episode_0010

“Exorcist? Did your father work as an exorcist while working as a detective?”

“Because he was a detective. It’s easier to hear news about mysterious incidents than others. You worked as an exorcist to solve such cases.”

“It’s fascinating. I didn’t think detectives would believe stories about the occult.

“I usually don’t believe it. It’s just that my father was unusual. I said I was a mystery fanatic since I was young. After passing the police exam, I used my knowledge whenever I encountered strange incidents.”

“Tell me more about your father.”

“I’ll burn Jewoong first.”

I turned on the Zippo lighter and ignited the fire we had made. The fire that was put down in the yard burned down, emitting faint smoke. I told Sarah the story of my father while looking at the burning Jewoong.

“While working as a detective, my father solved various cold cases. It is said that he saved a rural village where people were dying from the Dangsan Tree, that he caught a sorcerer who was killing people by cursing them, and that on one day he even killed a monster that imitated human voices.”

Unsolved cases that no one has solved.

My father went around solving cases that occurred due to supernatural phenomena. Thanks to my father telling me stories, I was able to hear countless stories.

Ghosts, monsters, and killers who use supernatural abilities.

My father went around hunting evil things of all kinds. Of course, he was very busy, so it was natural that there were many days when he didn’t come home. But I didn’t hate my father like that.

I respected my father.

Because my father was a hero who saved people.

I couldn’t help but respect the hero who risked his life every time to save people.

━Thank you, Detective.

━It’s thanks to you, Detective, that we can stay sane like this.

Gifts came to our house every year. It was a gift of gratitude from the people my father saved. Sometimes, those people came directly to say hello to my father. Every time, I was proud of my father. Because he was a person respected not only by me but by many people.

Even now.

People sent letters and gifts to our house.

Sometimes, when they send me a lot of food, I have to worry about what to do with it.

“… … You were a great person?”

“Right?”

“Receiving a gift every year means that your father is truly respected by people.”

Sarah listened to the story and looked puzzled.

“But there is something strange.”

“What?”

“Having such a great father. Why didn’t Joo-hyuk get help when he was attacked by a ghost? Was your father very busy too?”

Why couldn’t you call your father when you saved Joo-hyuk?

There was a reason I couldn’t call.

“Because my father passed away.”

“Ah… .”

My father passed away. Up until this point, I had barely told Sarah about my parents. So Sarah didn’t know that my father was deceased.

“I’m sorry.”

Sarah heard me and was shocked and apologized to me.

“I never knew my father passed away. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“… … .”

There was silence between us for a moment.

Almost all of the fires that were on fire were burned down. The faint smoke that flowed from the dragon was scattered in the air like a ghost.

“… He didn’t just die.”

I added while looking into space.

“My father did not die normally. You had an accident that you couldn’t understand.”

“Incomprehensible accident?”

“Listen.”

The day my father passed away.

It was two years ago.

I still clearly remember the strange events of that day.

━Jinwoo, dad is coming this evening.

━Are you finally coming?

The day my father returned home after solving a long case.

My mother received a call from my father that he would arrive around evening. As I waited desperately for him to arrive, my father’s car actually arrived at the apartment in the evening.

━Dad’s car!

Through the veranda window, I could clearly see the black mid-sized SUV that my father always drives entering the outdoor parking lot.

My mother smiled and sent me outside.

I was going to go down to the parking lot right away and meet my father.

dark night.

In the parking lot, an SUV caught in the moonlight gave off a pitch-black sheen. My father hasn’t gotten out of the car yet. Because I could see my father’s image blurry through the car window.

━Dad!

I approached my father’s car. When I looked closely, I saw my father leaning against the driver’s seat with his eyes closed. Are you so tired from work that you’re just taking a nap? There was no answer when I called.

I opened the driver’s door.

My father was still in the driver’s seat with his eyes closed.

━Dad… ?

I called again, but there was no answer. If you’re asleep, you should at least hear the sound of your breathing. There was no sound from my father sitting in the driver’s seat. I held my father’s hand that was hanging on the seat. My hands, which were always warm, were cold today.

An ominous thought crossed my mind.

Maybe my father passed away.

My father’s body was cold and he was not breathing. I quickly contacted my mother on my cell phone. The mother hurriedly came outside and called 119. My mother tried CPR on my unconscious father, but it was meaningless. Even though I pressed his chest and breathed into him, my father never opened his eyes.

The ambulance arrived.

My father was taken to the hospital, but it was already too late.

He said that my father was already dead before I witnessed it.

The cause of death was a heart attack.

It was a heart attack for which even doctors could not find a clear cause.

During his lifetime, my father lived a healthy life without drinking or smoking. There was nothing wrong with my blood pressure, nor was I suffering from a congenital disease. But one day, he suddenly passed away from a heart attack.

“… Isn’t it strange? My father was clearly driving the car until I found out. Because I clearly saw it coming into the parking lot. But while I was going down to the parking lot, he suddenly passed away from a heart attack.”

“It’s a strange thing.”

“I don’t think my father died normally. I think there is a secret that others don’t know. Maybe he was murdered.”

“To whom?”

“To supernatural things.”

I clenched my teeth as I remembered my dead father. My father was a man who went around exorcising evil things. In that case, it was quite possible that someone had murdered my father through witchcraft.

“… … This is the end of my father’s story.”

The story of my father’s death is over.

Sarah was looking at me with pitiful eyes. He spoke to me in a very sad voice.

“Now I understand why you are obsessed with seeing ghosts. When I first met you, I thought you were just going to see it for fun. It wasn’t such a trivial reason.”

Why I Try to See Ghosts

Sarah hesitated and then cautiously opened her mouth.

“You want to see your dead father, right?”

“Yes. Because I couldn’t even say goodbye to my father properly.”

I wanted to see my dead father.

It is said that the dead who have suffered an unjust death become ghosts and wander the world.

In that case, it meant that my dead father could also be wandering the world somewhere right now.

If I happen to meet my father in my life, and if the day comes when my father’s spirit passes by me.

I wanted to say it then.

He said he wanted to see his father.

I want to say goodbye to you.

It happened some time after my father died.

I recalled the story I heard from my father.

━It is said that the more you look at ghosts, the more you see them. Because there is something called the ear gate in the human body. Every time you see a ghost, the door opens little by little.

It is said that the more you look at a ghost, the more you see it. Then I couldn’t stay still. I searched for mysterious stories on the Internet and looked for abandoned houses and spooky places in my neighborhood. Then I eventually met Sarah.

“Sera, can you see ghosts?”

“I see it.”

“If you see my father around, be sure to tell him. Please do me a favor.”

━━Ting!

I turned on the Zippo lighter while asking Sarah for a favor. A bright, flickering flame rose up. Looking at the fireworks reminded me of the stories my father told me. Stories of people going around defeating evil and saving people.

“… okay. I’ll definitely tell you.”

Sarah looked at me and nodded. I spoke quite calmly, but Sarah seemed very sad after hearing my story. Before I knew it, Sarah’s eyes were moist.

“I will make sure you meet your father! I promise with my fingers crossed.”

Sarah held out her white and beautiful finger to me.

Are you saying you’re going to put your finger on the line and make a promise? It’s a good thing for me.

We bet our little fingers.

“Thank you.”

“Say thank you only after you find your father.”

Sarah and I made a promise.

It was a promise to let me meet my father.