Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Evil Spirit Baek Dong-su (3)
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There's a company nearby.
We've been dating for two years, and we've been living together since three years ago.
Dong-su grew up as an orphan.
He said he'd never had a family.
We moved here last winter.
This fall, the busy season at Dong-su's company will be over.
That's why we moved here, planning to get married then.
Gyeongbok Palace is right in front for strolls on our days off, and the subway is close, so it's convenient.
We're planning a small wedding with just a few acquaintances.
But suddenly Dong-su hasn't come home, and I have no way to contact him.
I'm blind, so he never gave me his business card. I don't know his company's number, and I've never seen his face, so I can't even describe him to anyone.
I can't even file a missing person report without his resident registration number.
The officetel lease is in my name, so if there's no word today, I'll have to go to the police station tomorrow.
I've been thinking... I want to ask them to file a report using just his name and phone number.
* * *
Even while sharing such an unhappy story, Seol-mi kept a bright expression, and her voice was clear.
'Seol-mi is a strong woman.'
Na-rae thought the feminine Seol-mi was tougher than she appeared.
"Who was that woman earlier?"
Il-han asked Na-rae as they rode the elevator.
He had arrived early for their appointment and seen Seol-mi with her.
"Why? Attracted to her because she's pretty?"
Na-rae felt unnecessarily irritated by Il-han's question.
Unaware or not of her mood, Il-han kept talking.
"She looked familiar. What's her name? How old is she?"
"Mind your own business. She's married. Her husband's not coming home, and she's worried sick."
"Husband not coming home? How many days?"
Il-han's voice turned serious.
As they stepped out of the elevator, Na-rae said,
"He left on Thursday and hasn't contacted her since."
"Three days? Hmm. If he doesn't show today, tell her to check the local precinct or police station tomorrow."
Na-rae opened the door, and Il-han followed her in.
"Can you file a missing person report without the resident registration number or being family?"
"You said he's her husband? Did she lend him money or something? Adult missing persons reports are only for family or those with a stake."
It was hard to file a missing person report.
In fact, even if filed, adult males were usually treated as runaways rather than missing.
Na-rae sat side by side with Il-han and recounted last night's events, finishing late into the night.
Fortunately, Na-rae told the long, potentially boring story in an engaging way, and he didn't seem bored.
"That ghost story's interesting."
After hearing her tale, Il-han stared at his cigarette butt and said.
"So... you had sleep paralysis, and in that dream, the man who pressed on you smoked your cigarette. And you want me to run a DNA test on the guy from your dream. Right?"
Na-rae nodded.
"Right."
Il-han said firmly.
"No."
Na-rae leaned in close and asked,
"Why not?"
Il-han remained firm.
"Would you do it? It's late. Aren't you buying me a drink? Let's grab one before I go."
Il-han stood up and said to Na-rae.
She wasn't about to let him leave after refusing her request and just asking for drinks.
"Leaving? Stay here tonight. I'm scared. I'll sleep up there in bed. You sleep on the sofa."
Na-rae grabbed the standing Il-han and pulled him back down.
They'd been friends since police academy, but crashing alone in her officetel felt awkward.
"You sleep comfortably up there, and I sleep on this cramped sofa? You said ghosts appear. No drinks, no food—you promised food and nothing. Does that make sense? This sofa where ghosts sit, and you want me to lie down here?"
His dialect slipped out.
"Yeah."
Na-rae shot him pleading eyes, desperately hoping he'd shut up and spend the night on the sofa.
After two bottles of soju were emptied, Na-rae headed upstairs to bed.
She looked relaxed, like she'd sleep well tonight.
"Hey! You're leaving me alone to sleep?"
Il-han yelled at Na-rae's back as she lay down on the second floor.
"You're a cop of justice. Be the staff of the people. Let me sleep. Don't make noise. Drink quietly and sleep."
She pulled the covers over without turning around.
There were still two more bottles of soju left.
"Guess I'll keep drinking."
Il-han felt uneasy leaving anxious Na-rae alone, so he settled in to drink.
As he drank alone, his eyes caught a girl standing under the traffic light across the street through the window.
It was late at night with few pedestrians, so she stood out.
The distance was a bit far, but her figure was clear.
Her stylish hair gleamed golden under the streetlight, and she wore a red dress.
"Foreigner? Or dyed hair. Cool kid."
Comparing her height to the streetlight, she looked about ten years old.
The girl stared across the street as if about to cross.
She looked up toward Na-rae's officetel.
Il-han felt like—probably just his imagination—the girl was smiling at him.
'No way. This is the eighth floor; she can't see me.'
Il-han turned away and poured soju into his empty glass.
Long-time bachelor that he was, he was used to drinking alone.
He downed the filled glass in one go.
A spicy burn hit his stomach, a strange stimulation.
He chugged water instead of snacks and glanced out the window again.
The girl was still at the crosswalk.
Even with the walk signal, she just stared across, not crossing.
'Waiting for someone? It's late. What's across the street? What’s she looking at?'
