PHUW 2

The big guys made it all the way to the red bus. But before they could get on, a horde of office workers, drained from work and moving like zombies, surged forward and filled every seat. One of them, unaware it was already full, stepped onto the bus stairs. The driver snapped.

“Hey, it’s full. There’s another bus coming, so wait for that one. No more standing allowed. The law changed a while ago. Off the bus. Come on, let’s go. I need to leave!”

As the driver raised his voice, even the weary post-work zombies began to glare at the big guy blocking the door. He ended up stepping back down. The impatient driver shut the door at once.

‘I’m alive.’

Another large man jumped up and down at the stop, trying to peer inside. Haeri slid down under the seat, curling up. The light changed, and the bus pulled away.

He slowly crawled back into his seat, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. The bus had already merged onto the elevated highway, heading out along the outer ring road. For the next 25 minutes, it wouldn’t stop.

Maybe he relaxed too much. He kept his head down, held his breath, and when he finally looked up, the bus was coming to a stop at the New Town apartment station. He hurriedly get off, just as it was about to leave, and looked around in a panic.

“Hey.”

Those same shoulders from earlier were there. They must’ve caught up in a car.

Fucking bus app! Equally cruel to decent citizens and thug bastards alike.

Ahn Haeri ran like crazy. The shoulders ran too.

He barely made it across the wide 8-lane crosswalk. As the muscleheads ran into the road behind him, cars slammed on their brakes and horns blared in all directions. People shouted curses from every corner. One bus even swerved straight at them, blocking their way. As expected of a Gyeonggi bus, notorious for their speed, they were reliable.

While the muscleheads got stuck near the median, Haeri jumped onto the back of a blue delivery truck that had just caught the green light. In the truck bed were bags of cement and boxes of tiles. Haeri lay face down between them, he his breath so they wouldn’t see him.

This time, he didn’t dare get off the truck midway. It felt like he might lock eyes with one of them if lifted his head. Plus, he’d be in trouble if the truck driver, blasting his old-school trot music like a siren, notice him. spot him and raise hell. Passengers on passing buses stared at him lying in the truck. He turned away and shut his eyes tight.

The sun had set quickly. The sky turned pitch black, and only the orange glow of streetlights lit Haeri’s face. They had left the city far behind, but there were lots of cars around. Who knew if the muscleheads were among them. Haeri remained hidden in the truck.

After a long journey down winding backroads and a highway, the truck entered a mountainous region on the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do. He wasn’t sure but Haeri suspected it was probably one of those places known for camping. As he lay there looking up, a banner passed by overhead. Sure enough, the place was famous for camps and sports resorts.

The truck stopped at a three-way intersection where a national road met a smaller path. Only the truck’s rattling engine broke the silence. The streetlights were far off.

Haeri cautiously raised his head. There were no other cars, no people. Before the signal changed, he jumped out of the truck. The driver, absorbed in his road music, had no idea anything had happened in the back.

Looking around, Haeri pulled out his phone. His hand trembled. It wasn’t from the cold. It wasn’t just exhaustion either.

As soon as the screen lit up, a low battery warning flashed. The phone was old, and its battery died fast. He opened the map app, but the power dropped even faster and the phone shut itself off.

“No.”

He quickly tried to turn it back on and dialed 112. But the phone, completely dead, didn’t have the strength to make the call. His whole body shook. His throat was dry. His hair stood on end, and his fingers trembled like a junkie’s.

It was already night. The subway wasn’t even an option. He walked maybe a hundred meters before finding a shabby bus stop. Sitting on a shaky metal bench, he curled up. Even after what felt like forever, no bus came. Not a single car passed. Not even a person.

“Fuck……”

He hunched his shoulders like a frightened squirrel. He wore a hoodie made from fabric so expensive he never could’ve dreamed of owning it, layered over a thick shirt, but he couldn’t stop shivering. At the same time, cold sweat kept beading on his forehead. His stomach churned.

It was late at night. The mountain breeze was chilly. Only then did he realize the buses had stopped running. He considered walking, but he didn’t know the way, and he was too tired.

But he couldn’t stay at this exposed bus stop either. More than anything, those muscleheads might suddenly show up again.

