Chapter 159

<Summer Camp of Chaos (7)>

It must have been after seeing the spirit of Grandma Choi Mi-kyung.

Sometimes, Jin Hyuk wondered what ordinary ghosts looked like and what sounds they made. It was a childish, human curiosity, but ordinary humans without spiritual sight never saw ghosts.

Thud- thud-. Swoosh-.

‘Scary, huh?’

He said he was curious, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see them.

Thud- thump-.

Finally, the sound got closer.

“Oppa, are you sleeping?”

Ah, it was Yoo Jin.

Thud-thud-. Swoosh-.

Yoo Jin was dragging Ajji Gom by the ear, who had fallen on his buttocks on the stairs.

When Oppa settled in the living room, Yoo Jin followed, holding Ajji Gom’s ear. Thanks to Jin Hyuk’s meticulous stuffing, Ajji Gom had become a plump doll, and Yoo Jin, with her short arms, struggled to carry him. The weight had increased significantly, as if something more than cotton had been stuffed inside.

“I went to Oppa’s room, but Seol-chan Oppa was snoring.”

“Yeah, I’m sleeping in the living room today. Sleep with Oppa, baby.”

“Okay~. Hehe~. Itcha!”

“Ugh-!”

Yoo Jin flopped onto Jin Hyuk’s stomach.

It was a common sleeping position, but as her weight increased, Jin Hyuk had to tighten his groin. Especially when the kids dove in, his knees were under threat.

‘That was close.’

He had seen Dad writhing in pain after being hit by Yoo Jin’s diving kick. Indirect experience was enough of a lesson. No need to experience it firsthand.

“Baby~?”

What day is it today? Jeong Won, responding to his older siblings’ voices, toddled into the dark living room.

“Baby~.”

“Jeong Won, want to sleep with Oppa? Come here, baby.”

As Jin Hyuk lifted the blanket, the baby crawled into the tent-like blanket.

Just as Jin Hyuk was smiling contentedly at the rare sight of the three siblings together…

Poowaaang-.

What was that sound? It felt like the blanket shook.

As Jin Hyuk lay there, pondering with his head raised, a baby showed him the situation through action.

“Eoowubububu- ummamma! Ppaeppappa!”

Desperately crawling out of the blanket, Son Jeong Won called for Mom and Dad and headed to the bedroom.

Lately, he had been enjoying walking, but crawling in that critical moment showed his amazing survival instinct. In emergencies, it seems better to rely on skills rather than preferences.

“Hehe~. One more time?”

Poowaaang-.

Ah, Yoo Jin. What do you mean, one more time?

She ate a lot of duck eggs, but this is more like a gas factory.

Unable to throw his sister and run, Jin Hyuk, pinned underneath, quietly closed his throat.

Even if kids fart or poop, you have to praise them.

Jin Hyuk closed his nose and smiled with his mouth for his adorable sister.

“Ahahaha······.”

“Hehehe~, one more time?”

As expected of a Korean child, Yoo Jin insisted on a third round.

Maybe she’s trying to send Oppa away.

Jin Hyuk’s sixth sense, hanging on the edge of life and death, became extremely sharp. With his already keen senses and the effects of electronic signal gun training, he could even hear the flapping of a mosquito’s wings, if exaggerated.

He felt Yoo Jin straining her lower abdomen, and time slowed down.

His vision expanded, and everything around him came into view.

‘Right!’

Jin Hyuk quickly grabbed Ajji Gom and blocked the gas vent with the doll’s nose.

Poowa- shishishiii-.

“Hehe~! It’s hot when you block it.”

Yeah, it must be really hot. Still, better than cold.

Ahaha-.

Still cute, Yoo Jin, so Jin Hyuk forced a smile, but his nose couldn’t laugh.

‘Just poop instead.’

Jin Hyuk felt his mind blurring. It felt like falling asleep under Yoo Jin’s strange spell.

Ajji Gom, lying beside him, looked yellowish, as if suffocating and nearing death. Even in death, Ajji Gom’s belly, as big as Namsan Mountain, stood tall, showing the heroic spirit of a warrior.

As his consciousness faded, Jin Hyuk gently held Ajji Gom’s hand.

‘I won’t forget your noble sacrifice.’

Sleep well, comrade.

***

Poot- poot- push-push-.

While friends tired from training and heat took a nap, Jin Hyuk walked along the waterway. Yeom Byeong-taek, who seemed to be trying to match Jin Hyuk’s pace, kept activating turbo jets.

“Dad wasn’t home yesterday, so we talked today.”

Yeom Byeong-taek’s hand mimicked swatting a fly near his buttocks.

