A Scorching Day Chapter 40

He tossed and turned all night without sleep. Whenever exhaustion overwhelmed him and he sank into unconsciousness, harsh dreams tormented Gawon. Whenever he drifted into a light sleep, he invariably returned to that horrific classroom scene.

He was pinned to a chair, and the kids were forcing a ridiculous wig onto his head. The blackboard was covered in graffiti mocking him and his mother. Click, click. The sound of photos being taken struck his ears loudly and constricted his throat.

Then the scene shifted in an instant. Ki Joon, hands bloodied, was beating Heo Yeonggyu again and again. Thud, thud, thud. The sticky, fishy stench of blood filled the air.

‘Ki Joon, stop it now…!’

Even in the dream, Ki Joon unfailingly stopped at his single word. Slowly rising from the nearly unconscious Heo Yeonggyu, he looked like a massive beast that had just finished a hunt.

Even when he looked at him with eyes soaked in cruel euphoria, even when that figure overlapped with what he feared most, strangely, he wasn’t scared at all. He was just sad. His heart made a sound of despair and crumbled.

‘How can you expect me to trust a kid like this to study in the same classroom as my son! He should be sent straight to juvenile detention!’

When he came to, he was back at the police station. Hearing the reckless slander and belittlement of Ki Joon, the indignation filling Gawon’s chest multiplied like cells.

Who does she think he is. How can she put Heo Yeonggyu, that piece of trash, on the same level as Ki Joon. How dare she compare Ki Joon to a bastard like that…

At that moment, Ki Joon, who had been sitting silently, turned his head. In that instant, he vanished as if he had never been there. Rubbing his eyes and looking again, the seat was empty.

He ran outside to find Ki Joon. He ran straight to his house, but he couldn’t enter. The guards blocking Gawon looked exactly like the thugs who had tormented him and his mother. Hearing their voices telling him he couldn’t see Ki Joon and to go back, Gawon was frozen in place.

I miss him. I just want to know if you’re okay, if you’re safe.

The Gawon in the dream was braver than the real him. He desperately tried to push through them. But they subdued him as easily as catching a minnow. And so the struggle ended in vain.

The dream ended there.

In the end, even in the dream, he couldn’t learn if Ki Joon was safe.

“…Haa.”

In the still air of the early morning, Gawon shot up and immediately grabbed his phone. 4:36 AM. Still no contact from Ki Joon.

Gawon put his phone down in vain in the darkness. Had it been taken away? The frustration was unbearable.

At least it was a relief that today was Saturday, a day off from school. He forced his gritty eyelids shut.

He realized anew just how long yesterday had been. Waiting for a contact that wouldn’t come was a nerve-wracking ordeal. If he could just get a good night’s sleep, time would pass quickly, but he was afraid of having those dreams again.

After tossing and turning for a long time, Gawon finally got up. Before he even realized what he was doing, his body was moving. He grabbed some clothes, put them on, and went outside.

He took the first bus of the day toward Ki Joon’s house. The bus was completely empty. Even as he traveled, he let out a hollow laugh at his impulsive actions.

I must be losing it. What was he going to do by going there on a whim? There was no guarantee he could even meet him….

But he knew that Ki Joon was often awake even in the late hours of the night. And for some reason, he had a baseless conviction that Ki Joon probably hadn’t slept well last night either. And surely the guards wouldn’t be on high alert at this hour. He was gambling on that flimsy hope.

However, as if mocking his complacent thoughts, a couple of guards were still standing in front of Ki Joon’s house, visible from a distance. Unable to approach the main gate, Gawon hid at the entrance of an alley and sighed.

Should I try contacting Ki Joon? But if he still can’t receive calls. Or if it disturbed his peaceful sleep…

“…!”

Just then, his phone screen flashed like a miracle. Startled, Gawon’s body went rigid. Confirming the name on the screen, Gawon covered his mouth with his hand. Afraid the vibration sound might spread, he quickly muted it and answered.

“Hello? He, hello?”

—…Hello?

A small laugh came through the phone. A soft, low voice. It was unmistakably Ki Joon.

—Sorry for calling so late. You might have been asleep.

“No. I was awake.”

—I said I’d contact you, but I’m sorry I couldn’t until now. Manager Hwang just brought me my phone.

“It’s okay.”

He had thought he might not be in a situation to contact him, and it seemed that was the case. Still, he was relieved to hear from him now.

