Chapter 15

Chapter 15. Middle-Aged Men Going to Jeju

Saturday morning in Ulsan.

I stared at my phone screen for a long time, then slowly lowered it.

Coordinates on Jeju Island were displayed there.

A message sent by the remaining members of the Sinan smuggling organization.

And the golden marker inside my mind.

Both pointed to exactly the same place.

"Hmm."

Interesting.

There was treasure.

And there were suspicious people.

Then there was only one answer.

I had to go.

But for some reason, I didn't feel like going alone this time.

Seungman suddenly came to mind.

If I was going all the way to Jeju anyway, drinking alone would be worse than drinking with a friend.

I immediately called him.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"What?"

"Wanna go to Jeju?"

No answer came from the other end.

After about five seconds, Seungman finally spoke.

"All of a sudden?"

"Vacation."

"Bullshit."

"Half of it is true."

"I don't have money."

"I'm paying."

His voice immediately became even more suspicious.

"That's suspicious."

"Come on."

"When?"

"Today."

Another brief silence.

"You lunatic."

"You're coming?"

"I'm coming."

I chuckled and ended the call.

About thirty minutes later, Seungman appeared carrying one bag.

It was obvious he'd packed in a hurry.

Still, there was a hint of excitement on his face.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Seriously Jeju?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

Seungman stared hard at me for a moment.

Then suddenly asked,

"You won the lottery, didn't you?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"Business."

"What business?"

"The sea."

He stared at me for a long time.

Then finally shook his head.

"Fine. I'm not asking anymore."

"Smart."

We headed straight to Gimhae Airport.

I bought the plane tickets.

But Seungman kept checking the ticket prices on his phone until boarding, frowning the entire time.

"Hey."

"What?"

"These are expensive."

"It's fine."

"It's not fine."

"It's fine."

"You're seriously weird."

I laughed.

"Life is weird."

Before long, the plane arrived at Jeju Airport.

When we stepped outside, a clear sky and cool wind greeted us.

Even the air felt different from Ulsan.

Seungman looked around the moment we left the airport terminal.

"Nice."

"Right?"

"I don't want to work."

"That's normal."

"Should I move to Jeju?"

"If you have money."

"I don't."

Without thinking, I answered,

"I didn't either."

Seungman immediately turned his head.

"Past tense?"

"You're imagining things."

We went to pick up our rental car.

This time, I decided to spend a little.

A Genesis GV80.

Seungman's eyes widened when he saw it.

"Hey."

"What?"

"Nice."

"It is."

"I want to buy something like this someday."

I looked at Seungman for a moment.

I could buy one for him.

Considering the money I had now and the money that would come later...

It wasn't impossible.

But not yet.

If my life changed too quickly, too many people would start asking questions.

We drove the rental car to our accommodation.

A pension overlooking the sea.

The moment Seungman opened the window, he shouted toward the ocean.

"Wooooow!"

"You're loud."

"This is great!"

"It is."

Seungman immediately said,

"Let's drink."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"We just arrived."

"That's what traveling is."

I had no argument.

That evening, we found a nearby restaurant.

Jeju black pork.

Soju.

Beer.

And the drinking began again.

Before long, Seungman's face turned bright red.

He always loved drinking.

Now that we were on vacation, he clearly had no intention of controlling the pace.

"Hey."

"What?"

"You know it's been ages since we traveled together, right?"

I thought about it.

He was right.

Company.

Home.

Back to work.

Back home.

That had been almost our entire lives.

I couldn't even clearly remember the last time we'd gone on a trip as friends.

Probably more than ten years ago.

"You're right."

"This is good."

"It is."

We clinked our glasses.

Clink.

After a few more drinks, Seungman suddenly spoke.

"Hey."

"What?"

"When did we get this old?"

My glass stopped halfway up.

"Weren't we twenty just yesterday?"

"That was thirty years ago."

"Time's fast."

I laughed.

But at that moment, something strange moved in my chest.

Seungman would grow old.

Then what about me?

If the abilities the Genie had given me continued...

Maybe I wouldn't age.

Perhaps.

The thought crossed my mind only briefly.

Then I emptied my glass of soju.

I decided not to think about it for now.

After leaving the restaurant, we went for a second round at a food tent near the beach.

The sound of waves.

The night sea.

Squid.

Beer.

Perfect.

Seungman was already close to completely drunk.

"Hey."

"What?"

"I'm happy."

"Me too."

Seungman looked at me with drunken eyes.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

I chuckled.

"What's good?"

"You smile more than you used to."

I didn't answer.

"You used to look miserable all the time. These days, you look like you're actually living."

He wasn't wrong.

The lamp.

The powers.

Treasure.

Any of those could have been the reason.

But perhaps there was something bigger than all of them.

Hope.

The feeling that my life wasn't already over.

Maybe that was what had slowly changed me.

By dawn, we returned to the pension.

The instant Seungman lay on the bed, he started snoring.

Snore.

Snore.

"So loud."

I smiled at him, then quietly left the accommodation.

The night sea of Jeju was peaceful.

Moonlight stretched across the black water.

Only the distant sound of waves breaking against rocks could be heard.

Then the map appeared in my mind.

Flash.

The golden marker.

It was far stronger than when I'd seen it from Ulsan.

It was very close.

"As expected."

I slowly walked toward the coast.

It was a cliff with almost no people around.

No tourists.

Only the sound of waves crashing against rocks far below.

The golden marker pointed directly beneath the cliff.

"Here?"

The Genie's voice came.

"Yes."

"What's down there?"

"Go look."

I sighed.

"You're not telling me again."

"Seeing it yourself is more entertaining."

"For you."

I looked down from the cliff.

Black sea.

A deep cave carved beneath the rocks.

And somewhere farther inside...

Something was faintly glowing.

"Oh."

I was just about to move.

Then an unfamiliar voice came from behind me.

"Mr. Kim Taesik."

I slowly turned.

Three men in black suits stood there.

And at their center was a woman.

Sunglasses.

A cold expression.

Wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night made her stand out even more.

She looked at me and slowly smiled.

"We finally meet."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Who are you?"

The woman pulled out a business card and held it toward me.

"I'm the one who sent you the message regarding Sinan."

A brief silence followed.

So they had finally appeared.

The remnants of the Sinan smuggling organization.

No.

Something felt different.

This woman wasn't simply a surviving member.

She was higher up.

Possibly the real person behind everything.

The woman smiled.

"I came to propose a deal."

I smiled too.

"I don't really like deals."

"You'll like this one."

She pulled out a photograph.

I accepted it.

Then my expression stiffened.

I was in the photograph.

The waters off Sinan.

The treasure ship.

And me opening the box.

Everything had been photographed.

I looked away from the picture and stared at the woman.

She was still smiling.

"Shall we talk now?"

Violent waves crashed against the cliff below.

I'd definitely come to Jeju for treasure.

But apparently, this trip wasn't going to end with treasure alone.

The real story of Jeju Island was beginning.