“Did you come alone?”
A long-haired woman wearing a one-piece dress looked at me and asked.
“No. I have someone with me.”
It was annoying.
I had no interest whatsoever in why she had spoken to me,
or what her intentions were.
I just wanted to finish eating my sisig.
“You came alone. I’ve been watching you since earlier.”
“My companion will be here soon. So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt my meal and just left.”
Despite my rejection, she sat down in the chair across from me.
I deliberately didn’t look at her.
My gaze remained fixed solely on the sisig.
“People with companions don’t eat first.”
“We’re companions, but that doesn’t mean we do everything together.”
“Fine. Then I’ll sit here until your companion arrives.”
“I don’t like that. I don’t like someone watching me eat. If I did, I’d have become a YouTuber.”
“Then should I eat with you? What’s good here again...”
“Forget it. I’m done.”
There was still half the sisig left, but I put down the spoon I had been using
and went to the counter to pay.
I no longer felt like eating.
When I stood up, she followed me as if she were my companion.
But I didn’t care in the slightest.
I didn’t even tell her not to follow me.
I simply treated her as though she didn’t exist.
I figured she would eventually get tired and leave on her own.
I just walked around Alona Beach.
I had some coffee, then went to a shop to pick out some clothes.
There was no way I could last three days with just one pair of shorts and an I♥BOHOL T-shirt.
But the woman stubbornly stuck close to my side.
“That outfit doesn’t suit you. And the clothes here are expensive and poor quality. Follow me. I’ll show you somewhere good.”
I was irritated.
This woman was ruining my first vacation—or whatever this was supposed to be.
“What is this? Why are you acting like this? Do you need friend money? Should I at least pay you a guide fee?”
“No. Please save me.”
Only then did I look straight at her.
I saw the despair and desperation filling her face.
******
I took her back to my hotel.
I wanted to talk at a café, but she insisted on going to the hotel.
She said there were still eyes watching her.
Come to think of it, I did have the feeling that a mustached man in the distance had been staring at us for a while.
I had her sit in a chair and handed her a bottle of water.
“Tell me. What is it?”
She stood up, checked that the door to the room was locked, and turned the TV volume up high.
She drew all the curtains over the windows as well.
Only then did she open her mouth.
“My name is Marian. I was born here in the Philippines.”
“I’m not interested in your birth.”
“I understand. There’s a mafia called ‘Bahala Na’ in the Philippines. I was brought here by that organization through human trafficking, and I’m being held captive.”
“Bahala Na?”
“They say it’s the biggest organization in the Philippines.”
I knew.
I remembered hearing about it once.
But Bahala Na had disappeared.
No, rather than disappearing, it had completely split apart.
Yet they still continued using the name.
It was a symbol of organized crime.
Whenever someone simply formed an organization, its name became Bahala Na.
That was why there were hundreds, even thousands, of Bahala Nas throughout the Philippines.
They didn’t communicate with or even know one another, but every organization had the same name: Bahala Na.
The organization holding this woman named Marian was probably one of those many groups.
It probably had around twenty or thirty members, give or take.
“We work there. When a pick comes in, we go and entertain them. On days when there are no picks, we walk around like this to drum up business.”
“You’re going around the word ‘call girl.’”
The woman glared at me, looking offended.
“Whenever we go out to drum up business, there’s always a watcher keeping an eye on us. If we don’t approach anyone and just hesitate, the watcher chooses someone for us. But he only picks the most disgusting bastards. I didn’t want that, so I chose you. You were the best-looking one, at least.”
“You chose wrong. But what do you mean, save you? I don’t think they’re going to kill you.”
“Why do you think that?”
“You still have value as merchandise. You’re young and pretty. They could make a tremendous amount of money using you in the future. There’s no reason to kill you.”
It was true.
Looking at her closely, she was beautiful.
I had heard there were many people of mixed blood in the Philippines, and she really did look like a Spanish beauty.
Long, wavy hair.
Large eyes with double eyelids.
Clear, brown skin.
A small face with a sharp nose.
And an excellent figure.
“That’s why I think I’ll kill myself.”
.
.
.
So what?
Wasn’t that freedom?
If she wanted to kill herself, did anyone else have the right to interfere?
At least I didn’t.
I was a considerate person who respected individual choices as much as possible.
I wouldn’t help her, but I didn’t want to stop her, either.
However.
“If you’re going to die, I’d appreciate it if you did it somewhere other than here. You’ve already ruined my trip, Marian.”
