Chapter 5: The Strange Boy, Lee Hwi-jun (5)

“…Excuse me, Officer Ahn Dae-Soo?”

Recalling the boy who had called him that, Ahn Dae-Soo thought to himself.

“…Did I ever tell him my name?”

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t remember doing so.

He didn’t even remember mentioning his rank as a Lieutenant, even though the boy had said it clearly.

But how did he know…?

“Huh…? Officer, what’s wrong?”

“…Oh? Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Lost in thought, Ahn Dae-Soo snapped out of his reverie after hearing the junior officer ask what was wrong.

He still couldn’t figure out how the boy knew his name and rank.

How did he know?

Could it be that a ghost told him?

Ahn Dae-Soo was still bothered by it when a junior officer, after throwing away the paper cup from his coffee, casually asked, “By the way, Officer, did you hear? The team at the district station is in full emergency mode right now.”

“District station? What happened?”

“Well, we got a missing persons report last night.”

“…?”

As the officer spoke, Ahn Dae-Soo briefly recalled something from the night before and said, “Oh, you mean the one I heard about while I was out on patrol? The child abduction report, right? We passed it on to the district station, didn’t we?”

He had heard about the missing child report after his patrol, but he had been too busy handling a group of drunkards right after to think much about it.

It was quickly passed on to the district station since they typically handle cases with more personnel.

What could have gone wrong?

The officer nodded and answered seriously, “Yes, but even though the district station searched thoroughly around the area… the child still hasn’t been found.”

Ahn Dae-Soo’s face immediately grew serious at the officer’s words.

In general, the “golden time” for missing persons was considered to be 12 hours, but in cases involving young children, especially pre-schoolers, the chances of finding them decreased drastically if they weren’t found within 2 to 3 hours.

“That’s why someone from the district station told me that they’ll be sending out a cooperation request for a search to us and the 2nd precinct soon.”

“…Of course. It’s a serious situation. How old was the child?”

“…She’s a seven-year-old girl.”

“Seven… So, she’s still in kindergarten. We really need to find her safely…”

Ahn Dae-Soo felt a knot tighten in his chest.

Since the report came in last night, it had already been almost 12 hours.

The possibility that the missing child could be involved in something criminal couldn’t be ruled out either.

After saying a quick prayer for the child’s safety, he continued, “Still, it’s been too long. We really need to find her quickly.”

The officer beside him muttered with a look of disbelief, “Officer, haven’t you noticed? Kids who are seven years old aren’t in kindergarten anymore, they’re already in elementary school.”

“…Ah, right. I thought eight was the age when they start school.”

Embarrassed by his mistake, Ahn Dae-Soo corrected himself.

“Wait… did you say elementary school?”

His expression suddenly stiffened.

“They say it’s in a cave behind the school hill. Go find it.”

The cryptic words the boy had left before he left the station suddenly flashed through Ahn Dae-Soo’s mind.

He hastily asked the officer, “Do you know which elementary school the child goes to?”

“Huh? Ah, yes… she goes to Somang Elementary School.”

“Somang Elementary…”

Ahn Dae-Soo quickly took out his phone and searched for Somang Elementary School.

The search results showed the school’s information and its location on the map.

On the map, just behind the school, there was a small hill that could easily be called a “hill.”

“…Damn it. Could it be…?”

A moment of doubt crossed his mind, but he quickly shook off the thought.

“No, no. It can’t be.”

He muttered to himself, trying to reject the idea that had come to mind.

No, it can’t be…

The boy had claimed to see ghosts.

And in common understanding, “ghosts” referred to spirits of the dead.

Yet, the boy who claimed to see ghosts said:

“They say it’s in a cave behind the school hill. Go find it.”

“Go find it,” as if someone was asking to be found.

Ahn Dae-Soo couldn’t help but make a connection in his mind, though he didn’t want to admit it.

No… It can’t be.

As a police officer, a protector of people’s lives and safety, he didn’t want to let his mind entertain such a thought.

And so, he kept trying to reject it.

It doesn’t make sense…

The boy’s words had never made any sense.

Saying there’s a cave behind the school hill…

The very premise of a cave behind a small hill made no sense.

After checking the map online, he confirmed that the hill behind Somang Elementary School was too small to have any caves.

It was just a small hill made of dirt, not rock, so it was impossible for there to be any caves.

He decided not to stress about the boy’s nonsense and focus on the fact that the missing child was still out there, hoping that she would be found safe.

Damn it…

But it wasn’t that simple.

The boy had seen something that couldn’t be explained away so easily.

Ahn Dae-Soo had seen it for himself.

I can’t shake the feeling. I need to check it out for myself.

“…Officer Kim, Officer Jeong. I’m going out for a quick patrol.”

“Huh? Patrol? But we’re about to change shifts…”

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Officer?!”

Ignoring the officers calling after him in surprise, Ahn Dae-Soo rushed outside.

He hopped into his patrol car and drove straight toward Somang Elementary School, muttering to himself.

“Because of that little brat’s words, I’m really doing this…”

It was a spontaneous decision during his shift, and he was aware that he might have to write a statement or even face disciplinary action later on.

He muttered under his breath, but the thought of possible punishment didn’t matter to him.

What mattered was finding the missing child, and whether that child was truly the same one the boy had described.

“Wh-what are you doing over there…! Why are you staring at the school where the kids go…?”

