episode_0102

… … … … …

That day, I was sitting alone in my room like I usually do, looking at my phone. There was a message on the screen that I hadn’t sent in days.

[Chairman, I have something to say.

Could you please tell me some information about Summer? I’m really curious to see if it’s okay… … .]

The summer incident left a scar on my heart that would not go away after we broke up unexpectedly.

The last moment we met in Yeoreum’s one-room apartment.

The purple bruises on his wrists, the expression twisted in fear, and the words, ‘Because of you’, still haunt me in my dreams from time to time.

But the women I knew at the social gathering who seemed to have some kind of connection with summer didn’t tell me anything.

For example, whenever the topic of Summer came up, President Sky would cleverly change the subject and make it so that I couldn’t say anything.

Seoyeon just smiled strangely and said, ‘It’s already over.’

Other people also thoroughly avoided the topic of summer.

Surely, that won’t happen.

Summer… … I even wondered if something bad had happened to them.

But no one told me the truth, and I was afraid to delve too deeply into the relationship between them and Yeoreum.

That’s why, as a second best option, I decided to ask the president of the association again about Yeoreum’s recent situation.

I pressed the send button with trembling hands, and a reply came back shortly after.

[I think it would be better not to tell that story.]

[But, Chairman, go see Yeoreum and apologize… … .]

[Absolutely not. I’ll pretend I never heard this story. Don’t bring it up again.]

“… … … .”

The president’s response was unusually strong, and the conversation about summer ended there.

What on earth happened between Summer and them? And how is Summer doing now?

“… … Oh, right. Can’t you find it on SNS?”

Aside from meeting female acquaintances at the social gathering, I stayed up late at night for several days, looking for traces of Yeoreum.

However, the SNS account where we had previously been friends had already been deleted, and all the photos where we had been tagged had disappeared as if we had never existed in the first place.

“Then, then a logistics center… … .”

A few days later, I mustered up my courage and went to the distribution center. I asked the employees who had worked with Yeoreum, but they all said they didn’t know her or that it was the first time they had heard her name, as if it was a promise.

Even the older sisters who had been close to Yeoreum in the past shook their heads, saying they had never heard of her name.

And that night, I found a note on my front door.

[Stop it.]

The writing was a mess, as if several people had written it, each one taking turns. Although it was only five letters, the threat contained within was clear.

“Who the hell… … !?”

Maybe they are the people who harmed Yeoreum. Who on earth are the people who harmed Yeoreum, and how vicious and thorough must they have been to erase all traces so thoroughly?

“Ugh… … Since it’s come to this, what about the one-room apartment where Yeoreum lived last… … ?”

After thinking about it for two more days, I decided to go to Yeoreum’s studio apartment. I thought I might be able to find some clues there.

However, as soon as I entered the alley where the building was visible, I felt a cold gaze. When I looked back, Mr. Ghost was standing there.

Her purple eyes staring at me shone coldly. The shy and hesitant smile I used to see from her was nowhere to be found. Instead, a cold gaze and expression took its place.

“Autumn seeds… …Why are you like this?”

“… … Yes?”

“There’s no way that Mr. Autumn would come to a place like this. It’s dangerous here.”

It was clearly something she said on a daily basis, expressing concern for my safety, but for some reason it sent a chill down my spine.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just passing by… … .”

“Really? That’s good.”

Ghost’s smile grew deeper. There was a strange sense of discomfort in that smile.

“Don’t stay here, go home. Okay? I… …trust Mr. Autumn.”

“Ah, that, yes.

… … Okay. Then I’ll be careful.”

I pretended to turn around in front of Ms. Ghost and left the alley. I could still feel her gaze, so I deliberately walked naturally.

‘I’m sorry, Mr. Ghost. But… … .’

After walking around the alley for a while, I took a detour to Yeoreum’s studio apartment. I felt really bad about deceiving Mr. Ghost, but Yeoreum’s work was a little more important right now.

“I can’t give up now.”

Over there, I could see the one-room building where Yeoreum lived. This time, I decided to approach from the back.

So I went back to the back of the building and climbed the stairs. Summer’s house was on the third floor, room 303.

But the moment I got to the front door, I noticed something strange. The mailbox was piled high with mail, and there was a spiderweb on the front door handle.

“Strange… … ?”

I carefully rang the doorbell, but there was no response.

At that moment, the door next door opened slightly and an old woman stuck her head out.

“It’s been empty for months. The girl who lived there before suddenly moved out.”

“Huh?! Do you happen to know… …when they moved?”

“Well… …I don’t remember exactly because it was a few months ago. That night, a moving company truck came and quickly cleaned up. It wasn’t even noisy.”

Hearing my grandmother’s words, a chill ran down my spine. If that night was… … Could it be that it was the last time I saw Yeoreum?

Suddenly, I felt like I heard faint laughter next to me. But when I turned my head, there was no one there.

… … … … …

Several days had passed since my failed attempt to find summer, but my heart was not easily at ease.

“There’s definitely something there… … .”

It was so strange that traces were erased to this extent. There was another surprising thing. When I returned home without any results on the day I visited Yeoreum’s house, all the search history on my computer had disappeared.

What on earth happened to Yeoreum? It was clear that something huge had happened.

Guilt weighed heavily on my heart. I had been so happy to see Summer and her, but I couldn’t protect her and let her become like this.

And when I think about how many times Yeoreum had shouted, “It’s because of you,” I wonder if I might be one of the reasons why she became like this.

“At least apologize… …and ask what happened?”

The more I couldn’t find Summer, the more I wanted to find her and apologize.

Then, I got information about a crucial opportunity. The president of the association, who had been urging me to forget about Summer’s work on a regular basis, was going to be away for a week due to an issue beyond the dimensional gate.

“This is… … an opportunity.”

The president of the association always tried to discourage me from looking for Yeoreum. Because of his special ability, observation, it was impossible to openly look for Yeoreum. So I couldn’t do anything, but now… … .

A week. It’s not a long time, but there’s no better opportunity than this.

“Let’s try a different approach this time.”

Summer’s account has disappeared from SNS, but the accounts of other people who used to interact with her will remain. I scrolled down and looked through old posts for over an hour.

“Found it!”

Finally, I found an old photo tagged with Yeoreum. I searched the accounts of the friends in the photo to get their contact information.

I also investigated the area around the logistics center again. This time, I looked for CCTV in the back alley instead of the main entrance. I wondered where Yeoreum went that night and if she met anyone.

“Excuse me, but by any chance――”

I also visited cafes that Yeoreum often visited. From the cafe where I used to drink iced Americano before work to the small book cafe where I used to read books every weekend.

But… … something was strange.

The friends of Yeoreum that I found through SNS all avoided meeting me, making excuses like, “I’m busy” or “I don’t know them because we lost contact a long time ago.” Some even got angry and blocked my number.

The same goes for CCTV. When I went to the management office, all I got was answers like, “It broke down a few days ago,” or, “It was overwritten because the storage period had expired.”

The cafe staff’s reaction was no better.

‘You’re the customer who came every morning? I’m sorry, but I don’t remember.’

It was clearly a place where Summer was a regular, but everyone said they didn’t know them, as if they had been in agreement.

And then something even stranger happened. The social media accounts of my summer friends that I had been in contact with started becoming inactive one by one.

“This account was so active until yesterday… … .”

In particular, one of Summer’s friends, who was the last to be contacted, showed a strong reaction of rejection.

“Please stop! Don’t contact me anymore! I’ll call the police!”

Someone had been aware of my actions and was erasing any clues that could lead them to Summer.