Hakyung moved swiftly under the clear water, to the point where even the smallest grain of sand was visible.
The movement of his smooth legs and arms was as natural as a fish’s.
While he held a large basket at his side, Hakyung soon found his spot and started rummaging through the ground.
As he stirred the sand and large leaves, the water quickly turned into a murky mess.
Hakyung gently shook the basket.
Light mud was swept away by the current, and inside the basket, small, plump shrimp jumped up.
Thinking that today would be the last time he would encounter these little creatures, he felt a bittersweet emotion.
“Hakyung! Is it all done?”
“Yes! This is the last basket!”
“Oh, hurry up and come up! It’s cold!”
Hakyung brightly responded to the voices of his uncles from afar.
With a shout of “Eutcha!” he balanced the basket on his head and moved his feet.
Indeed, swimming was much faster than walking in the water, but he had to move carefully, afraid the shrimp he had caught would be swept away by the current.
He climbed a small hill and emptied the basket into the large container that held today’s catch.
His uncles, standing nearby, patted him on the shoulder and complimented him.
“Hakyung, you packed it up tight for the last one, huh?”
“Yeah, well. What’s going to happen to that Aesu (shrimp) in our village now?”
“Aesu? It’s not Aesu, it’s Aisu! Eh, I-su!”
“Aesu or Aisu, what’s the difference! Geez!”
Hakyung laughed shyly at his uncles’ banter and firmly put on the cap he had left by the basket.
It felt as natural as breathing to cover his head with the cap.
His uncles gave him a final, congratulatory word and handed him an envelope.
It was his payment for the week.
Clutching the precious payment, Hakyung quickly ran home.
The roof, which had been patched with slate plates, looked as though it would collapse any moment, but it boasted sturdy strength that had lasted for over 20 years.
“Grandma! I’m home!”
Throwing off his slippers, Hakyung suddenly opened the bedroom door.
His grandmother, Lee Mal-Sook, who had been sewing, greeted him with a smile while holding a piece of fabric.
“Oh my, has my little piggy come back?”
“Yup! Little piggy is back!”
Hakyung grinned and wrapped his arm around his grandmother’s waist.
She was the one who had raised him and his siblings in place of their parents, who had passed away early.
It was natural to feel deep affection for her, more than family.
Since the origin of dolphins was “pig whale,” his grandmother always called Hakyung and his siblings “little piggy” instead of “little puppy.”
They had heard this phrase so many times as children that there was no awkwardness at all.
“Here, Grandma! This is my payment for the week. Let’s go to the bank together tomorrow.”
“Oh… you’ve worked hard, good job!”
“Hard work? It’s just something I have to do.”
His grandmother’s eyes welled up with tears as she thought about the hard work Hakyung had done to pay off his debts.
She felt deeply upset whenever she thought about how Hakyung had been out catching shrimp all day, from morning until late at night, with hands so swollen they looked as though they might burst.
On the other hand, Hakyung smiled cheerfully with a carefree face.
He was grateful that he could make money to support his grandmother, who had raised him and his siblings, especially since her back had bent with the years.
“Young people are the real treasure. This level of hardship doesn’t even count as real suffering,” he thought.
All Hakyung wished for was that his grandmother could live the rest of her life peacefully, without debts.
At just 24 years old, Hakyung had matured far too early, leaving his grandmother even more upset without even realizing it.
Hakyung patted his grandmother’s shoulder with a composed expression.
“Don’t worry, Grandma. When I go to Seoul, I’ll make even more money. You just stay with the uncles and aunts and have fun, okay?”
“Alright, that’s what you should do. Grandma will be waiting for my little piggy. Go and come back healthy, okay?”
“Of course! If I lose my health, I won’t have anything left!”
Hakyung pretended not to notice the tears welling in his grandmother’s eyes as he shrugged his shoulders.
Just three more years of hard work, and he could live happily with his grandmother for the rest of his life, without worry.
“But is it really reliable? Isn’t Kim Taeyoung lying to you again?”
“No, no, he’s not that bad. Don’t you remember, Taeyoung saved my life?”
“That may be true, but…”
Even after Hakyung’s explanation, his grandmother didn’t fully look convinced.
