CH183 | VOC

One day, two days, three days…

Yong Gi-un remained shut in his house for three days.

He peeked through the window, checking his surroundings, and muttered, “Are they really not going to kill me?” Perhaps they were just trying to lull him into a false sense of security, or maybe they would return and take the money when he left the house.

But then he chuckled. “No, that’s not likely. They wouldn’t have let me go in the first place.”

After three days of silence, he finally felt safe.

He threw himself onto the bed, buried his face in the pillow, and shouted softly, “I’m rich!” He had handled larger sums of money during his successful days, but this was a fortune in his current situation.

It was money earned through honest labor, after enduring hardship and facing death, a symbol of his newfound freedom and a glimmer of hope.

“This is… not a dream, is it?” He had returned alive from a near-death experience, with 20 million yuan in his pocket, a sum an ordinary worker in China couldn’t earn in 3,000 years. It was enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life, as long as he didn’t overspend. “But what should I do with this money?”

He couldn’t deposit it in a bank. His creditors were watching him like hawks, and they would seize the money instantly if he deposited it. “I’ll keep it at home for now.”

20 million yuan weighed 200kg and took up a lot of space. He had nothing valuable left after his business failed, so there was no safe place to hide it. He couldn’t bury it, as he didn’t own any land, and buying land would alert his creditors. And he couldn’t ask anyone to hold it for him either. He had ruined his family and friends with his failed business, no one would trust him.

“I’ll buy a safe and bury it somewhere later,” he thought, hiding the money under his bed and covering it with clothes. “This is a gift from God, a second chance.”

He vowed to turn his life around, to make up for his past mistakes. “I should repay my friends who lent me money.” He wanted to repay his friends who had trusted him, even though he couldn’t repay all his debts.

“And… my wife.” He remembered his wife, who had stayed with him even after his business failed but had eventually left, unable to bear his descent into alcoholism.

“I’ll find her, apologize, and ask for another chance. I’ll make her happy this time. But first…”

He took out 1,000 yuan from under the bed. “A survival celebration!”

***

“Hahaha, drink up! It’s on me!”

Mr. Han, his regular drinking buddy, said, “Yong, where have you been? And where did you get the money?”

“I was working on a deep-sea fishing vessel,” he lied, explaining his absence.

Mr. Han’s eyes widened. “A deep-sea fishing vessel? Isn’t that dangerous and difficult?”

“It is, but the pay is good.”

“So this is all from that?”

“That’s right. I earned it through hard work. So drink without holding back!”

“Really? Alright. We’ll do that. Should we invite the others? They won’t miss a free drink.”

He was referring to their other drinking buddies. Yong Gi-un shouted enthusiastically, “Yes! Invite everyone! It’s on me!”

After three days of continuous drinking, he woke up, stretching. “Mmm~ good morning.” He checked the money under his bed and smiled. “Good morning to you too.” He hummed. “Life is good. But why do I miss that island?”

He had been living in constant fear of death on the island, but he had also felt a sense of purpose, a sense of camaraderie with the workers. And he had been treated like royalty. He shook his head. “No, no, freedom is better. Definitely.”

Just then,

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Someone was pounding on his door.

“Yong Gi-un!” a gruff voice shouted.

He froze. “They’re here.” He had thrown the party to create an alibi, knowing his creditors would come looking for him after his long absence. They would assume he had fled the country. He had no time or means to hide the money, so he had decided to create a cover story. By announcing his return and bragging about the money he had earned from deep-sea fishing, he hoped to deflect their attention from the rest of the money.

He hurriedly checked under the bed and reinforced the hidden compartment with a wooden board. “Good, it’s secure.” He covered it with clothes and then went to the door, feigning fear. “W-who is it?”

“Open the door! Now!”

He opened the door, and a fierce-looking man grabbed him by the collar and dragged him inside. “Let go of me!”

“Where have you been for the past eight months?!”

“W-well, I…”

“We thought you had skipped town!”

“I-I’m sorry. Something came up…”

The man smirked. “Something came up? What kind of ‘something’?”

“A p-personal matter.”

“Don’t lie. You were on a deep-sea fishing vessel, weren’t you?”

He was relieved that his lie had worked. He feigned surprise. “H-how did you know?”

“Your friends and you are all the same. One of them offered me information about your whereabouts for 100 yuan.”

He was disappointed, but not surprised. They had been drinking buddies for years, sharing their joys and sorrows, but he had been sold out for a measly 100 yuan.

“So, how much did you make?”

“W-well… about 5,000 yuan.”

“Don’t lie! We’ve already investigated! You were making at least 2,000 yuan a month, and you couldn’t have spent any money on the ship. You must have made at least 16,000 yuan. Search the house!”

His men started ransacking the house. “Please stop! Please!”

“Shut up!”

They found the 13,000 yuan he had hidden and brought it to their boss.

“This is all he has.”

“That’s it? Why do you only have this much?!”

Yong Gi-un clutched his leg, his face filled with despair. “Please! Leave me some! I can’t even live without this!”

