episode_0082

Late afternoon, I was jogging on a local trail.

Meanwhile, a text message arrived on my cell phone.

“Jinwoo. “There is one thing I need to do.”

It’s something that needs to be done.

“I’ll explain when you come to Hyehwadang. Come in quickly.”

That was the end of the text.

I don’t know what it is that needs to be done, but I’m sure it’s not trivial housework.

If it was a housework, it would be enough to simply explain it.

I stopped jogging and ran from the promenade to Hyehwadang.

The hand that was injured by the Grim Reaper is now fine.

The torn skin healed so well that there was no need to apply ointment anymore. I squeezed and opened my hand several times while running, but I didn’t feel any pain. Slowly, my condition recovered enough to perform an exorcism.

After a while, I arrived at Hyehwadang.

Sarah was sitting at the desk in her room and looking at her laptop.

“You’re here.”

Sarah saw me enter the room and explained what needed to be done.

“A few days ago, an accident occurred at a fishing spot on the Han River. It’s near the Tancheon confluence, and it’s an incident where an angler drowned while fishing at night.”

“Drowning accident? Couldn’t you just accidentally fall to your death?”

Tancheon was one of the many tributaries of the Han River. The Tancheon confluence was near where the Han River and Tancheon meet. The water there was rather fast, so it wouldn’t be surprising if an accident occurred.

Sarah shook her head while sipping her coffee.

“The police concluded that the death was an accident. They concluded that the angler had accidentally drowned. But the fisherman had one person with him. She was a woman, and she was fishing in the same spot when the accident occurred.”

“So?”

“The group said they saw a fisherman being dragged by something in the water. And they said there was one person nearby who attempted suicide by jumping.”

“Suicide by jumping?”

“There is a bridge near the fishing spot, and I saw someone trying to commit suicide by jumping there. But the strange thing is that the rescue team found only one body in the river. Only the body of the fisherman was found, and there was no body of the suicide anywhere.”

“Hmm… .”

A fisherman who fell into the water was dragged by something.

There was a person who attempted suicide by jumping, but his body was never found.

It was all eyewitness testimony.

“I think the police think what the group said was nonsense.”

“Why?”

“The fisherman’s body showed no signs of being dragged. A mark left on the skin, or a sign of being bitten by something. And no one died by jumping to suicide. It’s all worth treating as a delusion.”

It was a strange incident.

Clearly this was something we had to do. Of course, the witness may have been lying, but it was well worth investigating.

I nodded.

“Good. Let’s investigate this weekend. Where should I start?”

Sarah had everything prepared for what to investigate first.

As expected, he had a meticulous personality.

Sarah told me who the group was at the scene of the accident.

“Let’s go meet the eyewitness first. My name is Hyejin Jeong. I work as a waiter at the Sunshine Motel near the Han River.”

“How did you find out the name? Was that in the article too?”

“The witness used SNS. I am also actively posting articles related to the incident. It’s easy to find out who it is.”

Is it SNS?

I could feel the emotions of a witness just by looking at the posts related to the incident.

He probably feels unfair because no one believes what he saw with his own eyes. So, maybe you should use SNS and let people around you know.

We had dinner after making a research plan. Today it was my turn to do the dishes. When I finished washing the dishes, Sarah called me from the living room as if she had suddenly remembered something.

“Ah, Jinwoo. I have a gift for you. Come here.”

“What is it? Is it a snack?”

“It’s better than eating.”

The first thing Sarah presented to me was her ID card. The ID card had a picture of me in a suit and my name written on it. However, it was not a resident registration card or driver’s license.

「Affiliation: Joryeong Ilbo

Department: Department of Social Affairs

Name: Jinwoo Kim

Expiration date: June 10, 2026

“I certify that the person above is a reporter from the Joryeong Ilbo.”

This was the ID that reporters carried.

The Joryeong Ilbo was a famous newspaper. Of course, I had never worked as a reporter for a newspaper. To begin with, there was no way I could have passed the journalism exam even though I was still a high school student.

“Is this a fake ID?”

Sarah answered my question.

“It is not a cheap counterfeit product, but was made directly by Joryeong Ilbo. Because that place is run by my family. I deliberately asked my uncle to make it for me.”

“It’s a genuine product… ?”

I know what I did.

The Joryeong Ilbo was actually a newspaper run by Sarah’s maternal family. As the daughter of a rich family, all her relatives were also wealthy. Moreover, many of the relatives were indebted to Sarah’s mother for shaman-related matters.

They said that if Sarah asked a relative, she could at least get a reporter’s ID card.

“It’s enormous. I didn’t know you would actually do something like this.”

“If you have an ID, it’s easier when you go to investigate a case, right? Even if I honestly said I was just a high school student passing by, no one would cooperate.”

