The Tracker

I rubbed my throbbing head, the migraine a sharp contrast to my comfortably settled stomach thanks to the dried pollack soup I'd eaten at my sister's place. "Ah, yeah, Dad. Sorry. I'll make sure to call next time. Yeah."

I ended the call.

"...Wooju, that's the first time I've seen you look so scared. Is your dad really that strict?"

"He's not that strict, but... every time I disappointed Mom, he'd always smack me with a pool cue. Whether it was lying as a student and skipping hagwon, or taking a sip of liquor from the fridge out of curiosity."

"Hmm, sounds like your dad really cares about you."

"He probably cares more about Mom than me. Even I can see how good their relationship is."

Inside the campus, in front of an old smoking area where people rarely looked, I chatted idly with my sister. While Hyemi naturally took the mask from my bag and offered up the 'drink,' I squatted on the ground instead of the dirty bench and lit a cigarette.

The sight of her spitting out thick, transparent fluid from her mouth. I was a little surprised at myself for casually chatting away even while watching that scene right in front of me.

"Hmm... Puha. All done. If you're done smoking, shall we head out?"

"Ah, yeah. But I'm sorry for making you wait. You don't even smoke, Noona."

"Why would you worry about something like that? Anyway, we don't get sick just from breathing in a little cigarette smoke."

"...Is that how it works?"

I put the mask she'd returned into my bag and stepped out of the shaded smoking area. The sun had been high in the sky when I'd hurriedly washed up at Hyemi's place, but after sitting through lectures, it had tilted quite a bit. My eyes were naturally drawn to the sunset, where a faint orange hue colored the edge of the blue sky peeking from behind the distant buildings.

"Oh right, did you meet Yunsol today?"

"No, Yunsol probably isn't at school today... I think her debate for the reading club union lasts until today."

"Then there's nothing we can do. Given the circumstances, the mask will understand. It's not like she'd be petty enough to make a fuss over missing just one day..."

"Choi Wooju!"

The voices of students walking along the campus tree-lined path, the sound of passing car engines. Piercing through that noisy white noise, a familiar voice called my name exactly. Hyemi and I turned around together.

"...Huh? Park Jaehyeok, what are you doing here?"

Jaehyeok, who had run over from far away and now stood before me, catching his rough breath. He looked so urgent that sweat was beading on his forehead and gathering in droplets on his chin.

"Haa, ha... Hello, Noona."

"Oh, it's Jaehyeok. Hi~"

Wiping the sweat with his sleeve and letting out a long sigh, Jaehyeok smiled and greeted Hyemi first.

"Wooju, you son of a bitch... Why didn't you pick up the phone yesterday? What the hell were you doing?"

After exchanging greetings with Hyemi, Jaehyeok, who was still panting heavily, spoke up. I let out a short sigh and met eyes with her. Come to think of it, besides Mom, there had been a missed call from this guy Park Jaehyeok yesterday too. Had Mom contacted him?

"Ah, sorry. I drank a bit yesterday... My memory's a little fuzzy. I just talked to Mom on the phone, so it's fine. Sorry for worrying you, man."

"...You drank until you blacked out? By yourself?"

"...Huh?"

I smiled awkwardly and lightly patted his shoulder, but the response that came back felt strangely stiff. Normally, he'd have returned it with a playful snort and a light punch to my chest. But what came instead was an expression that looked deeply troubled and a question whose meaning I couldn't quite grasp.

The awkwardness I felt from a friend I'd known for over ten years made me slowly lower my hand.

"...Um, Hyemi Noona. I'd like to talk with Wooju alone for a bit. Is that okay...?"

As if the serious look had never been there, Jaehyeok relaxed his expression ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠into a bright smile and asked Hyemi. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. This bastard only ever got like this when he had something deeply troubling him. The way he turned uncharacteristically serious and always asked me, 'What should I do?' Something important must be on his mind. It's been the first time since we turned twenty that he's come to me for advice.

"Huh? But..."

"It's fine, Noona. You go on ahead. I'll just talk with Jaehyeok for a bit and catch up soon."

"...Hmm, then I'll wait up ahead. Come when you're done."

