“Here we are.” Loach turned around and smirked, pointing forward.
“Hmm?”
They’d arrived at the edge of a canal—though it had nothing in common with the energetic, fresh streams around JungHo’s village at the foot of the mountains. The swampy, shallow rivulet flowed about five yards below street level, its pebbled banks on either side lined with a levee of rocks and cement. Loach was pointing at a stone bridge just ahead, groaning under a heap of carts and pedestrians.
“What’s this, stupid?” JungHo asked, not bothering to hide his frustration. “You said there would be water.”
“It’s under the bridge,” Loach said, not missing a beat.
“That muddy water? You think I’m a dog?”
“Don’t get so fiery all the time, it’s fucking hot as it is. I live under the bridge,” Loach responded. Then without waiting for more retorts, he said, “Either you follow me or just go back wherever you came from, country bumpkin.” He crouched down, put his palms at the edge of the levee, then lightly swung his legs over the ledge and dropped down. JungHo hurried over and leaned out; Loach was already straightening himself up and dusting off his hands.
“Son of a bitch,” JungHo whispered to himself, before dropping off the ledge.
“What took you so long? Not so brave now, are we?” Loach teased. “We’re almost there.”
Contrary to JungHo’s hopes, the presence of water did nothing to cool the air as they walked together to the bridge. As they got closer, JungHo noticed a cluster of trash, which turned out to be makeshift tents. Several boys their age were sitting on large rocks nearby, talking among themselves, and then stood up to greet Loach. They were the kind of dirty that makes one’s skin crawl and scalp itch just from looking.
JungHo tried to hide his unease as they made their way to the tents. The worst thing he could do at this point was to run away. He wouldn’t make it up the levee, and they would swarm him in an instant. But if they thought he wasn’t intimidated, he might still be fine.
“Who is this, Loach?” one of the boys asked. He was the tallest among them, and had the distinction of being the only one with a smattering of gray fuzz over his upper lip.
“A new guy, fresh from the country,” Loach said. “Hey, he’s dying of thirst. Get him some water.” There was a brief squabble among the boys over who should get it, but eventually one of them fetched a bowl from a tent and handed it to JungHo.
“Drink it, country bumpkin,” Loach said. “It’s well water.”
Once reassured, JungHo quickly lifted the bowl to his lips and gulped the water down, feeling their eyes on him the entire time.
“Feel better?” Loach asked, smirking, once JungHo lowered his bowl. He nodded.
“What’s your name?” asked the tall one with the faint mustache.
“Nam JungHo. What’s your name?” JungHo asked, calling him “you” in the familiar form, as if they were the same age.
“Mind your manners, you’ve just had our water . . . My name is YoungGu. But you’re going to call me Older Brother.”
JungHo didn’t say anything, and YoungGu carried on.
“Which province are you from? And why did you come to Seoul?”
“I’m from PyongAhn province. And I came here for the same reason anyone comes to Seoul,” JungHo said. “There is nothing to eat in the countryside anymore.”
“What about your family?”
JungHo considered for a moment. After his father’s death, a widower had come forward asking for his pretty older sister’s hand in marriage. The man had offered to take in even JungHo’s younger sister, but not himself. A five-year-old sister-in-law to feed was one thing, and a boy nearly all grown was quite another. Since his older sister would have refused the offer and starved together rather than abandon him, he had fled quietly in the middle of the night.
JungHo replied, “All dead.”
“Then today is your lucky day,” YoungGu said. “You become one of us, and you won’t have to worry about starving to death. We eat little enough, but we share everything.”
“We’re all orphans like you,” Loach chimed in helpfully.
“How do you find stuff to eat?” JungHo asked.
“We beg, we steal—don’t worry, we only steal from the bad guys. You’ll get the hang of it. But first things first,” YoungGu said. “You have to swear an oath of loyalty, and surrender any money you’ve got.”