The Death Flag and the Carbon Monoxide
The chat room was the first to turn upside down.
DreamAspirant asked in a trembling voice. "Then... who was calling my name?" She added cautiously, "Is it... a stalker?"
Park Jihun didn't answer immediately. The scene from moments ago was overlapping in his vision. A small window facing the street. A man crouching low beyond it. A worn-out jumper. A face roughened like someone who had been wandering outside for a long time. And an old scar left by his left eyebrow. Even while watching her sleep, the man couldn't bring himself to knock on the window. He raised his hand, lowered it, called her name a few times, and then retreated.
Park Jihun opened his mouth. "He didn't come to hurt you."
The chat room's reaction shifted.
DreamAspirant caught her breath and asked again. "If he didn't come to hurt me, then what is he?"
"He stopped himself from knocking."
"What?"
"A worn-out jumper. A scar by his left eyebrow. He retreated the moment you tossed and turned."
The Discord call went silent. DreamAspirant muttered very softly, "Left eyebrow..."
Park Jihun looked through the screen and said, "That person... is your father."
For a moment, the chat room slowed as if it had stopped, then immediately began to flood with messages.
DreamAspirant couldn't speak for a long time. "No," she muttered in a small voice. "That can't be. That person... he's the one who abandoned me and my mom."
Park Jihun said nothing.
"He left without a word when I was young. Mom said so. She told me never to look for him again."
A sound of someone catching their breath came through the Discord. Park Jihun spoke up. "Go outside and check under the window."
The Discord went quiet for a moment. A short while later, DreamAspirant said, catching her breath, "Under the window..." She continued in a trembling voice, "There are footprints."
DreamAspirant added, "And the dust on the outside of the window frame... it's wiped away. Like someone leaned on it with their hand."
Park Jihun said calmly, "He stood there for a long time, leaning on it."
The chat room boiled over again.
DreamAspirant barely gathered the courage to ask. "Why would someone like that come looking for me now?"
Park Jihun didn't answer immediately. Short scenes flashed in his vision. Crumpled collection notices. The rough voices of men heard from outside the door. A woman holding her hand over a child's mouth, holding her breath. And a man turning his back to slip out of the alley. The next part was a little different. Worn-out work clothes. Roughened hands. A man who couldn't lift his head for a long time even after handing money to someone. High school graduation day. A man in a gray hat. A back view standing in a corner of the schoolyard, watching someone.
Park Jihun didn't say everything. It wasn't a story to bring up on a live broadcast. Instead, he said briefly, "Ask your mom about that."
"...Ask my mom?"
"Yeah."
Park Jihun added, "Find your high school graduation photo."
"What?"
"There's a man in a gray hat in the back. Look by his left eyebrow."
DreamAspirant's breathing grew shaky. "My dad... he came to see me on my high school graduation day?"
Park Jihun answered shortly, "Yeah."
DreamAspirant said belatedly, "...I'll call my mom."
The Discord connection cut off. The chat room was in total chaos.
Park Jihun looked at the chat room and opened his mouth. "Next."
The nickname that won the next roulette was CreamMaltipoo. The Discord connected shortly after. "Oh my, Teacher. I won, right? Thank you so much."
What came through the headset was the voice of a woman who sounded to be in her late thirties or early forties. Her polite tone was the first thing that registered. Park Jihun said bluntly, "Forget the 'Teacher' part. You're here because of college admissions, aren't you?"
CreamMaltipoo's voice brightened. "That's right. I heard you were gifted, and it's true."
The chat room immediately heated up.
Park Jihun asked, "What's the problem?"
CreamMaltipoo hesitated for a moment before speaking. "It's about my child's application. Her grades are ambiguous... I told her to aim for a prestigious school even if it meant choosing a lower-tier major."
"And?"
"But the kid keeps insisting that she has a specific major she wants to go to."
The chat room stirred.
CreamMaltipoo sighed. "Honestly, when it comes to going to college, the school's reputation is the most important thing. Because in the end, people look at the school name first."
At that moment, Park Jihun's gaze darkened. The first thing he saw was the school CreamMaltipoo was pushing for. The acceptance announcement. CreamMaltipoo was laughing brightly. She called her relatives and posted the acceptance news in group chats. Congratulations poured in. But the daughter herself wasn't laughing. The scene changed. The back of the lecture hall. Eyes that had lost their focus. Overdue assignments. A leave of absence request written and erased several times. A moment later, the screen changed. Inside a narrow room. The curtains were drawn. The daughter was curled up on the bed, and her phone was turned off.
Park Jihun said, "If you go by the school's reputation, your daughter won't be able to endure it there."
