Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Cats Distinguish Between Gratitude and Grudges (2)
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He had brought the knife from the mountain lodge's wall cabinet to the office, but Byung-su, who was out on assignment, didn't come back.
Na-rae stayed behind, sorting through articles until Dong-jin was ready to leave.
"Looks like the team leader isn't coming in today. Na-rae, I'm heading out first. Oh, and there's a knife from the lodge in my drawer. If he shows up, could you show it to him? Sorry to leave you hanging."
"Senior, want to head out on assignment together tomorrow?"
"Nah, I'm skipping the office tomorrow and going straight out. You'll have to hold down the fort alone—sorry about that."
"It's fine. Oh, this is the knife. I'll show it to the team leader if he comes in. Don't worry, go on home."
Na-rae said this as she bid him goodbye and peeked into Dong-jin's drawer at the knife inside.
Eun's pulling another late night. Must've gotten an earful from Editor Kim again. We really need to chase some more realistic stories. I'm worried for her.
Dong-jin knew the recent assignments weren't solely Na-rae's responsibility, so he just felt bad and kept glancing at her awkwardly.
Na-rae had been a lieutenant at Su-seo Police Station before becoming a reporter due to personal circumstances.
Cho-seon had assigned her to keep an eye on Byung-su and fact-check his work to prevent any mishaps.
Because of that, Na-rae had been getting scolded by Cho-seon more often lately.
On his way to his one-room apartment, Dong-jin got a call from Byung-su, who had been out of the office all day on external reporting.
Byung-su said he'd drop by Dong-jin's place late at night.
Craving a shot of soju? No wonder he's still single.
Dong-jin's one-room was close to the office, so Byung-su would occasionally swing by for a drink.
Dong-jin didn't think much of it this time either.
He opened the rice cooker for dinner and found yesterday's rice untouched.
Boil some ramen, mix it with rice, and that'd be one meal sorted.
As Dong-jin boiled the ramen, someone called from outside the window.
"Mister Park! Hey, Mister Park! Got any fish?"
He opened the window to see the old man from yesterday.
His one-room was on the first floor facing the street, so his eye level matched the tall old man's perfectly.
"How'd you find my place?"
"Heh, asked around. Here's thirty thousand won to pay you back."
The old man handed thirty thousand won to Dong-jin through the window.
I lent him forty thousand, but thirty's better than nothing.
"Thank you, Grandpa. But did you head home?"
Receiving money he'd thought was gone for good put him in a good mood.
"Nah, haven't caught those critters yet, so I couldn't go back. Met some folks I know and scraped some cash together. Whatcha eating?"
The old man peered through the window, smacking his lips.
Grateful that the old man had repaid the loan, Dong-jin offered,
"Grandpa, want some ramen?"
"Whoa, really? Thanks! I'll come in then."
The old man kicked off his shoes outside and climbed through the window, plopping down at the table.
Dong-jin was startled by the old man's odd behavior but silently finished cooking the ramen and set it on the table without a word.
He just stared blankly as the old man devoured the ramen voraciously, without even suggesting to share.
"Whew, that hit the spot! Mister Park, you make damn good ramen. I'll bring some over next time."
"No, no, it's fine. So, you still not heading home tomorrow?"
"Yeah, can't yet. Some troublemakers from my neighborhood fled to Seoul. Gotta catch 'em and drag 'em back before Seoul's peaceful."
"Won't your family worry?"
"Got one son who's still single—no worries there. He gets by mooching drinks off folks. Alright, I'm off."
As the old man stood to leave, he looked around and added kindly,
"By the way, Mister Park, you had some eerie item before, but it's gone now. If you bring back whatever it was and keep it safe, you could handle big things. Don't touch it carelessly, though. Stay too close too long, and weird stuff like me starts sticking around."
"Are you... a cop by any chance?"
"Nah. Anyway, thanks for the grub. Lock up tight and stay cautious."
The old man left through the window just as he'd entered, leaving behind a meaningful warning.
Was he talking about the knife? Nah, no way. Guy's clearly not all there.
Dong-jin shook his head, figuring the old man couldn't possibly know about the knife from the lodge.
Before long, night deepened, and Byung-su arrived with pork belly and soju.
"Team leader, grilling this up late at night?"
"Can't grill in the morning, can I? Let's just do it. What, you want me to cook?"
Dong-jin couldn't argue with Byung-su's utterly casual attitude.
He only comes to use me. Time to move somewhere far away.
He spread newspaper on the floor and prepped to grill the pork belly.
As he did, he told Byung-su about the old man he'd met recently.
Byung-su, pouring soju, burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahaha, what a quirky old guy. Anyway, about that knife—I'm swamped lately, so what to do? Call Baekho and Yi-hwa to the office? Nah. Better if you take it to them."
"Aren't they in Daejeon?"
"Yeah, but we should have them check it before stashing it back at the lodge. Feels off. My gut's screaming it's no ordinary knife. It's ominous, that thing. Oh, and poor Na-rae lately. Called her, and she's still at the office."
Byung-su seemed more concerned about Eun Na-rae left at the office than the strange old man.
"Yeah, it's not even her fault, but the editor's too harsh."
"Women are their own worst enemies. Guess I need to corner Cho-seon sometime and talk. Hey, you gonna grill or what?"
* * *
"How the hell am I supposed to make these realistic?!"
