While Kim Do-hyun was facing the Merchant, Park Se-jin kept calling him nonstop.
If Do-hyun had been outside the tale, he would have racked up around forty missed call notifications by then. That was when Se-jin became convinced that Do-hyun hadn't simply ignored his calls and vanished.
Do-hyun always picked up right away, and there was no reason for him to abandon Se-jin and disappear in the first place.
So the only possibility left was...
'He got swept up in something.'
Se-jin's expression darkened.
'Whether it's a tale... or a human.'
Because of their unique status as Tale Management Bureau employees, staff abductions happened more often than one might think. Se-jin himself had a colleague who'd been kidnapped before.
'But if he'd been kidnapped, he would've used the emergency caller to reach out. So kidnapping's off the table. Which leaves...'
Se-jin's lips quivered.
"Tale."
He desperately wanted to rush off and help Do-hyun right now, but he had to keep eyes on Choi Seong-min for the moment—not to mention, there was nothing he could actually do.
How could he, when he didn't even know what tale was involved or how?
So Se-jin sent a message to the Tale Management Bureau about the possibility of Do-hyun's involvement in a tale, then slowly made his way to Choi Seong-min's house.
'Do-hyun's not weak enough to go down to some tale...'
In this situation where he had no clue what had happened to his partner, Choi Seong-min's house looked ridiculously peaceful, bathed in blue moonlight.
Maybe it was because he'd been cooped up in the car too long, but Se-jin suddenly craved the acrid bite of cigarette smoke.
'Not yet. Once it's all over... yeah, once it's done, then I'll smoke.'
Se-jin stood before the door.
Muffled voices murmured from inside.
He'd originally planned to observe for a bit before going in, but for some reason, his heart raced with urgency.
And just as he reached for the doorbell...
"Mom! Did you hand out those snacks again?"
Choi Seong-min's voice pierced through the thick door.
It carried an emotion no different from raw hatred.
To hear better, Se-jin shifted toward the window.
Right then, his phone buzzed.
It was Do-hyun.
"Hey! Where the hell have you been all this time?!"
"Sorry. I got caught up at the Shop."
"Hold on—the Shop? You okay?"
The conversation behind the window was growing heated, drowning out the call.
"Damn it, just get over here and we'll talk. Hanging up!"
Se-jin let out a sigh of relief and turned his focus back to the job.
"Mom! Did you give snacks to the neighborhood kids again? I didn't want to go this far, but please, cut it out already! I know you're doing this because of my brother, but it's not gonna bring him back! And for starters, it was because of you that my brother—!"
Choi Seong-min noticed his wife and daughter staring at him from behind and cut himself off.
"Yu-na, you got scared, huh? Daddy's really sorry. Grandma bought those snacks just for our Yu-na, but she gave them all away, so Daddy got a little mad. I'm really sorry. Come on, go wash up with Mommy first."
"Ugh... Daddy bad!"
Yu-na shrieked that and bolted toward the bathroom.
Seong-min's wife shot him a fierce glare before chasing after her.
Now only Choi Seong-min and his mother remained.
Seong-min glanced at his mother for a moment, then turned and headed to the bathroom.
All sounds faded away, leaving Se-jin with nothing but the faint patter of elderly footsteps.
Se-jin returned to the car to meet Do-hyun.
Do-hyun showed up not long after.
"...You good?"
Do-hyun raised his left hand.
"Everything else is fine."
"You actually went into the Shop, huh. So, what was it like?"
"No real difference from what we knew. A few odd points: the caller didn't work, the Merchant looked no different from any regular person... and the rest? Hear it for yourself."
Do-hyun played back the recording.
"New product? And that one, depending on how you use it..."
"Yeah, that's what I think too."
"And that last bit—talk about vague. It's either yes or no. What are most situations? Most situations are."
"Guess we'll have to investigate Choi Seong-min after all."
"Oh yeah, I've got something on Choi Seong-min too."
Se-jin gave Do-hyun a rough summary of what he'd overheard.
"A brother, huh. Want me to look into the family ties? It'll take time to get police clearance, though."
