Midday Guest Chapter 2

A soft palm stroked Yiwon’s head. Young Yiwon was so exhausted that he completely surrendered his body to the touch of that trembling, clumsy hand.

Four o’clock in the afternoon. The sky, which should have been filled with sunlight, had grown as dark as night. Lightning struck through the pitch-black, clumped clouds, and a rumble of thunder shook heaven and earth.

The moment he looked at the window, heavy rain began to fall as if a hole had been pierced in the sky.

It was the beginning of a long rainy season.

☼

 

It was a day when the summer rain fell in torrents.

It was a neighborhood so small you could pass through it in less than five minutes by car. The houses, with tiled roofs lined up here and there, sat quietly submerged in the rain.

As is typical of the countryside, Yonggung-ri became silent when it rained. Since the weather was foul and neither sea work nor field work could be done, most of the villagers stayed inside their homes.

It was the kind of day where the sound of raindrops falling from the eaves invited a languid drowsiness. Yiwon lay on the wooden veranda, staring blankly outside. There weren’t many guests who visited on days like this anyway.

海雲堂

Haeundang. That was the name of the guesthouse Yiwon operated.

Ten years ago in the summer, Yiwon set foot here for the first time. It was a move to the countryside following his parents’ business failure.

From the house in Hannam-dong to the company buildings and villas located in the Gyeonggi area—it was a time when everything had gone up for auction, and all that remained was this neglected old house. The desperate measure squeezed out by a family driven to the edge of a cliff was this guesthouse.

Perhaps there truly is always a way out. Except for the rainy season and midwinter, the place was quite crowded with people. Many came to the nearby sea to surf, and it had gained quite a bit of word-of-mouth as a cost-effective, “emotional” lodging.

Thanks to that, he worried less about making a living. Keeping one or two loan sharks hanging around his waist wasn’t even considered a big deal. As long as he ran the business and paid off the principal and interest diligently, he didn’t have to see the rock bottom too often.

However, the off-season was the problem. Except for the left room on the veranda that Yiwon was using, the four rooms on the right were all empty. Yiwon looked resentfully at the relentlessly pouring monsoon rain.

He opened his phone to check if there were any additional reservations, but the screen was silent. Haeundang was a place people came to see the scenery, rest, or enjoy summer leisure, so it wasn’t unexpected… but lately, it had been severe. It had been like this since a large resort opened in the next village.

Vibrate, the notification sound for a message rang out through the pouring rain. A message window popped up over the reservation list. It was a message sent from a moneylender.

Kim Sun-woo

+:+3/Days/Until/Deposit/Date+:+ The days are very hot. Let’s prepare in advance so nothing happens.

It looked like he would have to use next month’s living expenses early. Then what about the month after that? Should he go work part-time at a logistics center? If he did that… would this place become an unmanned guesthouse?

His head throbbed.

“Four adults and two children…”

At least there are guests tomorrow. He checked the reservation list and stood up. It was Yiwon’s repetitive evening routine to cook rice while accompanied by the distant sound of the TV.

Opening the refrigerator, half a block of tofu and two eggs caught his eye. He decided tonight’s menu would be spicy braised tofu with fish cakes and fried eggs.

It was just as he sat at the small dining table with a spoonful of rice and a few pieces of tofu in a large bowl. A message arrived on the phone he had put in his pocket.

[Web Dispatch] +:

+Urgent/Breaking/News+:

+ Hot days in Gang-won are a thing of the past. Smoking cigarettes at home, change your car, your girlfriend’s car too. 

#UltraSpeed #NoQuestionsAskedDepositWithdrawal #TodayOnlyMembershipBenefit #Coin50kPFree 

https://band.3i/a/si39aka

If there were such a thing as a weed online, it would be spam messages. Seeing how they grow without end no matter how many you delete.

Delete message, block keyword, register as spam. After a bout of tidying up, he checked the real messages.

Major colleagues, small groups, friends… the message list was full of red badges. Unlike Yiwon’s clock, which had stopped when he took a leave of absence, the outside world was turning just fine.

Yiwon slid his finger to check the messages. At the same time, it was just as he bent his waist toward the table to eat.

A man wearing a short-sleeved shirt with a loud pattern and carrying a document envelope under his arm ran into Haeundang. His eyes were rolled back wildly, and he was gasping out rough breaths.

