Chapter 3 of 100

Chapter 3

18 min read4,567 words

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"OPPA, I'm hungry, I want to eat something!" Park Ji-yeon, who was on Park Ji-ho's back, suddenly whispered to him.

"Okay..." Slowly, Park Ji-ho put down Park Ji-yeon, who had been on his back for over two hours. His whole body felt an unprecedented soreness. Two hours of mountain road was definitely not something an ordinary person could endure.

He took out a piece of cake from his backpack and handed it to Park Ji-yeon. The little girl happily took it and started eating it in large bites. Park Ji-ho, on the other hand, took a small sip of mineral water. Checking the time, it was already 5:30 AM. Park Ji-ho and Park Ji-yeon were on a small road with very few cars passing by. Park Ji-ho had no idea where they were.

However, just as Park Ji-ho was thinking about what to do, a truck suddenly came from the front. Park Ji-ho immediately pulled Park Ji-yeon to hide in the nearby bushes. Since there were only two children, if they encountered bad people, a 14-year-old Park Ji-ho wouldn't be enough to deal with them, so he chose to hide.

To Park Ji-ho's surprise, the truck's license plate was from Mokpo. He didn't even know where they were, but if he could get on that truck back to Mokpo, he believed he could survive there with his sister. Without a second thought, while the truck driver went to relieve himself, Park Ji-ho used his lock-picking skills to open the truck's cargo door and quickly brought Park Ji-yeon inside.

A strong smell of sea fish filled the cargo area, which further confirmed to Park Ji-ho that this was a truck heading to Mokpo. Mokpo was a port city with a thriving fishing industry, and this truck was definitely going to Mokpo to sell fish. With this thought, Park Ji-ho felt completely at ease.

Finding a relatively dry spot, he laid down his backpack and sat on it. Park Ji-yeon immediately snuggled into Park Ji-ho's arms, tightly hugging him and finding a comfortable position to fall asleep quickly. Park Ji-ho, feeling relieved, was soon overwhelmed by fatigue and fell into a deep sleep.

One hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, five hours. Suddenly, a man outside the truck shouted in panic, "What's going on? Why is my lock open?" Then the sound of the cargo door opening was heard.

Park Ji-ho immediately woke up. Fortunately, because they had chosen a relatively hidden spot, the truck driver didn't notice them right away. Seeing that his cargo was fine, the driver relaxed and said, "Damn, I need to check more carefully next time. Luckily, nothing happened this time!" He then turned to find someone to unload the cargo.

Taking this opportunity, Park Ji-ho quickly carried his sister and fled the truck. After running for a while, he found himself and Park Ji-yeon in a large market. It was around 10:30 AM, and the market was bustling with people. Just as Park Ji-ho thought they had escaped, he was speechless when he saw the name of the market—it was the Seoul Market.

What should he do? Park Ji-ho was scared. This was Seoul, not Mokpo. He knew nothing about this place. However, it turned out that Park Ji-ho and Park Ji-yeon were lucky. If they had really returned to Mokpo, they would have been immediately betrayed. Their Aunt Luo wouldn't be willing to return the house that belonged to them.

Wandering aimlessly with Park Ji-yeon in the bustling streets of Seoul, the beautiful skyscrapers made Park Ji-yeon very happy. She said to Park Ji-ho as they walked, "OPPA, so tall!"

Seeing Park Ji-yeon's happiness, Park Ji-ho smiled. When they reached the SBS TV station, a news report was playing on the big screen in front of the SBS building. When Park Ji-ho saw the content of the news, he was stunned. The news was about the children's welfare home in Mokpo.

"SBS Special Report: At 3:00 AM yesterday, an explosion occurred at a children's welfare home in Mokpo, Jeolla Province, causing a large fire. The cause of the fire was a boy named Park Ji-ho and a girl named Park Ji-yeon, who deliberately caused it. However, Park Ji-ho and Park Ji-yeon were also trapped in the fire. The director of the welfare home, who tried to save the two children, unfortunately met with danger, and the culprits, Park Ji-ho and Park Ji-yeon, perished in the fire."

After hearing the news, Park Ji-ho was stunned. He was completely bewildered. He never thought the news would say that he and Park Ji-yeon were already dead, and even more so, that the director had died because of him. Although the director wasn't a good person and got what he deserved, Park Ji-ho felt a chill all over his body and couldn't help but tremble. After all, someone had died because of him. At 14, he was very afraid. However, he later thought that it was fortunate he didn't return to Mokpo. If he had, he would have been caught. Now in Seoul, no one knew him or Park Ji-yeon, and they could start over. It was a stroke of luck in their misfortune.

