Chapter 52
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Monster Tale Specialist Office: Stray Cat (1)
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The weather was nice.
The sun was blazing, and it wasn't too cold or too hot—the perfect kind of day for an outing.
If only the place they were at wasn't a funeral home. Taeju let out a sigh of lament.
"This is the kind of day where I should've worn black."
Maybe because it was a weekday afternoon, there weren't many people at the funeral home. Thanks to that, Taeju's navy outfit stood out even more.
But no one paid any mind to Taeju's clothes. Given the nature of the place, there weren't many people with the leisure to scrutinize others.
"Well, we're not here to pay respects, so it doesn't matter."
Sia spoke as she straightened her own attire. Seeing this, Taeju grumbled.
"No, you're dressed like that and saying stuff like that?"
As always, Sia was in a black suit. Considering the venue, she'd removed the arm decoration. It made her outfit perfectly appropriate for the location.
Sia chuckled at Taeju's playful remark.
The two had already been wandering around the place for several hours.
They hadn't visited any of the chapels; they'd just been circling the exterior of the funeral home.
It might've looked suspicious, peeking around outside, but no one watched them closely.
"Still no sign of it."
"Yeah. Nothing."
Sia said it like it was no big deal.
The two, who had been glancing around as if searching for something, stopped in front of a bench in the smoking area.
Sia plopped down on the bench and slowly pulled out her e-cigarette, taking a drag. It was a reward to herself after hours of diligent walking.
"Hoo—"
There were plenty of trees around, and a cool breeze blew through.
Perhaps the boy had seen something among those swaying branches. Sia thought as much.
She brushed back her fluttering hair and exhaled a cloud of vapor.
The smoke drifted into the dense thicket of trees.
"I had a feeling, but it's disappointing."
Taeju sat a little ways from Sia and peered into the woods.
"Is it? I figured there wouldn't be anything from the start. A cat with a human face? If something like that were here, word would've spread like wildfire by now."
Taeju frowned and kicked at the ground at Sia's words, which implied she hadn't expected anything to begin with.
"I thought there'd at least be some traces. But we got confirmation there's not even a hint at a funeral home, so that's something to be satisfied with."
"Yeah. It seems what that boy saw is connected to him personally. Nothing to do with the funeral home."
In the end, they needed to hear the story from the kid himself. It wasn't much different from the conclusion they'd reached before.
"There's too little info from talking to the kid's dad. He doesn't believe in ghost stories, so he might've interpreted things however he wanted."
Sia pocketed her e-cigarette after taking a long drag and spoke.
"Anyway, let's take one last look around. That said, it's kinda surprising there's really nothing here."
"Didn't you just say there wouldn't be anything?"
At Taeju's point, Sia stretched her body out.
"I figured even if that monster cat wasn't here, I might spot something else after a while. Funeral homes are prime spots for running into ghosts, after all."
With a mix of regret and nonchalance, Sia stood up.
"Times have changed, I guess."
* * *
About five hours before the two arrived at the funeral home,
Taeju was alone, guarding the first floor of the office. He'd just finished lunch, and Sia had vanished, saying she was going for her post-meal nap.
Ding-a-ling.
It was an abrupt visitor during an awkward time of day when people rarely showed up.
Caught off guard, Taeju fumbled a bit but managed to greet the guest without too much disarray.
"Hello."
The man who entered with Taeju's greeting was a middle-aged fellow in semi-formal attire.
His hair looked dyed jet-black, and his skin bore a few wrinkles betraying his age.
He scanned the room with furrowed brows. Then, eyeing Taeju with evident skepticism, he spoke.
"This the place they told me to come to if there's trouble?"
"Yes. Whatever brought you here, just showing up means you've come to the right spot."
Taeju replied politely to the man.
Mulling over Taeju's words, the man nodded. His expression remained stern.
"I'm here for a consultation."
He was incredibly direct.
Whether he had no time for pleasantries or that was just his personality, it was hard to say.
"Sure, have a seat wherever you're comfortable. Coffee?"
"I'll pass. Sorry, but I'm not in the mood right now."
Taeju felt a twinge of regret at the man's words. He hadn't had his after-lunch tea yet.
The man chose a table at the far end and sat. Taeju sat across from him.
"I'm Kang Taeju."
"Oh, I didn't even introduce myself... My apologies."
The man politely handed over his business card. Taeju accepted it with both hands, glanced at it, and set it on the table.
