Chapter 78
“Shaman... I've met a few to read my fortune.”
“I'm different from them.”
The shaman Yuil-am, who kicked Song Seon-yeong while claiming to catch ghosts, naturally came to mind.
'He was really the worst!'
Yuil-am was my number one human I never wanted to meet again.
“Yeah, that seems right. All the shamans I've met so far fell for my husband's outward appearance.”
“......”
I didn't respond to the conversation. Mrs. Park Han-hee was consciously avoiding her right foot, making it impossible to gauge her true intentions.
I felt a slight pang of regret for showing my hand too quickly.
“What kind of person did your husband seem like to you?”
“He had a strong sense of patriotism.”
“You saw him right. So I suggested he go into politics, but he refused.”
“His past wasn't clean enough, so it must've been tough.”
Politics in the old days was like that. Presidents, ministers, mayors, congressmen... as long as politicians didn't stand out too much, their crimes and corruption rarely got properly investigated.
'Nam Hae-su couldn't pull it off.'
Just like how singers and actors who made it on broadcast TV got ousted years later for bullying friends in school.
If Nam Hae-su's countless misdeeds from his swimming career were exposed to the world, it would be his ruin! That's why the guy, loaded with buried sins, could never become a politician.
“...You know everything. Yeah, my husband had a ton of secrets.”
“So, is there a particular truth you absolutely want to confirm?”
“Yes.”
Mrs. Park Han-hee admitted it readily.
A husband full of secrets. Her expression, steady throughout the funeral, kept shifting now. It meant she cared far more about this than his fortune.
What could be the secret he'd hidden until death? He even entrusted it to a complete stranger, not even family.
'No wonder it's eating at her.'
I'd probably feel the same in her shoes.
“Nam Hae-su left it to my judgment, right?”
“So you're saying you won't show me?”
“I'll decide.”
“...These days, guys think they're set if they're just handsome.”
“Pardon?”
I was flustered by the mix of criticism and praise.
“You think that's a joke?”
“...No.”
If Mrs. Park Han-hee's tastes hadn't changed over the years, it was sincere.
“Athlete Kang Moon-soo, thanks for chatting so long with an ugly old lady.”
“Ah, no, it's nothing.”
“I'll wait here, reminiscing. Looking forward to you sharing all the secrets.”
Mrs. Park Han-hee, who'd been accompanying me the whole time, turned her wheelchair around.
“Ma'am.”
“Something else to say?”
“Even if you couldn't make the national team, did you want to keep running as a track athlete?”
“...What did that girl confess to you without shaking her right foot?”
“Tell me first, and I'll let you know.”
Looking at the kids running lively around the resort, she said, “People are happiest when they're doing what they want.”
“You haven't changed.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she runs just because she wants to run.”
If her senior hadn't tormented her, the real her would've kept running too. Regardless of aptitude.
“Did I pass your test?”
“Just curious.”
“As an elder giving advice, in society, they call that a test.”
“...Sorry.”
“I'll wait.”
“Yes.”
Now, time to find Nam Hae-su's final dream.
* * *
I'd escaped just before the hijacked plane landed at the airport in the dream and chose a villa over the ocean.
I was confident in swimming, and if surrounded, I could just escape into the sea.
...or so I thought.
'Got totally screwed because of it!'
In a fantasy world without conventional weapons, it'd be a decent hideout, but in modern times? Not at all.
The existence of snipers who could attack one-sidedly from afar! The open ocean offered no cover from incoming bullets—it was a perfect shooting range to die in.
“No way it's a coincidence.”
Whatever, I'd chosen this hideout myself.
But there were dozens of identical 'ocean villas' on either side, like twins. 503, 504, 505, 506... like that!
The resort manager randomly picked an empty one for me, but what if his employee was 'Nam Hae-su'? It didn't look like coincidence anymore.
Click.
I picked the lock on the door—just like in the dream—and slipped inside carefully.
'...Damn trauma.'
A vision flashed of Nam Hae-su holding a wine glass and beckoning me.
The room layout and stunning view were perfectly identical. Goosebumps rose.
'Just the furniture different...?'
Furniture in modern times had to be sleeker than in less advanced eras.
Still, TV, bed, bathroom, vanity—all in the exact same spots.
“Outside looks... good.”
No suspicious yachts along the coastline.
Squeeze!
I turned on my smartphone, which I'd powered off to avoid tracking.
Bzzz—
「Song Seon-yeong: Moon-soo ya. Let's eat.」
「Song Seon-yeong: Sleeping?」
「Song Seon-yeong: Not at the dorm either.」
「Song Seon-yeong: Who're you sleeping with right now?」
「Song Seon-yeong: Call when you see this.」
Messages flooded in at once, the phone vibrating nonstop.
'...Ridiculous.'
What business of hers was it who I was with or where?
I decided to give 'the coach's daughter' a piece of my mind this time.
Ring ring~♪
“Hey? I told you to cal—”
(Where are you...!)
Song Seon-yeong's shrill yell boomed like it would shatter my phone. The scolding would have to wait.
“Overseas.”
(Again?! Didn't you say you were going to Nam Hae-su's funeral?)
“Went and came back—”
(You should've told me! At least a text! Do you know how worried I was with no contact? Even Mom didn't know...!)
“Yeah... my bad.”
Why was I apologizing to a girl who was nothing to me now? It felt off.
(When you coming back?)
“Tomorrow at earliest.”
(But that's a resort couples and fiancés flock to.)
“Yeah. Tons of them.”
