Formless Chapter 67

Heewoon’s mouth, which was about to cry for help, was also covered with a handkerchief. His vision quickly blurred. He struggled and twisted his body, but a strong force pushed him away. Objects began to appear double.

“Heewoon…”

The last thing Heewoon saw was his mother, her mouth covered, being dragged into the black space.

Slam, thud—!

The door closed. The van left the alley as if nothing had happened. It took less than a minute to load all three of them into the car.

The taxi arrived late at the alley, which was now devoid of even the luggage bags that had been on the ground. The taxi driver looked around and made a call. The ringtone went on and then was abruptly cut off. He had been rejected.

“What’s a few minutes, really. If you called a ride, you should wait.”

As even the grumbling taxi driver disappeared, the alley became quiet.

His head throbbed. It was similar to waking up from a terrible nightmare. His brows furrowed, and sounds slowly became audible.

“…Why aren’t all three of them waking up?”

“I think I applied too much medication.”

“Did you apply the same amount to everyone? Then this Ms. won’t be able to wake up, will she?”

A rough voice clicked its tongue. The voice was not unfamiliar.

“Hyung-nim, making them watch this is really perverted.”

“What, you bastard?”

A dull sound was heard. Heewoon’s eyelids twitched. His brows furrowed slightly.

“This bastard seems to be waking up.”

Someone said. At the same time, Heewoon lifted his eyelids. Bright light stung his eyes, so he blinked a few times. His blurry vision gradually returned to normal. Only several pairs of legs were visible, as if people were surrounding him. He was probably lying on the floor.

“Hey, Woo Heewoon.”

A figure suddenly entered his vision. A man with a broad face, a scar below his chin, and a chillingly affectionate voice delivered in a rough tone.

Heewoon’s eyes widened. His mind cleared at once. His last memory came back to him. It was the sight of his mother being dragged into the van.

Heewoon frantically looked around. There was something visible behind the men. A thin ankle peeking out from thick fleece-lined pants, familiar sneakers.

“Mom!”

Heewoon, trying to get up while calling his mother as if screaming, fell forward and hit his forehead on the tile floor.

“Ugh…”

Heewoon realized that his hands were tied behind his back and both his ankles were bound. Looking again, his mother’s ankles also had tape wrapped around them.

“Th-this… Ugh!”

The man grabbed Heewoon’s clothes, who had fallen, and roughly pulled him up to a sitting position. Heewoon rolled his eyes, terrified. A wheeled metal shelf-like object, medicines, the smell of disinfectant, and machines whose purpose he couldn’t fathom. It looked like an operating room.

Someone blocked Heewoon’s vision as he was looking around. The man, kneeling, tapped Heewoon’s head.

“Long time no see. You see your Hyung-nim but don’t even say hello, you rude bastard.”

“Ah, ah, hello.”

His words trembled. The man then chuckled and imitated Heewoon’s words.

“Ah, ah, hello.”

Heewoon strained his neck to see his mother behind the laughing men. Then someone hit Heewoon on the head.

“Looking for your mom?”

“…Uh, what happened to Mom?”

“Oh dear. Look. See him? This bastard is almost dead and still only looking for his mom. Pitiful bastard.”

The man was laughing even as he spoke as if with regret. Heewoon looked at him in confusion, then squinted his eyes to try and see a little more of the scene visible through the gaps between the men.

“Alright. Move aside a bit.”

The man nudged the other men, and they stepped aside. The operating room, with its pungent smell, was now more clearly visible. Heewoon’s gaze passed over the smooth floor and rested on an operating table covered with a green cloth. Someone was lying there. Naked, with a green cloth covering only up to his waist.

“…Hyung.”

Heewoon groaned like the sound of wind. Unable to believe the sight before his eyes, he looked again at the face of the person on the operating table, as if etching it into his memory. The man with bruised and tanned skin in places was indeed his hyung. His skin looked pale under the lights.

“What did you do to my hyung?”

When he spoke with force, the man put his arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner. A heavy weight pressed down on Heewoon.

“He’s just waiting for surgery, that’s all. That damn bastard made us wait for years and came back empty-handed.”

His breathing became increasingly ragged.

“Bu-but, we were sending money regularly.”

“That snot-nosed money that doesn’t even cover the interest?”

The man chuckled and patted Heewoon’s shoulder.

“Even if that’s the case, now that your hyung is back, you have to pay the overdue interest.”

“How much? I, I’ll pay it all. I can pay it.”

Heewoon pleaded desperately. But the man scoffed.

“Alright. You can pay. You said that Ms. was fighting cancer, right?”

