Chapter 51
Three days ago, In-Ah had requested an early leave from school and came home. She checked to see if the ice cream cake, clothes, and miscellaneous gifts she had bought yesterday were still there. It wasn’t like the items would suddenly grow legs and walk away, but she checked just to make sure.
“All right." In-Ah nodded and muttered to herself.
Fortunately, everything was still there. Lately, she found herself talking to herself more often, though she didn't know why. Without changing out of her school uniform, she immediately left the house and hailed a taxi nearby.
"Seoul Eastern Branch, uhh."
"The Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch?”
“Just a moment.” In-Ah was about to mention her destination when she hurriedly checked her phone to look at her messages. Although she had read the message repeatedly over the weekend, she just wanted to double check just to be safe.
[Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch Missing Persons Investigation Team... Currently, the missing person Yoon-Ah is under protection. Please make an appearance on 3/22 (Monday)...]
In-Ah couldn’t look at the details that included which floor the Missing Persons Investigation Team was in the main building or which investigators were in charge of the case.
Instead, she focused solely on the words "Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch" and "3/22 (Monday)." Monday, March 22nd. Today was the day, and the location was also at the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch. In-Ah nodded.
"Yes, please take me to the Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch."
The taxi started moving. A strong scented air freshener overpowered the lingering smell of cigarettes inside the car. In-Ah did not enjoy smelling the smell of air freshener or the cigarettes. Feeling a little dizzy from the smell, In-Ah opened the window.
The wind rushed alongside them, creating a loud roaring sound. Her eyes couldn’t keep up with the speed at which the scenery was changing beyond the window. Since it was lunchtime, the roads were empty; buses and taxis were scarcely seen.
"..."
The world was so quiet that it felt like she had been dropped into a world with no one else in it. Familiar landscapes suddenly seemed unfamiliar and that made her more excited.
"Please stop here."
They arrived at their destination quickly. After getting out of the taxi, In-Ah took a deep breath. She felt it hard to breathe and was slightly dizzy. She shook her body in an effort to shake off the strong scent of the air freshener from the car. Of course, her efforts were in vain.
The Seoul Paladin Order Eastern Branch building was imposingly massive. Although it wasn't as grand as F.A., it seemed the largest among the Paladin Orders she had seen. In-Ah gulped nervously and headed into the building.
"What is your business here?"
The first person to greet her was a slightly mean-looking male paladin. His tone matched his appearance, and he seemed to find everything bothersome.
"Well... I've been here a few times before. My sister had gone missing, but I received a call over the weekend. A call that said that they found her...”
In-Ah lifted her phone up to show the message. Her heart was racing like crazy, either from nervousness or from anticipation. She managed to utter short fragmented sentences, each breaking off to the pounding sound of her heart. Her head felt numb, and as a result, her language abilities seemed to have deteriorated.
"Oh, I see you are that student. Please take a seat," the paladin said indifferently.
In-Ah obediently sat down and waited. Although only a few minutes had passed, it felt like hours and days had gone by.
"In-Ah, right?"
"Yes? Oh, yes."
"For identity verification, please provide your ID..."
"Yes, I brought it. Here." The message mentioned bringing an ID, so In-Ah brought her student ID with her.
The paladin carefully examined the ID, squinting his eyes. Even this short period of time felt excruciatingly long to In-Ah.
"Alright, follow me."
Handing In-Ah back her ID, the paladin briskly walked toward the corridor. In-Ah followed closely behind with hurried steps. The corridor seemed barren as there was nothing in sight. Here and there, paint was peeling off from the walls, creating a desolate atmosphere. The air was dry. In-Ah suppressed the urge to cough. The footsteps of the paladin ahead stopped in front of a door. In-Ah gulped as she made out the inscription on the plaque.
"Uh... Why...the interrogation room?" Her eyes trembled, confused.
"Oh, someone is using the guest room, so we had no choice...”
The explanation was bleak. The guest room was preoccupied, and they coincidentally had to use the interrogational room instead. They asked for understanding. Although In-Ah wasn’t happy about it, she tried to understand.
