Chapter 27

# 27 <A New World>

***

Jin-hyeok parted ways with Teacher Park Jae-seung and headed somewhere alone.

New Seoul Cafe. The sign said that, even though he had no ties to Seoul.

There was still a clothing store on the first floor and a cafe on the second floor. Inside the cafe, there was a living space with two rooms, and a small attic room where Jin-hyeok used to live was attached.

‘Why did I come here?’

There were only three red scooters where there should have been six. Were they called Tact? The other three must have gone out for deliveries. At this hour, they’d probably be at a real estate office or a billiards hall.

Jin-hyeok stood still, scanning the cafe, and the market vendors’ eyes were drawn to him. Even though he was tall for his age, it was strange to see a kid who wasn’t old enough to use the cafe acting like this.

They didn’t know Jin-hyeok.

The vendors were seeing Jin-hyeok for the first time, but Jin-hyeok could vaguely recognize them.

‘I know all these faces.’

It was an interesting experience. A place where he had once lived for over ten years had now become a strange space. It felt like the shadows lurking in the darkest corners of his heart were decomposing in the spring sunlight.

‘Freedom.’

The triumphant smile of someone who had finally gained freedom appeared on Jin-hyeok’s lips.

He walked from the cafe toward Taeyang Elementary School.

After walking for a while, he came across a place that made him stop.

Taeyang Pharmacy. It was run by the parents of a friend named Lee Yoon-kyung. In his past life, as a high school student, Yoon-kyung had confessed to him. She had left with red eyes after Jin-hyeok’s polite rejection. Jin-hyeok didn’t feel sorry.

That kind of thing didn’t matter and wasn’t worth remembering. He hadn’t come here because of Yoon-kyung.

Next to the pharmacy was a chicken restaurant.

Lynx Chicken. Even though it wasn’t open yet, the smell of chicken stimulated his senses.

‘Mmm, smells good.’

He had heard it was delicious, but during elementary school, he only passed by the store every day, smelling it. He didn’t get to taste it until he was over twenty.

‘I came here with Woo-sung and Seung-hoon to drink beer.’

It was still closed, so the door was firmly shut.

Jin-hyeok set a small goal.

‘When I get to middle school, I’ll buy chicken and eat it with my family.’

Mom and Dad would like it too.

He wanted to enjoy the simple happiness of sharing something with his family using money he earned himself.

Coming out to the town for the first time in a while, the dark past that had been trapped in the mud crept up for a moment, but he didn’t waver or fall into depression. It was all in the past now.

He peeked into a brand sports store and then looked around other shops.

‘Is it because it’s the past? Even Nike and Adidas look old-fashioned.’

Slazenger really is an old brand.

“Let’s go home.”

He turned his steps toward the terminal.

The sign for Cha-bu Pharmacy, which he hadn’t seen in a long time, came into view.

Instead of banners fluttering in the winter wind, the smooth stone exterior of the building shone brightly in the sunlight.

Perhaps because he had been lost in thought for too long, Jin-hyeok suddenly snapped out of it and hit his head.

“Ah! I could’ve just taken the bus from the station.”

He had walked three stops.

It had been so long since he rode a rural local bus.

‘Ah, idiot.’

***

Yu-jin was learning words pretty quickly.

Jin-hyeok held his little sister in the yard and taught her the family names.

“Dad, Son Kwang-yeon.”

“Dad, poop-gang-gang!”

“Mom, Han Yu-young.”

“Mom, Han-woo-ong!”

“Brother, Son Jin-hyeok.”

“Brother, poop-jing-yuk!”

Ah, Yu-jin.

Jin-hyeok looked at his sister with a hurt expression.

He tried to teach her names but ended up with a wounded heart.

Still, the way she babbled along was so cute. She looked just like Mom, like a little fairy, and it would be strange if a nine-year-younger sister wasn’t cute.

“Oh, so cute, our baby!”

“Ah-ga-gak! Ka-ka-ka!”

When he rubbed her cheeks, Yu-jin burst into laughter.

Thanks to the match, he came home earlier than usual, and Mom had left Yu-jin with him and gone to the rice field where Dad was. Even though the workers would do all the work, how much could Dad enjoy being there? As someone living a solo life, Jin-hyeok found it hard to understand.

