AT Ch10

It wasn’t a difficult task. Disposing of a body was as simple as paying the incinerator next to the Ant Tunnel.

Since then, messages like this arrived every now and then, just when she was about to forget.

Every time Choi Baekyoung replied to the woman, she felt as if she were waiting for her death.

Now that she seemed to have a friend to go see the cherry blossoms with, should she tell her to stop contacting each other and live well when she contacted her next time?

Whirr.

Cold air seeped through the old rooftop door and into the stairwell.

Looking down the dim stairwell, she felt even colder for some reason. Eventually, she got up and went back out through the rooftop door.

Even as she fluffed the down comforter to make sure it wasn’t bunched up, she felt an odd heaviness in her pocket. That sensation lingered for a long time.

She had hand-washed and dried it in the cold wind, so 200,000 won wouldn’t be too expensive.

As Baekyoung neatly folded the comforter to bring it back, she thought of excuses in case Taekyung, the owner of the wallet, questioned why she had taken so much for a day’s wage.

The scent of fabric softener wafted with every step she took.

Maybe she had used too much…

Jang Heejo had said he liked this smell, so it wasn’t her fault. But Baekyoung now realized that even a good smell could be too much. Two caps had been just right, but now it stung her nose.

If she took a deep breath, the back of her throat tickled, and she felt a cough trying to burst out again.

It was asthma, a chronic ailment she had every change of season, so she knew when a cough was coming. Once it started, it wouldn’t stop easily, so Baekyoung breathed shallowly through her mouth.

The concrete walls, which must have once been gray, were now covered in black grime and had long lost their color, making them look even more ominous. The exaggerated (but mostly true) rumors about the Ant Tunnel that circulated outside seemed plausible just by looking at the walls.

People with eyes that showed no light brushed past her. Familiar faces greeted her with a nod, while others simply passed by.

“Baekyoung, they want you to come down to the underground tonight.”

Han Seyoung, dressed stylishly in a black suit and wingtip shoes with his hair slicked back, tossed the words at her as he passed by.

“I didn’t get any message.”

“You’re getting it now.”

Han Seyoung, who worked as a waiter underground, shrugged as if the message was delivered. Whenever they needed extra hands, the manager would have Han Seyoung call the ants. But it was always delivered urgently like this.

If she hadn’t run into him on the way, she might have rushed down and gotten a smack on the head from the manager.

“At least let me know a day in advance. I might have other things to do.”

“Even if you have other things to do, you always make time when I say it’s for the underground. Hey. Damn it. Don’t you know I’m busy? I have more than one or two clients to manage, and I have to worry about you too?”

Manage clients, my ass. The thought that she now had to be mindful of Han Seyoung made a sharp retort rise to her lips, but she held it back, fearing a bigger fight. She just wanted to return the fluffy comforter to its owner quickly.

“It’s like, even when I give you work, you complain, complain.”

Han Seyoung pushed Baekyoung’s forehead with his finger, and when she didn’t budge, he glared at her.

The man, who was about the same height as her, always wore insoles that added at least 5 cm. Still, his eye level wasn’t much higher than Baekyoung’s, who was 165 cm.

“You’re not the one giving it to me. Get your finger off me. Before I break it.”

“Bitch, if it weren’t for Manager, you think you can treat me like I’m nothing? Huh?”

It was Han Seyoung who was ridiculous, always picking fights with her whenever he saw her. Baekyoung, still holding the comforter preciously in her arms, raised her foot and kicked the guy’s shin.

“Ugh!”

In any case, they were all just worker ants. Even if Han Seyoung was currently favored by the manager, he was still someone who could be abandoned at any time.

Baekyoung generally found fighting tiresome, but she didn’t bother avoiding fights that were about asserting dominance.

Han Seyoung, who had momentarily lost his balance, steadied himself by placing his palm on the dirty concrete wall. Barely regaining his balance, he stood up again and slapped Baekyoung’s face.

Slap.

Baekyoung’s head quickly turned in the direction of the falling hand. Fortunately, she wasn’t hit hard enough to split her lip or cheek, but the sound was loud. She kicked Han Seyoung’s shin again as he staggered.

Thud.

“Ugh!”

