The private jet alighted softly on the runway at Gimpo Airport.
The moment the door opened, a rush of cold winter wind swept inside.
The frigid Seoul air stung the tip of my nose.
It was cold.
It was weather I had never experienced in the Philippines.
Only then did it truly sink in that I had come to Seoul.
How long had it been?
I had still come to Korea every now and then, but as my work in the Philippines gradually increased, my trips to Korea had become less frequent.
There had simply been too many incidents in the Philippines.
From Asand to La Camara.
The good thing was that things had finally been sorted out to some extent.
Asand had established a mass automated production system.
Edward had always done a good job, but since we only provided the base liquid, our workload had been reduced considerably.
The Chinese side also manufactured the candy to suit their own tastes, so it was a win-win for everyone.
La Camara, too, handled things on its own without waiting for me to say anything.
It seemed I had made the right choice by bringing La Camara in instead of eliminating it.
Sergio had made a documentary to introduce Patrick, who had been practically unknown,
and had made a major contribution to creating his image.
Daniel, the head of intelligence, gathered information, compiled reports, and submitted them.
Daniel’s reports clearly summarized not only the current situation, but also the movements of those who might run for president.
Armando, a heavyweight in religious circles, had begun subtly promoting Patrick to Catholic believers.
He showed them shorts and spoke about him.
He spread the gospel, saying that there was someone working so hard in the darkness.
I also immediately repaid their efforts.
I arranged for several advertisements to be placed on Sergio’s broadcasts,
provided Daniel with special-activity funds,
and made a donation to Armando.
Once I showed them that I was willing to take action, their loyalty grew even stronger.
The saying that one should keep one’s mouth shut and open one’s wallet really did seem to hold true.
After passing through immigration and stepping outside the airport, I found Daehoon waiting for me.
“Welcome. Good to see you.”
Daehoon greeted me with a bright smile.
It was good to see him.
Even though I was glad to see him, I answered gruffly for no particular reason.
“Why did you come out? I could’ve just taken a taxi.”
“I came because I wanted to see you quickly. Hehehe.”
Despite my blunt reply, Daehoon’s expression remained cheerful.
“Hello, sir. It’s been a long time.”
Scott greeted Daehoon as well.
“Good to see you too, Scott. Looks like you bulked up a bit. You’re looking good.”
“You look better too, hyungnim.”
While Scott and Daehoon exchanged pleasantries, I noticed that Geunsu was nowhere to be seen.
He wasn’t the type to miss something like this.
“What about Geunsu? He didn’t come out?”
“Yeah. I made sure he couldn’t come.”
“Why?”
“It’s not that I stopped him from coming here. I gave him vacation starting this week. I told him to take time off until the wedding. He needs to prepare for the wedding, doesn’t he? He hadn’t seemed to prepare anything because he’d been following me around.”
“I see.”
“Come this way. I’ve had the cars waiting.”
When we went outside, more than twenty large sedans were lined up.
“Only Scott and I need to ride. Why did you come with such a huge production?”
“Just because? It’s nice when it’s loud and bustling, right? Makes me feel like some damn important person. Hehehe.”
I decided to play along with Daehoon’s antics.
I got into one of the cars Daehoon had prepared.
The Obsidian Unit had come in first and arranged the vehicles, but it was difficult to ignore Daehoon’s sincerity.
So I rode in Daehoon’s car.
“Where should we go first? Should we get something to eat? Or drink? Just say the word. I’ve got everything ready.”
Daehoon spoke excitedly, already looking forward to having fun.
“Let’s go to the National Cemetery first. There are some people I want to see.”
.
.
.
A cold wind was blowing.
Patches of snow that had yet to melt lay scattered throughout the National Cemetery.
My heart ached at the thought of my hyungs being in this freezing place.
Even now, thinking of the hyungs sleeping here made my heart ache.
Perhaps I still hadn’t been able to send them off completely.
I still couldn’t believe that my hyungs were no longer in this world.
It felt as if they might call out to me at any moment.
Psychology called this mourning, if I remembered correctly.
The process of regaining one’s peace of mind after losing someone or something.
They said that it was necessary for a farewell to be complete.
But I didn’t think that was true for me.
I was still sad.