Park Ji-ho slowly adjusted his emotions, trying to suppress his fear. It wasn't the time to be afraid because he now had a responsibility—the responsibility to take care of his sister.

In the cold night of Seoul, Park Ji-ho carried Park Ji-yeon on his back, walking through the streets. The once brightly lit Seoul gradually turned dark, and it became colder and colder around them. Suddenly, Park Ji-ho looked up and realized he had brought Park Ji-yeon back to the market where they had first arrived.

To Park Ji-ho's delight, there was a bit of straw in the market. He immediately spread it out, laid down his clothes, and found a large plastic sheet from elsewhere. He made Park Ji-yeon sleep on the straw and wrapped her in the plastic sheet. Park Ji-yeon, feeling warm, smiled and said, "OPPA, it's so warm! OPPA, come in too!"

"Warm is good. OPPA is fine. As long as you're not cold, that's all that matters!" Park Ji-ho said, shivering from the cold.

After settling Park Ji-yeon, Park Ji-ho leaned against the side to guard her, wrapping himself in a plastic sheet. He was so tired that he soon fell into a deep sleep.

However, when Park Ji-ho opened his eyes again, he saw that it was already morning. A group of vendors were staring at him. Park Ji-ho was startled and immediately looked at Park Ji-yeon. When he saw that she was still there, he finally breathed a sigh of relief!

At this moment, a man with a fierce look on his face glared at Park Ji-ho and said, "Hey, kid, who are you? Who allowed you to sleep here?"

Seeing the fierce man, Park Ji-ho calmed himself and said, "I'm sorry, sir. We are orphans. Our parents are dead, and I only have my sister. We were sold by our neighbors, but I brought my sister here by sneaking into a truck."

After hearing Park Ji-ho's story, the vendors all expressed sympathy.

"Hey, how pitiful, these two kids!"

"That neighbor really deserves to be punished!"

"Indeed, they say distant relatives are not as helpful as close neighbors. That neighbor is a beast."

...

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. We don't know if this kid is telling the truth. We should call the police!" the fierce man said.

Hearing that they were going to call the police, Park Ji-ho immediately panicked and said, "No, please don't call the police!"

"Don't call the police?" the fierce man asked suspiciously, "Hey, kid, have you done something wrong?"

Shaking his head repeatedly, Park Ji-ho's eyes welled up with tears. "Sir, we just escaped. If you call the police, we will be sent back to where we came from and sold again. Please have mercy on us. We will leave right away."

"Kid, don't be afraid. The police will help you!" the fierce man said.

"My neighbor is a police officer!" Park Ji-ho lied, tears in his eyes. At that moment, Park Ji-ho looked truly pitiful.

After hearing Park Ji-ho's story, a group of vegetable vendors collectively clicked their tongues. "OMO, OMO! What kind of people did these two kids encounter? Joocheol, don't call the police."

"Indeed, indeed, how pitiful!"

"If you call the police, you will be killing these two kids."

Soon, the vendors' words confused Joocheol. He had no choice but to say, "Not calling the police, but who will take care of them? Everyone here is struggling."

This statement made all the vendors silent. However, Park Ji-ho immediately stood up and said, "Sir, I can take care of myself. If you can give me a job, no matter how dirty or tiring it is, I will do it."

"Really...?" Joocheol asked suspiciously. "There's a truck in front with a lot of frozen pork. If you can move all the frozen pork to my stall, I will give you 50,000 won and three meals a day for you and your sister. But I have to warn you, each piece weighs over 100 pounds. Don't force yourself if you can't do it."

"Okay... okay...!" Park Ji-ho was overjoyed and immediately rushed to the truck, skillfully opening the door and moving the frozen meat into Joocheol's stall one by one.

Seeing Park Ji-ho's determined but struggling steps, making trip after trip to move the frozen meat into Joocheol's stall, everyone in the market was moved. It was not something a child could do, but Park Ji-ho, at 14, was doing it tirelessly. Despite the freezing cold, Park Ji-ho was sweating profusely, and many people were moved to tears. Park Ji-ho and Park Ji-yeon were finally able to stay!

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