Curiosity sparked about the girl at the crosswalk.
'The hypotenuse of a right triangle can be found if you know the legs. Duplex building, including interlayer space, about five meters per floor. Eighth floor, so forty meters. Straight-line distance from here to the light across the street is about twenty meters. So, sqrt(40² + 20²) = 44.72 meters.'
He calculated without a calculator.
Triangulation.
'Line of sight is a straight line like the hypotenuse. So if I'm observing her, she's at a distance where she could see me too. Better not creep her out.'
Despite his curiosity, Il-han decided to stop watching the girl after his pointless math.
A strange man's gaze late at night could scare her.
Fortunately, her area was well-lit with no apparent dangers.
His empty stomach and meager snacks made his gut bubble fiercely.
'Time to mark territory.'
The bathroom was clean and smelled nice.
Door opened right to the toilet, with a glass-partitioned shower beside it.
He sat urgently and got to business.
No window, ventilated only by fan.
'Oh, the fan...'
As he bore down and relaxed, he remembered not turning it on in his rush.
'This'll linger till morning.'
Soju on empty stomach followed by a big one reeks like rotting guts.
'Na-rae will kill me if she smells this. Gotta turn on the fan first when I go out.'
With more business left, Il-han heard the bathroom doorknob turn.
The door was locked and didn't open.
Na-rae must've woken half-asleep and tried the knob.
"I'm in here."
He said lowly.
Mid-sentence, his sphincter relaxed, making a loud noise.
'Damn, she'll tease me as the shit guy forever.'
Involuntarily, it kept going.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, legs went weak and shaky.
Even old friends had embarrassing moments between man and woman.
Unaware of his plight, the turning continued outside.
"Wait. I'll be out soon."
He said politely, but worried.
'If Na-rae comes in right away, she'll freak at the smell.'
Outside, as if not hearing, the knob kept turning.
'Must be drunk and desperate for the bathroom.'
It was the first time his legs shook like this during business.
In haste, Il-han wiped roughly, didn't wash hands, and flung open the door on wobbly legs.
To cover the awkwardness, he yelled first.
"Hey! Wait a sec. What's this in the middle?"
The door burst open with his shout; the woman outside startled, stumbled back, and hit the opposite closet fridge.
Thud!
A loud bang.
It wasn't Na-rae.
A exotic woman with short curly hair and healthy tanned skin.
"Gasp! Who are you?"
Her tan skin and short curls were definitely not Korean.
'Foreigner?'
"Oh! Damn."
Feeling the stench waft from behind, Il-han hurriedly closed the door with his back.
'Ah... Na-rae's roommate? Even more embarrassing.'
Assuming so, Il-han bowed and greeted hastily.
"Ah, haha. Hi! You must be Na-rae's roommate. I'm her friend. Not boyfriend friend, just male friend. Na-rae called me over urgently today. She's up there."
Bowing, his eyes caught her shoes.
'Startled, didn't take them off?'
He felt sorrier.
"Um... you're still wearing shoes."
At his words, she smiled with her eyes and neatly removed her shoes.
Even without them, she was tall.
'I'm 176cm, and she looks my height or a bit taller?'
Eyeballing another pointless measurement.
'Not now! Ventilation!'
Il-han reached back, fumbling for the fan switch.
"Better wait a bit before going in."
She nodded as if understanding and walked the narrow hall to the living room.
Sitting on the living room sofa, she filled Na-rae's glass with soju and downed it.
Il-han joined on the sofa, sitting a bit away.
"Um, so how do you know Na-rae?"
He asked cautiously.
"I said I'm her roommate? Haha."
She laughed heartily with playful eyes.
Large laugh like a man's, but a pretty sound.
'Mischievous one. I'm her plaything tonight.'
Embarrassed but thinking 'who doesn't shit?', Il-han chuckled awkwardly.
"I'm Ran. Came to ask Na-rae something, but she's asleep?"
Perfect Korean pronunciation.
'Mixed? Accent's spot on.'
Her straightforward personality seemed easy to get along with.
She poured into his empty glass, offering a drink.
* * *
"Hey! Get up! Don't you work Sundays too? Wash up and go to work."
Na-rae kicked Il-han awake where he lay on the floor.
"Ow. Don't kick."
Rib kicked, Il-han groggily rose.
"What did you drink so much? And why sleep on the floor like a homeless guy instead of the fine sofa?"
Na-rae asked pityingly.
"Drank with your roommate. She holds her liquor. Went out and bought tons. Where's your roommate? Not on the sofa?"
Il-han rubbed his eyes and looked at the sofa.
"What? Still drunk? Roommate where? I live alone. Even my mom hasn't been here. Snap out of it and wash up!"
At Na-rae's words, Il-han puzzledly looked around.
"Don't know Ran? Ran? She's gone. Where'd she go? After I passed out?"
"Ran? What? Sounds familiar, but no idea. Who?"
Na-rae acted like she never heard of a woman named Ran.