While Kim Do-hyun was deeply engaged with the Merchant, Park Se-jin had been relentlessly calling Do-hyun.
If Do-hyun had been outside the urban legend, by the time forty missed calls had accumulated, Se-jin would have been certain that Do-hyun hadn’t simply ignored his calls and disappeared.
Normally, Do-hyun answered immediately whenever he called, and there was no reason for Do-hyun to abandon him and vanish.
The only remaining possibility, then, was this:
‘He must have gotten caught up in something.’
Se-jin’s expression darkened.
‘Whether it’s an urban legend or a person.’
Due to their unique status as employees of the Urban Legend Management Bureau, abductions of agents were surprisingly common, and Se-jin himself had a colleague who had been kidnapped before.
‘But if he were abducted, he would have contacted me with the emergency beacon. So, ruling out abduction, what’s left is…’
Se-jin’s lips trembled.
“An urban legend.”
Though he desperately wanted to rush to Do-hyun’s aid, he was currently tasked with monitoring Choi Seong-min, and beyond that, there was nothing he could do.
How could he help when he didn’t even know what kind of urban legend Do-hyun was involved in or how he became entangled?
Consequently, Se-jin left a message with the Urban Legend Management Bureau regarding Do-hyun’s potential involvement in an urban legend and slowly headed towards Choi Seong-min’s house.
‘Do-hyun isn’t so weak as to fall victim to an urban legend…’
In a situation where he couldn’t even know what had become of his comrade, Choi Seong-min’s house, illuminated by the blue moonlight, seemed infuriatingly peaceful.
Perhaps it was from spending too long in the car, but Se-jin craved the acrid smoke of a cigarette.
‘Not yet. After it’s all over, yes, after everything is finished, then I’ll smoke.’
Se-jin stood before the door.
A low murmur of voices could be heard from inside.
He had originally planned to observe for a while before entering, but for some reason, Se-jin felt an inexplicable sense of urgency.
Just as he was about to press the doorbell.
“Mom! Did you give away the snacks that were here again?”
Choi Seong-min’s voice pierced through the thick door.
His tone was laced with an emotion akin to hatred.
Se-jin moved closer to the window to hear more clearly.
Just then, his phone vibrated.
It was Do-hyun.
“Hey! Where in the world have you been?”
–”I apologize, I got caught up in a shop.”
“Wait, you got caught up in a shop? Are you okay?”
Behind the window, the increasingly heated conversation began to interfere with his call.
“Ugh, just come here and we’ll talk. Hang up!”
Se-jin, sighing with relief, patted his chest and refocused on his primary task.
“Mom! Did you give those snacks to the neighborhood kids again? I didn’t want to say this, but please, just stop it! I know you’re doing this because of my older brother, but he’s not coming back just because of this! And besides, my older brother, from the very beginning, it was because of you—!”
Choi Seong-min cut himself off, realizing his wife and daughter were staring at him from behind.
“Yu-na, were you scared? Daddy is truly sorry. Grandma ate all the snacks Daddy bought for our Yu-na, so Daddy got a little angry. I’m truly sorry. Now, go with Mommy and wash up first.”
“Ugh… Daddy’s mean!”
Yu-na screamed, then ran off towards the bathroom.
Seong-min’s wife glared fiercely at him before following Yu-na.
Only Choi Seong-min and his mother remained.
Seong-min glanced at his mother for a moment, then turned and walked towards the bathroom.
All sounds faded, and soon, the only thing Se-jin could hear was the old woman’s feeble footsteps.
Se-jin returned to his car to meet Do-hyun.
Do-hyun arrived shortly thereafter.
“…Are you alright?”
Do-hyun raised his left hand and replied,
“Aside from this, I’m fine.”
“So, it was true you went into a shop. What was it like?”
“It wasn’t much different from what we already knew. A few peculiarities were that the pager didn’t work, the Merchant didn’t look different from an ordinary person, and… for the rest, you should hear it directly.”
Do-hyun began to play a recording.
“A new product? And depending on how that’s utilized…”
“Yes, I believe so too.”
“And at the end, they speak so ambiguously. It’s either a ‘no’ or a ‘yes,’ but what does ‘most situations’ even mean? ‘Most situations’?”
“It seems we have no choice but to investigate Choi Seong-min.”
“Oh, right, I also have something to tell you about Choi Seong-min.”
Se-jin briefly summarized what he had overheard and informed Do-hyun.
