Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Cats Distinguish Between Kindness and Grudges (4)
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Na-rae straightened her back, and the girl grabbed her hand again.
They walked through the dark alley once more.
Ahead of Na-rae and the girl, someone was crouching under a streetlamp.
When the curious Na-rae looked over, it bowed its head.
It was a woman in a white dress with long black hair.
The woman's face was hidden behind her long hair.
"Sister, shall I tell you a scary story?"
'It's already a dark alleyway, so why bring up a scary story?'
Na-rae found it odd, but she readily agreed to the girl's innocent expression.
"What scary story will you tell me, little miss? Go ahead."
The girl laughed along with Na-rae's smiling response and began her tale.
"It's a story I heard not long ago."
Na-rae and the girl passed by the woman under the streetlamp.
A fishy smell wafted from the woman—the same one as the men from last night.
'Spiritual energy?'
It wasn't certain, but she sensed a faint presence.
The woman's feet, glimpsed as they brushed past, were bare and covered in wounds.
"Ah, the smell... Every ghost has a unique scent, and if they die from something sharp like a blade, the fishy smell is intense. It's probably the stench of blood from bleeding out. Anyway, that's not my story. This is an alley ghost tale."
Her pronunciation was precise, and her word choice spot-on.
The girl's Korean was superior to that of kids her age in Korea.
"Have you heard of alley ghost stories? They happen when you're walking a dark night path."
Na-rae half-heartedly answered the girl's question, distracted by the fishy smell from behind.
"No. Haven't heard of it."
A rustling sound came from under the streetlamp, as if the woman was standing.
Na-rae pretended to check her phone and subtly glanced back.
The woman wasn't standing upright—she was crawling on all fours, stealthily following them.
This was no normal behavior.
Shocked by the woman's actions, Na-rae tried not to show it and gripped the girl's hand tightly.
'Why is this damn alley like this lately? Can I get out safely with this kid?'
The girl continued her story with the same innocent expression.
"On a deep night like tonight, a woman walking alone in a dark alley gets approached by a grandma or a little girl like me. They say they have to go further ahead but are scared of the night path, so let's walk together."
While the girl spoke, another streetlamp appeared.
As Na-rae and the girl passed it, yet another woman crawled out from behind the streetlamp on all fours, following them.
Na-rae had glimpsed the white figure emerging, and her fear grew even stronger.
The girl stared straight at her face and continued.
"If the woman agrees to go together, the grandma or little girl holds her hand tight and walks with her."
Na-rae looked at the girl as the story unfolded.
"Since it was a little girl or grandma who offered company, she goes along without suspicion at first, but doubts start to creep in bit by bit."
The girl's blonde hair shone under the orange streetlight.
"So when the woman tries to shake off the hand and walk ahead alone, a van pulls up from behind. People get out and force her inside. She was probably trafficked, right?"
Na-rae gripped the girl's hand tightly and whispered.
"Little miss, can you run with sister? There are weird people following us right now."
The girl stared at her words, then spoke brightly.
"Sister thinks I'm not with them, doesn't she? Right?"
There wasn't a hint of agitation in the girl's voice.
Instead of answering, Na-rae squeezed the girl's hand, bracing to run at any moment.
"If we run now, those things will pounce on sister. Let's just walk slowly like before. Nothing will happen for now."
She was far too composed.
"Sister, did you know? There was a commotion in this neighborhood last night. Apparently, the cats around here chased off some male ghosts that were pursuing a certain sister. That woman had helped a kitten not long ago—it was repayment. Pretty amazing, huh?"
Realizing the girl's story matched her own experience, Na-rae asked in surprise.
"How do you know about that? So those men really weren't human."
"Fishy smell, the same ghostly stench. Those men were searching for you on orders from those things following us now. The cats helped out of luck, but the male ghosts must have reported your location to them."
The girl walked on, staring straight at Na-rae.
"Sister, who took the little knife from inside the mountain lodge closet?"
"You... who are you?"
As the girl opened her mouth to answer Na-rae's question—
A car horn blared from the distance, its headlights sweeping over her and the girl.
Na-rae recalled the girl's story she'd brushed off.
'Human trafficking? Kidnapping?'
Startled by the horn, Na-rae turned to look behind.
The women who had been crawling after her were gone.
The bright headlights drew closer and stopped right in front of Na-rae.
* * *
"You have that look—like you can't hold back from hearing it. Alright, I'll tell you! First, let's throw some pork belly on the frying pan and talk."
The old man said, giving in to his gluttony.
'The electric griddle's still good—do I really need the frying pan?'
Dong-jin wasn't thrilled about frying it in a pan, but he silently pulled frozen pork belly from the freezer without complaint.
It was the pork belly he'd prepared to treat the old man.
Dong-jin slammed the frozen pork belly onto the floor of his room, bang bang.
The solidly frozen slab needed to be broken up by whacking it.
After smacking it enough, Dong-jin tossed the chunks onto the frying pan.
"Didn't buy fresh pork belly? You planning to thaw it in the pan?"
Byung-su asked, flustered by Dong-jin's actions.
Grease had splattered onto his clothes from the pan.
Byung-su was a one-suit gentleman.
"Where do you find fresh pork belly these days? Eighty percent imported from Europe, all frozen solid. 'Fresh' pork belly is just thawed frozen stuff they sell."