Seeing the man in the light, his entire body was drenched in sweat, and his face was a stranger’s. Is he a guest? Yiwon, who was calmly observing the other, spoke up.

“Would you like… a room?”

Normally, he would have stepped down from the porch to greet him warmly, but this time his feet wouldn’t move. He had noticed that half of the man’s colorful shirt was stained with blood.

I was told not to look at people’s faces at times like this.

It was already too late to regret. Since it had come to this, he decided to try responding nonchalantly, pretending not to know. He straightened his back, which had been bent toward the table, and reached for the phone he had set down carelessly as he asked the man:

“There are large rooms and small rooms, which would you prefer?”

Yiwon grabbing the phone and the man pulling a jackknife from his pocket and thrusting it threateningly happened almost simultaneously.

The intruder jumped up onto the veranda and pressed the jackknife against Yiwon’s neck.

“Put it down.”

Should he do as told, or should he place an emergency call? While he hesitated, the tip of the jackknife pressed tight under his jaw.

“If you want to live, do as I say.”

It was just as he dropped the phone and pushed it away with his foot. A noisy sound came from the entrance of the alley leading to Haeundang in the distance. It was the sound of someone running.

“Don’t try any funny business. Got it?”

He held the jackknife firmly. As if to threaten that he could finish him off at any time.

When Yiwon nodded his understanding, the intruder opened the door to the storage room in a corner of Haeundang and went inside. With his index finger pressed against his lips.

His heart beat as if it would explode. He swallowed dry spit, curled his damp palms into fists, and took a deep breath. Before he could even catch his bearings, the next visitors burst in.

“I’m gonna have to intrude at this late hour.”

A man dressed in a black suit and a white shirt entered Haeundang.

Two big guys followed the man in, and four big guys stayed outside the gate to stand guard. They weren’t in as disastrous a state as the person who had just entered, but seeing how their shoes and the hems of their suit pants were a mess of muddy water, he guessed they had been running around the area for quite a while.

“Is the boss here?”

“…You can talk to me.”

“What’s this? You’re the owner of this place?”

“Yes.”

“Aigoo, for a little guy, you’ve got something substantial.”

The scar that stretched long from his temple to his cheek twitched. No matter how you looked at him, he was someone who didn’t look like he did ordinary work.

“By any chance, did a person pass by this way?”

“……”

“Build’s about this big and height’s about this much. He’d be in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.”

Scar seemed to be looking for the person hiding in the storage room. While Yiwon hesitated and failed to give an answer, the area outside the gate became noisy.

“This is the last house. Above here is the back hills.”

“Yeah, right.”

It seemed the employees, who looked like underlings, had already searched the surroundings. The smile vanished from the face of the scarred man who received the report.

“Hiding him won’t lead to anything good, so you’d better hand him over quickly.”

“……”

“Is your mouth glued shut? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Scar spun his body around and jerked his head toward the back.

“Bring the Director.”

“Yes, sir!”

The big guys who had been scattered inside and outside the yard lined up outside the gate. A sedan shining black from the rain—a man who appeared from outside it was looking into Haeundang.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the man. A chilly, cold gaze, and relaxed movements that contrasted with it. The man wrapped in a black suit instantly changed the atmosphere of this place to his own flow.

It felt as if the density of the air was changing. As if the man under the black umbrella alone was standing in a different world.

No one bowed their head, but Yiwon could tell. He was certain he would have felt it instinctively even if he hadn’t heard the title “Director.” A vivid and overwhelming presence was revealing what kind of person the man was.

“Aren’t you sick and tired of being treated like a thug?”

“Have you arrived, Director?”

“Don’t just say ‘Director, Director’ with your mouth.”

“I’m sorry.”

Scar bowed his waist respectfully to the man. Then, the employees Scar had brought also bent their bodies in half and shouted, “We’re sorry!”

“……”

Is this a dream? I hope it is. It was while Yiwon was thinking this, looking at the crowd of suits filling the yard. The man called Director was approaching Yiwon.

For a moment, he had the illusion that his feet were growing heavy. Yiwon had no choice but to stand still and endure the man’s gaze.

Since he remained expressionless, his characteristic sharp image was even more prominent. It was true when looking from afar, but even more so up close. His body felt numb from an unknown sense of intimidation.

“Are you alone?”

“…Yes?”