“…Ah.”

Upon hearing those words, Ahn Dae-su realized that he must have looked like a suspicious person, loitering near an elementary school in his tracksuit.

So, Ahn Dae-su pulled out his police badge from his pants pocket and showed it to the old man as he spoke.

“Please don’t misunderstand. I’m a police officer.”

“Eh…? Oh, my, you’re really a police officer. I thought you were a kidnapper…”

“A kidnapper?”

The old man muttered as if questioning Ahn Dae-su.

“Weren’t you here because of the missing beauty? The parents have been making a fuss since morning, warning people to report any suspicious characters, asking if the child might have been kidnapped.”

“…Has the rumor already spread that far?”

“Well, of course, when those folks are out looking for a missing kid, the news is bound to spread. And rumors spread fast among the mothers, too.”

“Hm, I guess other officers have already come and gone.”

“I just arrived, so I don’t know much. But I heard from Mr. Kim, who was here last night, that they’ve been rummaging around all night looking through the area.”

Ahn Dae-su’s question was answered by the old man.

It was to be expected.

When a child goes missing, the first places that are searched are the vicinity of the disappearance, the child’s home, and the school.

It was likely that other police officers had already searched the area nearby.

Yet, the fact that the girl still hadn’t been found made Ahn Dae-su wonder—whether it was an unfortunate thing or a fortunate one.

With that thought in mind, Ahn Dae-su spoke to the old man.

“I see. Anyway, I’m here to look for the missing child too. But the kids should be in class right now, so I’ll just check the mountain behind the school without disturbing anyone.”

“Well, if they’ve been around all night, there’s probably nothing left to see. I’m going to go do some cleaning now.”

As the old man turned to leave, Ahn Dae-su, with a slight feeling of suspicion, called out.

“Excuse me, sir. By any chance, is there a cave on the mountain behind here?”

“A cave? A cave, you say?”

Right, there probably wouldn’t be.

Ahn Dae-su had just asked out of curiosity.

There couldn’t possibly be a cave in such a small mountain, right?

Hahaha…

“No, there’s no cave.”

And hearing the old man’s response, as though such a thing was out of the question, Ahn Dae-su felt a small sense of relief and turned to walk towards the mountain.

But then, from behind him, he heard the old man muttering, almost as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“Hm… a cave? Come to think of it, that kid….”

And at that moment, as the voice trailed off,

“……!”

Ahn Dae-su felt his heart sink in an instant.

His intuition, the very feeling that had brought him here.

It was as though his gut was telling him not to ignore those words.

In a panic, Ahn Dae-su turned around quickly, grabbed the old man’s shoulder, and shouted.

“What about that kid…!”

“Uh…?”

“The kid from before, say it, the next part!”

Ahn Dae-su demanded, almost as if he were about to devour the old man.

The old man, startled, stumbled over his words.

“Uh, well… you know, we told them not to play in the mountain because it’s dangerous, but some kids always sneak in to play. Not long ago, one kid came back all filthy after playing in the mountain. When we asked what happened…”

“What did he say, hurry up…!”

“The kid, well, they were playing hide-and-seek with the other kids… and they found a cave and hid inside it…”

“Ugh…!”

As soon as he heard that, Ahn Dae-su gritted his teeth and started running toward the back mountain of the elementary school, searching desperately.

Though there was a hiking path prepared for the residents, Ahn Dae-su didn’t even glance at the well-trodden path.

After all, those paths had likely already been searched by other officers who had been here earlier.

Instead, he focused on places where people’s eyes might not easily reach and began running through various spots on the mountain.

Suddenly, he froze in place.

It felt as if a cold hand had turned his head toward a certain direction.

That chilling, unsettling sensation made Ahn Dae-su twist his neck with a creaking sound.

And when he turned his head to where the feeling led him, Ahn Dae-su discovered something.

An artificial structure hidden under branches and plants, which, if one weren’t paying attention,
would have been easily missed.

Carefully, Ahn Dae-su walked over, cautiously removing the branches and plants covering it.

What was revealed was the end of a black drainage pipe, which seemed to have been placed to let rainwater drain away.

It was a drainage pipe with a hole just big enough for a small child to crawl through, but an adult wouldn’t fit.

Ahn Dae-su clenched his lips, and with trembling hands, pulled out his phone from his pocket and called the station where he worked.

[Yes, Somang 1st District Police Station.]

“…It’s me, Officer Kim.”

[Oh, Sir! We were just wondering where you went since the shift change is coming up.]

“…We can talk about that later. For now, I’m going to send you the location. Please send some officers here.”

[…Why the officers?]

The question, as if something was wrong, made Ahn Dae-su glance back at the hole inside the drainage pipe.

He murmured, his voice heavy with unease.

“…I found the missing child.”

Inside the black hole, there, lying cold and lifeless, was the small body of a child who looked as though they had been in a cave.

“…Damn it.”

A missing child’s body was found.

It may have been the kind of police work Ahn Dae-su had always dreamed of, the kind of detective work he had longed for.

But on that day, he painfully realized that the best thing for a police officer was when there was nothing to do at all.

***

And at that moment, the one who pushed Ahn Dae-su into this horrific reality was

“Ot…!”

“Ah….”

It just so happened that he ran into a familiar face among the students in the class he was assigned, making him look uncomfortable.