Lost Child (2)
Lost Child (2)
How long had I been sitting there waiting?
Maybe the dispatch was delayed, because it took about twenty minutes before a single police car pulled up in front of the convenience store.
When I saw it, I rose from my seat, took the little girl by the hand, and headed toward the police car.
"Thank you for your help. We received the missing child report."
"Hello."
"Hel...lo."
The child, suddenly hiding behind my back and peeking out, bowed her head deeply in greeting.
The unfamiliar police officers must have frightened her.
"If it's all right, could the person who reported this come along with us so we can take a statement?"
"Yes, would it be okay if I follow in my own car?"
"Ah, if you have your own vehicle, you can certainly drive it there."
I had looked it up on my phone earlier, and the nearest police box was a bit of a distance away.
Riding there in the police car was fine, but then coming all the way back here and heading home afterward would be a hassle no matter how I thought about it.
"Ji-ye. Oppa will follow in his own car, so you can just ride with the police aunties."
"Can't... I go... together with Oppa?"
"Uh..."
The face of the child peeking out from behind me was full of worry.
She looked as though big teardrops might spill at any moment.
"What should I do?"
"Um... there's a regulation that a missing child who has been reported must be brought in by a police officer or a social worker in person..."
Since I was also a social welfare major, I knew that well.
When a missing child from a reported case is located, a police officer or social worker has to accompany them.
I knew it was the same rule when heading to a hospital.
"In that case, what if one of the officers rides with me?"
"Would that be all right with you?"
"For my part... it's fine."
On the contrary, wouldn't it be disastrous if something happened while I was alone in the car with her?
If I were even mistaken for a kidnapper, I'd truly be socially dead, and I might just end up diving off the apartment rooftop.
And even if she was a child I would soon part ways with, I didn't want to see her cry for no reason.
Isn't it said that when children cry, it's the adults' fault?
Though, of course, I was an awkward person to call an adult.
*
"Put your seatbelt on."
"Yes."
A slightly younger-looking police officer got into the passenger seat, and the child... no, Ji-ye sat in the back seat.
I made sure her seatbelt was fastened securely, just in case, and only then got into the driver's seat and started the engine.
And I asked the police officer something I hadn't been able to ask earlier.
Because I wondered if they were still looking for her there.
"The parents have been contacted, right?"
"Yes, her older brother and mother were both frantically searching for her. They even had private security personnel deployed around the area, not just the police."
"Security personnel?"
"You hadn't heard? They say the missing child is the daughter of the chairwoman of a construction company."
So that's how it was.
I did think she seemed well brought up at home, and that the child was clever...
But a construction company chaebol?
There was one such person around me as well, though.
"Hmm... no, it can't be."
"Is something the matter?"
"No, no. It's nothing. But how did the chairwoman of a construction company end up losing her daughter on the street?"
"There was a take-out cafe beside the convenience store, remember? They said she stepped out for a moment there to place an order for a drink. From what I heard, the menu was complicated so she had to explain it in person..."
So she'd gotten the daughter out of the car with her, and it just happened to coincide with the traffic light changing.
So the child had gotten lost among the crowd of people.
What kind of improbable coincidence was that...
"So her older brother and mother were running around searching for nearly three hours. Where did you find the child?"
"After coming out of the cafe to head home, I headed toward the parking lot and she was there crying."
"The cafe... mm-hmm... I think I roughly understand how it happened."
Thankfully, even though she'd been separated from her parents, she hadn't wandered far from where she originally was.
The cafe and the parking lot were adjacent, and even though the parking lot was in a corner and hard to see, she had been right in front of it.
***
Following behind the police car, we arrived at a small police box.
Maybe because she was the daughter of a chaebol family, there were black sedans lined up all around the front and back of the police box.
Those must be the security personnel they mentioned earlier, right?
But Lee Min-ho, that guy didn't seem to go around with even a single bodyguard despite being a man.
Or were the people in this world just peculiar?
"Ji-ye. You should hurry and go meet your mom."
"Oppa... thank you."
"Thank me..."
After confirming that the police officer had gotten out first, I exited the car.
Then I opened the back door and gently helped Ji-ye out.
She was only five years old, so she was very light.
What had I been like when I was five?
"Then for the statement..."
"Understood."
Holding the hand of Ji-ye, who wanted to hold mine, I slowly walked into the police box.
I couldn't even remember how many times I'd been in and out of police stations in the last two years.
I'd stopped by early last year, and during the honeymoon I'd been to a police station in Japan too...
What kind of person ends up at a police station this frequently...
