Young-choi, wrapped in a bath towel,
She enters the bedroom and stands in front of the full-length mirror. In the soft light of the room,
She looks at her reflection and unconsciously examines her face,
As if searching for something that no longer exists.
No matter what she does,
she cannot calm her rapid breathing.
It feels like the sound of her heartbeat is whispering through the walls.
She murmurs under her breath. "It went by so fast."
She walks toward the bed and opens her arms before throwing herself backward onto it.
She takes a deep breath,
A sound that seems to rise from the depths of darkness.
She closes her eyes and in that short silence tries not to return to the past.
"Why did it end up like this?" she murmurs again.
Suddenly, the sweet, warm smell of cake fills the room,
A scent that, for a moment, takes her mind somewhere else.
"What is this smell? Cake!"
She quickly gets up and removes the towel from her body.
On her back and stomach, several old knife scars are etched,
Lines that look like a map of the past.
She puts on a long one-piece dress and quietly heads downstairs.
She goes down the stairs, and while stepping, her eyes scan every part of the house carefully,
Every corner seems to speak to her.
Everyone is sitting at the dining table, but the gentle murmurs of the children soften the house.
Su-bin places the tray of cake in front of herself and guards it like a tiny sentinel, her entire world is in that tray.
Her eyes are glued to the tray, watching every suspicious movement,
In case anyone dares to touch her cakes.
She carefully picks up a plate and brings it forward,
Every small movement of hers is monitored.
Young-choi sits beside Yoo-seok,
Her presence calm and dignified, yet fragile.
Su-bin places a plate in front of Hyun-ho and puts a piece of cake on it.
Young-choi smiles warmly at Su-bin and gestures to the rest. "My daughter, aren't you giving cake to the others?"
Su-bin honestly and a bit grumbling replies,"Mom, only uncle helped me. Whatever uncle told Dad to do, he didn't. Yoo-seok even fought with me." Her tone has a childish sweetness.
Gi-soo makes a face.
He childishly and carelessly looks away. Pretending to sulk.
"But Mom, I'll give you cake. Wait, I'll bring a plate now." Su-bin's tone is calm yet firm,
she wants to make things right.
Now Gi-soo looks at Young-choi with a bit of jealousy and quietly, almost silently, looks at her. "Why does she give you cake but not us? You didn't help her at all."
His sentence is childish.
The big man speaks in a childish tone and sulks again with childish behavior.
Young-choi smiles from deep within, like a brief light in the heart of night,
Special and fleeting.
Hyun-ho and Gi-soo stare at Young-choi in surprise,
Both know they have rarely seen such a smile from her.
This moment is unique.
Even Yoo-seok, sitting between his parents, looks at his mother curiously.
Su-bin places the plate in front of her mother and puts two pieces of cake on it.
She also shares the small portion with her mother.
Young-choi extends her hand toward Gi-soo, and Gi-soo extends his hand toward her,
Their hands meet—an intimate and hopeful moment.
Young-choi laughs again,
This time deeper and louder, a sound rising from her chest.
"Honey, are you okay?" Gi-soo looks at her in surprise.
Young-choi nods in confirmation,
But something hidden lies in her gaze.
She is very happy to have this family,
But traces of the past have entered their life together, and she is a little afraid.
She does not want to return to her past,
This decision is written in her eyes.
No one wants that dark, terrifying past to return.
Tears gather in Young-choi's eyes,
But before they fall, she quickly wipes them and smiles again,
A smile trying to keep hope alive.
Hyun-ho notices too,
But they try to keep adult problems to themselves.
Gi-soo, childishly and somewhat upset, looks at Su-bin, "Darling, aren't you giving Dad cake?"
Hyun-ho says in a childish tone, "Uncle wants milk too." Hyun-ho points to himself.
Su-bin looks at Gi-soo,
Then at Hyun-ho, then back at Gi-soo and, pointing at the tray, innocently says, "Well, it's finished. Nothing is left."
The tray is still full of cake.
In her eyes there is a bit of sadness, but she bravely states it.
Mom smiles at Su-bin, "I'll give some of my share to Dad and your brother."