Dong-jin explained as he broke up the chunk with chopsticks.
"Reporter Park! Don't use chopsticks on raw pork! Here's some tongs—use these! And anyway, you could thaw it in the fridge ahead of time. Microwave works too."
Even as Byung-su pointed it out, Dong-jin remained steadfast.
"It's fine. Who wants the hassle of thawing?"
Steam rose in white wisps as ice melted from the separated meat.
The old man snatched a half-cooked chunk and ate it.
"No, sir! How can you eat it when it's not even cooked?"
Byung-su exclaimed in shock at the old man's action.
"It's fine! You can eat it once it steams. I have somewhere to go quickly tonight—it's urgent. Last time's pork belly was tender, but this one's a bit tough."
The old man ignored Byung-su's protests.
He kept grabbing Dong-jin's separated pieces the moment they steamed.
"It's not even beef..."
Yesterday's pork belly had been bought by Byung-su and was higher quality than Dong-jin's frozen stock.
The old man's appetite was voracious, but his palate discerning.
Dong-jin waited until the meat changed color slightly before popping it in his mouth.
"Reporter Park! Wait till it's cooked! Why eat before it's done when I'm starving?"
Byung-su, who'd been patiently waiting for it to brown nicely, scolded Dong-jin as he snatched bites.
"Team leader, eat up. Or Grandpa'll finish it all."
As the old man and Dong-jin devoured like it was war, Byung-su spoke to the old man.
"Sir, aren't you going to tell that cat story from earlier?"
"Cat? Oh, right. First, pour me a shot of soju."
The old man downed the glass the moment Byung-su filled it and held it out for more.
"Ahh, delicious! Cats, you see—they're spiritual beings, whether live or dead. Smart as whips, and they settle favors and grudges clearly. Most animals don't have that kind of karma."
The old man paused, grabbed some pork belly, then continued.
"Look! You can eat all the pork you want—pigs don't come seeking revenge. Cats are different. Live or dead, they always settle kindness and grudges. Got it? Don't mess with cats."
In the midst of his long ramble, the old man suddenly pointed at Byung-su.
It seemed to mean don't torment cats.
"I-I don't mess with cats. Except that one time as a kid when I pulled its tail and twisted its ear."
Startled by the old man's gesture, Byung-su preemptively confessed.
"Right, so what did the cat do when you pulled its tail?"
"Scratched me?"
The old man beamed triumphantly at Byung-su's answer.
"See? Clear karma. Dogs don't bite their owner for tail-pulling, but cats are different from other animals."
"Wouldn't a tiger bite its owner if they pulled its tail?"
Byung-su offered a counterpoint, but the old man summed it up neatly.
"Tigers eat people even without tail-pulling, so they're exempt. And tigers are felines anyway."
While the old man and Kim Byung-su bantered nonsense, the meat browned nicely.
Dong-jin leisurely chased a shot of soju with a lettuce wrap.
The old man and Byung-su were still on about cats.
"The cats I'm looking for turned into chuk-gwi after dying as kittens—their grudges turned them into evil spirits. Young ones, animal or human, have immense desperate energy. Even without that, you shouldn't harm the young."
"The young have more power than adults? What's this 'desperation' mean?"
The old man stuffed five well-browned pieces into his mouth at Byung-su's question, chewed thoroughly, and continued.
"It's gone now—too cruel—but there used to be something called baby hands."
"Baby hands?"
"Back in the famine days of booting necks, when food was scarce. If a baby was born into a starving family on the brink of death, a rogue shaman seeking unnatural power would visit. She'd take the nursing infant—not even a month old—for a bit of rice."
The old man swallowed his chewed meat and grew serious.
"The shaman puts the poor baby in a large jar. Separated from its mother in the dark jar—how terrifying. She doesn't even give it a sip of water."
"And then?"
"Eventually, the infant cries itself out and collapses after days. That's when the shaman brings the mother to stand before the jar."
Byung-su gulped loudly before asking.
"What next?"
"The infant, remembering its mother's milk scent and body odor, musters its last strength to reach a hand out of the jar. A hand filled with desperation, resentment, and longing. The shaman chops off one hand with a cleaver in one stroke and returns the fainted infant to its mother."
"Eek!"
Byung-su and Dong-jin cried out in unison at the gruesome tale.
The old man nodded in understanding.
"The baby loses a hand but survives. The mother harbors lifelong resentment. The shaman gets the baby's hand, dried in the sun—imbued with resentment, grudges, and desperate longing for its mother. Used to ward off spirits or summon ghosts, baby hands had power beyond any sacred relic."
The old man downed a shot and wrapped up.
"But since it's made from a living human—especially an infant—it's taboo now."
"It should never have existed. Too horrific."
Byung-su, appetite gone, set down his chopsticks.
The old man nodded in agreement.
His chopsticks, however, kept grabbing meat even now.
"I get that young ones—human or beast—have great desperation and power. But how's that related to the cats you're after? Because they're kittens?"
Byung-su watched the meat vanish into the old man's mouth with a nauseous look, his own appetite soured.
"Those cats went through something like the baby hands I mentioned."
He chewed twice, swallowed the mouthful of pork belly, and went on.
"This meat's nicely browned—delicious. Anyway, the story goes like this... First, add more meat."