Place to Be Chapter 45

“Ended before it could even reach a situation where I could do that.”

Seo Chiyoung’s heart throbbed and tightened.

At this very moment, Jang Wigeon was saying it. That it was over.

It was a feeling that had lasted for a long time. He himself was saying that those feelings had no place left to go, and that the path was completely blocked.

It wasn’t that someone else thought so or had advised him as much; Jang Wigeon had reached that conclusion himself.

Seo Chiyoung dropped his head. “Yes, thank you,” he replied to the man’s words a long while later.

An end often approaches at an unexpected time, or even if it was vaguely anticipated, it comes with a hollow suddenness at a certain moment. No matter how much time passed before facing that end—or rather, the longer the time, the more it is so—the end is softly placed in that spot at one moment, as if it isn’t an end at all.

As if it isn’t the end but will continue on. Yet, standing firm in that spot, asserting that it will never continue.

And on the night when the rain began to fall late, they met the moment where that which had continued for a long time came to an end.

∞ ∞ ∞

Even when one has done nothing wrong, the heart always shrinks for no reason when crossing the threshold of a police station. One’s shoulders tense even at the casual gaze of a police officer standing tall in front of the main gate on guard duty, as if monitoring the people passing by.

Seo Chiyoung tilted his head slightly, wondering why.

Was it because of the stiff feeling of the uniforms worn by the people who had barged into his house without warning on a day from the past—a day where dust was already starting to settle in his memory—and stuck repossession tags all over the home? If not that, was it because of the memory of several years ago, when he ran a street stall on the roadside and was always anxious about when a crackdown might occur? Or perhaps it was because of the memory of the stares that showered his whole body long ago when money went missing at a food shop where he had worked delivery for a few months, and the owner, furious to the limit, grabbed Seo Chiyoung by the collar and dragged him to the police station without a second thought, no matter how much he pleaded his innocence.

“…”

Coming out of the civil service center, Seo Chiyoung stood still, counting the reasons on his fingers, and ended up laughing weakly. Counting them like this, quite a few plausible reasons came to mind.

“Mr. Seo Chiyoung.”

Seo Chiyoung lifted his head at the sudden sound of his name. An inspector, who was getting coffee from a vending machine in front of the entrance, was gesturing to him. Seo Chiyoung folded the confirmation slip in his hand neatly, tucked it into his front pocket, and approached him.

“Did you finish the filing?”

The inspector whom Seo Chiyoung had run into just as he entered the police station was someone he had known from before. If you run a shop in the same district for several years, big and small incidents are bound to happen, so you can’t help but become familiar with the police officers in charge of that area. He had gotten to know this inspector that way. Now, the man didn’t come out to the scenes of minor accidents on the market streets, so they rarely met, but a few years ago, they saw each other quite often.

When Seo Chiyoung nodded with a bashful smile and a “Yes,” the inspector clicked his tongue.

“As you know, Mr. Seo Chiyoung, don’t get your hopes up too high. Many theft cases of a small scale end up unsolved. Even if we catch them, in most cases, compensation for damages isn’t properly carried out…. Still, it would be nice if we could catch them.”

Knowing Seo Chiyoung’s circumstances at least roughly, the inspector added those words as if to himself with a look of regret. Seo Chiyoung just gave an awkward laugh.

He knew that there wouldn’t be much point in reporting it. Theft by petty thieves in the market area was as common as dust, and it would be more strange if a theft that occurred in a shop left completely empty for a long time in the middle of the night without any witnesses were resolved.

Still, just in case the culprit was caught stealing somewhere else, he reported the theft without much expectation, thinking what if. Although the possibility of getting the money back was extremely low even if they were caught, the stolen money was a large enough amount that he couldn’t completely bury the thought of just maybe.

“So, how are things lately? Business going well?”

Seo Chiyoung, who gratefully accepted the coffee the inspector pulled from the machine and handed to him, stood side by side with him next to the entrance and replied, “Thanks to you.”

Every month, after paying off debts, paying the shop rent, and using living expenses sparingly, just a meager amount is left for savings. Compared to the days when he frequently ran into this inspector, his situation could be said to have improved significantly just by the fact that he could save a few pennies, but he couldn’t afford to be lazy for even a moment.

Even now, he had just put the gopchang he received from the broker into the medicinal soak and came here during a short break, so he had to get back quickly.

“Still, it’s good to see that your face looks better compared to before. Work hard. I’ll drop by the shop sometime.”

When Seo Chiyoung finished the coffee in a few sips and started to say, “Well then…”, the inspector tapped him lightly on the shoulder and spoke. Seo Chiyoung smiled and bowed his head.

Just as Seo Chiyoung was turning around, saying “I’ll be going,” a jet-black car entered as it received a salute from the constable standing guard at the main gate of the police station. “Oh, the Superintendent is arriving,” he heard the inspector mutter. Looking at the time, it seemed he was returning from lunch.

He must be a high-ranking person at the police station, Seo Chiyoung thought vaguely as he cast his gaze toward the car that stopped in front of the main entrance of the building. The police he frequently encountered were constables, corporals, or sergeants, so a Superintendent was someone completely irrelevant to him.

Seo Chiyoung began to walk down the steps. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of the people getting out of the car. At that moment, a man entering his field of vision caught his eye; he was getting out with a middle-aged man who seemed to be quite old—judging by the way the nearby police saluted, that man was likely the Superintendent.

The man standing beside the Superintendent, entering the main building with him while wearing a friendly smile on his pleasant face, was Jang Wigeon.

Seo Chiyoung stared at them blankly, his mind wandering, as they walked and chatted intimately as if they were a close uncle and nephew. It was because he had seen an unexpected person in an unexpected place.

It didn’t take long for Jang Wigeon to discover Seo Chiyoung standing there vacantly. A peculiar light flickered in his eyes.

“Mr. Chiyoung?”

Jang Wigeon called Seo Chiyoung’s name as if surprised. Seo Chiyoung hesitated before bowing his head in greeting. His eyes also met with the Superintendent beside Jang Wigeon, and he ended up bowing to him as well.

“Is he someone you know?”

“Ah, yes. ――He’s a high school classmate.”

Jang Wigeon replied to the Superintendent’s benevolent question after a very brief pause. Classmate—even though it wasn’t a wrong word, it felt awkward for some reason, so Seo Chiyoung ended up dropping his gaze ambiguously.

“Right, well, I’ll be heading inside, so feel free to chat with your friend. Give my regards to your father and tell him I’d like to see him sometime.”

“Yes, then I’ll see you next time. Thank you for your kind words today.”

Jang Wigeon smiled and bowed to the Superintendent, and the Superintendent nodded, greeted Seo Chiyoung with a look, and then turned away. Once his figure disappeared inside the main building, Jang Wigeon approached Seo Chiyoung. His face, still smiling brightly today, left a good impression.