I answered truthfully without thinking.
(Who'd you go with?)
“Alone.”
(You, who skimps on coffee, went alone to a fancy couples resort? With your own money?)
“Uh... hard to believe, but really alone.”
(If you're lying, you're dead.)
“Got it.”
What an absurd world.
'So what if I came with a girl?!'
I didn't have a girlfriend to travel abroad with anyway!
(Come back safe.)
“Yeah.”
(Text when you get to the dorm.)
“Why?”
(Got a little issue. Wanna discuss it with you.)
“Discuss? What issue?”
(Secret.)
“......”
Secrets were getting old.
(Curious? Hurry back!)
“Yeah.”
Click.
After hanging up with Song Seon-yeong, frustration bubbled up to my chin.
'I'm not her husband or boyfriend or anything...!'
This wasn't the first time. She'd nag every meeting about me moving without a word.
But the gripe toward her willfulness didn't last. Thump! My heart malfunctioned again.
“Can't be helped...”
No one had ever hounded me so persistently about who I was with or where.
Usually, they'd back off if I seemed reluctant to share.
But Song Seon-yeong was different. Like family... So her nagging and meddling annoyed me but felt good too? Super complicated.
'...Maybe go find it.'
The call with Song Seon-yeong delayed me a bit, but the sky wasn't dark enough to hide a baseball-sized box, so no issue.
The lowest place no one could find. Under the building was it.
“That's why no one finds it.”
Tourists head to well-maintained beaches or pools if they wanna swim.
This was ocean too. But no pretty coral, no lifeguards—swimming here meant risking your one life.
Why bother at a resort? And with neighbors' villas on both sides, swimming might invade privacy or get you pegged as a thief.
Bottom line: no one cared what was under the building.
'They'd think just sand.'
Time to check if it really was just sand.
I changed into my athlete's swimsuit—always packed—then dove into the sea.
Splash!
“Hm...”
Only pillars holding up the sea-level building and sand visible.
Buried in sand? I seriously debated grabbing a shovel and coming back.
「Life is hell.」
Scratched into the pillar's base, visible only underwater.
'Found it.'
Hell. The lowest place on earth.
Nam Hae-su's video letter explained the spot in detail.
「The place we met last. My secret's hidden there.」
「Hid it in the lowest spot no one can find.」
Last meeting place. Broadly the island, but specifically, this villa where we met and parted.
Lowest spot. No basement, so under the building in the ocean.
「Life is hell.」
'Even left a signpost! Nice.'
Good thing I didn't have to churn up all the sand.
Scrape scrape—
I dug away the soft white sand at the pillar's base by hand.
'...Oh!'
Thud.
My fingertips hit something rock-hard.
I yanked it out: a black box.
Just as Nam Hae-su said, baseball-sized black cube.
Whoosh—!
Back via the ladder linking sea and villa, I examined the box closely.
“Twists open, looks like...”
Grind—
Super tight seal, stiff as hell, but not beyond my strength.
Spin spin.
After dozens of turns? The cube split in half.
'Old-era memory chip?'
The portable storage I'd seen often in Nam Hae-su's dream.
Wrapped in vinyl and tissue to keep water out.
What now? Obviously, check the contents.
“My preparedness!”
I'd half-guessed since he said baseball-sized.
Even that it might be old-era electronics.
110V, 220V, USB, MP3... old-era adapters and cables were cheap and portable, so no sweat packing 'em.
Tap, tap.
Hooked my smartphone to the chip right away, ran the old-era file reader.
'This...?'
File names were ominous from the start.
「Woodpecker」
「Cuckoo」
「Sparrow」
“...Refined hobbies.”
If caught in life, divorce material for sure.
Next files...
「Park Han-hee」
「Park Han-seol」
'Why wife and sister-in-law's names...?'
Curious, I clicked—and was stunned.
Tons of videos. Even the track senior I'd teased as 'turtle' in the dream.
“Real dangerous secret.”
Judgment later; keep checking.
「Hell」
'...Life is hell.'
Hell in the pillar inscription and file name. Connected for sure.
Tap.
Braced myself and opened 'Hell'.
“Huh? That woman?”
The betrayer killed by husband Nam Hae-su turned Sword Demon in the dream.
In reality, she'd been forced into sex services and suicided young...
Reason Nam Hae-su remembered the old case.
'You were involved, huh?'
Not just her. The 'Hell' file brimmed with evidence of Nam Hae-su's misdeeds for success—and after.
And at the end, 「Divine Punishment」
The final file.
“Divine punishment, huh...”
Tap.
Video like the letter: just Nam Hae-su's face.
(If this gets out, it means I'm dead.)
“Right.”
(You watching probably guessed, but I'm no good person. Oppressed the weak, blackmailed women, betrayed friends, framed colleagues... a devil.)
“Pretty much!”
Even skimming the files, unforgivable.
(My wife doesn't know. That I sicced track friends on her, used family weaknesses to push marriage.)
“Whoa...”
Not human?
(I was scared.)
“Naturally.”
(I regretted it. But too late to fix past wrongs.)
“......”
Nam Hae-su's world (dream) wasn't from patriotism.
Guilt. The devil who'd fooled even closest people wanted repentance.
(You're the one I trusted most before dying.)
“What...”
Maybe?
(So I entrust this file to you.)
“You bastard...!”
Stepped on a landmine proper!
(Sorry to dump this heavy burden.)
“What am I supposed to do with this?!”
Nam Hae-su's dream ended by gifting a bomb.