Memories of a Live Fish (1)

Inspector Park had stuck me with the sashimi bill and even dumped a seasick Officer Lee in my lap. The next day I headed back to the substation, both to collect what he owed and to find out what on earth had possessed him to bolt out of there like that.

The substation was already buzzing with an untimely briefing. Clustered around Inspector Park were the substation officers, along with a few members of the coast guard, all listening to an explanation.

The moment Inspector Park spotted me, he stopped mid-briefing and waved me over. I approached, still a bit dazed, and he started jabbing a laser pointer at the whiteboard with theatrical flair.

"Huntsman Jang, take a look at this too."

"That laser's making me dizzy. Put it away."

I followed Inspector Park's worm-trail of handwriting across the board. A moment later, I arrived at a conclusion so absurd I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"So… putting together where the nets were cut, and the sonar signals picked up on the fish finder… the culprit is a mermaid?"

If this had been an ordinary world, I would have told him to stop talking nonsense and chucked the eraser at the whiteboard then and there. But this was a world where monsters popping out of nowhere was everyday life. It was so ridiculous that I actually started thinking it might be possible, and a hollow laugh escaped me.

"A mermaid? I've never even heard of mermaids living around here."

"Right? That's why it's even more suspicious. We asked the coast guard in the regions where mermaids usually live, and apparently there's a runaway report on file."

"Why would a runaway mermaid go around cutting other people's fish-farm nets? Did she feel some kind of kinship with the fish?"

The coast guard and the other officers around us started nodding and murmuring. Just as we humans don't particularly feel kinship with the monkeys at the zoo, there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was no reason a mermaid would feel any special solidarity with fish.

"I don't know about that far… but no matter how you put it together, nothing else fits except a mermaid."

At Inspector Park's words, one of the coast guard spoke up.

"Even if we assume it's a runaway mermaid, where would it eat and sleep? And if it stays underwater the whole time, the currents could carry it all the way to China."

That was the problem. If it were kids like Nureongi or Poppy living at our house, that would be one thing — but neither the substation folks nor the coast guard had the faintest idea where a mermaid would actually live. Unless it really spent its days underwater singing songs, the way they did in fairy tales.

Inspector Park didn't seem to know either. He scratched his forehead with the laser pointer, then glanced sideways at me.

"What do you think, Huntsman Jang?"

"Why are you dumping this on me? I just came to collect the sashimi bill."

"Come on. A hunter's eye ought to see something."

"A praying mantis, maybe. Mermaids I've only ever seen in storybooks."

"Help us out a bit. Like the coast guard said, if that thing really drifts all the way to China, that's an international incident."

That'd be China's problem to send it back… My head was starting to throb. I wanted this annoying business wrapped up as quickly as possible, so I snatched the board marker from Inspector Park and roughly sketched the Dohwang-ri coastline on the whiteboard.

"I don't know where it lives, but I think I've got an idea how to catch it."

I drew a crude dead-fish shape over the fish-farm location. A few snickers rose from among the officers. Looking at the fish I'd drawn… I'd actually made it pretty cute?

"Ahem. Anyway. If that mermaid brat is some weirdo who feels kinship with fish, then we just need to make it come back, right?"

Officer Lee cautiously raised his hand.

"But… will it come back? It's already hit them once. Wouldn't it be easier to just move on to a different fish farm?"

A surprisingly sharp observation, coming from him.

"That's when we become the villains."

"Villains?"

"Let's think from that thing's point of view. If we show the net-terrorist something even more horrific, won't it come back just out of rage?"

"Excuse me?"

The officers started murmuring again. They were looking at me strangely, as if I were about to commit some unethical atrocity just to catch a single mermaid. What, do these guys think I'm some kind of criminal?

"Just have the fishermen mix leftover scraps from cleaning fish with a few dead ones and scatter them around the farm. Make it look like a fish graveyard."

Only then did they understand. The substation officers and the coast guard nodded, letting out sighs of relief.

"To our eyes it's just the scenery of boiling spicy fish stew over a fish farm. But what would it look like to that brat? Like the moment right before a massacre of its own kind, wouldn't it? Sometimes you need this kind of childish innocence-crushing."

Inspector Park seemed quite satisfied with the explanation and nodded.

"So now, how about paying that sashimi bill. I ordered some pretty expensive stuff."

He grumbled, dug his wallet out of his pocket, and brusquely shoved a few bills at me.

"Fine, fine… so you're going to help with this, right?"

