Chapter 2: Hypocrisy

“Phew.”

Hot air and rippling water enveloped my body. The refreshing feeling welling up from deep inside was quite satisfying.

A sauna, it’s been a while.

I used to come here often because I liked this feeling, but at some point, I was banned.
The reason was to prevent any unforeseen accidents, but now that I’ve resigned, that’s all in the past.

“…”

Lingering thoughts filled the space vacated by the heat.
Now, with no need to go to work to earn money, and no goals to achieve, what should I do? Is there anything I can do?
Now that I’m out, I feel empty. At least at the company, I could mop the floors.

Forget it, I’ll just watch some movies I’ve put off and slowly sort things out.

Thinking that, I got out of the hot bath and took my phone out of the locker, but something was strange. No matter how much I pressed the buttons, it wouldn’t respond, as if the battery had died.

“What’s wrong with this?”

Fortunately, it wasn’t broken, as the phone returned to normal as soon as I plugged it into the charger on the bathhouse wall.

“What the…?”

I unlocked the phone as usual, swiping away the photos I took with my film club friends, and was quite surprised by the information displayed on the screen.

<Missed Calls: 65>

<Messages 300+ Company Group Chat: We know you’re reading this, answer your phone…>
<Messages 300+ Chae Seolha: Answer your phone right now.>
<Messages 300+ Garyeon: Hey, where are you…>
<Messages 300+ Dasom: Dojin, where have you gone, you’re not answering your phone…>
<Message 1 Minseo: Made a big decision, huh? lol>

Were these the reason my phone died?

Was my resignation notice too sudden? Well, we spent several years together.
They were kind enough not to fire me out of loyalty.

I deleted the messages from my colleagues and began blocking their contacts one by one.
It was something I had to do eventually for their sake. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it until now.
Then, with a small vibration, a push notification arrived.

<Price Alert: NobelCoin reached 98,000 KRW>

That coin, which was around 40 KRW just six months ago, had grown so much. The growth rate is frightening. This should be enough to live on.

I packed my things and left the sauna. Then, I returned shortly after.

“Young man, weren’t you here earlier?”

The old man at the counter spoke, stopping mid-swipe of my card.

“Yes, something came up.”

A car with a familiar design was parked in front of my apartment building.
They were probably waiting inside for me to return. They know my passcode, so it’s not surprising.

“Then, don’t worry about the money. Just go in.”
“Thank you.”

I changed my clothes and lay down on the sauna floor.

This is better. I had nothing to do anyway, so I’ll spend some time looking for a new place to live.
My lease is almost up, and the only furniture I have are the basic ones that came with the apartment.
It’s a perfect opportunity to get away from them and clear my head.

****

Night had deepened as I browsed listings on my smartphone. People who were chatting began to lie down and sleep one by one, and the TV, which seemed like it would be on 24/7, was now turned off.

I tried to join them, closing my eyes and pushing away the memories of the past that surfaced in the darkness, escaping into dreams. However, the warm air unique to saunas muddled my mind.

After about two hours of wrestling with sleep that wouldn’t come,

“—please.”

A faint sound, like a woman’s whimper, drifted into my ears from a corner of the quiet sauna.

“St— Stop… I don’t want to…”

Unpleasant and mournful sounds continued to tap at my ears, but the surroundings remained silent. Could no one else hear it? Or were they pretending not to hear?

Since I can’t sleep anyway, it would be better to check it out. I want to sleep, and I don’t want any noise.

Rubbing my blurry eyes, I moved towards the source of the sound.
Only the soft thud of my footsteps echoed in the strangely quiet sauna.

“Be quiet—”
“…No.”

Finally, when I reached the source of the noise, a corner of the sleeping area, I saw two shadows intertwined and flickering.

One was a middle-aged man reeking of alcohol. And the other was a girl, no bigger than half the man’s size.

“No… I said no…! No, no, dammit, no, no, no!”
“Shut up, shut up, will you.”

The girl’s voice, resisting the man’s curses, trembled faintly. This wasn’t a hallucination. It was a reality shaking my world.

Without hesitation, I pulled the man off the girl and subdued him.

“Aagh!”

His wildly flailing hands were now firmly pinned behind his back by mine.

“Ugh, ah…”

The girl’s eyebrows, tinged with the orange glow of the fluorescent lights, trembled slightly. It must be a feeling I can’t even imagine.

“I’ll hold him down, so could you go get the owner from the counter? And your parents.”
“Huh…?”
“Sorry, I don’t want to ask you to do this, but you and I are the only ones here right now.”

This child wouldn’t have the time to worry about such things right now.

“Why my… parents…?”
“We need to call the police.”
“What? The p-police?”

The girl’s back straightened at the mention of the police.

“It’s, it’s okay. I’m fine. There’s no need to report it.”
“What?”
“D-Dammit, let go!”

While I was processing her absurd response, the middle-aged man broke free from my grip and ran outside.

