LM 7

Out of the frying pan and into the fire—after getting rid of the wild boar, now it’s a tiger. But Siyul’s immediate issue wasn’t that. The bile that had been rising since the pig-like man grabbed him was now pushing past his esophagus and tapping at the tip of his tongue.

Knowing that vomiting here might mean death rather than just violence, he tried to swallow it back forcefully, but the bile kept coming. The sudden release of tension had also loosened the muscles that had been tightly holding his organs in check.

He tried puffing out his cheeks, but it was futile. The alcohol he had continuously drunk to appease the pig-like man was now surging back like waves. The churning bile pounded against his Adam’s apple.

“It seems you need to learn how scary the world can be…”

Siyul covered his mouth with his hand and held up his palm to the man, signaling him to stop for a moment. As the man hesitated, Siyul bent over, his hand on the floor. He couldn’t hold it back any longer. With a thick “uweeek” sound, the vomit he had been suppressing poured out onto the man’s polished shoes.

* * *

Siyul sat up abruptly, gasping. His eyes were so swollen that it was hard to see properly.  Forcibly prying open his eyelids, which were stuck together like fish roe, he looked around for his phone. He thought he had been holding it, but after waking up, it had rolled to the side. Quickly, he crawled over and grabbed it.

No missed calls.

He turned on the screen and entered the chat room. The chat with the contact saved as “Yuwonie” – Yuwon had changed it to this – was filled with messages from Siyul: Where are you now, why aren’t you answering, are you okay? Nothing’s wrong, right? I’m worried sick, please call me.

Despite the barrage of anxious messages, there was no response. He tried calling again, but all he got was the automated message: The phone you are trying to reach is turned off.

Siyul’s arms went limp. He had called and texted frantically on the way back last night and after arriving at the motel, but there was no news from the other side. Worried that something might be wrong, he even put on his shoes to go back, but stopped at the door, unable to step out.

‘Just promise me one thing. If anything happens, run away without looking back. Don’t think about me.’

Before going in, Yuwon had insisted, saying that if anything happened to Siyul, he too would run and hide somewhere, so Siyul shouldn’t feel guilty.

While Siyul doubted Yuwon would actually do that, staying put in the room seemed better than potentially getting caught by the pig-like man again while searching and ending up as a hostage or worse.

He just held onto his phone, thinking Yuwon would come back if he waited, that unlike him, Yuwon was smart and cunning enough to dodge those pigs like a squirrel. He had vowed not to sleep until Yuwon returned, but his body, exhausted from alcohol and other events, couldn’t hold out.

And now, Siyul sat crouched in a corner, fiddling with his phone. A missing person report couldn’t be filed with the police until a full day had passed. Moreover, for adults, such reports often ended up classified as simple runaways. Given their line of work, relying on law enforcement felt risky, like a thief drawing attention to himself.

“Ah… This is driving me crazy.”

Siyul knew of just one person who might have a clue about where Yuwon had disappeared to. He had even gotten that person’s number directly last night.

The previous night, Siyul had vomited profusely on the man’s shoes and feet. Though it was mostly liquid, the filthy vomit had splattered messily on the man’s crisp trouser cuffs. Siyul had wanted to stop midway, but his stomach kept churning, and he ended up clutching the man’s shins like telephone poles, looking as if he might expel his internal organs.

“Haa…”

Surprisingly, the man didn’t kick Siyul away. He just looked down at Siyul’s crown, sighing as if dumbfounded. It wasn’t a curse or violence, but that sigh was more terrifying than a punch.

Now I’m really going to die. Begging for my life won’t work, the worst case is the drum, the best case is being buried alive, Siyul wailed internally. Still, clinging to a sliver of hope that the man wasn’t a ruthless murderer, he barely supported his body that wanted to collapse backward and knelt down.

“I’m sorry…”

“Are you done?”

The apology lingered in his mouth before disappearing. Surprised by the sudden break in flow, Siyul swallowed his sour saliva and looked up.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you’re done vomiting.”

The man had quietly watched Siyul vomit and now asked him that. When the stunned Siyul nodded, the man took out a handkerchief from his pocket and roughly wiped his trouser cuffs and shoes. Leaving Siyul kneeling behind, he threw away the handkerchief and thoroughly cleaned his dirtied hands.

Siyul had thought he’d be beaten to a pulp and dragged out like a corpse. Faced with this unexpected turn of events, he just sat there, wiggling his tingling toes.

“Phone.”

The man returned and held out his hand. Siyul handed it over with trembling hands. The man then asked for the pattern. Siyul meekly answered, “It’s a big ‘ㄴ’ shape,” tracing it in the air with his finger. Believing it was his only chance for survival.

