SN | Chapter 3.1

The room where Yuwon ended up living was on the third floor of the building he had been dragged into. Contrary to his first impression on that rainy day, the building was larger than it seemed. Each floor from the first to the third had four or five rooms, and the basement, which resembled a large auditorium, was used as a communal dining area.

The man’s room was on the third floor, with a lounge, a sleeping room, and a room that was always firmly closed. Yuwon mostly stayed in the sleeping room. The lounge was always occupied by a few “dogs,” and since he could run into the master in the man’s room, he ended up frequenting the sleeping room during the day, when no one else was around.

It was a place where the dogs who stood night watch rested, so he could spend time there comfortably before they arrived.

It had been a few days since Yuwon was brought here. During that time, he tried to keep himself intact and looked for a chance to escape, but it wasn’t easy.

There was only one staircase at the end of the hallway leading down. The lounge door, right in front of the stairs, was always open, and even with the TV blaring, the dogs inside were quick to detect any movement. He had locked eyes with them more than once while loitering nearby.

Especially Baek Jeshin—that guy was like a ghost.

Even when he tried to sneak to the stairs without making a sound, Baek Jeshin was always watching him by the time he reached the door, as if he knew Yuwon would appear. It was chilling.

Escaping through the window seemed nearly impossible too. Despite being only on the third floor, the height was dizzying when looking down. There were no pipes to grab onto. Jumping to his death seemed easier than walking out of San with all limbs intact.

After much thought, Yuwon realized that escaping wouldn’t be easy and decided to be patient. It was better to prepare thoroughly and escape perfectly than to be caught after a sloppy attempt. He planned to wait for the right moment.

Anyway, that’s why Yuwon was on the third floor again today. Surprisingly, the man left him alone, saying his wounds hadn’t healed yet, so he was resting after lunch. However, since it was cleaning day for the sleeping room, he had no choice but to lie on the man’s bed.

Despite sleeping with the man last night, he wasn’t hurt. The man treated him like an inanimate object. He hugged him like a pillow while sleeping and pushed him aside when waking up. Because of that, he couldn’t sleep deeply and was tired, but since there was no conversation, his wounded heart was slowly healing.

A cool breeze rolled in through the open window, and the warm sunlight tickled his feet. As he blinked, fighting off sleepiness, he suddenly felt a sense of comfort without realizing it.

The gap between reality and the present made his lips curl bitterly.

“……”

The man was just leaving him alone. As he said, he was just waiting for the time when he could use him again, not wanting to damage something he hadn’t finished paying for. This peace was merely a grace period before repayment. He shouldn’t get used to it.

Biting his lip, Yuwon got up. The view of the room, which he thought didn’t suit the man at all, was the same. Books filled the shelves, and there were worn pencils and notebooks.

During his stay, he had seen the man reading a few times. Whether it was a habit or not, the man enjoyed sitting on the bench under the window frame, reading in a slouched posture, often sketching in a notebook with a pencil.

Erasing the strange scene from his mind, Yuwon approached the bench and sat down on the seat. It was a spot he sought out because he felt he shouldn’t be lying down comfortably.

“…Oh.”

It was some time later that he noticed people walking in the front yard. He had been basking in the sunlight with his eyes closed when he heard voices and looked down to see three tall men walking side by side.

It was the man, Baek Jeshin, and Kim Unhak. Kim Unhak was holding an ice cream that hadn’t melted yet—probably just taken from the snack fridge at the entrance of the basement dining hall. He had heard the night before that they could take whatever they wanted from there.

Baek Jeshin and the man next to Kim Unhak were smoking instead of eating ice cream. As if annoyed by the smoke, Kim Unhak quickened his pace, and the man followed, blowing smoke in his face. Kim Unhak shook his head in front of the man.

Despite the formal address of “Boss, Boss,” the hierarchy seemed strict only among the dogs, and the three of them seemed closer than expected. He had seen them together several times already.

Yuwon watched the man’s back as he teased Kim Unhak.

The man, walking in the shade with a thick smile visible even from afar, strangely seemed like a carefree person. To someone who didn’t know his identity, if asked to pick the master of San among the three, they would surely choose Baek Jeshin in a suit or Kim Unhak, who looked older than them.

After observing for a few days, Yuwon guessed that Baek Jeshin was the one handling the troublesome and dirty work. It was Baek Jeshin who came to fetch Yuwon, and it was Baek Jeshin who bought Yuwon’s clothes the other day, with a receipt from a department store in Seoul in the shopping bag.

