On March 23, 2018, at 11:30 AM,
I admire those who work part-time jobs while going to school. Others might say things like "You're working hard" or "You're really putting in effort," but they truly don't understand the hidden efforts behind them.
"Bedal, why are you mumbling like that?"
"Oh, it's nothing, teacher."
"If you're not going to study, at least be quiet so you don't disturb others.
Wasn't that the agreement between us?"
I was a student who did nothing but sleep in the corner of the classroom.
Chungdong High School, the place I attended, was a vocational high school.
Chungdong High School was a 15-story building made of red bricks that seemed to be frozen in time.
Although it was quite tall for a high school building, it was always overshadowed by the surrounding skyscrapers.
The bricks were so worn that you could easily remove one with a tap, and the playground, which seemed quite large 40 years ago, had shrunk over time to the size of a legal minimum area for a studio apartment.
Among the students, there was a rumor that the principal couldn't secure funding, so he gradually sold off parts of the school's land.
However, that doesn't mean the students were well-behaved.
I'll leave it to your imagination to wonder about the students.
They all talked about what they would do after graduation, pretending to be adults, but in reality, they were just kids brainwashed by the words of teachers and motivational videos.
The corner seat I occupied in the classroom was the only spot on campus where sunlight streamed in between numerous buildings. Despite its thinness, the sunlight that pierced through the gaps between the buildings was warm. It was a spot that students and teachers envied, but when I sat there, no one coveted it.
I had no friends, except for one persistent girl.
"Bedal!"
She came again.
With her hair dyed red, puppy-like face, twinkling eyes, and petite stature, she would come to my seat during lunchtime, smiling mischievously.
"What are you up to, Bedal?"
"Uh, Lim Siyeon. I'm sleeping, don't bother me."
No matter how much I tried to shoo her away, she would smirk and get closer to me.
"What time did you sleep last night? I don't understand how you stay up all night and sleep during the day, hehe."
Siyeon patted my head.
"Guess you're not telling me to stop patting you anymore?"
"You didn't listen to me anyway. Play with it as you please."
As Siyeon playfully messed up my hair even more, the phone rang.
"Ring ring ring ring ring..."
"Bedal, I think your phone's ringing?"
It was a call from my manager.
I specifically told them not to call me during the day!
"I'll take the call and come back. Play by yourself for a while."
I got up from my seat and headed toward the empty backside of the school.
The area behind the school wasn't a place just anyone could come to. Because of the shadows, even during the day, it was pitch-dark like dawn, damp, and scary. Even the teachers didn't set foot there. So, that place became a sanctuary for the tobacco-craving bullies and sneaky couples seeking a hideout. Oh, and I frequented it too.
As I arrived at the back, the bullies who were already there put out their cigarettes and headed back to the classroom. "Go to hell." the bullies muttered as they passed me. "Boo hoo, today's a bad day and I'm crying like a baby." I retorted back at them.
The bullies stared at me for a moment, then wordlessly turned and left.
I received the phone call.
"Sis, didn't I tell you not to call during the day?"
"Sorry, Bedal! Only you can handle this order."
A beautiful woman's voice came through the phone.
This person is Sister Jeonga. She was a customer service representative at QuickEats. Since I was the one who managed to handle deliveries for dozens of delivery drivers alone every day, the QuickEats company assigned a separate representative just for me. So, even though I had never met her in person, I called her Manager Sister according to my own wishes.
"Bedal, it's a food retrieval request for a wrong delivery. Two servings of jjajangmyeon(black bean noodle)."
"What? Seriously! If you want two servings, tell someone else to order!"
"But they keep ordering and then returning two servings repeatedly. And now, eleven of the drivers who delivered there are all missing!"
"What? Who on earth would do something like that?"
"I looked up the customer information, and it seems like they signed up with fake names on the app. We've also called the police, but Bedal, I think we need you. Please help!"
"But I'm at school during the day..."
"I'll give you all the delivery fees from those eleven drivers and the returned noodles."
"Fine."
After lunchtime ended, students started heading back to their classrooms.
"Phew... Is anyone here?"
I stealthily walked down the quiet corridor and arrived at my locker.
"Grrr..."
Carefully, I opened the locker.
"Face masks, gloves, shoes..."
"Bedal, what are you doing here?"
"Ahh!"
From behind, Siyeon was staring at me with a curious expression.
"You... What are you doing here, Siyeon!?"
