Chapter 77: I Did It for My Own Peace of Mind
『 TL – Marctempest 』 『 ED – Laplace 』
I searched through my mories.
Sea Whale. It was a na I had never heard even in my past life.
There was no way I would have known about a smuggler who ruled the back alleys of Busan at this ti. To soone like , who had operated close to power, figures lurking in the shadows like that had always been outside my interest.
“Is he soone not widely known in Seoul?”
“Yes. Only people in Busan know him through word of mouth. Who would bother paying attention to a re smuggler?”
“But didn’t the KCIA say they were going to clean up the black market this ti?”
“As if that would work. Do you have any idea how many smugglers and stowaway brokers there are in Busan? Their roots reach all the way into the military and the police…….”
President Wang trailed off and shook his head.
“But…… it’s said that if you break the rules set by Sea Whale, he will definitely co for you.”
“A smuggler sets rules?”
A hollow laugh escaped in disbelief. How did that even make sense?
“So what exactly are these rules?”
“That much, even I don’t know. It’s sothing only the smugglers know among themselves. I’ll try looking into it.”
“No. That won’t be necessary. First, please find Captain Noh’s whereabouts. He’s soone I absolutely need.”
“I understand. I’ll do my best.”
“And…… please pass this news on to Seoul as well. Since soone Yang Sobo introduced is in trouble, he’ll be worried in one way or another.”
“Yes, I’ll make sure the ssage gets through.”
I left the office and returned to my room on the third floor, then lay down on the bed. The worn patterns on the ceiling made my eyes ache. My thoughts grew just as tangled.
‘Sea Whale…….’
He wasn’t a simple smuggler. In Busan’s tangled web of interests, he had established his own order and punished those who broke it. Like a predator of the deep sea, hiding his form while devouring everything that trespassed into his territory.
For so reason, I had a feeling this would turn into a stubborn, deeply entangled connection.
‘By the way, am I the one who calls trouble, or does trouble keep coming to find ? Honestly.’
As I traced the dizzying patterns on the ceiling with my eyes, everything blurred, and I drifted into sleep.
How much ti had passed? I snapped awake at the sound of knocking on the door.
Ah-seong was knocking and calling for .
“Hyung.”
The sun had already set, and the room was steeped in darkness. Relying on the light leaking in through the crack of the door, I checked the ti on my wristwatch.
10 p.m. There was only one reason Ah-seong would co looking for at this hour.
‘Looks like his uncle got out.’
I brushed myself off, turned on the light, and opened the door.
“The thank-you speech—”
I stopped mid-sentence. Standing beside Ah-seong was an unfamiliar man.
His face was badly swollen, as if he had been tornted all night, but his eyes alone were sharp and very much alive.
It seed the man was Ah-seong’s uncle, Jin Tae-rim. I stepped slightly to the side and spoke.
“So you’re Ah-seong’s uncle. Please, co in. Ah, Ah-seong. Ask President Wang to send up so tea.”
“Yes, hyung!”
After sending Ah-seong down, only an awkward silence remained.
Despite my invitation, Jin Tae-rim stayed rooted at the doorway, scanning with eyes full of suspicion. I examined him in return.
‘That’s excessive.’
It was far too much wariness to show toward the person who had gotten him out. O Chung-seong must have said sothing unnecessary.
Until Ah-seong returned, neither of us spoke, only sizing each other up. Ah-seong ca up carrying a tray and laughed when he saw his uncle and standing there without a word.
“Uncle, why are you just standing there?”
“I was waiting for you.”
The two exchanged a brief conversation in Chinese. Pretending I didn’t understand so as not to reveal myself, I simply listened quietly.
“Hyung. Let’s go inside first.”
I nodded and moved ahead, taking a seat. Ah-seong and Jin Tae-rim entered and closed the door.
“Please, have a seat.”
Only then did Jin Tae-rim sit down. Ah-seong set down teacups in front of both of us and began pouring the tea.
Ah-seong wore a constant smile. How worried he must have been, afraid of losing even his uncle, his only remaining family.
But strangely enough, Jin Tae-rim, who had just barely escaped death, had an odd attitude.
“I heard you spent a large sum of money to get out.”
Jin Tae-rim finally spoke. Fluent Korean flowed from his mouth, with clearer pronunciation than anyone else I had heard since coming here.
A flustered Ah-seong scolded him.
“No, Uncle! You should thank him first.”
“The thanks can wait. You stay quiet.”
