DS 35

In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, Eun-myeong quietly approached the sea. He quickly scanned his surroundings, paranoid that Jjang-ja would ambush him again. 

His thin hair whipped wildly in the wind. Eun-myeong was anxious, like someone being chased. His moist eyes, brimming with tears, seemed ready to overflow with fear.

If the man were to catch him acting like this…

His feet suddenly planted themselves in the white sand. He would surely be torn to pieces. He recalled the man eating LA galbi. The way he cleanly stripped the meat off the bone in one go as soon as he put it in his mouth. It sent chills down his spine. That’s what would happen to him, too. His flesh would be stripped clean, not even leaving bones.

‘You know what I mean, fuck? It’s either you or your sister.’

Just as he was thinking he should go back, Jjang-ja’s voice lodged in his head like a stone.

‘Try to resist one more time, I’ll wreck everything.’

Jjang-ja was a man of his word, especially when it came to violence.  He wouldn’t hesitate to wreck things. If he didn’t take it, Jjang-ja would beat him to death, and if he got caught doing this, the manager would destroy him.

Why were these his only choices? His mind swayed lifelessly. His plump cheeks sagged with depression.

Eun-myeong stared blankly at the sea like someone who had lost their way, with nowhere to call home. 

Splash, splash… The night sea growled like an ill-tempered dog, raising its waves like claws.

He particularly disliked the sea at night. It looked like a black beast crouching… It was terribly frightening.

Whoosh, the sea breeze cut sharply. Eun-myeong felt desolate on the empty beach.

Did Noona feel like this, too? When she was being threatened by the director and exploited by the restaurant owner because of him, did she feel like she was standing before the vast sea where she couldn’t see what lay ahead, just like their bleak future?

All they had were endless debts and each other, so why was it so hard to protect her with his own hands?

His sister had just started to be happy. She had a proper job and wore a nice uniform. The thought that he had to protect her happiness no matter what solidified in his heart.

Eun-myeong’s eyes suddenly blazed with determination. Unlike usual, there was resolution in his eyes that were full of moisture as if juice would burst out if squeezed.

This isn’t about whether I can do it or not. It’s about what I must do. Eun-myeong slowly got up, moving his feet that seemed to be chained with misery.

There were several boats docked at the pier. It was too dark to see well. Eun-myeong quickly took out the lighter from his pocket. Whoosh, a small flame lit up as he flicked the wheel. He checked each boat one by one to see if the one he was looking for was there.

“Ah.”

Among them, he spotted a boat labeled ‘Tteoggal-ho’.

“…This is it.”

Eun-myeong straightened his back. Though it looked like just an ordinary boat, Jjang-ja said the drugs he was looking for were hidden underneath. Eun-myeong scanned his surroundings once more.

“Don’t call me a coward! Even though I wander through dirty back alleys~”

Hearing a voice out of nowhere, his body froze, startled. The loud singing came from far away. Eun-myeong held his breath. The voice singing drunkenly eventually grew distant.

Only when the voice completely disappeared did Eun-myeong carefully step onto the boat. Clunk, the center axis shook.

“…Ugh.”

The fishy smell inside was overwhelming that he felt nauseous enough to throw up. It felt like he would vomit out soul out with just a finger down his throat.

Eun-myeong steeled himself. …Just take what Jjang-ja asked for and get out. Once out, run without looking back.

“…Here we go.”

He walked quickly to the middle of the boat and crouched down. Looking carefully, there was a door handle on the floor. It was the fish hold where they stored the caught fish. He pulled the ring hard to open the door.

“…Uh…!”

Clunk, the door opened.

The fish hold was pitch black. Eun-myeong carefully lit the lighter to look inside. The orange flame moved back and forth, illuminating the narrow interior.

‘Are the drugs really hidden here?’

At most, there might be fish remains. Nothing looked like drugs. Maybe they were too small for him to find.

“…”

Looking inside like this made him seasick. The boat was rocking unusually hard with the waves today. The weather wasn’t good. His heart raced as the thought crossed his mind that it might rain.

