PHUW 73

Crash!

The monkey wrench slammed down on the counter.

The power of a labor-hardened madman was beyond imagination. With one blow, a crack split across the thick laminate covering the plywood.

Haeri gasped and staggered back. The counter was crowded with a POS machine and several hot cases, leaving no space to climb over. To get out he would have to crawl under the board blocking the entrance, the same board that lunatic had just smashed.

“You little shit, what the fuck. You think I’m a joke too, huh?”

Jang’s face flushed red as he swung the wrench again and again. Haeri backed away, but the space behind the counter was so narrow that he was still within striking distance.

“You arrogant brat.”

“Why are you doing this to me!”

“Why am I doing this? Fuck! You wanna die?”

There was no reasoning with a madman. He swung the wrench until he finally smashed a hot case.

Crash!

The machine toppled inward with a loud noise. Glass shards flew, some stabbing into Haeri’s thigh.

“Ah!”

He screamed, clutching his leg, just as the lunatic swung again.

Crash!

The wrecked POS machine fell right onto Haeri’s foot. His thick sneakers couldn’t stop the heavy steel.

“Urgh!”

As he collapsed, Jang shoved aside the board and stepped behind the counter.

“You insolent little shit. I’ll beat some manners into you.”

Was this really all because he refused that phone? Haeri couldn’t understand.

“You bastard! Why the fuck are you doing this to me! Fuck!”

He was scared and felt it was too unfair, Haeri started crying.

Jang raised the wrench again. Haeri ignored the pain in his legs and shoved him. Jang staggered back, slamming into the cigarette rack. Dozens of packs tumbled down as Haeri scrambled up onto the now-cleared counter.

Thud!

“Argh!”

The wrench smashed into his calf. Off balance, Haeri toppled straight over the counter.

“Ahhhh… Mom…!”

He rolled on the ground, clutching his leg. Tears drenched his face. As Jang came out from behind the counter, he crashed into a display shelf.

The shelf pitched forward and fell. Boxes of snacks spilled and struck Haeri’s face. Jolted awake, he half-crawled, half-dragged himself toward the door. But Jang was faster.

Bang!

Something slammed into the convenience store door. Both Haeri, still crying, and Jang, wrench raised, froze.

Woof, woof!

It was Gom-i.

“Gom-ah! Don’t come in!” Haeri shouted.

Normally the dog could barge through, but the shelf Jang had knocked over blocked the door, leaving it stuck.

“Hah. Stupid mutt!”

Jang, startled at first, sneered once he saw the dog couldn’t enter. Haeri, crushed by despair, stared at him. It was faster for that wrench to split his skull than for him to climb the shelf and escape.

The furious giant dog shoved the door open at last. Cold air rushed in as the huge dog leapt inside.

“Gah!”

Jang toppled backward.

Grrrrrr! Grrrr!

“Get away! You damn—Argh!”

Gom-i sank his teeth into Jang’s arm and shook violently. Shock gave way to rage as Jang swung the wrench.

The heavy steel bar struck Gom-i’s head again and again. At first, the dog only bit harder, but after the third, fourth blow, at the fifth, his hind legs buckled.

“You son of a bitch mutt! You dare attack a man!”

Bloodshot eyes wide, Jang shoved off the dog’s jaws and swung for his head.

“N… no…”

Crash!

A plastic chair from outside flew across the middle of the store. Jang stumbled back in surprise. At the same moment, legs like telephone poles strode over the fallen shelf. A tall man in a suit saw Haeri and Gom-i collapsed on the ground and clenched his fist.

“Wh-what the hell?”

Before Jang could even rise, a kick slammed into him.

“Urk!”

He flew back and crashed to the floor on his back, dropping the wrench. A polished shoe kicked the steel tool away. It spun across the floor and slid out of reach.

“Get up.”

The air froze at the sound of his voice, heavy with rage.

As soon as the dazed Jang staggered to his feet, a fist struck him. His body twisted halfway around and collapsed back to the floor.

“I said, get up.”

The man grabbed his collar.

Thud!

Even before his drink-flushed face finished snapping to the side, another fist landed.

Thud, thud!

Dragged upright by force, Jang’s arms hung limp, offering no resistance. Blood streamed from his mouth as he passed out. He might end up living the rest of his life only able to eat porridge.

Jeong Mok didn’t stop punching until Gom-i, who had been barking furiously, finally fell silent and stood on all fours, watching from aside. Only then did he halt, and at that, Haeri broke into a cold sweat for another reason.

