Chapter 15: The Early Dawn (4)

“Plaster face, I’m cold…”

While the boys had made it to the rock and were currently hiding from any more rain, they had still gotten soaked on the way. Myeong-su was feeling the effects of it more than the others, as he had already been rather tired even before the rain. His lips had already started to turn a shade of blue. “Try to fight it off just a bit. It’ll stop raining soon.” The boy hugged Myeong-su from behind, and the two older boys joined in kind. Had they not been exhausted from climbing up the mountain, they wouldn’t have had to go through such an ordeal, but it was already done. The boy looked up at the sky, but the rock obscured most of his field of vision, and the rest of what he could see was being covered by the heavy rain. All in all, there was no way for him to distinguish how far the rainclouds had traveled.

Soon after, the cold started to creep up the boy’s back and settle in. The hand resting against Myeong-su’s shoulder tensed, and he clutched at the pendant on his neck with his other hand.

‘Father, please help us.’

****

A midsized sedan pulled up inside the institute, and once it reached the front door, the chairman and the executive secretary got off. It being the beginning of summer, the chairman had left to go eat some hearty chicken soup as a pick-me-up and had returned with an even bigger belly. He walked into the building, patting his bloated stomach, and the executive followed after him with a hungry look in his eyes.

“Well then, Chairman. I will take care of the quarterly fiscal report and fix it as you’ve suggested.”

“Yes, yes, please do. You have no idea how helpful you are. I couldn’t do this without you. I’m fully honest, I’m sure you know.”

His belly was full, and everything was smooth sailing. His mood couldn’t be better. Perhaps, he thought, he would return home early and do his duty as a good head of the household. Regardless of the chairman’s cheerfulness, the executive secretary continued to express his concerns. “You also have four children graduating this year, so perhaps a cut in the staff…?” Yet the chairman simply let out a boisterous laugh. “If children leave, we just need to find more. The people working here are all experienced professionals, we can’t just fire them so easily. If we get rid of teachers now, and replace them later when we need them, it’ll be hard on the children, too. If we have an overabundance of staff, we’ll just find new work to give them. That way, the institute keeps running smoothly, and we support the growth of our country. Isn’t that right? And that’s exactly your job as executive secretary. Have a good talk with Director Lee down at City Hall. Who knows? Maybe we’ll end up with more children enrolled in the institute.”

The executive secretary’s expression had turned rather sour at the chairman’s words, but the latter simply patted his shoulder, playing the role of the compassionate chairman who knew how to console others. “Come, now. Let’s go up and enjoy a nice cup of coffee. I heard we just got some very high quality beans the other day.” “Yes, chairman. Let’s do that.” The executive secretary guarded his expression and once again followed the chairman. When the director of administration saw them pass by, he clicked his tongue once and quickly made his way towards the administration office, so as to not be seen.

“Miss Lee, please make me a cup of coffee. Make it strong.” With that short instruction, he took his place at his desk and loosened his tie as he slumped back in his chair. He noted that it had become harder for him to properly tie a tie, maybe due to all the weight he had gained. While he knew that it was likely due to his age, he wondered briefly whether he should go on one of those so-called “diets.”

With his coffee in hand, which the secretary had brought him, he glanced out the window. It was pouring earlier, but it seemed to have let up somewhat. It was typical of summer rains. They came unexpectedly, poured heavily, and left just as suddenly as they came.

“A rain shower…”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Please don’t mind me, go back to your work.”

The secretary went back to staring at her monitor. The director had no time to fuss over his employees. If he could get his hands on the last few pieces of evidence, he could have the chairman fired. The chairman’s corruption was obvious to anyone who cared to look, but the executive secretary’s barricade was near impenetrable. Thinking of it, the chairman’s circle of influence wasn’t to be trifled with. He had people of power above and below, which secured his position even further. ‘Hee-sook Hwang and Myeong-ja Kang, in the foundation’s board of directors, and the executive secretary.’ Even with those powerful people supporting the chairman, the director of administration knew that he would fall from grace sooner or later, and he would come out of it as grubby as a drowned rat in this summer shower. In the end, the director had a powerful backing too, straight from the upper tier of the foundation. He took a sip of the dark coffee, wondering when the rain would stop.

It was around lunchtime when the heavy rain started to let up. It had only rained for about three hours (not that it had exactly stopped yet), but this short rain had been enough to turn the institute teacher’s blood cold.

“Ms. Park, what’s the matter?” One of the assistant instructors asked. The teacher had yet to leave the front door, and she wasn’t one to go out and admire the rain.

“Oh no, no matter. No matter at all. I just um…I like looking at the rain. And I was wondering when the children would come back.”

‘Does she have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?’ The assistant instructor couldn’t help but think something was indeed very wrong. The children who had left for the weekend wouldn’t be back for another four hours, and even setting that aside, Ms. Park wasn’t one to be so concerned over the wellbeing of the children. The assistant instructor regretted even asking anything and went off to find some other work.

The teacher, on the other hand, glared at the instructor, internally screaming ‘Mind your own business!’ to the retreating figure before looking outside again. It would still be a while before the rain fully stopped, and even now she felt as though the children would come running back as usual, through the rain and across the courtyard. She would yell at them quite sternly then, about how they should have gotten back the instant it started raining, and about why it took them so long in the first place. About how worried she was. Then the children would cry and apologize, their tears mixing with the rain, and promise to be good and listen to her from now on. If that happened, she would get down on her knees and look at them before hugging them. “I prayed for your safety,” she would tell them, “just as a mother prays for the safety of her children. I’m so glad you’re safe.” The passing teachers and students would all see that, and they would be witness to her concern. She might have to turn in a report for oversight, but they wouldn’t go as far as taking disciplinary action. She wouldn’t have to look at the chairman’s little eyes and kneel to him, begging for forgiveness. Please, she thought, please be safe. Please let this day pass like any other day. She continued to pray, though she wasn’t sure who to pray to.

Meanwhile, completely unaware that someone desperately wanted them to be safe, the children relied on each other’s heat, waiting for the rain to pass. Thanks to the short rest, they seemed to have regained some of their strength.

“Hyung-geun hyung. We should go now.” Cheol-yong suggested tentatively. Hyung-geun knew that the time had come to make a decision. Glancing at Myeong-su, he could see that the younger boy was still very tired. Just continuing to wait for an indefinite amount of time wasn’t an optimal solution. “Alright,” he answered, “it’s not raining as much anymore, so we should be able to get down.”

The boy also judged that it was as good a time as any to start the descent again and nodded in agreement. Strangely enough, he didn’t feel as cold anymore, which he attributed to having regained his strength. Myeong-su didn’t say anything, but his lips were now back to their normal color, a good indication that he could move again. Starting with Hyung-geun, the children took careful step after careful step towards the foot of the mountain. As soon as they started, they felt the heat leave their bodies again, perhaps due to being under the rain, or perhaps due to their wet clothes sticking to their skin. Or perhaps it was due to both, but regardless of the reason, Myeong-su started to shake quite violently and gripped the boy’s arm more tightly.

Though they were taking the same path they had taken to go up the mountain, the ground was now covered in wet leaves, raising the risk of tripping or slipping. This only helped to heighten the boys’ anxiety. They didn’t speak as they walked, but they were all filled with an immense feeling of dread and panic. In the end, Myeong-su struggled to walk properly. He tripped over his own feet and slipped.

“Myeong-su!”

<The Early Dawn (4)> End