“Don’t be pathetic!” He kicked him away. “Why do you only have this much?!”

“…”

“Answer me!”

“I spent some… with my friends… for the welcome back party…”

The man scoffed. “Friends who sell you out for 100 yuan? What a touching friendship. Well, it’s better than nothing. Here, I’ll leave you 500 yuan. Use it to get back on that ship. And this time, you’ll be working with us. Don’t even think about running away again.”

His words were different from what he had expected, but he noticed they hadn’t found the compartment under the bed. He suppressed his anger and thought, ‘Just you wait. I’ll use this money to hire someone, somehow, I’ll get out of this mess. I even survived that island!’

Just as he was glaring at the man’s back, the man stopped and muttered, “Oh, right, I also heard a rumor… that you hid some slush funds when you were running your company.”

“Me? That’s impossible! If I had that kind of money, would I be in this situation?!”

“I doubt it too, but… I have some information…”

“I swear I don’t have any money! If I did, I would have fled the country!”

“Hmm, it wouldn’t hurt to check. Search the house again.”

This time, they were more thorough, breaking furniture and overturning everything. As they approached the bed, he said, his face pale, “Please don’t! I’ll repay you! I swear! I’ll work on the ship and repay you! Where am I supposed to sleep if you destroy everything?! Please, give me more time!”

“I understand you’re desperate, but we have to check. I’ll give you 1,000 yuan for the damages. How about that? This cheap furniture isn’t worth more than 1,000 yuan anyway. It’s my way of apologizing. But I can’t ignore this information, can I?”

“I’ll sell my organs to repay you! Please!” he shouted desperately as they closed in on the bed.

But his desperation only fueled the man’s suspicion. “This is strange. You were happy with 1,000 yuan before. Why are you so desperate now? You’re more agitated than when we took the money you supposedly earned from the fishing vessel.”

“That’s…”

“Search everything! Something’s fishy.”

And five minutes later, they found the money hidden under his bed.

***

Yong Gi-un sat in the rain, his shoulders slumped, tears streaming down his face, his body bruised and battered. “Why? Why are you doing this to me? I thought you were giving me a second chance… a chance to live a normal life…”

The sweet dream he had briefly entertained had vanished like rain absorbed by the earth.

“Why?! Why?!” He had tasted hope, and the despair of losing it was crushing. He had wanted to return to the mainland and enjoy his freedom, but the mainland had offered him nothing but cruel despair. He trembled.

“Am I going back… back to that life? Struggling to pay my debts, being evicted for unpaid rent?” It would have been better if he hadn’t had the money at all. The fleeting taste of hope had made the reality of his situation even more unbearable.

He had even accepted his death on the island. He said with a hollow voice, “Just kill me. My life is worthless. I was ready to die on the island. There’s no place for me in this world.” As he stood up shakily, a figure appeared before him.

“Are you alright, Mr. Yong?”

His eyes were swollen from the beating, so he couldn’t see clearly, but he recognized the voice. “Black… Tiger?”

“Yes, it’s me. What happened?” Black Tiger rushed over and helped him up. “My goodness, you’ve been badly beaten. What happened?”

“…” He had considered Black Tiger his enemy, but he felt a strange sense of comfort now, a human warmth he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Are you okay?”

He wiped his tears. “I-I’m fine. What are you doing here, Black Tiger?”

“You should take care of your injuries first…”

He smiled, thinking this was Black Tiger’s final act of kindness before killing him. “I’m fine. I have to go somewhere.”

“You have to go somewhere? Then this is a bit awkward…”

“What?”

“He’s very pleased with the base. He wants you to design and supervise the construction of a second base.”

A ray of light pierced through the dark clouds.

“The terms are the same as before, but he’s offering you 1.5 times the previous payment.”

The mainland had offered him freedom but had also taken away his hope. But the island offered him everything in exchange for his freedom.

He looked up at Black Tiger. “R-really?”

“Of course. But you said you had somewhere to go?”

“It’s not important. Just a personal matter. But are you serious?”

“About what?”

He said with a hopeful expression, “He’s really pleased with the base?”

Black Tiger smiled. “He was very impressed. He personally inspected every corner of the facility and said it exceeded his expectations.”

“Ah…” A jolt of electricity shot through him. “He… he liked it… ah…”

The mainland, which he had longed for, was a dark and desolate hell, and the island, which he had considered a prison, was paradise.

And the “benefactor”…

‘So that’s who they were talking about… the “benefactor.” I understand now. He’s a savior.’

His salvation hadn’t come from God. It had come from “him.”

He knelt down. “My savior… the one who pulled me out of the darkness…”

He bowed towards the unknown benefactor, who might be watching from somewhere on the island. “I, Yong Gi-un, will dedicate my life to building you the greatest base.”

The island wasn’t a prison. It was where he belonged, under his benefactor’s protection.

His eyes, once dull and lifeless, were now filled with a renewed sense of purpose. “I’ll repay your kindness for the rest of my life.”