CU Ch 1.7
by kisses“Have a good night!”
Jaejun greeted the customer cheerfully, then sat down and stared intently outside the convenience store. The place Hama mentioned was a club in Nampodong, Busan.
There wasn’t any concrete information about who saw him or where they lived. It was just a vague passing rumor, something like, “I heard from someone who heard from someone else that they saw your father in front of a club in Nampodong.”
Despite the flimsy lead, Jaejun had to come. There was always a sliver of hope.
As soon as he arrived in Busan, Jaejun went straight to Nampodong and showed the waiters at the club a picture of his father from his younger days, asking, “Have you ever seen this face?” But the result was a bust.
Honestly, he hadn’t expected much, so his disappointment wasn’t too great. However, he couldn’t just give up and leave after asking the waiters once. So, he decided to stake out the front of the club for about ten days.
It was a stroke of luck that he overheard the store owner’s phone call about needing a short-term part-timer while buying a can of beer at the convenience store across from the club. The hours were perfect. From 6 PM to 6 AM, almost coinciding with the club’s operating hours.
He needed the money, as he had paid ten days’ worth of motel fees upfront, leaving him broke. Plus, the counter offered a clear view of the club, making it ideal for his surveillance. Jaejun immediately took the convenience store job.
And today was the fifth day. He hadn’t seen a trace of his father.
‘Is this a dead end too?’
Where the hell was his damn father and what was he doing? Didn’t he wonder if his wife and child were dead or alive? Clinging to the hope that her husband might return, Jaejun’s mother hadn’t even moved.
She’d stubbornly remained in the house they shared, despite being harassed by his father’s so-called colleagues. That is, until the house was forcibly demolished. Even after being forced to move, his mother would frequently wander around their old, now completely transformed, neighborhood.
I can’t keep living like this…
He was managing for now, but if this continued, he might not be able to get a proper job at a hospital. Opening his own clinic was out of the question due to lack of funds. So, he would have to work as a salaried doctor, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it.
He’d worked short-term stints at several hospitals, but he’d never lasted more than a couple of months before quitting. He doubted any hospital would hire him with such a spotty resume. The number of hospitals willing to take him would definitely continue to decrease. The most frustrating part was that even after a year of searching, wasting his life and time like this, he hadn’t found a single trace of his father.
A customer entered, interrupting Jaejun’s thoughts.
“Welcome.”
Jaejun glanced at the customer while pretending to look for the cigarettes. The man exuded a vaguely gangster-like air about him. He wasn’t wearing the grim reaper-like black suit favored by the thugs who frequented the back alleys filled with bars and clubs like this, nor did he have the typical swagger of gangsters, but Jaejun had a hunch. More than anything, Jaejun had a good nose for gangsters.
‘Is he one of the underlings managing this area?’
Jaejun took out the cigarettes and handed them over. The customer, receiving the cigarettes, glanced at Jaejun’s face as he took out his wallet. Jaejun didn’t think much of it. He was a bit embarrassed to admit it himself, but honestly, he was quite handsome, so those kinds of glances weren’t unusual.
“Here’s your change.”
After receiving a ten-thousand-won2 bill and handing over the change, the man shoved the money carelessly into his pocket and left the store.
The flow of customers continued to come in. Being a convenience store located in the middle of an entertainment district, there were quite a few customers even late at night. It was tiring, but it allowed him to keep an eye on the outside without falling asleep, which was a plus. He could also rest for a bit when another part-timer came in at midnight.
“I’m telling you, I’m a real doctor.”
“If you’re a doctor, you’d be working at a hospital, not at a convenience store. Stop lying.”
This kid didn’t believe a word he said.
Jaejun glared disapprovingly at Sungwoo, who scoffed.
Sungwoo was the other part-timer who worked with Jaejun at the convenience store from midnight onwards. They had similar backgrounds, both raised by single mothers and both high school dropouts. Sungwoo had finished his mandatory military service early and was now barely making ends meet with part-time jobs.
Jaejun treated him kindly, and Sungwoo treated him like an older brother, following him around.
