A Scorching Day Chapter 57

Manager Hwang suddenly flashed through his mind. Ki Joon pulled out his phone again with trembling hands. Why hadn’t he thought of this sooner? When it came to finding people, his uncles were better than most police officers.

But Manager Hwang didn’t answer until the voicemail greeting came on. Trying two or three times was useless. Ki Joon squeezed his eyes shut.

“…Please, just…”

Just in case, he contacted some other uncles as well, but it was the same. When things went wrong, nothing worked out. Ki Joon sent Manager Hwang a message and a photo with trembling hands, asking him to find Gawon.

Anxiety boiled over in his chest. Unable to contain it any longer, he slammed his fist into the front door with a BANG! The already shabby, broken door rattled with a loud crash.

Everything had happened so suddenly. He was standing here frozen, and black despair had rushed in like the wind. It had charged in like a massive storm, smashing and trampling everything. It had taken away everything that had allowed Ki Joon to stand firm in this world.

Ki Joon squatted in front of Gawon’s house, clutching his head. His large hands trembled violently. A feeling he had long forgotten resurfaced. That helplessness of watching something precious shatter horribly right before his eyes, unable to do anything. The misery. The self-loathing for his own incompetence.

“Fuck, think, think it through.”

Ki Joon muttered darkly, pounding his skull with his fist. How could he find out where Gawon was? Where should he go to meet him? What the hell should he do, how should he…

“…Uh. Fuck, that… kid.”

At that moment, a faint muttering came from a distance. Ki Joon snapped his head up.

A man who was clearly drunk was staring at him with a bewildered look. The moment their eyes met, he began to slink backward.

Yes, that was him. The one he’d run into with Gawon before…. Ki Joon’s eyes blazed fiercely like a bird of prey. He dashed over in an instant and roughly grabbed the man’s collar.

“Mister!”

“Let go, let go! You bastard! Let go of me! You fucking brat with the blood barely dry on your head, daring to lay a hand on an adult…!”

“I’m not going to do anything! I won’t hit you! Mister! Calm down and look at me!”

The man, scared stiff, screeched and struggled. Ki Joon, with bloodshot eyes, yanked his collar hard. At Ki Joon’s manic voice, the man stopped moving, though he still grumbled.

“You’ve been looking for the person at this house since before, right? What’s the name of the place where he works? Where is it?”

“…Uh? You… you… are you looking for Sunny?”

At Ki Joon’s words, the man’s expression changed instantly. His eyes, hazy with alcohol, gleamed with obsessive anger.

“Why are you looking for her? That bitch, now she’s even going after kids…!”

“Fuck, stop talking nonsense and just answer me! Where is it!”

Ki Joon barked, his face reaching its limit. Intimidated by his aura, as if he might throw a punch any second, the man quickly backed down. But even with his eyes lowered, he didn’t give a straight answer.

Ki Joon, losing his composure, frantically searched the man’s jacket pockets. As expected, a few lighters spilled out. He picked up two suspicious ones and shoved them in front of the man’s face.

“Which one is it? Answer me, now!”

Unable to withstand Ki Joon’s fierce pressure, the man finally chose one. Ki Joon immediately released his collar and pocketed the lighter.

He caught another taxi. With a haggard face and closed eyes, Ki Joon clasped his hands together as if praying throughout the ride to the establishment. The place wasn’t far from the area managed by Cheonghyeon’s uncles. He prayed that it would be connected to Cheonghyeon in some way, so that he could smoothly find Gawon and his mother.

Ki Joon got out in front of the building bearing the establishment name on the lighter. At first glance, it looked like a cheap hostess bar, but in reality, it was a typical ‘managed’ establishment that used an entire low-rise building for prostitution. Having frequented such places since childhood with his uncles, Ki Joon’s steps toward the entrance were unhesitant.

As he went down to the basement level where the madam was likely stationed, a guard blocked him as expected.

“What is it. You.”