I smiled and lifted my teacup.
“I didn’t do it to hear thanks, but that reaction is sothing.”
“…….”
“However much money I spent, I spent it because I wanted to. I don’t want credit for it either.”
“It must have been a considerable amount.”
“It wasn’t a big sum to . Isn’t everything relative?”
I brought the teacup to my lips, watching his reaction.
Jin Tae-rim stared at with even narrower eyes. Despite my casual answer, his wariness didn’t fade.
‘Looks like he suffered quite a bit after being dragged away. Well, the KCIA bastards are vicious enough.’
After taking a sip of tea, I set the cup down and continued.
“I ca down to Busan and grew a bit attached to Ah-seong. So I did it for my own peace of mind. You don’t need to assu I have so ulterior motive.”
“…….”
“Finish your tea and get going. I’ll take Ah-seong’s brighter expression as thanks.”
Just as he said, I had spent a fair amount of money. But my head was already aching enough—I didn’t want to tax it further over sothing like this.
Ah-seong’s expression darkened, but that was a problem for Jin Tae-rim and Ah-seong to resolve themselves.
After staring at in silence for a while, Jin Tae-rim spoke again.
“Ah-seong. Step outside for a mont.”
“Uncle.”
“Get out!”
When Jin Tae-rim raised his voice, Ah-seong flinched.
I could feel that even though he liked him, he was also afraid of him. Ah-seong glanced at my face briefly, then went outside.
“What kind of conversation are you planning that you need to send Ah-seong out? You’re starting to irritate .”
“Sea Whale.”
The na Sea Whale ca out of Jin Tae-rim’s mouth. Why did talk of Sea Whale keep reaching my ears all of a sudden?
“And where did you hear that na? From Ah-seong?”
“You went looking for Captain Noh.”
“……Did Ah-seong tell you?”
I thought he was a smart kid, but surely not.
I had first instructed Ah-seong, when I entrusted him with guiding around, to keep his mouth shut about my movents. It was to prevent any unforeseen situation and, at the sa ti, to protect Ah-seong.
Jin Tae-rim shook his head.
“Ah-seong never talks about going around with you at all. It just changed from ‘a good custor’ to ‘a good hyung.’ At most, he bragged about things like what you bought him today or what you ate together today, but he didn’t talk about anything else.”
“Then how did you find out?”
“As for Captain Noh, President Wang has been asking around, so there’s no way I wouldn’t know. As for Sea Whale…… they asked about him at the place I was taken to. They asked if I knew Sea Whale.”
The KCIA wouldn’t ask without a reason.
“What do you an by that……? Weren’t you caught siphoning off U.S. military supplies?”
“That’s right. That’s my line of work. Aside from that, I do anything that makes money.”
“But they asked about Sea Whale?”
“Yes. They asked if I was a mber of Sea Whale’s organization.”
“…….”
I was left speechless. Even from my perspective, it was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.
Rather than saving the uncle of a kid I’d only just t, soone who rely acted as a guide, it would sound more plausible that I was trying to extract a mber of Sea Whale’s organization.
“Don’t tell you think I got you out because I believed you were part of Sea Whale’s organization?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“It’s a coincidence. No—your order of events is wrong.”
“A coincidence?”
“Yes. First, I heard that Ah-seong’s uncle had been taken, so I t soone from the KCIA and made a request. After that, I went looking for Captain Noh, and that’s where I first heard about Sea Whale. And now you’ve co here and brought up the Sea Whale again.”
I fiddled with the teacup that had long since gone cold and thought. Why was the KCIA trying to link Jin Tae-rim to Sea Whale in the first place?
As I fell silent, lost in thought, he struck first.
“You expect to believe this is just a coincidence? You spent as much as 1,000 dollars to get out. What is it that you want?”
At his interrogative tone, my eyes sharpened without realizing it.
Whether Jin Tae-rim was connected to Sea Whale or not was a problem for later.
I’d extended goodwill, only to receive endless suspicion in return. Irritation began to rise.
“Nothing. I told you earlier—I did it for Ah-seong. Since we’re on the subject, let ask you this. When I first t him, Ah-seong looked utterly starved. Do you even feed him properly?”
“What?”
Jin Tae-rim’s face stiffened instantly. But I didn’t care and continued in a sarcastic tone.
“What do you think I an? I’m asking if you feed the kid properly. Or do you feed your own children first and toss whatever scraps were left?”