"...What?"
Park Jihun added shortly, "Exactly what I said."
The Discord went quiet. The chat room also hesitated for a moment.
CreamMaltipoo said urgently, as if flustered, "But that school is more well-known. I'm afraid she'll regret it later..."
Park Jihun cut her off immediately. "Really?"
"..."
"It's not your daughter you're worried about, it's your own face."
CreamMaltipoo couldn't continue. This time, a different scene appeared. The Astronomy and Space Science department the daughter wanted. The front row of the lecture hall. Notes filled to the brim. Days spent going between the library and the lecture hall. The lab with lights on late into the night. The daughter's hand turning the pages of a presentation. A scholarship certificate. Life was returning to the daughter's face.
Park Jihun said, "Send her to the Astronomy and Space Science department."
CreamMaltipoo asked in a trembling voice, "So... is she going to be okay there?"
"Yeah."
Park Jihun added shortly, "She'll live there."
CreamMaltipoo couldn't speak anymore. Only after a long while did she answer softly, "...I'll talk to my child again."
"Don't be greedy."
"...Yes."
The Discord connection cut off. The chat room was still noisy with talk of admissions.
Park Jihun was about to spin the roulette again. It was then that a chat message he thought had passed by caught his eye.
It was a normal reaction. But a faint scene appeared beyond the nickname. An unfamiliar pension. Windows closed even with double panes. Two children lying side by side on the bed. A woman sleeping next to them. And the sound of a boiler humming beyond the wall. Park Jihun's gaze darkened.
"Solarbeam."
The chat room paused for a moment.
Park Jihun said shortly, "Get on Discord."
The Discord connected immediately. "Ah, hello." A voice slightly drunk. Solarbeam was bewildered. "You're not at home right now, are you?"
"Uh... yeah. I'm not at home."
"You're at a pension, right?"
"...Yeah."
"And you came with your family."
"Yeah, that's right."
Park Jihun said again, "Your wife and kids. They're in the room inside, aren't they?"
"...Yeah. They're sleeping. But why..."
"Wake them up."
"What? Now? They're all sleeping?"
"Wake them up right now."
At Park Jihun's words, the atmosphere in the chat room changed.
Solarbeam hesitated. "No, the kids are tired right now... if I wake them, my wife will say something."
"Your head feels heavy right now, doesn't it?"
"...What?"
"Your eyes feel dry, and you're feeling a bit nauseous."
"Isn't that because I had some beer earlier?"
"It's not because of the beer."
Park Jihun cut him off immediately. "Go to the room inside."
The sound of a chair being pushed back came through the Discord. Solarbeam's footsteps followed. "Wait a second." While he was walking, faint breathing mixed through the microphone. It was a bit rough and irregular. Then, suddenly, the footsteps stopped. *Thump.* A sound of bumping into something.
"Uh..." Solarbeam's voice trembled. "Wait a second. Suddenly I'm... dizzy."
The chat room began to freeze.
Park Jihun's expression hardened. "Lean against the wall."
"What?"
"Don't fall. Go to the room inside. Quickly."
Solarbeam inhaled roughly. "Yes, yes. I understand."
He moved again. His footsteps were more unstable than before. Still, the sound of a door opening was heard. "Honey, wake up."
There was no answer. Solarbeam called out one more time, as if flustered. "Honey. Wake up. Don't play around."
There was still no answer. Instead, Solarbeam's breathing became even rougher. At that moment, the back of the pension flashed in Park Jihun's vision. The exhaust pipe facing outside the wall. A slightly misaligned connection. Exhaust gas that couldn't escape outside was being pushed inside through the gap. Then the inner room appeared. The double-paned windows were closed, and the three people on the bed didn't move, as if they were in a deep sleep.
"The room is a bit... stuffy."
Park Jihun said immediately, "Don't stay in there for long."
"What?"
"If there's no response, get out immediately."
Only then did the alcohol-induced haze vanish from Solarbeam's voice. "Wait a second. I need to... start with the window."
*Click.* The sound of pulling on the window was heard. But immediately, a difficult grunt followed. "Why won't this open..."
Park Jihun cut him off immediately. "Don't hold onto the window."
"What?"
"It's carbon monoxide."
The Discord went silent for a moment.
"...What did you say?"
"You shouldn't be breathing in there."
"Wait a second. I have to wake my wife first..."
"There's no time to talk." Park Jihun cut him off immediately. "Carry the kids out first."
Solarbeam asked urgently, "What about my wife?"
Park Jihun's answer was short.
"Drag her out with the blanket."
Without leaving even a moment's gap, he added, "Right now."