He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous.
As the plane landed at Pudong International Airport, the tension reached its peak.
A sign saying that it’s okay to unfasten the seatbelt appeared, but Lee Young-jin sat still for a long time. He barely lifted his hips and fumbled, stretching his arms to get his luggage out. The Boston bag, which wasn’t very heavy when he carried it, seemed to weigh 30 million pounds when unloaded.
Lee Young-jin was swept away by the crowd without resistance and slowly moved along with the waves. He pulled out a new, stiff passport from his bosom. Jason Lee. An unfamiliar name. It’s awkward.
It was the first time he had a passport, got on a plane, and stepped on a place other than Korean soil.
But what overcame the tension was worry.
First of all, a substitute for his part-time job. Choi Yun-seok brought a dirty part-timer from somewhere. He said he was a college student. He seemed smart and nimble, but since he’s a college student, he must have never done hard work. The chicken restaurant gave an hourly wage of 8000 won. He was paid such a fortune every hour since the work was hard. Of course, he had to clean up before opening, sort food waste and general trash, and even have to serve a hall with six tables by himself. It’s fortunate that the owner was a good person, but being a college student, can a smart student who had only studied hard do such a thing?
Ah. I should have told him in advance that chicken bones aren’t food waste.
The second was a stray cat that ran around the apartment where Lee Young-jin lived. It was cold so it lived in the basement. At first, it just disappeared upon hearing footsteps. Lee Young-jin gave it some leftover chicken he occasionally got from the store, and now it’s sticking to him, regardless of people around him. Then, a few days ago, he witnessed the unemployed garbage man living on the third floor brandish a cleaver at the fist-sized animal and cursing. He was worried that while he’s away, it would freeze to death, starve to death, or be slaughtered by the thug on the third floor.
Other than that, the water supply might burst due to the cold, a thief might break in and steal his household items like last time, the gas pipe might explode, the kimchi in the refrigerator might dry out, and other things…
While he was worried, a wave of people pushed him in front of the immigration checkpoint. The staff of the examination team looked as if they’d been slapped in the face by a stranger. He thought that if he answered incorrectly, he’d be slapped by the other side, so Lee Young-jin answered in awkward English. Fortunately, it wasn’t a long conversation. The employee’s eyes stared intently at Lee Young-jin’s passport before stamping it. That was it. Lee Young-jin was relieved and quickly ran away from the immigration checkpoint.
The arrival and departure halls were crowded.
The people made a lot of noise, finding each other, hugging each other, kissing each other on the cheek, and punching each other on the shoulder.
There were too many people.
Lee Young-jin grabbed his Boston bag tightly. The leather handle was slippery from the sweat soaking his palms. He looked around. Teacher told him someone would meet him at the airport. Just as he was about to ask who it was, the call was disconnected. Lee Young-jin idly held the disconnected cell phone for a long time.
He looked around in dismay, not knowing what to do in a crowd of so many people.
A group of men talking loudly, an elderly couple walking hand in hand, a young woman holding a baby, a business man with a tired face, a…
“Lee Young-jin!”
Someone hit him hard on the shoulder from behind. Lee Young-jin almost jumped from the spot like a cat that has its tail stepped on.
He took a deep breath and looked back.
The mountain-like shoulder was the first thing he saw. Next came the shiny head, thick forearms that couldn’t be covered even with the jacket, and two thighs as hard as cast iron.
“Uncle!”
Lee Young-jin jumped into his arms at the fastest speed in his life. Then he fumbled around the drum-like waist with both of his arms. All movements were slow enough.
Ji Jung-hoon chuckled and hit Lee Young-jin on the butt with the palm of his hand the size of a pot lid. Tears welled up in the corners of Lee Young-jin’s eyes because it was so painful.
“Little kid. How was the flight?”
Lee Young-jin thought of the airplane speeding down the runway, two hours in economy class on a low-cost airline, the pot-bellied person sitting next to him who snored nonstop, the cramped seat that didn’t fit his size, a strange mechanical noise of unknown origin – after thinking about such things, he barely answered after a while.
“…it was nothing much.”
