By Zephyria 
“Kim Yi-eum, what’s going on? You’re actually telling me to come to your place. Did you get a new TV? Oh, you got a Playstation 5. Hey, can I play this? Where’s the power button? The power- Ah, shit, you scared me!”
Seon-gyu, who had been rummaging around the house, was startled and took a step back. A large man, who had opened the door and came out rubbing his eyes, was standing there blankly looking at him. Seon-gyu’s mouth gaped as he looked for Kim Yi-eum. Lee-eum was getting ready for work and grabbing his car keys.
Seon-gyu hurried to Lee-eum, never taking his eyes off the man.
“Hey, hey, Kim Yi-eum. Who is that guy?”
“I have to go to work, so just watch him for one day.”
“What?”
Lee-eum explained the situation, making sure Young-shik couldn’t hear. He told him that he had collapsed on the street, lost his memory, and had reverted to being like a child. The more Seon-gyu listened, the more his face twisted.
“I knew it, ever since you told me to come to your place so willingly.”
As Seon-gyu turned to leave, Lee-eum grabbed him, took out two 50,000 won bills from his wallet, folded them in half, and stuffed them into his pocket. Then, he even handed him his card.
“Use this to order food for the two of you. He’s kinder and more innocent than he looks. He won’t bother you.”
Seon-gyu hesitated before holding out his hand. “Write it down. Give me 50,000 won more.” Lee-eum sighed and reluctantly took out another 50,000 won bill and handed it to Seon-gyu. Only then did a smile spread across Seon-gyu’s face.
“What should I call him?”
“Young-shik.”
“Is that his real name?”
“No, he couldn’t remember his name, so I gave it to him.”
“Wow, he’s practically a stray dog.”
Lee-eum lightly hit him and glared, telling him to watch his mouth. Then, he went to Young-shik and explained the situation. He told him to play with this man until he came back from work, and Young-shik pouted and trembled his chin.
“That man… looks scary….”
Seon-gyu, who was listening, laughed as if he was dumbfounded.
“Look who’s talking. Look at your own face in the mirror. Who looks scarier.”
Then, he grinned with only his mouth open like the Joker, making a bizarre expression. Seon-gyu had been a promising judo athlete in his youth, but he had to end his career after causing an accident due to his inability to control his temper.
Lee-eum repeatedly urged him not to let his temper get the better of him and hit Young-shik while he was gone. Then, as he was putting on his shoes, Young-shik came running over and bowed deeply with his hands on his belly.
“Mister… have a good day….”
Lee-eum smiled faintly. He must have received proper home education when he was young. He must have grown up under good parents. He said goodbye, telling him he would see him in the evening, and went down to the parking lot. As he drove out, flowers were in full bloom along the roadside. He rolled down the window to feel the spring, and just then, Jeong Nam-su called.
【Sunbae, where are you?】
“On my way to work. Why?”
【I’ll send you the address, please come there. Something happened.】
Nam-soo briefly explained over the phone and immediately sent the address. Lee-eum quickly made a U-turn and sped off in the opposite direction. The destination was a mountain not far from Lee-eum’s house. It was a popular spot for hikers, and Lee-eum had climbed it a few times.
He parked his car nearby and got out, only to find the police had set up a cordon and were blocking the entrance, with hikers buzzing around. The police were stopping people from turning on their cameras and taking pictures, and Lee-eum walked past them, crossed the police line, and went inside.
“You’re here?”
Nam-soo pressed his nose with the back of his hand and grimaced. Behind him was a large black bag, which seemed to be the source of the smell. As he got closer, he saw a severed human hand.
“Where’s the forensics team?”
“They should be here in about 10 minutes. The first reporter is giving a statement over there. He said he was going to get water and saw the bag, and it looked suspicious so he opened it. It’s a good thing a young person found it, or an old man would have had a heart attack on the spot.”
Lee-eum sighed as he looked at the young man talking to the police.
“The Team leader and the other team members are almost here.”
Lee-eum went closer and examined the bag carefully. The body was dismembered and decomposing, and there was an unidentifiable tattoo on what appeared to be the upper arm. Lee-eum muttered to himself after discovering that the severed skin was rolled inward.
“Looks like they cut him while he was still alive?”
Nam-soo came to his side and nodded.
“It does seem so.”
Soon, he couldn’t stand the smell and left. While the uniformed police officers were looking for any evidence left behind, the forensics team and the Violent Crimes Unit 2 colleagues arrived. The Team leader was on edge due to the murder case that had occurred in the morning.
“I knew it, I had a bad dream last night. Shit, this is why, this is why.”
The Team leader gathered the team members.
“Detective Kim and Detective Jeong, secure the surrounding CCTV footage first. Judging by the state of the body, it hasn’t been long. We need to find it before it gets erased, so check as you go down.”
