“Don’t talk like you know everything, asshole. Who are you to be fucking preaching at me?” Gon shouted. But strangely, his eyes started to freeze. I heard faint footsteps. They were getting closer by the second and stopped at the gate.
“I told you to fuck off,” Gon said, his face contorting. Then he came in.
68
He looked more like a giant shadow than a person. He could’ve been in his twenties or even his mid-thirties, depending on the angle. He wore a thick, shabby coat, khaki corduroy pants, and a bucket hat. His face was barely visible, as he had on a mask. It was a strange outfit. He was Steel Wire.
“Who’s this?” Steel Wire asked Gon. If a snake could speak, it would’ve sounded like him. Gon bit his lips, so I answered for him.
“I’m his friend.”
Steel Wire raised his eyebrows. A couple of wrinkles appeared on his forehead.
“How did your friend find this place? Forget that, why is your friend here?”
“To get Gon.”
Slowly, Steel Wire sat down on a creaking chair. His long shadow folded in half too.
“I think you’ve got the wrong idea, kid. You think you’re some kind of a hero?” he muttered in a low voice. His tone was soft, it could even come across as friendly, if you didn’t pay attention to what he was actually saying.
“Gon’s father is waiting for him. He has to go home.”
“Shut up!” Gon shouted. He then whispered something to Steel Wire, who listened and nodded a few times.
“Oh, you’re that kid. Gon’s told me about you. I don’t know if that kind of disease really exists, but no wonder your expression didn’t change a bit when I walked in. Most people who see me don’t react like you did.”
“I’m taking Gon home,” I repeated. “Let him go.”
“What you gon’ do, Gon? You wanna leave with your friend?”
Gon bit his lips then smirked. “You think I’m crazy? There’s no way I’m leaving with that asshole.”
“Great. Friendship only lasts so long. It’s just a word. There are many meaningless words out there.” Steel Wire stood up from the chair, bent down, and fished something out of his coat pocket. It was a sharp, slim knife. Every time its blade reflected the light, it glinted with a blinding flash.
“Remember I showed you this? Told you we could use it one day.”
Gon’s mouth opened slowly. Steel Wire pointed the tip of the blade at Gon.
“Have a go at it.”
Gon swallowed hard. His breathing must’ve quickened, because his chest began to heave.
“Oh, look at you, all scared. This is just your first time, so you don’t have to go all the way. Take it easy and just have fun with it.”
Steel Wire grinned as he took off his hat. There, I saw a familiar face. It took me a second to realize whose face it was—either Michelangelo’s David or one of the many faces known for their iconic beauty I’d seen in textbooks. That same beauty was in Steel Wire’s face. His skin was fair and his lips rosy. Light brown hair, and long, lush eyelashes. Deep, clear eyes. God had given the face of an angel to the wrong person.
69
Steel Wire and Gon were from the same youth detention center. They had briefly seen each other around from a distance. Steel Wire’s exploits and sagas were so extreme and dangerous that they were discussed only in private. According to one rumor, Steel Wire had gotten his nickname because he used a steel wire for one of his crimes. I remember Gon telling me about Steel Wire at great length as if he were reciting the biography of some great man.
Steel Wire thought it was boring to work for other people and blend in with society. In fact, he had mapped out his own road. A road that reached a point where no one had gone before. I didn’t quite understand it, but apparently many kids were captivated by that strange world, and Gon was one of them.
“Steel Wire thinks this country should legalize guns like in the U.S. and Norway, so we can have shooting sprees sometimes. That way we can wipe out the shitty people all at once. Isn’t that cool? That guy is crazy strong.”
“Do you think that makes him strong?”
“Of course. He’s not afraid of anyone. Like you. I wanna be like that.”
Gon had said this one summer night. The day when he told me everything about himself.
70
Now Gon was holding a knife in front of me. His breathing was loud, as if he were breathing into my ears. What would he do? What did he want to prove from all this? His wavering pupils glistened like large marbles.