I could probably catch him easily by checking the CCTV footage, but it’s better to catch him here before things get complicated.
As I got up with that thought, a bony hand grabbed me.

“I really don’t care. Thank you for helping me, but please just let it go.”

Her strangely calm tone, as if she had given up on everything, left me speechless.

“You might be okay, but your parents won’t be. Just go get them. They must be nearby.”
“What? I came here alone.”
“What are you talking about? How can a minor come in here alone at this hour?”
“No, I’m a college student.”

The girl took out an ID card from her pocket and tilted her head brazenly.

“It’s fake.”
“No, w-what are you talking about? Why is this—”

The girl started making excuses, but when I didn’t respond, she bit her lip.

Even though it looked plausible on the surface, there were several sloppy details.
It wouldn’t do for someone in the design profession not to notice this.

They must have let her in without properly checking her ID.
Considering the owner’s lax personality, it was a plausible scenario.

“You ran away from home, didn’t you?”

The girl’s shoulders flinched at my words.

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll leave in the morning, so please don’t report it.”

The sight of the girl kneeling before me, mechanically repeating apologies, seemed familiar somehow.

Towering bookshelves, scattered books, the pungent smell of wax, the impact felt on my back.
I clutched my aching head and managed to speak.

“…Did you eat?”
“Huh?”
“Did you have dinner?”

****

I took the girl to a convenience store near the sauna. I wanted to buy her something more substantial, but the only places open late at night were bars.
As soon as I paid, the girl started devouring the kimbap, making munching noises.

“What would you have done if I was actually a bad person?”
“I don’t think you’re a good person now either.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“And it’s not like I had much of a choice. I was hungry.”

The girl, responding to my question, seemed completely composed.
Considering that some time had passed and she had calmed down, her quick recovery was unbelievable, given what had just happened to her.

“Why don’t you go to a youth shelter or something?”
“I’d rather die than go back there.”
A slight tremor mixed with her voice.

“I’m sorry. I was insensitive.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m not stupid enough to complain to someone who bought me food… cough, hack.”

I handed the girl the drink I bought at the convenience store. She was choking.

“I told you to eat slowly.”

The girl lowered her head and moved her lips. A putrid smell emanated from her eyes, which glistened with unshed tears amidst her messy, unkempt hair.

Suddenly, I felt a strong sense of discomfort in my chest. A wave of nausea washed over me, and I reflexively opened my mouth.

“Are you planning to go back to that sauna after we part ways?”
“Probably. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

The girl answered as if it were obvious.

“Then I’ll get you a room. Sleep there.”
“What?”
“I’ll get you a motel room, so sleep there.”
“Um, I don’t understand the situation.”
“Ah, don’t get any weird ideas. I’ll get another room and sleep there.”
“No, wait a minute.”

The girl slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

“You’re going to get me a room now, on top of overlooking the fact that I ran away and buying me food? Why don’t you just say it outright, that you want to sleep with me. I’ll never do that, though.”
“Me? With you? I don’t have that kind of hobby.”

I have no interest in that sort of thing.

“I’m getting even more confused. What you’re saying is a violation of the law against soliciting minors, you know?”
“Is it?”
“No, this person, really…!”
“But if I let you go now, I’ll have bad dreams.”

My life is already twisted, a few more stumbles won’t make much difference.

More importantly, if I sent this girl away, who had just been through something terrible and was likely to experience similar things again, I wouldn’t be able to sleep, which is already a problem. It’s a similar feeling to wanting to feed a stray cat that’s starving.

“…Are you pitying me?”
“Yes.”

In short, it’s hypocrisy.
A feeling of mere self-satisfaction. I can’t solve this child’s fundamental pain and problems, yet I’m trying to take care of her because I feel sorry for her.

“…What kind of person…”
“Forget it if you don’t want to.”
“What?”

The girl looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and then lowered her head.

“…What choice do I have? As you said, I don’t have anywhere to sleep tomorrow.”

A dark shadow lay beneath her tightly clenched fists. She took a breath and continued.

“I clearly refused once. Whether the police come looking for me or not is not my responsibility. If I sense anything strange, I’ll run away immediately.”
“Okay.”

The girl ran her hand through her hair and clicked her tongue.

“This is a first.”
“What is?”
“I don’t know.”

There’s no need to ask if she dislikes it.

“—Ah, where are you—?”
“—Hey—! Over here—. Come out!”
“—Hey—! Where’s…?”
“—Do—jin—!”

The drunken cries of my former colleagues echoed through the alley. It’s best to leave before we’re seen.

“Let’s go if you have nothing else to say.”
“Okay.”

The way we walked towards the same destination, maintaining a certain distance, clearly showed the relationship between this child and me.

“What’s your name? I need to register it when I get the room.”
“…”
“A fake name is fine.”

The girl chewed on her lip for a while before speaking.

“…Han Yeoreum. What about you?”
“Yu Dojin.”

The night deepened.