"Hey, Captain, how can you be so heartless? You won't even acknowledge your own granddaughter!"
"That's right! You always act so upright and proper, but who knew you were such a playboy in your youth! Now a granddaughter has shown up, and you still won't take responsibility."
"Exactly, your family is so wealthy. How much does it even cost to raise a granddaughter? You two can keep each other company in your old age. Otherwise, when you die, who's going to offer incense at your grave? What's the point of hoarding so much money? You can't take it with you when you go."
"…"
Captain stood there, stunned, completely clueless as to what was going on. His face was blank, his mind filled with nothing but question marks. Seeing his dumbfounded expression, the neighbors doubled down on their scolding.
"What are you staring blankly for? Pretending you don't understand? Just look—look at your adorable granddaughter!"
One of the neighbors spoke with a sympathetic look, then pulled someone forward to stand in front of Captain. At that moment, his eyes widened, and he froze in place. The sight before him made the neighbors think that his guilty secrets had finally been exposed, making them even more indignant.
Because the person standing in front of Captain was Umee.
How… how could this be?
Captain couldn't believe it, his face contorted in anguish. Karma—it must be karma falling from the heavens.
How did she find his house!?
And how did she even manage to deceive all these clueless busybodies into meddling in this mess!
"If you don't take responsibility for this granddaughter of yours today, we won't let you off!"
"That's right…"
"Yes, that's right…"
Facing the fierce and hostile gazes of the dozens of neighbors around him, Captain had no choice but to grab Umee and drag her into his house.
He slammed the door shut.
"What exactly do you want? What do you want!? If you keep harassing me like this, I'll call the police!"
Captain yelled, pacing back and forth, then snatched up the landline phone as if preparing to dial.
But just then, Umee stepped forward. Out of nowhere, she pulled out a pair of scissors and snipped the phone cord.
Captain was speechless.
His blood began to boil. He wanted to smash something, but he couldn't—everything in his house was expensive.
Anger and helplessness surged through him, making him want to scream and cry out to the heavens.
"You—you—you… I still have a cell phone."
Captain stormed off to his room, and Umee followed.
"Do you live alone?"
Captain didn't answer, his head down as he dialed a number.
But just as he was about to press the call button, he suddenly heard the sound of sobbing. Captain froze and looked up to see Umee's face twisted in distress, tears streaming down her cheeks.
He stood there, bewildered.
Crying, crying, and more crying. Whether from kids or adults, tears were always the most troublesome, making people waver and causing endless headaches.
Children crying was bad enough, but now an adult was crying too.
Seeing that Captain had stopped dialing, Umee stepped closer, her sniffles turning into full-fledged sobs.
"Please don't throw me out…"
"But this isn't your home. Where is your home? I'll take you back."
At the mention of the word "home," a deep fear welled up inside Umee. She shook her head vigorously.
"I don't have a home!"
Captain's eyes widened.
"Even if you don't have a home, you can't stay here. Don't you understand? Why cling to me when there are so many people out there you could go to instead?"
Tears welled in Umee's eyes as she looked at Captain with a pitiful gaze. Before she could say anything, Captain suddenly brushed her hand away, a look of disbelief crossing his face.
He couldn't believe what he'd just seen.
Why didn't Umee have pupils in her eyes?
No pupils… doesn't that mean… she's dead?
Captain didn't want to believe it. He thought he must have been seeing things. To confirm it, he took a cautious step closer to Umee.
It was true—no pupils!
How could this be?
Suddenly, Captain recalled the purple bruise on Umee's neck. Then, with trembling hands, he reached out to touch her face.
Ice cold.
If that was the case, then she was a corpse?
Seeing Captain's somber and grave expression, Umee didn't understand what was going on. She innocently asked:
"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Captain's face stiffened, and he forced a smile.
"N-nothing."
Then he slowly put down the phone. He stared deeply at Umee, his mind racing. She was a corpse that had come back to life and had lost her memory. There must be more to this story. But the most pressing issue was that Umee couldn't be allowed to wander around outside. He had to prevent anyone from finding out she was a living corpse. And the only way to do that was to keep her here, in his house.
Sighing deeply, Captain realized that fate had truly caught up to him.
Could Umee be his destined calamity?
No matter how he thought about it, he had to keep her. Captain waved his hand in resignation.
"Fine, you can stay here."
"Really!?" Umee jumped up excitedly and immediately asked, "Do you live alone?"
Captain replied in resignation:
"Yes."
"Then you must be very lonely, right? The elderly living alone must feel so lonely. But now that I'm here, you won't feel lonely anymore," Umee eagerly offered.
Captain pressed his fingers to his temples, massaging the tension there. Seeing this, Umee continued:
"I know how to cook, wash dishes, sweep the floor—I can do anything."
"…"
Captain felt that if she kept buzzing in his ear like this, his head would explode. He needed an excuse to get her out of his sight. Seeing that Umee was covered in mud, still drenched from head to toe, he said:
"Alright, go take a shower first."
Upon hearing this, Umee frowned slightly.
"But… I don't have any clothes."
It was only then that Captain remembered. His face contorted, and he reluctantly stood up.
"Fine. Sit outside for a while. I'll go buy some. Don't go running off. If you leave the house, I'll kick you out for good!"
Captain felt as if a thousand needles were pricking his heart. Last night, he thought he'd struck gold, finding a rich family's lost daughter. He imagined returning her and being handsomely rewarded. But now, not only was he not getting a dime, he had to spend money to take care of her.
What could be more painful than this?
Captain left the house but then froze. Wait… was he going to buy clothes for a girl?
His face flushed red. How could an old man like him walk into a shop and buy clothes for a young girl? What would people think?
Especially if he had to buy… underwear.
No, no, no. Captain shook his head vigorously to dispel such embarrassing thoughts. He looked around, then had an idea.
He went to knock on a neighbor's door.