Chapter 10
Guys Who Deserve to Die —
The Class Reunion
On my way home from work.
I hadn’t seen So Yeon-hwa in several days.
Why was I worried about her?
There was no logical explanation for it.
“Uncle!”
The woman who ran the neighborhood grocery store came outside.
“I’ve got two blocks of tofu left. I’ll give them to you cheap.”
“Okay.”
I paid for the tofu and a drink.
“Honestly, this place would barely stay afloat without you, Uncle. Two more households moved out, so I’ve got even fewer customers now.”
“I see. Take care.”
I wanted to ask her whether So Yeon-hwa had come by, but I held back.
I shook my head to clear away the distracting thoughts.
How dare I think about a woman?
I must have gone crazy.
After getting home and finishing my workout, I sat down on the sofa.
Ding—
A notification sounded from my burner phone.
Only Jeong Jung-seong knew this number.
[Next Friday, 7 p.m. Sanseong Hotel, 15th-floor VIP room. Tell me whether you’re attending.]
The reunion I’d been waiting for was finally happening.
Of course I was going.
[Attending.]
I was curious to see how those demons were doing.
They wouldn’t show up to the reunion if their lives weren’t going well.
Ring-ring—ring-ring—
It wasn’t Jeong Jung-seong’s number.
Who could it be?
I answered.
“Hello?”
“—Is that you, Footsole?”
Jeong Jung-seong must have given him my number.
My nickname was Footsole, a name I’d earned because my surname was Ma-ru. Back in elementary school, everyone had called me that. The bastard who came up with it was Hwang Seong-tae.
“Who’s this?”
“—Listen to the way this little shit talks. Have you lost your mind?”
“Hwang Seong-tae?”
“—Oh, look at this bastard! Listen to that attitude. You’re practically begging me to kill you.”
“See you at the reunion.”
“—You’re coming? Have you got a death wish, Footsole? Do you even know who I am—”
“I’m hanging up.”
He called again, but I didn’t answer.
What a persistent bastard.
Then a threatening text arrived.
[You little shit, you hang up without my permission? You got older and bigger, and now you’re not afraid of anyone? You’d better consider yourself dead if you show up. I won’t let you get away with it!]
It had been well over ten years, and he hadn’t changed one bit.
Bad people really didn’t change easily.
My phone rang again.
This time, it wasn’t the burner.
“—Hyung, I found a couple of places I like today. But I can’t decide between them. Can you come by after work tomorrow?”
“Let’s meet tomorrow evening.”
Hyuk-su was family to me. I had to help him.
One location was at the end of a food alley, while the other was in the middle of a residential neighborhood.
Both were small spaces, about ten pyeong each—roughly thirty-three square meters.
“What do you think, hyung? I feel like the residential neighborhood might be better. Since it’s a street-food bar, people could come out for a drink after getting home.”
Hyuk-su was trying to justify choosing the cheaper residential location.
“People in that neighborhood probably don’t have much disposable income. They’re more likely to drink at home than spend money going out. The food alley is better because it already attracts customers.”
“Really?”
“Three thousand in deposit and seven hundred thousand a month in rent, with no key money? That’s reasonable. Besides, it used to be a street-food bar, so people will already remember the place. That’s an advantage. And if the business fails, you can just give me back the thirty million won deposit.”
“Oh, right! The deposit is the same amount as the money you said I could use. How did I not think of that?”
What he needed right now was confidence more than money.
“You’re a good cook, and you’re good at listening to people. You’ll succeed running a street-food bar.”
“Right? You think so too, don’t you, hyung?”
“Of course. I’ve seen plenty of cafés and bars while working as a cleaner. Here’s how I think you should set the place up.”
“How?”
“A bar counter with the kitchen behind it. Then some tables for two and some for four…”
Track lighting, dark-brown wood, decorative lanterns, and the sign design.
As I explained my ideas, Hyuk-su looked increasingly impressed.
“I can actually picture it in my head now. You really know your stuff, hyung.”
“I’ll find an interior design contractor for you.”
“Thank you. Seriously.”
“Have the police or the gangsters been giving you trouble?”
“I went to the police station and gave a witness statement. They asked me all sorts of questions, but I didn’t know the people involved. What else could I tell them?”
“What about the gangsters?”
Hyuk-su didn’t answer immediately.
“Are they harassing you?”
“Not exactly. They seem to think I hired someone to do it. As if I had that kind of money.”