“Yes.”
“Detective Lee, stay here, the rest of you follow me.”
While the Team leader took the remaining personnel to search the mountain, Lee-eum took Nam-soo down the hill. He still felt like the unique smell of the corpse was lingering at the tip of his nose. The first time he saw a corpse, he couldn’t sleep for days and couldn’t eat, but now he was relatively calm. Or, at least, he could pretend to be.
“Do you think they put it there on purpose?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ah, I was happy that things had been quiet lately.”
Nam-soo, who had been grumbling, suddenly looked at Lee-eum as if he had thought of something.
“How’s the amnesia case going? Did you let him sleep at your place, Sunbae?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, when I asked you to let me sleep over, you coldly turned me down.”
“It’s not like your house is far away, why are you trying to sleep at my place?”
“Is it the heart of a Hubae who wants to know every secret corner of Sunbae?”
Lee-eum laughed in disbelief, and Nam-soo tilted his head.
“But it’s really strange. How can there be no fingerprints or DNA at all?”
Usually, the police database contained the DNA of criminals and long-term missing persons. It was fortunate that he wasn’t a criminal, but no matter how he thought about it, it was strange. Even the homeless on the streets were identified by their fingerprints, but what was that human being that he wasn’t showing up?
“Did he fall from the sky….”
“Could he be an alien?”
“Should I ask him later?”
“Be careful. What if tentacles come out of his mouth?”
While exchanging ridiculous jokes, the two arrived at a nearby mart. They got out and checked if there were any CCTVs, but it was such a small store that they only had models installed. Nam-soo, who was looking around, found a car parked next to the mart. When he got closer, he saw that it had a black box. When he asked the owner, he said that the black box was turned off.
Nothing was working from the start. Disappointed, the two got into the car to move to the next area. In the meantime, Seon-gyu called.
“Oh, why.”
【Young-shik keeps asking me to go out, what should I do?】
“Take him for a walk around the neighborhood.”
【Are you giving me extra pay for playing with him outside?】
“……”
【Thank you. I’ll play hard outside.】
The call ended, and Lee-eum laughed in disbelief and looked up at the sky. It was getting cloudy and dark, as if it was going to rain.
❖ ❖ ❖
Squeak- Squeak- Every time the swing moved, the eyes of the mothers and children gathered in the playground were drawn to it. Seon-gyu, who was pushing the swing, wiped the sweat from his forehead and then took a picture of Young-shik’s back with his cell phone and sent it to Kim Yi-eum.
【Give me double the money. I’m going to die pushing this swing.】
As soon as he sent the message, Young-shik smiled brightly and turned his head.
“Mister…! Can you push me hard enough to fly?”
“Huh?”
“Make me go up that high, hard.”
He pointed to the sky, and Seon-gyu burst out laughing. Look at your size, you little rascal. Do you think you can go up that high? I’m already dying of embarrassment because the mothers are watching, worried that the swing will break.
Well, it must be unsettling to have two big, scary-looking men occupying the swing. As soon as they came near their children, they snatched them up and ran away as fast as they could, as if they were afraid they would harm them. Looking closely, there was a slide across from them, and it was relatively empty.
“Hey. Young-shik. Do you want to ride the slide instead? That looks fun.”
Without being stubborn, Young-shik readily got up. Young-shik went to the slide and climbed the stairs. Just then, his girlfriend called, so Seon-gyu gestured for him to go up and started talking on the phone. After talking for a while, Young-shik was gone, and Seon-gyu’s face contorted.
“Darling, I’ll call you back.”
He looked around, but Young-shik was nowhere to be found. Young-shik! Young-shik! Young-shik-ah! When he called out loudly, he heard a small voice from somewhere, “Mister-.” Seon-gyu realized that the sound was coming from inside the tunnel slide and hurriedly climbed the stairs.
Then, he couldn’t close his mouth at the sight that unfolded before his eyes. Young-shik was stuck in the tunnel of the slide, unable to go down and lying there motionless.
“Wh, what are you doing here. Get out of here quickly.”
“My shoulder… my shoulder won’t come out.”
He said in a tearful voice, and the people around him buzzed. Seon-gyu was sweating cold. He couldn’t grab his hand, so he grabbed the hem of his clothes and pulled with all his might, but he didn’t budge. As he was struggling and sweating profusely, a few mothers cautiously approached him.
“Did something happen?”
“Well, that’s, my brother is stuck here and he can’t get out.”
When they heard him sobbing and crying inside, the mothers came up and joined forces to pull Young-shik out. But his shoulder didn’t seem to come out easily, and only after the apartment management office came out and separated the tunnel could they finally get him out.