The Amulet

"Hehehe."

"Is it really that great?"

"Of course! From now on, call me Mrs. Na! I'm a woman who's getting married in a year!"

"Good for you."

Seungwan shook her head, unable to help but smile at her friend's silly behavior.

She cherished and loved her best friend dearly, but sometimes Dohee acted as if she had a screw loose, which was hard to tolerate even for someone as patient as Seungwan.

Rather than watching that display, it felt much more productive to search for the kittens she had never even seen.

Yet, the elusive cats refused to show themselves today as well.

I don't see them. Did they really move somewhere else?

Since they hadn't spotted them despite searching for a month, it was highly likely.

Still, Seungwan did not give up.

Cats were territorial animals.

Even if they had left for now, they might return later.

"Look at this! It's the promise ring he gave me when he proposed."

"I know, I know. You already told me he gave it to you to wear just until the wedding, and that he'll buy you a different ring when you actually get married. If I hear it one more time, it'll be the hundredth time!"

"Heheh!"

Dohee smiled brightly, completely unfazed by Seungwan's scolding.

She had been like this for a week now.

At first, Seungwan wondered if something was wrong with her, but as time passed, she simply accepted it and gave up trying to stop her.

Well, it's Dohee who got proposed to, after all.

She knew a bit about Dohee's complicated family history.

Dohee rarely spoke of it, but there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were things one naturally came to learn when spending enough time together.

Because of that, Seungwan knew exactly how happy her friend was right now.

The boyfriend who had appeared like a beacon of light in her friend's dark life was now truly trying to lead her toward a brighter path.

It'll be fine, right? Surely they wouldn't try anything with someone who's getting married.

Feeling a sudden wave of unease, Seungwan shook her head to dismiss the thought.

She believed that, no matter what, they would at least maintain ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠basic human decency.

But she did not know.

She didn't know that Dohee's family was trash that didn't even possess a concept of decency.

"With this, my second wish has come true, too."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Dohee shook her head dismissively at Seungwan's question.

Even so, her gaze drifted toward the schoolyard behind them.

There, her future husband was clearing away the remaining weeds.

Although Seungwan had cleared most of the weeds earlier, patches of them still lingered throughout the yard.

Dojin was manually pulling the weeds in tight spots and blind corners where Seungwan's machine couldn't reach.

"Seungwan, my oppa is really busy, isn't he?"

"Dojin? Of course he is. He has to manage the school, plan the next content, and map out wedding plans with you."

Naturally, the wedding plans with Dohee were Dojin's top priority.

Managing the school was more of a routine chore, even if it involved a lot of labor.

As for the next video, they had already decided to shoot a few more episodes about managing the school, so there was no immediate rush.

In other words, weeding the yard served as both school maintenance and video content creation.

But wedding preparations?

That wasn't something that could be easily glossed over or combined with other tasks.

"But I have a question. Can I ask you something?"

"Huh? If it's my Seungwan asking, of course I'll answer! What is it?"

"Why does it have to be a year from now? You guys could start preparing right away."

Even as she spoke, Seungwan found the situation amusing.

It sounded as if she were urging them to get married immediately.

Getting married at twenty-five. Other people would be shocked to hear that.

Dohee was twenty-five, and Dojin was only twenty-seven.

Normally, this was an age where people were just graduating from college and looking for jobs, with neither the inclination nor the financial stability to marry.

But that's only for ordinary people.

From what she had observed, Dojin was a remarkably capable man.

Managing an abandoned school brought all sorts of issues, but Dojin always identified the problems and resolved them with ease.

He possessed excellent judgment, drive, and decisiveness, but what Seungwan valued even more was his financial capability.

Whenever expensive equipment or costly repairs were needed, Dojin opened his wallet without blinking an eye.

The amount he had spent in just one month exceeded ten million won.

This made it even harder to understand why Dojin wanted to wait a year to get married.

It's not like he's hesitant about marriage, and with his resources, they could easily get married right away.

However, Dohee's reply was incredibly simple.

"He said there's something he needs to prepare before the wedding."

"Prepare? Like what?"

"I don't know. I was going to ask, but he looked so serious that I just agreed. I'm just looking at it as taking our time to prepare for the wedding."

"Hmm..."

At Dohee's words, Seungwan looked back at Dojin.

No matter how she looked at him, he didn't seem like someone facing a task so critical that it required postponing a wedding.

He doesn't even seem to have anything else on his mind lately.

Granted, until a few days ago, he had been preoccupied with installing security cameras all over the school grounds.

But she didn't think that was anything out of the ordinary.

The property was vast, yet only two people used it, and Dojin was the sole resident. It was only natural for him to prioritize security.

But it seemed she wasn't the only one thinking along those lines.

"I don't think this will do."

"Huh? What won't do?"

"Oppa needs someone to help him. He's so busy, but you're the only one he can rely on. And it's dangerous for him to stay here all alone."

"...That's true. But what are you going to do about it? Move in here? I'm against that."

She wasn't trying to argue against premarital cohabitation.

She simply knew what would happen if Dohee did.

If Dohee registered her address here right now, her family—who were obsessively sensitive about her whereabouts—would immediately track her down.

Even when Dohee stayed at my studio apartment for just a short while, they found her and caused a massive scene.

In the end, Dohee had to leave Seungwan's place and find her own apartment.

But a place found in a rush by someone with very little money was bound to be in poor condition.

Yet, Dohee had insisted on living there alone.

Even though Seungwan, after seeing the state of the apartment, had repeatedly offered to live together, Dohee had declined, claiming she preferred being on her own.

If Dohee moved her things here now, the exact same nightmare would repeat itself.

I don't think Dojin is the type to change his mind over something like this, but let's keep Dohee's family a secret from him until the wedding if possible.