“Did they beat you up again?”
“No.”
“If anything happens, report it to the police. You’ve already been questioned, so you know the detective in charge.”
“They’re the kind of people who’d retaliate.”
Hyuk-su had spent years around thugs, so his fear was grounded in reality.
To defeat an enemy, you had to know who you were dealing with.
“What kind of people are they?”
“What are you going to do with that information, hyung?”
“I need to know what might happen to you.”
“Is there anything we can do?”
“If the police won’t protect you, take it to their internal affairs division, the prosecution, the media, or even the presidential office. If you just sit back and do nothing, they’ll look down on you even more.”
I didn’t trust the authorities.
When I was in school, I’d tried everything I could, but not a single person or institution had offered me a helping hand.
That was the fate of the weak.
I was asking because I thought that, once my body became stronger, I might be able to deal with the gangsters myself.
Hyuk-su gave me a detailed account of the Yeopo faction and the Dongtak faction.
There weren’t too many people involved, and their names were associated with recognizable characters, so it was easy to remember who was who.
“Hyuk-su, if anything happens, make sure you contact me.”
“Yeah. I will.”
“You have to live for your own sake, not mine. Your safety comes first.”
“You always say that, hyung. But if I live for my own sake, I’m living for you, too.”
“You’re finally starting to sound like an adult.”
Hyuk-su smiled brightly.
If I hadn’t had my mask, I would have had no choice but to appeal to the authorities I didn’t trust, standing by as a helpless bystander.
But now, I would take care of things myself.
Sanseong City.
I had left it behind after graduating from high school.
After aging out of the orphanage, I had sworn never to set foot in this place again.
But the moment I arrived in the city where my memories had been splattered like blood, the painful past came rushing back in vivid panoramas.
The emotions it stirred up burned into a thirst for revenge so intense that it felt ready to explode at any moment.
Sanseong was a mixed agricultural, fishing, and urban city.
The suffering associated with this place was so overwhelming that I couldn’t even consider weighing the good memories against the bad.
There was, however, one exception.
The woman who used to sell tteokbokki in front of the elementary school.
Hyuk-su and I had wanted it so badly that we would sometimes stand there staring blankly at the food. Whenever she saw us, she would give us a paper cup of tteokbokki for free.
Come tell me whenever you want some.
We couldn’t visit often because we were conscious of how others might look at us, but every time we did, the woman made sure we never felt indebted to her.
The tteokbokki shop was still there, its sign the only thing that had changed.
To my surprise, the woman remembered me.
“Maru! Maru, is that you? You’ve grown so much!”
Her hair had turned gray in places, but her kind smile remained exactly the same.
“Hello. It’s been a long time.”
“So we meet again! You never came back after graduating from elementary school, and I often wondered what had happened to you. Where are you living now?”
“I’m working in Seoul.”
“Come inside.”
“No, that’s all right.”
I handed her the set of nutritional supplements I’d brought for her.
“Thank you for looking after us back then.”
“Why did you bring me something like this? Just seeing how well you’ve grown up is enough for me. Oh, right! There was a boy who used to hang around with you, wasn’t there? The one who had trouble with his left leg. What was his name again?”
“Son Hyuk-su.”
“That’s right, Hyuk-su! Do you know what he’s doing these days?”
“He’s working in Seoul, too. We keep in touch.”
She let out a sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from her chest.
“Is his leg still the same?”
“Yes. But he’s doing well.”
“I wanted to help you boys back then, but I was struggling myself, so I couldn’t. I worried so much when you both disappeared.”
“Back then, food was what made us happy. We grew up eating the tteokbokki you gave us.”
“I’m sorry. I was an adult. I should have done more.”
Seeing the tears welling up in her eyes softened my heart.
When I’d set foot in Sanseong, I’d come with a cold, hardened resolve.
“I should get going. I have somewhere to be.”
“You’re leaving already? I’m disappointed. You must come back with Hyuk-su next time.”
“I will.”
I said goodbye and headed for Sanseong Hotel.
Sanseong Hotel, 15th-floor VIP room.
Everyone had gathered before seven o’clock.
Jeong Jung-seong, seated at the head of the table, was worked up.
“That crazy bastard came to my company! He’s gotten a lot taller, and he’s put on muscle.”
“He got taller? He was barely over 170 centimeters when we graduated from high school.”