“What happens if you get caught with a fake ID?”

“No chance of getting caught. You are now registered on the Joryeong Ilbo reporter list.”

“Crazy… .”

“It means there is no problem if they call the newspaper and ask who you are. Even if I get caught, I can cover it up.”

Sarah turned a high school student into a reporter overnight.

After all, the power of money and personal connections was a great law.

“Then it will be okay.”

I received a reporter ID card from Sarah.

When I moved around as a student, my ability to interview people was limited. However, even if you tell strangers that you are an exorcist, not many people will seriously believe you. I did need a suitable identity for trickery purposes.

The reporter was fine.

I was in a position where I didn’t feel awkward walking around asking people about the incident. Of course, whether or not I can hear the answer will depend on my discretion.

“I will write well. Sarah.”

“Yes.”

“But are you going to pretend to be a reporter too?”

“No. I’m mixed race, so my appearance stands out. People might get wary if I go around asking them questions.”

Do you think you might be wary because you are mixed race?

Maybe so.

Sarah smiled and opened her mouth.

“I will take on a different role instead of a reporter.”

“Which one?”

“The role of a lover who looks after you.”

“… … ”

It’s the role of a supportive lover.

“He is a lover who takes care of you with such sincerity that he follows you to work. Let’s add it up like that.”

“Wait a minute! Do we really need to be lovers?”

“Then, where else is there a natural relationship between a man and a woman? I’m telling you this in case you’re mistaken, but it’s not like you have strange feelings.”

“Yes.”

In the end, a fake identity was decided upon when I went out to investigate.

I was a reporter for the Joryeong Ilbo, and Sarah became my lover who followed me around.

“Hehe.”

Sarah smiled playfully while looking at me.

*

It’s the weekend.

On Saturday morning, we took the subway and got off at Cheongdam Station. After getting off at the station, I walked for about 30 minutes and arrived at the Tancheon junction where the incident occurred.

The cityscape unfolded beyond the babbling river.

I thought it would be pretty cool to come at night and see the night view.

If it weren’t for the place where a person drowned not long ago, I would have been able to purely enjoy the scenery.

“You said it was the Sunshine Hotel, right?’

“Over there.”

We went to a motel near a fishing spot.

The only witness to the incident was a motel employee working as an employee.

When we arrived at the motel entrance, Sarah stopped on the side of the road and said to me.

“I’ll buy some coffee from a nearby convenience store. Come meet Jeong Hye-jin.”

“Okay.”

Sarah went to the convenience store, and I stood in front of the door of the motel that was connected to the parking lot. I was a little nervous, but there was no problem. After all, I was used to digging around to investigate mysterious cases.

━━Jingle

As I opened the door and went inside, a bell rang.

I found a female waitress sitting at the motel counter.

It was a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties. She had short hair dyed gold and dangling earrings on her ears.

‘This is Jeong Hye-jin.’

It was a face that matched the photo of Jeong Hye-jin that was posted on social media.

The blonde woman sitting at the counter was a witness to the incident.

“Welcome.”

“Hello.”

I asked Hyejin Jeong about the incident.

“You are Jeong Hye-jin, right? This is a group of people who had an accident at a nearby fishing spot not long ago.”

“… yes? That’s right.”

“I want to know what happened when the accident occurred. They say that Hyejin’s testimony and what was found at the scene are different.”

“Hey!”

Of course, the answer did not come back right away.

Hyejin looked at me suspiciously.

“Who are you? Are you a police officer?”

“I am a reporter, not a police officer. I came here to report on the Joryeong Ilbo. I’m sorry for not being able to contact you in advance.”

I took out my reporter ID card and showed it to Hyejin.

There was no need to show it in detail.

Hyejin looked at the ID card and nodded as if she understood.

“Oh, you were a reporter? Reporter Kim Jin-woo?”

“Yes.”

Hyejin’s guard was relaxed. The reaction was completely different from when I went to investigate mysteries as a student. At that time, there were many times when people who went to interview me would only get swear words rather than information.

“Reporter, what are you curious about? I already told the police everything I saw.”

“I heard that something strange happened at the fishing spot on the day of the incident. They say Choi Seok-ho was dragged into the water, and there was also someone who tried to commit suicide by jumping into the water. Is that true?”

“Of course it’s true!”

Hyejin’s voice rose slightly.

I asked Hyejin again.

“The police say there is no evidence? There was only one body found. Did Hyejin see something wrong?”

“Absolutely not. I saw it clearly. We didn’t drink alcohol at that time.”

Lagoon was the name of the drowned person.

Hyejin looked at me and said as if she was asking me to trust her.

“There was definitely something in the water.”