Marian looked at me as if my answer had surprised her.
Then what kind of answer had she wanted?
I’ll help you.
I’ll save you.
Where is this place? Lead the way.
She couldn’t have expected something like that, could she?
Or what?
It must have been hard.
How much suffering have you endured?
Everything will be all right now.
Had she expected me to say something like that?
“Buy me.”
“What?”
There was someone here spouting complete nonsense.
“Hah.” I tried to laugh it off,
but apparently Marian wasn’t joking.
She was serious.
“Please buy me. I’ll do anything you tell me to do. So please.”
“If you’re going to do everything you’re told, wouldn’t it be better to just stay here?”
“Whatever you make me do will be better than this place. This place is hell itself.”
What did she know about what I might make her do, to say she would do anything?
Did she hate this place that much?
It was understandable if she simply wanted to escape by any means possible.
But still.
Could people live only doing the things they liked?
What could you do when your circumstances were like this?
I had grown up in a shitty environment myself, but there was nothing I could do about it.
That was simply the environment I was in.
I wasn’t some prince on a white horse, nor did I have any intention of becoming one.
I had done enough playing the prince in Congo.
“If you buy me, I’ll pay you back. With interest, even. What do you think? Not a bad deal, right?”
“What’s wrong with you? I have no intention of buying you. I can’t afford it, either.”
“I’m not that expensive. You can buy me for just thirty thousand dollars. You can own me forever.”
“Thirty thousand dollars? Do you think I have that kind of money on me right now? Do I look that rich?”
“Thirty thousand dollars isn’t that much money to a Korean, is it? If you somehow buy me, I’ll pay you back ten times that amount. I mean it.”
“I have no desire to make money by buying you. So let’s stop talking about it.”
“Then what am I supposed to do now?”
“Why are you asking me, someone you met for the first time today, about your life?”
“Because my life is miserable enough for me to cling to someone I’ve just met. Because I want to escape this place, even if I have to do it like this!!”
Her voice grew louder.
She spoke as if she were pouring out her true feelings.
But that didn’t change the situation.
“If you want to escape, take a plane. Or run to the police station.”
“I don’t have my passport, and if I go to the police station, the police will contact Bahala Na instead and tell them to come get me. Then I’ll be locked in a cell so cramped I won’t even be able to stretch my body properly. They won’t beat me. If I get injured, I won’t be able to go out to work. They won’t hit me, but they’ll torment me in every way they can. I’m saying I can’t endure this anymore.”
Drip. Drip.
Tears began falling from her large eyes.
“Sniff... sniff...”
Without thinking, I pulled out a tissue and handed it to her.
Korean dramas were the problem, after all.
Whenever a woman cried in a drama, someone would hand her something to wipe her tears with.
Those scenes kept appearing so often that I had unconsciously started imitating them.
Maybe her tears were large because her eyes were so big.
One tissue wasn’t enough.
It was soaked in an instant.
This time, I pulled out three tissues and handed them to her.
That should be enough.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Sniff... What is it?”
“But why me? Why are you doing this to me?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes.”
“All the men in that restaurant kept sneaking glances at me. But you were the only one who didn’t look at me. That’s why I liked you.”
“I didn’t sneak glances at anyone, not just you. I was only interested in the sisig.”
It was true.
I hadn’t even realized Marian had entered.
I had only been interested in the sisig, a traditional Filipino dish I was trying for the first time.
I had also been extremely hungry.
“That’s why I liked you. You cared more about sisig than me.”
“This is driving me crazy.”
It felt as if the conversation wasn’t progressing at all.
No—was this what it felt like when my will wasn’t being carried out?
“Then I won’t ask you to buy me. Instead, take me with you throughout your trip. I’ll be your guide.”
“How much do you charge per day?”
“I normally have to charge four hundred dollars, but I’ll lower it to three hundred.”
“Too expensive. No way. Hey! With three hundred dollars a day, I can live like a king by myself. But you want me to take you around, buy you food, buy you drinks, buy you this and that, and pay you a guide fee on top of it? I have to play your guardian while taking you around, and I’m supposed to pay for everything, too?”
“Don’t think of it that way. Think of it as getting an excellent guide. And it includes other additional services.”
“No. I hate troublesome things. I came here to relieve stress, but I feel like I’m getting even more stressed because of you.”
“Don’t be like that. Just take it easy.”
Marian came closer to me.
What was she doing now?
.
.
.
The next day.
Marian left the hotel early.
