Aftermath at Gwiam Reservoir (1)

I messed up. No, I got careless.

I should have been more considerate of my friend. I should have remembered she was in a fragile state. I needed to etch it deeper into my mind that she was someone I had to protect.

And right when the old man had just woken up—

"That fucking bastard."

I ground my teeth, burning with hatred.

This evil spirit's name... was it I-sik? Or was that a nickname?

Right after we'd emerged from the reservoir. That guy had been trying to drag Sam-sik into the water and was threatening Mirinae at the same time.

I didn't care much about the former, but the latter pissed me off enough to cleave him in half.

He'd somehow managed to flee back to the reservoir with his mangled body. Later, while I was dealing with the "true boss of Gwiam Reservoir," he'd tried a sneak attack, so I'd smashed him down with my scythe and destroyed his spirit core.

"Hoo... whatever."

Apparently, the evil spirits I knew and Earth's were a bit different. In my old world, an evil spirit was done once its spirit core shattered. It never harmed people afterward.

"...Haa."

I pulled my hand away from Mirinae's head and let out a long, frustrated breath. That finished the "emergency treatment." She'd wake up now.

But... peaceful daily life like before would be tough from here on.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, my eyes caught the phone lying on the ground.

Ah... right, what about the stream?

I'd been too busy fighting grudge spirits and evil spirits, and hadn't had a moment to check on Mirinae.

I walked over and picked up the phone. As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expected—

I scratched my cheek and glanced at Mirinae. She was still out cold. Waking her up just to deal with viewers felt like a hassle, so maybe there was no helping it...

"Um... how much did you all see?"

"Hold on, tell me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more about that part. What happened?"

I read the chats and pieced together what went down while I was in the reservoir.

I regretted it. Should've made him suffer slowly instead of erasing him in one go.

"Thanks for the explanation. Hoo..."

"Mirinae's... fine. She just needed a break after everything today."

No need to go into details about her condition. It'd just give me a bigger headache.

"More importantly, I should call the police."

"Ah, it's nothing major."

I turned to look at the reservoir. The evil spirit that owned it was gone. And I'd gone inside and taken care of "that thing" too.

... Time for the secrets hidden in the reservoir to come to light.

"We found bodies."

Roughly 99 of them.

※ Not long after, two cops arrived at Gwiam Reservoir.

—With Manager Ajusshi in tow.

"Seorin! Mirinae!"

Manager Ajusshi ran over to me and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠collapsed Mirinae, his eyes wide and bright.

"You two okay? What the hell happened?!"

"...You don't remember?"

"Huh? Remember what? I remember you guys suddenly coming back from streaming, saying we had to go home, so I was gonna drive you... Then I came to and I was buckled in tight, couldn't move!"

Figures. Memories from being possessed were wiped clean?

"I tried calling you to untie me, but no one was in the back! Screamed till my throat hurt, nothing! Panicking about what to do, then some cops passing by rescued me! Heard you reported something from Gwiam Reservoir and rushed here!"

"Ah, so that's what happened."

"But no way, really..."

"Ex, excuse me."

A cop interrupted Manager Ajusshi. The younger-looking one.

He approached with a weary, annoyed expression, glancing at the reservoir.

"Got your report, but is it true? You saw bodies here?"

"Yes. Dozens of them."

"Haa... Hard to believe, honestly. We've come to Gwiam Reservoir on reports tons of times from our station. Most were pranks, others illegal fires on the mountain. Culprits were usually streamers like you."

The young cop stared me straight in the eye, serious.

"False reports are punishable. Confess now and we can leniency. So, one more time: did you really find bodies?"

"Yes, we did."

"Haa..."

He sighed deeply, turning to the older middle-aged cop.

"Sunbae, we should check it out?"

"Tch, fine."

The older one trudged toward the reservoir, reeking of annoyance.

The young cop's face hardened as he turned back to me.

"False report means coming to the station now. Got it?"

"Fine by me."

"S-Seorin. What're you saying?"

Manager Ajusshi's eyes shook anxiously at his streamer maybe going to the station.

"L-Let's come clean now! If controversy blows up here, it'll ruin Mirinae's future! Not just you, your friend too!"

"He's right. Since Gwiam Reservoir got famous as a haunted spot from streams, how many times have we checked? Never found a single body."

I stayed silent, ignoring the two adults assuming I was lying from the start. No point arguing—the misunderstanding would clear soon enough.

Then.

"Gaaaaah!!"

The middle-aged cop heading to the reservoir screamed and bolted back.

"Sunbae? Wh-what?!"

"Huff... huff... Th-there! Over there!!"

He pointed shakily at the reservoir.

Reflexively, the young cop, Manager Ajusshi, and I all looked.

The young cop took the flashlight from the older one, cautiously approached, and shone it on the water.

"Hiiiik!!"

"Gaaaaah!!"

Both screamed. Manager Ajusshi collapsed, legs giving out.

As the old saying goes: hearing it a hundred times is no match for seeing it once. Way easier that way.

I watched the middle-aged cop dash to the patrol car for backup, then glanced at the reservoir.

Bodies were starting to bob to the surface.

"Um..."

As I stared, the middle-aged cop approached—not weary anymore, but face full of terror.

"C-Could you come to the station as a witness?"

"...You suspect me?"

"N-No! Just need more details. Not suspecting you at all!"

"Hmm..."

I glanced at still-unconscious Mirinae.

"Can I send Mirinae home? I know more anyway."

"Y-Yeah, fine!"

"Then I'll go. Manager Ajusshi, get Mirinae home safe."

"O-Okay... got it..."

I rode in the patrol car to the station and gave a statement all night.

They even got me beef soup midway. Tasty. Especially in a police station—the warmth seeped right in.

Probably just 'cause I'd been out in the cold so long.

After the statement, as I stepped out:

"You! You little punk! Always stressing your parents out!"

Whack! Whack!

"Ow, ow! Mom, that hurts!"

My parents, who'd rushed over after my call, smacked my back.

It hurt.