Strange Emotion
They took the child...
"Just as Father Choi feared... was its goal the child after all? Then why did it attack that woman?"
"Who knows? There must have been some reason. Anyway, this has become troublesome. If we'd arrived just a little earlier, we might have been able to stop it."
At Miho's words, Hwan clicked his tongue briefly. Then he looked at her with eyes that held a hint of resentment. It wasn't as if they had any time to spare chasing after the shadow, yet she had suddenly insisted she wanted coffee, which had delayed them. And sure enough, there was now a cup of coffee in Miho's hand.
Once she set her mind on something, she rarely backed down. In the end, they had been forced to stop by a nearby café, and naturally, time had been wasted. At least he had managed to talk her out of going to that famous drip-coffee place nearby, convincing her to settle for a chain café instead.
Despite being the reason for their delay, Miho didn't seem to care at all. She remained utterly nonchalant, showing not the slightest hint of remorse. Hwan could only shake his head at her brazen attitude.
They reached the wide-open window. It seemed the entity had escaped through it. That would explain why the doctor and nurses hadn't noticed anything. Hwan gazed out through the fully open window at the silent city beyond. The city flowed on as it always did—perfectly ordinary. Just as it always had.
Just then, the compass that had been spinning idly in Hwan's hand came to an abrupt stop and began pointing in one direction. It meant the thing they were chasing had put some distance between them.
"I've found the direction," Hwan said.
Miho nodded at his words, but her expression remained completely indifferent. She simply sipped her coffee in leisurely peace. For someone who often complained that chain coffee tasted bad, she drank it quite readily.
"Um, excuse me... who are you? This area is off-limits to outsiders."
It was then. At the sudden voice from behind them, Hwan and Miho turned around. There stood the nurse who had been unfairly scolded by the head nurse just moments ago.
Hwan glanced at Miho with a slightly flustered expression. Miho shrugged her shoulders and said,
"Surprising, isn't it? I suppressed my presence as much as possible. It seems that woman has a stronger spiritual sense than ordinary people. Maybe there's a shaman or a priest in her family."
Hwan made an awkward face. Meanwhile, the nurse's expression grew increasingly uneasy. Her eyes were filled with clear suspicion. It looked like she was seriously misunderstanding the situation.
"Who are you people? Why are you here? If you don't answer, I'll call the police. And the child who was here..."
"Please calm down. We didn't take the child," Hwan said, spreading both hands in a placating gesture, trying to soothe the suspicious nurse. But the doubt in her eyes refused to fade. Perhaps it was because of Miho standing beside him. She was smiling in a very playful manner right now, as if the current situation amused her. The more she did that, the more uncomfortable Hwan became.
When Hwan frowned and looked at Miho, the nurse issued another warning.
"F-for now, both of you stay right there! I'll get security..."
The nurse spoke while backing away, then quickly fled the hospital room. She began shouting in the hallway.
"There are suspicious people in the room! Hurry! Someone help!"
At the nurse's cry, a hospital security guard who had just come up to the ICU came running at full speed. But by the time he reached the room...
"There were... people I've never seen before inside... uh..."
They had already vanished without a trace. The nurse wore a deeply flustered expression as she stared at the now-empty hospital room.
"Was someone here?" the security guard asked, frowning.
The more he reacted that way, the more embarrassed and wronged the nurse felt. She blinked her large eyes several times, stepped into the room, and looked around the completely empty space.
"They were... they were definitely here..."
Moreover, there was nowhere in the room where anyone could have hidden. They had truly vanished into thin air. The nurse wondered if she had been possessed by a ghost.
"H-how did this happen..."
When the flustered nurse looked at the security guards, all of their faces were creased in frowns. The hospital was already in chaos; they couldn't afford to waste time here. Their reactions only made the nurse feel even more unjustly accused.
"No, I'm telling you they were really here! It's true!"
"Then where did they go?"
"Well..."
