DHG Ch 84

“You have to let your wife and daughter live in a better place.”

Udul chewed on the broth and bean sprouts without moving, munch, munch. He also diligently carried the fully cooked grilled gizzards to his mouth.

“I may not look it, but I’m quick on the uptake. When you think about it, this is a good thing for you too, hyung-nim. Does that Jang Jooshin guy not hate his half-siblings? You know, the history of Geumsan.”

“……”

“It’s been a while since I started getting sponsored by Executive Director Jang. This is something he’ll be very pleased about. The Dock Incident, you’ve heard of it too, right, hyung-nim?”

Kim Jinhwan lowered his voice. Udul, who had been constantly chewing and swallowing food, also paused.

The Dock Incident. It was the event ten years ago when Jang Jooshin had disposed of his half-siblings and their cronies by submerging them, along with tens of tons of rotten fish, in an entire floating dock. It was an incident that happened without anyone knowing and was finished cleanly, and it also served as the catalyst for Jang Cheon-woong, who until then had been relentlessly provoking his nephew, to lie low for a while.

“Jang Jooshin’s ‘ttaraji’ kids took care of those half-siblings.”

Kim Jinhwan whispered secretively. ‘Ttaraji’, which means a trivial object, was also a term used to refer to those who had defected from North Korea, and it was the name for the contract killers under Jang Jooshin, whose cruelty was said to be no less than that of spies sent to the South.

“I know that you’re just as insanely good with a knife as they are, hyung-nim. And who was it. That section chief under you with the Nine Dragons tattoo. That hyung-nim’s stabbing skills were chillingly brutal, too.”

At Kim Jinhwan’s words, Udul put down his spoon. Thinking that even that good-natured hyung-nim must have lost his appetite at the mention of the Dock Incident, Kim Jinhwan swallowed a dry laugh. He continued speaking, his leg shaking nervously.

“Let’s stab him first, before the ttaraji do, that Jang Seungyung.”

The smoke rising from the charcoal thickened. When its hazy appearance had faded, Kim Jinhwan, buoyed by the words he had just uttered, burst into a contrived laugh. So much so that his whole body shook.

When Kim Jinhwan finally stopped laughing, Udul was wearing a deeply contemplative expression. Gray smoke rose again, and Kim Jinhwan leaned his upper body towards Udul.

“If you’re short on people, should I get you some illegal immigrant kids? The kind that can’t go anywhere.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to properly set foot in Gangnam. It sucks, but my skills aren’t enough for the job, so what can I do?”

“……”

“A monster, has to be dealt with by a monster.”

Kim Jinhwan said suggestively. From across the boiling pot, Udul, who had narrowed his eyes, sent a drowsy gaze. A lukewarm attitude that seemed like a tacit approval yet didn’t return a definite answer. The smile gradually faded from Kim Jinhwan’s face.

“I’ll match whatever price you want. Just name it.”

Kim Jinhwan’s eyes widened as if to say he could offer any amount. The scar on his forehead wrinkled and creased, and the whites of his eyes gleamed like a sanpaku.

At that fanatical and fierce momentum, Udul turned his gaze away. Kim Jinhwan, to surely drive the nail in, didn’t take his blazing eyes off him and fiddled with his watch. With the tip of his chin, he pointed to the hopscotch board drawn over there.

“You have to live well to see your cute daughter get married too, hyung-nim. You have to buy her real land, not that hopscotch land. Yes?”

“…This son of a bitch, you’ve been saying.”

“Oh, it was nothing. I’m just saying you should buy land. That I’ll pay you well enough to buy land in Gangnam. And get out of this goddamn shithole of a neighborhood. Here, this is the down payment. The advance will be twenty times the price of the watch, and in the end, I’ll pay double the advance.”

Kim Jinhwan placed the unfastened racing watch next to the soju crate. A watch worth several tens of thousands was placed next to the almost empty crystal liquor bottle. The metallic luster of its surface, reflecting the light, shimmered.

Udul was silent for a long time. So much so that Kim Jinhwan’s eyes, which had not blinked while waiting for an answer, became bloodshot. After an irrelevant breeze passed by a couple of times, Udul poured mineral water into the almost boiled-down hot pot and said nonchalantly.

“The deadline.”

“—Ah! I’ll give you plenty of time. Let’s say a month!”

Having finally secured his consent, Kim Jinhwan slumped back in his chair with a backrest, as if he had just finished a confession. Shit, this is awesome. An exclamation like a self-satisfied monologue, soaked in ecstasy, burst out towards the sky with a sense of relief.

Udul stared at the pot that had begun to boil vigorously. His thoughtful gaze gradually sank into an inorganic state. Soon, he picked up his spoon again and started shoveling hot blood sausage into his mouth. Under the soju crate, the large toe protruding from the hole in his slipper secretly twitched, as if simulating the events to come.

