Survival of the fittest - sae byeok

045

Sae:

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted icecream."

...

"What happened to your face? Did you fight with your friends?"

...

"If you keep silent like that, I'm going to leave."

I stood up.

"I don't want to stay here... you said you'd bring mom soon, you said we'd all live together...if I waited a month"

"Cheol.." what am I supposed to tell him? "... it's-"

"ALL THE KIDS SAY YOU LIED! They say you abandoned me here..."

"No." I pulled him into a hug. " mom and dad are going to come. I'll make sure they do... we'll all live under the same roof next year."

He wiped some of his stray tears.

"You know me, I don't lie, they'll be here soon."

"Cheol! Time to come inside!"

I hugged him one more time.

'Southern men, northern women.'

Seeing that all familiar sign I entered.

"I understand very well what your situation is like. But you know, it's impossible to find brokers once they've fled with money. You aren't the only victim. Some of the victims went all the way to dandong to catch them, but they were caught by the Chinese police and almost dragged back to the north."

"Then, is there any other way?" I asked.

"You'll need to hire another broker.. but as you probably know you'll have to start all over again."

"How much?"

" first off, they'll have to begin by locating your parents again. And the border security has been tightened, so the price of helping them cross the river shot up-"

"So how much?"

"At the least... you'll need 40 million won."

"Forty million..." the price repeated in my head over and over.

"That's just the price for taking them to China! If you want to bring them to the south-"

I had enough of hearing the same cash talk, picking up the boiling pot of tea and throwing it on his face. Then pulling out my pocketknife.

I held it up to his neck, grasping his hair. " I trusted what you said last time and sent the money. The money I risked my life to get..."

"Hey. I really had no idea, okay? I didn't know they'd run off with your money. I swear!"

"I will bring the money.. but if you scam me again? I'll slit that throat of yours."

And with that I left. Flipping the wad or cash I had just neatly sliced out of his pocket. I sat down on a bench. I still had Cheol's icecream in my hand.
May as well eat it.

So I had to find over 40 million won and then somehow get my parents out of the north. Then on top of that we have to buy a house that can hold all four of us. Cant believe those bastards voted to leav-

I was cut off by a smash.
I looked to wear the sound cane from, the entrance to a bar.

"OI GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK YOU BITCH"

"Hold on let's talk about this for a second-"

"YOURE NOT EVEN OLD ENOIGH TO BE IN HERE"

A girl and two men. The girl has h/c hair and a black backpack strung across her shoulders, she held what appeared to be the guy's money in her hand.

She was taking a few steps back as the men began to corner her,  she was limping on her ankle. One of the guys had thrown a glass bottle at her. Probably a beer bottle.

"You're gonna have until the count of three to give me my money back or this glass is going to plunge so deep into that neck of yours, that you'll be coughing up blood for days."

Geez.

"1"
...
She didn't budge.

"2"
...

"3-"

She darted to her left, waving the money in her hand,sprinting fast but struggling to
Maintain her pace due to her ankle. She hopped onto a green recycling bin and pulled herself onto the roof of a house and slipping down the drain pipe on the other side. I followed the path to where she should have ended up.

"Oi!"

I turned.

"Have tou seen a girl around this height with h/c hair and some
Money in her hand?"

"No, sorry"I replied coldly.

They muttered a few swears before sauntering back towards the bar.

I kept walking to the other side of the house she climbed.

And there she was... 045.  Well that explains the ankle. She was counting the cash she has stolen, stuffing it in her backpack before getting up and making her way to the corner shop. I followed.

She picked up a tub of instant ramen and a bottle of f/d before passing the tub to the woman behind the counter, asking her politely to heat it up for her.

It's not like I was stalking her, but I thought it would be a bit weird if I went into a shop and walked out with nothing, so I picked up a bottle of soda and waited for her to finish paying.

She pulled out her stack of cash.

"My my deary, have you just won the lottery?" The elderly woman behind the counter chuckled.

"Oh no I just got payed" she smiled back at her, taking two of the notes from the stack and handing them to her. She then took the rest of the money and put it into the charity bucket.

The woman looked up to her in shock. She wasn't expecting her to put that much money in there.

She simply smiled, taking her food and drink before saying a polite goodbye and walking out.

I didn't realise I was staring until the woman behind the counter coughed a few times. I muttered an apology before pulling out my wallet and paying.

I tried to catch up to 045

She was walking to a park now. But she paused when she saw something. There was a brown card sat on a bench. A card the same as when she first entered the game. She then sat down, pulling out her phone and typing in a number and pressing call.

I guess the games were back on.