He looked Ki Joon over suspiciously. Then, noticing he was in mourning clothes, he let out a hollow laugh.

“What the fuck is this, are you some kind of bastard… Hey, you look underage no matter how I see it? Are you out of your mind or what…”

“What is it? Who are you? Aren’t you just chasing away customers? Come on in. Why, you looking for someone?”

The opaque door opened and a woman who appeared to be the madam walked out. Ki Joon, standing tall, approached her urgently and asked.

“Do you know where Sunny went by any chance?”

“What? Sunny?”

Her smiling face, full of curiosity, hardened instantly.

“Ah, fuck— why is this happening lately, seriously. What the hell is this? I’ve been going crazy from all the noise because of her for the past few days.”

“Noona, please help me. Just tell me where she went. Please?”

Ki Joon stepped closer to the madam and desperately grabbed and clung to her wrist. The woman’s eyes widened briefly. Fortunately, Ki Joon’s earnest face, young enough to be her son, seemed to have sufficiently aroused her sympathy. With a much softer expression, she muttered.

“How would I know? I heard she told some of the girls she’d snagged some rich sucker and was gonna pay off all her debts and leave this place? But I only heard that after she’d already bolted…”

As she spoke, seeming to grow indignant again, the madam frowned deeply.

“But seriously, fuck. If she was gonna reel in a sucker and leave, she should have paid her debts first. What the hell is she doing, and where? The guys who manage this place are tearing the whole world apart trying to catch her, but they can’t find her anywhere!”

“…How many days has it been since they started looking?”

“Yeah. And they have such a good nose for things. Even when someone bolts sometimes, they get caught within two or three days… At this point, I wonder if she’s dead. She was doing so much drugs too… Tsk.”

At that point, the woman seemed to realize she’d said too much and shut her mouth. Her face, looking at the frozen Ki Joon, was filled with awkwardness.

“Ah, if there’s nothing else, just go now. We have business to run.”

“Just a moment. Then, by any chance, her son…”

“Ah, I don’t know, I don’t know. How would I know? Whether she has a son or a daughter, I don’t know, so just go now. You look like a student; if someone like you hangs around here, it gets us in a lot of trouble.”

The woman turned away sharply, as if there was nothing more to see. Ki Joon ended up having to leave, practically chased out, and had no choice but to turn back. The madam, who had been complaining about Gawon’s mother, genuinely seemed to have no idea of her whereabouts. It didn’t look like he’d gain anything by clinging to her further.

He returned to Gawon’s house without any leads. His head felt like it would explode. Ki Joon writhed, wringing his head. Finding Gawon and his family, who had vanished as if evaporated, was becoming more and more distant. Standing in front of Gawon’s house, Ki Joon had no choice but to call Manager Hwang again.

After the repeating ringtone, the call finally connected.

―Joon-ah.

But before he could even speak, he heard pained gasping from the other end. Ki Joon’s eyes widened.

“…Manager Hwang?”

―You, where are you right now?

“I’m… near Yoon Gawon’s house right now.”

―Good, good. Don’t, absolutely don’t go home. Those bastards are surely stationed there too.

“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”

He couldn’t understand what the hell was going on. It felt like he was dreaming. But his heart was already pounding painfully. His body remembered and reacted first to Manager Hwang’s voice, which he had consistently heard whenever threatened since childhood.

―Gangsan… they attacked.

It was as expected. He didn’t know who Gangsan was, but such attacks happened occasionally. Ki Joon closed his eyes deeply and opened them again.

“Where are you?”

―Joon-ah.

“I asked where you are!”

―Why do you need to know that? What would you do if you came here!

“Then you expect me to just sit by with my hands tied while you’re hurt?!”

Ki Joon lost his composure and shouted. But this time, Manager Hwang didn’t back down either.

―Do you think this is some kid’s game right now?! You, you said you wanted to be an athlete! Do you want to join the organization and be a thug? Is that it!