Chapter 6: Because I Swore to Protect Him

That day was no different from any other.

Han-geon and Eun-gyeol walked home from school together, stayed behind in the classroom to finish all their homework, and were on their way back after playing at the playground until late.

— What have you ever done for me?! You just keep me locked up in that damn hospital!

— Enough already, Eun-gyeol’s almost home!

Shrill shouting erupted from inside Eun-gyeol’s house.

It was a woman’s voice—one Han-geon had never heard before. Something seemed to smash every now and then.

It must be Eun-gyeol’s mother.

Han-geon instinctively knew.
And the moment he forced himself to look toward Eun-gyeol, Eun-gyeol suddenly turned away from his house and started running.

“Eun-gyeol! Wait for me!”

But Eun-gyeol didn’t respond.

He only ran—light and fast like a flying squirrel. Han-geon finally managed to catch him only once they reached the playground.

“Haah… haah… Eun-gyeol, you—”

“Han-geon…”

When Eun-gyeol turned around, tears were streaming down his face.

He stood in the middle of the empty playground and cried for a long time.

Han-geon was too young to understand everything happening between adults, but seeing Eun-gyeol cry so miserably made his heart ache.

He wanted to comfort him.

The whole time Eun-gyeol cried, Han-geon awkwardly wrapped his arms around him and patted his back.

He wondered why Eun-gyeol’s mother had suddenly come home, whether she would stay, and why she was behaving like that… but he didn’t ask.

“…I don’t want to go home.”

Who knows how long he cried—Eun-gyeol finally spoke, his face swollen from tears.

Darkness had already settled over the playground, and the swings the two boys sat on swayed gently.

Han-geon, too, couldn’t bear the thought of sending Eun-gyeol back to that dangerous-looking home.

In the end, he made a careful suggestion.

“…Do you want to sleep over at my place tonight?”

“Really? Is that okay?”

Seeing Eun-gyeol visibly brighten, Han-geon nodded firmly.

“Yeah.

My mom and dad like you.

You can sleep in my room.”

“Thank you…”

That night, Han-geon shared his small bed with Eun-gyeol.

His mother and father looked at the boy with heavy worry and sympathy in their eyes, but they still readily agreed.

They also contacted Eun-gyeol’s father for him.

After showering together and changing into pajamas, the two boys played in Han-geon’s room for a long while.

To keep Eun-gyeol from hearing the loud noises coming from next door, Han-geon deliberately turned up the volume on the songs he liked.

They stayed up late, eating snacks, doing their homework together, and looking through Han-geon’s collection of cartoon-character stickers and cards.

Eun-gyeol played excitedly, his cheeks flushed, but he would sometimes grow quiet and downcast.

Whenever that happened, Han-geon would bring out a more interesting toy or tell a funny story he’d seen online, just to make him laugh.

“Han-geon.”

“Mm?”

After the two boys, tired from playing, turned off the lights and lay down on the bed, Eun-gyeol parted his lips a few times before finally speaking in a quiet voice.

“Will you… be my friend for life?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

“…Really?”

“Really. Just trust me.”

Only after hearing Han-geon’s steady, reliable answer did Eun-gyeol smile in satisfaction.

Turning his back to face Han-geon, he spoke again in an excited tone.

“Hey, Han-geon. I want to become a celebrity.”

“A celebrity? You mean a singer?”

“Anything.

An actor, a singer—whatever. I’m going to become someone famous, make lots of money, and be on TV all the time.”

“I think you can do it.

You’re really handsome.”

Han-geon nodded earnestly.

Eun-gyeol’s soft laugh scattered through the darkness.

“Then, Han-geon… when that time comes, will you protect me too?

But not just like now, not just as a friend—like, for real.

Officially.”

“Huh? Sure.

You mean like a bodyguard, right?”

Excitement sparkled in Han-geon’s eyes like stars in the dark room.

“With a suit on, and one of those mic earpieces in my ear.”

“Mhm, that.

You’re already strong, and you work hard at taekwondo, so I think you could really do it.

I’d like it if you protected me for the rest of my life.”

“Ooh… okay.

I will.”

Han-geon nodded, his face lighting up.

His dream job changed all the time, but he’d always vaguely imagined choosing something brave someday—like a sturdy police officer or firefighter.

