Chapter 30
Chapter 30
The sound of that voice was so welcome that tears welled up instantly. A shadow loomed over her, and a pair of arms wrapped around Bom’s trembling, hunched shoulders.
“Bom, are you okay?”
“Jae... Jae-gyu... Over, over there...”
Her words came out in broken fragments. Bom could barely answer, her breath hitching as she pointed toward the door with her eyes.
“I get it, so just breathe for now. In... and out.”
“Huu... ugh...”
Suppressing her nausea, she followed Jae-gyu’s lead and steadied her breathing. Once her heart rate began to settle, Jae-gyu lowered his head and whispered into her ear.
“Go.”
“What...?”
She didn’t understand him at first. Was he really planning to go in there alone?
“I said, go back down. Stay with the elders, and when the police arrive, send them up.”
“B-but...”
“Hurry.”
There was no other way. She managed a nod and stumbled down the stairs.
What do I do? Her heart felt like it was going to explode. It seemed Jae-gyu intended to catch the culprit himself.
Dragging her trembling legs, she headed toward the pavilion in front of the stone bridge. The village elders were still gathered there. Bom spoke to Grandma Sun-i, who happened to be holding a cell phone.
“Grandma. P-please call... call the police. Quickly, please.”
“Eh? What’s wrong?”
“The, the house... it’s open.”
“What did you say?”
The color drained from the elders' faces as well.
Bee-bee-bee—!
The sudden silence that fell over the group lasted only a moment. From the distance, the short, repetitive burst of a siren echoed.
Flashing red and blue warning lights, a police car crossed the stone bridge and came to a halt.
“Oh, they’re here!”
“Just in time! Go tell them!”
Bom ran toward them immediately. As soon as the car door opened, she cried out urgently.
“My front door is open! Please, go quickly. My friend is up there!”
Two police officers stepped out of the car.
“What? Are you the one who called it in?”
“No, but please, just hurry!”
The officer hesitated for a moment. He had arrived expecting a simple petty theft report, only to be accosted by a woman covered in tears. He looked a bit taken aback.
“Hurry!”
The elders joined in, clamoring for the officers to go to the young lady’s house first.
“Alright, where is it?”
Bom took the lead, guiding the tense officers. She couldn’t just wait at the bottom like Jae-gyu had told her to.
They climbed the stairs and entered through the open door. Bom’s pupils dilated as she took in the interior of her home.
“...Ah.”
From the entryway to the living room, messy black footprints were scattered everywhere.
The dresser drawers had all been pulled out, and several pieces of clothing lay strewn across the floor.
It was an unmistakable sign of a break-in. Her heart hammered against her ribs so violently it felt like it might burst out. Bom squeezed the words out of her constricted throat.
“Bom-sik! Jae-gyu!”
The bedroom door swung open. One of the officers in front of Bom swiftly drew his Taser gun.
“Don’t move!”
“Put your hands up slowly. Police!”
“Ah. I’m not the culprit.”
It was Jae-gyu who stepped out of the bedroom. He was tucked Bom-sik, who looked sleepy-eyed, under his arm. They’re both safe. Bom let out a long, shaky breath of relief.
“Is this man your friend?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
If he had been wearing his usual athletic gear, he might have looked exactly like a thief, but today Jae-gyu was wearing a white shirt and brown cotton slacks. Seeing his respectable appearance, the officers immediately lowered their Tasers.
Jae-gyu explained that he had searched the place, but it seemed the intruder had already cleared out. He had even checked the boiler room.
“Looks like a petty thief to me. Officers, why don’t you come in and take a look?”
“Officer Gu, let’s go inside.”
“Yes, sir.”
Bom, who had been standing in the entryway, followed the officers inside. Following Jae-gyu’s advice, she checked the ransacked house to see if anything was missing.
“There’s really nothing gone.”
“Think harder, Bom-bom. Are you sure?”
“Yes. There wasn’t much worth stealing to begin with...”
The thief, who had rummaged through every drawer, flipped the sofa cushions, and turned the kitchen upside down, had left empty-handed.
“What about watches or, you know, jewelry?”
“I don’t have things like that...”
Jae-gyu’s eyes widened. She felt a little embarrassed about not owning a single decent accessory.
“Is that so? Then what about gold toads or ceramics?”
Why would I even have those? She shook her head vigorously.
“If they were going to leave with nothing, they shouldn't have bothered trashing the place. Ha, what a mess.”
Jae-gyu said it was actually a relief that there were signs of a search. He explained that if someone breaks in and doesn't look for valuables, it usually means they were targeting the person living there. The thought sent a chilling shiver down her spine.
“The keyhole is a straight slot; looks like they picked it with scissors.”
He began deducing how they got in. He pointed out metal scratch marks around the keyhole that looked exactly like they were made by scissors. It was terrifying to realize how easily her home could be breached.
After finishing the theft report, the officers decided there was nothing more to see and told her they would contact her once the case was processed.
It was then.
A loud crashing noise erupted from outside. As the two officers looked at each other, the shouts of the elders reached them.