"I'll leave it here for now. Sorry, I don't have my wallet on me."
"That's fine."
"So, what kind of consultation can I help you with?"
The man's face was rigid. He seemed to be pondering where to start.
"I heard you solve ghost problems here."
Taeju nodded.
"To be precise, it's all things monstrous and strange."
"I see. I'm not well-versed in that stuff. I've never believed in ghosts up to now."
"I understand."
The man looked the type who'd have no truck with such tales. He seemed utterly flustered just by the fact of being here.
"Truth be told, even now that I'm here, I still don't believe in ghosts."
Such reactions weren't unheard of. Taeju paid it no mind, but the man proceeded cautiously, as if wary of offending him.
Taeju spoke nonchalantly.
"But something must've come up that you couldn't ignore."
Once the man had come here, whether he believed or not was beside the point.
Even without belief, something had forced his hand. The man nodded gravely.
"Yes, just as you say. Though to be exact, it didn't happen to me. Honestly, I still don't fully grasp what... "
The man paused briefly before continuing.
"But when your child is that scared, a parent can't just brush it off."
If the victim was his kid, it made sense he'd come with a heavy heart, Taeju thought.
In some ways, it might be more horrifying than if it had happened to him.
"How old is your child?"
"Middle schooler. Just started second year."
"Hmm."
Taeju nodded. It was a prime age to be affected by such things.
"So, what happened to your child? Ah, mind if I record this? Just in case I miss something."
The man nodded for Taeju to go ahead. While Taeju activated the phone's recorder, the man crossed his arms and thought.
"Well, he hasn't told me exactly, so I don't know when it started. But one thing's for sure: the change in him came right after his grandfather—my father—passed and the funeral wrapped up."
"Uh... I see."
Taeju responded carefully.
"Any idea on the timing?"
"It's been two days since the three-day wake ended."
It was more recent than expected. Taeju couldn't imagine the mood the man had been in coming here.
But the man spoke calmly. Not unsad, but as if he'd already come to terms with it.
"My condolences."
Taeju offered words of comfort. The man gave a brief nod of thanks and continued.
"The funeral... not sure if 'smooth' is the right word, but it went off without issues. We were a bit busy with all the visitors, though."
"That must've been tough."
"I'm grateful. Thanks to them, I felt like Father's path wouldn't be lonely, and it helped me pull myself together."
The man seemed somewhat detached yet composed. Probably the loss he'd half-expected. Taeju could only guess.
"After seeing Father off, we came home. The kid went straight to his room and didn't come out. We were exhausted too, so I figured he was just tired."
"Was he shocked that his grandfather passed?"
"That's what I thought at the time. Shocked and confused by someone close dying. Actually... even before the funeral, his expression hadn't been great,"
The man let out a sigh tinged with guilt before going on.
"I... thought he needed time alone to process, so I left him be. Plus, there was so much to handle during the funeral."
He framed it as his fault, but no one could blame him. He was a father, but also a son who'd just lost his parent.
"The next day, his mom and I got ready for work. The boy still hadn't come out of his room."
"What was his condition?"
"His mom tried calling him, but I said to let him rest more. We even called the school to say he'd miss. But when we got home from work, no sign he'd eaten lunch, and he wouldn't come out even when we called for dinner... That's when we realized something was off."
Wondering if something was wrong, the man knocked on his son's door. That's when his son's voice came through.
"What did he say?"
"He asked who it was. But his voice was off. Definitely something wrong."
*Who's knocking on my door?*
The boy screamed it in a voice crushed by fear. The man asked what was wrong and tried the door, but it was locked.
"Once he confirmed it was me, he thankfully opened it. That's when I could finally see how he was."
The boy's state was dire. His eyes were hollow, his face gaunt.
"He was shivering. Trembling like it was the dead of winter."
"Trembling?"
"Yes. For a split second, I thought he'd caught a cold or something. But it wasn't that."
It had clearly been trembling from terror.
"I asked why, but he wouldn't answer. Just kept his head down, shaking on his own. I wanted to know what happened, why he was like that, but he could barely speak."
By then, dinner was the last thing on their minds. The man hurriedly called his wife. Even with both parents there, the shaking didn't stop.
"It took half an hour just to calm him down. Fortunately, he settled bit by bit."
"So, what did he say?"
At Taeju's question, the man replied with a somber face.
"Well, that's... my son said..."
‘I saw a cat with a human face... at the funeral home.’