I laughed often, ate well, and lived well, but I hadn’t completely recovered.
It was just that thinking of my hyungs hurt too much, so I had pushed those thoughts aside.
I had simply buried them.
I had run from my grief.
I wanted to distance myself from reality.
I wanted to turn away from the fact that my hyungs were gone.
And yet I missed them.
I wanted to be with them.
If I could be with my hyungs, then even Urubira’s backward conditions, the brutal training,
and facing those fucking Congolese rebel bastards would feel like happiness.
If I could be with them, I would gladly give up everything I had.
No—I desperately wanted to.
Please. I wanted that.
But I knew all too well that it was impossible.
So I simply kept living.
Honestly, I thought my true self had died with my hyungs back then.
I considered my current life a bonus.
Was that why?
I was accustomed to death.
I had no attachment to life.
I felt as though it would be all right to die at any time.
That was also why I went around doing crazy things.
It was why I had no attachment to money, power, or titles.
I believed I could die at any moment.
My only wish was to see my hyungs after I died.
I hoped that wish would come true.
“It’s cold. We should get up now.”
Scott spoke carefully from beside me.
I had been lying between my hyungs’ gravestones. At Scott’s words, I slowly rose.
I liked this place between my hyungs’ graves so much. I felt at ease here.
It was cold, but warm.
It felt as though my hyungs were watching over me.
I had kept lying there.
When I straightened my back at Scott’s urging, I finally noticed my surroundings.
Daehoon and everyone else had been shivering in the cold, but they had silently waited so as not to disturb me.
I had only meant to pay my respects.
I had stopped by because I was in Korea.
But my heart had wandered somewhere else, and apparently I had stayed longer than I realized.
I wanted to remain longer, but I couldn’t keep making everyone else shiver in the cold.
I carefully tried to get up, and Scott extended a hand.
I took it and slowly rose to my feet.
“Yeah. It’s time to go.”
As if reluctant to leave, I once again ran my hand over the gravestones where my hyungs lay.
The stone seemed to be speaking to me.
I nodded as though I understood.
“Rest well. I’ll come again.”
There was still so much I wanted to say, but I stopped there.
I left my hyungs behind and went over to Daehoon, who had been waiting.
“Did you say goodbye properly?”
“Yeah. I did. They sure have a lot to nag about.”
“Hehehe. Really? What did they say?”
“They told me to go out and have more fun.”
As I said those words, my emotions suddenly surged.
It really had felt as though I heard those words when I touched the gravestones.
‘Not yet. Go out and have more fun. Have a good time and enjoy yourself before you come back.’
I might not have been good at much else, but I had always been good at doing what I was told.
I should do as my hyungs said.
“All right. Let’s go now.”
“Where should we go?”
“I’m in Korea, so I should eat something delicious. Let’s go get some food.”
“Yeah. Let’s go!”
Everyone who had been waiting began to move.
Scott seemed the happiest of all.
Come to think of it, maybe that bastard hadn’t called me because he was worried I might catch a cold in the chilly weather.
Maybe he had called me because he wanted to eat.
No. It was almost certain.
That bastard had definitely called me because he wanted to eat.
Scott, you’re not getting any food.
Go on a diet.
******
Romantic Gangster Geunsu had mixed feelings with his wedding approaching.
He kept wondering whether this was really the right thing to do.
He felt uncomfortable, as though marrying before his hyungs was a grave sin.
Especially since his hyungs had never even gotten married.
That bothered him terribly.
If he could undo it now, he wanted to call off the wedding.
But marriage was also a promise.
A matter of loyalty to the woman who would become his wife.
So he could not break it.
That was how uncomfortable and difficult marriage was for Geunsu.
In truth, Geunsu had never thought marriage would be part of his life.
He had resolved to remain unmarried and spend the rest of his life serving Daehoon hyungnim at his side.
He had neither asked Daehoon hyungnim for permission nor told him about it, but Geunsu had made that decision.
Once Geunsu made up his mind, he pushed forward without fail.
He was not easily swayed.
Even if his head was bashed in, he kept his word and never broke a promise.
Once he decided on something, he charged ahead stubbornly.
And then something happened to that Geunsu.
“Are you Geunsu?”
