Chapter 9: The Price of Leaving the Cage

The commander’s face was turning red and blue, as if he might topple backward at any moment.

And the vice-commander standing beside him wore an equally ferocious expression as he glared at Gyesa.

“Hey, Gyesa. That’s enough—go on your way.

I’ll help with building the barracks.”

Unable to bear it any longer, the easygoing Obaltan stepped in to mediate between the two.

Fearing that the vice-commander’s thick palm might strike Gyesa’s delicate cheek at any second, I hurriedly nodded along.

“That’s right, Gyesa. If uncle helps, it’ll be done in no time, so don’t worry and go.

You must be tired too—go get some rest.”

As Obaltan and I both broke into a nervous sweat trying to dissuade him, Gyesa reluctantly followed after the commander.

The two of us left behind let out a sigh of relief and looked at each other.

“Kid, you’ve been through a lot.”

“It’s nothing… more importantly, let’s hurry and finish this so we can rest.”

I was a bit tired, but with Obaltan—who was the strongest in the circus—helping, the work went smoothly.

After throwing up the barracks in no time, as if he’d used a goblin’s magic club, Obaltan suddenly asked me something.

“Come to think of it, you said you’d pay off Gyesa’s debt once we reached Jeonsang City, didn’t you?”

Glancing around to see if anyone was listening, Obaltan lowered his voice to a whisper.

When he brought up Gyesa’s debt, I remembered Gyesa’s warning from last time—not to trust Obaltan.

I replied in a deliberately calm voice.

“That’s right.”

“How are you planning to pay it off?

Do you have any money saved up?”

I shook my head at his question.

“I don’t know.

Jeonsang City is a big city, right…?

I’ll just work hard and pay it back.”

At my rather careless answer, Obaltan narrowed his one remaining eye.

“No… Gyesa used to meet with the ladies quite often at night, didn’t he?

I was wondering if he might’ve received some jewelry or something.”

When I stared straight at Obaltan as he trailed off, he cleared his throat and turned his head away.

“What about you, uncle?

The commander’s been looking for you a lot lately—aren’t you being threatened again?”

At my question, he whipped his head back toward me and jumped in surprise.

“Threatened? No!

I mean, it’s not that—it’s just….”

When I looked at the flustered Obaltan suspiciously, he sighed and finally spoke.

“…I heard someone saying they saw him in Jeonsang City.”

The “him” Obaltan referred to could only be the enemy who had murdered his family—the one he’d been searching for over ten years.

The commander had tempted Obaltan, who had been drowning in despair, with promises to help him find his enemy.

In exchange, he’d taken Obaltan’s Mauser pistol as collateral and worked him like a s*ave.

Still, it seemed he really had found a lead on that enemy after all.

At the unexpected news, neither Obaltan nor I said a word.

“I need money to get my pistol back…

I just wanted to ask if you had any good ideas.

It’s nothing, so forget about it.”

Breaking the silence, Obaltan spoke.

He shook his head with a bitter smile, but the unease clung to me like sticky taffy and refused to fade.

Still, all I could do for now was nod.

‘Gyesa might already know about this.’

Unlike me, Gyesa was incredibly perceptive.

Maybe he’d known about Obaltan’s situation and warned me to be wary of him.

Yet having to suspect Obaltan—who felt like family—left me deeply unsettled.

I’d thought we could just sell the gold ring and leave the circus at any moment, but the ominous restlessness in my chest felt like a stone pressing down on my heart.

“Well, I should go help someone else now.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

As Obaltan walked away, his large frame looked strangely lonely and small.

I watched his back for a long time with a heavy heart.

Gyesa returned much later.

Perhaps from having to deal with the commander without any rest, he looked visibly exhausted.

“Welcome back, Gyesa.

What did the commander say?”

Slumping into a chair, Gyesa rubbed the space between his brows with tired fingers.

After a brief pause, he spoke.

“It’s nothing much.

He just said he wants to change the composition of my act.”

“What? Suddenly?

Starting with the next performance?”

My heart dropped at his words.

The commander’s demand was clearly personal.

Forcing such a sudden change on Gyesa, who performed with trained snakes, could only mean he was trying to put him in danger.

“That’s ridiculous!”

At my shout, Gyesa let out a sigh as well.

He knew just as well that the demand made no sense.

“But if I refuse, who knows what excuse he’ll latch onto.

I don’t really have a choice.”

At his troubled reply, I bit down hard on my lower lip.

