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The hum of the coffee machine filled the small café where Kang Hyejin worked, the sound blending into the soft murmur of customers chatting and the clinking of mugs. She wiped her hands on her apron, her eyes flitting to the phone on the counter. A familiar notification popped up: Gihun: Sent ₩10,000,000.
She sighed, her fingers hovering over the screen. For two years, Seong Gihun had been a ghost in her life, appearing only through text messages and occasional (yet growing frequent) wire transfers. Each message carried the same unspoken weight: an apology for failing to avenge the ones they had lost.
"Hyejin, table four needs a refill," her coworker called.
"On it," she replied, stuffing her phone into her pocket.
The minutes dragged on, and as the café emptied for the evening, Hyejin finally found a moment to sit down. She pulled out her phone, scrolling through Gihun's most recent messages.
Gihun:I've got a new lead. Another sighting near Busan. Maybe this time...
Hyejin:"Maybe"? That's what you said last time. And the time before that.
Gihun:I know. I'm sorry.
Her grip tightened on the phone. She hated the shame that bled through his words. Hated that he carried this burden alone, as if Saebyeok's death was his fault and not the fault of the monsters who ran the games.
Later that night, Hyejin sat in her small apartment, her younger brother Cheol asleep in the next room. The building they lived in was nearby to where Gihun's best friend's mother and her other sympathetic friends ran their stalls. The suitcase Gihun had given them still sat in the corner, barely half-empty after two years of rent, groceries, medical bills and other necessities.
The phone buzzed again.
Gihun:Can I call you?
She hesitated before typing back: Sure.
The call connected almost immediately.
"Hyejin-ssi," Gihun's voice came through, rough and weary.
"Gihun," she replied, leaning against the couch. "You sound like hell."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he said with a hollow chuckle.
"What's going on?" she asked, cutting to the chase. "Did you find him?"
"Not yet," Gihun admitted. "But we're close. The sightings in Busan are consistent. My guys think he's been recruiting there for weeks."