“You don’t know anything and yet……!”
Jin Tae-rim shouted and sprang to his feet.
In his eyes, uncontrollable rage flashed by, along with deep humiliation. It was the expression of a beast whose most painful spot had been gouged out.
I hadn’t said it to hear an answer anyway, so I coldly cut him off and snapped back.
“Do I need to know your circumstances? I said it because it looked to like the kid wasn’t getting fed properly. That’s enough. I’m not interested in who you really are, so leave. Before I get even more annoyed.”
At my final words, Jin Tae-rim’s montum, which looked ready to explode at any mont, subsided as if it were a lie.
His lips twitched as if he wanted to say sothing, but in the end he couldn’t say a word. After glaring at in silence for quite so ti, he finally turned and walked toward the door.
His slumped shoulders looked as heavy as if he were carrying all the burdens of the world. The door opened and then closed.
Left alone in the room again, I let out a deep sigh and lifted the teacup that had gone completely cold.
“Tsk. Did I do sothing unnecessary?”
Just then, the door opened again, and Ah-seong slipped inside hesitantly.
After gauging my mood, Ah-seong bowed and apologized.
“Hyung……. I’m sorry. My uncle isn’t usually like that……. I think he got beaten pretty badly after being taken away. I’ll apologize on his behalf.”
“It’s fine. I’m just a bit irritated, that’s all. And Ah-seong.”
“Yes.”
“What you’ve seen and heard while going around with —you’re not telling anyone, right?”
Ah-seong answered, startled.
“Of course! You told not to tell anyone.”
“Alright. I was just checking. Go back and rest. I’ll call for you later.”
I nodded and waved my hand dismissively. After the hesitant Ah-seong left, silence settled over the room.
My already complicated thoughts grew even more tangled, like a ss of knotted threads.
‘Could Jin Tae-rim really be connected to Sea Whale? No, if there were a real connection, the KCIA wouldn’t have granted my request so easily.’
I shook my head, erasing the keywords Jin Tae-rim and Sea Whale from my mind. There were more important matters to focus on right now.
Jin Tae-rim, who had left Deokhwaru and was walking toward ho, stopped and turned around. Seeing his nephew following behind with his head bowed low made his heart feel heavy.
“Ah-seong.”
At Jin Tae-rim’s call, Ah-seong stopped and looked up.
“Uncle, that wasn’t right. He’s soone who offered to help get you out first, even though I never asked. And he kept that promise. But you…….”
“Ah-seong. Don’t trust people too easily. There’s no such thing as goodwill without a price in this world.”
“Uncle. I know that much too.”
Ah-seong, who had never once talked back while growing up, stated his thoughts clearly. Seeing that, Jin Tae-rim sank into deeper thought.
“Just what kind of person is he to you…….”
“Soone I want to follow for the rest of my life.”
“What?”
“Even if I wanted to follow him, he probably wouldn’t accept , but that’s how I feel. But because of how you acted, it’s all gone down the drain now.”
He even complained and scolded him. At Ah-seong’s reaction, Jin Tae-rim frowned deeply.
‘Just what kind of person is he for Ah-seong to react like this?’
As if unaware of Jin Tae-rim’s turmoil, Ah-seong kept talking.
“I’m just glad you’re safe, Uncle. That’s enough. Let’s go ho now.”
“Ah-seong.”
After hesitating for a mont, Jin Tae-rim asked.
“While I was gone, did your aunt and your cousin treat you well?”
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“I just thought of it.”
“……They treated well.”
A slightly delayed answer. But that brief silence alone was enough for Jin Tae-rim to grasp the entire situation.
Jin Tae-rim bit down hard on his lip. Baek Min-woo’s sharp question pierced his chest like a dagger.
‘Do you even feed the kid properly?’
He had known nothing about what Ah-seong, the only blood his brother left behind when he died, was going through. No—using the excuse that he was too busy just surviving, he hadn’t even tried to know.
“Can you tell in more detail about Baek Min-woo?”
“No. We made a contract not to talk about what I saw and heard while going around with him. You said it too, Uncle. Don’t make contracts lightly, but once you do, you must keep them no matter what. That’s what it ans to be a man.”
“No, not that. Just tell what kind of person he is. You can at least do that, right?”
“Then will you apologize to hyung later?”
“……I’ll think about it.”
“Trust , Uncle.”
Until they reached ho, Ah-seong didn’t stop boasting about Baek Min-woo.
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