"With that? Me?"

"You already planned out the whole operation."

"Why? I'm not even a mercenary."

The coast guard officer beside us chimed in.

"Since you've already drawn up the plan, perhaps you could help us see it through. We'll provide every convenience we can."

Now even the coast guard was latching onto me. It might have looked like incompetence from the outside, but they had their reasons. Even a runaway mermaid was still a creature that lived underwater — land police and boat-riding coast guard were never going to come up with a clever solution on their own. Having a civilian like me, someone who could handle herself and was free from the tangle of official procedure, would make the whole thing far easier.

That said, I had no intention of helping for free. And getting something in return would put those officers' minds at ease, too.

"Then let's start with wage negotiations. This is my first waterborne operation, so I'll need some hazard pay as well."

At that, everyone in the substation finally unclenched. The stiff faces around the room eased, as if a weight had been lifted. Inspector Park seemed to ponder for a moment, then pointed toward the armory.

"This operation is… what do they call it? Ah! Black Ops! It's a Black Ops!"

"Isn't that a video game?"

"Ah, this person, honestly. A black operation. We can't officially say you were involved."

"Why? Embarrassed about getting help from a civilian?"

"No. Even if it's a mermaid, it's still a citizen of the Republic of Korea. How would the world look at us if they heard a huntsman caught it?"

"Ah… right."

"So Huntsman Jang was helping the fishermen, happened to find it, and made the arrest. We're all on the same page, right?"

"Yes, sir!"

The substation officers and even the coast guard fell into lockstep without a single missed beat.

"Then what about compensation? Are you going to print out a commendation and toss it at me?"

The coast guard officer answered with an awkward look.

"We're a bit stuck on the compensation front, Huntsman Jang."

He was right. They weren't as flexible as the Ministry of Environment, and they weren't the type who operated completely outside the law the way the Hunter Bureau did. This was the police, who moved by the book. The moment I received anything, this whole affair would get complicated. One wrong step over the line and all of Dohwang-ri could be turned upside down.

I let out a deep sigh.

"…Then put it on my tab. You've looked the other way for me a few times too, Inspector."

In the end, it would have to come down to goodwill. What else could I do. The moment I said I'd take it as an IOU, Inspector Park's face lit up. Sometimes those civil servants were even more infuriating than that tightwad President Sung.

"So, how exactly are you going to catch it? Is the coast guard going to grab a megaphone and shout 'surrender'?"

As I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠said, that was the real problem. The target was a runaway mermaid, so we couldn't use guns, and everyone in the room was a landlubber who couldn't go underwater. Even if I was a Quasi-Awakened, compared to a real mermaid I was no better than a beer bottle.

"We already went around the area on a patrol boat explaining that the fish-farm incident was a misunderstanding, but there was no response."

The coast guard seemed to have already done everything they could. While everyone stood there at a loss, Inspector Park nodded as if something had just occurred to him and disappeared into the armory. A moment later he came back out carrying a rather strangely shaped object. It looked like a flashlight, except it was nearly the size of his forearm.

"What's this?"

"This? It's a capture gun. We used it to live-catch things like wild boars and water deer."

"Does that net even work underwater?"

"No. We'll have to make it jump out."

"…Well, it's better than nothing."

So this case would have to be solved not with my gun, but with that giant flashlight. My head was already starting to ache.

"But is it all right to just use this? It's a tool for catching animals."

"That? It's fine. They said we could use it for catching robbers too."

"Can I trust that?"

When I asked with a suspicious look, Officer Lee cautiously chimed in from the side.

"Yes. I heard the military police actually used it."

If even Officer Lee said so, it seemed… somewhat trustworthy. Inspector Park tossed the Capture Gun to me. I caught it lightly and began looking it over with a careful eye.

"Nylon mesh, CO2-powered, effective range of twenty meters… not a bad piece of kit."

"Right? The higher-ups sent down a few of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠these to catch violent criminals, but there was too much talk about catching people like animals, so they've been rotting in the warehouse."

"Within twenty meters should be fine. Now the question is how to make it jump out… should we try a lure?"

"You can't hang nets off ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a coast guard patrol boat."

"Then we'll have to ask the fishermen for help. The old-timers must be furious right now — if we ask them to cooperate, they'll come running."

Inspector Park clapped my shoulder as if he'd been waiting for that.

"Then I'll leave that to our Huntsman Jang. If we go, they'll just get angry first."

"Uh… sure."

Now all that remained was persuading the fishermen.