ACJY C11

The man stared indifferently at the strangers standing in front of his house.

“Who are you?” a pleasant baritone voice asked.

Shirtless, the man wore faded red boots, just like in the photograph, and a towel around his neck. He was much more handsome in person.

“You’ve been working, I see. Mr. Yoon, you remember me, right? I’m Han Dongguk, I run the real estate office in town. I came by with Daeho a while back, remember?” 

Mr. Han introduced himself with a friendly face.

“Ah, yes.” 

The man responded curtly and went inside the gate. The sound of dogs barking in greeting could be heard.

“You must be back from work. It’s hot out, isn’t it? I saw it was over 30 degrees. You have to be careful of heatstroke in this weather. Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you’re immune to the heat.” Mr. Han chattered on with a mix of nagging and concern as he followed him in. Detective Park gestured to Taeheun to enter.

The yard was quite spacious. This one, too, was dirt, and puffs of dust rose with every step.

Taeheun looked at the house where he was supposed to stay for the next month, maybe even three. The small, renovated hanok (traditional Korean house) looked old and shabby. To the right stood what appeared to be a storage shed, and to the left a chicken coop, though it was eerily quiet, suggesting no chickens resided there.

The two dogs roaming the yard were clearly mutts. One was a small dog, not even reaching Taeheun’s knees, and the other a large dog, the size of a small child. The smaller dog was a dark, hairy, short-legged mutt, possibly mixed with a Korean Nuri. The larger dog was a typical Jindo mix, a yellowish-brown color.

The man promptly leashed the dogs.

He has decent manners, Taeheun thought to himself.

After securing the dogs, the man went to a cement sink and washed his face and hands. Then, gripping the faucet, he drank directly from it, water splashing and darkening the dry earth. After finishing, he carefully turned off the faucet and wiped his face with the towel around his neck.

Despite the presence of three guests, the man sat down on the porch with an indifferent expression, showing no signs of sociability whatsoever.

His glistening, tanned body, slick with sweat, shone attractively. He was definitely too striking to be wasting away in this rural backwater.

Mr. Han sauntered over and sat beside the man, fanning himself.

“Where’s your daughter? She should be back from school by now.”

The man looked at Mr. Han as if to say, How would you know that?

“There’s only one elementary school in town. My granddaughter goes to the same school as your daughter. What was her name again? Jihye, was it?”

The man, who had been silent as a clam, finally spoke.

“I’m not a ‘Mister’. ”

Taeheun chuckled softly.

The sound was loud enough to make the man slowly turn his head towards Taeheun. His eyes widened as if seeing him for the first time, despite having been together all this while, before returning to their normal size. His expression remained calm, but the tops of his ears turned red, suggesting shyness.

“Hello. My name is Kim Taeheun. I was referred by Detective Oh Daeho. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Taeheun stepped forward and extended his hand.

The man recoiled slightly, lifting his head to look up at Taeheun. He blinked his large, double-lidded eyes and then trailed off, “I wasn’t told anyone was coming today.”

“I was looking around the house up the hill and decided to stop by.”

“Ah, yes.”

During that short reply, the man blushed all the way to his neck, as if embarrassed. His dark complexion made it difficult to notice his blush unless one looked closely.

The man simply stared at Taeheun’s outstretched hand, showing no intention of taking it. Finding the situation awkward, Detective Park intervened, and Taeheun naturally withdrew his hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Park Donghee. You can call me Chief Park.”

Uncomfortable and awkward surrounded by strangers, the man kept shifting back.

He’s practically going to lie down on the porch, Taeheun thought with exasperation.

Sweat trickled down the man’s neck and into the hollow of his chest. He nonchalantly grabbed the towel from his neck and, regardless of his audience, wiped the sweat away, all the way up to his armpits.

An awkward silence followed. Unable to bear it any longer, Mr. Han stood up.

“Since we’ve finished looking around, shall we head back?” he asked in a cheerful voice, looking at Taeheun and Detective Park.

“Sure,” Detective Park replied reluctantly, glancing at Taeheun. Taeheun nodded silently in agreement.

“I’ll see you again then.” Taeheun said, looking directly at the man.

“Yes.” The man replied perfunctorily without making eye contact and took off his red boots.