“A brother, you say. Should we initiate a family background check? It might take some time as we’d need authorization from the police.”
“No, forget it. Don’t you know the police dislike us? We’d probably only get it after half a month, unless it’s an order from someone higher up than me.”
“Understood. Then, shall we proceed to investigate Mr. Choi Seong-min?”
****
The tightly closed door opened cautiously, casting a sliver of light into the dark room.
“Yu-na, why are you here? You should be asleep.”
She was her precious granddaughter, the apple of her eye.
“Mommy said guests came, so I have to sleep alone.”
“Is that right?”
“Grandma… are you okay?”
“Of course, everything is perfectly fine.”
“Daddy was mean! He’s always mean to Grandma.”
“No, Grandma was in the wrong. Grandma… did something unforgivable a long time ago.”
“Even so! He shouldn’t treat Grandma like that. Grandma cares so much about Daddy!”
Perhaps, memories of things she could never tell her granddaughter, not even until her dying day, resurfaced.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Yu-na, go back to your room now. It’s already nine o’clock. You need to sleep early to grow tall.”
“I don’t want to sleep alone. I want to sleep with Grandma.”
“Then come quickly and lie down in bed; Grandma will put you to sleep.”
Yu-na, finding joy in the old woman, chuckled bashfully and ran over.
“Grandma! Grandma!”
“What is it?”
“Can you tell me that story again?”
“Again? Then, will you go straight to sleep after hearing the story?”
“Yes!”
“Hmm. Once upon a time, a very long time ago, in an era when tigers roared and even celestial maidens and woodcutters would flee—”
Whenever she told this story, memories she wished to forget resurfaced.
That was why, whenever she slept with Yu-na, she always told her this tale.
It was to prevent the sin she had committed against her son from being forgotten.
“In a quiet village where clear streams flowed, a Doctor appeared.”
‘Mom! I finally, finally got into medical school! Now, just trust me!’
“The Doctor was deeply shocked by the children of the village.”
‘Mom, just look at these children. This child has leukemia, that girl has polio. But… there’s nothing I can do. Was pediatrics the right choice?’
“The Doctor lamented their limitations. Why were there so few children they could cure? Was the Doctor’s only job to diagnose and prescribe medicine for children with simple colds? Then one day, a young Girl, frail and exhausted, arrived in the village.”
‘Huh? A scar on her face? …It was a car accident, they said. Both parents died, leaving her alone. Severe sepsis. Two months at most, they said. This time too, there’ll be nothing I can do…’
“The Doctor traveled far and wide every day, searching for a cure.”
‘I still haven’t found a cure… Oh, Mom? Is this barley tea (TL Note: A traditional Korean roasted barley beverage)? Thank you, I’ll enjoy it with the children.’
“But the Doctor did not give up. They didn’t want to keep watching children die like this forever. And so, the Doctor took all their possessions and sought out a renowned shaman in the next village.”
‘Do you see this? Do you know what this is? This gem… it can save that child. Not just that child, but all the suffering children in the world!’
“The Doctor crafted the gem. They had never done anything like it in their life, but thinking only of the children dying in sorrow, they polished the gem.”
‘Barley tea? No, that’s not important now. I almost ran out of time… but I’ve almost found out how to use the gem. The research is complete; now all that’s left is practical application.’
“After long efforts, the gem began to glow with a beautiful green light and floated into the air. The gem, as if sculpted by a god, soon settled into the Doctor’s soul. The gem granted the Doctor the ability to cure all children, and all the children, including the Girl, lived long and healthy lives.”
She lowered her head and looked at her granddaughter beside her.
Yu-na was already deep in slumber.
Following her granddaughter, she closed her eyes and let her mind wander.
She was afraid to sleep.
As she aged, her memories often faded, yet she always seemed to dream the same dream.
Rain and wind lashed against a darkened hospital room.
‘Ah, something is terribly wrong! This isn’t what I wanted! The child isn’t breathing. Oh, what do I do, Mom? All the children! They aren’t waking up. As if dead… What have I done?’
The unforgettable memory, the true memory she had told no one, the sin she had committed against her son, Seong-cheol, always shimmered before her eyes.
A man with an unkempt beard covering his mouth stood there.
‘I feel my mind collapsing. But now… it’s truly the end. The children weren’t dead. They were living eternal lives! But that world is still incomplete. I, I must complete that world.’
And on that day, a news headline, which garnered no attention and soon vanished, read:
[Pediatrician ‘Choi OOO’ Missing…]
