Chapter 5
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Head in the Box (5)
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"I'm here!!"
"Brush off the dirt before you come in!"
At Taeju's words, the girl froze for a moment before immediately shaking off her shoes on the mat by the entrance.
Then, grumbling a little, she said,
"You're so sensitive. You're just gonna clean the floor in a bit anyway."
"Hey, Woli. Who do you think does the cleaning?"
"Anyway, it's not me! You call in someone on vacation and can't even cut them that much slack?"
Since she had no comeback to that, Taeju shut his mouth.
Unlike usual, Woli was wearing an oversized jumper and jeans. She always skipped changing out of her uniform because it was a hassle, but this actually suited her pretty well. It went great with her long, slightly grayish hair.
"By the way, you got back faster than I expected?"
In the end, at Taeju's words, the girl named Woli nodded with a grin.
"Heh heh, what'd you take me for? I even tracked down the box for you!"
He'd told her to check if she could, but he hadn't actually expected her to find it.
"What? You found it? How?"
As Taeju panicked, Woli boasted even more proudly.
"I was running around there for a while when this guy managing the place—some old man or whatever—asked what I was doing out at this hour, said snakes come out and it's dangerous, told me to go home quick! Like getting bit a little is a big deal."
"Everyone else but you would have a big deal on their hands."
Taeju pointed that out as he checked Woli's legs. There were two small holes in the hem of her jeans.
"...No way you got bit already?"
"Huh? It just stung a tiny bit. Anyway, it's just a snake—what's there to worry about? Anyway, that... old man? He seemed nice worrying about me, but I was one step too late!"
Taeju shook his head side to side. Hearing her talk about a snakebite like it was a mosquito bite made his head spin a little.
"Anyway, how does that connect to the box?"
At Sia's question, Woli continued.
"Anyway, he started lecturing me about being a young student out and about, then took me to what looked like a guard shack. I followed since he said to."
From the perspective of someone managing the place, seeing a girl who looked young and fragile wandering the mountain at night, it'd be natural to want to protect her.
"But the box was there. The one that looked exactly like you described to me."
Woli crossed her arms and made a deflated face as she said,
"If it was gonna be like that, I should've just asked from the start. Now my ankle's all itchy for nothing."
It would've been worth worrying about for anyone else, but with her attitude like that, who could? Taeju shook his head again.
"Anyway, why didn't you just take the box?"
"That's what I tried to do. But when I asked the old man where it came from, he started grilling me like, 'Is this yours? Or do you know the owner?' Said dumping stuff in the park is a misdemeanor or whatever."
"...Yeah, I didn't think of that part."
"So I said it wasn't mine! He said if I know the owner, bring them. Won't hand it over otherwise."
"Got it. I didn't expect you'd actually find it.... Anyway, good job."
"What? You didn't expect it?!"
Leaving a shocked-looking Woli behind, Taeju sank into thought.
The fact that the box hadn't completely vanished was definitely good news.
He could just go pick it up tomorrow with Jeonghan.
"If I'd known you had no expectations, I wouldn't have worked this hard.... Unfair. I even got bit by a snake working this hard!"
Watching Woli grumble, Sia smiled a little and said,
"Didn't you just say a minute ago there's nothing to worry about?"
"Ahh, I can't hear you."
Woli stuck out her lips and grumbled.
"I gave up my vacation to do this unexpected work, and now I've got emotional scars?"
Taeju looked a bit sorry.
"You did a good job on what I asked, though. Once this is done, I'll let you take another day off. Not right now, of course."
"Hmph. I knew that much."
* * *
"Nothing happened while you were out again, right?"
While awkwardly consoling the sulking Woli, a call came in from Jeonghan.
[Yes. Nothing happened. No voices either.]
Despite the awkward acting, Jeonghan had managed to leave the room unscathed.
"Good. It's what we expected, but still a relief. Oh, and we found the box."
[You found it? Really?]
Jeonghan sounded surprised. He too had pretty much given up on finding the box again.
"Yeah. The guy managing the facility kept it for us. It's not in our hands yet, but no worry about it getting lost now. That said, if it's treated like park damage or something, there might be a fine. You okay with that?"
[That's no big deal.]
Jeonghan said it couldn't be that much. Plus, truthfully, they felt bad for not putting it back as is. Seizing the moment, he curiously asked,
[Come to think of it, I didn't get to ask earlier since I was busy during the day.]
"Yes, go ahead."
[Did I not pay consultation fees or whatever? How much and how should I pay?]
They'd jumped straight into the monster tale talk at first, so they hadn't discussed payment, which was nagging at him.
[If it's too expensive, that might be a problem....]
"Oh, right, I didn't mention that. Sorry."
Taeju apologized and continued.
"We set the fee after the job's done. Our director goes directly to the client with what he thinks is appropriate."
[So you don't know how much it'll be...?]
Jeonghan sounded anxious. Taeju smiled faintly and said,
"Yes. But we rarely take cash. It won't be something burdensome for you."
[Is that so?]
