[Short Story] The Crack, Part 2

6. The Phone Call

 

It was the very moment my thumb hovered over the send button.

A vibration.

The screen flipped. An incoming call. Honey.

I froze. The three windows closed. My hand pressed the answer button on its own.

 

“Honey, it's me.”

 

Her voice sounded strange. My wife was usually a quiet person. Whether at the snack bar counter, putting our daughter to bed, or in the middle of an argument—her voice was always steady. That was her. We were classmates in our youth, and we ran into each other by chance in an underground shopping mall just as I was starting my career. It was late winter. She recognized me, and I recognized her. Two years later, we got married. A cautious, considerate person. Her voice had never wavered.

 

Now, on the other end of the phone, that voice was trembling.

“Someone… came.”

“Who?”

“Strangers. Two men in suits. They came in as soon as I opened the shop. They left an envelope without saying a word. When I opened it…”

My wife stopped speaking.

“It’s a blank check.”

 

A blank check.

 

I pressed my back against the bathroom wall. My daughter was at kindergarten. She gets out at two o’clock this afternoon. What time is it now? Eleven forty.

 

“Lock the shop door. Don’t let anyone in.”

“Honey, what on earth—”

“I’m on my way.”

I hung up the phone.

 

*

7. Running

 

The subway was slow. I hailed a taxi. The driver had the radio on. It was the news. A collapse at a newly built apartment complex in the Seoul metropolitan area, casualties reported, cause under investigation. I stared out the window. Min-cheol’s face flashed before my eyes. Ji-soo’s screams fading into the dust. The force with which Jae-hoon had grabbed my arm.

 

The truth is what matters.

 

That phrase echoed in my head. I didn’t know where it came from. It just did. The truth matters. More than a blank check. More than blackmail. More than anything scary.

 

My wife’s shop was located in an underground shopping arcade in an alley near the station. It was the very same arcade where we had met again. The place where, ten years ago, she had walked toward me with the collar of her coat turned up. Now, her snack bar was there. The smell of tteokbokki, the old sign, the shop with a drawing of our daughter stuck to one side of the entrance.

 

I opened the door. My wife was sitting behind the counter. Her hands were folded on her lap. The envelope was on the table.

I sat down across from my wife.

 

“Are you okay?”

My wife nodded. Her eyes were red.

“Ask her aunt to watch our daughter today. After school. Just for today.”

My wife picked up her phone without a word.

I opened the envelope. It was a blank check. There was another piece of paper underneath the check. A single printed sentence.

 

“Think of your family.”

I closed the envelope. I folded the check and put it in my pocket.

“Where are you going?”

“To the police station.”

My wife stood up.

“I’ll come with you.”

 

“No.” I took my wife’s hand and then let go. “Stay here. Open the shop and act like nothing’s wrong. If anyone strange comes by, call me right away.”

My wife pressed her lips together. Then she nodded once.

I walked out of the shop.

 

*

8. Police Station

 

I took the box out of the coin locker. It felt heavy. I paused for a moment in front of the lockers at the subway station. Was I doing the right thing by carrying this? Was I doing the right thing by going alone?

 

I thought of Min-cheol. I thought of Ji-soo. Both legs, my left arm.

I walked.

 

The police station’s public service office was on the first floor. A sergeant was standing at the reception desk, reviewing some documents. I set the box down.

“I’m here to file a report. These are internal documents regarding shoddy construction by a building company. I’ve also been receiving threats.”

The sergeant looked up. He looked at me. He looked at the box.

“Please wait a moment.”

 

He disappeared into the back. I sat down in a chair. I could see the street through the window. Cars passed by. It was an ordinary afternoon.

About five minutes had passed when a detective came out. He handed me his business card. I took it and put it in my pocket. I stood up.

 

It took an hour to write my statement. The box was temporarily held as evidence. I also submitted the check. The detective said, “Go home for now and wait for our call.” “You can also request personal protection.”

I nodded.

I pushed open the door. The outside air rushed in. I went down the stairs. I stepped out onto the sidewalk.

I took out my cell phone. I was going to call my wife.

 

*

9. Collision

 

It happened in that instant.

 

The sound came first. Not the roar of an engine, but the sound of tires scraping against the asphalt. It was a split second. Lifting my head and seeing something white and massive fill my field of vision happened simultaneously.

I had no time to think.

 

Crash——.

 

My body was thrown somewhere. There was no pain. There was no time to feel pain. The asphalt hit my shoulder. I saw the sky. A single white cloud. It was strangely clear.

My wife. My daughter.

There was nothing after that.

 

*

10. The Sound of Machines

 

Beep——.

Beep——.

 

It was steady. It repeated. I was listening to that sound. I knew I was listening. My eyes didn’t open.

I could see tubes. I could see them even though my eyes were closed. A transparent tube, thin wires, things connected to something. The back of my hand felt heavy. It felt like something was plugged into it.

I could smell something. Disinfectant. Cold air. The bed was hard.

Was this the ICU?

 

It felt like someone was nearby. I sensed a presence. I couldn’t tell if it was breathing or the sound of medical equipment.

I thought of the box. I thought of the detective’s business card. I had put it in my pocket. Where was my pocket now?

 

I thought of my wife. I had been going to call her.

 

Beep——.

Beep——.

 

My eyelids felt heavy. Whenever I tried to open them, they fell shut again. A light appeared and then vanished. It seemed to be a fluorescent light. A white light.

I felt like I could wake up if I just held on a little longer.

Just a little longer.

 

I closed my eyes.

The mechanical beeping didn’t stop.

Beep—, beep—, beep—.

It felt like someone was holding my hand.

It was warm.

 

 

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[Short Story] The Crack, Part 3