“He looked about 180 centimeters to me.”
“Guess he had a late growth spurt.”
“What kind of work does that filthy bastard do?”
“Looks like he’s a cleaner. He even suggested I hire him to clean my building.”
Laughter erupted around the room.
“His job suits his nickname. He’s a human rag.”
“But he actually made you an offer? I can’t even imagine it.”
Jeong Jung-seong twisted his mouth into a sneer.
“He said he wasn’t the old Kang Maru anymore and threatened me, saying I’d be in deep shit if I kept acting like that. Can you believe the nerve of that bastard?”
“You’re kidding. Did he actually say that without being out of his mind?”
“I’ll show him exactly who I am today. A mad dog needs a beating.”
Jeong Jung-seong put a cigarette between his lips.
Hwang Seong-tae hurried to light it for him.
“Maybe that bastard’s been taking some kind of drugs?”
Yeon Gyeong-won, who was smoking, gave a snort of laughter.
“I should draw another Big Dipper on his right thigh. What do you think, Jeong-suk?”
“I quit smoking, so you can do it yourself.”
“You became a nurse and even quit smoking?”
“People complain about the smell of cigarettes. I have to do what I can to make a living.”
Hwang Seong-tae furrowed his brows.
“Footsole has definitely changed. I called him, and he just hung up on me! Can you believe that nerve?”
“You’re all making me curious about how much he’s changed.”
Yoo Seok-chan joined the conversation with a cigarette between his lips.
“You can wash a dirty rag all you want, but it’ll never become a clean dishcloth. He can act tough all he wants, but that’s all he is.”
Yeon Gyeong-won calmly touched up her makeup.
“He’s grown bigger, so I guess he’s become a mop.”
“Hahaha! Gyeong-won, you’ve got a point.”
Listening to the conversation, Kwak Dong-cheol asked a question.
“Jung-seong, is your wife doing okay?”
“If I ever get my hands on the bastard who did that, I’ll peel his skin off. I broke every bone in his mouth except his teeth!”
“Did you report it to the police?”
“I told a detective I know to look for him.”
“That guy must have a death wish. How could he do something like that without knowing who he’s messing with?”
“Enough about that. Pastor Kwak, have you gained any more followers?”
Kwak Dong-cheol let out a deep sigh.
“It’s not easy.”
Yeon Gyeong-won teased him.
“Is that because you’re a fake pastor?”
“I graduated from a theology college, you know.”
“An unaccredited school. That makes you a fake pastor.”
Kwak Dong-cheol’s pride was hurt, but he had to swallow his anger because he ranked lower in their social hierarchy.
Yeon Gyeong-won had dated Jeong Jung-seong back in school.
“What’s Mun Tak doing in Japan?”
“He exports labor. To be precise, he supplies young women to Japan.”
“You’ve always liked women. Looks like you still can’t stay away from them.”
Jeong Jung-seong shifted his gaze to Gu Dong-beom.
“Dong-beom, have you decided to live quietly now? When that filthy bastard shows up, you can teach him a lesson.”
“Huh?”
Gu Dong-beom looked flustered.
He had worked in a factory until the company went bankrupt, after which he drifted from one construction site to another. Somewhere along the way, he had come to a realization.
It was karma.
He believed the hardships he was experiencing were punishment for the sins he’d committed when he bullied Kang Maru.
“What? Are you scared?”
“No…”
“I’ll cover your reunion fee. Do what you used to do back in the day. You’ve been working hard at rough jobs, so you must be stressed. This is your chance to blow off some steam.”
“Look at Dong-beom! Having a kid early turned him into a good little boy.”
Jeong Jung-seong checked his watch.
It was already past seven.
“That bastard isn’t coming. There’s no way he has the guts to face us.”
Mun Man-sik, sitting midway down the right side of the table, snickered.
“That bastard used to be really good at drinking my piss.”
“Quit talking about disgusting shit and drink your booze.”
The table was laden with lobster, Korean beef steak, fried matsutake mushrooms, assorted sashimi, wine, and liquor.
“Jung-seong, let me pour you a drink.”
Hwang Seong-tae stood up and carefully filled his glass.
At that moment, the door burst open with a bang, and a heavily built man walked in.
His upper body was packed with developed muscles, his legs were sturdy, and his vivid eyes and strong jaw radiated power.
Hwang Seong-tae was startled.
“Fuck! Is that bastard really Footsole?”
