TTD 131

Ja-kyung experienced his body burning with fever in the dark ship headed to China. Mr. Wang kept giving him water to prevent him from fainting. Every time he fell asleep, he dreamed of his demon-like parents beating him, and invariably found himself back on the night streets, carrying drvgs in his bag.

When he opened his eyes, the scene would change to Mr. Wang’s worried face. He told him not to die, to endure somehow and live. While repeatedly drifting in and out of consciousness, the ship finally reached land.

From there, he drove for quite a while. The scenery outside the car window was markedly different from Korea, giving him the feeling of having fallen into another world. his destination was Mr. Wang’s hometown, where Ja-kyung would encounter new connections.

“What’s this?”

Wang Lun approached the child crouched in the corner. As he got closer, the child lifted his head. The large eyes with slightly upturned corners resembled a cat’s… Is it a girl?

When he frowned, the child quickly lowered his head and fidgeted with his worn-out shoes. his head was so small it could fit in one’s hand. When he nudged the shoe with his foot, the already tiny body curled up even smaller.

“When someone speaks to you, you should answer. Kid.”

“Lun, stop bothering them.”

Just then, Wang Han appeared carrying a large plastic bag. He placed it on the table and began taking things out – inside were small clothes and shoes that would fit the child. Lun couldn’t comprehend this sudden change in situation.

“Is this your child, brother?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Wang Han explained the situation to his cousin Wang Lun. his father had come after a long time and brought a child, who was Korean and couldn’t understand any Chinese. The more Wang Lun heard, the more disapproving his expression became.

“Don’t tell me Uncle had an affair?”

“Look at the face. Is there even a single resemblance?”

After careful observation, Wang Lun nodded in agreement. It was a pretty face unlike any seen in his family. When he asked about the gender, Han said it was a boy. Wang Han brought the clothes and shoes and crouched in front of the child. Perhaps feeling threatened by his large build, the tiny child’s body shrank even more.

“You understand to change into these after washing up, right?”

The child continued staring at the ground without speaking. As Wang Han tried explaining with gestures, Wang Lun, who had been watching, clicked his tongue and grabbed the child’s nape. This is frustrating. Just throw him in the bathroom and he’ll figure it out. The child suddenly scratched Lun’s hand fiercely and glared up at him.

Wang Lun looked back and forth between his scratched hand and the child, smirking mischievously.

“Would you look at that? Such a tiny thing with quite an attitude?”

Wang Han sighed and pushed Wang Lun aside.

“You’re scaring the child.”

Wang Han explained again. Wash up, change into these, and then let’s eat. Do you understand? Despite repeated explanations, the child showed no response, so Wang Han had no choice but to take him to the bathroom.

When he tried to help remove the child’s clothes, the child avoided his touch. When he gestured for him to undress alone, the child reluctantly did so, revealing a body so thin the bones showed through, marked with old bruises everywhere. For a moment, Wang Han was speechless, and Wang Lun, who had followed them, also grimaced.

“What the hell. Why is his body like this?”

“Get out. You’re scaring him.”

“Scaring? Didn’t you see how he glared at me earlier? This seems like we picked up a little tiger cub.”

“Don’t say weird things to the kid, just go and deliver the goods properly. If you mess up again, we’re all dead.”

“Let’s just do it ourselves instead. How long are we going to follow the Russians’ lead? To be frank, you bring in all the work. Don’t you think it’s unfair?”

“Don’t ever say things like that. There are many listening ears here. Watch what you say everywhere. Got it, Lun?”

Tired of the nagging, Lun shook his head. While Han was washing the Korean child, Lun sat in the old rocking chair outside, exchanging messages with his new girlfriend. Meanwhile, Han brought out the child, who looked even prettier after being cleaned up.

“With such a pretty face, should we just sell him?”

Han looked genuinely angry, so Lun grinned. Just kidding.

“If we’re keeping  him, we’ll need to teach him to speak.”

“Don’t you know Korean? You used to hang out with Korean kids before.”

“Of course I know it. Obviously I can speak it.”

Lun approached the child with an air of superiority, looking down.

“You bastard.”

“….”

“Son of a bitch.”

When the child flinched and hid behind Han, Han glared at Lun irritably.

“What the hell did you just say?”

