BCRD 3

Thud!

A dull sound rang out. The sound came at regular intervals, one after another. I quickly realized what it was. Footsteps. Approaching me.

Soon, his polished shoes, free of even a speck of dust, casually entered my field of vision. For some reason, I thought they suited him perfectly.

“Lift your head.”

A commanding voice fell over my head, lost in idle thoughts.

I obediently raised my head. As my gaze lifted, the view changed. What filled my new perspective was,

“Take it.”

A card held between long fingers.

“…”

I stared blankly for a moment, and he flicked his wrist, shaking the card slightly. It felt like he was urging me, so I reached out instinctively. Grasping the card with my fingers, I glanced at him cautiously. He gave me a light nod, signaling it was okay to take it.

Finally taking the card, a large hand gently patted my head, as if praising me for doing well.

“Use it whenever you need to. Buy whatever you want, spend as much as you want, it doesn’t matter. But it’s for you only. Can you handle that?”

So… he’s saying to use this instead of countless bills.

I blinked slowly, looking down at the card he gave me. The letters engraved on the front caught my eye.

「Baek Sahyeon」

It was his name. It seemed like his personal card.

By the way, it’s obviously not a debit card, probably a credit card… Is it okay to use a card that’s not in my name?

“Can I really use this?”

“I’m giving it to you to use.”

“But what if someone says something? Since it’s not mine…”

As an obvious minor, using a credit card would naturally raise suspicion. If it just raised suspicion, that’d be fine, but if someone reported me, it’d be a big problem.

“If anyone says anything, say it’s your uncle’s card.”

“Uncle…?”

“Uncle sounds about right. What, want to say dad instead?”

No. Uncle is weird enough, but dad is worse—it’s outright unpleasant.

Shuddering, I shook my head. He let out a soft chuckle without saying more and withdrew his hand from me. For some reason, I felt… reluctant as his hand pulled away.

“You like it?”

He seemed to think I was staring at the card because I liked it. That wasn’t it—I was just flustered… But I didn’t feel like refusing it. After all, it meant having a way to spend money whenever I needed it.

Now I wouldn’t have to shamelessly beg for ramen at the store. I wouldn’t need to force myself to sneak leftovers from the school cafeteria. I wouldn’t have to fight the urge to steal from convenience stores or unmanned shops, dig through bins for discarded clothes, or shove my feet into ill-fitting sneakers with worn-out heels. With this black card bearing his name…

The value contained in this thin card, held between two fingers, was anything but light. It held hundreds of bills that could solve my hardships. Realizing this, my hand holding the card trembled.

And then,

“Thank you.”

Gratitude surged within me like a tidal wave. Words weren’t enough, but I couldn’t help expressing it with them.

He said it was hyung’s inheritance, but it didn’t feel that way to me. To me, this card was his kindness, his lifeline. Some might judge me for feeling grateful to the man who killed my kin over money. It’s not normal, after all.

But I didn’t care. I had no use for judgments that didn’t help me. Ignoring them was enough.

No one had ever saved me from hyung’s violence. The only kindness I’d received was the occasional ramen. The one who offered meaningful help in my miserable, arduous life was this man, Baek Sahyeon. The card he gave me could relieve my hunger and pain. So, I had to be grateful.

“I’ll use it well. I’ll make good use of it. Really… thank you so much.”

Clutching the card with both hands, I poured out my overwhelming feelings.

He only gave a soft laugh. He didn’t judge me for shamelessly accepting the card. That made me even more grateful.

“But what if… even saying it’s my uncle’s card, someone still says something?”

He hadn’t thought that far, it seemed, as he let out a low “Hmm.” Looking up at him quietly, a sudden thought impulsively spilled out.

“Can I… call you?”

If someone questions whether it’s really my uncle’s card, I could have them confirm over the phone… That was just the surface reason.

The truth was,

“I mean, they might not believe me… So I’d call to verify. And the card might not work sometimes. Or I might need authentication, or lose it…”

My real intention was,

“So… can I call you?”

I wanted to create more connections with him.

More precisely, I didn’t want this meeting to be the end.

“…”

Whether he saw through my intentions or was just weighing the practicality of my suggestion, he looked down at me with an enigmatic expression for a moment.

Soon, a faint movement stirred at the corner of his lips. Not downward, but upward. Not quite a smile, but far from irritation or rejection.

His answer, delivered through those lips, was,

“Go ahead. Whenever you need to.”

Exactly what I wanted.

As soon as I left the building, I headed to a convenience store.

I picked out a bento box filled with meat, not ramen. I grabbed a cola to drink afterward. Now it was time to pay. I approached the counter nervously.

The part-time worker, with an utterly indifferent expression, scanned the barcodes and announced the total.

“7,200 won. Need a bag?”

He used polite language with me, an obviously younger kid. It felt almost mechanical. But that was oddly reassuring. It meant he was indifferent to customers.

That’s how most people were. More disinterested in others than you’d think. Even teachers at school, who saw the marks of violence on my neck, never intervened. Probably because it’d be a hassle. That’s the kind of world it was.

I said I didn’t need a bag since I had my backpack, and we moved straight to payment.

“Cash or card?”

“Cash… No, card.”