They said the circus was in serious trouble these days….

The commander couldn’t treat Gyesa—the troupe’s star performer—as carelessly as the others, but as long as Gyesa was bound by debt, he could never truly escape the commander’s coercion.

The commander wanted to shut down the unprofitable circus business.

To do that, he sold everything he could.

Even people, if it came to that.

So how valuable must Gyesa—an eyesore and yet the star attraction—look to him, like a sack of gold.

“Th-then… ah!

What if we just sell the ring and leave right away?”

Gyesa shook his head firmly.

“We can’t do that.

If we disappear suddenly, they’ll suspect something immediately.

You know how the surveillance from the commander and vice-commander has gotten brutal, worried the members might run away.

It’s better to wait for a safer opportunity.”

He gave me a light smile, as if to reassure me when he saw the worry on my face.

But instead, that smile pierced my chest like a blade.

“Don’t worry so much.

Do you really think I can’t handle that much?”

“I know, but… then what if I go sell the ring?”

“What? You?”

At my suggestion, Gyesa stiffened and raised his voice.

He shook his head decisively.

“Don’t say something so ridiculous.

You’ve never gone outside the circus alone in your life—how could you?

It’s dangerous.

No.”

“But I think you performing an unscheduled act is even more dangerous.”

“It’ll be fine.

Geummok and I have been in sync for ten years now.”

But Geummok is a snake.

A huge one, at that….

No matter how I thought about it, it was far too dangerous.

I tried to persuade him again.

“They might get suspicious if you disappear, but if I’m gone for a bit, they won’t even notice.

They’ll be too busy preparing for the show….

Even if someone asks, wouldn’t everyone just nod if they hear I ran an errand for you?”

Still, Gyesa refused to budge.

As if there was nothing to consider, he sprang to his feet.

“I told you it’s dangerous.

No.”

I stood up as well and grabbed his hand tightly as he turned away.

Gyesa froze in place.

“Earlier, Obaltan asked me how we planned to repay the debt.”

“What?”

“I brushed it off, saying I’d work in Jeonsang City…

But like you said, Obaltan’s acting strange.

Then again, who in this circus isn’t strange….”

“Ha….”

“Anyway, even Obaltan acting this rushed means…

It means we’re running out of time, doesn’t it?”

I stepped closer to Gyesa and looked him in the eyes.

His dark pupils sank low, wavering uneasily.

“Like you said, I’ve never gone out alone, and I know how dangerous the outside world is.

But isn’t staying in this circus even more dangerous now?”

At my question, Gyesa covered his eyes with his large hand.

A trembling sigh slipped out from between his red lips.

Lowering his hand, he looked at me with troubled eyes.

“Gyesa. I’ll be really careful.

If we hesitate, we’re the only ones who lose.

The commander’s the type to sniff out money the moment we arrive in Jeonsang City.

Why would we hesitate once we’re there?”

“Damn it… fine.”

At last, Gyesa nodded in defeat.

Still, he looked uneasy.

“Watch your step so you don’t fall.

You walk slowly, so if you notice someone suspicious, avoid them before they get close.

Can you do that?”

“I can.

If I wear a hat and cover my face, no one will pay attention to me.”

He sighed heavily, still unconvinced.

“This is the only option, so I’ll trust you…

But I don’t like it.”

“Gyesa.

Someday I’ll have to walk around on my own anyway—what’s there to worry about?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.

That day will never come.”

“But I’m going alone even now.”

At my words, Gyesa shot me a fierce glare.

“This is the only exception.

The outside world is too dangerous for you.

You have to be extremely careful.”

“I know.

I’ll be back quickly.”

When I looked at him with determinedly pressed lips, Gyesa groaned and raked a hand through his hair.

“I’ll cover for you however I can, so hurry back.

Be careful.”

“Okay.”

Gyesa nagged me until my ears rang.

He pulled his hat down over my head to hide my face, wrapped me tightly in his outer coat, and handed me the gold ring carefully wrapped in cloth.

I took the ring and tucked it close to my chest.

The spot where it rested throbbed heavily.

“I’ll be back.”

Gyesa stood there like a stone statue, watching my retreating back.

I understood his feelings, but I was afraid that if I turned around, my resolve would waver.

‘I’m not scared at all.’

Pretending not to notice my pounding heart, I walked straight ahead as bravely as I could.

So focused on the sound of my own heartbeat, I failed to notice that someone had been secretly watching me leave, then turned away.

And that was something I would regret for a very long time.

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