While faithfully listening to his friend’s meaningless chatter, Jin Hyuk was lost in his own thoughts.

If only things could be resolved quickly, but life doesn’t go as planned, even in trivial daily matters. Like pulling the bathroom door handle at the perfect moment, only to find someone already inside, or finishing homework to play computer games, only to find Yoo Jin has already taken over.

“That guy hasn’t been seen for over a year. He doesn’t even come to union meetings.”

It’s the same at work.

You finish one page of a report, and the data for the next page is nowhere to be found, while your boss pushes another project.

‘I wish I could just wrap it up and move on.’

Can we just chalk it up to human error?

Maybe time is just uncooperative.

We shouldn’t dismiss these people, who occupy different spaces and show different tendencies, as errors just because they exist in the same timeframe.

“Thanks, Byeong-taek. Still, thanks for checking.”

“Sorry I couldn’t help. I’ll go in and read a book.”

What book?

He’ll probably just sleep and fart.

Thanks to Yeom Byeong-taek’s frequently opening sphincter, Jin Hyuk had already lost half his sense of smell during morning exercises.

Contemplating escaping the scorching sun by entering the bear den, Jin Hyuk instead sat under the shade of a zelkova tree on the lawn.

‘Should I wait?’

Moon Seok-il had already offered to investigate, but Jin Hyuk stopped him.

Investigating someone’s signature is clearly illegal. If the information is publicly accessible, it’s fine, but the information Jin Hyuk needs is sensitive. Regardless of getting caught, as a human with a conscience and ethics, it’s something to avoid.

Even in his past life, he didn’t live irresponsibly as a member of society, and this time, he wanted to stand tall as a responsible member. Like most ordinary people.

Sssk-.

Hearing a dry friction sound, Jin Hyuk’s ears perked up like a cat’s. From the 5 o’clock direction, an 80kg man was detected, crushing the grass as he approached.

“Found you, Park Dae-soon.”

The owner of the footsteps stated his business instead of greeting. It was Moon Seok-il, delivering a message from Jeong Sang-tae.

Despite various obstacles preventing the resolution of one case before moving to another, sometimes a forgotten case provides new clues.

Like now.

“Shall we walk for a bit?”

Jin Hyuk brushed off his butt and stood up.

Before Moon Seok-il could complain about the heat, he followed Jin Hyuk.

Walking along the waterway track, Moon Seok-il took out a photo from his pocket.

“Sang-tae sent this through the registry. He’s in Changwon.”

Jin Hyuk’s eyes, examining the photo, were hotter than the scorching sun.

Park Dae-soon in the photo looked utterly shabby.

It was a photo of him doing manual labor at a construction site, with sunken eyes and a gaunt appearance like someone with lung disease. The body toughened by farming was nowhere to be seen.

“Are his family doing okay?”

“Mm. According to Sang-tae, they are. But he must be taking care of his wife and kids, thinking of them dearly.”

He’s a man who farmed all his life.

In a big city, the only work he could do was manual labor.

It’s pitiful.

“I wish I could help.”

This wasn’t directed at Moon Seok-il.

It was for Hong Ki-jun, who might be behind him.

“I’ll suggest it. But-.”

Moon Seok-il closed his lips tightly. He seemed to be pondering something.

“Do you have a reason for wanting to help those people?”

“They’re pitiful.”

Moon Seok-il nodded.

Having been spared himself, it wasn’t hard to understand.

If Jin Hyuk hadn’t shown mercy that day, all four of them might have been buried somewhere, bleeding.

“Maybe he’ll come back and farm again······.”

Jin Hyuk muttered as if to someone.

But Park Dae-soon won’t return.

He left his lifelong home out of guilt.

“Jae-jeong and Jae-gu, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Park Dae-soon’s daughter and son’s names.

Park Jae-jeong was the same age as Jin Hyuk and was in the same class during elementary school. She was a quiet and well-behaved child. Park Jae-gu, two years younger, was mature beyond his years.

“Good kids. Sigh-.”

Between resentment and pity for the person who endangered their parents, Jin Hyuk was repeatedly confused.

“His family seems to be doing okay. Leaving them as they are might be generous.”

Moon Seok-il patted Jin Hyuk’s shoulder, comforting him. Wondering how such a kind guy learned such deadly skills.

Jin Hyuk nodded and handed the photo back to Moon Seok-il.

“It seems Dae-jeong has given up.”

“Yeah······.”

They have no choice.

For Dae-jeong, evidence destruction isn’t important now.