A few months earlier, his schedule had become tangled, and he had been rushing around without even having time to eat.
Daehoon hyungnim had suggested stopping by a bakery to buy some bread before they went in.
And there she was.
Geunsu’s first love.
Back in middle school,
Geunsu had been severely ostracized by the other children.
They pointed fingers at him and excluded him because he had grown up in an orphanage and had no parents.
This was Geunsu before he turned dark.
Before he went astray, Geunsu had been a tender-hearted and timid boy.
He suffered every day, wounded by the children’s pointing fingers and even a single word they said.
Gradually, he lost his voice and began seeking out secluded corners on his own.
He found a place where no one would come and lived in a world of his own.
“Are you Geunsu?”
“Huh? …Yeah.”
“Nice to meet you. My name is Eunseo.”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Let’s get along from now on.”
Eunseo’s face, smiling brightly as she held out her hand, seemed dazzlingly beautiful.
Before he knew it, Geunsu was holding the hand Eunseo had offered.
Eunseo smiled and shook his hand.
“We shook hands, so we’re friends now.”
That was what Eunseo said.
It was the first time he had ever made a friend.
It was the first time someone had approached him, called him by his name, and held out a hand without asking for anything in return.
That was why she was precious to him.
He wanted to protect her.
He thought he had to protect the first friend he had ever made.
After that, Geunsu’s life changed.
He emerged from the world that belonged only to him.
He started fighting.
To protect Eunseo.
There was a bastard who made lewd remarks about Eunseo with his friends.
There were bastards who showed off their disgusting imaginations when talking about her.
It was revolting.
He couldn’t stand it.
He threw a punch.
He was angry, but he didn’t know what else to do, so he simply threw a punch.
He couldn’t even fight properly.
For every punch he landed, he took three.
He was dragged away, scolded, and punished.
But he still didn’t stop.
Because he had more than enough reason to take a beating.
As long as he could protect Eunseo, taking a beating like that didn’t matter.
If he could erase Eunseo’s name from those bastards’ filthy mouths, he could take a beating all day long.
He was beaten, but he was happy.
He and Eunseo did not become anything special to each other.
Geunsu was merely one of the many people Eunseo was close to.
That was enough for him.
But the feelings he had for Eunseo only continued to grow in his heart.
Whenever he thought of Eunseo, his heart began pounding for no reason, and his mind went blank.
Whenever he stood in front of her, he stammered and fumbled about.
But he was happy.
Unfortunately, Geunsu’s happiness did not last long.
Not long afterward, Eunseo transferred back to Seoul.
Eunseo left, and Geunsu remained behind.
And now Eunseo, who had left like that, was standing before Geunsu.
Just as she had back then, Eunseo called him by name first, greeted him, and held out her hand.
She still wore the same bright smile as she had then.
Geunsu took the small hand Eunseo held out and nodded.
“Nice to meet you. It’s been a long time.”
“Who is she? You two know each other?”
Daehoon, who had been choosing bread behind him, asked.
“Ah! She’s a friend from middle school.”
“I see. Then take your time talking. I’ll go in first.”
“No, I’ll come right—”
“Don’t worry about it. Talk comfortably and come in later. I’ll go ahead.”
Before Geunsu had a chance to stop him, Daehoon had already disappeared.
“Who is he?”
Eunseo asked.
Geunsu was flustered.
He couldn’t tell her that he was a gangster, or that Daehoon was the hyungnim he served.
Being a gangster wasn’t exactly a good profession, but he had a certain pride in it.
Yet, for some reason, he felt reluctant to say he was a gangster in front of her bright, innocent smile.
He was at a loss for words.
After thinking for a while, he barely managed to come up with an excuse.
“My supervisor?”
“I see.”
She smiled and believed his lie.
“Then I’ll get going. See you next time.”
Geunsu wanted to leave that place as quickly as possible.
He didn’t know what it was, but he felt uncomfortable and embarrassed.
For some reason, he even felt sorry.
Standing before her, he felt shabby, as though he himself had become utterly unimpressive.
Everything Geunsu had accomplished until now suddenly felt a little shameful.
If Eunseo was a white so pure it was nearly transparent, Geunsu felt as though he were darkness, coated over with dull colors.