I almost said cash out of habit but quickly corrected myself. Tap, tap. After a few keystrokes on the register, the worker pointed his chin at the card terminal, urging me to pay.

I pulled the card from my pocket and inserted it into the terminal. My mouth went dry as the machine read the card. I was nervous. What if it didn’t work? What if they questioned why I was using someone else’s card? What if they reported me to the police? All sorts of worries surged.

One second, two seconds, three seconds… Time had never felt so long. Was card payment always this slow? Pushed by anxiety, I glanced at the worker. Thankfully, he wasn’t looking at me or the card.

Soon, a beep signaled the payment was complete. My tension melted away with a thud.

“Need a receipt?”

“No, thank you.”

I quickly grabbed the card, stuffed it back in my pocket, and picked up my items from the counter. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I fled the store like I was escaping.

“Haa!”

As soon as I stepped outside, I let out a huge breath. Only then did I realize I hadn’t been breathing properly the whole time I was in there.

Looking down at the bento and cola in my hands, I muttered,

“…It worked.”

It was amazing. That I could buy things so easily.

After my parents passed away and hyung took control of all the finances, I always had to hold back. I had to resist wanting to eat or buy things. Because I had no money.

But today, I bought what I wanted. And I could keep buying what I wanted. As long as I had the card in my pocket… Thanks to this card, born from hyung’s death…

“Ha. Haha.”

I laughed.

Because I was happy?

…I don’t know. I just… laughed.

Back home, I ate the bento. It was delicious. A 4,900-won bento felt like a feast to me. I devoured it like I’d been starving for ages. Despite eating so much jajangmyeon and tangsuyuk earlier, I scraped the bowl clean, not leaving a single grain of rice.

Afterward, I drank the cola. Not the flat, leftover cola hyung drank, but a proper, fizzy one. So this is what real cola tastes like. It was the first carbonated drink I’d enjoyed in ages.

After eating, I did my homework. Without the sound of a keyboard and mouse being smashed or hyung’s curses, the surroundings were blissfully quiet. Thanks to that, I could focus and finish quickly.

After homework, I lay down and watched TV. I didn’t have anything I regularly watched, so I’d watch anything. It was just something to do since I had nothing else. It wasn’t for fun.

A sudden thought hit me. Would it have been different if I had a phone? If I did, maybe I’d spend my nights busy with the internet, SNS, or YouTube, like other kids.

“…Come to think of it, I don’t have a phone.”

I’d asked if I could call him, and he said yes. But there was a problem. I didn’t have a way to contact him. Luckily, I had his card with his number, but without a phone, I couldn’t call.

Should I buy one tomorrow? But could a minor like me get one activated without a guardian? …There was no one to tell me these things. I could look it up online, but hyung’s computer was password-protected, so I couldn’t use it.

Whatever. I’d go to a store after school tomorrow and see. If it worked, great. If not, oh well. That was one thing I’d gained from living in hell with hyung: quick resignation. It was better to let go of things that wouldn’t work. Holding onto regrets only lessened the stress I had to endure.

As the night deepened and the clock on the slanted wall hit 11, I turned off the TV. Not because I was sleepy, but out of habit. One formed because of hyung…

Hyung would nag me if I didn’t go to bed early, asking if I wasn’t going to school. Not out of concern, but because my staying awake annoyed him.

That hyung was gone now.

He wouldn’t come back.

I’d never see him again.

He couldn’t hit me anymore.

…Because he was dead.

“Mom.”

I called out to Mom after a long time.

“Hyung’s dead.”

And I spoke of hyung’s death.

Would Mom be sad? I wasn’t sure about Dad. He’d declared he wouldn’t consider hyung his son after he ran away. But Mom… I think she’d be sad.

And me?

I…

“…I feel relieved.”

I wasn’t sad. Hyung’s permanent absence brought me not sorrow, but peace. The monster who beat me was gone, the monster who turned this house into hell was gone, and I felt nothing but relief.

But…

“But now I’m really alone, Mom.”

I was alone. Truly alone, with no blood relatives left in the world. Realizing that, I couldn’t help but feel lonely.

“Hn…”

I was sad because I was alone.

I was happy because the monster was dead.

“Hng… Hic… Hngh…”

So I laughed, and I cried.

My mouth expelled laughter, my eyes poured tears.

I embraced freedom through laughter and sank into loneliness through tears.

On the night the monster vanished, I let the peaceful solitude of that night slip by.

The next morning, a delivery service arrived. Without saying who sent it, the driver confirmed my name and handed me a box.

Opening it in confusion, I found a phone inside. A recent model, the kind kids in my class often carried. I hadn’t ordered it, so I was naturally bewildered.

“What’s this?”

Was it a delivery mistake? But he confirmed my name.

At a loss, I turned it on after some hesitation.

It had been so long since I’d touched one that it felt almost magical. Inside was a single contact, just a number without a name, but I had a feeling who it was.

Wanting to confirm my guess, I called immediately. The ringtone went on for a while, and I waited anxiously. Soon, the ringing stopped, and a low breath came through.

“…Hello?”

I barely managed to speak, my voice tinged with tension.

The response was,

「Hello.」

His kind greeting, laced with a hint of amusement.