"I came out to go to the restroom. And you?"
I hurriedly closed the locker and responded nonchalantly.
"I... I came to grab my bag. I didn't have lunch, so I'm going to eat outside."
"At this hour? Okay, enjoy your meal."
As Siyeon was about to head back to the classroom, she suddenly stopped and said,
"Let's have lunch together later."
"Yeah, sure. Hurry back."
Dressed in a delivery driver's uniform, I crossed the city sky and headed towards my destination.
"Let's see... Is this the place Sister Jeonga mentioned?"
The location looked quite different from the information on the map.
It was a high-rise tower under construction, abruptly halted.
Decaying rusty steel bars and scattered building materials showcased how long this place had been abandoned.
"Land is expensive, and yet they leave a place like this unused. No, what's more, who would order food takeout from a place like this?"
Just then, a gruff voice came from behind.
"Well, well, look who's here, Maemi Man!"
I turned around.
Two men with dragon tattoos covering their bodies were approaching me.
"Who's Maemi Man, you XX?"
"Wow, you're sharp. Follow us, there's someone you need to meet."
"Why would I? I'm just here to collect some noodles."
In response to my retort, one of the men shrugged his shoulders and proudly answered.
"I'll be honest. We're the ones who ordered and returned the noodles. We've also kidnapped the delivery drivers and held them captive. All to lure you out here!"
"I'm not a fan of stalkers, though."
"Beep beep beep..."
In the distance, the sound of a police car started to approach.
The two men seemed startled.
"Hey, Maemi you bastard!! You went so far as to call the police!"
"I didn't do it!!"
"We were going to release the captured drivers if you came alone, but now things have escalated!"
The two men hurriedly ran to a black van and opened the door.
"Get in quickly! The moment the police arrive, she'll pour concrete on the delivery drivers' feet and drop them into the sea!"
"Are you trying to scare me into compliance?"
I crossed my arms and deliberately spoke in a relaxed tone.
The other man shouted desperately.
"It's not us who will do it!! The boss will kill them all!!"
"Who's the boss?"
"Get in right now!!!!"
Have you ever heard such words?
As I cautiously opened the car door with a smile on my face,
"Kid, I'm a friend of your dad's. He wants me to take you home. Do you want to ride with me in my car?"
Rather than saying that,
As I urgently swung open the car door,
"Kid! Save questions for later! Get in first!!"
Seems more likely to make someone get in the car.
Because he seemed so urgent, I ended up getting into the black van driven by the two tattooed men.
"Wham!"
As soon as I got into the van, the tattooed man behind the wheel grabbed the steering wheel and hit the gas, starting to accelerate.
Faster than a lime-green supercar.
"Go for it!!"
The tattooed man sitting in the passenger seat shouted.
These guys definitely seem obsessed with speed.
I sat in the backseat, fastening my seatbelt tightly and wearing a displeased expression.
"Hey, Maemi! Don't sit there with a gloomy expression. Enjoy the speed!"
"How can I enjoy when I don't even know who you guys are and where we're headed!"
"We're just a small group of speed enthusiasts. Understand that we're doing this for your sake!"
"Beep beep beep..."
Three police cars were aggressively tailing our black van, sirens blaring.
Soon, two more appeared, one on the right and another on the left.
At least five police cars were chasing us.
A man from one of the police cars leaned out of the window and shouted.
"Stop the black van over there! Pull over!!"
"Haha! Like you think we'll stop?"
The tattooed man also shouted defiantly out of the window.
However, that determination didn't last long.
"Hey, hey! Look ahead!"
"You must be kidding me! There's construction going on!"
What we encountered was a massive construction site right in the middle of the road.
The large banner ahead read, "Underground Cable Installation in Progress, Turn Back."
"What do we do, bro!?"
"You only call me bro at times like this? Can't you squeeze through?"
"How do I pass through this? We should've let others handle this from the start!"
The tattooed men in the front seats were bickering with each other.
It was ridiculous.
These guys had probably committed all sorts of crimes, yet they were cowering before the police and getting stuck in a construction site.
Literally guys who only knew how to step on the gas pedal.
I sighed heavily and said,
"Ugh... Hey, tattooed bunch, give me the steering wheel. I'll drive."
"What are you saying? Maemi, you don't even know where you're going."
"Oh, I'll shake off the police no matter where I'm going! Just let me drive for now! I'll shake them off, so leave it to me!"
