A Scorching Day Chapter 53

Gawon gasped for breath as if being chased, his body jolting. The darkness blocking his vision was dizzying.

His body, treated like cargo, was tossed this way and that. Whenever the car braked or turned, he was roughly slammed around. Nausea rose, but with his mouth gagged, vomiting could very well mean death.

Throughout the transport, Gawon thought of his mother, who would be held by those bastards, and of Ki Joon, who would be at the hospital by now. Every time he replayed this situation, his mother, Ki Joon, and the events of the day in his mind, his heart shattered into pieces beyond words.

It felt like walking along a cliff edge in pitch-black darkness, unable to see a single step ahead. The fear that dominated Gawon was that deep and black. The dreadful premonition that seized his mind was almost a certainty. No, it was like the instinct of an animal precisely sensing the impending disaster.

Today, his mother would die.

And he too… would die, or end up in a state worse than death.

He felt like he was going crazy. The anxiety that burrowed in like a worm had completely gnawed at his insides, threatening to burst through his chest. Tears kept flowing, soaking his cheeks and temples even after they were thoroughly wet.

The car’s motion stopped. At the same time, the vibrations and shocks that had shaken his body like seasickness ceased. The trunk opened, and a couple of men pulled Gawon’s body out.

“Ugh, huk….”

“Careful with the kid, don’t rough him up.”

The man who got out of the backseat hummed and said playfully. It was clear that the words weren’t meant out of concern for him. Gawon stumbled, dragged along by the men.

The building standing on the desolate vacant lot was dark. The men naturally entered the place that looked like an abandoned factory. His legs buckled several times. Each time, the men kicked his hips or thighs and cursed at him.

One of the several massive doors, frozen in the cold winter air, was open. Entering the pitch-black space, the men flung Gawon carelessly onto the floor. Gawon, his hands tied behind his back, panted and raised his head, staring wide-eyed ahead.

There in front of him… he finally saw a familiar figure.

His mother’s body lay sprawled on the floor like discarded trash. Seeing his mother, soaked in blood until no bare skin was visible, Gawon screamed like a man possessed.

“Mo-mother! Mother——!”

“You’ve arrived.”

The men who had been working earlier greeted the man with a polite bow.

“That bastard Kwak Cheoljung still not here?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Troublesome….” The man muttered expressionlessly. Witnessing the horrific scene before him, Gawon screamed and screamed again. His mother, already submerged in searing pain throughout her body, also seemed out of her mind.

“I… don’t… know. I don’t know… where it is. That fucking bastard said he’d deliver it, so I delivered it… and that’s the end of it.”

His mother’s voice was utterly hoarse. Her flickering life force was perilously close to extinguishing. The man let out a short, deflating laugh and sauntered closer to his mother.

“Ah-ha. Is that so. Then where is that fucking bastard?”

The man casually circled back to his mother’s words, as if playing. Sizzle— The sound of a stubbed-out cigarette being ground into the puddle of blood flowing from his mother’s body was stark.

“I don’t… know….”

His mother sobbed, her voice choked.

“I don’t… know… you fucking bastards….”

“Hmm.”

This time, the man approached Gawon. Thud, thud. The man’s dress shoes grew closer. Mercilessly grabbing Gawon’s hair, he lifted Gawon’s face so his mother could see it clearly.

“Ma’am. You still don’t know, even seeing this kid?”

Two faces were placed side by side—one swollen, torn, and stained with blood, the other pale with terror and tears. Their eyes, resembling each other, met. His mother—the bird that had tried to fly away with hope—was now dying, her wings cruelly broken.

Ah…. Gawon squeezed his tear-soaked eyes shut. The deep-seated resentment that had festered in his heart his entire life flowed out as bloody tears.

Why did you get caught? Why are you here like this? You’ve abandoned your only son every time, spent your whole life running away so desperately, so why can’t you succeed just once…

“I don’t… know. Bringing him here… what’s, cough, what’s different?”

“Aish, fuck, this is so tiresome.”

A bored sigh escaped the frowning man. His large palm struck his mother’s cheek without mercy. Smack, smack, a wet sound oozed from her blood-soaked skin.

“Stop, stop hitting her!”

At Gawon’s desperate scream, as if his throat were tearing, the man’s hand stopped. Gawon shrieked until blood seemed to come from his throat.

“Stop it! How much is it worth to drive a person to this state!”

“Oh? Look at this, look at this. The kid’s misunderstanding. Hey, we’re not the ones who made her like this, you know?”

The man made a comical face, widening his eyes and raising both hands as if in surrender.

“Your mom was hauling ass up the mountain in the middle of the night and slipped all on her own, that’s how she ended up like this. Don’t misunderstand, alright? We’d be way too wronged here, got it?”

The group of men burst out laughing at his words. Overwhelmed by revulsion, Gawon gritted his teeth. The fact that someone’s life, someone’s tragedy, was merely a joke to them was unbearably repulsive.

“How much is that drug debt? How much is it that you won’t even let a dying person go to the hospital?”

“How much is the drug debt, you ask? Want me to tell you? Hmm, with about ten tender kids like you, sell five off to the brothels, and for the other five….”

The hand holding the cigarette slid closer and rested on Gawon’s forehead. His fingertips dangerously brushed Gawon’s eyelids. The next place the man’s hand touched was his lower abdomen.

“From here… to here, all of it would have to be harvested to pay it off. What can a runt like you do with just one measly body?”

His voice was dripping with mockery. Once again, his subordinates chuckled.

“This is all because your mom was too naive. She said if this job went well, she’d skip to another country? Falling for such an obvious scam, then when shit hits the fan, that fucking idiot bails completely—why did she even trust him? Anyway, if you get involved with the wrong dickhead, your life goes straight to hell. Hey, is Kwak Cheoljung here yet?”