The man tapped the open phone screen a few times, checked his own phone, then returned it to Siyul.

“Answer promptly when I contact you.”

“What?”

“You’ll have to pay for the dry cleaning.”

Siyul just gaped. He couldn’t fathom the man’s intentions at all. Hadn’t he just rolled up his sleeves as if about to hit him after chasing away the pig-like man? Did he feel sorry for Siyul after seeing him vomit?

It was hard to believe that this man, who seemed to have razor blades instead of warm blood in his veins, was letting him go just like that. Snapping out of his daze, Siyul finally came to his senses and prostrated himself on the floor.

“Thank you, thank you!”

Whatever change of heart occurred, the man neither hit nor killed Siyul. Siyul’s booming gratitude echoed off the bathroom walls. The man frowned as if his eardrums hurt, waved his hand dismissively, and turned to leave. As he was walking away, he suddenly stopped at the door as if remembering something.

“Do you know my name?”

The man asked, turning back. How could Siyul know? They weren’t on terms to exchange names. Siyul shook his head. He would have preferred to remain strangers.

“Woo Hyunse. Answer when it comes up.”

And with that, the man left after giving his name. The last thing Siyul remembered from that night was the name Woo Hyunse. He snapped out of his recollection and glanced down at his phone. Kwon Yuwon, who had frantically tried to contact him as soon as they left the bar, was still unreachable. Siyul was seriously considering calling the man to ask about Yuwon.

He buried his head between his arms, elbows resting on his bent knees. As he tried to gather his conflicted thoughts while clutching his phone with both hands, the room door suddenly burst open. Lost in thought, Siyul hadn’t noticed any presence and leaped into the air. He was so startled that a coarse curse, “Shit!” involuntarily escaped his lips.

“Kwon Siyul!”

It was Kwon Yuwon. Whatever ordeal he had been through all night had left him in a complete mess. As soon as he saw Siyul, he kicked off his shoes, stomped in, and embraced him tightly. His rough, panting breath hit Siyul’s nape. Siyul thought he heard a small sob too.

“You… You! Where have you been!”

He shouted loudly, but then only glared at Siyul while gripping both sides of his face and inspecting him for any injuries. Seeing Siyul’s eyes and face swollen like full moons, he hugged him fiercely once more. Only when Siyul choked and patted his back did Yuwon finally let go.

“Where have you been?”

“Why didn’t you come back last night?”

They both shouted simultaneously. Kwon Yuwon, seemingly aggrieved about something, grabbed Siyul’s shoulders and shook him vigorously. Siyul’s head bobbed back and forth chaotically until Yuwon noticed his face turning pale and released him.

“You answer first. Why didn’t you come back to the room yesterday? Did you meet that pig bastard in the bathroom? Did he do anything to you?”

Kwon Yuwon’s glaring eyes were fierce enough to kill. Siyul swallowed hard. If he revealed what happened to him last night, Yuwon might rush out immediately to strangle that pig. Unable to turn his friend into a murderer, Siyul quickly forced a smile and shook his head vigorously.

“No. I didn’t see him. I just drank too much and was throwing up, so I couldn’t come. When I went up, already…”

“Really? You’re not lying to me, are you?”

Kwon Yuwon stared at Siyul with eyes full of suspicion. Their years together meant clumsy lies were easily detected. But those years had also cultivated Siyul’s brazenness.

“Why would I lie to you? But what about you? When I went up, no one was there. What happened? Did you leave without me?”

Turning the tables, Siyul saw Yuwon bite his lip in frustration. He yelled that there was no way he’d do that, shouting so loudly that a neighbor complained, “Hey, let us sleep!”

Only after hearing the neighbor’s irritation did they calm down and sit. Saying it was enough that they both returned safely, Siyul first took out bottled water from the fridge and handed it to Yuwon. Seemingly very thirsty, Yuwon roughly opened the cap and gulped it down. After drinking more than half in one go, he wiped his mouth.

“Last night, when you didn’t come for so long, I tried to go look for you.”

Having caught his breath, Kwon Yuwon leaned against the wall and quietly recounted the previous night’s events. Siyul sat close beside him, nodding and listening intently.

Kwon Yuwon explained how he had been trying to find an excuse to leave the bar, disgusted by the pig’s inappropriate interest in Siyul. But just as Siyul had excused himself to go to the bathroom, the pig had also gotten up, saying he was going to relieve himself.

A sudden ominous feeling had struck Kwon Yuwon, making him stand up to follow, but the pig’s companions had grabbed his arm and forced him back into his seat.