OL Ch 29

Chapter 29

By the time Hayun exited Mookyeong’s house, it was well past evening. He briskly walked along. Since Mookyeong lived within the city center, he needed to take a bus home. Thanks to his swift pace, the bus stop soon came into view.

He only had to cross one more alleyway, yet strangely, his steps slowed down gradually.

‘It’s okay. Everything went smoothly.’

Hayun couldn’t be certain if he completely fooled Mookyeong, but there remained a chance that he might have succeeded. Most likely, by morning, Mookyeong would verify some of the information shared with him. If Hayun’s account proved accurate, he requested permission to accompany Mookyeong to the place where Teacher Seo Iju left her final traces.

If those traces were preserved intact, they might finally be able to resolve Seo Iju’s death properly.

‘I want this done before their wedding anniversary. It would mean so much.’

Hayun’s pace had gradually slowed and eventually stopped altogether. Startled, he resumed walking. Although it wasn’t perfect, things had gone reasonably well today. He bit his lip. Despite trying to maintain composure, Hayun found himself bowing deeply in gratitude, almost bending at the waist. Unable to hold back any longer, tears began streaming down his face.

It was quite peculiar.

Eventually, Hayun collapsed on the spot, sobbing uncontrollably as apologies poured out of him. Unclear who these apologies were directed towards, they echoed through the streets, dissipating into nothingness.

He couldn’t remember how he made it home that day. Somehow, amidst his tearful state, his feet carried him steadily until he arrived at his house. It was then that reality set in. Standing hesitantly outside the door, he mustered the courage to finally step inside.

Fortunately, his voice sounded better than he expected, and he thought he could navigate this situation safely. However, it didn’t take long for his mother to uncover the truth. The house erupted as soon as his mom realized Mookyeong had hit Hayun. It took all of Hayun’s effort to prevent her from filing an attempted murder report with the police. As a result, Hayun was grounded for the week.

During this period of confinement, Hayun transformed into an ordinary person. This change came about after submitting five documents, including one requiring his signature and undergoing a single examination.

His school attendance also ended abruptly. On his last day, when his mother asked if he wanted to say goodbye to his friends, Hayun declined. He knew exactly what whispers would follow without needing to witness them firsthand.

During this time, Mookyeong called Hayun four times. He repeatedly asked about what was previously mentioned and wanted to hear memories of Kim Heewon. In the first call, Hayun almost cried, while in the second call, he didn’t cry but acted a bit foolishly. The third call was quite ordinary, and by the fourth call, he managed to tell convincing lies.

Mookyeong neither believed nor disbelieved Hayun’s words; he both doubted them yet wished they were true. Consequently, Mookyeong occasionally threw sharp suspicions at Hayun, only to let him continue speaking without any further objections.

After each conversation with Mookyeong, Hayun meticulously reviewed what he had said to ensure consistency and avoid contradictions later on. This necessity compelled him to gather more information about Kim Heewon.

On the day when the ban on leaving home was lifted, Hayun visited Kim Heewon’s house. It was easy to find his residence. They were under the same jurisdiction and attended the same educational institutions. Of course, Hayun only discovered this fact about ten years later, but it was fortunate for him now.

At the back of their elementary school yearbook, there were addresses, emails, and contact numbers written for each graduate. Nowadays, it would be impractical, but it seemed they hoped people would at least write letters. While some phone numbers were fake, the addresses and email addresses appeared quite accurate.

Using the information from the yearbook, Hayun began investigating Kim Heewon. He checked online posts made by the email address associated with Heewon’s name. Three weeks before his disappearance, Kim Heewon had posted seeking advice about domestic violence.

Previously, he had written about his memories from when he was young and orphaned on an internet community. It wasn’t a long post but contained much information. His father was a researcher, their house caught fire one day, resulting in the death of his mother. Afterward, his father lost both his abilities and job at the research institute, leading him to drown his sorrows in alcohol, which ultimately impoverished their family.

‘Researcher, fire, loss of ability.’

Hayun did his best investigation within the limits of available information. Despite dedicating ample time and effort, he didn’t uncover anything significant. After this superficial inquiry, Hayun decided to visit Kim Heewon’s home.

Perhaps it was because he thought it would be easy? The address of Kim Heewon’s house led him to a road. Hayun kept looking between the paper with the address and nearby buildings.

A resident passing by became suspicious at this sight and asked what he was doing. Hayun questioned if there used to be a house around here.

“Why do you ask?”

What should he say? Hayun pondered for a moment.

“She’s an aunt we cut ties with before, but she wants to see her before it’s too late.”

“Your mother does?”

“Yes.”

Despite his vague explanation driven by a small sense of conscience, the resident understood.

“Why did your mother cut ties with her?”

“Due to her marriage partner.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

“Do you happen to know anyone who lived at this address?”

“Oh, indeed. I’ve been living here for over thirty years now. You see, that Kim family used to live there. Your aunt must have been the new bride.”

Kim… Could it be Kim Heewon’s father? Hayun patiently waited as the resident recalled their memory.

“It was a two-story house. I heard he was a researcher for some government agency or something like that. That’s why he didn’t let anyone inside. Even if you visited, he wouldn’t offer a single cup of coffee and would just talk at the front door.”

The resident vividly remembered how unfriendly the man had been, even years later. Their bitterness over not receiving coffee seemed quite significant. However, as Hayun continued listening, he realized that the resentment wasn’t solely due to the lack of hospitality. It appeared to stem from witnessing someone else’s misfortune reaching its inevitable conclusion.

“Then one day, there was a fire. What was strange was that despite firefighters pouring water relentlessly, the flames wouldn’t extinguish, burning only that specific house fiercely. Out of precaution, they evacuated all surrounding homes.”

