Gun checked the time.
It was half past 12 o'clock, which meant that he still had some time before lunch to get one more task done. He decided to go back to their old house to fetch the remaining belongings that they had left behind.
Although he did not feel like doing it, he still had to go back sooner or later.
Gun got off the bus and dragged his feet down the familiar path somewhat reluctantly. Memories of that incident flashed in his mind, reminding him of the horror which had transpired in that awful house.
From afar, he could see that the yellow police tapes had already been taken down, bits and pieces of it still left uncleaned on the ground. The police tapes had originally extended all the way to the neighbouring house where they had unearthed Han Yeoreum's skeleton, but now only a small part of it remained barred from civilians.
The police had already completed the investigations in their house. Now, it was nothing but empty. Gun could still remember how busy the house had been the first time he secretly came back after the incident had just happened. Policemen came in and out, and reporters littered the road. If he closed his eyes, he could still recall the mixture of voices and sounds of cameras clicking in the background.
"Gun?" A raspy female voice cautiously called out. "It's Gun, right?"
Gun's eyes snapped to the woman who had called out to him. Seeing the familiar face of his elderly neighbour, he frowned slightly. "Do you need something, granny?" He asked in a polite but distant tone.
Seeing the unapproachable attitude of the boy, the woman lowered her eyes slightly, playing with her hands nervously. "Have you been well? Is your sister fine? I heard she was sent to the hospital."
Gun kept up his indifference as he replied, "Yes, she is fine."
"Th-that's good. I'm glad," the woman sighed, breaking into a small smile. "Gunnie-ah, take good care of your sister, alright? She's suffered so much."
Gun frowned, "I don't need to be told that by the likes of you. I am properly taking care of her."
The elderly woman did not get angry over Gun's rudeness. She merely shrank, afraid of looking at the boy. "S-sorry, Gunnie. Granny—Granny is old and weak. There was nothing I could do to help. I'm sorry, for not saying anything," she sobbed. She felt immensely guilty for ignoring the Lee children's suffering for so long. If she hadn't been so cowardly, something like that would not have happened to them.
Back then, she had helped Han Yeoreum take care of her kids when she went to town. When she found out that Han Yeoreum had been meeting her lover, she started to disdain the woman and stopped helping out even if the woman begged. Then, after Han Yeoreum went missing, she did not dare to do anything as she—as well as everyone in the neighbourhood—was afraid of Lee Do Joon. They could only bury her name in their hearts and keep their mouths shut.
She was already so old and brittle; at the very least, she wanted to die naturally and peacefully. But, who would have expected that Lee Do Joon was such a cruel and twisted fellow? Because of her selfish decision, the kids were forced to fend for themselves.
After it was discovered that Lee Do Joon had murdered his own wife, the granny was even more remorseful. She had always been biased against Han Yeoreum since the younger woman had been a rich young miss from Seoul, but just because she did not like her, does not mean that she wished for her death. That woman had been so young and stunning, but thanks to Lee Do Joon, all that was left of her was a skeleton and orphaned children.
Gun could not openly get angry at the woman. He knew she was regretful of what had happened. Although it was faint, he still held a sliver of good feelings for her since she had once taken care of them when he was younger. Also, she had called the police when the incident happened.
During the incident with Yeo Ri, the police had received a total of four calls. One was from Hwang Se Jin, one was from Gun himself, and another two were from concerned neighbours. One of the two calls came from the old woman who had heard Yeo Ri's screams and immediately called the police. And for that, he was thankful. At least, he now understood that there was still some conscience left in the woman.
"It doesn't matter anymore, granny," Gun replied impatiently. He simply watched the old woman cry without comforting her. Why should he? The woman started crying all on her own. He didn't have the time nor patience to coax her.
"Are you done? I have some errands to run and Yeo Ri is still waiting for me at the hospital. Have a good life, granny. You won't ever see any of us again." Gun bowed slightly to the woman. He bade a final farewell and good riddance, ignoring as the woman collapsed.
"I'm sorry, Gunnie-ah, Yeo Ri-ah!" The woman sobbed loudly. "Granny was bad, I was bad! It was all my fault!" She howled.
Gun hurriedly packed up their belongings into a duffel bag, then walked away as quickly as he can.
As he passed the woman again, he shot her a cold look, muttering to himself, "How noisy."