Graduation.
Busan Yeongnak Park. Second memorial hall. This is where my mother and father are laid to rest.
It has been a very long time since I came here. In my last life, I never even had the luxury of visiting this place. I do not even remember their faces.
Parents I only remember through photographs. In those photos, they were both smiling. The Late Kim Jin-ho The Late Cheon Mi-sook Both of their names were written there.
Tears did not come. Thinking about it now, there was something suspicious about my parents’ deaths too. It was handled as a simple robbery case, but…….
The culprit was never caught, and it is still a cold case. This time, I was determined to find out the details.
‘Mother, Father. In this life, I will be sure to live properly. Please watch over me from heaven. I will also be sure to uncover the truth about your deaths.’
Beside me, Grandma was sorrowfully wiping away her tears.
My grandma.
My poor grandma who had to send off her only son first. I hugged my grandma.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Just stay still. My grandma.”
The struggle between my grandma, who tried to pull away, and me, who tried to keep holding her, ended in my victory. While hugging my grandmother, I looked at my parents’ photos again.
“Grandma, live a long, long life.”
“Alright. I have to see my baby get married before I go.”
“Yes.”
By the time my grandmother and I left the memorial hall, the evening glow was already beginning to set.
“Let’s eat before we go home today.”
“Why?”
“Just because. I want to treat you to something delicious. Let’s go, Grandma!”
I held my grandma’s hand tightly and walked slowly, matching her pace. The sun set above our heads. I felt somehow proud, and also empty.
There was not much time left before I had to go up to Seoul for university. One day, Chairman Cheon came to visit my grandmother at our home in Busan. At his request to speak with her alone, I reluctantly went outside.
“What could those two be talking about that they asked me to leave, Manager Ha?”
“I do not know either.”
“Hmm.”
“The fact that the Chairman came all the way to Busan himself means he acknowledges you as family. There is nothing bad about that, is there?”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
After saying that, Manager Ha said no more.
“Elder. I apologize for visiting so late.”
Chairman Cheon bowed his head toward Jo Gyeong-ja. Jo Gyeong-ja, not knowing what to do, waved her hands in refusal.
“Aigo, Elder. You do not have to be like this with me. Just our Mu-hyeok….”
“Are you not the one who raised Mu-hyeok all this time? In the past, because your son and my daughter… eloped, I lived as if I had forgotten, but from now on, let us keep in touch.”
“Yes….”
While Jo Gyeong-ja turned her head to wipe the corners of her eyes at the mention of her son and daughter-in-law, Chairman Cheon waited in silence.
“Will you not go to Seoul with him, Elder?”
“I plan to stay here. I cannot read well, and I do not have the confidence to live in a place where I have no connections.”
“Is that so.”
“Mu-hyeok asked me to go with him. But I told him I did not want to. I will live and die here.”
“Hoo… Then I will ensure you live without any inconvenience.”
“Aigo! Elder. I told you not to worry about me. I can manage on my own.”
After that, the two of them talked for quite a long time about Mu-hyeok.
The main gate opened, and my grandfather came out.
“Go on inside. By the way, when will you tell me the reward for our bet?”
“I will tell you when I go up to Seoul.”
“Yes, after talking with your grandmother, I see she worries a lot about you. Go in and take good care of her. I will see you in Seoul.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
Manager Ha opened the rear passenger door so Chairman Cheon could get in. Even after the car door was closed, Chairman Cheon rolled down the back window and asked again.
“May I look forward to hearing what your wish is?”
“Yes.”
The door closed, and the car began to move. When the car was no longer in sight, I went inside. Grandma’s eyes were slightly red.
“Grandma! What did you talk about?”
“Nothing much. We talked about your future.”
“But why are your eyes red? Did you cry?”
Grandma wiped the corners of her eyes.
“No, it is just….”
“Why? What did he say?”
“……”
“Tell me. What did he say?”
At my continued urging, tears finally burst from my grandma’s eyes again. Grandma took the tissue I offered and said, her voice choked with tears.
“……He talked about your father. He said he was sorry, that he felt they ended up dying because he opposed them back then. Hearing that…… it made me think of your father, and your mother……. What good is it now…… but as long as the two of them are living well in heaven now, that is enough.”
