PHUW 7

Around noon, the road was empty. Along the wide new road, pale yellow wild grass had overgrown, and between the new sidewalk blocks, yellow sand scattered to fill the gaps was already sprouting weeds. Clean streetlights and utility poles, untouched by illegal ad stickers, fluttered with banners advertising apartment pre-sales in the nearby new city. I already knew the hospital I’d been admitted to had opened in advance of the full-scale move-in, which explained why the area felt so barren. But I hadn’t realized the place was still so under-occupied.

In the distance, new apartment buildings came into view. Forest Valley, Park Town, Nature&. As the car sped up, the rows of tall buildings quickly grew larger. I thought that was our destination. But at the intersection that turned into the new city, the car went straight. The apartments disappeared, and the mountains got closer instead.

The more we moved away from civilization, the more scared I became. What was I thinking, getting into this person’s car? Accident or not, what kind of idiot follows the person who injured them when they’ve lost their memory? I regretted my stupid judgment late. Should I ask him to let me out, politely? Walk to the apartments, borrow a phone, call the police…

“I haven’t heard from the police station yet. They said they’d call this morning.”

The voice that suddenly flew in from beside made me jump in my seat. I flinched so hard he bounced and banged my head against the window.

“Careful. That sewn part could split open again.”

Jeong Mok glanced over. He looked genuinely concerned, which, ironically, only made it scarier. During my time in the hospital, all I’d done was eat, sleep, get my wound disinfected, use the toilet, wash, and repeat. Once I could move again, I wandered around the hospital out of boredom. I even asked a nurse if anyone had come to see me. She’d shaken her head with a polite but slightly pitying smile, and I’d gone back to the room to watch TV.

Yesterday, they were doing a marathon of a hit crime movie series, ahead of the release of a new sequel. It was a satisfying film, with a big detective busting up a violent gang involved in drugs and murder. But as I watched, my heart started pounding, and a chill crept up my back. I broke out in a cold sweat and even felt nauseous, so I turned off the TV and lay down.

The handsome villain in that movie, he was just like this guy. Trying to act kind, but his eyes and size were intimidating, it makes people feel constantly threatened.

“Police?”

“Yeah. But is your head okay?”

Jeong Mok glanced over again. His eyes were sharp, and chiseled like they’d been carved with an axe. I lowered my gaze, shrinking without realizing it.

“I… I think it’s okay.”

Haeri reached up with his cold hand to feel the gauze. There was no real sensation.

“But be careful.”

I nodded at the repeated warning.

I wanted to ask again about the police. But Jeong Mok stayed quiet. The car began to slow down, then turned onto a side road paved with concrete. There weren’t any houses nearby. The road leading into the valley had concrete paving, but it was bumpy, and the car shook as it drove.

The forest ahead was dense and green. The farther they got from any sign of people, the more scared I felt. I carefully tried pulling the door handle. It didn’t open. I’d forgotten that the safe lock had activated while the car was speeding.

“You’ll feel more at ease once we get there.”

Feel at ease? In what way? How? Don’t tell me he means the kind of peace you don’t come back from?

‘Name: Unnamed Male / Sex: Male / Estimated Age: 20s’

Is this where I die?

But Haeri’s fears turned out to be baseless. The black foreign car arrived in front of a building with a glimpse of a tiled roof. The trees were so dense Haeri couldn’t see what kind of building it was. Instead, they passed between a pair of ancient totem poles that looked at least fifty years old and entered a gravel clearing. Expensive cars were lined up inside. Jeong Mok didn’t drive into the parking lot. He just stopped the car where it was. Right away, a young male employee in a black hanbok with an in-ear headset approached.

“Let’s go.”

Jeong Mok handed over the keys, and the staff member drove the car into the lot.

“This way.”

Jeong Mok called out to Haeri as he was watching the car drive off. There was a narrow path hidden behind a mess of leaves at the far side of the parking lot.

“Is this a restaurant?”

He nodded. A restaurant? In the mountains? With valet service?

Once we passed through the narrow path, a wide garden opened up. Twisted pine trees straight out of an oriental painting stood in striking poses, and here and there were weathered stone lanterns that looked like they’d been salvaged from some failed temple. Off to one side, there was a large artificial pond with a red wooden bridge straight out of a historical drama, the kind where two star-crossed lovers meet. Lotus leaves and flowers floated on the water, and the red shapes gliding between them looked like koi. Nothing here felt ordinary.

