GBH 94

The narrow alley was a passage connecting the residential area to the main road. On the residential side, Se-kyung sat in the back seat of the sedan, watching Song Yi-heon through the lowered window. On the opposite side, the main road was a four-lane street with cars zipping by. Song Yi-heon, who had been leading the way, stopped midway through the alley and perched on an air conditioner’s outdoor unit.

“Let’s talk here.”

Once again, Song Yi-heon spoke casually without preamble, and Kim Dong-su restrained the urge to give him a punch. If only his manner of speaking didn’t remind him of the deceased Kim Deuk-pal, his fist would have flown long ago. Missing the dead Kim Deuk-pal, Kim Dong-su hurriedly held out a yellowed envelope, afraid he might suggest continuing contact with Song Yi-heon who reminded him of Kim Deuk-pal.

“Take this.”

It was an old envelope with worn corners, bearing the marks of time. Opening the frayed and tattered mouth revealed documents like house and land deeds. These had been taken from the safe in Lee Mi-kyung’s house. They were the house and land deeds, and seals that should have belonged to Song Min-seo originally.

While Kim Dong-su lit a cigarette, Song Yi-heon checked the contents and carefully put the envelope into his black backpack. This was Song Min-seo’s share. Now that she had cut ties with the chairman, Song Min-seo would have to stand on her own, but it was questionable whether she, who had been confined to the house for nearly 20 years, could manage well.

Since Shim Su-jin was unlikely to look after Song Min-seo as well, Song Yi-heon had to secure Song Min-seo’s share at least. Placing the backpack between his legs, he asked Kim Dong-su about the task he had entrusted to him.

“What about Lee Mi-kyung?”

“It’ll take some time for her to get out of the mental hospital.”

By then, there would be enough time to overturn the judgment of Song Min-seo’s mental incapacity. With her regularly attending psychiatric sessions and showing improvement, and Lee Mi-kyung who had been interfering now gone, it should be resolved smoothly. Having dealt with a major nuisance, it was time to confirm the domino-like chain of benefits. Money came first.

“Did the money come in?”

Song Yi-heon had demanded 1 billion won in cash separately while securing a promise of financial support from Shim Su-jin in exchange for ousting the chairman. That money had been deposited into Kim Dong-su’s account. While surprised that the source of the sudden large sum was a minor, Kim Dong-su wasn’t too shocked, somehow feeling it was possible for this arrogant kid.

“So it was indeed from you.”

“Consider it the price for Kim Deuk-pal’s life.”

That amount seemed enough to alleviate some of the resentment. While money wasn’t everything in life, it sometimes did provide comfort. Wondering if this was how a breadwinner felt, hoping the bereaved family wouldn’t face economic hardship, Song Yi-heon bitterly scraped the ground with his dirty beige canvas shoes.

He hadn’t expected gratitude, but at least some gruff response. The silence made him realize how his words about the price of Kim Deuk-pal’s life must have sounded to the other party, feeling the thick killing intent that could make even a healthy heart skip a beat.

“No, I mean, I just felt sorry…”

“Watch your mouth.”

The whites of his eyes, filled with killing intent, turned blue. From Kim Dong-su’s perspective, he had reason to be angry. While the anger was for the deceased Kim Deuk-pal, and thus for Song Yi-heon’s sake, Song Yi-heon inexplicably felt hurt and just kept his head down. Near his canvas shoes, Kim Dong-su’s discarded cigarette butts rolled messily.

“The prosecutors will be snooping around the area. You have enough funds, so lay low in the countryside for a while before coming back up.”

This was the message Choi Myung-hyun had conveyed through Choi Se-kyung this morning. All Song Yi-heon had said was “Okay,” so Se-kyung had asked for an explanation, but Song Yi-heon, very concerned about having used Se-kyung’s five minutes as a bargaining chip, had fled to the school store. As a result, Se-kyung had been prickly all day, making Song Yi-heon sweat.

He had provided funds and created a favorable situation. The rest was up to the subordinates to handle. He emphasized strongly that he couldn’t forgive them if they failed again, no matter how much he cared for his subordinates.

“Don’t disappoint me twice.”

Again. Once more, the decisive tone of speech was exactly like the deceased Kim Deuk-pal’s, preventing Kim Dong-su from hitting the arrogant high school student. Wondering if perhaps the dead boss had transformed into Song Yi-heon’s form, Kim Dong-su scrutinized him closely, but this thin boy was, in many ways, just Song Yi-heon as written on his school uniform nameplate.

“…If it were the dead Kim Deuk-pal, he would have said something like this.”

Avoiding Kim Dong-su’s searching gaze, Song Yi-heon licked his lips and swallowed dryly.

“And if it were Kim Deuk-pal… he would have said not to hate me too much.”

“I know.”

Thinking about that, Kim Dong-su couldn’t help but light another cigarette. He finally crumpled the empty pack and threw it in the corner of the alley. Every time he recalled that Kim Deuk-pal would have chosen this young boy over his subordinates, given his personality, another pack of cigarettes was finished.

“If it were the boss, he would make the same choice even if the same situation arose.”

“…”

“And he’s the kind of person who would say it wasn’t your fault.”

“…”

“Pay your respects to him later.”

