ACJY C33

In the car on the way back, the man remained silent. He didn’t touch the iced tea Taeheun bought him until the ice had completely melted. After getting out of the car, the man went to the youth center, covered himself with his usual blanket, and fell asleep on the sofa. Taeheun also settled down on the opposite side and lay down.

Sleep wouldn’t come, so he thought. He seemed to understand why the man had gotten angry. He didn’t know how close the man was to Detective Oh, but it meant that Detective Oh wasn’t someone Taeheun could casually joke about or belittle.

Understanding didn’t mean he agreed. Honestly, he hadn’t even cursed, it was just a joke about being a liar, was it really something to get so angry about? With a mixture of inexplicable jealousy and hurt feelings, Taeheun glared at the man.

The man woke up precisely at 3:30, washed his face, and then left for work, leaving Taeheun behind. He was a kind person, though. Before leaving, he told Taeheun what time he would be back and told him to go home first if he was tired. He even forgot about the snacks he bought and asked what Taeheun wanted for dinner.

“I put them in the refrigerator, so don’t worry and go.”

He desperately wanted to follow, but he decided to hold back this time.

Only he and the youth association president were left in the office. Choi Gicheol was practically glued to the monitor, his face almost touching the screen as he stared at something. Taeheun was bored and restless. He was flipping through a comic book when his phone vibrated. It was an unknown number.

“This is Kim Taeheun.”

As he identified himself, a familiar voice greeted him.

“One moment, please.”

As Taeheun stood up with his phone, Choi Gicheol looked at him. His gaze lingered on the phone before moving away.

He went downstairs and stood where he could see the CCTV in front of the village hall. Since it was the time it was, there wasn’t a soul in sight, either in front of the hall or in the alley.

“Go ahead.”

The call went on for a while.

Listening to the voice on the other end, Taeheun looked up at the sky. It was disgustingly blue.

After the call ended, which lasted about 10 minutes, his phone was very hot. He flipped it closed with his chin and habitually put a cigarette in his mouth. He chewed on the filter without lighting it. A bitter taste filled his mouth.

He had woken up at 4:30 am, so the day felt very long. It was only four in the afternoon, and three more hours remained until dinner. Suddenly feeling dizzy, Taeheun went back to the youth association office.

Unusually, Choi Gicheol, the youth association president, had moved away from the monitor and was sitting on the sofa. He held a cell phone in his chubby hand, flipping it open and closed.

“What’s your cell phone number? I won’t be here long, but just in case.”

“Of course. I was just about to ask you. It’s 011-88X-37XX.”

“Wait a minute, 011-88….”

After several attempts, Choi Gicheol finally entered the entire number and pressed the call button. Taeheun’s phone vibrated. A number starting with 017 appeared.

“That’s my number. Save it.”

Choi Gicheol said this, and before putting the phone in his pocket, he wiped his fingerprints off it.

Silence fell. Taeheun wasn’t awkward with silence, but the other person was different. Choi Gicheol, who usually avoided eye contact, kept glancing at Taeheun and clearing his throat. If he was so uncomfortable, he should have gone back to his computer, yet he stubbornly remained seated. It seemed like he had something to say, but since he didn’t seem to want to ask first, Taeheun opened the comic book he had been flipping through.

After some time, Choi Gicheol called out, 

“Ahem, uh.” 

He finally spoke.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yes, anything.”

“What’s the real reason you’re staying here?”

“I’m on vacation.”

He answered casually.

He had told the village headman and the other villagers that he knew Detective Oh through work and had taken a vacation because of some recent difficulties. He explained that he came to this village because Detective Oh had always boasted about it, so he came to see for himself and ended up being tricked. Regardless of what they actually thought, everyone seemed to believe him for now.

But now the youth association president was asking the real reason. He pretended to be nonchalant, but inwardly, he tensed up.

“You’re spending your precious vacation in a backwater place like this?”

“Yes. I guess you haven’t heard from Detective Oh Daeho.”

He forced himself to act relaxed.

Choi Gicheol trailed off, saying, 

“I heard, but…”

“Look, it’s actually because of the land, right? For investment purposes.”

As he said this, his gaze lingered on Taeheun’s wristwatch. He seemed to recognize the luxury watch, which was worth as much as a decent car. Otherwise, the youth association president wouldn’t have suddenly mentioned “investment.”

“The land in this village is certainly cheap compared to the surrounding market prices.”

He laughed. At the same time, he felt relieved. The anticlimactic ending was almost embarrassing, considering how briefly he had been tense.