We entered the main gate of a three-story hanok with rich wood tones. Standing there was a middle-aged woman in an exquisitely styled hanbok, smiling softly. With white gloves on, she could’ve easily passed for the host of a traditional wedding.

“Welcome, right this way.”

She didn’t ask for a name or a reservation. Jeong Mok walked naturally alongside her. I trailed behind, glancing around. The interior of the hanok was just as majestic as the outside. The center of the building was open all the way to the third floor, with a large decorative fountain built around a massive rock surrounded by orchids and bamboo. The sound of flowing water was pleasant.

The first floor had private booths arranged around the fountain like a normal restaurant. The second and third floors were all private rooms. The one we arrived at was on the second floor. Inside, there was a wide window on the far side, its middle sealed with glass, offering a full view of the garden pond below.

Next to the entrance stood a small cabinet. On top of it was a tray covered with a colorful bojagi cloth. As we sat down, a staff member brought over the tray and lifted the cloth. It held tea cups, a teapot, and warm hand towels. He poured the tea and placed a hot towel in front of each of us.

“Shall we bring the food now?”

Bring the food? What is this, a palace?

“Yes, please.”

At Jeong Mok’s answer, the staff closed the sliding door, the kind you’d find in a nobleman’s private quarters.

“The meat here is good.”

“…Right.”

With this atmosphere, that meat’s has to be top-grade Korean beef, right?

Sure enough, the dish they brought out was bright red beef. Sliced and rolled into neat rounds. As soon as they placed the plate on the table, a middle-aged man wearing the same stylish black hanbok as the valet came in with a gleaming brass brazier. He placed it into a hidden compartment in the cabinet we’d seen earlier. With the press of a button, the smoke from the brazier got sucked into the compartment through some unseen mechanism.

The man set a grill on top and explained the meat’s origin, slaughter date, and cut before he began grilling. The sound and smell were mouthwatering.

While he cooked, the same elegant woman from earlier brought over small brass bowls of side dishes one after another.

The table filled with delicious-looking banchan. This fernbrake was shipped straight from a clean area in Gangwon-do. That hairtail fish had just arrived from Jeju. The pickled wild garlic came from Ulleungdo. The crunchy radish in the mulkimchi was from Ganghwado. The glistening pollack roe was the work of a third-generation master in Busan. The rice, she explained while lifting the lid of the bowl, was made with the highest-quality new crop grown in spring water somewhere in Jirisan. It was honestly starting to feel like I shouldn’t be allowed to eat this.

The freshly grilled beef was served on a matching brass plate and placed in the center of the table.

“Eat.”

I reached for my chopsticks with a glad heart, then hesitated. Jeong Mok, the one who told me to eat, hadn’t touched his own utensils.

“Do you like meat by any chance?”

He sure waited long to ask, considering it was already grilled. The staff glanced at me nervously. I shook my head.

“Who doesn’t like beef? Even if someone does, it’s not me.”

“Then eat before it gets cold. You have to eat well to recover fast.”

Jeong Mok picked up a piece of meat and placed it on my rice.

Honestly, I could’ve devoured that glossy, glistening beef like a starving mukbang streamer who hadn’t eaten in three days. It was just that instinct gave way to caution. It didn’t feel right to dig in first when the older person who brought the food wasn’t eating.

“Um…”

I was about to call out to him but stopped. What should I call him? Mr. Jeong Mok? Jeongmok-hyung? Sir Jeong Mok? Excuse me? That guy? Uncle? Boss? Mr. Perpetrator? All of those were bad options. Best to just avoid using any titles at all.

“Eat first.”

“Alright.”

Jeong Mok finally realized why I was hesitating and took a bite. His chopstick movements were precise, and for his size, he seemed to eat neatly but heartily.

With a handsome guy like him doing that, it looked like a celebrity appearance on a variety show. Not that he was putting on airs, more like someone known for a luxurious but dangerous image suddenly showing an unexpected down-to-earth charm. Once again, looks matter.

“Now you eat too.”

Jeong Mok swallowed his bite cleanly, and gestured again.

“Thank you… for the food.”

I nodded slightly and picked up my chopsticks.