However, today, their conversation drifted to the topic of the future, and Jaejun had said, “If you want to earn money, learn a skill. If you still have regrets about your education, take the GED and go to college, even now. Look at me. I dropped out in my first year of high school, but I went to medical school through the GED and now I’m a proper doctor.”
Sungwoo immediately scoffed and told him to stop lying.
How could he have so little trust on me? I’m really a licensed doctor!
“I’m telling you, it’s true.”
“Just go home. Your shift’s over.”
Sungwoo pointed at the clock, his face showing no sign of believing Jaejun.
5:40 AM.
It was time for Jaejun to finish his shift. While he was supposed to stay until 6, customers thinned out around this time, so Sungwoo often urged Jaejun to leave early, saying he could handle it alone. Jaejun ruffled Sungwoo’s hair, the kid who had zero percent trust in him, and stood up without hesitation.
It was freezing outside. Having stayed inside the warm convenience store all night, the cold felt especially unbearable. Jaejun huddled up and stared blankly at the club, which was preparing to close. As expected, another dead end today.
He’d bribed one of the waiters, slipping him money, a picture of his father, and his contact information, pleading, “If you see someone like this, please contact me.” But his phone had never rung. The chill in his heart revealed that despite telling himself not to expect anything, he’d subconsciously been holding onto hope.
As Jaejun walked towards the motel, clicking his tongue, a middle-aged man passed by him.
Suddenly, Jaejun stopped, struck by a strange feeling.
‘Father…?’
Jaejun quickly turned around and chased after the middle-aged man who had already walked quite a distance in that short time.
He was wearing a grey coat, right?
Jaejun spotted the man entering a hangover soup restaurant at the end of the alley and quickly approached him. His heart began to pound like a whirlwind.
“Excuse me…”
When Jaejun spoke, the man turned around. Jaejun unconsciously held his breath. He definitely resembled the face in the photo his mother kept.
“Is there something wrong?”
The man asked, scanning Jaejun with a puzzled look.
“Could I ask for your name?”
Jaejun asked, unknowingly clenching his fists.
“Why do you ask?”
“I’m looking for someone, and you look a lot like him.”
The middle-aged man frowned, seemingly annoyed that a stranger had abruptly stopped him early in the morning and asked his name out of the blue.
Jaejun offered the most polite and friendly smile he could muster. It was the expression he usually used when dealing with difficult patients, and it worked 99 percent of the time. As expected, this time too, the man reluctantly revealed his name.
“It’s Jung Youngmin.”
The name…is different. But he might be using an alias, so…
“My name is Min Jaejun.”
He revealed his name, but the man just stared blankly at Jaejun with a ‘So what?’ expression. There wasn’t the slightest hint of surprise or bewilderment in his face.
It’s not him.
This man wasn’t his father. He just bore a striking resemblance, a complete stranger who had nothing to do with Jaejun.
Disappointed, Jaejun forced a smile and apologized.
“I mistook you for someone else. I’m sorry.”
The man looked at Jaejun with a pitying expression as his face momentarily contorted with disappointment, then entered the restaurant. Jaejun also turned around listlessly.
Figures.
There’s no way he’d be found this easily.
That damn father. Where is he hiding? He’s hidden himself so damn well, like he doesn’t want even a single hair to be seen. I should just go back and sleep.
Jaejun slumped his shoulders and trudged along.
“Mr. Min Jaejun?”
It was when he almost reached the motel where he was staying long-term that someone called his name.
“Yes?”
He reflexively turned around and saw the very man who had come to the convenience store before midnight and bought a pack of Esse cigarettes. He was approaching Jaejun with a wide smile. Jaejun frowned, somehow feeling uneasy about the smile.
‘Wait, that man definitely called me Mr. Min Jaejun, right? How does he know my name?’
That thought occurred to him when the man came right up to Jaejun. Close enough to touch with just a slight reached of his hand.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“……?”
Before Jaejun could even ask what the man wanted, the man suddenly threw a punch at him. With a thud, the man’s rather heavy fist landed squarely in Jaejun’s stomach. His vision blurred as he felt his insides shake.
What the hell?!
Jaejun cursed inwardly as he lost consciousness.
Before completely losing consciousness, Jaejun heard the man reporting to someone on the phone. A sense of foreboding washed over him, making his stomach churn.