He was afraid that if she stayed beside him, she might be stained by his darkness.
So he felt they shouldn’t be together.
He simply wanted to leave.
And yet, he wanted to see Eunseo.
He was curious.
Curious about how she had lived.
“Bread. You came to get some bread, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if you came to get bread.”
“I suppose I did?”
“Then you should eat some bread~ I’ll pick out some delicious ones for you.”
She began placing bread into a bag.
“I make all the bread here myself. It’s all delicious, but I’ll pick out the especially tasty ones for you.”
“…No…”
“Try them once and tell me what you think.”
She held out a bag filled with bread.
“Thank you.”
Geunsu took a card from his wallet.
“Friends don’t pay each other. Just come by often. Try them and tell me how they tasted.”
That was when it happened.
She had been looking out the window, but then said, “Just a moment,” and went outside the shop.
Geunsu watched Eunseo through the window.
A yellow kindergarten bus stopped outside the shop, and a cute-looking child got off.
The moment the child saw Eunseo, she ran into her arms.
“Mommy~~”
“Did you have a good day at kindergarten?”
The little child called Eunseo Mommy and clung to her.
Eunseo held the child in her arms and smiled brightly.
Holding the child’s hand, Eunseo came inside the shop.
“She’s my daughter. Pretty, isn’t she?”
“She’s very pretty.”
He was flustered.
He had never imagined that Eunseo might be married.
“Hayul, you should say hello to Mommy’s friend.”
Perhaps she was shy, because instead of greeting him, the child clutched her mother’s skirt and hid behind her.
“Nice to meet you. You’re very pretty. Here, this uncle will give you some pocket money.”
Geunsu took out his wallet and handed her some money.
He didn’t know what he had been thinking when he pulled out the money.
It wasn’t as though he had thought it through. His body had simply moved before he knew it.
The child stared blankly at the money, and Eunseo tried to stop him.
“What would a child do with money? Just go on. Go try the bread and tell me how it was. You have to, okay~”
“Uh… okay…”
Geunsu pressed the money into the child’s hand and, carrying the bag of bread, fled the shop as though running away.
Even Geunsu himself couldn’t explain it.
Why he had acted like such an idiot.
Why he had lied.
He had stupidly accepted all the bread just because she said she was giving it to him.
He should have acted cool and insisted on paying.
It wasn’t as though he lacked money.
He returned home, berating himself all the way.
.
.
.
“You bought quite a lot. Did you buy so much because she was your friend?”
“That’s not it…”
Before Geunsu could make an excuse, Daehun had already pulled out a piece of bread and taken a bite.
“Hey~ This bread is good.”
“That’s not it. My friend gave it to me.”
“What? That friend from earlier? You just brought it home like that, making yourself look pathetic?”
“I know. I don’t know why I did it either.”
Geunsu gave a bitter smile.
“Still, it’s good bread, so that’s nice. You should eat some too. You can buy a lot from her next time.”
But Geunsu couldn’t bring himself to eat the bread.
“Why? You don’t like bread? You like bread. Eat it. It’s good.”
“Yes…”
Daehun looked at Geunsu strangely.
It was clearly the behavior of someone whose mind was somewhere else.
The two of them spent nearly all their time together.
There was no way Daehun could fail to notice even the slightest change.
“Is it bothering you?”
“What?”
“Did you like her?”
“……”
“You did like her.”
“It’s not like that…”
“Go.”
“What?”
“Your heart’s already over there. Go.”
“It’s not.”
“I said go. You look uncomfortable. You’re whining like a puppy.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Want me to take you there?”
“I really mean it—it’s not like that.”
“Fine, do whatever you want. If you’re not going to eat the bread, then leave. I’m going to eat lots of it by myself.”
“Yes. Get some rest.”
Daehun ordered Geunsu out.
If he didn’t do this much, Geunsu would clearly continue sitting beside him.
So he had to drive him away.
It was Daehun’s way of showing consideration for Geunsu.
On the way down to his home—
Geunsu’s apartment was directly below Daehun’s.
The single flight of stairs seemed unusually long.
He stood in front of his door, but couldn’t open it and go inside.
After lingering there for a long while, he eventually pressed the elevator button.
He headed toward the shop where Eunseo was.