PHUW 11

Ahn Haeri contacted the district office social welfare department and asked to be moved to a different facility. They said there were no vacancies. However, it seemed more like they were simply annoyed by the situation than a shortage of space. Haeri didn’t have a choice. He suppressed his shame and told them he was being sexually harassed.

This time, the reaction was a bit different. A public official came by the next day. But they didn’t even speak to him. They talked only to Kim Jeongwook, and after talking with him the entire time, they concluded Haeri was just overreacting because of depression. Haeri sensed some kind of dirty collusion.

That night, Kim Jeongwook’s attitude was more extreme than ever.

Bang bang!

“Ahn Haeri-ssi! Open this door! Are you fucking serious right now? You calling me a sex offender? Do you want to die? I tried to help you, and this is how you repay me? Open the door now!”

He was yelling loud enough to shake the building, but no one came out. No one wanted to risk getting kicked out. People here had nowhere else to go. And Kim Jeongwook? He could even sway government officials. No one would cross him, and he knew it. That’s why he had no shame acting like this.

Haeri sat in the locked room, trembling, not knowing what to do.

Should he call 119? The police?

Neither felt like a real option. Haeri didn’t trust the system anymore. If he filed another complaint and it went wrong, they’d probably call him unstable and lock him in a psychiatric ward. And who’s to say there wouldn’t be another Kim Jeongwook in there?

Running wasn’t an option. The shelter was located at the base of a mountain, far from any neighborhoods. Not even a convenience store nearby, let alone a streetlight. If he ran out now, he’d be homeless for real.

In that moment of crisis, only one person came to mind. Even though he’d left right after handling things, Haeri thought he could at least call him and beg for help.

With trembling fingers, he pulled out the papers he got at the station. They contained the number of Jeong Mok, the person involved in the case.

The old phone in the room only worked for internal calls. To make an outside call, Haeri had to use the phone in the office on the first floor.

“You want to get kicked out? People who get kicked out of my shelter don’t get into any others! Why the hell are you locking my doors in my building?! Hey, go get the key!”

Kim Jeongwook was losing it. Haeri had to move before he forced the door open. He took a breath. The moment he unlocked it, Haeri shoved the door out as hard as he could.

“Ugh!”

He hadn’t expected it. The door hit him and knocked him to the ground. Haeri took advantage of the gap and hurried down to the first floor. The office was empty. All the staff were off duty. He got inside and locked the door behind him.

Ahn Haeri reached for the phone and dialed the number with trembling hands. It rang.

“You little shit! You’re dead!”

Kim Jeongwook, who had come down from the third floor, kicked the office door. Then someone picked up.

–Hello?

Haeri heard the low voice and begged, no idea what he was even saying.

“I’m so sorry, I know it’s sudden. But could you please come get me? Please. I don’t have anyone else to call. I’m really sorry. Please… save me.”

The person was silent.

He heard the sound of keys clinking outside. Haeri started crying without meaning to.

“Please…I’m going to die. Or worse…Ugh!”

The door was about to open. Haeri hesitated for a moment, then finally threw the phone aside, and ran to hold the door with his back.

–Where are you right now? Ahn Haeri-ssi!?

“I’m at the shelter! The shelter!”

He shouted while pushing against the door with his back. He couldn’t be sure if he heard him.

“You fucking psycho! Who the hell are you calling now?!”

Ahn Haeri pushed with everything he had, but it wasn’t enough. Unable to overcome the angry strength of the middle-aged man, who was similar in height but much heavier, he was thrown forward onto the floor.

Crash!

Kim Jeongwook forced his way in, he grumbled and picked up the phone.

“I don’t know where you are, but this is a homeless shelter. Sorry for the disturbance. One of our patients is mentally unstable.”

He hung up without waiting for a reply. Then he lunged at Haeri and grabbed his hair.

“Ahhh!”

The pain in the spot where he’d had surgery was unbearable. It was so intense that tears welled in his eyes. Kim Jeongwook clutched his hair and Haeri had no choice but to drag himself along.

“You fucking lunatic. I helped you, and this is what I get? You think it’s okay to smear someone who saved you?”

“I’m sorry. Please. I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me.”

Haeri pressed his hands together and begged. Kim Jeongwook he didn’t stop.

Crash!

He shoved Haeri into a metal cabinet. His back hurt, but his head hurt worse. unable to scream, Haeri covered his head with both arms.

“You don’t appreciate kindness? Then maybe a beating will teach you.”