With over 50 years of history and accumulated wealth disappearing, do they have the energy to care about other things? Dae-jeong is being dismantled and absorbed by others, with Hong Ki-jun’s sophisticated schemes behind it.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Yeah.”

“Shall we run two laps together?”

“What-.”

Tadak-.

Jin Hyuk dashed off before Moon Seok-il could finish.

Two laps along the waterway are 10 kilometers.

‘Selfish bastard.’

If I were any lighter in this weather, my anus would give out.

After calling him kind-hearted, Moon Seok-il swallowed his curses and chased after Jin Hyuk like a pheasant.

‘But I don’t need to mention that, right?’

The fact that Vice Chairman Hong Ki-jun was the one who evacuated Park Dae-soon early. Moon Seok-il had caught the hint Hong Ki-jun dropped.

‘No, that guy probably knows.’

Shaking off his thoughts, Moon Seok-il picked up speed.

“Jin Hyuk-! I’m wearing shoes-.”

“Then take them off. Running barefoot is good for your health. If it’s too hard, you don’t have to run.”

That damn… Still, Moon Seok-il quickly took off his shoes and threw them.

Wait, am I Jang Gun-i’s substitute?

It felt like my rank was lower than Jang Gun-i, watching from the lawn.

Must be my imagination.

‘Aww-, my soles are burning.’

***

Growl-.

It was late at night. Jo Seol-chan, studying a math reference book, clutched his stomach.

After eating delicious food made by Han Yu-young all day, his stomach had expanded, and with increased muscle mass from training, his metabolism had become more active. It’s like a high-performance turbo engine car needing more fuel.

Growl-.

At first, he thought it was his friend Yeom Byeong-taek’s stomach.

“Jo Seol, are you hungry again?”

“Yeah, I guess so-.”

Is there a beggar in my stomach? Yeom Byeong-taek swallowed his words.

It was something he shouldn’t say to Jo Seol-chan, who had been teased as a beggar since childhood. Because they’re friends.

“Eat some fruit from the fridge.”

“I want meat.”

Sigh-, Yeom Byeong-taek sighed.

Well, meat is better than fruit.

A clattering sound came from outside.

The only thing outside was the fridge, so Park Sang-ki must have gone out for a midnight snack.

The best friends, Jo Seol-chan and Yeom Byeong-taek, exchanged glances.

‘Let’s go.’

‘Yeah.’

***

Jin Hyuk, thinking of feeding his energetic friends, assigned tasks and sent them to the dirt house yard.

“Seol-chan, get dry firewood. Byeong-taek, pick and wash lettuce and peppers from the garden. Sang-ki, bring the rice cooker.”

Jin Hyuk decided to get pork from the fridge.

‘Four pounds should be enough, right?’

No, two pounds per person to fill them up.

Luckily, there was plenty of meat. It was even thawed, thanks to Mom who stored it frozen, saying to be careful in summer.

As he rustled in the kitchen, Yoo Jin, clinging to Ajji Gom, stirred in the living room.

‘Sleep well, baby.’

Jin Hyuk patted his sister’s butt, then took the meat, garlic, and ssamjang to the dirt house.

He placed two cement bricks with three holes and put a clean pot lid on top.

He lit the fire with kindling and added firewood to increase the heat.

After checking the pot lid’s temperature with his palm a few times…

Finally, the pork belly went on.

Sizzle-.

“Ahhhhh-.”

“Huuuuu-!”

“······True music.”

The sixteen-year-old hungry beasts let out harmonious cheers.

If they were any hungrier, they might have thrown off their underwear.

The pork belly, cut to a good size at the butcher shop, didn’t need further cutting. Thanks to Jin Hyuk’s busy hands, the pot lid was soon filled with meat.

The chopstick-wielding friends kept swallowing saliva, eyes fixed on the meat.

Their fierce yet pitiful eyes resembled those of hyenas starving in the dry season.

“Pork should be well-cooked-.”

Before Jin Hyuk could finish, the meat disappeared.

Yeom Byeong-taek dipped it in oil sauce, Jo Seol-chan wrapped it in lettuce, perilla leaves, ssamjang, garlic, pepper, kimchi, and rice, stuffing it into his mouth until it almost burst, and Park Sang-ki dipped it only in gochujang. Their preferences varied as much as their personalities, but their attitude towards meat was equally fierce.

“Uhhh-.”

“Ahhh-.”

“······Huh!”

Well, it sounded like they were saying it was delicious.

Is this how uncles feel when taking care of their nephews? Jin Hyuk felt a warm, heartwarming satisfaction.

Hehehe-.

A familiar sound tickled his ears. Being a dog, he wouldn’t miss such a feast.