The Bear, the Boar, and the Red Pill (3): The Arsonist's Future
The man who introduced himself as Gang In-jeong, detective and team leader of the Second Criminal Division at Dobong Police Station in Seoul, got straight to the point.
"Yes."
Recently, a string of arson cases had been occurring around Dobong-gu. Three incidents so far. The problem was that they all appeared to be the work of a single perpetrator.
"Isn't there any CCTV in the neighborhood?"
"Unfortunately, all the fire sites were in blind spots."
"Hmm..."
"Do you think you can help?"
I glanced at his future first. Sadly, I couldn't see any timeline where he caught the serial arsonist. In that case, even I wouldn't know...
I handed him a card. When he flipped it over, I shook my head.
"...Is that so?"
"Yes. I don't see any future where you catch him."
"...That's unfortunate."
"But maybe someone else besides Detective Gang could catch him."
"What do you mean...?"
"There are other detectives at the Dobong station who might catch him, so it would be good to check their fortunes as well."
"You're saying you'll help us!"
"Yes."
I had seen it through his future. Because of the arson, the entire area around the traditional market in Dobong-gu would burn to the ground. Dozens dead, hundreds injured. How could I just sit back and let that happen?
"Shall we head out right away?"
"Yes. Let's do that."
I followed Gang In-jeong to the Dobong Police Station. It was a fairly large building. I'd never imagined an ordinary person like me would have any reason to visit a place like this, but here I was.
"Team Leader? Didn't you say you were taking the day off today? Uh... who is this?"
"Someone I invited. He's a... well, a very talented fortune teller."
"...Excuse me?"
When we reached the Second Criminal Division, one of the detectives working there stared at me in disbelief. Gang In-jeong simply nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Haha. Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Noah."
"...Ah. Yes. I'm Detective Seo In-gyu."
"You seem quite suspicious of me, so how about a quick test?"
I held out a tarot card. When Detective Seo In-gyu flipped it, I looked into his past and spoke.
"You're from Chungnam Hyangung High School. After moving to Seoul, you prepared for the police exam and failed three times, right?"
".....!!"
"You have both parents and a younger sibling who's also a civil servant. Looks like they work in the fire department."
"...Huk..."
"And... the anime you're watching right now—"
"Anime?"
"Whoa, whoa! That's incredible!!"
Seo In-gyu grabbed me, sweating bullets. His face screamed please don't say it. Come on, it's not like watching anime is a crime. Is Precure that embarrassing?
Seo In-gyu was officially sunk. Gang In-jeong looked back and forth between us before letting out a sigh.
"Thanks to this man, we caught the foot fetishist."
"Wow... if that's true... does that mean we don't even need to investigate anymore?"
"That's not how it works."
What I see is the future. The future where they work hard, investigate, uncover the truth, and catch the culprit. I tell them what I see from that, so if they stop doing their jobs, that future disappears.
"That's kind of complicated."
"I don't fully understand it myself. I just tell you what I see."
"Anyway, it means the work we do isn't meaningless."
At Gang In-jeong's words, Seo In-gyu nodded.
"So the reason you brought him here is..."
"To get his help with the serial arson cases happening in Dobong-gu right now. Sir, let's go."
"Yes."
I followed him around the station. I had the detectives and officers flip cards. Some found it amusing, others looked extremely uncomfortable. But that wasn't my problem...
"......."
This was bad. There was nothing. None of their futures showed the serial arsonist being caught.
"It's not here."
"...So you're saying... we won't be the ones to catch the arsonist."
"Yes."
The mood in the room grew heavy. In that case, it was time for a different approach.
"Team Leader Gang. There's somewhere I'd like you to come with me for a moment."
"Yes? Where are we going?"
The place we arrived at together was the site of a massive future fire—the Dobong Traditional Market. Maybe someone here had seen the arsonist.
"Why did you want to come here... Wait, you don't mean..."
His puzzled expression hardened. That's right. This place burns down. Dozens of people die, hundreds are injured. The property damage alone reaches hundreds of billions in the future I saw.
"Welcome~!"
The waffle vendor greeted us with a smile. That man. He dies. Engulfed in flames, trembling until the end. Thinking of the wife and daughter waiting at home, he dies horribly.
"The apples are delicious! Apples!"
The fruit stand lady dies too. After losing her husband and raising her son alone, she suffocates in thick smoke and sends one last message to her son saying she's sorry before she dies.
"The hairtail is fresh today! Hairtail!"
The fishmonger as well.
"Mom!! Buy me tteokbokki!!"
The young mother who came to the market holding her child's hand.
"Hey! Let's go eat hotteok!!"
The high school students happily running around.
All of them either die or suffer serious injuries. Countless futures unfolded before me. I searched through them. For the future of the one who would set this place on fire. The one who would kill dozens, torment hundreds, and bring sorrow to even more.
And I found him.
"Hey, student."
"Yes?"
