but why does he wear these? Take them off. Want me to take them off for you?"
She pressed her large chest against him and tried to remove his glasses, so Ja-kyung leaned back and pushed her hand away.
"No, I'm fine."
"Look at him being shy. So fucking cute."
When the woman openly showed interest in Ja-kyung, Seok-ju giggled.
"Hey. Stop messing around. His grandfather is a terrifying person."
"More than your brother?"
At the sudden mention of the brother, the gathered people burst out laughing. Conversely, Kang Seok-ju's face contorted as if he'd eaten shit.
"Fuck. You crazy bitch. Why bring up that bastard?"
It didn't take asking to know that "that bastard" was Kang Il-hyun. A large man approached the fuming Kang Seok-ju. He wore a black beanie and had a goblin tattoo engraved on his left arm. It looked somehow familiar, so Ja-kyung stared at the tattoo for a while.
The man introduced himself as Choi Gi-tae, exchanged whispers with Kang Seok-ju, then moved to a spot slightly apart. He pulled a small plastic bag from his clothes. He took out the pills inside, placed them on a pan, skillfully crushed them into powder, mixed them with existing powder in appropriate proportions, and handed it to Kang Seok-ju.
Kang Seok-ju didn't hesitate for a moment, put his nose to it and inhaled deeply. Moments later his mouth fell open and his pupils rolled upward. Trembling like someone ejaculating, he collapsed onto the sofa, and those around him one by one joined in.
A long champagne glass suddenly appeared before Ja-kyung, who was watching indifferently. Bubbles rose in the pale yellow liquid. The person who handed him the champagne glass was the same woman who had tried to remove his glasses earlier.
"Drink it. You'll feel good."
Ja-kyung smiled and politely refused. Carelessly consuming things offered in places like this could easily lead to trouble. The woman set the champagne glass on the table and pressed closer to his side. She subtly wrapped her arm around Ja-kyung's arm and leaned her upper body against him. With a dizzying perfume scent and her voluptuous chest blatantly rubbing against him, Ja-kyung smiled awkwardly.
"Your body is better than it looks."
The woman's hand touching his arm slipped down to his chest, to his abdomen, and then further below. Over his pants, her hand stroked his genitals. She narrowed her eyes and tried to kiss him, so he removed her hand and stood up. The area under the woman's eyes distorted.
"Sorry. My lungs aren't good... I'm going to get some fresh air."
The woman grabbed his hand.
"Want to go together?"
Ja-kyung shook off that hand as well. It had been a while since anyone touched him there, so his lust was boiling, but that wasn't what was important right now. After giving the woman an apologetic smile, he circled around the table and went outside.
Kang Seok-ju was drugged and his eyes were unfocused; he didn't even notice Ja-kyung leaving. Coming outside, he stole cigarettes and a lighter from another table and put them in his pocket. Walking up the stairs to the surface, the noisy music gradually faded. After giving a glance of acknowledgment to the guards, he walked slowly in the direction he had come.
Walking along, he noticed empty houses instead of shops. Not all were vacant—some had faint light leaking out or the soft sound of TVs could be heard. Walking a bit further, he leaned against a wall and took out a cigarette from his pocket. He put it in his mouth and tried to light it, but no matter how many times he tried, no flame came from the lighter.
Out of gas? Shaking it didn't help either. Ah, fuck. Annoyed, he threw the lighter on the ground. Of all things, he had to take this one. As he regretfully chewed the cigarette tip with his front teeth, he heard sounds of movement from inside the alley.
Someone must have come out of a house. He didn't know who it was, but he earnestly hoped they were a fellow smoker like him. He put the cigarette between his index and middle fingers and walked toward the sound when suddenly a small person popped out. In the blink of an eye, their head collided with Ja-kyung's chest, and startled, they immediately looked up.
A youthful face revealed clear fear. Before he could assess the situation, the figure pulled their hat down deeper and fled the spot as if running away. Then, from the direction the person had come, someone opened an iron door, rummaged through a garbage pile, picked up a bag, and went back inside.