Just hearing Ki Joon’s voice seemed to release all the tension in his body. His legs momentarily lost their strength, and Gawon leaned against the tall wall, sighing.

—Anyway, it sounds good. Gawon. Say it again.

It was an overly carefree voice given the situation. And an absurd request out of nowhere. Gawon tilted his head.

“…What are you talking about.”

—Just now, you said hello.

“Haa… You’re making jokes at a time like this?”

Hearing that utterly Ki Joon-like, warm, and playful voice made his strength drain away. The relief brought by Ki Joon’s silly jokes was greater than he’d expected. But Gawon soon furrowed his brow with a serious expression.

“Ki Joon. Are you… okay?”

—Huh? Of course I’m fine. Didn’t you see yesterday? I didn’t get hit even once.

“Not that. You said your father was strict. Didn’t you get in trouble?”

—Ah. Oh… I’m okay. I just… got a bit of a scolding.

The laugh that came through was distinctly awkward. Anyone could tell it was an evasive tone. His heart began to beat anxiously. Gawon looked up at the dark second floor and spoke quietly.

“Ki Joon.”

—Yeah?

“Well… actually, I’m in front of your house right now.”

—What?!

At that moment, a clatter came through the phone. Immediately after, the second-floor window was flung open. Ki Joon’s face appeared, leaning out, filled with surprise.

But only for a moment; soon a delighted smile spread across his face. Waving his hand enthusiastically like a large dog wagging its tail, he looked genuinely happy. Thank goodness. It seemed he hadn’t disturbed his rest.

“Can I come in? …There are guards standing watch, and earlier they said I couldn’t come in to see you.”

—Oh….

Ki Joon trailed off, sounding flustered. The uncharacteristic hesitation from someone usually so straightforward gave him a bad feeling.

—It’s… well… actually, it might be hard for you to come in right now.

“…”

So he really got scolded badly. He remembered him saying he’d been confined and couldn’t even go to school last time. Would it be the same this time too, because of me…. It felt like a lead weight was pressing down on his chest endlessly.

“You got scolded badly. Did you get… hit a lot?”

Gawon mumbled gloomily. Ki Joon quickly replied.

—No, nothing like that. Hit? I didn’t get hit. I just… got yelled at a bit.

“…”

His mouth snapped shut. His head drooped involuntarily at the miserable feeling. He couldn’t bear to look up at Ki Joon’s face looking down at him from the second floor. He was so upset, his heart ached so much, he didn’t know what to say or how.

—Gawon. I’ll come out now. Just wait there a little bit.

“…Huh?”

What on earth was he saying. Gawon’s eyes went wide as he looked up. But Ki Joon was already gone from the window. Only the curtains rustled gently beyond the closed window with a slight gap.

“…How can you come out? Aren’t you confined?”

—There’s always a way. The guards are only at the front gate, right? There aren’t any in the back.

“Huh? Oh.”

—I can get out through the garage. The path from the second floor to here is something even my uncles don’t know about… oof.

From beyond the phone, he could hear the faint sounds of furtive, busy movement. Then a pained voice muttering, “Fuck, that hurts….” And a few sharp, huffing breaths that sounded terribly painful.

“Ki Joon, are you… okay?”

—Of course I am.

The call ended abruptly. Ki Joon’s voice, which had been coming through the phone, was now right before him. Startled, he looked up. Seeing Ki Joon straddling the tall wall, Gawon’s eyes widened.

“Ki Joon, you…!”

“Shh.”

Ki Joon raised his index finger to his lips, glanced around, and leaped over the wall. His landing was impressively clean, but his large body wobbled a couple of times.

Catching that moment sharply, Gawon strode toward Ki Joon. The moment he put his arm around his back, Gawon’s face hardened instantly at the clear, pungent smell of blood.

“You, you… got, hit a lot?”

“No? …I just twisted my ankle a bit jumping down.”

“I can smell blood on you…!”

“Gawon, if you get this angry and the uncles come, I’ll have to go back inside.”

Ki Joon smoothly placated him, first leading him into a less-trafficked alley as an urgent measure. In the darkness of the alley, Gawon stood at a loss for a moment. He couldn’t just leave a hurt person standing on the street, but he also had nowhere to go…. He was at a loss as to what to do.

“Let’s call a taxi.”

But his deliberation was short. Gawon pulled out his phone.

“Where to?”

“My house.”