Chapter 85
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 85
Chapter Title: Monster Tale Specialist Office: Red Mask (2)
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No matter how you sliced it, the timing was way too suspicious. It didn’t seem like something he could just brush off, so Taeju asked.
“By ‘Red Mask,’ you mean the perpetrator of that recent murder case, right?”
The man nodded cautiously. Taeju sighed inwardly. It would’ve been better if it had been some other incident.
He was shaking his legs slightly, clearly anxious.
“It’s almost certain.”
“Why would the Red Mask want to kill you?”
The man didn’t answer. His face had gone completely pale. Just hearing “Red Mask” and “kill” had sent him spiraling back into panic.
Taeju silently poured him a glass of cold water and handed it over. Until the man calmed down a bit, there was no point in expecting a coherent explanation.
“Go on, take deep breaths. You’re safe here, so relax.”
“Is it really safe? For real?”
“Yes. This isn’t a place just anyone can wander into. Only people who need our help can find their way here.”
Even someone who’d been here once before couldn’t return unless they needed the office’s assistance again.
But even hearing that, it took the man some time to settle down.
To truly feel secure here, all he needed was enough time. While the man composed himself, Taeju took the opportunity to size him up carefully.
He looked no older than a high school student, maybe early twenties at most. Tall build, skin a bit on the darker side. Short hair, sturdy physique.
Taeju couldn’t fathom how someone like this had crossed paths with the Red Mask. Usually, monster tales latched onto the weak-willed or frail.
For a guy like this to get tangled up in one, it probably wasn’t just coincidence. There had to be some special reason.
“Um, this place really is safe, right?”
The man spoke up first. A little time had passed, and he seemed somewhat steadier. Taeju nodded.
“Yes, it’s safe.”
“Really safe?”
His eyes trembled as he spoke.
“Yes, of course.”
Taeju replied with a smile.
“I didn’t even get to introduce myself earlier with everything happening so fast. I’m Taeju. And you are?”
“I’m… my name is… Bang Jihoon.”
Jihoon’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“Are you a student?”
“Yeah. High school.”
Taeju nodded. With a build like that, he figured the kid was prepping for college in athletics.
“Alright then, Jihoon. Let me ask again. Why do you think the Red Mask perpetrator wants you dead?”
“Well…”
“Is it hard to talk about?”
Jihoon still seemed hesitant. After a moment’s pause, he said.
“It’s not that hard, but… I feel like it could be dangerous if I tell someone else. Not me, but other people.”
“That doesn’t bother me. I don’t know anything about the issue to begin with, and I couldn’t solve it anyway.”
At Taeju’s calm words, Jihoon nodded.
“Don’t freak out when you hear this.”
Taeju’s curiosity piqued. What on earth was he about to say? Jihoon took a deep breath and continued.
“I… I know who the Red Mask is.”
“Hold on. You know who it is?”
No one so far had claimed to know the perp’s identity for sure.
Even the self-proclaimed sole eyewitness, a homeless guy, had only said it was a woman in a red mask.
“Not just a vague description—you know exactly who?”
Jihoon nodded shakily.
“Yeah. I know. The perp’s a kid from my class.”
“That’s hard to buy. A student?”
Despite his anxiety, Jihoon raised his eyes in confusion at Taeju’s words.
“You think it’s impossible for a high schooler to be a murderer?”
Seeing the tremor in Jihoon’s eyes, Taeju shook his head.
“I don’t find it weird that a high schooler could commit murder. But in this case specifically, it’s a bit odd.”
Taeju made a troubled face.
“The issue is the skill level.”
He let out a small sigh as he spoke.
“Stabbing someone with a knife isn’t a great option. Unless it’s instant death, they’ll scream no matter what. Doing it right in the middle of a residential complex? Worst choice imaginable.”
But this case was different.
“And yet the perp used a knife. Normally, you’d think they lost their mind so bad they didn’t consider the consequences, but this time it wasn’t like that.”
No screams. Of course not. You can’t scream with punctured lungs.
“The perp stabbed precisely between the ribs, right into the lung. And so cleanly there weren’t even unnecessary wounds.”
Just one clean through-and-through from back to front piercing the lung, and some bruised knees.
“The only explanation is confidence they wouldn’t get caught.”
It was too expert a kill to be impulsive. But too precise for someone with motive.
“Common sense says no one practices this professionally, right?”