“……”
It was the first time I had faced the wound that had been festering in my grandma’s heart all this time. I pulled my grandma in and hugged her tightly. Grandma, who had been shedding tears, finally began to sob, her shoulders shaking.
“Grandma, let them go now. I will be your child. Not your grandson, but your child.”
I just held my grandma tightly and stayed still. A moment later, as if she had calmed down, my grandma pulled away from my embrace.
“When did you get so big, my child.”
“I have been taller than you since I started middle school, haven’t I?”
“Yes, you have really grown up well.”
A few days later. Before heading up to Seoul, I went to a nearby restaurant with Park Dong-soo, who had come to my house.
“What is this? I said I would treat you to drinks at a nice place.”
“Let us just eat here, Mister.”
“Damn it. Complaining even when I am offering to pay.”
Park Dong-soo grumbled as he sat down. Park Dong-soo’s underlings took seats at the tables around us.
“Ma’am! What is good here?”
His voice was so loud.
“Mister, the agu-jjim here is delicious.”
“Really? Hey, give us a large agu-jjim here. And a bottle of soju! You guys order whatever you want.”
“Yes, Boss.”
When the waitress first brought the soju, Park Dong-soo immediately opened the bottle. He poured about half a glass, not into a soju shot glass, but into a beer glass.
“Let us have a refreshing glass, eh?”
Who pours half a bottle of soju at once?
“Hoo… Alright. Just the first glass.”
“Oh! A real man, a real man!”
The two of them clinked their glasses and downed it in one shot.
“Keuh! This is the stuff.”
Park Dong-soo’s exclamation of delight and my lack of reaction were a strange match.
“Whoa! Look at this bastard, his expression does not even change. You must be a good drinker, huh?”
“I do not drink.”
“Kekeke. Got it. But what is your real identity? You have so much information, you are good at studying, and you are good at fighting.”
“I am Kim Mu-hyeok, a twenty-year-old who is about to become a university student.”
“Ah, this bastard. You are no fun. Ma’am! Two more bottles of soju.”
He was about to pour soju into the beer glass again, so I stopped him and held out a shot glass. Park Dong-soo looked at my face, then chuckled and filled the shot glass to the brim. He then refilled his own beer glass about halfway, raised it, and held it out.
“Alright, so what should I do now?”
“How did you handle things at the nightclub?”
“That bastard may be a bit clueless, but he is a childhood friend, so I sent him to manage the Bosu District area. I left it alone because I did not have a good reason to act, but thanks to you, I got one.”
“Killing two birds with one stone,” Park Dong-soo grinned.
“So, are you managing Nampo District, Mister? All of it?”
“Uh… Nampo District, Yeongdo, Bosu District… Yeah, I have basically taken control of the whole Jung-gu area. It was our territory to begin with, and most of the decent bastards got locked up, so there were not any big fights. What should I do now?”
Park Dong-soo asked as he poured more soju.
“First, look for a lawyer. And establish a legitimate security services company. Launder your business that way.”
“And?”
“First, take complete control of Busan. And never get caught by the authorities. A man of your level must have some connections with the police or the prosecutors, right? Bribe them generously and manage them well.”
“Is that all?”
“Is taking over Busan easy?”
At that, Park Dong-soo let out a short laugh.
“They have all been locked up, so only small fry are left. One year is more than enough.”
I decided to trust his confidence.
“Then, take control first. And never touch drugs. The drug crackdown is about to get severe. The pressure will be incomparably stronger than before, so even with connections, it will be tough. Slowly work on moving from the shadows into the light.”
“Heh, go into the light?”
Park Dong-soo gave a hollow laugh.
“We are the kind of people who should not be in the light. If I go into the light, another guy like me will pop up from the shadows and start a fight. Then it is another war.”
“Hahaha. Mister, I am not telling you to just step into the light blindly. I am saying you should wear the mask of the light. If a gangster is not going to act like a gangster and just do legitimate work, why be a gangster in the first place?”
“What?”
I drank the soju Park Dong-soo had poured and continued.
“The gangsters in Seoul have already begun to corporatize. Busan needs to get on it quickly, or you will get eaten up by the Seoul guys later. Well, I am sure you have heard the news since gangsters communicate with each other too……. First, corporatize. That is the priority. Take control of Busan, and after that, you and I can work on expanding to Seoul separately.”