Kim Dong-su handed over a note with an address written on it. Seeing “Memory Park” written at the end, it seemed to be a memorial park where Kim Deuk-pal’s remains were buried. While it wouldn’t be pleasant to visit one’s own grave, saying so in front of Kim Dong-su would likely result in a punch flying. Song Yi-heon nodded half heartedly and took the note.

Though he thought Kim Dong-su would leave after finishing his business, he showed no signs of leaving. Song Yi-heon also had no further business but didn’t make a move to leave first or suggest parting. He killed time by pressing the folded line of the note.

This would probably be their last meeting. Once they parted here, they’d likely never see each other again. He knew it would be wise to part cleanly, just as he had hidden his identity until now. However, his feet wouldn’t move readily.

While Kim Dong-su wouldn’t miss not seeing Song Yi-heon, the fact that he also wasn’t leaving made Song Yi-heon linger more, dragging his feet. Kim Dong-su, perhaps with another purpose, eventually tapped Song Yi-heon’s arm.

“What was the boss’s last wish?”

Not understanding at first, Song Yi-heon belatedly recalled the incident at the barbecue restaurant.

“Ah, that.”

There was no such last wish, as it was something he had made up on the spot to prevent the subordinates from drinking. However, faced with Kim Dong-su’s fierce gaze that suggested violence if he told the truth, Song Yi-heon couldn’t reveal the truth.

Since he was here himself, whatever he wanted to say at the end would be the last wish. He recalled the moment of his death.

What he most wanted to say when he sensed his death was…

“…I loved you.”

Though embarrassed by the sentimental words, it was nothing compared to the regret he felt at the moment of death. In fact, having the chance to convey these words was a miracle in itself.

“Because I considered you family… so, live well.”

As he delivered the final greeting he couldn’t give due to his sudden death, a soft exclamation of “Ah” escaped. His mind cleared as if everything was falling into place.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Perhaps he had entered Song Yi-heon’s body to deliver this message. Maybe the real Song Yi-heon’s soul had lent his body for this moment. With this thought, feelings of resentment or lingering attachment washed away as if they were lies.

It’s done now. This settles it. Kim Deuk-pal let go of the lingering dead life he had been dragging along. Song Yi-heon released that life, neither dead nor alive, that he had been carrying darkly. As a refreshing smile spread across that young face, Kim Dong-su’s lips also curled up slightly.

“…Thanks for delivering that.”

Kim Dong-su pulled his hat down again. His shadowed eyes looked down at Song Yi-heon before he walked towards the main road. Song Yi-heon, who had been watching Kim Dong-su’s slender back walk into the light after getting up from the air conditioner unit, also gathered his bag and turned around. It was the direction where Se-kyung was waiting. That’s where he needed to go. The opposite direction from Kim Dong-su, where Song Yi-heon’s life was. The two in the alley returned to their own worlds in opposite directions.

The summer of sky-blue heat and floating white clouds, the summer of greenery mingling with exhaust fumes, the summer of wandering through nights of glittering city lights, came to an end.

The long summer vacation was over.

Second Semester

The calendar turned to September, and the second semester began. The scorching sunlight that had beaten down on skin softened, and the wind became cool. At school, it was the mixed period where both summer and spring/fall uniforms were worn.

Song Yi-heon’s body, sensitive to both heat and cold, coughed in the chilly temperature difference between morning and evening. His throat swelled up at the slightest cold wind, making Kim Deuk-pal, who had never known cold in his life, realize what it meant to have chills. Clicking his tongue, he went to buy red ginseng and, seeing students on the street wearing training jackets over their uniforms, bought several because they looked nice.

The belief that students should be neat had long faded with grueling study sessions lasting until dawn, so from then on, Song Yi-heon would zip up his training jacket to his neck as soon as he arrived in the classroom. Sometimes he would even borrow blankets from the girls and wrap them around himself.

“Hey guys, let’s push our desks together.”

During break time, classmates returning from the school store pushed their desks together and poured out the snacks they had bought. Among the girls sitting around the joined desks eating snacks, Song Yi-heon stood out as the only boy. Wearing a black jacket with three stripes and a pink blanket borrowed and draped over his shoulders, Song Yi-heon asked about what he had noticed while visiting the school store.

“Is something going on at school these days? The atmosphere seems unsettled.”

Students were moving in groups, busily carrying things around. They seemed busy, but not with studying, which was different from usual. However, Song Yi-heon seemed to be the only one who found it strange, as the other kids calmly informed him about the school schedule.

“The festival is the week after next. The first and second years are probably busy preparing for it.”

“Festival?”

Do high school students do that too? Song Yi-heon’s mouth gaped open, having missed the announcements during homeroom because he was dozing off after studying until dawn. One girl, grabbing a potato chip, treated him as if he was making a fuss over nothing.

“What’s wrong with you, acting like you’ve never been to a festival before? We did it in our first and second years too… oh…”

The atmosphere grew somber as they belatedly realized that Song Yi-heon, who had been bullied, probably hadn’t participated in, let alone enjoyed, the festivals. Normally, Song Yi-heon would have stepped in to smooth things over, saying it was okay, but he was too shocked by the news of the festival to even chew his snacks.

Thinking Yi-heon must have been hurt deeply, no one dared to speak up, silently chewing on snacks that had gone soggy in their mouths. Then, one girl kindly suggested,

“Yi-heon, I used to be in the manga club, and my juniors invited me to come see their festival preparations. Want to come along?”

“Yeah!”

Song Yi-heon exclaimed eagerly.