A smile hiding thousands of words behind it.
"No Mom. These are yours… fine, fine… I'll give them cake.
"Honey, you don't help me at all, when I food cook, should I eat everything alone? Should I not give you any? None of you help me!" Words Young-choi tells Su-bin, but also a subtle jab at Gi-soo.
Su-bin thinks for a moment and silently goes to the cabinet to bring another plate,
She puts two cakes on the plate.
She looks at Yoo-seok and adds another one for him.
Cautiously and hesitantly, she slides the plate across the table toward them.
Two cakes for Yoo-seok and one for Gi-soo are on the plate.
Gi-soo reaches out his hand, his eyes sparkling.
Cake gets stuck in Hyun-ho's throat and causes a short cough, drawing everyone's attention.
Finally, Su-bin runs to the fridge, brings the milk bottle and puts it on the table.
She quickly goes to the cabinet to bring a glass.
At the same time, Gi-soo suddenly grabs a cake from the tray and stuffs the whole thing into his mouth,
So quickly that everyone is surprised.
Everyone stares at Gi-soo.
Su-bin sits on her chair, fills a glass with milk, and gives it to Hyun-ho.
Hyun-ho nods respectfully and drinks the milk.
Su-bin notices their looks at her father but ignores it and continues eating cake.
Yoo-seok, still staring at his father, "Dad, aren't you going to work today?"
Gi-soo's mouth is full and he cannot speak, he just shakes his head strongly to say no. Without uttering a single word.
"You didn't go yesterday either, why aren't you going today? What happened that even we didn't go to school?"
Gi-soo, forced to respond, only shrugs again without speaking.
He coughs a little, as if the cake had been stuck in his throat.
Young-choi stands up and calmly walks behind Gi-soo and pats his back with her palm.
[Maybe punishment!]
The cake jumps out of his mouth.
Su-bin stares at the cake in surprise, then at the tray of cake she had prepared for her father and brother.
All three pieces are still in the plate.
Yoo-seok proudly looks at his sister and secretly points at their father.
"Mom, Dad stole again." Su-bin says this childish sentence as if it is normal.
"Kids, enough. Finish this celebration quickly and go to your room, you didn't go to school today anyway." Young-choi's voice is warm and firm,
She wants to restore order.
_
Park Sun-jun stands inside an elevator of a tall tower as it reaches the top floor.
He calmly takes the last few stairs to the rooftop.
His steps are heavy and hesitant.
A helicopter is waiting for him on the rooftop,
As soon as he steps inside, the pilot starts the helicopter without speaking and takes off.
Everything seems planned like the gears of a clock.
_
Eventually, the children go to their room and a short silence settles in the kitchen.
Young-choi looks at Hyun-ho, "Well?" a question mixed with fear and hope.
Hyun-ho stays silent for a moment, then quietly explains, "I went to buy some vegetables for the restaurant. On the way back, several men attacked me. I was lucky; otherwise I would've been killed."
"Just like that? For no reason? Without anything?"
Hyun-ho pauses.
He thinks for a moment.
Young-Choi places his hand on hers. "Hyun, it's true that our group disbanded and we each started our own new lives, but we swore to stand by each other no matter what. Why do you think we're still alive?!" she whispers softly. "After all that crime and everything that happened,"
Hyun-ho says without hesitation, "We all owe Kim."
"I know. I know. And that's one reason, but there are other things too, like trust, like, like.."
Young Choi looks at Gi-soo and gestures for guidance.
Gi-soo, who has been ignoring this, quickly replies, "Support, solidarity, teamwork… But none of this would have been possible without Kim, honey. Everyone knows that I've been picking up his shit for years. But he's picked up mine many times."
Hyun-ho finally gives in and tells the truth.
He hesitates, "A few days ago some new customers came to the restaurant. They looked suspicious. It was the first time I saw them. One of them had a picture of me on his phone. They acted like they were checking me…"
Gi-soo, frightened, jumps into the middle of his words, "You've been exposed!"
