A Scorching Day Chapter 52

The taxi stopped at the mouth of the alley. Gawon, walking with dragging steps, slipped his body into the cold, empty house. The lifeless home was so cold that his breath formed mist in the air.

He turned on the lights first, then also switched on the boiler, whose heating function was lackluster. Only after setting down the heavy backpack he had packed with excitement that morning did a small sigh escape him.

Gawon squatted in the corner of the room and rested his face on his knees. The wave of exhaustion that finally washed over him weighed down his entire body. He needed to unpack and wash up, but he didn’t feel like doing anything.

Is Ki Joon… okay right now?

His gaze turned toward the rosary bracelet on his wrist. Since it was his mother’s keepsake, it was quite old, and he’d heard that the string had loosened in the middle and been repaired once. As Ki Joon had said, the beads were worn smooth but the elasticity was still firm.

Is it really okay for me to wear this?

He was afraid he might lose it. Wanting to store it safely somewhere in the house, Gawon looked around the room for a moment, but unable to find a suitable place, he decided to just keep wearing it.

His wrist adorned with the bracelet, the ring gleaming on his finger. Gawon gazed at them for a long time with a heavy heart. Ki Joon had filled his empty hands—hands that had lived his entire life possessing nothing—with beautiful and precious things.

He heaved himself up heavily. Looking down at the drying rack that nearly filled the small room, Gawon finally realized it was completely empty. The clothes of his mother, which had certainly been hanging there that morning, were nowhere to be seen.

For the past few days, his mother had been coming and going from the house several times. Gawon was bewildered and confused by his mother’s capricious behavior, appearing every few days.

Most of the time she was humming tunes and getting ready to go out, but sometimes she would sit blankly like a doll. It seemed the frequency of her drinking or taking drugs had increased compared to before, and he was worried.

“…Is something going on?”

Once, he had asked her, timing it when her mood seemed good. His mother, who had been drying her hair while humming a tune with a strangely dropping pitch, glanced up at Gawon’s question.

‘I met a man.’

‘…Ah.’

‘He says he’ll pay off all the debts too. Now I can escape this god-awful life.’

Gawon nodded silently. That was truly good news. As he was thinking that, his mother abruptly turned the question back on him.

‘You said you’re going to college, right? Moving into the dorm?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good for you.’

Even if someone bragged that their neighbor’s son got into college, they would have shown a better reaction than this. But Gawon didn’t bother to say that. He just gave a wry smile and turned his head.

‘Thank you.’

That was the end of the conversation.

Gawon realized it. That the bond between mother and son had already ended in that moment they had exchanged those words. It wasn’t that either side had hardened their hearts and deliberately cut it off. Just as a plant that has lived out its lifespan quietly falls and eventually buries itself in the earth, his relationship with his mother had simply run its course.

His mother had run away from these detestable things countless times over the years. And those detestable things had always included Gawon as well.

Although his mother had never once included him in her escapes, Gawon sincerely wished for her freedom. Having lived her whole life suffering in a narrow, mold-smelling closet… he hoped she could now break free from all shackles and soar high into the sky.

“…Still, if you’re going to leave, at least say goodbye first.”

Gawon lowered his gaze and chuckled wryly. His hollow voice shattered as it was uttered. Yeah, perhaps this way was easier for both of them to shake off any lingering attachments. Now, they really just had to walk their own paths.

While he was up, he showered and organized his things as well. As he laid out his bedding and lay down, a damp fatigue washed over him. Gawon slowly closed his eyes. He traced, one by one, the memories of riding the train with Ki Joon, eating delicious food, drinking coffee, and watching the sunset at the beach, as if engraving them in his heart.

At that, his heart melted with tenderness. He was worried about Ki Joon, and he missed him. Was it still too early to contact him? He must be in the middle of chaos right now…. Hesitating, Gawon eventually sent a message to Ki Joon.

[Joon-ah. When you see this later, contact me. I’ll wait.]

He didn’t want to send too many and risk being a nuisance, but he still added one thing he absolutely wanted to say.

[Let’s hold on just a little… longer. I love you.]

Gawon quietly stared at the unfamiliar number floating above the message. It was already the second number change since he’d been seeing Ki Joon for two years.

It had been turbulent ever since the old days, so Ki Joon’s father had apparently told him to change his number once a year. Now there was no one to tell him that, but it had become a habit and he said it was easier for him to change it regularly too.

Gawon had memorized every single one of Ki Joon’s numbers each time they changed. There was no need to memorize them since they were saved, but still. Since this number had been changed right before the trip, it wasn’t really sticking in his memory. 4, 6, 1, 7…. As he was memorizing each digit one by one, the phone screen suddenly went dark.

“…It’s going to die at this rate.”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t charged it all day. He’d memorize it later and just charge it for now. Gawon connected his phone to the charger in the corner of the room. He checked one last time, but there was no read receipt indicating Ki Joon had seen the message.