But after hearing what Eun-gyeol had just said, being a bodyguard suddenly seemed incredibly cool.

And besides, he’d get to stay by Eun-gyeol’s side, just like now.

Watching him, Eun-gyeol grinned again.

“Choi Han-geon, I really like you…”

“I like you too.”

“I wish you’d only ever be friends with me… forever…”

Murmuring those dreamlike words, Eun-gyeol soon fell asleep.

Listening to his soft breathing beside him—sleeping so peacefully, like an angel—Han-geon made up his mind.

He would stay by Eun-gyeol’s side for life and protect him.

That was the very first spark that made Han-geon dream of becoming a bodyguard from such a young age.

***

Until that morning, everything had been perfect.

Even the fact that, three days ago, Eun-gyeol had come over to take the herbal medicine Han-geon had prepared for him without fuss—that alone had seemed like a sign of good luck.

And not only that, he’d even brought the whole box back with him without a single complaint.

Ever since that night, Han-geon had been in a good mood.

The thought of Eun-gyeol carrying that medicine—something he hated so much—just because of him made his heart warm.

He had spent a large sum on it, but not a single part of him regretted it.

If Eun-gyeol had stubbornly refused to take it to the end and thrown it all away, how upset would he have been?

Even the weather that morning was perfect.

Han-geon woke up early, took a lap around the park as he always did, and ate breakfast.

After finishing a simple chicken-breast salad, he did a light weight workout and cleaned the apartment.

He always kept the place spotless—after all, he never knew when Eun-gyeol might suddenly show up again.

Today, he was scheduled to work at a concert event in the evening, so he had plenty of free time during the day.

He spent his morning productively all the way until noon.

That was when his phone rang.

Checking the caller ID, he saw it was the company office.

—Hey, Han-geon.

“Yes.”

Han-geon answered with wide eyes.

Usually, calls like this meant either they wanted him to come earlier than scheduled for an event, or they needed him to be dispatched urgently somewhere else.

In his heart, he desperately prayed it wasn’t the latter.

But unfortunately, his wish did not come true.

—Han-geon, starting today, you’ll need to head out to that site where the interests are clashing.

“…Which site, sir?”

—You know.

Near Sangi-dong Station, that demolition village.

Things keep dragging out there.

They keep asking for extra manpower.

“…Boss.”

Han-geon swallowed a burning sigh.

His lips wouldn’t easily part, but he forced himself to respond.

“I’m sorry, sir… but I really don’t want to go to an interest-dispute site.

I’ll work harder—can’t I just stick to event security…?”

—Hey, you punk.

Choi Han-geon.

You’re really going to act like this?

The boss’s voice instantly hardened.

—I praise you because you do well and lift you up, and this is how you repay me?

You think you’re the only one with a conscience?

What, you think the other guys go out there because they’re made of stone and don’t bleed or cry?

“…”

—Enough.

Starting today and for the time being, you’re stationed there.

At least until autumn—you’re fixed to that site, so keep that in mind.

“…Sir.”

—Not another word.

I’m short on people to the point of dying here.

Be at the Sangi-dong site by 5 p.m. tonight.

With that blunt declaration, the boss hung up.

The sigh Han-geon had been holding back spilled out long and heavy.

He practically threw his phone down and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm.

“…Damn it.”

An interest-dispute site.

It was the last place Han-geon ever wanted to return to.

***

“Please, boys… don’t do this.

I really have nowhere else to go.”

“Ah, Grandma! You’re the one who should stop doing this.

Why drag these young guys into trouble for no reason? You’ll get an apartment anyway!”

It had been about half a year ago.

The winter was so cold it felt like his ears might freeze off.

The insulation in the house was so poor that wind seeped through the gaps.

And yet, the old woman, claiming she had nowhere to go, sat huddled in the room, holding her young grandchild tightly in her arms—while Han-geon’s coworkers towered over her, barking at her.

The grandmother spoke in a trembling, stuttering voice.

“I… I can’t leave.

My son… he left for work somewhere a while ago… I’ve lost contact with him.

He has nowhere to go except here… If I move out, what will happen to him? I can’t leave.

Never.”

