On April 14, 2018, at 2:00 PM,
It was a peaceful Saturday with spring rain falling.
It wasn't drizzling, nor was it pouring, just the right amount of rain.
The fine dust that covered the Chungdong City was washed away, the always scorching asphalt cooled momentarily, and it was a day when a small snail, appearing from nowhere, crawled up the wall.
On such days, even the people consumed by money and fame in Chungdong City would momentarily calm their hearts.
"What am I doing? Is this really how I should be living?" becomes a thought to ponder at least once.
In a way, emotionally changing.
"Peekaboo!"
A delivery call came in.
Yes. While everyone else rested, I couldn't.
Since the day I escaped from Julia's workshop, I couldn't properly make deliveries.
Her racing club, 'Inertia,' always got in the way of my deliveries.
One night was like that.
I was running through the gaps between buildings as usual, making deliveries.
"I found it! Over there, it's this way!"
Then suddenly, a sound came from below ground.
"What? What are they?"
I looked down and saw seven identical black vans gathering from all directions.
Men in black suits, as if performing a Flash Mob, simultaneously opened the car doors and got out.
"Bang! Bang!"
And then, they started shooting at me.
The only weapons Inertia had were handguns.
So, even though dozens of them were shooting at me, could they hit me when I was up here on a lofty rooftop?
But the sound of gunfire alone was enough to plunge the citizens into panic.
"What's happening!? Was that gunfire just now?"
"Hey! Run away!"
People walking on the street started running in fear.
Some crazy individuals even recorded the situation with their phones.
Cars started driving recklessly, ignoring traffic lights, to avoid the black vans.
"Bang! Bang! Bapang-!!"
"Thud!"
There were double and triple collisions.
It was total chaos.
"Beep-beep..."
Police cars were rushing to the scene.
"Guys, the cops are here! Scatter!"
"Don't think this is the end, Maemi!"
When they got out of the van this time, they did the exact same movements as before, and smoothly got back into the vans, faster than police cars.
And just like that, they disappeared into the distance.
With this happening a couple more times, the situation started to deteriorate rapidly.
First, my delivery driver rating plummeted.
The reviews that gave me 0.5 stars said things like:
"What kind of delivery driver goes through murder threats... and my noodle was burnt. Tears flowed..."
"I acknowledge that your life is in danger, but if you can't make the delivery on time, don't take the order in the first place."
"I used to enjoy superhero movies, but I guess I don't need to watch them anymore LOL it happened right in front of me."
And then, videos of the scene started spreading on social media.
While it was familiar for my image to appear on social media, nothing controversial had been posted before this.
"Chungdong City turns into hell, all thanks to a delivery driver!?"
Dozens of videos and hundreds of comments were posted.
And eventually, a news article was published:
"Yesterday at 9:30 PM, a shooting incident occurred at an intersection in Chungdong City. The incident, suspected to have been triggered by a conflict between an unidentified delivery driver and a certain criminal organization, is currently under investigation by the police to determine the exact cause of the incident."
I called my manager, Jeonga.
She already knew about everything that had happened.
Her voice was low, and she said that she hadn't gathered the courage to call me before I called her.
"Bedal, I'm sorry. It's my fault for telling you to go there..."
"Don't say that. They were after me anyway. But, when will the police finally catch those guys?"
"The police are acting strangely. I keep asking them for help but they seem to be making excuses one by one."
"Darn, things are getting really weird. At least let me continue making deliveries. You know that delivery is my only source of income."
"The higher-ups at QuickEats also heard about what happened to us. They know you're innocent. It's just that being a company, they have to be cautious in their actions."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Could what Julia said be true?
Was I really such a replaceable existence?
Silence lingered.
Jeonga broke the silence.
"Bedal, I'll do whatever I can to let you keep making deliveries. I'll gather statements from the drivers who were kidnapped and try to persuade the higher-ups myself."
"You don't have to go that far, sis. You have your own responsibilities."
"Fool, if you disappear, I'll have to go back to working in the regular customer service center. Do you know how sweet it is for me to have you handling everything? And..."
"And?"
"I... I like working with you."
It felt strange.
Almost like my heart was beating a little faster?
"...Bedal?"
"Oh? Uh... yeah! Got it, thanks. Well, I'll just trust you, sis."
"Thank you, too."
I hung up the phone and thought.
Having good people around is important, I realized.
A few days later, there was a post in the QuickEats app announcement section:
"We would like to share our statement regarding the recent shooting incident involving our delivery driver."
Since the post was quite long, let's summarize briefly:
QuickEats decided to consider me a victim and not terminate my delivery driver contract. They promised to continue doing their best to ensure the safety of contract delivery drivers. They would actively cooperate with the police to dismantle the violent organization in question. Additionally, as an apology to customers, they would attach a 5,000 won discount coupon for the first 100 people who claimed it.
The response was explosive.
People flocked to get the 5,000 won coupon.
These keyboard warriors, who loved spreading controversy, would probably summarize the lengthy statement for others, so they could hurry up and get the coupon.
People who didn't get the coupon complained, "Why put a 'first come, first served' event in the statement? Isn't this noise marketing?" But they didn't know one thing.
"Beep beep beep beep..."
It was a few days before the statement was updated.
I received a call from an unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this Mr. Bedal? This is the QuickEats Customer Service."
"QuickEats? Where is Jeonga? Why are you calling from the regular customer service?"
"Lee Jeonga is currently under disciplinary action. For the time being, we will be contacting you from this department, Mr. Bedal."
Oh no, disciplinary action...
"Well... I understand. But what's the matter?"