Na-rae was late going home again, sorting articles.
"These stories are straight-up unreal—how do I write them factually? Ugh!"
Frustration boiled over.
"Ugh! Screw it! Team leader's not coming in, so I'll leave Park senior's knife in the office. Why does this place feel so empty, though?"
She muttered while eyeing Dong-jin's drawer, then shivered as a chill ran down her spine and hurried out of the office.
Night was deep, but luckily, the last bus hadn't passed yet.
She waited alone at the bus stop in front of the company.
About ten minutes later, the bus arrived.
Maybe because it was so late?
No other passengers besides Na-rae.
As always, she took the second-to-last row by the window.
Monday night, but light traffic meant she'd be home in under thirty minutes.
The bus sped off after picking her up and stopped at the next stop.
A middle-aged man in a shabby jacket boarded through the front door.
He glanced around the bus, then smirked and sat right behind the driver.
Na-rae felt like the man had smirked at her.
Creepy guy. Why smile at me like that?
She had no idea.
She plugged in her earbuds and looked out the window.
The bus braked to a stop.
Another man boarded at the stop.
This one also in a worn jacket.
His face was ashen-gray, looking unwell at a glance.
He sat across from Na-rae by the window.
A fishy stench wafted from him as he passed nearby.
Na-rae wrinkled her nose and turned away from the foul smell.
Laughter came from the man across from her.
As the bus started, the man behind the driver stood and moved to the seat right behind Na-rae.
Fishy smell from him too.
The air inside grew stale, hard to breathe.
She cracked the window for some ventilation.
The seat behind her was at the very back, slightly higher than hers.
She focused on the music from her earbuds and stared out the window.
For some reason, it seemed like the men across and behind her were snickering.
Something was off about them.
She lowered the volume without them noticing and listened closely.
They'd boarded at different stops, so probably not together.
No conversation, but they let out creepy laughs in unison.
Like they were grinning at each other.
Na-rae closed the window a bit and checked the reflection of the man across in the glass.
His gaze was fixed on the seat behind her.
The man behind kicked her seatback lightly with his foot, tap-tap.
Unpleasant, but it felt deliberate, so she pretended not to notice, staring out the window.
No reaction from her, and they snickered again.
The bus raced on without stopping.
No more passengers boarded.
The man behind kept kicking her seatback.
In the reflection, the man across grinned nastily at her.
The fishy stench from them intensified.
To calm her rising anger, she closed her eyes briefly and opened them.
Next stop was hers.
She straightened up, stood, and went to the door.
Kept her eyes forward until the bus stopped.
Didn't look back on purpose.
For a moment, she worried it might skip her stop.
The speeding bus braked precisely at the stop and opened the doors.
She let out a short sigh and got off.
As the doors closed, she glanced sideways at the back seats.
No one there.
She whipped her head forward and walked on.
Something felt off.
As she turned into the alley toward home, back to the bus,
Screeech.
Emergency brake sound.
She looked back— the two men were getting off from the back door.
Bad vibes; she ducked quickly into the alley.
Ten minutes' walk to home along this path.
A bit far to run.
Orange streetlights lit the empty road ahead.
Fear quickened her steps.
The men entered the alley too—snickering laughter echoed behind.
Still some distance from them.
No one else on the road ahead.
Their laughter drew closer.
Na-rae had no choice but to keep going forward.
She reached into her bag without stopping.
Nothing usable as a weapon.
A chill wind blew from behind.
Fishy smell mixed in the breeze.
Not just laughter—footsteps too.
The stench grew stronger with each laugh.
Apartment complexes lined both sides; late night, deserted.
Just the high walls enclosing the complexes.
At the end of this road: her row house destination.
Far off, streetlight by the row house fence glowed.
The snickering behind stopped.
Men's footsteps quickened, noisy now.
Nyaong.
From the right, atop the apartment wall, a cat meowed.
Na-rae looked up: a black cat staring down the road, meowing.
She faced forward again and kept walking.
Nyaong.
Now from the left wall.
A black-and-white cat gazing down.
She walked nonstop, but the gap closed; even their breathing seemed audible.
Nyaong, nyaong, kyaaong.
Cat cries varied, sharpened.
Over a dozen cats now atop the walls.
Men's steps slowed at the piercing meows.
Stench weakened.
Apartment lights flicked on one by one beside the road to the cat cries.
Kyaong, kyaaong, nyaong.
Sharp meows echoed through the quiet street.
About a hundred meters to the row house fence.
Na-rae broke into a run.
As she ran, the cats' cries grew louder, numbers swelled.
Men pursued with pounding footsteps.
Even with her enhanced stamina from Emel's energy, slicing through wind like a gale, the men kept pace easily.
Not normal people. Dangerous if they catch me. Weak, but I sense spirit energy.
Na-rae sprinted breathlessly into the row house main gate.
Panting, she dashed toward her building, 'Ga' wing.
The men shot through the gate right behind.
As she entered the grounds, cats appeared atop the row house fences, over a dozen meowing sharply.
Kyaaong.
They leaped down onto the heads of the men charging through the gate after her.
Kyaaong.
Lights blazed in the dark row house windows at the ear-splitting yowls.
Startled by the shrieks that could pierce eardrums, Na-rae looked back.
The men who'd chased her and dozens of cats—gone.
Only the lingering fishy stench on the wind remained as trace.