Espers were mobilized due to it being caused by espers, but the house was already burned down when they arrived. Two bodies were found amidst the wreckage. One belonged to Kim Heewon’s mother, and the other was unidentified. It wasn’t clear who spread such detailed information, but people speculated that his mother had been unfaithful. Whether true or not, there were rumors of men visiting their home despite her husband’s absence.

Whispers circulated about her extramarital affairs lasting for quite some time.

Kim Heewon’s father was on a business trip far away during the fire and only returned home the next day. With a devastated look, he stared at the burnt remains before barely regaining his composure to search for Kim Heewon.

‘Kim Heewon was protected by the school after they heard about the fire.’

As he listened to the resident’s chatter, Hayun realized anew how indifferent he had been towards others’ affairs. In a regular elementary school, such news would’ve spread like wildfire. Yet, he couldn’t recall hearing any whispers of it back then.

‘There were only a handful of schools specializing for espers, unlike typical educational institutions.’

Did Mookyeong know about this incident? Hayun pondered briefly but concluded that Mookyeong likely shared his disinterest. Just as Hayun cared solely for himself, Mookyeong focused only on Hayun. At the time, Mookyeong would have simply laughed it off while helping with Hayun’s assignments.

“I thought they would move to another house after that, but instead, his father couldn’t cope and started drinking heavily every day. It was tough for the child. Then came the news about returning to their original home, and I bet he agreed first while receiving the highest compensation?”

Although it wasn’t a typical fire, there was still insurance money, along with additional compensation for rebuilding. Despite having received a substantial sum, Heewon’s father unexpectedly moved to an unusual location.

“They said he relocated to that neighborhood over there.”

The resident pointed towards a densely packed residential area on a hillside. This neighborhood emerged as people, repeatedly displaced by the destruction and regeneration of Seoul due to monster invasions and wars, built new homes wherever they could find space.

After finishing his conversation with the resident, Hayun headed towards the neighborhood indicated by her. The densely packed houses made navigating the streets complicated. He felt foolish for venturing inside without knowing where to go, but he continued walking regardless.

As he approached the top of the hill, twilight began to set in. At the end of the road, a streetlight flickered before illuminating the area. Around this time, cats hidden in the darkness emerged and started yowling at each other, seemingly contesting their territories.

The tense standoff continued until suddenly one cat lunged at the other. Intense paw strikes flew back and forth, accompanied by piercing wails that echoed through the air. Suddenly, a metal door creaked loudly, struggling to open due to its misaligned hinges.

The cats froze, and startled, Hayun quickly hid behind a nearby cart filled with scrap paper.

“Hisssss!” The door opened to reveal a resident who let out a loud exclamation. This caused most of the cats to scatter, but one remained unmoved. The resident swiftly approached the cat. As soon as it darted away, the resident started grumbling. Though Hayun couldn’t make out exactly what was being said, he could tell the person was dissatisfied about something related to the cats. At that moment, footsteps were heard from a distance, approaching the two individuals, presumably to exchange greetings.

“I wanted to take out the food waste early because I want to watch a drama, and now these cats are rampant. They might overturn everything after we put it down. Just now, there was this black cat staring at me with round eyes. It may not be one of those monsters.”

“Ah, they warned us recently about a cat-like monster roaming around. Although small-sized monsters aren’t life-threatening, since they came from the labyrinth, it might carry diseases. So, they told us not to touch it. We shouldn’t risk getting scratched either.”

“Eh, I’m too scared to go that far.”

“We need to report it to the municipal office. Request for them to check.”

“Yes, you should file a report. I don’t know how to do it on my phone; otherwise, I would’ve reported it earlier. Both the cats and the trash scattered by them are problematic.”

“Trash?”

“Yes, trash. It came from that house. I would’ve cleaned up if it was other garbage but couldn’t touch it since it came from there.”

The resident suddenly lowered their voice. However, although it wasn’t as loud as before, it was still clear enough to understand.

“Haaa, just thinking about that day gives me chills. I didn’t dare make eye contact with the owner of that house for fear of saying something wrong and facing consequences. Yet, the smell coming from there was unbearable, along with swarms of insects. Even though summer had passed, we couldn’t open our doors due to the stench. After enduring it for so long, I finally decided to ask them to clean up the trash. When I approached, the door opened easily, as if they never bothered locking it.” The resident shuddered at the memory.

“I entered to leave a note, but oh my goodness. There was something like a bag in one corner of the yard, teeming with maggots and flies buzzing around crazily. I regretted looking closely at it. So, without examining further, I reported it to the police, but those bastards didn’t show up until two days later due to their backlog. Can you believe it?”

“Two whole days later?”

“Yeah, it really pissed me off. When they finally arrived, they just strolled around aimlessly and casually asked some visitors nearby about the place. But honestly, despite living here for several years, nobody wanted to associate with them, so we had little information to offer.”

“But what happened to the son from that house? He went missing, right?”

“Oh my, poor kid. Hope he’s still alive somewhere.”

“Why didn’t they completely dispose of the trash?”

“Since the car couldn’t come in. Even if it did, it would only be able to go as far as down there. Maybe because it was difficult to haul trash out, they put it in bags and left them outside for collection day. But since we were also struggling, we didn’t bother picking up those bags. There’s no way garbage collectors would come all the way here either. So, I told them to leave the bags at the bottom of the hill, but they said okay and just left.”

The resident clicked their tongue before asking another neighbor about the time.

“Oh my, look at the time. Just exchanging greetings took so long. Let’s head inside quickly. I need to watch my drama too.”

“Yes, let’s go inside. Me too!”

After more exchanges of pleasantries, they finally stopped. Hayun waited until he heard both doors close before slowly bowing his head.