Lun shrugged, saying he wasn’t sure himself, and Han asked him to look for someone who could help with Korean. Just then, a passing neighbor stopped by to exchange greetings, and he shared dumplings with them. Han chose the biggest dumpling and offered it to the child.

“Eat. It’s okay.”

When he smiled kindly, the child hesitantly accepted the dumpling. Whether because his mouth was small, his cheeks puffed up as soon as he took a bite. The child seemed to lower his guard slightly while eating, and sensing the opportunity, Wang Han moved a bit closer.

“Kid, what’s your name?”

When the child only continued eating the dumpling, Wang Lun impatiently intervened, pointing to his own chest with his finger. Name, your name. I’m Wang Lun. This is Wang Han. Who are you? he asked, but the child still only ate the dumpling.

“Where did uncle pick up this idiot from?”

“He’s just unfamiliar with everything.”

“Maybe he’s just too stupid to know his own name?”

While the two were bickering, the child mumbled with the dumpling in his mouth.

“I… Ja-kyung…”

Wang Lun raised his eyebrow while putting a cigarette in his mouth, and Wang Han also looked at the child with surprise. Did you just say your name? Is that your name? I, Ja-kyung? But seeming not to understand, the child just kept eating the dumpling.

While Wang Lun clicked his tongue saying they’d brought home a troublemaker, Wang Han found even that cute. He patted the child’s head, telling him to eat more, and the child behaved well. When Wang Lun tried to do the same, the child swatted his hand away. Seeing Wang Lun laugh in disbelief, Wang Han teased him, saying it seemed like the child had disliked him.

Shortly after that, the child received a new name: Wang Wei.

***

Ring ring— ring ring- At the continuously ringing alarm, the three – Ja-kyung, Wang Han, and Wang Lun – groaned while rolling in his beds.

“Lun! Turn off the alarm! I told you it’s noisy!”

“It’s not mine…. Wei! It’s your phone!”

Ja-kyung, who had been sleeping almost unconsciously, stretched his hand upward. Hello? As he brought the phone to his ear, a soft laugh came through the receiver.

[Sorry. I must have woken you up.]

Ja-kyung rolled over once to look at the ceiling. After finishing a job he had been commissioned for yesterday, he’d played with Wang Han and Wang Lun nearby until dawn, then came home and crashed immediately, leading to this hour. Having drunk alcohol he couldn’t handle, his stomach was churning, and he had a slight headache.

“No, I’m awake now…”

[When are you coming?]

“Tomorrow evening.”

[I’ll pick you up at the airport.]

Ja-kyung got out of bed and went to the kitchen. After taking out and opening a bottle of water from the fridge and moistening his throat, he wiped his lips with the back of his hand, when Lun, who had just woken up, snatched away the half-empty bottle.

“You don’t have to do that. You’re busy.”

[No matter how busy I am, you come first. You know that.]

The cheesy words spoken so naturally made Ja-kyung stop and grimace oddly. If Kang Il-hyun had seen this, he probably would have found fault and nagged again. It wasn’t that he disliked it, but rather that it was hard to adjust. Getting sickeningly sweet words regularly from a grown man required more getting used to than expected.

“Oh right, I bought a gift for you, CEO.”

[What is it?]

Ja-kyung picked up the flashy shirt hanging on the chair and grinned. Yesterday, there was an incident where the leader of a drvg trafficking organization was attacked in a Thai market. That was Ja-kyung’s doing. Though not like before, Ja-kyung and his brothers occasionally went on overseas missions at acquaintances’ requests.

[Looking forward to the gift. Hope it’s as thrilling as when you shaved down there.]

Ja-kyung frowned and looked down at his lower body. The waxing, which was initially done semi-forcefully to appease Kang Il-hyun’s anger, was different later. After actually doing it, it felt comfortable, so he had been maintaining it steadily since then, and Kang Il-hyun liked to persistently lick that area. Ja-kyung looked at the shirt he was holding and smiled regretfully.

“I don’t think it’ll be quite that good…”

[If it’s lacking, I’ll make sure to get it myself.]

Could there be anything scarier than those words? Saying he would get it himself meant that he would do whatever he wanted when he met. Damn, it seems like it’ll be hard to get out of bed for a while when he goes to Korea. Ja-kyung sighed and ended the call, using the excuse that his brothers had woken up.