LFD | Chapter 01.2

“I’ll treat you tomorrow.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. But I got something to ask you.”

“What?”

Yoongyeon started walking again. They walked side by side through the bustling streets and entered an alley. Past the alley was a steep hill so daunting it made you breathless just looking at it. Their home was at the very top of that hill.

“Phew, check this out.”

Taking a deep breath, Yoongyeon pulled out the wallet from his hip bag and waved it in front of Minhyuk’s face.

“Whoa! What’s this?! Damn, this looks expensive!”

Minhyuk reached out to grab the wallet from Yoongyeon’s hand. But Yoongyeon swiftly pulled his hand back.

“What.”

Minhyuk’s brow furrowed. As Minhyuk whined to see it too, Yoongyeon asked:

“How much do you think this is worth?”

It wasn’t that Yoongyeon couldn’t recognize luxury brands, but Dojae’s wallet was beyond his price estimation. Since Minhyuk was more knowledgeable about these things, he decided to ask.

Minhyuk took the wallet from Yoongyeon while exclaiming “Pfft!” and laughing. As if to say why make such a fuss when you were just going to ask me anyway.

But the moment the wallet was in his hands, Minhyuk suddenly stopped at the foot of the hill’s staircase. Standing under the streetlight, he turned the wallet over and examined it.

Yoongyeon, already five steps up, turned back and asked:

“What’re you doing?”

“Yoongyeon…”

Yoongyeon looked down at him from above, hands stuffed in pockets with a nonchalant expression. The pose was the picture of delinquency.

“You… where’d you get this?”

Minhyuk looked up from examining the wallet. When their eyes met, Yoongyeon cleared his throat and looked away. Minhyuk stared up at him for a moment before suddenly charging up the stairs.

“I said where’d you steal this from?!”

“Ah, what!”

Yoongyeon tried to turn and keep climbing, but Minhyuk grabbed his arm and spun him around. Their eyes met again. Yoongyeon grumbled about why he was being such a nuisance.

“Spit it out.”

“Ah, what, since when do I report my business to you?”

“Damn it! Did you go rob some high-end restaurant again?!”

“You crazy bastard. What high-end restaurant?”

Minhyuk’s eyes turned serious. This wasn’t the level of wallet you’d get from subway pickpocketing. He grabbed Yoongyeon’s shoulders and pressed.

“You bastard, didn’t I tell you not to work in places like that!”

“I didn’t, okay?!”

“Then where?!”

Minhyuk was the one who properly taught Yoongyeon the techniques. He always warned never to get greedy. The moment you get greedy, there’s a 100% chance you’ll get caught, he’d repeatedly cautioned. There was some fancy term for this,  something about digging your own grave.

“You crazy bastard! Where’d you get this?!”

“…That hotel at the intersection…”

“Damn…”

Yoongyeon finally gave a vague answer. Minhyuk let out a long sigh. After staring at Yoongyeon with pity for a moment, he opened the wallet to check inside.

Yoongyeon just watched Minhyuk and shook his head side to side. Internally mocking him for being such a worrywart. But when Minhyuk opened the wallet inside, his face turned ashen. He scratched his head vigorously and made a troubled face.

Not understanding what was going on, Yoongyeon shrugged. Then Minhyuk, after brief hesitation, said firmly:

“Return this to the hotel first thing tomorrow.”

“…?”

“Say you found it and hand it over.”

“Are you crazy? I’m a thief, I got things to do! And if I go there, I’ll get caught immediately.”

Yoongyeon swiftly snatched the wallet back from Minhyuk’s hand and started climbing the stairs. Minhyuk followed, trying to persuade him. His shadow stretched long behind him, filled with worry.

“Do you know how much this is worth?”

“At most, one to three hundred?”

“This is at least ten million won.”

At those words, Yoongyeon’s feet stopped abruptly. He looked down at the wallet in his hand. Apparently their customer was someone far more important than he thought. Just as a smile started forming on Yoongyeon’s lips, Minhyuk’s voice shattered the moment.

“But the wallet isn’t the problem now.”

“Huh?”

Yoongyeon absently asked while putting the wallet back in his hip bag. Minhyuk grabbed Yoongyeon’s arm with anxious eyes.

“You, damn it… you’re seriously fucked.”

“Why are you spouting so much nonsense today? Why me?”