“It’s really a good time.”

That was the only critique Jin-hyeok could offer.

Vroom.

The sound of a car coming home was heard.

Lately, there had been frequent visits from outsiders.

‘Are they here to see the land again?’

There was a steady stream of wealthy people from Seoul and nearby cities.

Some even offered several times the market price.

Every time, Jin-hyeok vehemently opposed it. In a world where a father listening to his child’s opposition might seem absurd, Son Kwang-yeon was well aware of Jin-hyeok’s exceptional nature and had no intention of selling, so no deals were made.

Moreover, his closest friend Hong Ki-jun, who had been the first to see the land, had also strongly opposed any sale. It was strange that someone who wanted to buy the land had changed their mind, but since he was a trusted friend, Son Kwang-yeon’s dilemma didn’t last long. Thus, the outsiders had to leave empty-handed.

Two men in suits got out of a sedan with a Gyeonggi license plate.

A skinny one and a fat one.

The fat one spat and lit a cigarette.

“Hey, is it just you guys at home? Call your dad out.”

The peace was shattered in an instant.

Jin-hyeok furrowed his brows fiercely, turning his body to shield Yu-jin from the cigarette smoke.

‘This guy?’

The way he spoke as if he had some authority over Dad. They probably thought he was just a naive country kid and openly ignored him, but it was too much.

Moreover, Jin-hyeok’s soul wasn’t that of a child.

Jin-hyeok felt a tightness around his heart and found it hard to breathe.

‘How dare you talk to me like that?’

If they had spoken politely, he would have responded courteously. But these guys started off on the wrong foot.

Jin-hyeok looked around. If there were any other adults, they would have helped. But there was no one in sight.

The fat one glared.

“Hey, can’t you hear an adult talking?”

I can. So stop shouting. Your voice is already annoying, like a pig being slaughtered. You rude little brat. Jin-hyeok growled inwardly.

This wasn’t just how people were in the past. Jin-hyeok had seen plenty of such rude brokers and asset owners in 21st-century Seoul. So seeing such scoundrels in the early 90s wasn’t new. But the problem wasn’t Jin-hyeok.

“Waaah!”

Grrr.

At the sudden shout, Yu-jin burst into tears, and Janggun-i bared his teeth.

Crack!

He clenched his teeth as if they would break. How dare they make his sister cry and anger Janggun-i.

Jin-hyeok gently set Yu-jin down on the bench, as she clung to him.

Janggun-i jumped onto the bench and licked Yu-jin’s cheek to comfort her.

The fat one, venting his frustration, looked around the house and spat out another remark.

“Where did they go, leaving just the kids?”

Just the kids? Did he just insult Yu-jin too?

It felt like red and black paint had been splashed in his mind, clouding his thoughts.

His head felt hot and throbbed as if boiling water had been poured over it.

Rising anger made it hard to breathe.

He took a deep breath. He needed to calm down.

Jin-hyeok narrowed his eyes.

Suppressing his anger, he barely managed to speak.

“…He’s not here, so just leave…”

“Huh! Just leave? You rude little brat!”

Slap! The fat one struck Jin-hyeok’s head.

The way he spoke, Jin-hyeok understood the fat one’s feelings. He saw the hand coming but didn’t dodge. It didn’t hurt. It just felt dirty.

‘That’s enough, just go.’

Jin-hyeok stared at the fat one, hoping he would leave.

But Janggun-i seemed to have other ideas.

Grrr, arf arf!

Janggun-i lunged at the fat one. His movements were as swift as a weasel.

But the fat one’s kick was faster. He kicked Janggun-i’s jaw.

“Get lost! You damn mutt!”

Yelp!

That was it.

“Ugh!”

Jin-hyeok grabbed the fat one’s collar and twisted it.

It was a move no one saw coming.

‘I won’t forgive.’

He remembered Janggun-i, who had died after being kicked by his uncle.

There was no mercy for those who touched what shouldn’t be touched.

Jin-hyeok cursed inwardly.

He slowly tightened his grip.