Ji Jung-hoon grinned at the slow reply. At the same time, he tried to lift Lee Young-jin up, so Lee Young-jin let go of his waist and stepped back.
“Is this your first time in Shanghai?”
Ji Jung-hoon asked.
Not just Shanghai, it’s his first time being outside Korea and being on a plane. Lee Young-jin tried to answer like that, but he missed the timing as three or four students giggled and brushed past them. In the meantime, Ji Jung-hoon took away his Boston bag. Resistance was futile so he let go.
“Follow me.”
Ji Jung-hoon tilted his chin toward him. Lee Young-jin quickly caught up.
As they left the airport, the fierce north wind slammed on his two cheeks. Parking lines were drawn on the wide asphalt and cars were parked along those lines. Ji Jung-hoon walked toward a big Volvo. Seeing him open the trunk, Lee Young-jin hurriedly pulled Ji Jung-hoon’s bulging arm.
“There’s a laptop inside. I have to ride with it.”
“Okay.”
Ji Jung-hoon obediently returned the bag to Lee Young-jin.
Lee Young-jin grabbed the bag and climbed into the passenger seat.
As soon as Ji Jung-hoon sat in the driver’s seat, he turned the heater on to the highest temperature. A warm breeze blew through his feet and chest.
“Is it just you and me?”
“There’s Eun-young. Do you know Park Eun-young?”
Park Eun-young, Park Eun-young… it’s a name in his memory. Lee Young-jin nodded his head as if he could see it.
“Sure, sure. She’s a veteran so you’ll be fine. She’s already in the safe house. You’re the last one, kid.”
“Don’t call me kid.”
Lee Young-jin barely protested. The lower lip, which protruded more than the upper lip, squirmed. Ji Jung-hoon laughed so loudly that his chest trembled.
He started the car rather roughly.
The heavy Volvo rolled slickly over the asphalt road.
“What about the job description?”
“I heard about it from Teacher.”
“Is this your first on-site support?”
“Yes…”
Lee Young-jin blurted out his words. He seemed insecure. His eyes were habitually down. Ji Jung-hoon reached out one hand and gently stroked the top of his head. Lee Young-jin calmly nodded his neck and gently reached out his arm to pat him on the rocky shoulder. At the expression of timid friendliness, Ji Jung-hoon smiled again.
“There was a change while you were on the plane.”
Ji Jung-hoon stopped smiling and started talking.
“The auction date has been changed. I don’t know who leaked it, but some small groups are interfering here and there. Little kid, I need you to hurry up.”
“Where did word get out?”
“Well, as you know, this job is a bit big. Eun-young suspected that Choi Yun-seok was wearing octopus feet somewhere other than us.”
Lee Young-jin only rolled his eyes at the name Choi Yun-seok coming out of Ji Jung-hoon’s mouth. Ji Jung-hoon smiled bitterly. He took his right hand off the steering wheel again and stroked the back of Lee Young-jin’s head rather roughly.
“Never mind that, kid. Don’t stay close to him and don’t care about him. Are you staying away from him like I said?”
At that question, Lee Young-jin’s conscience was pricked and he shrank his head like a turtle. Ji Jung-hoon, who noticed this at once, furrowed his stone-like brows, creating deep vertical wrinkles.
“Did that dog touch you again? Bastard will only wake up once I had my hands on him…”
“Oh no! No. He just delivered the message.”
“If that bastard keeps harassing you, be sure to tell me. Okay?”
After that, Ji Jung-hoon quietly spat out abusive language. It was a familiar growl. Saying things like burying the bastard in concrete someday and even sinking him in the East China Sea, or that he’s going to take a Chinese deep-sea fishing boat himself, or if the others didn’t, he would make it so. These words were all things Lee Young-jin had heard before. Lee Young-jin lowered his head and fiddled with the handle of his bag.
The car pulled into the city.
Dark clouds and speckled sunset unfolded behind the sharp skyscrapers that pierced the shady gray sky. The reddish sunset that began in the west of the city was dyeing the entire city red. The Huangpu River, which meanders between skyscrapers and buildings, divided the city into east and west. A few tourist boats were visible.
The sunset faded in an instant.
Buildings jutting out along the river and the sea shimmered in five colors.
