Chapter 176

Vacation to Jeju (2)

“I’ll write down the details later and send them to you. For now, you should just clear your schedule.”

“Yes, sir!”

Chief Kim was grinning so widely that it felt like his lips were about to fall off his face. With the kids already being pumped up, now that even he was in the mood for it, it really felt like we were going on a vacation.

Now that I think about it, have I ever been on a trip? In my previous life, every day was a struggle just to survive, and now that I had been reincarnated, I was so busy that it felt like I was constantly on the run. In retrospect, this was likely my first ever ‘outing’.

“Oooh! The plane is taking off!”

“It’s a really strange feeling.”

After a while, the plane had taken off to much excitement. It would take an hour for us to reach Jeju.

I focused my attention on examining the letters that had been sent by Sang-Ho.

‘Even if we do find the address, there’s no guarantee that we’ll find clues there.’

He had already been missing for five years. If the guesthouse had closed or changed owners during this time, it would make our search even more difficult; and due to the nature of the place, having seen so many people pop in and out, it would be questionable if anyone even remembered Sang-Ho.

The last letter that had been sent was the most important of the lot. A truly tiny clue was embedded within the text. So small that it was hard to notice…

[…was nice. While looking at the sea, a lot of thoughts came to mind. The meaning of family… although it’s difficult at times, thanks to the people I’ve met here… it’s in a great location, that makes it easy to go and play or just rest…]

Hmm. No matter how many times I saw it, I just couldn’t be sure I was right. As someone who was in the midst of worrying about his future, all he should be thinking about was how to live his life. However…

I folded the letter and slid it into Chief Kim’s bag.

***

We arrived at Jeju International Airport. We rented a car and drove straight to Nohyeong Borough, directly to the address that had been written on the envelope.

Driving along a road lined with palm trees, the unique scenery of Jeju shot past us. Meanwhile, Sang-Beom’s expression was stiffening, as if something was slowly sinking in. This is why he should have avoided getting his hopes up too high. Since the higher they are, the greater the disappointment when it all comes falling down.

“I think we’re almost there?”

While keeping a hold of the steering wheel, Chief Kim scanned our surroundings. However, he couldn’t spot any signs for a guesthouse. We parked the car and set out on foot to find the right place.

“I think it might be this building.”

We had found an old, five-story building. It was the type of shopping outlet that would commonly be seen in most suburbs, with laundry and skin care facilities. It looked like the fourth and fifth floors were vacant.

I entered the building and started searching the mailboxes.

“What are you looking for?”

“Just about anything. For now, we’re just trying to see what we can stir up. Ji-Hye, you go and ask the laundromat if this place used to be a guesthouse. And ask them if they know someone named Choi Sang-Ho.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

“Chief Kim, go up and take a look to see if anyone is in. Sang-Beom and I will stay here to search.”

“Understood.”

One by one, I checked each of the dust-covered letters. It seemed that the building changed tenants frequently, as there was a bewildering amount of different companies and names attached to this address.

“You said that you and your hyung didn’t call each other often, right?”

“Yes. We only spoke to each other through our letters. I don’t even know his phone number. On the rare occasions he did call, it was always through a payphone or borrowing a store’s phone.”

Sang-Beom’s voice suddenly became gloomy. Even though they’re brothers, they’re in a relationship where the younger brother doesn’t even know his older brother’s phone number. It appeared that he was starting to feel like should avoid the reality of his situation. The reality that his hyung may have abandoned him.

“Don’t give up now. Let it all out after we’ve found your hyung. Since we don’t know anything yet.”

Thinking that it might be because of what I had said back at the orphanage, I said this in the softest voice I could manage. Sang-Beom silently nodded before continuing to rummage through the mail.

“They said that there used to be a guesthouse. But it went bankrupt one or two years ago.”

“The door upstairs is locked. I couldn’t find anything on the outside either.”

Chief Kim and Ji-Hye returned, failing to bring back any helpful information. Unfortunately, Sang-Beom and I were in the same situation. As I looked up and down the street, I couldn’t shake a gloomy feeling. However I spotted a comic book rental store located on the other side of a crosswalk.