“How dare you lay a hand on my family…?”

A growling wind seemed to come from Jin-hyeok’s teeth.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Hey! Hey! Student! Calm down!”

The skinny one ran over and grabbed Jin-hyeok’s arm.

But Jin-hyeok’s arm didn’t budge.

“Let go. If you don’t want to see this fat guy’s throat ripped out.”

Words Jin-hyeok had never used before came out of his mouth.

The skinny one, meeting Jin-hyeok’s eyes, unconsciously stepped back a few steps and fell on his butt. Right on Janggun-i’s poop.

“Gah, gah…”

The fat one, with his collar twisted, was lifted onto his tiptoes.

For a fifteen-year-old middle schooler, his arm strength was terrifying. Was he a wrestler? The fat one, forgetting his shame, felt his pants grow warm.

As the fat one’s eyes rolled back, Jin-hyeok let go.

Finally freed from Jin-hyeok’s grip, the fat one gasped for breath, inhaling the fresh country air.

“Guh, guh…”

Jin-hyeok looked down at the fat one, who had collapsed on the ground, without moving a muscle.

He would never forgive anyone who disrespected his family or spoke rudely. How dare they act like thugs here? Though he had countless words in his heart, Jin-hyeok said nothing. He just glared at the unwelcome guests, issuing a silent warning.

“Janggun-i, are you okay?”

When he stroked where it might have hurt, Janggun-i licked Jin-hyeok’s hand. He seemed fine, not seriously hurt. Relieved that Janggun-i was unharmed, Jin-hyeok’s legs almost gave out.

‘Whew, that was scary.’

He didn’t care if they came back to complain to Dad. No, if they came back, he’d make sure to teach them a lesson where no one could see.

When he heard the disrespectful words and saw Janggun-i being kicked, his heart had pounded. Even though he had acted violently, his heart wasn’t racing. Instead, he felt at peace.

‘This is unexpected. Have I become desensitized to violence from being hit so much?’

Watching them hurriedly get into their car and leave, Jin-hyeok thought.

To protect his family, he needed to work out more.

He had been running and occasionally practicing the martial arts he had learned before. Surprisingly, his body remembered, so it wasn’t hard to train again.

Jin-hyeok picked up Yu-jin and looked around.

Fortunately, no other neighbors seemed to have noticed.

Even he was surprised by his sudden actions.

‘I made the best choice.’

Maybe it was self-satisfaction.

Strictly speaking, wasn’t he trying to kill someone just for being rude?

He felt a moment of regret, but no shame.

A dog you raise is more precious than a stranger, right? And a stranger insulted his family and kicked his precious friend. Jin-hyeok decided he would respond the same way if it happened again.

‘I won’t let anyone mess with my family.’

With that resolve, he turned and hugged his sister.

“Yu-jin, were you scared because of me?”

“Brother, brother.”

His innocent little sister stroked his cheek.

Looking at Yu-jin’s face, he felt relieved.

She didn’t seem particularly scared, smiling brightly.

Jin-hyeok hoped Yu-jin wouldn’t remember what had just happened.

He hugged his sister tightly, who was happily squishing his cheeks, and stroked the back of her head.

“I’m sorry, brother.”

He didn’t regret it, but he felt a shadow in his heart, as if peace had been cracked by his actions.

‘It’s too chaotic.’

It felt like he was finally learning about the human world.

For Jin-hyeok, who had once only cared about himself, this was also a new world.

***

Son Jin-hyeok was still young.

Tall and broad-shouldered, but still a child. A child who received a science kit for Children’s Day. Anyway, that’s how it was.

‘When a child causes trouble, they hide behind their parents!’

Only someone who has no one to rely on and has to handle everything alone can overcome all obstacles and climb the ladder of success. Like his past self.

After much deliberation, Jin-hyeok decided to boldly hide behind his dad.

“Earlier, when you went to the rice field…”

He brought up what had happened earlier while having dinner.

He left out the part about using violence. It felt cowardly, but not alarming Mom was the priority.

So he only detailed the fat one’s rude remarks.

Mom and Dad’s reactions were immediate.

“What?!”

“I’ll deal with these guys right now…”