The man asked the man next to him.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then that Ms. isn’t useful for anything, is she? Fine, I’ll be generous. We’ll use the Ms. and that bastard to pay the interest. And I’ll deduct the principal for you.”

“Wh-what do you mean…”

“We’re also losing a lot, you know.”

The man clicked his tongue. Heewoon, unable to understand his words at once, stared blankly into space. His hyung’s figure, lying on the cold operating table, came into his vision.

“You can sell everything that’s usable.”

Now. What was this man saying?

Heewoon’s gaze turned sideways. Because the men had moved aside, his mother’s figure, fallen on the floor, was completely visible. Her messy, half-covered face was pale.

Just like a corpse.

“Oh, please save us. I, we will work hard to earn money and definitely pay it all back.”

Heewoon moved his uncomfortable body. He wanted to grab their legs and beg, but since his hands were tied behind his back, all he could do was rest his head against his legs.

“You can’t even pay the interest every month, so how? Let’s be quiet now. The doctor Mr. is almost here.”

“I, I. If you just let me make one phone call, I can pay it all back. It’s true. Please just let me make one phone call.”

The man’s leg bounced Heewoon’s head away. Heewoon, whose back of the head hit the wall, squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them.

“Cover this bastard’s mouth.”

“Yes.”

At the dropped command, one man sat in front of Heewoon. Heewoon cried out to be allowed just one phone call, but his head was tightly grabbed. He shook his head and resisted fiercely, but tape was quickly stuck to his mouth. The same tape that bound his wrists and ankles covered his mouth and wrapped around his head several times. His hair stuck to the tape and was pulled, but the men paid no attention.

“Uuuuuuugh—!”

Just one phone call was all he needed. If he asked Seo Gangwoo for help, he would come right away.

“Oh, you wait a bit. Hyung-nim has to go first, no matter what.”

The man, who was walking towards the operating table, looked back and grinned.

His mother’s image kept being seared into his eyes. His whole body trembled uncontrollably, like an aspen tree. In this cold operating room, his mother, his hyung, and Heewoon would die. They had secretly slipped out of the house at night, so it seemed unlikely that anyone would notice their absence.

Only after a few days, or perhaps a few weeks, would a report belatedly be made to the police. After they were dead, with all their organs missing, like a scene from a thriller movie.

Or maybe no one would report it at all. Only traces of a midnight escape would remain in the disorganized house. Heewoon felt that the loan sharks had intentionally let his hyung go home and pack his bags.

Ah, Seo Gangwoo. He might call in the morning. If he couldn’t answer the phone, he would become suspicious. He would look for him. What time was it now?

But how would he find this place? He said he wasn’t under surveillance these days.

He was so despairing that his vision was dyed black.

So, he should have called earlier.

Then this wouldn’t have happened. He should have told him about the debt, and asked him to pay it back. He should have just listened to Seo Gangwoo. What was he so scared of?

Heewoon belatedly realized that what was truly scary and terrifying was a situation like this, facing death.

“But why isn’t Doctor Choi here? If the hospital opening time comes, he’s going to complain that it can’t be done today.”

“He said an hour ago he was on his way.”

“I really don’t like the way that quack acts. I hope he doesn’t start another long lecture about a damaged cornea. Hey. Do you think it’s usable?”

“No. At first glance, this one doesn’t seem usable, Hyung-nim.”

“Ah. Looks like I’m going to get chewed out by the boss too, damn it.”

The man and the other man conversed calmly while standing over his hyung’s head. To them, this situation seemed very natural and familiar.

Heewoon was the only one who was conscious now. He had to save his mother and hyung somehow. Heewoon breathed heavily through his nose.

They were currently waiting for the doctor. If the doctor came and the surgery began, his hyung would… Heewoon clenched his fists with his hands tied behind his back.

“So. I, told you, to be careful.”

Heewoon barely managed to think, watching the man slap another man’s head, who was standing a distance away, as he spoke.

This hospital seemed to be an operating hospital. If the doctor came any later, they wouldn’t be able to perform the surgery. That would buy them a day or half a day.

From what the man said, it seemed like quite some time had already passed. If they started with his hyung, Heewoon and his mother might have surgery after the hospital closed. It was a bad assumption, but Heewoon and his mother would live a few hours longer than his hyung.

During those few hours, wouldn’t someone notice their absence?

Heewoon closed his eyes at the sudden thought of someone’s face. He shouldn’t be thinking of him now. He had to think of a way to save his mother and hyung.

By himself.

Heewoon felt his breath becoming increasingly short. Rather than it being because his mouth was taped, his chest felt oppressively heavy. His clenched hands trembled uncontrollably.