"Nah, forget it. You know how the cops hate our guts? Unless it's an order from way above my paygrade, it'll be at least two weeks."
"Understood. Then let's head out and investigate Choi Seong-min."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The firmly shut door to the dark room creaked open carefully, spilling light inside.
"Yu-na, why'd you come here? Hurry up and go to sleep."
She was a granddaughter so precious, he'd gladly poke out his eyes for her.
"Mommy said a guest came, so sleep alone."
"Oh?"
"Grandma... you okay?"
"Course I am. Everything's just fine."
"Daddy was mean! Always so nasty to Grandma."
"No, sweetie. Grandma's the one in the wrong. Grandma... she did something unforgivable, way back when."
"Still! You can't treat Grandma like that. Grandma thinks about Daddy so much!"
Memories he'd never share with his granddaughter, not even on his deathbed, surfaced.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Yu-na, back to your room now. It's already 9 o'clock. Early to bed if you wanna grow tall."
"Don't wanna sleep alone. Wanna sleep with Grandma."
"Then hop in bed quick. Grandma'll tuck you in."
Yu-na beamed and scampered over—who knew what an old lady had that made her so happy?
"Grandma! Grandma!"
"What, dear?"
"Tell that story again?"
"Again? Alright, but you go straight to sleep after, promise?"
"Yes!"
"Hmm. Long, long ago, in days when tigers roared and even fairies and woodcutters ran for the hills—"
Telling this story always dredged up memories he'd rather forget.
That's why, whenever he slept beside Yu-na, he always told her this one.
To keep from forgetting the sin he'd committed against his son.
"In a quiet village with a clear stream flowing through, a doctor appeared."
'Mom! I finally did it—I got into med school! Just trust me from now on!'
"The doctor took one look at the village kids and was plunged into shock."
'Mom, look at them. This kid's got leukemia, that little girl's got polio. But... I can't do a damn thing. Was pediatrics really the right path?'
"The doctor bewailed his limits. Why could he save so few children? Was that all there was to being a doctor—treating sniffles and handing out meds? Then one day, a weary little girl staggered into the village."
'Huh? Scar on her face? ...Car crash, they said. Parents both gone, she's the only survivor. Severe sepsis. Two months tops. Once again... nothing I can do.'
"Every day, the doctor roamed the world in search of cures."
'No luck on treatments yet... Oh, Mom? Barley tea? Thanks, the kids'll love it.'
"But the doctor never gave up. He couldn't bear to watch more children die like that. So he gathered his entire fortune and sought out a famed shaman in the neighboring village."
'You see this? Know what it is? This gem... it'll save that girl. Not just her—all the suffering kids in the world!'
"The doctor shaped the gem. He'd never done anything like it before, but with dying children his only thought, he polished it to a shine."
'Barley tea? Pass. That's not the priority now. Nearly ran out of time... but I've figured out how to use the gem. Research complete—now for the real test.'
"After endless toil, the gem glowed with a beautiful green light and rose into the air. Like a creation of the gods themselves, it soon merged with the doctor's soul. The gem granted him the power to heal every child, and the girl along with all the others lived long, healthy lives ever after."
He glanced down at his granddaughter beside him.
She was already lost in dreams.
He closed his eyes like her and let his mind drift.
Sleep terrified him.
The older he got, the fainter the memories, yet he always dreamed the same dream.
A storm battered the pitch-black hospital room.
'Ahh, something's gone wrong! This isn't what I wanted! The kid's not breathing. W-what do I do, Mom? All of them, every last one! They won't wake up. Like they're dead... What have I done?!'
The indelible memory flickered before his eyes.
The truth he could never confess to anyone—the sin against his son, Seong-cheol.
A man with unkempt beard shrouding his mouth stood there.
'I can feel my mind crumbling. But now... it's truly over. The children didn't die. They're living forever! But that world is still incomplete. I... I have to finish it.'
And that day, the unnoticed news headline that slipped away.
[Pediatrician 'Choi ○○' Missing...]