Chansik: Seoul Special City, Jung Ward, Taepyeong Street Section 1, Building 24-2, Hana Orphanage.

             Only the smooth rasp of the wheels against the asphalt is audible. Sandeul is quietly munching a lemon candy which he miraculously found inside one of his jacket’s pockets. In all actuality, it was not long ago when Baro was showering him with seemingly endless rules and sermons which is the reason why the radio is turned off.

             “Okay. I’m on my way” Baro does a multitasking of focusing on the road while occasionally rotating the gear stick and conversing on his earpiece. After receiving a message, he quickly dials someone on his phone “No. I can manag-” he asserts but chokes the last syllable as he abruptly rotates the steering wheel because of the stupid driver in front of him who doesn’t know how to use flashers.

             Sandeul violently sways on his seat almost hitting his head on the window if not for his hand which is fast enough to stop the impact. He notices Baro’s deep frown which soon vanishes as he continue his conversation on the phone.

             “Okay. Okay. Send me the photo. Got it. Okay” and Baro removes the earpiece then gives Sandeul a single glance. “As I was saying-”

             “I can’t tell anyone about this, not even my mom or my brother” Sandeul continues. “Not even DongWoo-sunbae?”

             “Not even him, you got that?” Baro peeks at Sandeul for a second the returns his focus on the road but on his peripheral view, he can see Sandeul nodding.

             “Who was that?” he asks pertaining to the caller on the other end. The question left Sandeul’s mouth too quickly before his mind can warn him that he is being too much of an invader into              Baro’s private space, of course not including the time when he slept at Baro’s place; that is totally unintentional. He thinks it’s already proper to consider their relationship as friends but if Baro won’t agree to that, they can always be neighbors or some sort of partners in crime.

             “A police officer” Baro replies.

             Sandeul shows a half-amused face. He asks after a while “A case?”

             “Not entirely, they just need more man power in locating a missing person”

             “So” Sandeul pauses “Are they looking for some sort of thief or killer?”

             The car swiftly passes below the large overhead signboard with gigantic SEOUL letters imprinted on it. It is a rather faster drive compared to when they are going to Incheon but on the other hand, Sandeul is in no position for such comparison since he’s practically sleeping thirds of the ride.

             “If you’re interested you can search with me” Baro suggests.

             “Hm?” Sandeul unconsciously asks while his head is still turned towards the window. His eyes are busy appreciating the view of the metropolitan which makes his mind slowly interpret the words that Baro just uttered. He imagines how the place would be when modernism hasn’t yet taken place. It seems surreal but there is no doubt that a wild animal once roamed this place. A lion? Probably not, lions are scarce in Korea. What if in the place of that distant corporate building were colossal mangroves and when the moon rises, fireflies would dance like nature’s floating light. Sandeul smiles to himself appreciating the daydream like a movie playing in his head.

             “You think there were mangroves here before?” Sandeul asks earning a weird look from the driver.

             “You’re not sleep talking, aren’t you?” Baro clarifies retaining the weird look he’s giving.

             Sandeul sarcastically turns his head to Baro popping his unexpectedly large eyes to prove he’s not sleeping. His eyes are, just as stated, large but just large enough when proportioned to his face, sharper than Baro’s but still not as sharp as Jinyoung’s.

             “Okay so you’re not sleep talking but what’s with the mangrove?” Baro asks.

             “I’m sure Seoul is not a part of God’s work during the six days of creation-”

             “Wasn’t it seven?” Baro interferes.

             “God rested on the seventh day. So basically, what I was thinking of is that there is a possibility that this was once a place where mangroves grow with their large roots submerged in a still river” Sandeul says like a narrator of an archaic stage play.

             “And alligators eating the ducks”

             Sandeul glares at Baro “You just destroyed the mood”

             Baro chuckles “I guess it really is sad”

             “That the alligators ate the ducks?”

             “Well yeah that’s pretty sad too but it’s sad to think that mangroves were cut off and rivers were dumped with dry soil just to create this exquisite metropolitan living”

             Sandeul sinks on his seat “You think mangroves still exist?”

             “Yes they do” Baro says half-laughing like it’s the most obvious thing.

             “Really?” Sandeuls asks delighted.

             “Not in Seoul of course” Baro clears.

             “Yeah, ‘cause they cut them off”

             Baro simply laughs at how Sandeul believed that there were really mangroves in Seoul before. There are many other varieties of trees that could have grown here and now that you think about it, he actually went into deep thinking about what kind of trees once grew in the land of Seoul which is very unlikely but maybe not since he’s with Sandeul—the epitome of eccentric ideologies.

             “I’m not really that good with combat” Sandeul says after a while and Baro turns to him with a certain face which can also be interpreted as what-the-hell-?-is-he-going-to-talk-about-ancient-battles-face. “I’m interested in searching with you but if we’re after a killer or some sort, I don’t think I’ll be of any help”

             Oh. They are actually back into reality. “We’re looking for a kid” Baro states.

             “A kid?”

             “A six year-old boy to be precise, seems like he ran away during their outdoor play time”

             “Okay, I can do it” Sandeul says “More or less” he figures.

             Sandeul is standing still with a feeling of a third-wheeler. Baro is currently talking to a police whom Sandeul can vaguely remember seeing in the station. His blonde hair is a total contrast of his black one. He is very detailed in analyzing a person’s looks and this certain police, which is kind of weird, has a double eye lid on one eye and a single lid on the other but he’ll let that pass because this police looks more like a doll than a human.

             He looks around and sees a few officers roaming around with their two-way radio that looks more like an ancient box-type cellular phone.

             “Where did this kid ran off to?” Baro asks.

             The police officer sighs helplessly “I’m sorry I had to make you come here, the corporal only sent a few men, I think you’ll be of great help”

             “Don’t mention it” Baro assures as his hand rest on his waist and the other holding his phone in a considerable length away from his face as he seem to examine the photo of a smiling little boy on the screen. Sandeul can’t contain his curiosity and peeks on the phone the back of his head brushing against Baro’s face but he doesn’t care at all and retreats his face after a few seconds after.

             “Hyung, who is he?” the officer asks.

             Sandeul knowing who the blonde is pertaining to answers the question “Lee JungHwan” he says with a bow.

             “Oh” says Chansik as he gives Baro a knowing look and Baro return another knowing look “Gong Chansik, Baro-hyung’s cousin”. That is why he seems familiar; it’s the college boy who goes regularly to the precinct.

             “Chansik, have you checked the orphanage?” Baro asks.

             Chansik shakes his head “No, just the area around it. Well now that you mention it”

             “Fine, I’ll go look inside. He can be hiding inside a cabinet or the ceiling, kids are silly creatures” Baro turns to Sandeul “Are you going with me?”

             “I’ll go look at different places, probably the yard around the orphanage, if there’s any” Sandeul suggests with uncertainty.

             Baro hands his phone to Sandeul and the other simply stares at it, questioning.

             “Your number” Baro clarifies “I wouldn’t want to deal with the problem of you missing too”

             “Oh” Sandeul grabs the phone as Baro watches him tap on the wide-screened mobile. Chansik observes them few steps afar and a smile creeps on his face. When did Baro-hy