I came inside the police box and sat in the seat the officer directed me to.
Above it was a plaque that said "Civil Complaint Consultation Desk."
"It's nothing much, but have a drink."
"Thank you."
"But most of what you mentioned earlier covers it, right? So there isn't really much else to ask..."
I smiled bitterly at the officer's remark.
I understood they had to follow procedure, but hadn't I already told them everything the statement was supposed to cover earlier?
*
"Ji-ye!"
"Oppa!"
While I was yawning loudly and stretching, someone burst through the door of the police box and came inside.
And from the way the door opened again right after, I figured her mother had come in behind him.
Ji-ye, who seemed to have relaxed a little upon meeting her older brother, hopped out of the chair and ran to him.
Since I was sitting with my back turned, I couldn't see clearly, but a pleased smile automatically spread across my face.
I felt very refreshed, as if I had done a good deed for the first time in a long while.
Today, I'd have to do some grocery shopping before going home and watch A-ra enjoy a good meal.
"Then may I be on my way now?"
"Ah... you're free to go, but you might be in for a little trouble."
"In trouble?"
The policewoman was staring behind me and had frozen, so I tilted my head in confusion.
Now that I thought about it, if she was a chaebol family's daughter, the mother who had just come in must be the chairwoman of the chaebol group.
It was only natural for her to freeze up like that in front of such a person.
"This student found our daughter for us? How can I ever repay this kindness..."
"No, no, kindness? I just did what anyone would do."
At the words about repaying kindness, I automatically turned around.
Reporting a missing child was, in a way, the natural thing to do, wasn't it?
As long as I didn't get mistaken for a kidnapper, I could do this sort of good deed anytime, as often as needed.
"S-still............... um......."
"...........Um?"
When I turned around, someone I had seen somewhere many times was standing there.
The chairwoman of the construction company I knew....
It was Lee Min-ho's mother, someone who could be called a chaebol.
Wait....
Then the person Ji-ye had run to, calling him 'Oppa'...
I jumped up from my seat and looked in the direction Ji-ye had run.
There, Ji-ye was being held tightly in the arms of a guy friend I felt like I'd seen many times before, and her head was being stroked.
".................."
What were the odds of something like this happening?
No matter how small South Korea and Seoul were, could a thing like this really happen?
Utterly astonished, I clutched my head and walked toward the man crouching down and hugging Ji-ye.
And I tapped his shoulder.
"Hey."
"Huh? I've heard this voice somewhere a lot before..."
Then the man slowly turned his head.
The expression of the guy looking up at me was filled with shock.
"Y-yoo Seong-hwan!?"
Apparently, my friend Lee Min-ho was Ji-ye's older brother.
It felt like my head was about to start ringing.
***
"Ji-ye. Oppa has talked about him often, right? Oppa's friend Yoo Seong-hwan."
Lee Min-ho introduced me to his little sister as if we were meeting for the first time.
It wasn't... the first time, but she said the name and greeted me.
"Did Ji-ye know about Oppa?"
"I knew. Mom watches Oppa's Qtube a lot."
"Really? Did you know that?"
Lee Min-ho looked at Ji-ye with a flustered expression, as if he hadn't known.
Was this the same child who had cried again upon meeting her older brother?
She felt a little different.
"Yeah."
"All right, all right... our late blessing did well."
"Hehe.."
Maybe happy that her real older brother was stroking her head, Ji-ye began to smile.
Seeing that idiot Lee Min-ho acting the part of an older brother was surprising in itself.
It was also a bit baffling that he was acting more properly than I'd expected.
"That's what she says?"
"So is that why your tears stopped the moment you saw Oppa?"
"Yes, I felt like if it was Oppa, I could trust you."
This was something that went beyond just being smart.
Later, when she grew up, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Min-ji tutor her and help her study.
"Seong-hwan, I don't know how to thank you enough for today."
"Then treat me to one."
"Would a single treat be enough? Just say the word and I'll get you absolutely anything."
"Then just get me some meat or something."
"Meat? If it's for A-ra-nim to eat, it's not a favor but an obligation I should naturally fulfill."
"Stop making a fuss. But why did you never say anything about having a little sister?"
"What do you mean. I told you about Ji-ye several times."
"Did you?"
I couldn't remember that well.
Had I just listened too carelessly and it had passed straight through my mind without registering?
That didn't seem right.
No matter how little interest I took in people, there was no way I'd have missed talk about a little sister.
It was plain to see he'd told someone else and was mistaken in thinking he'd told me.
Good grief, and this guy was supposed to be an older brother.