Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The monorail fully came out of the city's forest of buildings and slowly stopped at Harbourside station, the terminus.

With a hiss the train door opened, and I hastily wiped the tear marks left on the cheek with the end of my sleeve.

"Bye, Mister!"

Angie, holding her mother's hand and preparing to get off, waved at me clear.

The child's mother too gave me a light nod and smiled warm.

"Thank you, little miss. Thanks to you I got very sturdy."

Even with swollen bright-red eyes, this time I laughed bright with sincerity and waved the sound right hand.

Quietly watching Angie and her mother disappear into the station's bustling crowd, I too turned my stiff neck once and slowly moved my steps out of the station.

Coming out of the station, a salty, cool sea smell blew thick.

Whether from pouring tears refreshing inside a round, or Sydney's sea wind being particularly fresh, the heavy stone blocking the chest felt sunk down.

On the walkway long along the harbor, people out to enjoy the weekend overflowed with life.

The light guitar sound of buskers doing street performance, the sound of gulls crying, people's leisurely laughter circled the ear as pleasant noise.

I took a seat at an outdoor-terrace pub where the view of Darling Harbour was seen best.

On an ordinary day I would have looked at the menu price tags first and clicked my tongue, "what scrap of fried fish is 12 dollars," but today was different.

Yesterday's me, chased by money and gnawing myself, I left inside the monorail and got off.

"Fish and chips here, and one VB, please."

The server looked at my arm and around the eye.

As if asking if I could drink.

If I don't drink on a day like this, when do I drink. This was a toast for me today.

A moment later, crispy fried fish just fried, steam rising, and Victoria Bitter came out poured in a wine glass.

I cut the fried fish large with a knife and put it in my mouth.

"Ha! Hot. Haa! Hot."

Working the mouth fast to let the heat out, I downed a glass of Victoria Bitter.

"Kyaa! Kills it!"

The view of Darling Harbour looking while eating fish and chips was dumbfounding, literally.

Even the shameless flock of gulls gathering aiming the fries on my table looked cute today.

'Really well I listened to that Miss Daisy.'

The head that had always been packed with tomorrow's work orders and construction schedule, and poison of how to finish trash like Kang Dal-yeong and Andy Hong, was putting a whole 'comma' for the first time.

The matter handed to the police, the police would handle.

Raising blood vessels here would not solve it right away either.

I hung the half-cast arm comfortable on the table and quietly appreciated the sunset, the blue sky gradually dyeing orange.

Finishing the meal and walking the promenade patting the belly full pleasant, a small souvenir shop lit bright caught the eye.

A tight life of never buying pretty trash with my own money, but I went into the shop as if possessed.

Looking around the display a long while, I picked two keyrings with a small koala and kangaroo doll, and one fairly plausible mug with Aboriginal traditional patterns drawn stylish, and set them on the counter.

'The keyring for Dong-myeong, the mug... if I give it to Daisy, would it do.'

I don't know why I bought this, but I wanted to buy and give it.

A mark in my own heart, shall I say?

Now it's simply a mug, and next I'll buy something better.

Compared to this dazzling day she found for me, a mug was too cheap a price.

Coming out of the shop, before I knew it the sun had fully set and flashy night lights began turning on over Darling Harbour's deep sea.

On the lapping black water the city's lights poured like stars.

Fiddling the kangaroo keyring in the pocket, my steps were lighter than any time.

'Next week was Bondi Beach, she said.'

I recalled the circle on the tourist map folded neat in the wallet.

Having enjoyed Sydney's excellent scenery alone like this and washed the old emotion, I resolved to drag Dong-myeong out no question next weekend.

That guy too, like me, I could not let him miss this dazzling background of youth, pressed by a few coins and work.

"Let's go, Jeong-su. Rested solid, so tomorrow there's tomorrow's hammering again."

I walked the night street humming pleasant.

The real first trip in Sydney, Australia, of an old laborer who had set down the heavy load pressing the shoulders, was setting like that.

* * *

The same hour, in front of a large church in Strathfield, Sydney's Koreatown.

Kang Dal-yeong, having finished Sunday morning service, was exchanging greetings with the congregation in a neat suit.

"Aigo, Owner Kang! You sponsored big money for the youth retreat this time too? Really tremendous."

"Come on, what are you saying. All work to help our young people who came to Australian soil. Heh heh heh."

A fine businessman who immigrated in '95 and made himself, and a devout, kind church officer.

That was the hypocritical mask Kang Dal-yeong had worn thorough for over ten years.

Inside he was bothered that Park Ji-hun had his tail stepped and was detained, but he firmly believed if he only cut the tail connected to Andy Hong in Brisbane, the spark would not fly to himself.

Seems I'll have to meet Park Dong-myeong and that mannerless Han Jeong-su once more.

"Then, I'll see you next week..."

It was the very moment Kang Dal-yeong was about to get into a luxury sedan.

Squeeeak—!!

Suddenly three black SUVs that crossed the intersection blocked Kang Dal-yeong's car rough, as if surrounding.