‘He’s not going to kill him, is he?’

No matter what, killing someone was a problem. In South Korea’s rotten laws, neither self-defense nor personal revenge would be accepted.

Flustered, Haeri looked around. His phone was nowhere in sight. He had no choice. He forced himself up with all his strength. In his confusion, he stepped down on the foot where the POS machine had landed. He felt Ahn Haeri wave of unbearable pain.

“Ah!”

He screamed and collapsed again. Tears streamed down from the pain. It felt like the bone had snapped.

Jeong Mok, who had looked ready to beat Jang to death, froze. Turning back, he saw Haeri writhing in pain. He dropped the empty box in his hand and rushed over.

“Haeri! Are you okay?”

“N… no. Not okay at all. My foot… it hurts… it hurts too much, ahh.”

Haeri rolled, clutching his foot. Jeong Mok reached for it.

“Ah! Don’t touch it!”

“Ah, sorry. Calling 119 will take too long. I’ll bring the car.”

Jeong Mok jumped up. At that, Haeri panicked and grabbed his pants leg.

“Don’t go! I don’t want to be alone! Don’t go!”

“I’m just bringing the car.” He tried to calm him.

“I said no! Don’t go!”

He really didn’t want to be left alone. Jang was still in the store. And who knew if someone else might storm in and do something. Rationally, the chance was almost zero. But after nearly being killed by a stranger’s senseless rage, Haeri had no reason left to understand rationally.

“Please… don’t go.”

He cried and pleaded. Jeong Mok was helpless, he suddenly pulled off his jacket. The fabric, carrying a pleasant scent, wrapped Haeri’s world. Immediately after, strong arms slipped under his knees, and the other arm supported his back.

“Then let’s go together.”

Jeong Mok lifted Haeri in his arms. With long strides, he stepped over the fallen shelf and carried him out of the store.

Gom-i whimpered as he watched. He tried to follow, but his legs wobbled too much.

“What about Gom-i?”

“I’ll move you first.”

The destination wasn’t far. Though his view was blocked by the jacket, Haeri could tell they had crossed the main road into the cafe’s parking lot. In the pitch-dark space sat a black foreign sedan. Jeong Mok opened the passenger seat and set him down.

“I’ll bring Gom-i. Stay here. I’ll lock it so no one but me can open the door. Don’t worry.”

Before Haeri could reply, he shut the door. A beep followed as the locks engaged.

Haeri wiped his streaming tears with the back of his hand and leaned out from Jeong Mok’s jacket.

It wasn’t the car Jeong Mok used to drive. Judging from the luxurious interior, it looked even more expensive than the sedan he had before. The soundproofing was excellent. It was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.

Carefully, Haeri pulled at the door handle. Jeong Mok had just locked it, but what if—?

Beep-beep.

Only a low warning tone sounded. The door didn’t open. Inside or outside, it was locked. Just as he’d said.

Relieved at being in a safe space, the fear that had gripped his body eased a little. His throat, tight with exhaustion, loosened, and he drew a fuller breath. Then the agony struck.

It felt like a red-hot iron spike was driven through his foot. The pain was so sharp he couldn’t sit up straight. Trembling, he managed to pull off his sneaker. He thought it might help, but it didn’t. It hurt worse.

He hugged Jeong Mok’s jacket. Haeri pressed his nose and mouth into the soft fabric and drew deep, desperate breaths. The heavy leather smell of the seat mixed with Jeong Mok’s scent seeping into his lungs. Strangely, the pain dulled a little.

Back when they lived together, they shared a dark brown bottle with a simple English label, a shampoo and shower gel. The subtle, refined scent from it somehow smelled different on each of them.

Was it reacting to body temperature? Or had Jeong Mok added another product he never mentioned? Whatever it was, he always smelled good.

At first, it was a deep, masculine scent. But the more he breathed it in, a more a gentle note surfaced, making it a scent Haeri wanted to keep smelling. That same scent lingered on the jacket he now clutched.

‘Hhh… ha.’

Like an addict with a drug, Haeri inhaled Jeong Mok’s scent. Otherwise, the pain was unbearable. He drank it in like a thirsty animal, too frantic to realize how strange, how needy it looked.

While Haeri kept his nose buried in the fabric, Jeong Mok returned, carrying the injured Gom-i. When he opened the back seat to place the dog inside, Haeri suddenly realized what he had been doing. Shocked, he ripped the jacket from his face, forgetting even the burning pain in his foot.