Kim Jeongwook grabbed a mop from the corner of the office and spat into both palms, as if to show off. The heavy mop handle tore through the air.

Wham! Wham! Wham!

Haeri didn’t even know what he’d done wrong. Why should he be beaten like a dog with a mop? He just wanted to move because he hated the sexual harassment. If Haeri were a normal person with a family, it would have been Kim Jeongwook the one getting dragged to the station. Or this would’ve never happened to begin with. It wasn’t fair. None of it was fair.

Wham!

The mad pervert’s beating didn’t stop. The excruciating pain left Haeri unable to even cry properly. He just lay there, forehead pressed to the floor and sobbed.

***

As usual, Jeong Mok hadn’t slept well. His insomnia was largely due to regrets and guilt. But this time, it was irritation. And a hint of betrayal.

‘I packed everything for you and you left without even saying goodbye?’

Even though they were involved in an accident, they had become acquainted with each other, exchanged names and even shared a meal. So even if they were to part ways. Shouldn’t they at least say goodbye? Furthermore, once Jeong Mok realized Haeri had no family to rely on, he assumed he would naturally move in with him. But while he was getting the car, Haeri disappeared.

He thought maybe he was in the restroom. He waited five minutes in the car, but someone yelled at him to move. He circled and parked. After ten minutes, still nothing. He checked the restrooms on every floor of the police station bathrooms. He wasn’t there.

Then he drove around for nearly an hour, searching for Ahn Haeri. He was nowhere to be found. With no phone, the search became impossible. Eventually, Jeong Mok accepted that maybe they just didn’t see things the same way. To Ahn Haeri, he was probably just the guy who hurt him. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

A few days passed like,that. As he thinking about Ahn Haeri and ruminating on his irritation his phone vibrated.

At first, he assumed it was Choi Jieon. Ever since Jeong Mok stepped away from work, Jieon had been calling and texting constantly, trying to cover for him. And it was working, calls from the professor or the chairman had slowed down.

‘Hmm?’

But it wasn’t Jieon. It wasn’t even a name. Just a landline number with a local area code. Who made landline calls in the middle of the night? It couldn’t be phishing. He almost ignored it, but answered at the last second.

And his ominous premonition was right. It was the person who’d vanished without a word, left him pissed off for days, was now calling at the worst possible [Read on]time, from the worst possible place, with a voice that immediately messed him up again.

–Could you come get me?

He wanted to ask, “You leave without a word, and now you call?” But the voice on the line was desperate. In the background, someone was pounding on a door, screaming.

—Please…I’m going to die. Or worse…Ugh!”

Jeong Mok, who had been lying on the dark living room sofa suddenly sat up.

The voice on the other end of the line was filled with fear. Then someone else started yelling, quickly escalating into sobs. It didn’t sound like a grown man crying. It sounded like a terrified dog.

“Where are you?”

No answer. Just panicked breathing.

“Ahn Haeri-ssi?”

As soon as Jeong Mok got up from his seat, he grabbed the keys to his fastest car and hurriedly left the house.

–You fucking psycho! Who the hell are you calling now?!

–I don’t know where you are, but this is a homeless shelter. Sorry for the disturbance. One of our patients is mentally unstable.

The angry man who was spewing profanity abruptly hung up the phone.

Homeless shelter? Mentally unstable?

He didn’t know how he ended up in such a facility, but it was clear something had happened and he needed help. Jeong Mok knew better than anyone that Ahn Haeri, even with his amnesia, wasn’t crazy.

He started the engine and looked up the number. It was listed: Eoullim Shelter, a non-profit organization. The address came up with it. He set it into the GPS and took off. Even though it was within the district, it was a remote area. The fastest route would still take over 20 minutes.

Fortunately, the roads were empty. He sped through red lights, ignored the speed camera warnings. Getting there even a minute early was more important than worrying about speeding fines.

‘Please come get me.’

What could have happened at a public facility that would made him suddenly call in tears after not hearing from him since he left the police station? And the man who was screaming at the end seemed to be up to something.

He was in hurry. Looking at the navigation, he saw there was still ten minutes before he arrived.

He pressed the emergency call button, which was an optional feature on his car. The luxury brand’s service center responded quickly.

“I need you to send 119 to the address I’m giving you. It’s urgent.”

Even while already speeding, he pressed harder on the gas. The fine would be tens of thousands of won, but that small sum didn’t matter.