Ja-kyung turned his body. The shadow of the girl he had just encountered was disappearing far away into another alley. He snapped the cigarette he was holding, threw it on the ground, and slowly walked in the same direction. Under the streetlight, the bag the girl carried looked especially large.
Gaunt arms and legs. Clothes that didn't match the season. Worn-out shoes. Empty eyes from which the soul had fled.
Ja-kyung had seen the same sight before. In the mirror he faced every morning when he opened his eyes. They were what people called "carriers." They delivered drugs for people who couldn't come out to buy them directly—their method was to throw drugs in secret places and collect the money left there. The reason drug dealers used them was simple: they were easy to use and discard.
Following her, the girl gradually transformed into his own past self.
[School? What school? Stop talking crazy and finish your work, you useless brat.]
The man called his father would beat him frequently. He constantly said that if he didn't want to work, he should just starve to death. Growing up like that, one day he saw children his own age and was shocked. Clean clothes. Clean shoes. Parents' hands stroking their hair. Returning home, he agonized for days and said he wanted to go to school, but what came back was violence and verbal abuse.
[I shouldn't have given birth to you. I should have just killed you in my belly; my fate would have been easier.]
One day he was beaten so badly his leg cracked. With a splint on, he went out to make deliveries the next day as always. That day, he almost suffered horribly at the hands of a crazy old man. Naturally, he couldn't collect the drug money, and the woman called his mother got angry, slapped his cheek mercilessly, and told him to sell his body if he had to pay for the drugs.
That was when Ja-kyung was ten years old.
"Stop."
Still unable to escape from the past, he realized too late that a knife was pressed against his side. Ja-kyung stopped walking and raised both hands to shoulder height. The other person said nothing. When he slowly turned his body around, a man of similar height to himself, wearing a hat pulled low, was glaring at Ja-kyung.
"A cop?"
What gave that impression? And wouldn't you get in trouble pointing a knife at a real cop like this? Ja-kyung shook his head.
"Then why were you following her?"
The man wore a black jumper, and a burn scar was distinct on his neck. While glaring at Ja-kyung, his eyes kept glancing toward where the girl had disappeared. The man pressed the tip of the knife firmly against his side as if about to stab him.
"Speak. Why you were following."
Ja-kyung answered with his hands still raised.
"I'm sorry... I saw a child wandering alone and was worried."
The man stared piercingly at Ja-kyung. An ordinary person would have wet themselves seeing the knife and the man's fierce appearance, but his eyes showed not a hint of wavering. Though he said sorry with words, his expression was entirely different. Something was definitely suspicious. The man reached his hand out toward Ja-kyung.
"Wallet."
Ja-kyung didn't move. Should he kill him? Or let him live? Standing at a crossroads, the man, knowing nothing, pressed Ja-kyung further.
"Wallet!"
Right, kill him. The moment he made up his mind, someone shouted from behind. The man in front hid the knife behind his back and bowed politely. Turning around, Ja-kyung realized he was the man with the goblin tattoo he had seen at the hideout. Choi Gi-tae threw the cigarette he had been smoking to the side and approached with an air of self-importance.
"What is it? Why."
"Nothing at all. I was working, and this bastard was acting suspicious, so I was going to teach him a lesson."
Slap—Choi Gi-tae's pot-lid-sized hand struck the man's cheek. The man staggered to the side as if about to fall, then straightened up again. Again the hand flew.
"This bastard. Who are you teaching a lesson to? Who!"
When he hit him several more times in succession, the man's face swelled bright red. Every time he swung his arm, the goblin's face drawn on Choi Gi-tae's forearm became even more menacing. It kept drawing his gaze. Goblin tattoos were common, but he had never seen one like that shape.
But why did it look familiar... Ja-kyung's eyes watching the scene grew increasingly wide. Belatedly, he remembered that he had seen the same tattoo in the past as well.