The Volvo went round and round in an alleyway winding like a coiled snake through a forest of new buildings and stopped at one of the buildings. It was an old-fashioned Western style apartment with a history that seemed to have been built in the days of the beginning of the century.
The two got out of the car.
Ji Jung-hoon took the bag away from Lee Young-jin again. Lee Young-jin helplessly got his bag taken and followed him. He talked in a loud voice as he climbed the stone steps.
“It’s an old building so there’s no elevator.”
“It’s okay.”
At Lee Young-jin’s obedient answer, Ji Jung-hoon grinned and rubbed the top of his head with his large hand. His wavy hair was lifted in a mess. As Lee Young-jin stiffened in surprise, the calloused palms gently stroked the back of his head so that it wouldn’t hurt. Lee Young-jin couldn’t resist and didn’t know what to do, so he only breathed softly. Watching his helpless reaction, Ji Jung-hoon’s chest rumbled and eventually, a big laugh burst out.
The fourth floor of the four-story building was the safe house. The lungs which only had a handful of lung capacity due to lack of exercise, fluttered inside Lee Young-jin’s chest. Lee Young-jin gasped and stopped behind Ji Jung-hoon. Ji Jung-hoon knocked on the old front door.
The door swung open.
“You didn’t have to knock.”
It was a gruff female voice.
Lee Young-jin lifted his head from behind Ji Jung-hoon and pushed his head out. Ji Jung-hoon’s hand pushed his back and pushed him into the hallway.
“Oh my goodness.”
The woman bent her neck and looked down at Lee Young-jin.
Extraordinary species. Omega (gender). Tall. That was Lee Young-jin’s first impression of her. Lee Young-jin quickly sized her up. She seemed to be about thirty years old, with her short bobbed hair that showed the back of her ears, and large dark eyes with distinct double eyelids.
“You’re Young-jin.”
She grinned and held out her hand to Lee Young-jin. In the meantime, Ji Jung-hoon closed the front door and went inside.
“I’m Park Eun-young. Call me Sister Eun-young. Nice to meet you. We worked together in Yokohama, remember? I never saw your face but you were very helpful then.”
She gave a friendly greeting.
The black eyes sulking under Lee Young-jin’s drooping eyelids stared at her. After staring at her for a moment, he hesitantly reached out and took her outstretched hand. Park Eun-young shook his arm so hard his shoulder almost dislocated before letting him go.
“I didn’t know you were such a cute beauty. The support team, what did they say? Computer genius? That’s it. So I thought you were a normal species.”
In response to the beautiful and slender omega’s reckless praise, Lee Young-jin didn’t know what to do and just wiggled his shoulders. At that time, Ji Jung-hoon pushed him from behind and went inside. Lee Young-jin got cold feet but hesitantly headed inside.
“Do you have a boyfriend? How old are you? Are you sure you’re not underage?”
Lee Young-jin shook his head to all of them.
Park Eun-young didn’t care at all about the unsocial reaction and waved her hand at him, signaling him to come inside.
“Come in. Cold? Was it colder than Seoul? It’s -6 degrees in Seoul, right? This place shouldn’t be colder than Seoul.”
She chattered on.
“Do you mind the age? I know a good alpha. Nice. Sincere. He trades around Japan, and he’s smart for an alpha. Of all that I met, those were the best. Not an ignorant alpha like Jung-hoon.”
Ji Jung-hoon hit her side hard with his fist.
“What are you talking about with a child?”
“That’s right, judging from Jung-hoon’s age, you and I are both children.”
“Wanna die?”
Ji Jung-hoon bared his teeth but Park Eun-young laughed, kicking him in the shin before quickly turning around.
“Anyway, come in. I’ve only just arrived, but everything is here. Let me guide you. Oh, did you eat already? Would you like something to eat?”
She continued speaking without waiting for Lee Young-jin’s answer.
“But I’ve never seen extraordinary species do such a thing. Especially a cute omega like you. We don’t usually do that. What I’m saying is. Sitting at the end of a desk and messing around with something.”
Such words have already been heard many times and were no longer new. Lee Young-jin just put on an embarrassed expression.
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