Yoongyeon shook off the grip and finished putting the wallet away. He made a disgusted face at Minhyuk, who looked at him with pity and said quietly:

“Joo Dojae… he’s a director at Dohwa Capital, you crazy bastard…”

Yoongyeon tilted his head. He knew about Dohwa Capital. It was a trending financial company these days. But he didn’t understand why the wallet owner being a director there warranted such panic.

Shaking his head slightly, Yoongyeon started climbing the stairs, thinking he didn’t need to hear more. Minhyuk followed and continued:

“Lay low outside Seoul for a while. I’ll contact you when it’s safe.”

“Stop overreacting.”

“This isn’t the time to act carefree—”

“Hey!”

Yoongyeon suddenly felt irritation surge. He turned sharply to glare at Minhyuk with an angry face. Minhyuk paused mid-sentence and waited for Yoongyeon to speak.

“He’s just some old man, why are you making such a fuss? And my face was…”

Yoongyeon suddenly stopped and touched his head in surprise. He definitely remembered wearing his cap when he went out this morning, but it was gone. How could this happen?

Seeing Yoongyeon’s momentary panic, Minhyuk asked:

“What, what’s wrong?”

“My cap… it’s missing…”

So accustomed to always wearing it, Yoongyeon hadn’t even realized its absence until now. He blankly stared into space, unable to recall where he might have lost it. As he tilted his head slightly trying to remember, his breath caught at the dark figures approaching from below.

“Damn, what kinda house is built in a place like this?”

“Huff… haah…”

“You need to exercise more, kid.”

“You first… huff… bastard.”

Yoongyeon’s eyes widened to the point they might pop out. Seeing the figures gradually approaching, he slowly stepped backward. Minhyuk, seeing Yoongyeon stepping back, followed his gaze and turned around. His eyes also widened dramatically.

“Yoongyeon…”

Minhyuk reached out blindly while calling Yoongyeon’s name. But his hand only flailed in empty air. When he turned back, Yoongyeon was already sprinting up the stairs.

“That selfish bastard!”

Cursing sincerely, Minhyuk also started running up the stairs. He was so fast there was no catching him. The sound of their footsteps mixed with the voices of men coming up from below.

“Hey, huff, isn’t that the bastard?!”

“Huh? Looks like him! Hey you little shit! Stop right there!”

Despite the man’s booming shout, Yoongyeon didn’t stop. Somehow he felt that stopping would be a mistake. Minhyuk’s words echoed in his ears.

Joo Dojae, director at Dohwa Capital. For some reason, that name was starting to feel terrifying.

“Huff, haah… how did they find me?! Haah.”

Yoongyeon ran up the stairs past his house and toward the downhill path on the other side. He hooked his thigh over the metal railing and slid down rapidly. Where the railing ended, he jumped down and hooked onto the next section.

But Minhyuk, who he thought would follow, was nowhere to be seen. Worried, he looked back and saw a group in black suits running down the stairs. Their speech and voices suggested they weren’t the dialect-speaking man and his companion.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

“You’re dead if we catch you!”

Yoongyeon sped up his momentarily slowed pace. He hooked his thigh over the railing again and slid all the way down. After repeating this several times to reach the bottom, he looked back.

The men were still running down in the distance, but Minhyuk was nowhere in sight. Since Minhyuk was fast too, Yoongyeon figured he probably hadn’t been caught.

“Argh! Is this what a lucky day looks like?!”

Only now did Yoongyeon start doubting his luck. But he had no time to feel exhausted. If caught, those thugs would probably crush him like they did with their faces. He’d rather die than let that happen.

He quickly ran out to the main road. After checking both sides, Yoongyeon jumped into an approaching taxi.

“Huff, huff, j-just drive, quick!”

The taxi took off as soon as Yoongyeon urgently spoke. As the car moved, he saw the men emerge from the alley, hands on knees while panting heavily. Catching his breath, Yoongyeon relaxed slightly.

“Where to?”

Only then did the driver ask. Unsure where to go, Yoongyeon hesitated before answering.

“Take me as far as possible from here.”

The driver gave Yoongyeon a strange look through the rearview mirror. Nervously checking behind him, Yoongyeon added:

“I got money.”

The driver tilted his head but drove without comment. Yoongyeon muttered to himself:

Right, Dojae’s money.

While mentally calculating how much of the wallet’s cash he’d already spent, he realized he should get out of the taxi soon. If he spent any more, it might be too hard to make his way back.

“Drop me off… up ahead.”