He wouldn’t have gone all the way to Seoul just to buy clothes, but the fact that he brought them from there made Yuwon suspect that Baek Jeshin was the lowest in rank among them.

Anyway, the clothes were ridiculously expensive. Yuwon wondered if they were trying to put him in debt again, but Kim Unhak told him not to worry about it, so he decided to let it go.

Unlike the scary and uncomfortable Baek Jeshin or the terrifying man, Kim Unhak had something that softened Yuwon.

It was probably because of the hug he gave him the day after the big incident. It was the first time since he had parted with his mom at ten years old…

Naturally, his thoughts drifted to his mom. Yuwon closed his eyes, trying to recall his mom’s face, which had become blurry after so long. But beyond his eyelids, bright with sunlight, no one appeared.

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They said it was an organization that dominated Gangwon-do, and indeed, there were many people in San. Perhaps because of that, there were always new faces every time he went to the dining hall for a meal.

Whether there was a warning or not, no one spoke to Yuwon. The stares were uncomfortable, but at least no one openly despised him like the man did, so he could ignore them.

Anyway, among all those people, Yuwon only remembered three names: Baek Jeshin, Kim Unhak, and Park Sehyung.

Park Sehyung was the one who drove the car when Yuwon was brought to San. The middle-aged man who barked like a dog at Yuwon was the one called the youngest.

“Did you eat?”

Park Sehyung, who was always standing on the second-floor landing, would ask Yuwon that question whenever their eyes met.

“Not yet….”

When Yuwon answered cautiously, he would grin, look around, and pull something out of his pocket to give him. It was some imported snack. Seeing the waffle picture on the wrapper, Yuwon bit his lip and nodded.

“Thank you.”

“Eat it after your meal, okay?”

“Yes….”

Maybe he liked giving things to others, as Yuwon had received several snacks this way. Of course, he didn’t eat them but hid them under the bed. He didn’t want to get used to the dogs’ kindness.

Seeing Yuwon nod, Park Sehyung twitched his nose and then went down to the basement with him. He would take Yuwon to the dining line at the entrance of the dining hall before returning to his spot.

No matter how kind they acted, everyone in this building was a watcher of Yuwon. Handling Jang-ssi alone was overwhelming, and now there were dozens. Yuwon calmed his anxious heart and received his meal.

“Eat a lot.”

“Thank you….”

The sign at the entrance of the dining hall had “Spicy Pork Stir-fry” scrawled on it, but the food that appeared was a mixed stir-fry. It seemed the problem was that the dogs took turns cooking instead of a chef.

“Hey, damn. Did you call this Spicy Pork Stir-fry?”

“Just eat it, you bastard.”

“How can I eat this, you dog?”

The men arguing over the stir-fry, which included tofu, bell peppers, sausages, and some herb with a strange medicinal smell, seemed to come from all over the country, making it hard to guess their origins from their dialects. Some mixed Jeolla and Gyeongsang dialects, while others spoke perfect Seoul dialect. Anyway, it was noisy.

Yuwon was about to pick up his chopsticks, pretending not to hear the argument, when Baek Jeshin entered the dining hall with slow steps and spoke.

“Quiet.”

The room fell silent instantly. Baek Jeshin, looking around, spotted Yuwon, who was eating with his head down. Raising an eyebrow, he checked Yuwon’s tray piled with stir-fry, twisted his lips briefly, and approached a cupboard in the corner of the kitchen. He took out a pack of seaweed and tossed it onto Yuwon’s table.

“Eat.”

Yuwon, who had saved the stir-fry for last because it tasted surprisingly good, was taken aback. But unlike the kind Kim Unhak, the silent Baek Jeshin was as uncomfortable as the moody man, so he had nothing to say.

“Thank you….”

That was all he could manage to say.

In the silent dining hall, he cleaned his plate. After living with Seo Kyungyoung, he often went hungry, so he appreciated food and ate everything deliciously. He rarely left anything behind.

“Yuwon, did you finish eating already?”

He ran into Kim Unhak just as he was leaving the dining hall. Kim Unhak, carrying a large bag, waved when he saw Yuwon. Kim Unhak, whom he had seen every day, was consistently kind and friendly. No matter how much he tried to build a wall and act uncomfortable, his smile never faded.