GB 94

As he awkwardly spoke up, the other team members discreetly made room for him.

Things were inevitably awkward with So Eunpa. Even Haero, who was usually indifferent to reading social atmospheres, knew how uncomfortable it must have been for So Eunpa to be caught between him and Yoon Moo-hwa during their last outing.

He glanced at Haero and held out the entire cigarette pack. After borrowing one that was sticking out, Haero now had no lighter. So Eunpa personally offered a light to Haero, who was standing there awkwardly. After hesitating briefly, Haero pretended to be nonchalant as he lowered his head and deeply inhaled the flame.

“Thanks.”

For some reason, it felt incredibly awkward. Although they were both in the navy, their missions and units were clearly different, so it felt more like they were strangers. Initially, they were practically strangers, but after going through this awkward encounter, it felt even worse than being strangers.

So Eunpa asked, almost to himself, as Haero nervously puffed on the cigarette with an awkward expression. “I didn’t know you smoked.”

“Occasionally.”

“Does the captain smoke too?”

“Probably occasionally.”

So Eunpa exhaled smoke through his teeth, seemingly displeased, and lowered his voice to ask, “There used to be a rumor that the brigadier general had a sibling, though I don’t know the name. Do you happen to know?”

Although he had already received a firm answer from Yoon Moo-hwa that he was an only child, somehow a lingering doubt remained. Maybe asking Haero instead would yield a different answer.

Haero was so startled that he accidentally dropped ash on his finger while tapping the cigarette. So Eunpa nodded, seeming to understand just from Haero’s shocked reaction as he quickly shook his hand.

“Do, do you know everything?”

“I don’t know the name. That neighborhood is full of secrets, you know. To know family names, I would’ve had to be born earlier and get promoted faster.”

“Ah…”

“And…” So Eunpa hesitated whether to say this or not, then decided to go for it. This much should be okay. It’s payment for being used as a training wheel. “He’s a man of many secrets. There’s talk that he was in a special information unit. Of course, those units create and disband task forces like eating meals, erasing information as soon as operations end, so there’s no way to know for sure, but…”

Haero felt his palms tingle under So Eunpa’s covert glance. It was like that itchy feeling he had when talking to his mentor was spreading.

“Anyway, it means he’s neither just an ordinary rising star, nor some second-generation officer who got promoted easily because of his father.”

Although the content could be taken as sarcasm, somehow it didn’t feel malicious. To Haero, it seemed more like a hand reaching out to help. But why offer a hand? It’s not like he was drowning.

So Eunpa opened the lid of a portable ashtray and stubbed out his cigarette. Then, in a lighter tone than before, he smoothed over the atmosphere, “Ah, I said unnecessary things. You’d know better than anyone, Lieutenant.”

“…”

“Am I right?”

… Or did he really smooth things over?

* * *

“Jellyfish?”

Two years and four months ago, Haero was at the errand center, his main source of income.

“Not just ordinary jellyfish, right?”

When Haero looked at him suspiciously, the errand center manager retorted.

“Would anyone ask us for ordinary jellyfish?”

“What kind of jellyfish is it?”

“No need to know details. Why are you asking so many questions today? The address is here, just deliver it.”

‘How on earth am I supposed to deliver jellyfish? Plus, to deliver it discreetly, I’d have to pretend it’s food delivery or furniture.’

Haero looked at the size and specifications of the prepared aquarium and understood that this time he’d have to pretend it was a refrigerator. He slightly lifted his cap brim, then lowered it.

‘It shouldn’t be too dangerous.’

He could tolerate ambiguous and risky situations to some extent, but he had no intention of getting involved in truly dangerous affairs.

However, considering the costs for ear surgery and such, he had no choice but to take this high-paying job.

Haero circled the ominous rectangular aquarium, disguised as a refrigerator and wrapped in thick waterproof plastic, waiting for him, and sighed.

The delivery driver who worked with Haero like a partner was already waiting for him in the truck. 

The driver, who was smoking, asked, “Ready?”

“It’s not like I can refuse and not go, right?”

“You’ve never just said ‘yes’ even once, anyway.” Clicking his tongue, he helped Haero push the aquarium into the cargo area. It was incredibly heavy due to the water weight. Their wrists were aching.

As Haero rubbed his wrists with a prepared cup of fruit-flavored ice, the driver crunched on some ice and blurted out, “I don’t know why people want things like that. They must be really bored.”

It seemed the driver knew what it was. Haero probed cautiously, “What is it?”

“They say it’s a newly discovered jellyfish. It hasn’t been classified as harmful or not yet, but from what I know, it supposedly shows dreams. I don’t know what kind of dreams.”

“There’s such a thing?”

“What doesn’t exist in this world? There are even flying tuna.”

Flying tuna doesn’t exist. That’s just a rumor.

No, they might exist, but at least they haven’t been discovered yet.