Young-choi quickly grabs Gi-soo's hand and calms him gently, "Shh…"
After a pause, Hyun-ho continues, "I'm sure there was some information on that guy's phone." a sentence that hangs like a heavy shadow over the table.
Gi-soo quietly repeats from deep in his throat, "You've been exposed."
"I don't think so. I've lived like this for years. No way someone would just come after me like that! Maybe someone updated our information. I don't know… maybe… maybe I really was exposed." Hyun-ho tries to build a bridge between doubt and reality.
"What do you mean you don't know, man?! Pull yourself together." Gi-soo says with a choked and frightened voice.
Gi-soo wants to talk again but Young-choi squeezes his hand and with her eyes says, 'Not now,'
A tense silence.
"Well, what happened next?"
"Two nights later that incident happened, my mind went to those customers. I watched the camera footage and I was sure." Hyun-ho speaks with certainty.
Gi-soo and Young-choi together, "You sure?!"
Hyun-ho takes out his phone, scrolls through his gallery, and shows a frame from the restaurant camera,
An image of a man from behind checking his phone. He zooms in.
Gi-soo looks at the screen, "This is blurry. Nothing is clear. There's nothing here!"
Hyun-ho takes a screenshot and uploads it to an AI system.
The output is an older version of Hyun-ho, in a white suit beside a black Land Cruiser, resembling a bodyguard.
"But AI can make mistakes!" Young-choi says with doubt and a slight tremble in her voice.
Gi-soo looks at both of them in surprise, "Can it?"
Hyun-ho shakes his head with a quiet pain, "No, not with this accuracy. Not with this similarity. I remember this"
"I said you've been exposed." Hyun-Ho points to the photo.
Gi-soo repeats again.
"What do we do now?"
Young-choi leans back in her chair, "We must wait until he wakes up." an answer full of hope and anticipation.
_
An old airport.
A short runway, cracked asphalt, partially ruined,
An almost remote region, and tall trees absorbing the sound of the wind.
A constant silence.
Somewhere outside the city! Suspicious among tall cypress trees.
A helicopter lands at the old airstrip;
Park Sun-jun steps out. His steps are short and precise, a man who keeps his mask of secrets with every movement.
He brings a 20-liter plastic fuel container with him,
Something ordinary in appearance but carrying the weight of his decision.
He bends slightly and quickly walks toward a small room at the edge of the heliport.
The helicopter takes off again and leaves, and an eerie silence spreads everywhere.
Park Sun-jun opens the door of the small room and enters.
A few small cabinets,
A table and two chairs,
An old long-range radio,
A generator that has clearly not been used for a long time,
And a few tools leaning against the wall.
Everything is covered in dust.
Park Sun-jun pours the fuel into the generator.
After several attempts with the hand crank, the generator starts.
Its sound gradually fills the room, waking the heart of the place.
Suddenly the light turns on, but due to fluctuation, it bursts immediately.
He flinches and moves to the corner of the room.
The room becomes almost dark.
He turns on the long-range radio, its small light and screen shining like a beam in the dark.
From the ceiling vent, an upper hatch slightly opens and a small communication antenna rotates from vertical to horizontal.
He sets the radio to a specific frequency and presses the
button three times.
Each time a soft static sound comes from the speaker.
A few seconds later, the reply static is heard.
He sends a Morse message with the radio key,
Each dot and dash part of a map.
Each press creates only static, but the meaning is hidden within it.
Message text, 'Orange position. Orange position.'
Short Morse reply, 'Soon.'
Park Sun-jun sits on the chair and waits, his eyes fixed on the cabin door.
He tries to monitor all sounds.
…
A little later, a faint and strange howl is heard in the sky,
A sound approaching unexpectedly as it glides through the air.
He opens a small hatch in the cabin wall and looks around and at the sky,
Suddenly a small two-seat electric aircraft passes low in front of the cabin.
Untraceable.
Park Sun-jun returns the communication antenna to its original position,
He turns off the radio.
He shuts down the generator.
He leaves the cabin,
The aircraft lands again on the runway and stops in front of the cabin,
It turns,
Its nose facing the opposite direction of landing,
Park Sun-jun steps toward the aircraft.