‘…Instead of staying here, let’s go down and look.’

Eun-myeong bit the inside of his cheek hard. The soft flesh stretched elastically, filling his mouth. He slowly climbed down the ladder.

The surroundings were pitch black, and the bad fishy smell pierced his nose like prison bars. But no matter how much he searched the floor, nothing caught his fingertips.

Then with a clunk, the boat moved. The axis of rotation tilted. Eun-myeong went “uh” before falling hard on his bottom.

“Ugh.”

Just as he was rubbing his sore bottom, there was a creaking sound from above. At the same time, the darkness grew thicker. Thinking ‘no way’, he looked up. The fish hold door was closing up.

“Ah…!”

Eun-myeong stared up blankly like a deer in headlights. Soon his whole body was buried in darkness. It was so dark he couldn’t even see his own hands.

“Hello!”

Frantically, Eun-myeong waved his hands wildly. His mind grew dull as his eyes became useless.

Then something caught his fingertips and he grabbed it. It was the ladder. Even though he couldn’t see clearly,  he climbed up one by one. He tried to push up the door with one hand but it wouldn’t open.

“There’s someone in here!!”

Eun-myeong panicked so badly that he almost had a mental breakdown. One hand gripped the ladder while the other pounded the door frantically.

“Is anyone there?”

But no matter how much he tried to push up the door, it only made rattling sounds!

Bang, bang, bang!

As he made a commotion, the boat rocked. The ladder wobbled and Eun-myeong fell sideways.

He repeated the same actions several more times. Each time he climbed back up the ladder and pounded on the door, making such a commotion that the ladder shook and he was thrown off.

‘Too dark… Need l-light.’

Eun-myeong quickly took out the lighter and rolled the wheel whoosh, whoosh. Finally, a small flame flickered to life, illuminating the darkness.

Thank goodness… At least I have this, really thank goodness. His thumb holding down the wheel trembled violently.

But soon his hand lost strength, the flame went out like someone had blown on it.

“Ah…”

As darkness engulfed him, Eun-myeong hurriedly lit the lighter again. He did this over and over, bringing light to himself countless times. Even as his nails split and broke, he kept turning the wheel.

Then the flame began to noticeably weaken. Both its color and size shrank, gradually disappearing as if trimmed by nail clippers.

“Why won’t it light…”

Finally, no matter how many times he flicked it it wouldn’t light. The gas had run out.

‘This was really bad.’

“Hello, is anyone there!”

Anxious, Eun-myeong frantically bit his thumbnail. If the man who always trimmed his finger and toenails with a jackknife saw this, he would surely scold him again. He would raise his eyebrows sharply and stare at him with fierce eyes. Who knows what filthy things he might say next.

But Eun-myeong had no time to think beyond that. I’m scared, I’m scared, scared, what do I do, I’m trapped, scared….. It felt like his airways were being squeezed tight. He frantically scanned his surroundings.

Eun-myeong actually didn’t like enclosed spaces. No, in truth, he was terrified of them. And if it was dark too, he wouldn’t even set foot inside.

‘Disobedient bastards need to be beaten like dogs. We feed these parentless things, raise them, change their shitty diapers, and they still don’t listen, why!‘

The voice struck his mind like lightning. Eun-myeong covered his ears with his shoulders hunched tightly. It’s an auditory hallucination, just a hallucination. There’s no way the director could be on the boat right now.

Even though he knew the director wasn’t actually on the boat,  whenever he heard that voice, goosebumps would still run down to below his ears. It was a nightmare, a conditioned fear engraved in him since childhood, clinging like moss in the shadowy places of his body.

Splash, a big wave rolled beneath his bottom. It felt like a huge monster was lurking below. Eun-myeong’s eyes grew moist.

Stay calm, I need to stay calm. They’ll come back to fish anyway… I just need to hold out until dawn. The air seemed to be getting thinner.

Then…

Plop, plop. At the sound of something dropping from above, Eun-myeong looked up.