“Grandma…”

Even to a child’s eyes, the men in black suits with harsh expressions—Han-geon and his teammates—must have looked terrifying.

The moment the child, maybe six or seven years old, met the glare of one of the men shouting at the grandmother, he burst into tears.

Staring down at that child and the trembling old woman, Han-geon froze on the spot, unable to move a muscle.

“Ah, damn… another wasted day.”

“Seriously.

That old woman is stubborn as hell.

How many days have we been doing this?”

His teammates eventually had no choice but to turn back.

They spat on the ground with a ptoo, grumbling as they walked away.

Watching them, Han-geon felt as though stones were being placed one by one on his heart—heavier and heavier.

‘This isn’t right. This isn’t what I wanted. This isn’t why I wanted to become a bodyguard… not for this…’

“Han-geon, you coming or not?”

“I’ll… I’ll just take care of something around here before I go.”

After all his coworkers had clocked out, Han-geon found himself running—almost as if possessed—to a nearby supermarket.

He grabbed anything and everything that seemed necessary: hot packs, instant noodles, rice, side dishes… and even snacks and candy.

At the very end, he tossed in several packs of the character-themed bread that came with stickers inside—the same kind he and Eun-gyeol had loved long ago.

Apparently, they still sold it.

“…Grandma.”

His voice came out rough.

When he knocked loudly on the gate, a wary voice responded from inside.

Even without seeing the face, he knew immediately—it was the little boy who had been in the grandmother’s arms earlier.

“Who is it?”

“…”

“Isn’t it the guy from before?”

“I’m leaving. I’m leaving, so just take this inside.”

After saying that, he deliberately rustled the plastic bags as he set them down in front of the gate.

Then he hid behind a utility pole some distance away and watched.

It was a long time before the gate finally creaked open—very cautiously.

The little boy peeked out, looked around, then opened the bag.

Even from far away, Han-geon could see the way the boy’s eyes widened in shock.

“Grandma! Grandmaaa! The man from earlier bought us tons of food!”

Hearing the kid yell at the top of his lungs, Han-geon turned away.

He trudged toward the subway station, his heart heavy the entire way.

When he finally reached home with a troubled look on his face, he couldn’t sleep at all that night.

He hadn’t become a security guard to do this kind of work.

When he was young, he had felt happy protecting Eun-gyeol—who was smaller than him and came from a troubled home—and making sure no one could bully him.

Eun-gyeol had been dazzlingly beautiful, and he dreamed of becoming a celebrity.

Han-geon had never once doubted that Eun-gyeol’s dream would come true.

And that was precisely why he had wanted to become the person who would protect him.

Even if he couldn’t protect Eun-gyeol right this moment, he wanted to at least protect someone—anyone—so they could be safe… and wait silently until the day his real dream could finally come true.

Han-geon didn’t know what was right or wrong.

He didn’t know how profits or authority were decided among the people above him.

Neither did any of his coworkers.

They all simply worked for the clients who hired their company.

But the one thing Han-geon never wanted to do was drive someone out of the home and life they’d built.

***

From then on, he had been stubborn about avoiding redevelopment eviction sites.

If he ever had to work there again, he was prepared to change jobs entirely.

Fortunately, around that time, the security company he worked for began receiving a flood of event-security requests.

Many of those requests came from the entertainment company Eun-gyeol belonged to.

It had been a stroke of luck.

And for half a year, he had been able to work without facing that kind of conflict.

For a while, it had seemed like he could keep avoiding it altogether—until now.

Now he had to confront the very problem he’d been pushing aside.

“Haa…”

Letting out a hot, heavy sigh, Han-geon tightened his grip around his phone.

It was obvious that the boss hated employees cherry-picking assignments, and he’d been keeping an eye on Han-geon for refusing eviction-site work.

To “fix” that stubborn habit, the boss was clearly not going to back down this time.

But Han-geon had no intention of backing down—not on this.

It wasn’t something he’d mulled over for just a day or two, nor was it an impulsive decision.

It was finally time to put his resolve into action.

In the end, Han-geon called the boss’s office again.

Brrr—, the long ringing tone continued before the irritated voice of the boss came through.

—What is it, Han-geon?

“…Boss. I’m quitting. I’m sorry.”