June 26, 2021
Ivory Joy Cafe
Ian stirs the drinks of both orders while watching Tae Shik, who is outside the cafe. The man was calling the person who was supposed to come to this meeting. Ian's face was already starting to look annoyed because that person had made him wait for a long time. If Min Hyung hadn't told the story from the article Back then, she probably wouldn't be here right now.
The look on his face returned to calm after seeing Tae Shik end his conversation on the phone. The man with the last name Moon went back into the cafe.
"So ... how?" Ian asked after Tae Shik sat back in his chair.
The man sighed. "The person had an accident and is still unconscious," Tae Shik replied. "I'm sorry you had to wait so long."
Ian didn't respond; he just sighed. At first, the young man wanted to be angry, but after hearing the reason why the person couldn't come, his anger just disappeared.
"We can start our main conversation," Tae Shik said with a smile. "What do you want to know?"
"This is about your article about that gumiho named Lee Myeong. I'm not sure why, but when I read it, I felt like you were witnessing the events described in the article firsthand. I looked for articles about other gumiho but couldn't find anything similar to yours. So... could you please explain?"
Tae Shik smiled at Ian's words. The article about gumiho has been released for fifteen years, but this is the first time someone is curious about the article. Not just one, but two people—Hwang Ian and Jung Young Dae—were unable to attend.
"Alright, maybe this answer I'm going to give sounds absurd, but that's what happened back then," Tae Shik replied.
Ian corrected his sitting position; the young man even leaned slightly towards the table. He looked curious as to what the man in front of him would answer. Regardless of Tae Shik's answer, which he says doesn't make sense, he will still listen to it. Because the goal is to listen to the answers, not to believe the answers.
Tae Shik chuckles when he sees the enthusiasm Ian is showing. He didn't expect that Young Hwang would look enthusiastic listening to him. "You seem very curious."
There was no response from Ian. The young man was still looking at Tae Shik.
Tae Shik took his breath away. "I'll tell you. This is the first time I've told anyone about this."
***
University Hospital
While running, Yoon Hee and Hae Ran enter a university hospital, or more precisely, the emergency department. Some time ago, Yoon Hee, who happened to be at her mother's flower shop, received news that her brother had been in an accident and had not regained consciousness. That's why they're in the hospital right now.
Hae Ran's face clearly showed that she was worried about her eldest son's condition. Even his eyes were swollen from crying. It doesn't take long before the two manage to find the whereabouts of Young Dae, who is now conscious and is contacting someone over the phone.
"Young Dae!"
The two women compactly called Young Dae while running towards the man's nursing bed. The call from the two people forces Young Dae to end his phone conversation.
"Are you okay? Is the injury serious? You still recognize me?"
Young Dae was immediately bombarded with questions from his sister and mother, even though he had just regained consciousness a few minutes ago. The man still felt pain in his head, and now the pain increased because of the questions the two women asked before him.
"I'm fine, just a mild concussion," Young Dae replied with a smile on his face.
"You said it was just a mild concussion?!" Both of Hae Ran's eyes look teary again. The tears were ready to roll out again from the corner of his eye.
"Mom, don't cry; I'm fine," Young Dae reassured her.
"You say fine? Your head bandaged means you're no good!" The tears of the early-50-year-old woman finally flowed from the corners of her eyes.
Young Dae immediately wiped away the tears that wet her mother's face with her thumb. "I'm fine, Mother. "There's no reason for you to cry like this."
"Still! Your mother only lost her beloved man two years ago. Now that you've had an accident, I'm afraid I'll have to lose another of my favorite men."
Young Dae smiled at her mother's reply. His mother's favorite man is his father, Jung Do Won. The father was killed in a car accident two years ago while in pursuit of a suspect. His father was also a police officer, but he worked in a different police station than him at the time.
"By the way, why did you get into an accident? Was your car hit?" Yoon Hee asked curiously.
"It was a single accident," Young Dae replied. "While driving, I was surprised because there was a dog suddenly crossing the road. So I swerved and hit the roadblock."
Young Dae is forced to lie about the cause of his accident. It is impossible to tell the truth from his completely absurd antics. His head hurt again just because he remembered the words of the person who helped him earlier. His car suddenly seemed to be dragged and overturned just like that, even though he clearly saw a car that hit him from the side. Or maybe it was just a hallucination? Still, the accident made absolutely no sense.
"Why are you swerving? You can hit the brakes so you don't hit the dog." Hae Ran nags her son.
"If I hit the brakes suddenly, it will result in a back-to-back collision, mother. That's why I chose Slam Steer, so the victim was just me."
"But---"
"Never mind, Mom. He's fine anyway. There are no serious injuries, don't extend it anymore and let her rest," Yoon Hee said, cutting off her mother's words.
Hae Ran let out a rough breath. "Yes, you should rest again. I will take care of administrative costs," she said after that, and she went to take care of administrative costs.
"Why did you bring mom?" Young Dae asked while looking at the younger brother.
"I was at the store when the hospital called, so she came with me," Yoon Hee replied, ending with a forced smile. "Just rest again. I'll catch up with you."
Young Dae laid down again after his younger brother left. He looked at the white ceiling of the emergency room, and suddenly he remembered the young man who grinned at him after his accident. He was very curious about the young man.
"Who is the young man? Why is he grinning at me like that?"
Without realizing it, the young man who was being thought of by the man was apparently there. The young man watched Young Dae with a sneering smile on his face.