The tattooed man quickly moved to the back seat, and I went to the driver's seat and sat down.
I can't figure out who's holding who hostage anymore.
"Wham!"
The van quickly reversed.
"Crash!"
Reversing too fast, we ended up colliding with the police car that was tailing us.
The two tattooed men shouted in panic.
"What the heck, Maemi! Do you even know how to drive!?"
"I have a license too! Well, it's a motorcycle license."
"And that means you don't know how to drive!!"
"Clang!"
I shifted gears again and pushed the van forward.
The van surged ahead with a loud noise.
"Wham!!"
"Did you intend to crash into the construction site, Maemi!?"
"Stay put, tattooed bunch! We're going to pass through the inside lane of the construction site!"
"Goodness, we're all going to die!!"
Whether screams were coming from the front passenger seat or the back, the van charged forward at an even faster speed.
"Crash!! Boom..."
The van hit the banner, making a sound like something forcefully breaking.
In the middle of the construction site were several large black cables buried, and a small pathway appeared at the edge.
The pathway seemed a bit narrow for the van to pass through, but it didn't matter!
I widened my eyes.
I sharply turned the steering wheel to the left.
"Screech!!"
The van began to take a sharp curve, leaving a black mark on the road.
Then, I quickly turned the wheel to the right.
The van maneuvered through the right curve, narrowly passing by the left side of the pathway!
The police cars, seemingly astonished, didn't even think about following us through the construction site we had just passed.
"Wow!! We made it through! How did you do that, Maemi!?"
"Maemi is a god! Won't you join our club!?"
The two tattooed men were now cheering instead of screaming.
Meanwhile, I was so tense that I was panting heavily.
I managed to catch my breath.
"Huff…huff... Get a hold of yourself. It's only a matter of time before the police come this way. Quickly guide us to the destination!"
Basking in warm sunlight like this was a rare treat.
We drove for another hour and reached the southern outskirts of the Bronze City.
The southern part of Bronze City is relatively rural.
Most of the people living in this area are elderly folks in their 60s and laborers from foreign countries.
As we headed south, the buildings became lower, usually one to two stories, and the surroundings became even more serene.
Thanks to that, you can be sure to get a good amount of sunlight.
Occasionally, you start seeing abandoned houses with broken windows.
In such places, there's a high chance of encountering cats and unleashed dogs.
Almost all the buildings you see here are houses, but occasionally, you might spot larger workshops constructed with metal sheets.
The place where we parked the van was none other than one of those large metal workshops.
The entire workshop was painted blue, but there were patches where the paint had peeled off, revealing traces of rust.
I parked the van in the workshop yard.
"Vroom vroom vroom..."
The engine sputtered and turned off with a weak sound.
"Sorry, tattooed bunch. Looks like the van took quite a hit."
"It's okay. The boss has plenty of money."
I opened the door and stepped out of the driver's seat.
"Thump!"
The moment my foot touched the ground, one of the tattooed men jabbed his fist into my stomach.
"Ugh!... Ugh..."
"Thanks for getting us this far, Maemi. But from now on, we have to follow the procedure."
I slumped weakly to the ground.
One of the tattooed men bound my hands together with a rope, while the other put a blindfold over my head.
"From now on, we'll be entering the workshop. Don't resist and just follow along."
The two tattooed men led me into the workshop, unable to see anything ahead.
I couldn't see anything, but I could certainly sense it through sounds.
The fact that this workshop was larger than I had thought.
Amidst the sounds of people talking, as we got closer, the noise abruptly stopped.
"Clunk!"
At a certain point, the ground we stood on began to descend.
I muttered under my breath.
"This is a workshop elevator."
"Correct, Maemi. It's just different that it's going underground."
The elevator seemed to endlessly descend downwards."Thud!"
Finally, the elevator came to a halt with a jolt.
At the same time, one of the tattooed men removed the blindfold from my head.
"Where am I...?"
"Welcome to hell, Maemi!"
A voice echoed from the darkness beyond the elevator.
"Buzz!"
Dozens of lights simultaneously illuminated, revealing a gathering of people dressed in black suits below.
And before them stood a woman.
With flowing brown hair, sharp features, and a black fur coat, she exuded beauty while smoking a cigarette.
"Maemi, I called you here. There was a bit of a ruckus, but we've finally met like this."
The woman shouted at me, even though I still couldn't understand the language.
"My name is Julia Nine! Be my nineteenth man, Maemi!"