Through the rearview, he met the driver’s eyes. The man looked uncomfortable. Feeling awkward for no reason, Yoongyeon averted his gaze. After asking to go far away, here he was getting off almost immediately. But he had no choice, something told him not to spend more money here.

After paying, Yoongyeon got out. At least he’d put some distance between himself and his pursuers.

“Haah… not a lucky day after all, just a shitty one.”

Sighing deeply, Yoongyeon stood on the bridge looking down at the flowing river. But only briefly, as he gazed down with worries filling his mind, he suddenly whipped his head around. An eerie feeling that Dojae was watching him somewhere. Thankfully, contrary to his fears, the bridge was empty except for himself and speeding cars.

Lost in thought, Yoongyeon took out his phone and called Minhyuk.

Ring… ring…

The tone kept going but no answer. Minhyuk always answered unless he was gaming or eating. The lack of response made Yoongyeon even more anxious.

“Why aren’t you picking up?”

With growing unease, Yoongyeon called again, grinding his teeth as he crossed the bridge. The call still didn’t connect. By the time he finished crossing, Minhyuk still hadn’t answered.

Just then, a large van zoomed past Yoongyeon. Startled, he flinched and stepped back. The vehicle passed him and sped away. Annoyed at his own jumpiness, he kicked the ground in frustration.

“Damn it.”

Putting his phone away, he quickly moved to avoid attention, heading for his usual hideout under the bridge after jobs. Secluded and gloomy, it wasn’t somewhere people frequented, and he doubted his pursuers would find him there.

Leaning against the wall, Yoongyeon sat down and pulled out the remaining cash from his pocket.

“One, two, three…”

After counting the bills, he crumpled them in his hand. He’d spent more than he thought. If it had been just a little, he might have considered returning it unnoticed, but that ship had sailed.

“Where the hell did it all go? God, I’m going nuts.”

He grabbed his head with both hands. Most of the money was already gone, probably spent on rent. Sighing deeply, he put the remaining cash back into Dojae’s wallet.

“Rich bastard like him won’t kill me over a missing million, right?”

The satisfying thickness he’d felt when first stealing the wallet was gone, now replaced by a pitiful thinness. Yoongyeon bit his lower lip hard.

Maybe Dojae wasn’t after the cash but the wallet itself. Minhyuk’s warning kept echoing in his mind. Restless with anxiety, Yoongyeon suddenly stood up.

“Seriously, who leaves a wallet out to get stolen?! Why’s he making my life hell over getting robbed?!”

He was angry at Dojae. This was the pot calling the kettle black. Yoongyeon was madder at Dojae for letting his wallet get stolen than at his own actions. If Dojae hadn’t made it easy, none of this would’ve happened. If he hadn’t caught Yoongyeon’s eye, he wouldn’t be on the run now.

“Don’t tell me Minhyuk got caught…”

He was starting to worry. Carefully putting the wallet away, he left the hideout and scratched his head in frustration. If he couldn’t sleep under the bridge, he needed to find somewhere else.

Emerging from under the bridge, Yoongyeon checked nearby buildings while shuffling along. An internet cafe on the third floor caught his eye. With nowhere else to go, he figured he could kill time there before leaving Seoul.

Though Yoongyeon enjoyed gaming too, he wasn’t in the right mindset now. Slumping deeply into the chair, he pondered.

“Maybe I should return the wallet to the hotel… No, I earned this! Ugh…”

Frustrated, he stretched out in the chair before suddenly kicking the floor repeatedly and rolling around.

This situation was seriously unpleasant. It felt completely unfair to him. Returning stolen goods was extremely rare for him. No, it had never happened before.

“Ah, fuck, what do I do?…”

Hugging his head, Yoongyeon curled up in the corner before banging his head against the wall. If only Minhyuk would answer his calls, he could ask for advice, but with no response, Yoongyeon felt like he was going crazy with anxiety.

“Haah… Minhyuk, pick up your damn phone.”

He called Minhyuk again, chewing his nails nervously while shaking his leg. Then he heard a faint ringtone.

Tilting his head, Yoongyeon looked at his phone screen before cautiously raising his head. Straightening his back, he peeked over like a meerkat.

“Huh?”

The same black-suited group from earlier was searching the internet cafe.

“Ah, what the…”

“Hey there, mind raising your head for a second?”

A bulky, well-built man with a thick dialect was checking customers’ faces. Yoongyeon folded himself almost in half. The men were checking people not far away.