E p i s o d e 4
"Cellphone number and address."
The police' s speech became significantly shorte r. The gaze we met was deeply focused on Seo- ry eong' s face. what... ji?
"So you'd better speak properly, Han Seo- ryeon g."
"Whose blood is it?"
Seo- ryeong seemed to know what misundersta nding I was experiencing. I don' t know how much blood
t h e r e was, but he must have looked very dis figured as he rubbed his face with his hands.
However, Seo- ryeong deliberately hid the part where the flesh was cut. His face, which had been crumpled with nervousness, gradually returned to a pale, expressionless expression.
In the sudden silence, only the sound of the cloc k ticking loudly rang out from somewhere. The unfocused eyes soon settled on the corner of the policeman' s chin.
"What if... "If my husband smokes, will you find me sooner?"
***
The search was conducted quickly.
Meanwhile, Seo- ryeong spent the longest time in the world. In just one day, her lips became white and chapped, and only sour water came up from h er throat.
My husband disappeared.
That one clear truth struck Seo- ryeong' s heart heavily.
The police surrounded the old villa and entered her house. All of her husband's personal informati on was taken, C C T V footage was removed, and int errogation continued.
But the lie was quickly discovered in an unexpec ted place. Not by her, but by Hyun Kim.
"T h e r e is no credit card usage history. The company is not registered as a corporation at all, and th e car number does not match. and...."
Seo- ryeong looked straight into the police office r' s pale face without even blinking. It might not be possible, but funny enough, he seemed to notice.
"The name Hyun Kim does not appear on the reside nt registration."
".....!"
"I wonder if Han Seo- ryeong is misunderstanding something...."
What this all meant, I was just dumbfounded. I thin k I heard something very wrong. When his legs lost strength and he stumbled, waiting police officers quickly helped him up. However, the body temperature clinging to my cold skin was unpleasant, so I shook them off.
I was out of breath and my eyesight became dizzy. Her ceiling and floor were spinning, even though she couldn' t see anything straight.
While they were distracted for a moment, the polic e officers exchanged glances and whispered somethi ng.
It' s not a missing persons report, it' s a crime of adultery under the pretense of marriage... - I heard things like that, but I couldn' t believe anything.
When Seo- ryeong let out a dry laugh, they closed t heir kgmouths. However, he continued to give unsolicited advice until the end.
"The crime of adultery under the pretense of marriage is... In fact, it has been abolished. However, if a crime of fraud is established due to marriage fraud, you can claim compensation for damages."
"..."
"I just thought it would be good for you to know. "T he more you know about the law, the better."
She stiffened palely and suddenly grabbed the polic e officer' s vest.
"Well, that can' t be possible."
I couldn't lose my husband here, in such an absurd way. It makes no sense, it makes no sense. They are all fooling me.
Seo- ryeong burst out laughing and grabbed the police officer' s vest even harder.
"Have you met the neighbors here? "Have you look ed to see if anyone last saw you?"
"a h..."
The sound of heavy spitting was ominous for some reason. I had a strong urge not to want to hear it.
"Han Seo- ryeong, didn' t you know?"
"... W h a t?"
"The only people living here at Samhwa Villa are Mr. Han Seo- ryeong."
".....!"
The inside of my ribs hurt, as if someone was stabbing me. It' s a joke. This couldn' t have happened without someone' s terrible prank. Now there wasn' t even a dry laugh coming out.
I lived here for 2 years. The neighbors I met on my way here were the people of this villa. I don' t know everyone in detail, but I at least know the family units t h a t live on each floor.
There were old couples, newlyweds like us, and ev en families raising young children. There were single people with dogs, and there were college students w ho lived alone. however...
"What does that mean?"
"....."
"What do you mean...!"
"Literally no one lives here, report er."
"...."
"These are all empty houses."
The blood seemed to be draining out of my
t o e s.
Seo- ryeong was now an empty plaster statue, unable t o think of anything. A bright red heat rose all the way to the tip of her head, making it feel like it was about to burst, but at the same time, I got cold goosebump s. She just took another deep breath as her face lost i t' s expression.
t e a c h e r... t e a c h e r...m y t e a c h e r.... W h a t should I do.....
The world was falling apart in just one day.
Can we get him back?
***
It' s been a month since Kim Hyun disappeared.
No, now I d o n' t even know what that
person' s real name is.
At first, I didn 't get tired, so I walked up and down the five- story villa and knocked on the doors until my hands were sore. However, as the saying goes,all the houses w e r e empty, so there was no response.