"Thank you, Hyemi Noona! Take care!"

With Jaehyeok bowing politely to Hyemi, I pulled out my cigarette pack again. I took out two sticks, put one in my mouth, and offered the other to him.

"Want one?"

"I quit after getting discharged... Forget it, you idiot."

Once Hyemi had walked far enough that our voices wouldn't reach her, Jaehyeok swept his hair back and pushed away the hand holding the cigarette. As if showing how complicated his mind was, he ruffled his hair with both hands, let out a big sigh, and spoke without even looking up at me.

"...Since when have you been so close with Hyemi Noona?"

"What are you talking about? We just got close somehow after I started school."

"Not that. I'm asking when you got close enough to be hanging around alone with her all the time."

I took the cigarette out of my mouth and slowly lowered my head. He still had his face buried toward the ground, trying to steady his trembling voice. I looked at him and stubbed out the cigarette.

"...Why are you asking that all of a sudden? What's with the attitude?"

"Yeah, if it's private and hard to answer, then at least answer this."

Stepping on the cigarette to put it out, my attempt to laugh and change the mood failed. The expression on my twenty-year friend's face as he stood up and looked me straight in the eyes was one I'd never seen before. Distress and confusion, mixed with sadness, worry, and a bit of anger. I couldn't help but drop the corners of my mouth.

"...Are you really okay?"

His question, which sounded like a simple greeting but clearly asked something else, left me speechless.

"Have you seen this person before, by any chance?"

".......Yes?"

The photo the black-haired woman held out to me showed Wooju. It was a shot of him sitting on the street smoking a cigarette, taken from above. Looking a little closer, I could tell it was a capture from a CCTV screen.

I couldn't even close my slightly open mouth. I just shifted my eyes to look at the two women standing in front of me. Who the hell were these people, shoving a CCTV photo of Wooju in my face?

"...Uh, I'm not sure? Is he a student at this school...?"

The Wooju I knew wasn't the type to cause some major accident. He might be a bit rude, but he never disappointed his family, gave generously to his friends, and even when my parents and teachers had given up on me in high school, he helped me just because we'd 'been friends since we were kids.'

I didn't know why these two women in front of me were looking for him, but something felt off.

"...Hmm, do you really not know?"

"Yes, I've never seen him..."

"She says she doesn't know. Sister, please check once."

"Haa...."

The black-haired woman holding the photo spoke to the foreign woman who was standing with her arms crossed, glaring at me. The woman with silver hair, who seemed to understand Korean, let out a deep sigh and shook her hair as she stared at me. Then—

".....Ugh...."

"Whoops, if you're going to do it, at least warn me first. I almost fell."

The silver-haired woman suddenly released all the strength from her eyes and collapsed to the floor. The black-haired woman caught the foreign woman's body just before her head hit the ground, as if she was used to it, and held the seemingly unconscious silver-haired woman in her arms.

"Um... Is that person okay?"

"Ah, yes! She's fine, so please stay seated. She's doing a 'check' right now."

A check? What the hell is she checking in that state?

The foreign woman's condition looked extremely strange—her eyes had lost their light, narrowed slightly, and her mouth was faintly open. It was as if she'd completely let go of her mind, staring blankly at me while unconscious.

No matter what, I thought I should at least help, so I started to get up from my seat when...

"It's done."

"Oh, that was fast. So, what do you think?"

The moment I stood up from the bench, the foreign woman regained the strength in her eyes, pushed away the black-haired woman who was holding her, and stood up. As if she could speak Korean, she approached me with pronunciation no different from a native speaker and—

"You. Don't lie."

"...Pardon?"

She looked down at me with eyes full of disgust, as if I were trash, and muttered shortly.

"You're close with the man in this photo. Why are you denying it and saying you don't know him? Seriously? How amusing... You men in this country."

"...What did you say? What are you..."

"Aigoo, I'm so sorry! This sister of mine got a little full of herself after living abroad. But she's pretty, right? Please calm down and just take a look~"

When I unconsciously raised my voice in anger toward the woman, the black-haired one instantly stepped in front of me, blocking between the silver-haired woman and me. She narrowed her eyes and looked up at me.