“Alright, it’s hot, so go inside and rest.” At Mr. Han’s words, the man stepped onto the porch. His socks, bunched up above the hems of his jeans, had holes in them.

He swayed slightly as he walked. The man, with his large frame, waddled towards the frosted glass sliding door, smaller than his height, and disappeared inside.

Unprepared for the man’s limp, Taeheun was taken aback. His gaze involuntarily fell to the red boots left on the ground below the porch. The heels were subtly different in height, a discrepancy so small that even a discerning eye would struggle to notice.

Specialized footwear? That was his first thought. Did he have polio? was his second. He’s so tall, it must be an injury, not a disease, was his final conclusion.

Taeheun looked back and forth between the closed sliding door and the red boots.

“He’s so unsociable.” 

Mr. Han clicked his tongue and headed out the gate.

Detective Park, also seemingly displeased, followed with a frown.

“Today’s just not our day, is it?” 

Mr. Han grumbled about his bad luck, despite having done a poor job himself.

“When do you want to see the house again? I’ll pull out all the weeds tomorrow, so you can come tomorrow afternoon.” Mr. Han asked loudly as he opened the car door.

Taeheun looked at Detective Park.

“A week from now. Just me. The Chief is busy.” Detective Park replied indifferently.

This meant Taeheun would be confined to that room indefinitely. The thought made his stomach churn.

Fuck. Who decided that?

He started to devise an escape plan.

“A week from now? Perfect. I’ll have it spotless, even ready for you to sleep in.” Mr. Han readily agreed, got into the car, and then jumped back out, exclaiming, “Ouch, hot!”

The car’s thermometer read 34 degrees Celsius (93.2 degrees Fahrenheit). The interior had become an oven in that short time. They hurriedly opened all the windows and doors to let the heat escape. About five minutes later, the three were able to settle back into their original seats.

The car started back up the winding road. Holding onto the handle, Taeheun looked back.

The man was standing on the porch.

Is this what addiction feels like?

He longed for the fresh air, desperate to the point of madness. He craved the scent of the countryside and the grass from yesterday, even the intense heat of the sun. His mouth kept watering, even though it wasn’t food he desired.

So intense was his longing that, for the first time, he dreamed of something other than the two-story house. He dreamed of the man drinking water from the faucet. Taeheun waited his turn, watching the water splash. Of course, his turn never came, and the man, in his red boots, limped away towards the porch.

Taeheun felt depressed all day. The smell of urine, to which he thought he’d become accustomed, now felt unbearably repulsive. The cement walls he saw when he opened the door felt like a prison.

Escape.

He began to solidify the plan he’d hatched while leaving the man’s house yesterday.

He didn’t have a particular destination in mind. Anywhere but here would do. That was his only thought.

The final check-in call usually came after dinner was delivered, typically before 10 pm. Even at its latest, the call never came after 11 pm. Escaping after the final check-in seemed the most logical and had the highest chance of success. Taeheun figured whoever was watching him had to sleep sometime.

The problem was money. He had plenty of cash, but not a penny on him at the moment. He could go to Seoul and get some himself or contact an accomplice and have them come here. Both options were risky.

Fuck. He scratched his eyebrow.

He considered leaving his ID as collateral for a loan, but Lee Seonjae was dead, and Kim Taeheun had no identification. He was effectively a ghost.

I don’t know. I’ll stop thinking and just get out of here.

I’ll get out and have a cup of coffee.

Since returning to the safe house yesterday, he’d thoroughly examined the structure for escape routes, but aside from the locked main gate, there were none. The walls and gate were excessively high and thick, like a real prison. The security was even tighter than the steel gate of Ilkwang Financial’s executive office.

The only feasible option seemed to be the barbed-wire-topped wall. It was slightly slanted and narrow. It might be difficult for someone small and thin, but with Taeheun’s build, he figured he could use the house as leverage to climb it.

He practiced climbing the wall until the check-in call came. At first, it seemed impossible, but through trial and error, he could easily reach the barbed wire. He whooped with joy when he saw what looked like a road beyond the fence.

He eagerly awaited the final check-in call. At 10 pm sharp, the phone rang. It disconnected twice, and a minute later, a third call came. One, two, three, four, five rings. He crouched by the phone and immediately answered.

An hour after the check-in, he made his escape.