Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Imprisoned Doll (2)
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"Min-su's mom, long time no see."
Cho-seon, standing in front of the elevator, greeted the woman who had been waiting first.
"Oh, Editor Kim. It's been a while."
It was Min-su's mom, who lived right next door.
Cho-seon always went to work early, so it had been quite some time since she last saw Min-su's mom.
"Min-su hasn't been going to daycare lately, so it's been hard for me to even step outside these days. But Editor Kim, KD Report is your company, right?"
"Not exactly mine, but close enough. Why?"
Feeling a sense of dread at Min-su's mom's question, Cho-seon casually stroked her handbag and asked.
"There was that article a while back saying the sinkhole in front of our apartment connects all the way to hell. The apartment complex president said house prices are dropping and she's going to lodge a formal complaint with you."
"Ah, that one?"
Her suspicion was confirmed.
Inside, she cursed Byung-su, and outwardly, she cursed him even more.
"Ah, seriously. That trash reporter... I already disciplined him. His intent was to warn that the sinkhole formed because the ground weakened from constructing a high-rise nearby. But the headline was way too sensational. Sorry about that."
Even after the apology, Min-su's mom's expression remained dark.
'This woman... Should I curse him out more? Was that not enough?'
Cho-seon sighed and cursed Byung-su some more.
"House prices are super important, right? Of course! I've scrimped and saved every penny at my age to buy this place, so I was furious too. That reporter was a decent guy before, but he lost a colleague covering a murder case and went a bit off the rails. Thinking about it, he's kind of pitiful. Ugh. Byung... I mean, Byung-su."
No matter how much Cho-seon chattered on excessively, Min-su's mom just nodded and sighed.
'No, this woman really. After all that, she should cut me some slack.'
Feeling miffed herself, Cho-seon fixed her gaze on the elevator floor indicator.
Just then, the elevator arrived, and the doors opened.
As Cho-seon stepped inside, Min-su's mom's slender hand grabbed her sleeve and stopped her.
"Huh? Min-su's mom, is there something you want to tell me? You don't look well. Speak freely."
Turning back without entering the elevator, Cho-seon asked, and Min-su's mom spoke with difficulty.
"That reporter... isn't he the one who covered the Cheorwon werewolf story? Kim Byung-su."
"Why wouldn't he be? Yeah, that's him. That article was ridiculous too, right? It even went viral overseas. Because of that guy, our paper gets called a tabloid. Anyway, sorry. Do you own land in Cheorwon? Is your hometown there? Land prices dropped?"
"No, that's not it. Could I possibly meet that reporter?"
Min-su's mom's eyes welled up, her face full of desperation.
* * *
Byung-su was being harshly scolded in the editor's office again today.
"Sinkhole, you... You know I took out a loan to buy that house? House prices dropped because of it. Loan interest rates went up too. You're the worst kind of trash reporter. First time I've seen someone like you."
"It has to be sensational to get views... Sinkholes are dangerous. You want your apartment to be at risk? Plus, that was an exclusive."
Byung-su was digging his own grave.
"House prices dropping is more dangerous to me than the sinkhole! What? Views? Exclusive? Those precious views? Why'd you hand over the skeleton footage from the suicide mountain to broadcast TV? We should've posted it exclusively to rack up real views. You're a traitor to KD Report!"
"I already got chewed out for that. I said for an internet paper like ours, it needs broadcast coverage to become an issue and catch the perp. So..."
"Shut up! You traitor selling out articles! That kind of betrayal sticks to you for life! What do you know about social justice, spouting nonsense like that?"
Given Cho-seon's temperament, the traitor label would be engraved on his tombstone even after death.
"Someone's coming to see you soon. They have a story for you, so listen well."
As Byung-su left the room after the thorough scolding, Cho-seon called after him.
"A visitor? What story?"
Byung-su stopped and turned to ask, and Cho-seon shrugged her crossed arms.
"I heard a rough version this morning, but couldn't make heads or tails of the story. You hear it out. Anyway, you... ugh."
* * *
"Ah, you came? You're a friend of Editor Kim, right?"
Byung-su greeted the woman standing at the door, hesitating whether to enter while looking around the office, with a bright smile.
"So, your four-year-old son named Min-su gave the doll the same name?"
After sitting across from her at the small round table and listening quietly, Byung-su spoke up.
The part where Min-su named the doll after himself had caught his interest.
"Yes, our Min-su named it that."
"Have you seen the movie Satan's Doll? It's based on a true story."
"Chucky?"
"Yeah, but the doll's real name wasn't Chucky—it was Robert Eugene. A kid named Robert Eugene gave it his own name. Doesn't it remind you of Kim Chun-su's poem 'Flower'?"
Min-su's mom just widened her eyes at Byung-su's question, unable to respond.
Park Dong-jin, who had been watching their conversation, suddenly chimed in.
"Before I called his name, he was nothing but a gesture. When I called his name, he came to me and became a flower. Team Leader, what's the connection between the poem and the doll?"
Dong-jin, ever the one to butt in.
Byung-su gave a dry response to Dong-jin's question.
"Who knows? It's a hunch. A reporter's instinct. Min-su's mom, please continue. What happened after Min-su named it?"
"I-it's trying to kill our son. That doll... it's targeting our Min-su... Th-throw it away and it comes back. Please help us."