As Seungwan resolved to withhold this information from Dojin for her best friend's sake, Dohee spoke up again.

"No, it would be weird for me to move in before we're married anyway. We need to find some helping hands to assist Oppa in my place."

"Hiring help is fine, but how? I hate to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠say this, but our company isn't in a position to hire anyone right now."

There had to be a valid justification to hire someone.

Hiring someone without a clear purpose would only lead to an awkward situation for both the employee and the employer.

It might even dampen the morale of the existing staff who were working hard.

However, Seungwan's worries vanished like bubbles at Dohee's next words.

"That's fine. Good people will find their way here on their own."

"...Huh?"

"Because that's what I wished for."

Faced with her best friend's sudden, cryptic remarks, Seungwan turned her gaze back toward the faculty lodging.

It was her silent way of indicating she would rather focus on finding the kittens than engage with nonsense.

But because she turned away, she failed to notice the amulet clutched in Dohee's hand.

Nor did she see the faint light emanating from it.

Scraaaape.

"Phew. Finished."

Having cleared all the weeds, Dojin finally lifted his head.

With the weather growing warmer, sweat was trickling down his forehead.

Wiping the sweat away with a towel he had brought along, Dojin scanned the schoolyard.

"These damn weeds keep coming back no matter how many times I kill them."

It wasn't just the weeds Seungwan had missed.

As if they had taken a liking to the schoolyard, new weeds were already sprouting in the areas he had cleared.

"I should probably buy some herbicide and spray it."

Actually, Dojin had intended to use herbicide from the very beginning.

Before receiving Director Wang's gift, he hadn't even dreamed of clearing this vast yard by himself.

He had used the gifted machinery to film content, but now that the shoot was over, he could easily resort to herbicide.

However, there was one thing holding him back.

"The cats must have all left by now, right? I can't risk spraying the cats while trying to kill the weeds."

Though perhaps not as much as Seungwan, Dojin also missed the kittens dearly.

Having seen them squirming toward him and having fed them treats with his own hands, they naturally lingered in his mind.

Unfortunately, he hadn't seen them since.

Not even Dojin, who lived on the property full-time.

"If they're still not showing up after all this searching, I should assume they're gone..."

Meow.

Just as Dojin was clearing his mind and packing up his gear, a familiar cry reached his ears.

"...Am I hearing things?"

He wondered if his longing had conjured up an auditory hallucination.

But that doubt vanished instantly when the cry sounded once more.

Meeow.

It was slightly louder than he remembered, but it was unmistakably the cry of the kittens he had heard here months ago.

Dojin abandoned his gear and scanned the surroundings.

"Where are you? Where are you guys?"

Meeeeeow!

As if responding to his voice, a much louder cry rang out this time.

Having pinpointed the direction, Dojin tilted his head in confusion.

"The playground? There shouldn't be anything over there."

Despite his words, his body was already sprinting toward the playground.

The cry was louder than before, but there was a strange urgency to it.

The cats he used to raise in the factory yard always cried like this when something bad had happened.

"*Pant, pant.* Where... where are you? Where are you guys?"

Arriving at the playground in a flash, Dojin called out as he searched every corner.

Yet, despite the weeds being cleared and leaving no obstructions, the cats were nowhere to be seen.

Just as anxiety began to creep into Dojin's chest...

A mournful cry, different from the previous ones, echoed out.

Meow...

"There you are."

Thanks to the close proximity, Dojin easily caught that the sound was coming from beneath the slide.

Reaching the source in an instant, Dojin grimaced at the sudden, foul odor that hit his nose.

"What is this... Oh, no!"

Sensing danger, Dojin immediately crouched down to look under the play structure, and a gasp of horror escaped his lips.

Beneath the slide lay an adult cat and several kittens, all of them in terrible condition.

A calico kitten, unable to open one eye due to what looked like a feline herpes virus infection, was actually in the best shape among them.

The rest of the kittens lay motionless, barely breathing, clinging to life by a thread.

"The vet. We need to go to the vet. But first, I have to move them to a safe place."

Every second counted, but Dojin forced himself to stay calm.

He knew that if he panicked now, all of their lives would be in jeopardy.

Dojin immediately called Seungwan.

"The kittens we saw before are here at the playground."

"Yes. But they're in really bad shape. The mother is with them too. I think we need to get them to a clinic right away."

Seungwan, who had initially sounded thrilled to hear they had found the kittens, turned dead serious the moment she heard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they were in critical condition.

"First, please grab a few clean boxes from the office, line them with something soft to use as cushions, and bring them to my car. I think we need to load them up and head to the nearest veterinary clinic."

Hanging up, Dojin looked at the calico kitten and spoke.

"I'll be right back. Just hang in there a little bit."

Meow...

"Don't worry, I'll save your siblings and your mom. But to do that, I need to bring my car, so just wait a moment. You can do that, right?"

Even as he spoke, Dojin felt a bit ridiculous.

Reassuring a cat when every second was critical seemed absurd.

Yet, he felt strongly that this was what he needed to do right now.

As if understanding his heart, the calico kitten, who had been staring intently at him, slowly blinked its one open eye and lay down flat.

"Do you... actually understand what I'm saying?"

Dojin asked instinctively, struck by how different its behavior was from its sorrowful crying just moments ago.

Unfortunately, there was no time to wait for an answer.

The calico kitten closed its eyes as soon as it lay down, and Dojin had to run immediately to get his car.

"Just wait a little longer!"

With those final words, Dojin sprinted toward the parking lot.

And after Dojin disappeared from sight...

Meow...

The calico kitten, which had quietly closed its eyes, slightly opened its one good eye and let out a tiny cry.

As if in reply to Dojin's promise.