"The company plans to post a statement regarding an incident involving you. At the end of this statement, we are planning to attach a first-come, first-served discount coupon. We would appreciate your cooperation in this matter."
"Cooperation? What kind of cooperation?"
"We will be providing a 5,000 won discount coupon to 100 people, totaling 500,000 won. If you could deposit this amount into our virtual account, that would be great."
"Wait, wait! You want me to pay for that? Why?"
"The executives have already agreed upon this matter. While we understand the situation, ultimately there has been damage to the company's brand value. Isn't there also a part for you to compensate?"
"This is unbelievable..."
I couldn't find the words to express my anger.
500,000 won.
That was barely what a regular delivery driver made in two to three days of work.
"We won't demand any further responsibility from your side. We won't terminate your delivery driver contract either. So, we hope Mr. Bedal can show some understanding."
I tightly closed my eyes.
"Okay, okay. But make sure to reinstate Jeonga. She hasn't done anything wrong."
"Yes, I will relay that."
Click...
After hanging up the phone, I sat down in the chair and hunched over.
Tears seemed to well up a little.
Still, I considered myself lucky.
I was paying 500,000 won, but at least I wasn't losing my job.
I could think that way because Jeonga had worked hard to defend me, allowing things to only escalate to this extent.
Inertia was still after me, and the police hadn't investigated them with various excuses, but still, I thought this was fortunate.
Since I resumed deliveries, I worked really hard.
With the 500,000 won coupon value and the money I hadn't earned due to not being able to deliver, I tried to cover everything.
So, on weekends, whether it was day or night, rain or fine dust, I kept making deliveries.
It was again April 14th, 2018, 2 PM,
A peaceful Saturday with spring rain falling.
But it was far from peaceful for me.
I was still out delivering that day.
During lunchtime, I missed my chance to eat and wandered around to find shelter from the rain, just to have a bite of kimbap.
There usually aren't any restaurants or cafes that welcome a drenched delivery driver in the rain.
Navigating between various buildings, I was searching for a place with a roof.
The small park I had intended to go to, right at the center of the Chungdong City, was about the size of a single fountain.
There was a small pavilion in that last remaining park of the Chungdong City, and it was always occupied by people with nowhere else to go.
Luckily, I didn't have to go there that day.
I had found the rooftop of a certain building, one with a roof.
It was quite upscale, with an outdoor terrace on the rooftop, even though it was broad daylight, bright orange lights were turned on.
"Alright. Today, I'll head over there."
I hurriedly made my way to the rooftop of that building.
Taking my breath under the roof, I could finally see just how much of a mess I looked.
"Eww, the uniform is completely soaked!"
Even though I was wearing a transparent plastic raincoat, raindrops had managed to sneak in and ruin my clothes.
I took off the raincoat and shook off the water.
I even considered taking off my uniform for a moment.
But I wasn't wearing anything underneath.
"Ugh, this is frustrating!"
Since it was an empty rooftop anyway, I decided to take off just my top.
The decision took less than 3 seconds.
*Squish...*
"Phew!"
I wrung the wet top with all my might, squeezing out the water.
Then, I spread it out wide next to the raincoat to let it dry.
For a moment, I gazed at the scenery beyond the rooftop, looking over Chungdong City.
"Driiip..."
Despite the rain washing away the fine dust and pollutants, the blue neon haze still hung over Chungdong City.
That day, the usually harmless haze seemed ominous.
Had so many difficult things been happening to me that day?
Perhaps, I thought, that haze might also be affecting people in ways we can't even imagine.
Was I also becoming more emotionally sensitive now?
I pulled out a row of kimbap wrapped in silver foil.
"Phew, these days even a single roll of kimbap is quite expensive."
I was chewing on each piece of kimbap with relish, savoring the flavors.
"Eat your fill before you leave, young friend."
"Slurp!"
Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind, and I nearly choked on my food in surprise.
I turned around.
There was a boy around twelve years old.
He had a navy umbrella, his flowing white hair, fair skin, and refined features made him stand out.
Oddly, his clothes, both top and bottom, resembled something from a classic historical drama with their brown, tattered appearance.
The boy seemed to have come from inside the building to the rooftop.
I quickly grabbed my kimbap, adjusted my clothes, and said, "Oh... I'm sorry, kid. I know it's impolite to be doing this on someone else's rooftop without even wearing proper clothes."
"It's all right, young friend. Working in weather like this isn't normal either. Besides, this isn't even my rooftop."
The way the boy spoke was really peculiar. It felt like conversing with a well-mannered, elderly gentleman, you know?
After finishing his sentence, the boy smiled gently, and I thought it was the first time I had seen such a clear smile.
I looked at the boy for a moment.
"Peekaboo!"
Just then, I received a delivery call.
It came at the perfect timing, right before the situation could get too awkward.
"I have to go now, white-haired friend! Thanks for being so kind in our conversation."
"You're welcome, young friend! Be careful in the rain."
He was truly a strange boy.
"I'm here for a delivery!"
This time, I entered a salad shop.
The shop owner looked at me and his face twisted.
"Oh, this is just great. It's you, Maemi. Your reputation hasn't been good lately..."
"Come on, You know I can deliver the food well at least! Where's the food?"
The owner pointed silently with his finger to the packaged salad placed in a corner.
Though I felt a bit annoyed, I pretended everything was normal and picked up the salad.
"Where am I delivering this to?"
"AAB1 Hotel. It was ordered for the top floor penthouse."
"Where is AAB1 Hotel?"
"It's over there. The 5-star hotel with a terrace on the rooftop!"
Ah, I see.
That was just the place I was at.