They were from the same orphanage, so they knew each other all too well. That’s why they hated each other even more.

If you had to describe Han Seyoung, that’s how it would be. And he was the one who had dragged Sooyoung into the underground. So he wasn’t a friend. If he were a friend, he wouldn’t have dragged her into the abyss.

“Don’t touch me. I won’t touch you.”

Han Seyoung bit his lip at Baekyoung’s nonchalant words, telling him not to bother her.

“Sooyoung started like you too. You think you’re any different? You think you won’t be nudging me to put you in a room like she did? Damn it, the moment you came down to the underground, you became the same kind of bitch.”

At first, they would bring you down to the underground to do odd jobs. And from the moment you come down, you would hear people’s secrets from all over the place, so they make you sign a pledge that you can’t leave the Ant Tunnel for life.

Working underground, you would get much more money than wiping blood in a hospital operating room or running errands for a gambling den. And you see women who go into the rooms and get even more money.

They wear pretty clothes and live in decent luxury villas outside the Ant Tunnel, satisfied that they’ve escaped the wretched Ant Tunnel.

Then, after winning them over with money and things they never had before, comes the drugs.

At first glance, it seems like they’re allowed to roam freely, but it’s actually part of a process of slowly addicting them to drugs.

Drugs can only be obtained in the Ant Tunnel. To feel good, they have to return to the Ant Tunnel and work somehow. In the end, they’re thrown into a den of junkies.

And the luxury villas they lived in were occupied by another new woman who had been lured in the same way.

“What? You came down to save Sooyoung? That’s a joke. Hey, just say you wanted to come down to the underground too. Don’t bring up a girl who died like trash.”

There are always people who are just asking for it.

“Choi Baekyoung, what are you doing?”

Taekyung, who would normally never come here, walked out of the darkness. Baekyoung stopped moving just as she was about to throw down the comforter she had spent hours drying and rush at him. Taekyung’s appearance made the hallway feel full and long.

“Oh? Taekyung, haha, hello. No, I was just talking to Baekyoung.”

Slap.

Baekyoung, meeting Taekyung’s eyes, gripped the comforter tightly with one hand and slapped Han Seyoung’s lips with the other, making a loud sound. It didn’t hurt much, but it was enough to make him feel humiliated in that moment.

“Y-you….”

He was about to raise his voice at her again, but he trailed off, sensing the unusual nature of Taekyung’s approaching steps. The image of Baekyoung standing with Woo Taekyung at the orphanage flashed through his mind.

Were Woo Taekyung and Baekyoung still in contact? It had been over three years since he had followed Jang Heejo and hadn’t even come near the Ant Tunnel.

Woo Taekyung’s hand, which had grown even larger in the time he hadn’t seen him, lightly pushed Han Seyoung’s forehead.

It was as if he had been watching everything from the beginning, and the way he touched him was subtle. He hadn’t sensed his presence, so how long had he been watching? And why had he been standing still until now?

Baekyoung took a large step closer to Taekyung, wrapping her arms around the comforter again.

Huh. Taekyung let out a short, dry breath at her appearance.

He had mentioned that the manager was his backer, so it seemed okay for her to pretend that Taekyung was her backer. Judging by his actions, Baekyoung was sure that Taekyung would play along, so she acted cleverly.

“Taekyung, I had a hard time washing this comforter. It dried better than I thought, right?”

It was the first time she had ever called his name so sweetly. His eyes became strange.

“Just go.”

Taekyung roughly pushed Han Seyoung’s forehead again with his palm, and the guy scurried away in a panic. At the same time, Baekyoung, who was done with Taekyung, started walking back towards the hallway he had come from.

“Choi Baekyoung, don’t you have anything to say?”

“What is there to say?”

A daily wage of 200,000 won.

Should she say it now? She had only intended to return the wallet.

“You just used someone, like a fox.”

“Didn’t you come here calling my name to be used? That’s what I thought.”

Baekyoung replied nonchalantly. She was relieved that he didn’t ask how much she had paid to wash it, as she had been very nervous that he would. That hand, as big as a pot lid, wouldn’t be aimed at her, but if he pushed her forehead even jokingly, her neck might snap.