Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Cats Distinguish Between Kindness and Grudges (3)
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“Team Leader, are there usually this many weird story leads?”
Dong-jin asked, wondering if there had always been as many bizarre incidents lately as he'd been dealing with.
“There were always plenty, but nothing like the flood we've had recently. Back in the day, I'd have to hunt them down, but now it feels like they're mobbing us. Anyway, open the window before the pork belly smell sticks to our clothes.”
Byung-su said to Dong-jin with a worried look as he laid the pork belly on the grill.
Byung-su was a one-suit man.
As Dong-jin got up and flung the window wide open, an old man was standing right outside.
The old man had a box of ramen slung over his right shoulder.
“Huh? Grandpa, when did you get here?”
“Park, having a late-night snack? That savory smell is just heavenly. Heh heh.”
The old man craned his neck, salivating at the aroma of grilling pork belly.
“That's the old guy.”
Byung-su stood next to Dong-jin and asked the old man if he'd eaten.
“Have you had dinner?”
It was just a standard greeting.
“Park made me some ramen earlier for dinner, but I haven't had my nightcap yet. Mind if I come in?”
The old man jumped eagerly on Byung-su's casual pleasantry.
For some reason, Byung-su responded as if it were his own home.
“Oh, sure, come on in. We've got plenty of pork belly. What are you waiting for? Open the door for him.”
“O-okay... Yeah. Grandpa, let me get the door. Come on in.”
Dong-jin, flustered by Byung-su's generosity, headed to the door and said to the old man.
The old man wasn't one to decline.
“Well, then, I'll let myself in.”
No sooner had he spoken than he kicked off his shoes at top speed and clambered in through the window.
“Grandpa, through the window again...”
Dong-jin stared in disbelief at the old man who'd entered via the window.
But the old man didn't care a bit.
“This way's quicker and easier. No hassle for you... The room's a mess anyway, right?”
The old man said casually to Dong-jin, who was helping him down from the windowsill.
Byung-su took the old man's shoes and answered for him.
“It's fine. Here, give me those shoes, sir. This guy's practically a squatter in his own room—no mess to worry about.”
The old man, now inside, pulled thirty thousand won from his pocket and handed it to Dong-jin again.
“Park, here's that thirty thousand I borrowed.”
“You gave it to me earlier.”
Having already received the money, Dong-jin tried to refuse.
But the old man wouldn't hear it.
“When did I? Take it! And here's some ramen too.”
Dong-jin refused the whole box of ramen, but the old man was insistent.
Thinking the old man wasn't quite right in the head, Dong-jin explained patiently.
“You don't need to give me the ramen. And you already gave me the thirty thousand.”
The old man ignored him completely, his eyes only on the food.
“When did I give it to you? Look at that pork—perfectly golden and crispy.”
Finally, Byung-su whispered to Dong-jin.
“Slip it into his pocket when he leaves.”
Dong-jin agreed with Byung-su and changed the subject.
“So, have you found the person you were looking for yet, Grandpa?”
“Nah, not yet. Strictly speaking, though, it's not a person—it's a cat.”
“You came up here looking for a cat?”
Dong-jin asked again at the unexpected answer, and the old man stuffed his mouth with pork belly before replying.
“Yeah, that's right. Someone caught the ones that were doing nasty things to people, but then somebody else let them loose. They're not fond of humans, so they're dangerous.”
“Still, keeping them locked up is kinda cruel.”
The ever-kind Dong-jin said, and the old man nodded in partial agreement.
“It is cruel. But what can you do... Hm, pour me some soju. Flip the meat too. They're not living things anymore—that makes 'em dangerous. Nice and crispy.”
The old man ignored the lettuce entirely, picking only at the meat.
“Cats are different from other animals—they hold grudges. Pigs don't come back for revenge no matter how many you eat, but cats? Different story.”
“...”
“Especially if a kitten harbors a grudge. It's dangerous because it doesn't target anyone specific—just lashes out. Very dangerous.”
“These aren't living cats?”
Byung-su asked in surprise at the mention of non-living cats.
Dong-jin thought Byung-su's reaction was soulless and cut in.
“Have some soju. Here, Team Leader.”
But Byung-su seemed to have a hunch and started gesturing with his hands to describe something to the old man.
It was probably about the kitten story on the calendar at the Chungnam mountain lodge.
“Wait, hold on. Were their eyes like this and mouth like that...”
When the old man reacted, Byung-su described the animal spirits he'd seen in the upper village of Sacheon-ri, Chungnam.
“Oh, you've seen some too. But not the ones I'm after. If they were, they would've attacked you on sight. So, where'd you see those chuk-gwi?”
Byung-su refilled the old man's glass and answered.
“At a mountain lodge in Chungnam.”
“A mountain lodge in Chungnam?”
The old man downed the soju and turned to Dong-jin.
“Kim, looks like you went there too.”
“I'm Park, actually.”
Dong-jin broke the conversation's rhythm.
The old man didn't seem to care if he was Kim or Park.
“Sorry, force of habit. You went to that lodge too?”
The old man asked in a low voice with a serious expression.
Dong-jin tensed up and replied.
“Yeah, I did. Is there something bad about it for me?”
Despite the serious face, the old man's answer was unexpected.
“How should I know?”
He said calmly, spearing seven pieces of pork belly at once with his chopsticks.
Dong-jin, flustered by the odd response, pressed.
“Then why'd you ask if I'd been to the lodge...”
“Just making conversation over drinks. Add more meat.”
The old man had an enormous appetite.