Min-su's mom's voice trembled faintly.
Her hands and knees shook so much the round table rattled.
Na-rae handed Min-su's mom a tissue and gently comforted her.
"It'll be okay now. Our team leader is the best in this field. Take your time and tell us slowly about your son and the doll."
* * *
"That damned doll was sitting on top of our Min-su, hitting him, and I lost it and kicked it away with my foot."
Bang!
Min-su's mom slammed both hands on the table, unable to control her emotions.
"I hugged Min-su and stomped on that doll, screaming. Die! Die! You monster! Die!"
Immersed in the memory, Min-su's mom's emotions surged, her voice rising higher.
"Telling a doll to die—it was absurd. It all felt like a dream. The doll was just lying there..."
Min-su's mom spoke calmly as if regaining composure, then raised her voice again.
"No. The doll that was lying down moved."
Her pupils shook wildly.
"It swung its arms to block my feet, and that only made me angrier."
Her gritted teeth conveyed her full fury toward the doll.
"I screamed and kicked it like a madwoman for a while, then someone grabbed me from behind."
Her voice, which had been building, suddenly deflated.
"I was startled... Holding Min-su in both arms, I headbutted whoever was hugging me from behind. 'Ouch! Honey, what's wrong?' It was Min-su's dad, woken from sleep."
Dong-jin, imagining smashing someone's nose with the back of his head, felt his own nose tip ache.
"I smashed my husband's nose. Haha. I must've looked like a crazy woman. Haha."
Min-su's mom suddenly burst into laughter, then sobered up and continued.
No one would call that normal.
"I told my husband, clutching his nose, 'Honey! This doll is tormenting our Min-su. Honey.' I cried as I explained."
Min-su's mom shook her head wildly, messing up her hair.
"My hair was a mess, Min-su's lip was busted, and my foot was still stomping the doll."
The scene was vivid.
"My husband didn't believe me. 'Min-su's mom, what's wrong? It's a doll. A doll! No matter how much Min-su stays up at night playing, you can't do this. Ah, what is this? Min-su's only four. He's still a baby. Violence, this kind of violence...'"
"A misunderstanding?"
At Na-rae's question, Min-su's mom shed tears, her clenched fists trembling.
"Min-su's dad thought I hit Min-su."
"Of course..."
Na-rae elbowed Dong-jin's side as he tried to interject without reading the room.
"Ow!"
Despite Dong-jin's yelp, Min-su's mom's story continued.
"My husband... wouldn't listen... He picked up the doll I was stomping, threw it out the window, got the first-aid kit, and treated Min-su."
Byung-su's eyes sparkled at the part about throwing the doll outside.
"Blood was dripping from my husband's nose too—probably from me headbutting him."
Min-su's mom dabbed her tears with tissue, took a deep breath, and continued.
"I felt wronged, but I was relieved when Min-su's dad threw that doll out the window."
Her voice grew a bit calmer.
"I collapsed on the spot and cried for a while."
Suddenly lifting her head, Min-su's mom mimicked a child's speech out of nowhere.
"'Daddy! Mommy didn't hit me. Min-su did it. Because he's Min-su. He said I should sleep on the floor and he on the bed, so he pulled me off and hit me. Really.'"
Dong-jin jumped up in alarm at Min-su's mom's tone.
Na-rae glared at him fussing cluelessly and sat him back down.
Dong-jin bowed his head at the signal to behave.
His downward gaze caught Min-su's mom's slender hands trembling like aspen leaves.
She was terrified right now too.
"Min-su spoke up for his mom. 'Okay, I see. Anyway, the bad doll's gone now, so lie down. You too.' But Min-su's dad didn't believe it."
Her mimicking of crying, laughing, Min-su, and her husband didn't look sane.
But even Dong-jin now realized she genuinely feared that doll.
"My head was confused too, so I thought maybe I'd lost my mind for a bit. Could be a mental breakdown. When you're crazy, you don't know it and hurt people."
Byung-su, who had been listening quietly, asked carefully.
"You're saying it wasn't a mistake on your part, ma'am?"
"Yes, I didn't go mad."
Min-su's mom shook her head vigorously in denial.
She shook so hard her whole body trembled.
As the cup on the table wobbled, Dong-jin grabbed it and offered it to her.
"Have some water while you talk."
Min-su's mom gave a faint smile at his kind gesture.
This calm didn't last long.
"Even after my husband left for work, I couldn't settle down. Sitting on the sofa, I jumped up at Min-su's shout. 'Mom! Min-su... Min-su! He's here! Mom!' I rushed into Min-su's room..."
Her wide eyes grew even larger as she continued.
"In Min-su's room, that doll was poking its head through the window, crawling in, and yelling at me."
["I'm Min-su! That one's not Min-su anymore! How dare you step on me and throw me. I'll kill you all. Kill you!"]
"That's what that bastard said... threatening to kill us all."
Min-su's mom even mimicked the doll's voice, shouting.
"It screamed so loud it pierced my eardrums, glaring at Min-su, holding a shard of broken glass in its hand. It was coming in, threatening us with it."
"Hold on, ma'am..."
Byung-su, who had been listening silently, called to Min-su's mom.
Her eyes, turned toward him, were bloodshot.