She said she would return before lunchtime.
I sent her off with two hundred dollars in her hand.
Marian probably needed money to pay the organization her share as well.
I could have checked out and left immediately to shake her off,
but I decided to wait until Marian returned.
Honestly, it was difficult to believe Marian’s story without question.
But I couldn’t dismiss it as a lie, either.
That was how genuine her expression and eyes had been yesterday.
If I had fallen for it,
then it was my fault. Whatever.
It seemed like a scam,
but it also seemed like it might not be.
I didn’t know.
Even if it was a scam, it didn’t seem particularly bad.
Three hundred dollars for today’s work was an amount I could afford to be ripped off for.
I needed Marian today, too.
A little after eleven,
Marian came back to the hotel.
“Let’s go eat.”
As soon as Marian entered, I took her outside.
“Do you know anywhere that makes good food?”
“That place is the best around here.”
Marian pointed to a steakhouse.
“Fine. Let’s eat that.”
I couldn’t bring myself to eat steak for lunch.
It didn’t look appetizing at all.
I found myself wishing I could have a bowl of milmyeon instead.
But Marian in front of me was eating just fine, chewing away.
I watched her eat the steak in a daze.
Honestly, it felt surreal to see someone with her looks eating steak in front of me.
I pushed the untouched steak in front of her.
“Eat more. I really don’t feel like eating.”
“Eat more? I don’t usually eat that much. But since you’re offering it sincerely, I’ll accept.”
She placed the plate I had given her beside her and ate the steak, savoring each bite.
Slowly,
and earnestly, quietly.
She repeated the same actions of cutting the steak, putting it in her mouth, and chewing.
Like someone performing a sacred ritual.
As if she wanted to enjoy this feeling and atmosphere for as long as possible.
As if she believed she would never come to a place like this again.
She ate the steak like an artisan.
As I watched Marian’s mukbang, my messaging app rang.
[Esca Hotel. I left it with the lobby. Send me a message once you’ve received it safely.]
.
.
.
I took a taxi to the Esca Hotel.
I stood in front of the hotel but didn’t go inside.
Instead, I held out a bundle of dollars to Marian.
“I’m staying here tonight. Reserve a room for me. I’ll smoke a cigarette and come in.”
“Then I’ll come with you...”
“You said you’d do anything you were told. Do I really need to take along someone who can’t even reserve a room?”
“All right.”
Marian went straight into the hotel.
Why had I sent Marian in?
It wasn’t anything special.
I simply didn’t want to reserve a room under my own name.
That was all.
I lingered in front of the hotel lobby for a moment before entering.
When I went inside, Marian was sitting in the lobby with a card in her hand, apparently having finished reserving the room.
When I approached her, Marian tried to stand,
but I naturally sat down in the chair across from her.
“The lobby’s nice. Let’s have a cup of coffee here before we go up.”
With no choice in the matter, she nodded.
I drank my coffee while surveying my surroundings.
Checking to see if anyone was watching us.
Continuing to look for anyone who resembled a gangster.
Given the nature of the business, I had to be careful.
Of course, I was confident I wouldn’t get caught.
It was fortunate that Marian was beside me.
To anyone looking, I seemed exactly like someone who had come from Korea for prostitution.
The kind of man who had gotten lucky, landed a beautiful woman, and had lost his mind over her.
It was perfect camouflage.
I♥BOHOL
We sat in the lobby for more than an hour, but there was no one suspicious.
As time passed, the receptionist changed shifts.
Of all the people who had been in the hotel lobby when I arrived,
Marian and I were the only ones still there.
No matter how I thought about it, this seemed like the right time.
“Marian, I really need to use the bathroom, so I’m going up to the room first. Can you do me a favor?”
“A favor?”
“Yes. There should be a bag at the reception desk addressed to Candy Boy. Find it and bring it up to the room.”
“Is it dangerous?”
Marian asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
She was sharp.
“No. It’s just documents. I really need to use the bathroom. And you said you’d do everything I told you to do. Why do you keep asking so many questions? How am I supposed to trust you if you keep this up?”
“Ah... all right.”
Marian stood first, apparently flustered, and I also took the room card and got up.
I didn’t take the elevator. Instead, I hid and watched her.
Fortunately, Marian received a briefcase from the reception desk and came toward the elevators.
The two of us met in front of the elevator.
“You haven’t gone up yet?”
“The elevator was slow. It just got here. Let’s go.”
I naturally took the bag from Marian’s hand and stepped into the elevator.