It can' t be... That could never happen....
T h e r e' s no way he' s fooling me... .. Is it a dream? Or am I cr azy? To make matters worse, I couldn' t even see my eyes, so I felt like I w a s possessed by a ghost.
After t h a t, Seo- ryeong went to the police station every day. I thought I would lose my mind if I. d i d n' t force m y s e l f to do that.
"But I h a v e n' t lost anything financially, Detective."
Beyond the hazy vision, lump- like figures
w e r e mo ving busily. The police officer who had been tormented by Seo- ryeong for several weeks said, 'It starts agai n today...'' H e frowned with the same expression.
"W h a t e v e r the intention was, the man who ran away knows, how am I supposed to know the inside story!"
"Criminals these days are not ordinary. What if they were targeting my husband first? ! So what if your hu sband disappeared
w i t h o u t a trace?! Please don' t s t o p here, please look a little further... ! If an unidentified body turns up...!"
"A c, r e a l l y!"
"..."
In the end, the clumsy detective, who felt like his h e a d was about to explode from her complaints, jumped up from his seat.
"H o w many times do I say the same thing! My husband disappeared or something,
t h e r e is no legal evid ence of marriage, and there is no remaining electronic data, so what on earth should I look for? I'm s o r r y, but you were scammed."
"Please come to your senses, I' bve seen something embarrassing once or twice...! "If you interfere with
o ur work like this, we w i l l put you in detention for
obstruction of official duties!"
T h e police sternly threatened. Even when complaint s were filed through the district headquarters and the n to the National Police Agency, the majority of
respo nses were similar.
I don' t k n o w why everyone says I made
t h e wrong decision... Seo- ryeong couldn' t understand at all. W e can know because we interacted, loved, and lived
t o g e t h e r. Kim Hyun is absolutely not that kind of p e r s o n. He wasn' t the type of
p e r s o n to do t h a t.
"Detective, investigate one more time..."
It was that time, the man with messy hair said t h r o u g h clenched t e e t h.
"M r. Han Seo- ryeong, I looked it up and found that you have records of
p s y c h i a t r i c treatment."
"... !"
"Shouldn 't you go to the hospital instead of doing t h i s here?"
Even through my blurred vision, I could read t h e hostile gaze. Seo- ryeong felt numb as if she had been s lapped in the face by the loud, chewing voice.
"Looking at the report, I heard that y o u initially state d that your husband w a s bleeding. Are you doing t h e investigation again? Then that side gets hurt first.
W e' r e covering for Han Seo -ryeong because we feel
sor ry for her. False statements are not something that is easy. So don' t do this here, go to the hospital first."
"Stop now and face reality...!"
It felt like Seo- ryeong had been thrown onto the sn owy field again. T h e chill seeped into my bones. With out her parents or friends, she had no one to share thi s moment with. The p a i n was hers a l o n e.
"Don' t you have to eat there too! How long are you going to cling to something that' s already been
d o n e?!"
"I t' s because i t' s not over...."
Seo- ryeong, entranced, muttered.
That' s because I haven' t finished anything yet.
Beca use I just can 't understand it...! Because I don 't understand a word you' re saying...!
Seo- ryeong was so angry that she beat her chest, which had become a fire p i t.
I don' t want to hear that he' s a fraud. What I wante d to know was her husband' s
w h e r e a b o u t s.
I just wanted to know his whereabouts. Things like whether he' s alive, whether he' s hurt, or whether
so mething really happened.
Since we' re a couple, I' m his wife, so there are
thin gs I can worry a b o u t.
If I could have found h i m, I would have reported it a long time a g o...!
The tears that had welled up lost their direction and fell. However, it was initially impossible to report a
gh ost that disappeared without a trace.
T h e r e was no time to f e e l sad about
t h e fact that
h e couldn' t distinguish objects on his own and couldn' t go far without a cane. Even when she was diagnos ed that she wa s approaching complete blindness, she w a s filled with sweetness.
That day, I had s e x with Kim Hyun for the first time.
It became entangled w i t h the tongue pushing in, an d I swallowed the hot thing digg ing into my leg.
Even though the eyes could no longer be used, the y moved a f t e r Kim Hyeon. Seo-ryeong digested even her misfortune in the joy of kissing her and touching h er bare skin.
Kim Hyun was a person with such power. He was a man who turned even sadness into memories. But h o w could I... I could easily give up like this.