✮⋆˙

[Notice for the 1st GED Examinees & Examination Room Assignment Status]

As the exam day drew near, an additional notice regarding the GED was posted on the education office’s website. Heewoo printed out his admission ticket and then carefully wrote down his assigned examination room. Luckily, the test site was a nearby middle school.

Thanks to having regained his concentration, he had been dedicating himself even more to his studies these days. It was a repetitive life, like a squirrel on a wheel, spending most of his time with a pencil and a workbook, but it was more fitting to say that it was the life he had longed for. Since for the past four years, he had earnestly missed the life of going to and from school at set times.

In his time outside of studying, he had started looking up various university departments on his phone at some point. It was thanks to Jang Seungyung, who had given him his freedom and paid off his debt, even telling him to dream. He also discreetly looked into student loans through video platforms. He neatly organized the eligibility requirements, detailed loan application methods, and so on, and belatedly began to learn about the ways of the world.

That evening, after he had printed out his admission ticket, Jang Seungyung returned home late. It was around 9 PM. After greeting him, Heewoo came out of the study and watched an internet lecture on the living room TV. It was because he wanted to be even a little bit closer to the man.

“Studying at this hour? The exam proctor will have to recognize Kwon Heewoo’s diligence.”

Jang Seungyung, who had soon come out after a quick wash, approached him. It was with a strange remark. It was the test score, not diligence, that determined whether one passed or failed, and there were probably tons of students who studied much more and later than Heewoo himself.

When Heewoo tried to turn off the lecture, Jang Seungyung took the remote.

“I don’t intend to disturb you. Keep studying.”

The man sat down not next to Heewoo, but at his feet. As if to show with his own body that he truly had no intention of interrupting.

Along with the instructor’s passionate voice, a relaxed silence descended. Heewoo ended up continuing to watch the lecture. He kept his slightly rapidly blinking gaze fixed on the screen, and Jang Seungyung, leaning against the sofa, fiddled with his slender ankle. The pheromones they let out freely and comfortably at home also enveloped each other.

As the back of his ears gradually grew hot, Heewoo tried to pull his leg back slightly, but a large hand grabbed his smooth foot. Not stopping there, the man soon began to gently rub his lips between his tightly pressed knees.

Every touch, every breath, even his hair that brushed against his skin was so ticklish. Not knowing what to do in the dense silence, Heewoo just gently stroked the man’s thick, jet-black hair.

“Mm.”

Jang Seungyung wanted to bite the hand that was touching him and just push Heewoo down. Suppressing the impulse, he clenched his jaw firmly. Every time the downy-soft boy treated him as if he were made of down, it felt like something was sprouting in his chest. It would expand its territory uncontrollably and instantly cover his mind.

At that moment, his phone rang.

Jang Seungyung, who reluctantly checked the screen, raised his large body. He walked towards the terrace as he answered the phone. Heewoo stared intently at the man’s broad back as he naturally moved away.

Soon, the door closed. Not a single voice could be heard. The only thing that reached his heightened senses was the unfamiliar scent of cologne that had been mixed with the man’s pheromones, which had lingered until just a moment ago, and had reached the tip of his nose.

The lecture didn’t enter his eyes either. All of Heewoo’s nerves were focused on the terrace. Was it because of the unfamiliar scent that had emanated from the man a moment ago? Unlike before, when he had no interest whatsoever in who Jang Seungyung was talking to, now he cared.

“……”

Of course, it must be a work-related call. Heewoo forcibly turned the tide of his thoughts and got up from his seat. He returned to the study as if he were fleeing.

He forced himself to open a classical literature workbook and look at it, but things in the world didn’t go as he wished. He was absently reviewing the main points with handwriting that looked like either letters or earthworms. It was then that the man, who had finished his call, came to find him, who had not yet composed himself.

“When are you done?”

“Ah…. I’m all done.”

“Then why are you still studying?”

The man, who had laughed lightly, approached him. He placed a large hand on the notebook and instantly enveloped Heewoo from behind. The man’s transformed body scent once again brushed past the tip of his nose.

“You came in late again today.”

Heewoo couldn’t hold it in and blurted out the question. Then, realizing his mistake too late, he added as if to make an excuse.

“I was just wondering if you were working too… hard.”

Daol had said that Jang Seungyung would be in a difficult position anyway. The man must have his own circumstances, but he felt bad that he kept getting lost in his own thoughts, which seemed like a selfish act.

At that moment, Heewoo, who had raised his gaze, felt a sense of unease. Beneath the comfortably tousled hair, the man’s pupils seemed subtly more dilated than usual.