Jeonghan still didn't sound fully reassured.
"Yes. I don't know what it'll be either, but that much I can guarantee."
At Taeju's words, Jeonghan reluctantly agreed. Taeju said,
"More importantly, there's something key."
[What is it?]
"We unexpectedly found the box, so now we need to think about what to do with it."
They had to check if the box and its contents were related to the dokkaebi. And as always, if there weren't many things to verify, the brute-force method was fastest.
"So it'd help if you could make a list of the items ahead of time."
It would've been smart to ask when he called earlier, but at the time, he hadn't thought they'd find the box so quickly. No helping it.
[Got it. Understood.]
Jeonghan said that and ended the call.
"Whew, even long calls are more tiring than I thought. No time to rest."
Taeju stretched as he spoke.
Sia, who'd been watching from the side, replied.
"You're the only one here good at dealing with people. What can we do?"
Sia habitually flicked open and shut her e-cig case as she spoke.
"Honestly, I can figure out monster tales quick, but people? Not so much."
"That's what division of labor is for. Isn't that a perk of modern society?"
No one here could do what the specialist in their field could.
Sia asked Taeju,
"So, what do you make of this client?"
Taeju yawned long and said,
"Well, you felt it a bit too, right?"
Sia nodded.
"I got one thing. He seems to hate feeling scared of something."
Taeju nodded.
"I don't know the exact reason, but yeah. Simply put, low self-esteem, but it feels a little different."
"Hmm. Different how?"
Sia focused on Taeju's words. He paused for a moment before saying,
"Actually, that's what intrigued me from the start. Why'd he hold out a whole week?"
At first, he'd thought it was no big deal, but as the story unfolded, it got weirder and weirder.
"Right? Fear's the strongest before you get used to it."
Even the scariest horror movie in the world dulls after a couple watches.
"Isn't it?"
"Jeonghan must've been most scared the first time he heard the voice. But he toughed it out a whole week before asking for help."
Taeju went quiet, as if pondering.
"Maybe he had some unavoidable errand. Or life just got busy?"
At Sia's point, Taeju shook his head.
"Yeah, maybe, but considering he even worried he might be going crazy, it's weirder. What errand's more urgent than checking if you're losing it?"
Going crazy is an unknown terror to anyone who hasn't experienced it. When you can't even trust part of your own thoughts, it's a horrific unease.
"Yeah... now that you mention it, nothing comes to mind. If it were me, I'd fix it ASAP."
Sia conceded.
"Even if it was some busy work thing, that's even weirder. Going to an important job at a company while suspecting you're not right in the head? Honestly nuts."
Sia nodded. If you're a patient, you should rest, and even if you went to work, you couldn't focus properly.
"Holding out a week, and he's not even that strong-willed... It's suspicious. Like he was scared but hated admitting it... that kind of vibe."
"Could just be a procrastinator?"
"Well, this isn't laundry or cleaning."
Sia had thrown it out just in case, but she nodded at Taeju's words.
"Fair. Someone gathering friends to dig up a time capsule from ten years ago sounds pretty proactive. No way they'd put off their own stuff a week."
"Honestly, no one would've cared if he didn't dig up the time capsule? It was that much of a hassle. Someone who cares about that kind of thing definitely had time to spare."
"Definitely makes that week super ambiguous."
"Well, there's more oddities besides that. Stuff I picked up from talking to him."
Taeju recalled his earlier conversation with Jeonghan as he spoke.
"Yeah? I didn't sense anything too weird."
"Of course, nothing stands out individually. Just mildly nagging. But when a bunch pile up, it's not just nagging anymore."
Taeju said that, pondering how to sum up the client's demeanor concisely, then spoke.
"The weirdest part might be two conflicting traits at once. 'Has action but no confidence.' Those don't usually go together."
"Yeah, hearing it laid out, it's odd."
Sia clicked her e-cig case again. It was her habit when deep in thought. If they weren't indoors, it'd probably be lit already.
"But that's not a big issue on its own. Might not even relate to the case."
"True. But we've got nothing else to do but speculate right now."
In the end, no deeper judgment without seeing the time capsule.
Taeju suddenly asked, curious.
"Wonder what the dead guy's buried item was."
"Probably nothing pricey, just kids back then."
"Woli could guess that much."
Taeju stretched after saying that.
"Gotta soothe Woli before bed. She's still pretty sulky."
While Taeju was on the phone, Woli had gone upstairs first. Sia smiled and said,
"Well, you apologized, so she'll forget in a day or two? For better or worse, Woli's simple."
Taeju shrugged.
"Yeah, but gotta apologize anyway. Feel bad dragging her in on her day off. Anyway, you not heading to bed, sis?"
"I'll do one with this."
Sia waved the clicking e-cig. Taeju asked with a displeased look.
"...What number quit was that last time?"
"What's past is past."
Sia said it like a proverb, then bolted outside. Taeju watched her go with a pitiful look for a moment.
"If you're gonna do that, don't announce you're quitting..."