GBH 93

Kim Dong-su. Only then did she remember the name of the man shining the phone flashlight. The guys the broker recommended as skilled were all subordinates of the deceased Kim Deuk-pal. As if foreseeing what would happen to her just by identifying who she was dealing with, Lee Mi-kyung was desperate. She flapped her bound arms and legs like a live fish.

It was a time when her irritation had peaked due to dealing with the aftermath of Song Yi-heon jumping off the pedestrian bridge. Living in a good house with plenty of pocket money, what was he lacking that he was making such a fuss about dying? To Lee Mi-kyung, it only looked like he had jumped to give her a hard time. She wasn’t interested in why Song Yi-heon had tried to die; she was only worried about the chairman hearing this news and making a fuss.

The problem grew larger as someone else had been swept up and died. It was fortunate, at least, that he was a gang member. As they were people who received neither legal protection nor public sympathy, she handled it as she pleased. She hurled curses as if venting the stress accumulated because of Song Yi-heon.

She raged that these worthless bastards were acting up without knowing their place, and that by dying needlessly while interfering in others’ business, they had complicated matters.

And her actions came back to her like karma. Lee Mi-kyung, who had been struggling in the car trunk, froze when she heard a long animal cry. Looking around with rolling eyes, she saw trees densely reaching towards the sky.

The darkness that had fallen in layers on the deep mountains of Gangwon-do was as deep as an inescapable prison. Suddenly frightened, she struggled again. She tried to bribe them with money, but her lips, which had been spewing curses, were covered with silver duct tape, rendering her speechless.

“Mmph, mmph…!”

Other subordinates pulled Lee Mi-kyung out of the trunk. As she was dragged with her arms bound behind her back, held on both sides, she discovered the white building of an unlit mental hospital and kicked wildly in shock.

One of her red high heels came off and rolled on the path they had come. Her foot, clad only in stockings, struggled against the dirt ground, trying to resist. Dirt seeped through the thin fabric of the stockings. As her resistance intensified, the gangsters on both sides lifted their arms hooked under her elbows. Soon, her dirt-stained feet were kicking the air.

Inside the barred gate, a hospital staff member was opening a large padlock and unwinding the chains wrapped around it. As they pushed open the opened gate, waiting security guards came out to take over Lee Mi-kyung. Unable to shake off these men who were as burly as the gangsters, Lee Mi-kyung was moved like a piece of luggage.

Behind the resisting Lee Mi-kyung, Kim Dong-su’s request was heard.

“You know the temperament of Song Min-seo’s guardian. Please take good care of her.”

“Ah, yes, yes. We know.”

Due to two failed attempts to hospitalize Song Min-seo, there had been frequent contact, and Lee Mi-kyung’s temperament had become notorious even within the hospital.

“We’ll be careful not to let anything leak out.”

The hospital staff spoke to show that they hadn’t forgotten what Lee Mi-kyung had specifically emphasized. When Lee Mi-kyung, who was looking back at the entrance, heard this, she desperately pleaded for help.

“Mmph, mmph…!”

She had bribed the hospital director and taken great pains to ensure that Song Min-seo would never leave this mental hospital. She even forged patient records to prevent anyone from discovering that Song Min-seo was locked up here. Lee Mi-kyung herself knew best that once locked up, one couldn’t get out.

In a final struggle, Lee Mi-kyung thrashed about, resisting and trying to say it wasn’t her. Her mouth, blocked by duct tape, screamed.

“Mmph-!”

However, every patient who came here claimed they were sane. Lee Mi-kyung wasn’t the only one brought in with her mouth taped and restrained. Resisting hospitalization was also part of the admission process, so the security guards skillfully subdued Lee Mi-kyung’s resistance.

This place, cut off from the outside world beyond the mountain ridge, was where fear became reality. Lee Mi-kyung was dragged into the fear she had created. Soon, her resistance, buried in darkness, could no longer be heard.

* * *

Lee Jae-geun, number 17 in Class 1 of the 3rd year at a certain high school in Seoul, had no interest in studying. Unfortunately, however, Jae-geun’s parents had great aspirations for his studies, and the parents’ grand aspirations determined the future of Jae-geun, who was still a student. Around his third year of middle school, Jae-geun wanted to go to a commercial high school and get a job quickly, but following his parents’ unyielding wishes, he entered an academic high school.

Although he attended an academic high school under pressure from his parents, it didn’t create motivation where there was none. They say studying is a battle of endurance, but Jae-geun found it too hard to sit at a desk. Moreover, why did he feel so sleepy whenever he looked at printed words? The textbooks he used as pillows were wrinkled with saliva stains.

As a result, like the saying “effort never betrays you,” Jae-geun wasn’t betrayed. He hadn’t made any effort, so there was nothing to betray. Looking at his mock exam results, Jae-geun humbly accepted the outcome.

“I failed again, as expected.”

It was the results of a private mock exam taken only by third-year students before the end of summer vacation supplementary classes. Almost all subjects were at rock-bottom grades. Seeing the transcript that made university admission look hopeless, tears welled up in his eyes at the thought of his parents waiting for the results at home.