Please, let nothing happen. So that tomorrow we can meet with relieved faces….

Gawon crawled on his knees and switched his phone to sound mode. He also set all message notifications to make sound. So that even if he fell asleep, he could answer right away if Ki Joon contacted him.

Then he fumbled in one corner of the room and pulled out a heavy book he’d borrowed from the library a few days ago. He planned to delay the oncoming sleep as much as possible.

But soon his eyelids began to grow heavy. Having gotten up at dawn and been bustling around all day, his stamina was quickly depleted. Even before he could turn a few pages, Gawon slipped into a deep sleep.

∞ ∞ ∞

It was the screeching of old hinges that forcibly pulled his dazed consciousness out. Wheee—, creak, creak. Startled by the nerve-grating noise, Gawon jolted awake with wide eyes.

BANG, BANG—! The intruder didn’t even try to hide this violent behavior. Goosebumps ran all over his body. Gawon scrambled up from his bedding with a bewildered expression.

…What? Who’s here?

The only ones who behaved this brazenly were thugs. But his mother hadn’t run away. Surely, she said she’d be able to pay off all the debts….

The translucent window fitted into the old door shattered. A rough hand reached in and unlatched the lock. Knowing full well that no one would come running to this neighborhood even with such blatant noise, their actions were brutally audacious.

Gawon forced his trembling body up. There was no time now to ponder why they were doing this. First, he had to report it to the police or something to stop these intruders.

His wobbling knees gave way and his body crumpled to the floor. A pained groan escaped him. Crawling along, Gawon snatched the phone plugged into the charger. In that moment.

“Ah!”

“Hey, that wouldn’t be any fun.”

With merciless grip strength, a hand grabbed his hair and yanked him backward. It felt like his scalp was being torn off. Gawon screamed and was dragged helplessly. The phone slipped from his hand and rolled pitifully across the floor.

A booted foot came down with a crunch, stomping on the phone. The screen spiderwebbed with countless cracks. Gasping for breath, Gawon raised both hands to grab the wrist of the man holding his hair. The thugs who had barged in numbered around six or seven.

“Wh-who are you? Wh-why are you… doing this!”

“Why?”

One of them let out a snort. Bending down and squatting, he slapped Gawon’s face with his thick palm, stroking it as he met his eyes.

“A bright-looking kid. I hear you’re good at studying. Got into some good university this time, didn’t you?”

More than the pain of being hit in the face, the man’s attitude—knowing his personal details as if reading the palm of his hand—sent a colder chill down his spine. Gawon stared blankly at him like a person in a daze.

“Then how about using that smart head of yours to think it over? Your mom swiped some damn expensive stuff from us. So do you think we’re pissed or not?”

Hoo— The cigarette smoke the man carelessly blew stung his eyes and nose as it invaded. Gawon coughed and squeezed his watery eyes shut.

“So we’re super pissed and came all the way here to find our lost goods. So how about you cooperate too, kid? Where is it? The drugs your mom skimmed off.”

“I… I don’t know anything about that.”

Gawon rasped out the words as if groaning. Unwanted facts flooded his mind. His mother had stolen a huge quantity of drugs. Enough to have thugs like this swarming in….

Fear surged up, making his vision go dark. Tears involuntarily streamed down his cheeks. He had been subjected to thugs countless times before, but he had never been this frightened.

A chilling certainty set in. That these men were completely different from the ones who had loitered around, ransacked the house, and casually taunted or threatened him.

“Yeah? You don’t know? You should know.”

The man bit his cigarette and glared at Gawon with blazing eyes. Force went into his thick knuckles. Gawon, still held by his hair, let out a thin whimper.

“’Cause you’ll only get to step foot into that university if we find the drugs.”

“Hngh, huk, ugh…”

“If you don’t know, well… you’ll have to come with us and work your ass off. Think you can handle that?”

He chuckled and flicked on the lighter held between his fingers. With a click, a large flame blazed up. The man brought the flame right up to Gawon’s eyes and shouted ‘Boo!’ to scare him.

Gawon flinched reflexively, squeezing his eyes shut. Tears trickled from between his lids, wetting his chin.

“It’s not here, boss.”

The men who had turned the house upside down got up. The man holding Gawon clicked his tongue.

“Ah, fuck… Well, I guess he wouldn’t hide it in a shithole like this. Let’s pack it u—.”

Just then, a loud ringtone sounded from inside the man’s jacket. After finishing a brief call, he grinned, lifting the corner of his mouth holding the cigarette. A horrifying thrill glinted in his eyes.

“They found Yoon Seonhee?”

Thump. In that moment, Gawon’s heart plummeted to the very bottom. The man brought his face close to Gawon’s, who was still held by the hair, and whispered.

“Kid. Wanna come along? To see your mom.”