OL Ch 32

Hayun found a total of fourteen markings. Two in the storage room next to the gate, one in the small storage room at the end of the soy sauce jar platform, two on the way to the bathroom, one in the storage cabinet on the left wall of the shoe rack, three in the main room, two in the kitchen, two in the small room, one in the yard, and one in the crack of the gate.

However, not all the markings were intact. Some were cut off at the edge, perhaps because they were on the wallpaper, some were difficult to read because the pen used to record them was too thick, and some were scratched with a knife as if someone had tried to erase them.

After excluding all of these, eight remained intact, and based on the markings, four doors could be identified in this house.

One in the storage cabinet where he first found it, one found on the attic stairs, one in the yard, and one at the gate.

And Hayun couldn’t open any of those doors. He only knew they were there.

‘Was finding Kim Heewon’s house related to the door?’

He thought about it carefully, but no answer came to mind.

‘I wasn’t unconfident about doors.’

Even if he wasn’t as knowledgeable as Seo Iju, who had researched for many years, Hayun thought he knew a little about doors. Because there was no one on this earth who could use doors more freely than he could.

But now that this happened, he thought maybe he didn’t know anything after all. Whatever the regrets, Kim Heewon’s house had many suspicious points. At first glance, one might think it was just an old house with a unique style.

But based on the traces left throughout the house and his experience of looking at houses with Seo Iju, this house was more like a safe house.

The unusually high storage room blocked the view of the house’s windows, and there were markings all over the house. Judging from the fact that the house had been cleaned, it was likely that there were more markings before. He thought there might be more hidden passages besides the doors he could see right now.

‘But it’s a bit strange to call it a safe house.’

Hayun thought Kim Eung died in the fire that occurred at Kim Heewon’s old house. At that time, Kim Deukcheol made a doll of Kim Eung and switched them, and after that, the switched Kim Eung moved here with Kim Heewon and lived here.

‘Does a doll need to come to a safe house with Kim Heewon? And not just any safe house, but a space needed by doorkeepers.’

Kim Eung, created by Kim Deukcheol, couldn’t have been able to open doors. Then was it for Kim Heewon?

‘But that’s only useful if Kim Heewon can open doors.’

Not all doorkeepers can open all doors.

‘Of course, I could do that.’

Kim Heewon. Kim Heewon. Kim Heewon. Hayun repeated Kim Heewon’s name in his mind. He had no way of knowing how much power he had, but it must have been weaker than Seo Iju’s.

But all of this was just Hayun’s speculation. He had very little information to confirm the facts. He couldn’t be sure of anything.

Before leaving the house, Hayun looked around the yard one last time. He wanted to check the place where Kim Eung died. The police must have been there, but there were no markings. He didn’t know if it was on purpose or if they had been erased.

‘It’s not visible right away even if you open the door.’

Hayun looked at the border between the yard and the soy sauce jar platform. There was moss in the gap where the platform rose, but it was all gone in one area. It was a sign of cleaning. Hayun stood there and tilted his head slightly so that his glasses slipped down.

‘It was definitely around here.’

As he turned his head this way and that, he could see the door flickering through the gap in his glasses.

‘Gaebong Station platform.’

He couldn’t tell if it was the side going to Bupyeong or the side going to City Hall. He had to go there himself to find out.

‘But why was Kim Eung standing here?’

It was close to the door, but not right in front of it.

‘Did he know the door was here but couldn’t see it?’

“…..!”

At that moment, Hayun felt his hair stand on end. He quickly hid behind the storage room, and two cats ran and jumped over the fence, then fell down and tangled together, making shrill noises. Hayun, startled by the sound, stroked his chest, but he couldn’t let go of his tension.

Hayun looked around Kim Heewon’s house with an anxious look. He could look more closely, but somehow he didn’t want to go in anymore. He wanted to get out of this neighborhood quickly. Hayun wrapped his fingertips with his sleeve so as not to leave fingerprints, and carefully opened the door.

Fortunately, he didn’t encounter any residents. But even after safely getting out of the neighborhood, the eerie feeling didn’t disappear. Hayun changed buses several times before returning home.