She couldn't answer. She didn't know. She truly had no idea where they had gone. As she looked around the empty room, she approached the window just in case. But she immediately thought it made no logical sense. Yes, it would be impossible to escape through the hospital room window. This ICU floor was on the fourth level. The height to the ground was enormous. Escaping through the window was practically scientifically impossible.
Then where on earth had those two people disappeared to? It was impossible to tell whether they had sunk into the ground or flown up into the sky.
"Th-this is strange... they were definitely here."
It had only been a few seconds from the time she left the room to call the guards. In that short span, the two had left the room and fled? That was equally impossible. The nurse felt as if she had truly been possessed by a ghost. She kept blinking her eyes with a dazed expression.
Just in case, she asked other nurses if they had seen the man and woman who had been there moments ago, but everyone except her claimed they hadn't seen any suspicious individuals. Even the head nurse scolded her further, saying, "See! You were dozing off! That's why you're talking nonsense!"
The nurse felt terribly wronged, but ironically, even when they reviewed the CCTV footage, they couldn't find any trace of the pair.
Meanwhile, Suji was incredibly happy. It was quite different from the camping trips she had taken with her family long ago, of course. She couldn't exactly say it was more fun than back then, but it was still enjoyable. Perhaps it was because she had come outside after such a long time.
Was that why? Her body, which had always felt unbearably heavy, now seemed lighter, and she didn't feel any pain at all. Laughter kept bursting out of her. She wondered how long it had been since she had laughed like this.
Suji dipped her feet into the cold water. Ah! The chill sent a shiver up her spine, but even that was so delightful that she burst into giggles. Then she tried fishing. Her father had taught her how long ago. Suji still remembered those memories clearly.
Unfortunately, fishing didn't go as well as she hoped, which was a bit disappointing. Instead, the shadow suddenly plunged into the cold water with a splash! and soon returned with several fish it had caught itself.
"Ah! That's not how you're supposed to fish..."
When the flustered Suji said that, the shadow's expression seemed to grow slightly downcast. Seeing its gloomy face made Suji laugh again. It really was fun.
In any case, they cleaned the caught fish neatly, skewered them, built a campfire, and roasted them. The aroma was so savory... even without any seasoning, they were incredibly delicious. Suji lavished praise on them, saying it was a flavor she would never forget, and the shadow seemed to cheer up quickly at her compliments.
Time passed again. Sitting in front of the campfire felt warm. Fortunately, the weather was nice today. The pouring sunlight felt so pleasant... and the natural scents carried on the breeze brought her such joy.
At the sight of her like this, the shadow let out a wry chuckle and said,
"You're the first child like you I've met. You act like a little old lady..."
Of course, it was said in jest. Suji simply smiled brightly in return. Well... she had heard that she was peculiar ever since she was young.
In any case, sitting by the warm campfire and gazing at the pouring sunlight made her truly happy. She didn't know how long she had waited for this moment. She had longed so much not just to see it on a tablet screen, but to feel it directly like this.
"Aren't you cold?" the shadow asked with concern.
Suji shook her head with mature composure. She wasn't cold at all. In fact, she felt too warm.
"Does it hurt anywhere?" the shadow asked again. The worry was still evident in its voice.
Suji giggled and shook her head once more. It didn't hurt, and she wasn't cold. She was simply happy.
As she sat in the chair, staring blankly at the campfire, she wondered where the shadow had gotten this camping chair. It had brought everything—the tent, the chairs, and even various tools. They were all things she had seen in camping YouTube videos. But the shadow had been evasive. It seemed difficult for it to explain.
Suji didn't stubbornly press about the origin of the items either. She simply wanted to enjoy the present happiness. Even just sitting in the chair and staring blankly at the campfire was enjoyable right now.
The shadow brought her warm cocoa. She blew on it and took a sip. Ah! The warmth seeped deep into her body. A smile naturally formed on her lips, and the words
"Ahh... this is nice..."
slipped out on their own. At her reaction, the shadow teased her again, saying she really was like a little old lady.