This wasn’t the kind of grade that could be resolved with a few slaps on the back. Feeling dejected, Jae-geun set out to find Song Yi-heon, who probably received similar grades, to comfort his troubled mind with a sense of camaraderie.

Since Song Yi-heon was number 16, they lined up in front and back during PE class and started talking. Unlike their first year when they were in the same class, his personality had completely changed, and they quickly became close. However, the decisive moment that made Lee Jae-geun like Song Yi-heon was the midterm exam results. Peeking over Song Yi-heon’s shoulder as he received his results right in front of him, his rank was 24th, while Lee Jae-geun was 23rd.

This bastard really hates studying too, huh. At that time, Lee Jae-geun built a private sense of camaraderie. Meanwhile, he placed Song Yi-heon below himself as his own rank was higher.

This mock exam shouldn’t be any different. Lee Jae-geun called out to Song Yi-heon, pushing his chair, intending to console him for likely getting lower grades than himself.

“Song Yi-heon! Did you get good grades?”

Song Yi-heon, whose cheeks seemed to have hollowed out as if he’d grown taller again during summer break, turned his head which was tilted back over the chair. It had been a while since he’d been seen awake at school. With both hands in his pockets and long legs stretched out, the mock exam results lay on his desk. Lee Jae-geun casually picked up the results while patting Song Yi-heon’s back.

“Tch, this hyung knows everything without you saying. Let’s not cling to what’s not working and just get jobs together…”

However, Lee Jae-geun’s smile gradually faded as he looked at Song Yi-heon’s results.

“Ugh…”

He was truly speechless. Lee Jae-geun pulled Song Yi-heon’s results taut and held them close to his eyes, but the numbers didn’t change. He scanned Song Yi-heon’s grades as if engraving them in his eyes.

Korean History 1, Korean Language 2, Math 8, English 3, Life and Ethics 3, Politics and Law 2…

“You, you, this…! You, after sleeping through all the supplementary classes!”

Lee Jae-geun raised his voice, filled with indignation. He had felt a sense of camaraderie watching Song Yi-heon always sleeping with his head on the desk and slept along with him, but now he felt betrayed as Song Yi-heon alone had done well on the test. However, Song Yi-heon nonchalantly reclaimed his results.

“I’ve been studying all along, you know?”

When he was alone, he had to be vigilant of his surroundings and had no time to study, but he could study while being with Se-kyung. They would take turns studying and keeping watch at places like convenience store parasols or 24-hour cafes. Thanks to Se-kyung, who could give explanations rivaling top instructors at the slightest prompt and who concentrated fiercely, Song Yi-heon could also focus regardless of the location.

Come to think of it, he wondered how Choi Se-kyung had done. Although the preliminary results on test day were good, grades weren’t just about test scores. Having dragged him around all summer, Song Yi-heon would feel sorry if Se-kyung’s grades had dropped, so he craned his neck looking for him.

Choi Se-kyung was at the center of the kids surrounding the teacher’s desk. The admiration of the kids with their black heads pressed together on either side of Se-kyung at the desk was palpable. Amid the murmurs, exclamations about an average grade of 1 and never having seen someone score 100 on a mock exam before could be heard.

Se-kyung, who had just raised his head, also looked this way. He showed Song Yi-heon, who was looking at him, his grade by making a ‘1’ with his index finger, then quickly drew a heart with his fingertip. His fingers awkwardly bent immediately, as if worried someone might see.

“This kid, showing off.”

As if he had built up some tolerance over the summer break, Song Yi-heon didn’t suppress the smile that escaped even as he grumbled, seemingly not upset.

* * *

As noon passed, the school gates bustled with students heading home after finishing supplementary classes. Especially since today marked the start of real vacation until school reopened, with no more supplementary learning, the kids were excited, their minds spinning happy circuits about how to enjoy their week of free time.

Under the summer sunlight that transparently colored the greenery, excited students came down the slope, rubbing the bare skin under their sleeves. Among the students playing pranks and running, Song Yi-heon also walked down the slope with Se-kyung. Having finished lunch and planning to go to the study room, they were in the midst of choosing their lunch menu.

“Ah, so what do you want to eat?”

“I told you, let’s eat what you want.”

“Let’s have soup rice.”

“Hmm… it smells.”

“I’ll make you eat silkworm soup instead.”

Song Yi-heon growled at Se-kyung, who had been picky all day. As the bickering pair turned into an alley, a man wearing black clothes and a black hat emerged from the narrow alley as if he had been waiting, blocking their way.

At the appearance of the suspicious person, Se-kyung pulled on the arm he had draped over Song Yi-heon’s shoulder protectively, and a driver who had been waiting in a black sedan got out, running over and shouting.

“Hey, you there! Back off!”

The unidentified man lifted the brim of his hat towards Song Yi-heon, who uniquely didn’t take a defensive stance, as if knowing the man’s identity. Kim Dong-su, his eyes shadowed by the hat brim, pointed behind him with his thumb.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”