"Can I talk to you for a second? Oh, we're not suspicious people."
"...You look pretty suspicious at first glance."
I stopped a high school student who was walking by. His name was Kim Gu-hwan, a student at Dobong High School near the traditional market. The large-built boy looked at us with a sour expression.
"This uncle is a police officer."
"Uh, I haven't done anything bad though."
"I knew that bastard Kim Gu-hwan would get caught like this!"
"Officer! Over here! Here!"
Kim Gu-hwan, who had been eating tteokbokki with his friends, looked extremely flustered. His friends, not understanding the seriousness of the situation, were busy teasing him.
"It's nothing serious, just for a moment. Can you flip this card for me?"
"...A tarot card?"
Looking puzzled, Kim Gu-hwan flipped the tarot card that Gang In-jeong held out. When I nodded after seeing it, Gang In-jeong grinned.
"Good. Thank you."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah."
"Tarot cards... Kang Noah is really popular these days. I keep hearing people asking to flip tarot cards everywhere."
"Huh? You know about Kang Noah too?"
"Yes! It's suddenly super popular at school. Some kids even started carrying around the same cards he uses."
Looks like I'm setting trends. That's nice to hear.
"Anyway, we're done here, right?"
"Yes. Thanks for your cooperation. I'll pay for the tteokbokki."
"You're more like an uncle than a hyung..."
When Gang In-jeong's face twisted, Kim Gu-hwan burst into bright laughter.
"Hehe. Thanks! Hyung!"
The kid had no shame. The age gap was more than a full zodiac cycle, and he was calling him hyung? But Gang In-jeong proudly paid for the tteokbokki anyway. Then he walked over to me.
"Sir. What do you think?"
"I saw it."
"Really?"
"That boy saw it."
Yes. Kim Gu-hwan had seen it. When entering the traditional market, someone spraying something in a corner of the market.
"Who is it?"
"Follow me."
And that person turned out to be someone Kim Gu-hwan knew very well. Of course he would. The man was a teacher at Dobong High School.
We arrived at Dobong High School. Using the power of the state, we successfully entered the school grounds.
"What brings you from the police station..."
Following the guidance counselor, we headed to the teachers' office. There were still teachers inside. Among them, my gaze fixed on one man.
He had a kind-looking face. The type who looked like he couldn't even steal from a neighborhood convenience store, let alone commit serial arson. But in his past and his future, his horrific actions were clearly visible.
Ever since he was young, he loved burning things. At first, it was ants. The sight of ants writhing as they burned in the flames was utterly mesmerizing.
After ants came mosquitoes, moths, grasshoppers, cicadas. Every time he watched insects burn, he felt his own omnipotence.
But it wasn't enough. The sense of omnipotence from bugs was like sprinkling a few drops of water on a parched throat.
More. He needed more.
So next came animals. First chicks. Then stray cats. He even burned turtles bought from a pet shop. Their struggles were delightful. But even that wasn't enough.
Bigger things. Beings with higher intelligence. He wanted to see them suffer in the flames.
But doing that in this society wouldn't end with mere social burial. So he held back.
But.
'I can't hold back anymore.'
The only family that had been his shackle—his mother—had died. Was that why? The desires he'd suppressed for so long became impossible to contain.
So he tried it lightly. He set fire to a place where people lived. Unfortunately, no one died. Still, it was fine. Next time. Next time he'd do better.
So.
The next target was here.
The place the man's eyes were fixed on was a spot where hundreds of people came and went every day. A place where, once fire broke out, at least dozens would be unable to escape and die.
It was the Dobong Traditional Market.
Wow. What a piece of trash. This level of mindset would be hard to find even in an orphanage. Is this what they call a psychopath? But can psychopaths even become teachers?
Anyway, now I understand why he wasn't caught before. That man dies too. While watching the Dobong Traditional Market burn, he gets caught in a gas explosion and dies.
It's a bit ironic that he dies by the fire he started, but it's not okay for other people to die and get hurt because of it. So I'll stop him.
"Hello."
"Yes? Ah, hello. But who are you..."
"We're from Dobong Police Station. You are Teacher Lee Il-je... correct?"
"Yes, that's right, but..."
"Excuse me, but could you flip this card for us?"
"A card? Haha. The students have been playing with these lately. Is it trending at the police station too?"
The authority of the police easily lowered his guard. Since we weren't there to accuse him of being a serial arsonist but simply asking him to flip a card, he accepted without issue.
The other teachers followed suit. Everyone in the teachers' office flipped the card that Gang In-jeong held out on my behalf.
"We're done here, sir."
"Yes. Let's go."
I left the school with Gang In-jeong.
"Who is it?"
"Chemistry teacher Lee Il-je. He's the culprit."
"...I see."
There wasn't a shred of doubt. Gang In-jeong looked at me.
"Four days from now. He'll do it near the mural village in Dobong-dong."
"...Understood."
Gang In-jeong's eyes gleamed with determination.