“Even so, the land prices near Gibeom’s place will never go up. It’s at the foot of a mountain, so transportation is inconvenient. And the place where Mr. Kim is staying is even worse.”

Choi Gicheol leaned forward slightly.

“Have you heard any rumors by any chance?”

“Rumors? What kind?”

As Taeheun feigned interest, Choi Gicheol lowered his voice, as if he had expected this.

“About the place where Mr. Kim is staying, not Gibeom’s house.”

“What about that house?”

“You haven’t heard, have you? Tsk tsk. Daeho is really too much.”

It felt strange and awkward to hear Choi Gicheol call Detective Oh “Daeho.” Although Detective Oh wasn’t born here, he spent his childhood in this village, following his father, who worked at the Hwangmu Township police substation. Not to mention, he graduated from the elementary and middle schools in town. So he must have known the youth association president, who was around the same age. They might even be classmates.

“That place used to be a shaman’s shrine.”

The youth association president’s voice trembled.

“A shaman’s shrine?”

This was the first time he had heard of it.

No wonder there was something like a flag hanging on the clothesline; it was where a shaman used to live.

“Yes, a shrine. A very powerful shaman lived there. She probably handled all the big and small events in our village, right? She performed rain rituals and exorcisms and such.”

Choi Gicheol excitedly shared anecdotes about the shaman. It was incredibly boring, to the point where he wondered why he was being told this. He was about to interrupt when Choi Gicheol continued.

“Every time there was a gut, Gibeom’s mother would fight with her, it was chaos. A gut is bound to be noisy, you know. But the other neighbors couldn’t even utter a word for fear of being cursed, but only Gibeom’s mother would always go to that house and curse at the shaman. That woman, she was pretty, but her personality was something else.”

He brought up the topic of the man’s mother. Taeheun, who had been half-listening, adjusted his posture.

“Really? Mr. Gibeom takes after his mother, then.”

Taeheun pictured the man’s handsome face and imagined a woman who looked just like him.

“But ever since that shaman died in an accident, so many ominous things have been happening in the village. Well, a series of unfortunate events happened to Gibeom’s family too.”

Choi Gicheol, who had been excited just a moment ago, spoke in a somewhat subdued voice.

“Unfortunate events? Could you tell me what kind of events, by any chance?”

Except for raising a child alone without a wife, the man’s life seemed to have been smooth. A poor, but not harsh life, just an ordinary one. But the fact that something unfortunate had happened to him piqued his curiosity. He wondered if it was related to the reason the man had left the village. His imagination ran wild.

Choi Gicheol smacked his lips and fell into thought for a moment.

“What happened? Was it something very bad?”

Taeheun seemed to have been too eager in his questioning. Choi Gicheol, who had seemed ready to tell him just a moment ago, waved his hands dismissively, as if telling him not to even think about it.

“I can’t tell you that much. Anyway, I’m telling you because it seems like you don’t know, Mr. Kim. It’s creepy, living in a place where a shaman died in an accident, isn’t it? Think about it carefully, and if you change your mind, let me know anytime. My house has a spare room too. I’ll give you a cheaper rate than Gibeom’s.”

Shit. What was he talking about?

Taeheun felt deflated by the conversation that was all setup and no payoff. He even began to suspect that the story about the shaman and the accident might be fabricated.

“And about the land, my father knows an amazing spot. I’m sure you’ll figure it out on your own, Mr. Kim, but if you’re interested, feel free to ask. That, Chief Park or whatever, is he your subordinate, Mr. Kim? If you had told me sooner, we could have had a meal together. Let’s have a drink sometime, just the two of us. Don’t bother going to the real estate agents in town. Got it?”

After saying this, Choi Gicheol licked his chapped, thin lips with his tongue. As if he had said everything he had prepared, he exhaled deeply, expressing satisfaction.

He wanted to ignore him, but Choi Gicheol was someone with a title in this village. Worried about any negative impact on the man, he politely bowed his head.

“Thank you for the valuable information, hyungnim.”

“Don’t mention it. We should help each other out, right?”

Choi Gicheol gave a friendly smile. The way his murky eyes glistened as he scanned Taeheun reminded him of Lee Hyeonjun. The face he didn’t even want to think about overlapped with Choi Gicheol’s. The arrogant way he acted as if he was something, despite his lack of ability. The purple lips and ugly face. The thick jaw and belly fat.

Suddenly, he felt suffocated, and nausea welled up.

“Ugh.”

Without a moment to hold back, he vomited everything in his stomach.

Choi Gicheol recoiled in horror.