Even after arriving in the neighborhood, he wandered around instead of going home. Only when the eerie feeling disappeared and the sun set did Hayun return home. He waited for his family to return, and only after confirming that everyone was back did he finally relax his guard.

As the tension eased, his body also lost strength. But then, fear crept in. He wondered if he had stirred up a hornet’s nest for no reason. Hayun lay on the sofa and curled up. His eyes became hot, and teardrops fell like beads. Hayun roughly wiped away his tears and sobbed silently. He missed Mookyeong.

He had planned to go to Mookyeong’s house anyway, so he missed him even more. He wanted to check if he was okay, if something had happened. But he couldn’t.

He repeatedly turned his phone on and off to see if there was a reply to the message he sent during the day. But there was no reply, and there was no indication that it had been read.

‘That jerk. He made a fuss when I ignored his calls.’

Back then, they lived in the same house and shared the same room anyway. Even if they couldn’t contact each other, they would see each other when they got home. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He felt so wronged that he shed tears, then pulled the blanket over his head and fell asleep.

Perhaps because of that, Hayun had a nightmare that day. Kim Heewon, Mookyeong, and Kim Eung, whose faces he didn’t even know, appeared in his dream. And all three of them said to Hayun.

[Why didn’t you save me?]

He didn’t know why, but Hayun begged the three of them. He cried and apologized, saying he was sorry. He was sorry, resentful, and scared. He thought it was his fault that they were in danger.

When he thought about it after waking up, it was full of holes, but in the dream, it was so terrifying. Eventually, after waking up, Hayun just gasped for breath with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Whether Hayun’s heart was burning or not, his contact with Mookyeong continued sporadically. Messages were checked a day or two later, and calls were not answered at all, as if they were blocked. He was worried and angry, but he couldn’t go see him. Instead, he took more time to look around.

Moreover, it became difficult for Hayun to make time. He had to prepare to re-enter a regular high school next year. He had definitely learned the material before, but his grades weren’t good. The principal of the academy where he went for a test scared him by saying that many students these days finish high school courses in middle school through advanced learning.

He couldn’t be lazy again when he saw his parents worrying. In addition to that, he had to prepare to lie, so he was really busy. He was able to make some time because of a missed call from Mookyeong.

It seemed like he had pressed it by mistake, but he had been waiting for contact and he also had things to do at Mookyeong’s house. He visited Mookyeong’s house during a two-hour break before going to the academy. As soon as he arrived at the front door, a delivery person came out and opened the door for him.

Hayun immediately got on the elevator, pressed the floor button, and thought for a moment. His heart fluttered with excitement, and his stomach felt tight with a bit of fear.

As the elevator went up, Hayun nervously lifted and lowered his heels repeatedly. Then, as soon as the elevator door opened, he rushed out. But despite going with a hurried step, he froze like a statue when he arrived in front of the house.

‘Is he home?’

If he is, will he open the door or not? Hayun took out his phone and checked the time. He took a deep breath as if to urge himself, and finally rang the doorbell.

Unlike his hesitation, there was no response.

This time, Hayun knocked on the door and said in the thickest voice he could muster.

“Management office. We have a complaint!”

He put his ear close to the door, but he couldn’t hear anything. Hayun rang the doorbell one more time.

‘Hasn’t he come back from school yet?’

It was possible. It was a shame, but it would be better to wait for Mookyeong to come back and visit again. But even though he knew that, he was anxious to go inside. Hayun stomped his feet in frustration and groaned, finding himself ridiculous.

‘What if something happens?’

But he wanted to go in. The passcode for this house was too obvious, which was part of the reason. He felt like he could easily open it and go in if he wanted to.

‘I can check and leave quickly before he comes back from school. Anyway, the passcode will be either the teacher’s wedding anniversary or our birthdays.’

Of course, they didn’t use the dates directly, but changed the order in a few patterns. The month in the front, the year in the middle, and the date at the end, or vice versa, and so on.

If it were before, he would have pressed the wedding anniversary, but now Mookyeong was living alone. There was a high possibility that he had changed it to his liking.

‘He might not remember now because his memories are all mixed up.’

Hayun pressed the easiest passcode as a test.