TIN 107

…Turn the car back?

“This isn’t some kind of dog training…”

Their muttered words didn’t make any sense to me. Neither did their tired comments about whether we’d make it to the harbor that day. Even in my dazed state of mind, I could still hear their conversation.

“What can we do? When the higher-ups say go, we go.”

“Good grief.”

I didn’t need to hear who they meant by “higher-ups”, it was obvious. The person who sent this truck to the harbor. The owner of the mansion I escaped from and Chairman Joo who had just been mentioned in their conversation.

“…”

Joo Dohwa had noticed. That I had left that house and escaped in this truck. Whether he saw it on CCTV or just guessed, he had clearly discovered me.

“…No.”

I clenched my hand against the door. My blank mind started becoming complicated with thoughts. My eyes darted around anxiously, but I couldn’t come up with any quick solutions at the moment.

“Check the goods inside just in case. If you mess up this time, it’s really your neck that’s on the line.”

“…!”

Clank—the door I was leaning against shook. I startled and stepped back from the door. Click, click, the sound of metal hitting metal was proof they were unlocking it from the outside.

“Right, let’s just count everything roughly and get going.”

What should I do?

I frantically looked around. But the truck interior filled with boxes had no suitable hiding spots. Even if I hid, I would surely be discovered during their inspection, and then it would all be for nothing.

No, even if I wasn’t discovered, it was still a problem. No matter how long I stayed hidden, this truck’s destination would be the mansion.

‘Hyung wouldn’t do things I hate, right?’

How would Joo Dohwa react to the ‘hyung’ who did something he hated? The promise to take me to the sea would certainly not be kept, and I couldn’t expect the same kindness as before. It would be a miracle if he didn’t kill me.

It wasn’t that I feared death. I just hated falling into another helpless situation without accomplishing anything. Like those past sleepless nights, I would surely stagnate and slowly rot away.

But I had come out of the box and was no longer a powerless child. If I was going to be discovered anyway, there was no need to sit quietly and wait.

“…”

With this decision, I gathered up the document envelope I had set aside. It contained the money I had saved, worth as much as my life. I folded the envelope in half to secure its contents, checked the glass bottle inside, and tucked it firmly against my side.

Creeak—when the truck door opened, my heart felt like it would burst. My breath caught in my throat, making my chest heave just from breathing.

As light slowly seeped into the dark interior and outside air rushed in…

“Ugh!”

Bang! I shoved the half-opened door hard with my shoulder. The driver standing in front of the door stumbled back in shock. At the same time, my body leaped out of the cargo hold and crashed onto the ground.

“…Ack.”

“W-What? Huh?”

“What is it? All of a sudden, what…?”

My shoulder felt like it would dislocate, but there was no time to feel the pain. I immediately pushed off the ground and started running like a madman. Without properly seeing where I was or where I should go, I ran straight ahead without looking back.

“Hey, hey! Are you not going to stop?”

“Catch that bastard!”

The dazed men quickly assessed the situation and shouted angrily. Whatever was going on, they clearly thought they needed to catch me first. They seemed to be frantically chasing after me, but fortunately, I had already put some distance between us.

My sprained ankle screamed in protest and blood trickled from my freshly injured knee. But none of that mattered now.

Having lived life darting through alleyways, I was confident in my running ability. This wasn’t my first time escaping, and I was certain I wouldn’t get caught. If they never caught me even when I was just a petty thief, how could these men catch me when I was running for my life?

BANG!

A car that was speeding along suddenly screeched to a halt when I darted onto the road. The driver rolled down their window and spewed out curses in my direction. Calling me crazy, telling me to die alone if I wanted to die. Their curses clung to the back of my head as I continued to make a run for it.

“Huff, hah…”

My breath caught in my throat and my knees kept buckling. Though no one was chasing me anymore, I still couldn’t stop. Feeling like someone would grab my neck if I stopped now, I kept whipping my legs that threatened to collapse beneath me.

“Hah, huh…”

How long had it been since I ran like this? Was it when I first learned pickpocketing? Or when I almost got raped by a group of lunatics? Or maybe when I was caught by human traffickers and nearly had my organs harvested?

These scattered memories came to the surface briefly before fading away in the face of harsh reality. The road scenery had changed to grassland, and the honking noise was no longer audible.

After checking the envelope in my arms several times, my foot suddenly caught on a protruding rock.

“Ah…!”

There was no time to regain balance. My body tumbled helplessly to the ground. Everything that hit the ground hurt, but the worst was my throbbing heart.

“Ugh, hic…”

Sweat poured like rain and every blood vessel in my body pulsed. The metallic taste in my throat made me wonder if I was coughing up blood. Every breath brought a terrible pain deep in my lungs, like being slashed with a knife.

“…Hah, hah…”

It took a long time for my breathing to stabilize. Only after curling up my trembling legs and tightly hugging the envelope with my weakened hands. Panting like a dog, I eventually rolled over to lie face-up, looking at the sky.

“Ha…haha…”

Though my solar plexus and lower abdomen felt like they were being torn apart, meaningless laughter escaped from my mouth. It wasn’t joyful laughter, just a lukewarm mix of emptiness and skepticism. The current situation and my state were just too absurd.

“Hahaha…”

“Shit.”

The curse I ground between my teeth cut off the laughter. I covered my face with one hand and clenched my molars. The leg-breaking pain, the subtle tremors throughout my body—none of it mattered.

I had escaped. From that enormous mansion, and from Joo Dohwa. Giving up the comfortable bed and even the chance to go to the sea.

“…”

But what do I do now?

***

I knew I had acted impulsively. That it would have been better to endure a little longer, pretend not to know a little longer, and escape when we reached the sea. I vaguely felt that my rash judgment in a moment of anger had ruined everything.

But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t pretend to be okay in front of Joo Dohwa. I absolutely couldn’t spend several more days with him while suppressing the overwhelming sense of betrayal.

The realization that I had trusted Joo Dohwa came as an even bigger shock. Even though he was no longer the child I knew, I had clearly been holding some expectations all along. Seeing his gentle behavior, I had foolishly overlapped it with the small child from before, becoming conceited about how generously he would treat me.

So the current situation was my best option, or even if it wasn’t, the water was already spilled. With no way to go back, I had to find a new direction somehow.

“…”

After catching my breath somewhat, I emerged from the grass and looked around. Fortunately, there were no vehicles on what seemed to be a highway entrance.

“…Seoul.”

The road sign. It showed a place name familiar to me. After confirming no one was around, I started walking aimlessly. It wasn’t toward the sea, but toward the capital where Joo Dohwa’s mansion and Oceans were located.

I knew going this way brought me closer to Joo Dohwa. But realistically, I had no other choice. I didn’t know the way to the sea, and even if I did, it definitely wasn’t within walking distance. Even if I somehow luckily made it there, crossing the military-guarded border would be nearly impossible.

Besides…

‘…Going to the sea.’

Hadn’t I told Joo Dohwa that? That I saved money to go to the sea. That I did it because I wanted to see that place.

Joo Dohwa would probably think my destination was the sea. The harbor where the truck was heading. The wide coast with its stretching horizon. He would probably search for me around there like hunting for a mouse.

If so, now was the time to believe that the darkest place was under the lamplight. Rather than heading to the sea without a plan, it would be safer to return to square one and start over. Starting with finding Theo in the alley where I stayed, where Oceans was.

Then perhaps Joo Dohwa would give up on me and find a new doll.