TIN 123

Wearing a dress for the first time in my life wasn’t too uncomfortable, except for the airy feeling between my legs. The sensation of fabric clinging to my body felt a bit unfamiliar, but that wasn’t a major issue either. The wig wasn’t anything new since I always wore hats, but surprisingly, the lipstick felt quite stifling.

I rewrapped the bandages around my chest. After washing them several times, they had become completely tattered and would need to be thrown away soon. As for my leg that hadn’t fully healed yet, well, any piece of cloth would do for binding it.

Despite waking up early on purpose, it took quite a while to finish getting ready. Though I fumbled around with many first-time experiences, fortunately, the final appearance wasn’t too bad. With a wide-brimmed hat pulled down and sunglasses on, my face was naturally concealed.

The only troublesome thing was the shoes—even though I bought the largest size, they felt tight. They were fine until yesterday, but probably my Achilles tendon had swollen along with my ankle. Of course, this too was just a matter of enduring it.

I packed only the essentials and left the hotel, and nobody I encountered during my journey outside looked at me suspiciously. At first, I was a bit conscious of others’ gazes, but after passing about three people, it felt natural. The men who occasionally stared intensely would avert their eyes first when I looked in their direction.

Perhaps due to the nice weather, I felt calm despite being tense before. Maybe the seemingly endless summer was finally ending, as the stifling heat from yesterday afternoon had cooled considerably by morning. The air was humid from overnight dew, but even that wasn’t unpleasant.

The 4HAE Station wasn’t far from the hotel. It was within walking distance, and there were plenty of signposts along the way, so there was no worry about getting lost. Even though I walked slowly due to my ankle pain, I still arrived with plenty of time to spare.

There were more people at the station than I expected. It seemed crowds had gathered as soon as service resumed after being suspended for two whole weeks. Everyone in their light clothing looked unmistakably like tourists heading to enjoy the sea.

“…”

They all have it so good. Who knew there were this many wealthy people in the world? It was a scene I couldn’t have imagined until seeing it with my own eyes.

I couldn’t help but chuckle, lifting my sunglasses to rub my tired eyes slightly. It was fortunate the sun rose early—there were surprisingly many passengers wearing sunglasses. After adjusting my hat once more and looking around, I could see the train entering the platform.

—The 4HAE Express Train No. 415 departing at 8:30 a.m. is now arriving. Passengers, please step back from the guidance line…

The 4HAE Express was a maglev train acquired by 4HAE. The sleek, streamlined body bore the ‘4HAE’ mark, and occasional ocean videos appeared on the electronic display. The gently rippling waves and glittering water scales had a different charm from the painting I saw at Joo Do-hwa’s house.

I blended in with the crowd while listening to the announcements from the speakers. Now they were announcing that tickets and ID cards must be carried. As people around me started fumbling for their tickets and IDs, I also took out the items I had packed from the bag I bought yesterday.

“Welcome to 4HAE Express.”

The attendant at the front of the train checked passengers’ tickets with a kind and courteous attitude. They didn’t seem to check too thoroughly, mostly just glancing at them and directing people to their seats. Surprisingly, even when some people occasionally didn’t take out their ID cards, no restrictions were imposed.

‘Getting the ticket is the problem. After that, it’s easy.’

Come to think of it, I had heard this from Theo before. Since train tickets were extremely expensive and difficult to obtain, having a ticket was practically equivalent to having your identity verified. Besides, important people disliked not being recognized, so ID cards were rarely checked anyway.

‘Let me know if you’re interested. I’ll get you a good deal.’

Until then, Theo probably had no idea I was interested in the sea. I had known about the train for a while and had been saving money just for this one thing.

Well, maybe he realized it by now.

“I’ll check your seat.”

I tried to act as naturally as possible as I handed over my round-trip ticket to the attendant. Instead of handing over my ID, I kept it clutched in one hand, but the attendant didn’t even look at my face and only checked the ticket.