“They’re looking for him, boss.”

“Fuck, this is going nowhere. Tell the doctor to hurry up. Looking at her, she’s about to croak.”

Taking a drag of his cigarette, he gestured carelessly with his chin toward his mother.

“Ugh, huuuh… ugh. It hurts. It… it hurts so… much…”

His mother writhed and groaned pitifully. Her voice was so weak and thin. Frighteningly so, as if something might happen any moment. With her whole body twisted in various places, unable to move a finger, it looked as if all her bones had shattered and collapsed, just as the man said she’d fallen from the mountain.

His mind went blank. Impatience was rapidly gnawing at his sanity. The blazing fire burned away the countless emotions that constituted Gawon. Gawon screamed and screamed like a madman.

“Please save her. Mister, please, I’m begging you, please save her. Take her to a hospital… please take her to a hospital.”

He shouted until his voice gave out, but there was no way the men would listen to the words of a kid dragged in as a hostage. Instead, Gawon repeated threats and pleas toward the men who were watching him as if amused.

“I’ll pay you back later, no matter what. A person is in that state, you have to save her first! That way you can get your money too, so please, please…”

“Ah, shut up. Fuck, maybe if I rip out this little runt’s tongue, he’ll finally quiet down.”

“The one who stole it is someone else! If you haven’t caught the guy who took the drugs, then go after him! Why are you torturing innocent people!”

“Look at this little bastard.”

The man cursed but still chuckled. His large palms smacked Gawon’s cheeks with a pat, pat.

“Hey, you cheeky bastard. Which one, huh? Your mom got caught first—what do you want me to do about that?”

Gawon’s rage-fueled screaming ceased. He lost his words and looked up at the man. Were these bastards, who drove people to this state for such absurd reasons, even human? The dark side he’d seen of them so far was only a tiny fraction… Gawon finally realized that.

“So when you touch someone else’s stuff, you gotta run like hell. And you must never get caught. Got it?”

The man made a playful face, tucking his arms at his sides and mimicking a running motion. His giggling voice was sticky and vile.

“Don’t feel too wronged. When we catch that bastard Kwak Cheoljung, we’ll beat the shit out of him too. But your mom did steal, that’s a fact. Until we catch that bastard and rip him open, you and that bitch have to pay the price too, don’t you think?”

Even during that brief exchange, his mother’s pained groans continued without pause. Gawon begged and cried like a person out of his mind. Rubbing his forehead against the man’s shoe, he begged endlessly. Please, just take his mother to a hospital, before something happened to her, please…

At that moment. His mother, who had been whimpering weakly the whole time, suddenly took a deep, shuddering breath. Gawon’s head turned slowly, as if broken.

“…Eo, Mother.”

Gawon’s pupils, rippling with tears, stopped. With that final breath, his mother’s head dropped limply.

“Mo…ther. Mother!”

Gawon called out to his mother in a daze. But no matter how many times he called, his mother, head bowed, gave no answer.

Her body was grotesquely twisted, her expression contorted in agony, but ironically, she finally looked peaceful.

Gawon was struck dumb, blinking blankly. Sadly, he knew immediately. That his mother’s life had ended. The body that had writhed in pain had finally escaped toward eternal rest.

“Mother! Mother——! Mother——!”

They had been less than strangers. He had never once been welcomed by his mother. From the moment she realized the presence of the child in her womb, right up to now, his mother had raised Gawon with sheer reluctance.

Still, she was the one who had been his root. The mother who had provided at least a minimal roof and walls.

There was hardly any sentiment of mother-son affection, yet Gawon had wished for her happiness. Having been bound in unhappiness her entire life, he had wished for her to finally be free. He would live his own life, and he had hoped she would too.

“Oh my, fuck. She croaked already.”

But the bastards who carelessly kicked his mother’s limp corpse and spat on it were saying: even such a wish was an overreaching greed.

His mother, who had lived her whole life in the shade, couldn’t even receive a single ray of sunlight in death. She ended her life so vainly, in this dusty, blood-stinking place.

“Mo…ther.”

His Adam’s apple trembled violently, swallowing back sobs. The thorns of grief that painfully forced their way down his throat were too large and sharp. The resentment, scraping down like blades through his throat, tore and shredded Gawon’s esophagus, lungs, and heart to pieces.

Why did someone’s life have to be so shabby?

Why did someone’s death have to be so painful?

Why so much,

Why…

“Oh? Looks like Doctor Cha is coming in. Not sure if there’s anything useful left soaked in drugs… but the eyes might be worth something. Hey, hurry up and clean this up and load her in the car.”

“Yes, boss.”

“You, go to the trunk and get my shirt. Ah, fuck, the sweat smell.”

Unable to let out his grief in a wailing cry, Gawon swallowed it back and pressed his forehead to the ground. Bang, bang…. He wished his brain, vividly imprinted with his mother’s miserable end, would be crushed entirely. He wanted to just die here, his head smashed in.

But before he could do it even twice, his hair was grabbed again.

“Hey, hey. Can’t be scratching up the merchandise.”

The man who had stripped off his shirt leaned in close and winked playfully.

“Now that the bitch is dead, it’s your turn to work your ass off to pay it back.”

The man chuckled playfully and released Gawon’s hair. His tear-blurred vision blankly followed the man’s back.

Flowers….

Innumerable densely inked tattoos covered the man’s broad back—blue flowers. Gawon blankly took in the layered blossoms.

His sanity, unable to endure reality any longer, plummeted into a vivid fantasy as if fleeing. In the darkness he fell into, blue petals bloomed profusely throughout.