After reassuring her several times, Hakyung was finally able to put his grandmother’s worries to rest.
Having comforted his grandmother, it was only two days after arriving in Seoul that Hakyung found himself sitting, homeless, in a corner of a building.
“Damn. Kim Taeyoung, you bad son of a…”
Muttering the harshest words he knew, he pressed his cap down even further.
The address Kim Taeyoung had given him was displayed clearly on his phone screen: Seoul, OO, XXX Street 32-7, 3rd floor.
He had double-checked the address several times after finding the neighborhood, but it was nowhere to be found.
When he had asked him earlier, he’d helpfully attached a map to guide him…
What a thoughtful way to mess with me, creating a fake address and even providing a map.
It was almost touching, how much effort he put into this prank.
He couldn’t get in touch with him, maybe because he’d blocked his number.
It was only natural.
Even though Hakyung had been soft on him before, this time, he was too angry to let it slide.
“Damn.”
But what was the point of being angry now?
He didn’t even know where to direct his anger.
The cold air slapped his face, mocking him like a foolish dolphin, and passed by.
He rubbed his sore cheeks, but his hands were too cold to be of any use.
Going back to his hometown like this wasn’t an option.
He had boasted to his grandmother and the village elders about making lots of money, and defending Kim Taeyoung, who had made him the subject of ridicule, was bound to reach its limit soon.
Stuck in a dilemma, Hakyung sighed deeply.
Wandering aimlessly in Seoul, a city where he had no connections, was starting to feel like too much.
Having stayed up all night, Hakyung’s eyes kept closing.
He opened his mouth wide and yawned.
The warmth of the sunlight pouring into the corner of the building, though he didn’t know what kind of building it was, felt incredibly comforting.
With a sense of apology toward the building’s owner, Hakyung buried his face in his knees.
He decided to sleep for just 30 minutes.
He was serious.
“…Hey, hey!”
Just as he was drifting into a sweet slumber, someone nudged his foot.
A sense of irritation rose in his face at the relentless force.
He swatted at the foot, but the stranger skillfully avoided his hand and continued poking his foot.
The pain from his stubbed toes was too much for him to keep his eyes shut.
Reluctantly, Hakyung lifted his heavy eyelids and looked up at the person responsible for this force.
The backlight was so strong that he couldn’t make out the person’s face, but he could tell that the person was huge—almost like a door frame.
He had never seen someone so big in his life.
The imposing figure of the man made Hakyung’s eyes grow wide.
He quickly lifted his butt off the ground, expecting him to raise his foot again.
“Sorry, sorry!”
“What the hell? What are you doing sleeping here?”
“Well…”
Now that Hakyung’s eye level had risen, he got a good look at the man’s face, and his expression became even more frightened.
How could someone look so intimidating…!?
Most of the people Hakyung had known were either village elders with soft, round faces, his siblings who looked just like him with round faces, or Kim Taeyoung, who was always praised for his looks.
The people he had been around had soft, round curves.
But this man—his rough, angular face was terrifying.
Shivering, Hakyung awkwardly apologized, “Sorry. I’ll leave now.”
He tried to move to the left.
But the large shadow followed him, moving to the left as well.
He gasped quietly and quickly moved to the right.
Naturally, the large shadow moved to the right as well.
After several rounds of moving back and forth, Hakyung realized that the man was purposely following him.
Was he expecting some sort of fee for sleeping here…?
With only 20,000 won in his pocket, Hakyung’s hands trembled.
“Give it to me.”
“Excuse me?”
“That scrap of paper.”
The man pointed to a piece of paper sticking out of Hakyung’s pocket.
Lowering his head at the gesture, he grabbed the paper—his resume that he had worked on for days before coming to Seoul.
How did he even spot this?
But in this situation, it was nothing more than a piece of paper.
Just as the man had said, it was nothing more than a “scrap of paper.”
“Well, it’s just a resume.”
Hakyung tried to hide it as though it was no big deal, but the man remained silent, holding his hand out, clearly expecting it.
Reluctantly, Hakyung placed the resume into his hand.
“Follow me.”
He briefly scanned the resume and then said—no, ordered.
His commanding tone made Hakyung blink in surprise.
Without realizing it, he began to follow him, like a baby duck following its mother.