Park Dong-soo poured soju into his beer glass and drank it in one go.
“Ha, listening to you talk is making me fall for it hook, line, and sinker. So, you are saying I should take over Busan and then come to Seoul? And then work with you?”
“Yes. That is it.”
“Shit, I do not know if this is the right thing to do.”
Just then, the waitress placed the agu-jjim on the table. The agu-jjim, steaming hot.
“Ma’am! Two more bottles of soju.”
Taking the soju, Park Dong-soo again poured half a bottle into his glass and gulped it down.
“Shit, I have only met this bastard a few times, why the hell do I trust him? Fine. I will trust you and give it a try.”
“Yes, I appreciate that.”
I raised my glass first and clinked it against Park Dong-soo’s, and he chuckled.
“And, how do I contact you when you go to Seoul? You do not have a pager?”
“When I get to Seoul, I will probably buy a cell phone. I will contact you then. I will leave my contact information with Myeong-soo’s father. Oh, and Arabian Nights is my friend’s father’s place, so please look out for it. Do not slip them any fake liquor.”
At that, he squinted and glared at me.
“You son of a bitch, you think I am some punk? Do not worry about that. I already told the boys not to cause any trouble there.”
“Thank you.”
“But a cell phone? Is not that thing damn expensive?”
“Right now, they are too big and hard to carry around. But Ilseong is about to start selling a model that is at least portable, so I am thinking of buying that one.”
“Hmm… I should probably get one too, huh?”
“It would be convenient to have one.”
Park Dong-soo, who was deep in thought, poured more soju.
“I was going to buy you some good liquor, but since you did not want to, let us just drink this for now. Next time, let us have a proper drink. Got it?”
“Hahaha. When you expand to Seoul, let us have a proper drink then.”
“Alright. I will trust you and give it a try.”
“If you run into any real trouble, contact me. If it is something I can handle, I will take care of it for you. But my existence must absolutely not be exposed. You know what I mean, right?”
“I know. Alright! Let us have one last drink. Cheers!”
Along with the sound of clinking glasses, the sound of Park Dong-soo’s and my laughter filled the restaurant.
“By the way, Mister. Could you not call me ‘little bro’? It makes me sound old too.”
“What is with this ‘Mister’?! You call me ‘Boss’.”
Until we parted ways, we could not reach an agreement on the matter of titles. After being treated to drinks by Myeong-soo’s father and spending good times with my grandmother, graduation day arrived.
Graduation Day.
The banner that had been hanging over the main school gate was finally taken down.
[Congratulations! Dongseong Technical High School 3rd year Kim Mu-hyeok, Perfect Score on the College Entrance Exam! Top in the Nation!]
Every time I saw that, my face would get so hot that I did not even want to come to school. Listening to the principal’s boring speech in the auditorium, the graduation ceremony ended in a flash, making the past three years feel insignificant. Since I did not have many friends, I took pictures with Myeong-soo and Hyeon-seong.
My grandmother and Chief Prosecutor Yoon Chang-ho, who came for the ceremony, were also there.
“Mu-hyeok, congratulations on your graduation. You will be my junior at the university now. A junior in the same department, at that.”
“Yes, did not I tell you back then? That I would soon see you as my senior at Korea University.”
“Hahaha, so you did. And those words came true. Let us meet up once before you head up to Seoul. I have another appointment, so I must be going now.”
“Yes. I will come see you before I go to Seoul, Senior.”
“I like the sound of ‘Senior’.”
The chief prosecutor patted my shoulder and left. I called over a few friends who were hovering awkwardly around me and took a group photo. As I was about to leave the school gate with my grandmother and Myeong-soo’s and Hyeon-seong’s parents, a loud voice suddenly came from over there.
“Hey! Little Bro! Congrats on graduating!”
In the distance, I caught sight of Park Dong-soo waving his hand from a rolled-down car window.
“Is that someone you know?”
“No. Let us just hurry up and go eat.”
I quickened my pace with my grandmother. But Park Dong-soo was quite persistent.
“Hey, Little Bro! It is me, Park Dong-soo!”
Ah… can I really trust that man?