The Taste of Lies Chapter 23

Youngmin patted Sangtae’s shoulder. Sangtae pulled him into a desperate embrace.

Over his shoulder, he could see the chief. Covered in white powder just like Youngmin, the chief lay completely motionless. Through his open zipper, his cock hung limp, just like the nozzle of the fire extinguisher lying right next to him.

“Is he dead?”

“It’s all over.”

Youngmin repeated the same words. Sangtae gently pushed against his chest with his fingertips. There were spots of blood on his glasses lenses.

“Did you kill him? Did you, Mister?”

“…”

He didn’t answer. With a face that showed he was quite shaken himself, he habitually reached out, pulled Sangtae’s head into an embrace, and stroked his hair. Sangtae slipped out of his arms and approached the chief. He wanted to confirm it precisely.

The chief lay there with his eyes wide open. Even though Sangtae’s reflection was cast in his blurred pupils, he didn’t stir. A clear handprint remained on his neck. Sangtae placed his index and middle fingers over that mark.

He could feel no pulse.

The chief’s heart had stopped.

Forever.

“I told you, it’s all over.”

“Let’s go. We need to get out of here.”

Sangtae grabbed Youngmin’s hand as he spoke wearily and pulled him along. His body, beaten by the gangsters and the chief, screamed in pain, but there was no time to hesitate.

“Wait. First, we need to report—”

“Mister, are you crazy? Do you know where this is… The owner of this nightclub is a gangster. If they find out there was a murder here, they might kill you. No, they will kill you.”

“Sangtae…”

“We can report it later. Will reporting bring the dead man back to life?”

The two of them went outside. Sangtae pressed the button on the round doorknob and closed the door.

Now, entering this room would require a key. Therefore, it would take some time for the chief’s body, left alone inside, to be discovered. In the meantime, he and Youngmin had to escape the nightclub and figure out their next move.

He had no idea what to do or how.

The corridor was empty. Mr. Shin seemed to have gone off to have his cozy fun with the women as he’d said, and the rest of the men appeared to have returned to their respective posts. It was a very busy night, so they probably didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to the chief, who had issued a ban on guests. Only the faint echo of karaoke accompaniment music carried through the walls.

“This way.”

Sangtae urged Youngmin on. Having killed a man just minutes ago, he was slower than usual.

It couldn’t be helped, Sangtae thought. Even killing a complete stranger would be shocking, and what Youngmin had killed was the police chief of his own district.

Officially, his superior at work. Privately, his biological father.

Youngmin had strangled his own father to death.

How was he feeling right now?

One of them had to keep their wits about them. Sangtae led Youngmin out through the back door that only the staff knew.

The wind that blew in was heavy. It looked like a big rain was coming.

“Did you come alone, Mister?”

Hiding in the shadow of the building, Sangtae asked.

“I was on my way home after the crackdown ended. I had stopped by here a few hours earlier, and something was bothering me, so I came back in to check and then…”

Youngmin rambled in a flustered tone, answering at random.

He had come into the nightclub to check on something that was bothering him, and found the chief being strangled? Youngmin’s statement was too coincidental. But Sangtae tucked the sense of unease beneath his conscious mind.

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter why you came here, Mister. We need to think about what happens next. The chief is already dead. Figuring out the cause won’t bring him back.”

The past that had happened couldn’t be changed. No matter how much you struggled, only the dreadful present continued. That was a truth he had learned by chewing over reality hundreds and thousands of times since leaving Germany.

“So for now, let’s lay low and talk about the details later.”

“…You’re right.”

“Good. Anyway, you came alone, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go home. There are no security cameras here. No one will know you came in.”

Youngmin was wearing his work uniform. If the gangsters had seen Youngmin, he wouldn’t have been allowed into the nightclub until all the illegal activities inside were finished. The chief had received no interruptions the entire time he was forcing his cock into Sangtae’s mouth. So it was clear the Mul Nightclub didn’t know Youngmin had come in.

As they went outside and headed toward the narrow alley, Youngmin pulled Sangtae back. A person came out of the door they had exited. It was the burly man who had grabbed Sangtae by the collar and dragged him into the corridor. Whistling a tune, he pulled out his cock and began urinating on the building’s exterior wall.

Sangtae stayed in Youngmin’s embrace, listening to the sound of the stream. The burly man emptied his impossibly long bladder and disappeared back inside the building.

Everything was going smoothly. So far.

He started the old Avante. Passing through the two-lane road where vacationers who hadn’t found accommodations were jaywalking in zigzags, Sangtae and Youngmin turned onto the national highway. No vehicles were following them.

They had escaped safely without being caught by the gangsters. Sangtae felt much more relieved. He slid down into the passenger seat, leaning back.

“…”

“…”

The two of them only occasionally glanced at each other, saying nothing. The reality they had to navigate was so overwhelming that no words could be spoken. The state of Sangtae and Youngmin reflected in the passenger window was pitiful. They looked like stragglers returning from a battlefield, unable to die.

“How did you end up there?”

It was Youngmin who spoke first. As if he had expected the question, Sangtae nodded. Then he answered without hesitation.

“To make money. A hundred thousand won a day. Could you turn that down, Mister?”

“No. I couldn’t.”

Youngmin didn’t blame Sangtae. He couldn’t. He knew that every job in Mukhyeon had rejected Sangtae.

“How long have you been working there?”

“Since a month ago. On the days you were on duty, I went out to work too.”

“So that’s why I didn’t know. …Was the allowance I gave you not enough?”

“No. But you told me to become independent. I was planning to work hard during break and save up at least the deposit for a rented room.”

“Ha…”

Youngmin’s sigh was long. If anyone was to blame, it was himself. His advice to prepare for a future that would one day come had caused a terrible butterfly effect. Even after they arrived in front of the house, he couldn’t take his hands off the steering wheel for a while.

Sangtae’s hand rested on his blood-crusted one. Their eyes met. A terrible resignation was held in Sangtae’s eyes. It was hard to tell whether the resignation was Youngmin’s emotion or Sangtae’s. Sangtae spoke.

“Let’s go inside. We can think later.”

Sangtae led the way up the stairs to their home. The motion sensor light turned on at the stairwell window connecting the first and second floors. Youngmin absentmindedly looked up.

“Your, your back…”

He saw Sangtae’s back. The white shirt was torn to rags, as if beaten by something, and between the shreds, his bloodied flesh was exposed.

“How… How could this…”

His chest felt as if it were being torn apart. Youngmin couldn’t bring himself to climb the stairs. He wanted to go back down, start the car, return to the nightclub, and lash the whip against his father lying there. If not that, he wanted to at least scream.

Sangtae looked back. Standing a couple of steps above, he reached out his hand to Youngmin. Youngmin just looked at that hand. He hesitated, unable to bring himself to take it, and in that moment, the motion sensor light went out.

“Let’s go home.”

In the pitch-black darkness, a completely exhausted voice came through. Youngmin caught the figure that wavered weakly and lifted him. The feel of his back upon touch was far worse than any vague imagination. His breath caught in his throat.

“Let’s hurry, Mister. I’m hurting.”

At the request, which sounded like a child’s whine, Youngmin snapped back to his senses. Being careful not to touch his back, he supported Sangtae. Passing the second floor, they entered their home. It was a shabby way home, having to walk on their heels for fear of being heard by the neighbors.

As soon as they got inside, Youngmin sat Sangtae down on the floor and looked for the first aid kit. Since they both knew they couldn’t go to the hospital, Sangtae silently took off his outer shirt.