The doors opened, and Australian Federal Police in vests and investigators in suits poured out.

The peaceful front of the church became a chaos in an instant, and the congregation stepped back aghast.

"Mr. Kang?"

"Yes? Yes... I'm Kang Dal-yeong, but what on earth..."

A sharp-looking white investigator who stepped out with the police held out identification.

"Joint investigation team of Australian Immigration and the Tax Office. We arrest you urgent on charges of illegal labor exploitation, tax evasion, and human trafficking."

"T, trafficking?! Tax evasion! You've seen the wrong person! I, in this local society, the reputation..."

Click—

Kang Dal-yeong's excuse was cut empty by the sound of cuffs filled cold.

With countless congregation and Koreans watching, the good-reputation 'Owner Kang' became a state of being dragged like a felon overnight.

* * *

City-jurisdiction police station, interview room.

Kang Dal-yeong was still raising blood vessels as if wronged.

"This is a frame! Is there evidence I did that?!"

"Evidence?"

Sergeant David, opening the interview-room door and coming in, set two thick document files on the desk with a thud.

On the covers of the files, the chilling logos [ATO] and [Department of Home Affairs] were stamped.

"We've already finished interviews with the people living in the share house you run. They all said the same thing. You're a devil."

"..."

The color left Kang Dal-yeong's face clean.

"Right, shall we look from the material from the Tax Office?"

David spread the documents.

"We found funds you stole working-holiday people's wages and diverted to borrowed-name accounts over the past five years. You know where the scariest place in Australia is? Precisely the Tax Office. The ATO tracked even the paper companies and borrowed-name real estate you hid and already finished freezing the accounts. Unpaid tax of millions of dollars plus punitive penalties... the grand house and luxury cars you rolled, all going to seizure auction, it won't be enough."

"A, no... my money... what money that is...!"

Kang Dal-yeong began trembling like an aspen.

The sound of the whole fortune scraped hard sucking others' blood dissolving in the air in one moment.

But the real hell had not even started yet.

"Next is Immigration's turn."

Sergeant David's eyes froze cold.

"We don't mean to end at simple wage arrears or tax evasion. We secured the circumstances of you catching the weakness of illegal stayers whose visas were expiring, taking their passports, and forcing labor as if confining them. In Australian federal law this isn't a simple labor-law violation, it's a serious crime corresponding to human trafficking and modern slavery."

"S, slavery! The kids worked because they wanted! I only gave jobs!"

"Play that tongue in front of the judge. If the trafficking charge applies, it's at least fifteen years or more. And Australian citizenship? Every crime from the documents you submitted when you immigrated until now applies retroactive, and citizenship deprivation and permanent deportation will proceed. After you fill the sentence, you're chased off Australian soil forever."

Seizure of the whole fortune, deprivation of citizenship, a heavy sentence of fifteen years or more.

Perfect ruin, literally.

The end of the leech that squeezed the blood of working-holiday people behind a hypocritical mask of a person who could live without law was this miserable and thorough.

Kang Dal-yeong collapsed to the interview-room floor with eyes turned and wailed.

"Aaaak! My money! My house!! How I settled on this Australian soil!!!"

* * *

That evening, the house-repair site.

Smoothing second putty on the plasterboard, the phone rang in my pocket.

"Yes, Jeong-su."

[Jeong-su. It's David. I called because there's good news.]

Sergeant David's voice beyond the receiver was light.

[That Kang Dal-yeong you mentioned. This morning Immigration and the Tax Office went in joint and tied him. Very worth seeing. House and cars and accounts all tied. Immigration plans to charge trafficking, so he'll probably rot in prison for life and get chased out.]

At David's words I stopped the hand holding the trowel and burst a short laugh.

"Ah, that... a shame."

[Haha! Your tone doesn't look sorry at all? Anyway, Andy Hong who ran is still being tracked, but at least the leech bastards sucking blood in Sydney, we cleared them sure. Thanks to you.]

"You worked hard, sergeant. Later when the cast comes off I'll buy a beer."

"Hmph. I eat expensive."

"Then introduce a place like that to me too."

"Haha. See you later."

Hanging up and putting the phone in the pocket, Dong-myeong cutting mesh tape beside opened his eyes round and asked.

"Hyung, some good thing?"

I tapped the white putty surface smoothed with the sound right hand and grinned.

"Yeah. Very good news. Dong-myeong, the mosquito called Owner Kang who sucked your blood got caught, they say. The Tax Office and Immigration stepped him to powder. Whole-fortune seizure, and at least ten-some years in prison basic, they said."

"Yes?! Really?! Wow... fuck, the insides are all refreshing!!"

At the fact the huge shade that had bound and exploited him disappeared, Dong-myeong swung the trowel he held in the air and cheered.

The trash went to its place, and the obstacle disappeared.

I stuck the trowel to the wall again with a heart light for once.

"Right, the mosquito is caught. Let's paint putty again."

The scratch of filling the wall was filling the site especially light today.

© Log1#13yd6

Author's note

The marathon ends here.

From tomorrow it goes up one a day.

Thank you for reading my writing.