However, after checking both the outbound and return tickets, the attendant tilted their head slightly.

“Oh?”

The attendant’s face wrinkled slightly, as if something was wrong. It was a different reaction from before, and I could feel the passenger behind me showing interest as well.

“…”

A chill ran up and down my spine. Could they have caught that the ticket was forged? I didn’t think it would be that obvious at a glance.

“I apologize, customer.”

As I tensed up, the attendant apologized with an awkward expression. Among the countless scenarios running through my mind, what came out of their mouth was this: “This section is for first-class passengers only…regular class boarding is over there.”

“…”

Very slowly, I turned my head in the direction they pointed. Beside my line, I could see people queuing at another entrance.

“Seats 01 through 40 are regular class. I apologize for the inconvenience. Would you like me to guide you?”

I didn’t answer their friendly question. I just shook my head to indicate it was fine and took back my ticket. Looking at the ticket belatedly, I noticed the number 34 written next to the seat number.

“Checking the next passenger’s ticket.”

The passenger who had been peering from behind lost interest as soon as they realized it wasn’t a serious issue. The attendant also didn’t seem interested in detaining me.

Surprisingly, the regular class line had even more lax inspections than the previous one. Perhaps because they didn’t need to guide people to seats, they seemed to only verify that there were two tickets. It felt like they might even let someone pass with two blank pieces of paper.

Thus, I boarded the train without any restrictions.

The regular car, which could seat about 40 people, had plenty of empty seats to choose from. I had worried about seat conflicts since my ticket was forged, but it seemed that wouldn’t be an issue.

After finding a spot in a relatively secluded corner, a few more passengers boarded. Shortly after, the entrance doors closed, and after a brief pause, the train departed. Current time: 8:30 a.m. The operation was running smoothly without a minute’s deviation.

“…”

Yeah…but why do I feel so uneasy?

The more smoothly things went, the colder my fingertips became. Not from excitement about heading to the sea, but from a sense that something was off.

…Strange. This couldn’t be right.

Joo Do-hwa had caught the scalper just two days ago. The fact that he personally came to investigate in that dirty alley meant he knew how I planned to get to the sea. Which meant he knew I would take the train…

Yet it turned out to be this loose on security?

“…”

I shook my head and pulled my hat down deeper. Come to think of it, it was strange that he came to the alley in the first place. Joo Do-hwa wasn’t some idle unemployed person—when busy, didn’t he work from morning till night? So he probably didn’t have time to investigate the train either.

After several attempts at self-reassurance, the uneasy feeling soon improved. More accurately, I forced myself to calm down while watching the screen installed inside. The deep blue ocean, endless waves. The repetitive footage made my mind peaceful.

However, the problem occurred about 10 minutes after the train departed. I was coming out of the bathroom after checking the mirror because my eyes kept bothering me. As I was about to open the door and return to my car, I suddenly heard murmuring from inside.

“…?”

Though very faint, I could hear it clearly due to being tense the whole time. I took my hand off the door open button and peered inside through the small window. I could see an attendant walking down the aisle, checking something at each seat.

“…Ah.”

My blood ran cold. Specifically, it was right after I saw a passenger removing their hat at the attendant’s request. Though they looked quite disgruntled, they didn’t protest, and the attendant nodded once while comparing the ID with the passenger’s face.

“…”

“Shit,” the curse rose to the tip of my tongue. It was no wonder things seemed to be going too smoothly. In an instant, this whole scene made sense.

Biting my lower lip hard, I slowly backed away. Through the window, I could see the attendant kneeling to check another passenger’s trouser hem. It was obvious they were checking specifically the right ankle.

“…Sir.”

You bastard. You should have done the inspection at the station.

The train was already on the track, and there was nowhere suitable to hide. Hiding in the bathroom would get me caught quickly, and I couldn’t avoid inspection in any car. I couldn’t jump off the speeding train either, so I was like a rat in a trap.