He stood up, his legs trembling. Rubbing his blurry eyes, he scanned the surroundings again. Further in, down a concrete path, he spotted a faint light. It was a house. He could ask to use their phone and call 112. Sleeping at the police station would be better than this.

At first, he thought it was close. But after walking long enough to break a sweat in the cold night, he finally saw the source of the orange light. A two-story building. And he despaired.

It was under construction. From the looks of it, the interior work hadn’t even started. Piles of marble slabs and packed boxes filled the site. Huge stones lay stacked in the yard. The light Haeri had seen came from a security lamp attached to a construction-site CCTV camera.

His shoulders slumped. He had no strength left. He just wanted to rest.

As expected, the building was locked. He didn’t want to do something dumb like smashing a window. He was already running from gangsters, the last thing he needed was an angry property owner chasing him too.

He crouched down, then suddenly felt the urge to go to the bathroom. It was dark and no one was around. But he was traumatized by years of harassment from perverts. He went around to find a more hidden corner.

After solving his business, Haeri spotted a pile of empty boxes. He dragged out two large ones. In the dim light, he could see they were for air conditioners. He was glad to have them.

He flattened one box and laid it against the building, then placed the other over it like a cover. Folding the edges in, he made a decent shelter. Crawling inside, he lay down. Layering several thick boxes made it quite comfortable.

“Ugh…”

As he stretched out his arms and legs, a groan escaped him. Staring at the dark cardboard walls, he suddenly got scared and folded the entrance shut. He pulled out his phone again. Now it wouldn’t even light up.

“I can’t do it.”

He’d go back to the three-way road where he got off the truck once it was morning. Since there had been a traffic signal, cars probably passed through. He’d wait there until he saw one, then ask for directions. Maybe he could hitch a ride. If the driver was nice, they might take him to a police station or public office.

As he ran through all the what-ifs in his head, something snapped. The tension that had kept him trembling all night suddenly loosened. His eyes stung. His lips started to tremble.

“Haaah…”

A shaky breath escaped his lips, and he wiped his damp hands on his pants. He swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth, but the tears refused to stop.

“Fuck….”

The muffled sobs soon turned into full-blown crying.

He was scared. It was the first time he’d cried out of fear in over ten years. Not since Grandma Ahn Juri’s funeral. Before that, it was the day she, too frail to raise him anymore, sent him to an orphanage.

“Grandma… Grandma. I’m so scared I could die.”

The box was so dark it didn’t matter if his eyes were open or shut. Only when the hot tears streamed down did Haeri even realize he hadn’t closed them.

Inside the cardboard box, it felt like a private movie theater. The only scenes playing were vivid, gory loops of crushed brains.

“Grandma.”

It wasn’t even that cold, but a strange chill seeped into his bones. Haeri curled up and shivered, calling for his grandma again and again. Even though she’d never come. Just like that day in second grade, sitting in front of the rusty old gate, waiting for her, he called his grandmother over and over.

***

Just before dawn.

A blue 1-ton truck turned onto a secluded mountain road, cutting through the darkest part of the night just after the streetlights had gone out. The truck slowed slightly near a three-way junction that switched from normal lights in the day to blinking ones at night, then turned into a narrow side road. Its high beams lit up the wet, slick road ahead.

Following a stretch of gray concrete, the truck stopped in front of the construction site. The loud engine went silent, and the door opened. A large man stepped out. He wore a freshly washed but torn T-shirt, a worn corduroy jacket, paint-splattered jeans, and leather work boots.

There was no need to come this early. But staying in that now-empty, silent house just made him feel worse. He’d end up nursing tasteless drinks and sinking into a funk.

Not that Choi Jieon cared about any of that. Without asking, she’d shoved the site supervisor role on him for the project she had left idle for a year and only recently resumed. Along with the threat that refusing would bring down sanctions from higher up. As if that wasn’t enough, she hounded him to work day and night. If she wasn’t his cousin, he would’ve reported her to the labor ministry long ago.

[Jeong Mok, did you get there?]

He’d only said he’d drop by before the workers arrived. And now she was checking up on that too. Does she ever sleep?

Jeong Mok read the message and ignored it.