“Thief!”
“Catch the thief!”
The two officers rushed out of Bom’s house. Jae-gyu took Bom and Bom-sik outside and sat them down on the wooden bench on the rooftop. Then, he stood firmly by the rooftop railing to watch the pursuit.
“W-what’s happening...?”
“Looks like they’ll catch him. He’s surrounded on all sides.”
Jae-gyu gave a live play-by-play to Bom, who couldn't bring herself to look. He said the thief was trying to escape by jumping over walls. Jae-gyu shouted out to the officers, alerting them to the thief’s location.
“Below the stone wall at two o’clock!”
When he mentioned that he’d go down and catch the guy himself if it looked like they were going to lose him, Bom’s face turned pale. She hated the thought of Jae-gyu putting himself in danger again.
“If we let him get away like that, you’ll just be more anxious. Don’t worry. I’m faster than the KTX.”
“...”
She couldn't even manage a smile at his silly joke. The thought of him taking such a risk when a thief might be carrying a weapon made her blood run cold.
“Oh, oh! They’re gonna get him!”
At Jae-gyu’s words, Bom cautiously moved behind his back and peeked out. It was just as he said. After a somewhat violent struggle, the man was subdued.
“Got him!”
The two officers finally succeeded in making the arrest. She could hear the village elders applauding the officers for a job well done.
Down by the police car near the pavilion, she saw a man in handcuffs. The elders from earlier were busy pointing fingers and hurling curses at him.
“Officer! Is that the guy who robbed this house? Please confirm!”
Jae-gyu yelled down from the rooftop to make sure.
At Jae-gyu’s shout, the officer nudged the culprit and pointed up toward them. There was a brief exchange between the officer and the thief, though of course, she couldn't hear it.
“He says yes!”
“Alright, good work!”
As soon as the culprit caught at the scene was loaded into the car, the police vehicle quickly sped out of the village.
“Haa.”
The incident finally came to a close with the capture of the clumsy-looking petty thief.
Is it over...?
The events that had swept through her peaceful weekend left her mind and body in tatters. The strength drained from her legs.
“Ugh...”
“Bom!”
Jae-gyu quickly caught her collapsing body and led both Bom and Bom-sik back inside. He sat them both down on the sofa.
“Are you alright?”
Of course she wasn't. The sight of her trashed living room was now vividly before her eyes. The black footprints left all over the floor made her skin crawl.
“The... the culprit’s feet were so big...”
“Those are my footprints.”
“Ah... no wonder they were so huge.”
“He was clearly an amateur. He’s been caught, so there’s no need to be scared.”
“Is... is that so?”
“Of course.”
“Okay...”
Bom, who had been slumped over, suddenly began to tremble again.
“Do you think... do you think a thief ever comes back to a house they’ve already robbed?”
Her voice shook noticeably. He hadn't realized she was this much of a coward.
“Bom. You’re shaking a lot. You must have been really shocked. What kind of idiot would rob the same place twice? I’ll set up a triple-layer alarm system for you, so don’t worry.”
His tender words made her emotions overflow. The tear ducts that had briefly dried up burst open once more.
“Hngh... it’s the first time... someone’s broken into my house...”
“I know. It was scary.”
“Yes...”
“How much?”
“I just... I keep thinking about it over and over...”
The image of the door hanging open kept flashing in her mind. And the sight of Jae-gyu striding into that danger while telling her to go down.
“Why did you do that? Why did you make me go down alone?”
Her cracked voice grew louder. Resentment finally caught up with her.
If something had happened, if it hadn't been an amateur thief but a dangerous criminal, Jae-gyu could have been seriously hurt.
The fact that he had jumped in like that, leaving her behind, seemed reckless and made her angry.
“Why did you do it, seriously!”
“There might have been a crazy person in the house; I had to catch him. Who knows when he might have come out and tried to hurt you?”
“It’s dangerous. What if you got hurt?”
“If I get hurt, I get hurt. It’s fine.”
Sobbing, Bom balled her hands into fists and thumped Jae-gyu’s forearm as he sat beside her.
“What do you mean it’s fine! Do you know how I felt! Ugh, I can’t stop thinking about it. That scene earlier...”
“I won’t do it again. You were really spooked.”
“I keep imagining you getting hurt because of me. More than being scared, I was so worried... Haa, seriously...”
Ignoring the tears streaming down her cheeks, she continued to beat his arm with her fists. Jae-gyu, who had been silently taking the hits, suddenly turned his body toward her.
“Then, should I make you stop thinking about it?”
“How could you possibly...”
...make me stop thinking about it?
The end of her question vanished into thin air.
She was pulled toward him by a sudden, firm hand.
Jae-gyu pulled Bom onto his thick thighs. His large hand firmly gripped her small backside, pulling her flush against him.
She didn't even have time to be surprised by the fact that she was suddenly being held in such a position.
“...Mmph.”
Holding her tightly, Jae-gyu lowered his head and claimed her lips immediately.
Bom’s eyes widened, then slowly fluttered shut.