"More importantly, you do know the person in the photo, right? Are you friends? If you're protecting him this much, you must be pretty close. Friends since childhood?"

"...Who the hell are you people? Why are you doing this to me?"

I'd forgotten in the heat of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the moment, but that foreign woman had instantly seen through my lie. What the hell? Were these two some kind of psychics?

But why would people like that be looking for Wooju?

"Ah~ We don't really want to do this to an innocent student either, but we have our reasons. The thing is, 'we can't see the face in this photo. Even if this person is nearby, we can't recognize him.'"

"What the hell are you talking about... Forget it, I don't know anything."

Stressed, I rubbed my chin, grabbed the bag I'd left on the bench, and walked past the black-haired woman. I deliberately took wide steps to quickly pass the silver-haired one too, but the foreign woman with silver hair grabbed my arm. I tried to shake her off, but her hand was already rock-hard, like concrete. What kind of strength did this woman have...

"Think carefully. Even as we're talking, your friend is dying."

"...What?"

The black-haired woman's voice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠chimed in from behind, agreeing with the silver-haired one.

"Yes, that's right. We're trying to save the man in this photo. It's already the third day since we started our investigation, so you have about two days left."

"What the hell are you people even saying!"

As I shouted in confusion, anger, and bewilderment, the silver-haired woman silently handed me another photo without a word.

"This is... Ugh...!!"

The photo showed the corpses of various different men. They were horrifyingly emaciated, twisted until only bones remained, with strange fluid leaking from their eyes, noses, and mouths. Next to them was a photo of some white object made of old wood.

"Your friend picked up something he shouldn't have. On average, men who pick up that object dry up and die after five days."

"You expect me to believe that..."

"If you don't want to believe it, then just shut your mouth like before. I don't care. It's not too late to retrieve the object after your friend dries up and dies. In fact, that would be easier and simpler, so I prefer it."

"You really...!"

I felt the veins bulge in my neck. The moment I dropped my bag and grabbed the woman's wrist—

"Hey, hey! No fighting... How about we do it this way? We just need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to have a conversation with the man in this photo. If you're that suspicious, you can watch us talk to your friend. So..."

The black-haired woman who suddenly appeared handed me a single needle.

"Just poke your friend's hand with this. Then we can meet him too."

"......"

I stared at the thin needle resting in my palm.

"Doesn't it feel off? You heard your friend might die, so you can't just let it go, right? I'll explain everything that's happening to your friend slowly, so please, just this once~"

The black-haired woman smiled as she relaxed her narrowed eyes. A tongue piercing glinted inside her mouth. Was I fooled by that glint? In the end, I was led by the black-haired woman's hand and ended up hearing the whole story.

"...Of course my body's fine. You're the one acting weird. What's going on?"

"...Wooju. Do you trust me?"

The unusual atmosphere and the desperate, clinging look on Jaehyeok's face as he suddenly grabbed my hand made it seem like he was pleading.

"That's what I'm asking—what the hell is going on? I trust you, so just spit it out—"

"Thanks."

He gave a short thanks and pulled out the hand he'd slipped into his pocket at some point. Then he poked the back of my hand with the small, thin something held between his fingers.

"Ow, that stings...! What the—what are you doing all of a sudden?! Hey, shit... It's bleeding!"

The stinging pain on my skin made me yank my hand away from his. A small drop of blood formed on the back of my hand, then burst, sending red liquid trickling down.

I grabbed my bleeding hand and shouted at Jaehyeok, but he just hung his head silently. What the hell...

"You did well, Jaehyeok."

"──?"

At the cheerful voice coming from behind, I turned around to see two women standing there. These two were definitely people I'd run into somewhere before... Ah, that mysterious silver-haired woman... The foreign woman with silver hair glittering gold in the sunset glow was staring directly at me, her hair fluttering.

She approached me and held out a golden badge.

"Special Phenomenon Countermeasures Department, British Branch's Isabelle Kang. So you're the bastard who picked up that damn mask."

The woman introduced herself in English.

"...What?"

So I shot back in short English too.