That’s why talk of this turning into a cold case had started.
“Maybe a special forces type could pull it off, but someone like that would’ve been nabbed already.”
In the end, the cops had no leads, no solid suspects. The case was at a dead end.
“And you’re saying that perp’s a student?”
A high schooler handling a knife like that? Logically, it sounded absurd. But this guy had made it here, so he was connected to a monster tale at minimum.
No jumping to conclusions.
If Jihoon was telling the truth, he’d survived against all odds so far.
The perp wouldn’t want anyone who knew their identity alive, that much was clear.
“Hard to fully believe, but I can’t just dismiss what you’re saying either.”
Suspicious, but too risky to ignore. Taeju had no choice but to say it with a furrowed brow.
“For now, could you tell me who you think the perp is? We’ll need to look into them.”
“You believe me?”
“Not entirely. Not sure how much is true, but protecting you is definitely real.”
Jihoon nodded. Seemed grateful for that much.
“The perp is…”
He said tensely.
“The perp’s Oh Yeonhwa from Pungseok High.”
Taeju sensed things taking a weird turn.
First time hearing the name Yeonhwa, but he knew the school well.
Pungseok High was where the teacher had been killed—and where Woli and Seol-i went.
“You sure about that?”
That’s why Taeju asked again.
“It’s her. I didn’t mistake her. She even chased me, so I’m positive.”
The man trembled as he spoke.
“She was a monster. That thing.”
Taeju looked awkward.
“A monster, huh.”
“Monster” was a common term for killers, but this didn’t seem to be about her humanity. That made it trickier.
“In what way a monster?”
“Just… she’s not human. No way. Runs insanely fast, you can’t escape. And also…”
Jihoon trailed off, suddenly scanning his surroundings. Frantic. Taeju let him look around as much as he wanted.
“No idea what you’re looking for, but it’s just us two here.”
Even then, the man kept watch and whispered.
“And she keeps leaving that red mask where I’m hiding.”
“The mask?”
“Even inside my house, it’s there somehow. Soaked in blood. Hide somewhere else, and it’s there too. It’s definitely a threat…”
Taeju narrowed his eyes slightly. Hard to ignore a message like that. At this point, it was practically advertising “I’m the Red Mask.”
“Any proof Yeonhwa did this?”
“No proof, but…”
Jihoon fell silent for a moment, then said.
“I can tell you what happened to me.”
* * *
It had started three days ago that Jihoon began being chased by the Red Mask.
He’d been running to clear his head. Ever since his homeroom teacher was murdered, he hadn’t been able to calm down.
To Jihoon, that teacher had been special—his benefactor.
“You’ve got medal-winning talent. Wouldn’t it be a waste to quit with skills like that?”
Those words alone had kept Jihoon in the sport when he’d wanted to quit.
The teacher—who’d once dreamed of being an athlete himself—had seen potential in Jihoon and researched all sorts of info on sports admissions.
Jihoon was grateful. Truth was, he’d entered high school planning to quit athletics, so he didn’t have many people to turn to for advice.
But the homeroom teacher had volunteered.
It took real effort since it wasn’t the usual path, but the teacher had helped diligently.
Then that person who’d supported him in every way was murdered overnight.
The grief and emptiness hit hard. And with it, one thought:
What do I do now?
But things weren’t as bad as he’d feared. His college path was already sorted, and the assistant homeroom teacher—who also thought well of him—had things covered.
Still, he felt ashamed focusing on college amid a death. Guilt gnawed at him, so he ran.
In the midst of it, he glanced around. Even lost in thought, the surroundings were eerily quiet.
“Something’s off.”
No one in sight. It wasn’t a busy area to begin with, but being totally alone on the street was new.
“Oh, the murder, huh?”
Police said it wasn’t serial, but unease was inevitable.
Thinking about the murder soured his mood again. Jihoon shook it off. He just wanted to run without distractions.
But the emptiness here set his nerves on edge. Less fear of the killer, more the creepiness of a familiar place deserted.
“Even so, there’s nobody around.”
Unable to focus, Jihoon kept glancing about.
Then he spotted someone under a streetlamp in the distance. Silhouette looked female.
Curiosity drew his gaze to her face before he knew it.
“A mask? In this heat?”
Even with the mask, he recognized her.
“Huh?”
As he passed, the words slipped out.
“Isn’t that Yeonhwa?”