Late at night, driving on a very quiet highway, Haero thought about the jellyfish that supposedly shows dreams.

The main clients of this office were mostly people from families that were very wealthy and famous, but the individuals themselves were not famous, or people who were once famous but had chosen to live in seclusion, hiding in the shadows.

The common thread was that they were all incredibly rich, extremely proud, and all depressed.

“Rich folks are worse. When you’re busy making a living, where’s the time to be depressed?” The driver consistently made such sarcastic remarks whenever a request came in.

Haero thought they were gradually getting soaked in seawater invisible to our eyes. That was easier to understand. They were repeating the cycle of getting wet and drying so much that they didn’t even realize their feet were turning into salt chunks. That’s why they kept applying things to their bodies, whether or not they knew they were self-harming, trying to find places that hadn’t yet turned to salt.

The destination was a very quiet residential area of detached houses in an inland region. Despite each having large private grounds, the walls were so high you had to crane your neck to see over them, as if they were terrified of something. In contrast, the mansion windows were small, making them look like little arks or prisons.

Haero entered through a hidden back door, slammed it shut, and got out of the car.

Most of the things he transported were shrouded in secrets that came with the warning “knowing will hurt you.” But secrets are usually obvious. The truth is often more interesting. No matter how much weight they try to give to their secrets, they’re probably just bizarre collectibles that wealthy people with nothing better to do get excited about.

Whenever Haero was called to deliver something, he repeated like a parrot that he knew nothing about these items. He had a voice recorder in his pocket. The boss probably knew about it too. The boss wasn’t afraid of the law anyway. The law was still taking slow, heavy steps trying to adapt to the new world, so it was far from catching up to him, and what was closer than the law was illegal threats.

But Haero wasn’t afraid of threats. The only things he feared were Yoon Moo-hwa disappearing forever while he was still alive, or losing the chance to board a ship forever despite being alive.

“Alright, let’s move it.” The chain-smoking driver finished his cigarette until it was short enough to burn his fingers if he wasn’t careful, then opened the door.

Hot air rushed out of the temperature-controlled truck. Maybe the jellyfish was born and raised in a thermal region. 

‘Did that jellyfish know where it was?’

Haero moved the aquarium to the third basement floor. There, a woman with severe dark circles under her eyes was already waiting anxiously, picking at the dry skin on her lips.

“They said not to look at it for more than 30 seconds. Be careful.”

Haero and the driver, both fully equipped with protective gear, headed towards the huge aquarium that was already prepared. They loaded the jellyfish onto a small cargo crane and slowly tilted it. Warm seawater touched their hands.

The jellyfish was enormous. It seemed to be about 3 meters large. Without any self-awareness, it was just swimming leisurely in its new environment, unconcerned despite having moved twice from its original habitat. And Haero, mesmerized by its colors changing softly with the waves, ended up staring at it for more than 30 seconds.

“Hey! Snap out of it!” The driver, noticing Haero couldn’t take his eyes off it, yelled at him. 

Only then did he look away, but it was already after 40 seconds had passed. Haero was slightly flustered but calmly finished the job and came down the ladder.

The woman they had met earlier, the one who ordered this delivery, was already crouched in front of the huge aquarium, staring blankly at the jellyfish.

“I wonder if she’s in any state to pay for this.”

While the driver went out to take care of the contract, clicking his tongue, Haero stood beside her, looking at the crouched woman.

Her expression alternated between what looked like crying and laughing.

The last delivery was an unidentifiable plant. Importing plants and animals was very tricky under trade laws, but smugglers managed to do it illegally. While stroking the leaves that somehow felt more animal-like despite being a plant, the customer kept calling the name of her pet. Then the leaves trembled, changed color, and grew long, fluffy hairs.

The customer before that was a sex addict who ordered an ointment rumored to quickly heal dick sores and maintain erections. Since it was a small item, Haero went alone, but the customer grabbed his trouser leg, giggling and ordering him to sleep with them. The order turned into begging, then threats, and suddenly an enormous strength was tearing at Haero’s clothes.

If Haero hadn’t been very quick, if he hadn’t known how to effectively subdue someone without hurting them, he would have been caught up in it.

And that method was something Yoon Moo-hwa had taught him.

There were strange rumors about him because of how he looked when he escaped, but it didn’t matter. There was no time to be distracted by such things or to be sad about them. Not for a moment had anyone’s gaze other than Yoon Moo-hwa’s ever meant anything to him.

“What kind of dream do you see?” Haero asked, but the customer didn’t answer. 

Her face was soaked. He thought it was tears, but it was sweat. Her facial muscles were still moving bizarrely. 

Was she crying or laughing? She looked like she was in pain, but if so, why spend so much money to buy this thing and keep it in her basement?

Then, Haero lifted his head.

“Ah…”

Standing in front of Haero’s eyes was Yoon Moo-hwa, who couldn’t possibly be here.