After devouring the pork belly in Dong-jin's room, the old man climbed out the window with a farewell.
“Park, thanks for the great meal. Oh, you ate it all up nice—I'll bring a frying pan tomorrow.”
“No need for a frying pan. Really, don't bother.”
Dong-jin refused since the grill was fine.
The old man paid no mind.
He glanced at Byung-su and said.
“Hey, when your friend gets back to Seoul, have him come see me. Alright, I'm off.”
“My friend? Which friend?”
The old man grinned, stared briefly at Byung-su's left arm, then turned and left.
Once the old man was gone, Byung-su asked Dong-jin.
“You got that old guy's contact?”
“No, why would I?”
Dong-jin had no reason to know it.
“Park, did you give back the thirty thousand?”
“Ah! Forgot.”
The old man had left the money and a box of ramen, so Dong-jin felt bad.
He figured the old man would come back tomorrow anyway.
'Gotta pick up some pork belly and soju on the way back from tomorrow's assignment.'
“Park, I should come by again tomorrow. That old guy's fascinating.”
Unlike Dong-jin, Byung-su seemed intrigued by the old man.
He must have sensed something.
For some reason, Byung-su seemed to know what the old man really was.
* * *
“Park, this might be the last time. This frying pan's triple-coated—no sticking. Top quality.”
The old man visited Dong-jin's studio again today.
He arrived with a frying pan in one hand, a box of ramen in the other, and handed over thirty thousand won along with them.
Byung-su, already in the room, curiously butted into their exchange.
“Sir, did you find the cat?”
With Byung-su interrupting, Dong-jin missed his chance to refuse the money.
The old man's face, as he entered through the window, was bright.
“Yeah, the local cats spread the word. Heading out to catch 'em tonight. They said those pests are after some young lady. And not just them—the dead ones are too.”
“Why her?”
The old man grinned at Dong-jin in response to Byung-su's question.
“Probably 'cause that lady's got some eerie thing nearby. Its energy's rubbed off on her, drawing the cats I'm after and the dead ones. Last night, the cats bragged to me about fending off ones trying to get her.”
“Local cats told you? And bragged?”
Dong-jin asked at the old man's absurd claim.
“Guess she buried a kitten or something. So the neighborhood cats saved her and came meowing to boast about it.”
'Definitely not right in the head. Gotta return all the money he's given me, but this oblivious team leader keeps getting in the way.'
Unaware of Dong-jin's thoughts, the old man continued.
“Unlike dogs or pigeons, cats give great intel. Dogs and pigeons don't go out at night, so they're useless for this. Cats are special creatures. Alive or dead.”
“How are they special?”
As Dong-jin asked, the old man launched into a story.
* * *
Na-rae, guarding the empty office alone, was heading home late again today.
She had to finish organizing articles by Thursday.
Despite the weird incident last night, nothing else happened.
She got off the bus and entered the alley leading to her place.
Under a streetlamp stood a small girl.
Red dress and radiant golden curls.
Obviously a foreign girl at a glance.
She looked about eight or ten.
The girl's blonde hair shone dazzlingly in the orange streetlight.
'Oh, she's adorable. Like a doll.'
Sensing Na-rae's gaze, the girl approached and spoke.
“Unnie, I need to go up ahead, but it's too dark to go alone. Could you walk with me?”
Her pronunciation was spot-on.
Na-rae wasn't one to ignore such a cute girl's request.
“Unnie's going to the end of this road anyway—perfect. Let's walk together.”
Na-rae smiled warmly in reply.
The girl gently took Na-rae's hand.
It was small and delicate.
“Where are you from, little miss?”
Anyone walking a blonde, blue-eyed girl down a dark road at night would ask.
The girl replied flawlessly.
“Germany.”
“Really? When did you come to Korea? Your pronunciation's so perfect, you sound Korean.”
Na-rae praised her and asked again.
“About a little over ten years ago, I think. Hometown's France, but I lived in Germany, then came to Korea on a request. Korea's nights are flashier than Germany's, so I stayed. The garlic-heavy food doesn't suit me, but no wolves here, so it's livable. Hehe.”
The girl's blue eyes gleamed in the streetlight.
A bit odd for a girl who didn't look even ten.
'Her pronunciation's perfect, but she picks weird words.'
Thinking she'd misused some terms, Na-rae asked more.
“Where are your parents? Why walk alone at night? What's your name?”
“I'm Rosen. Means rose. A blood-red rose, like my name. No parents, I live with 'Ran' unnie. My destination's at the end of this road.”
The name 'Ran' that the girl mentioned sounded familiar to Na-rae.
'Ran? Where've I heard that... Who is she? No parents, huh. Shouldn't have asked.'
As if reading her mind, the girl said.
“It's okay. No parents, but Ran unnie and I get along great. Unnie, that necklace is so pretty.”
The girl smiled brightly, pointing at Na-rae's necklace.
A silver cross pendant with simple beauty.
“Yeah, I got it blessed by the priest at the church office. Not expensive since it's silver, but you think it's pretty?”
“Yes! So pretty. What's the church office hours? Gotta ask Ran unnie to get one.”
Na-rae bent down so the girl could see it better.
The girl reached out and touched the cross pendant.
A tiny spark like static jumped when her small white hand met it.
“Ow! Static? Church office is open till six PM. It's cheap.”
The girl looked disappointed at Na-rae's answer.
“Sunsets are late these days—hard for Ran unnie to go. Too bad.”
'Ran unnie must work late. Something that ends after dark?'
“She could go on her day off. Sunday or...”
The girl just smiled silently.