After all, she wouldn't be staying long. She would take her sister home immediately and have a party riddled with her sister’s favorite ice cream cake and various gifts. With that thought in mind, it didn't matter to her whether the room was for interrogation or guests.
Creeeeek—
With a somewhat gloomy sound, the door opened, revealing the inside of the chamber. Excitement and anticipation swelled up to the point that it felt like it would burst inside of In-Ah. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought that she would finally be able to see her sister with just a few more steps. Her heart pounded so fiercely that it felt as if her heart would jump out of her mouth. Her eyes trembled as if she were on the verge of tears, and her throat felt tight.
Thud, thud.
With each step she took, her pounding heart seemed to grow louder.
"Is this your sister?" The paladin pointed to the child sitting in the corner of the chamber.
The child bowed her head, making it hard to identify their face. Her arms and legs were as thin as sticks, and her hair was jet black.
"Wait... I need to see her face...." The child suddenly lifted their face up.
Like her hair, her pupils were pitch black, devoid of focus. Her sunken, thin cheeks seemed to attenuate her sharp cheekbones and jawline.
Six months was not a short period of time. It was a long enough time to make changes. It was enough time to change the shape of one's face and the color of the hair as well as the eyes. It was enough time for a birthmark that was once beneath the lips to have disappeared or moved to the left cheek. Despite her efforts to keep an optimistic view, In-Ah's face slowly hardened.
"N-no. It's not her. It ca-can’t be. There must be a mistake. I think you’ve brought the wrong person."
The child in front of her was not her sister. She couldn’t find a single resemblance to her sister. The paladin looked puzzled and started to shuffle through some papers.
"Mistake... Not everything seems to be in order. I'm sorry, but could you just take another look...? " the paladin said, his confusion evident.
"No, I'm telling you. It's not Yoon-Ah,"
"Can you check again just to be sure? Ah," The paladin stole a glance at In-Ah. Tears were flowing down In-Ah’s face. It was not tears of joy, but despair that she wept. Her bursting excitement and anticipation had shattered into pieces, cutting through her furiously.
"It’s not her. I’m telling you, it's not her. I couldn’t possibly mistake Yoon-Ah's face. I told you it wasn’t her..." In-Ah said.
"Please, calm down a little," the paladin said awkwardly, touching the back of his neck. He then left the room and returned with another paladin.
The two paladins exchanged a conversation in front of In-Ah, but none of their words reached her. She was not in the state to comprehend any words. After finishing their conversation, the two paladins looked back at In-Ah with perplexed expressions.
The paladin that had come in later asked shamelessly, "Damn, why are you saying it's not her? Are you sure she's not the one? Did you have a good look at her?”
"..." In-Ah stared at the paladin with reddened eyes.
The paladin seemed to just be bothered by the situation. In-Ah reminisced about how she had spent the past few days, worrying and planning about what to do, what to eat, and where to go after she met her sister. She thought of the many nights that she had spent, unable to go to sleep because her excitement had kept her awake. She couldn’t breathe, felt pitiful and stupid.
"Why aren't you answering? Are you sure she's not the one—"
Thwap.
In-Ah, who had been staring at the paladin through her red blurry eyes, suddenly grabbed him by the collar. The paladin threw his head back in shock.
"W-What's going on? Let go! What are you doing...!"
"I'm telling you, it's not her! How many times do I have to say it...? If only the investigation had been conducted properly...!" Trembling, In-Ah's seemed to be on the verge of erupting.
The paladin scrunched his face up in distaste and slapped away In-Ah’s hands that were gripping their collar.
"If it's not her, then it’s not her. What the fuck are you grabbing me for? Uhh!... Hey, get her off of me!" the paladin instructed his junior, flustered.
“Uh, okay. Ms. In-Ah? Please come with me," the junior paladin said.
In-Ah followed him as if she was being dragged along. There was no strength in not only her steps, but her body as well. She followed, like she was being swept by a fast current, not knowing where she was heading to.
They soon arrived at a counseling room. In-Ah collapsed into a chair, and the paladin sitting across from her began to start speaking. His words did not make it to her ears.
Beee...
Only a dry and thin ringing echoed in her ears. In-Ah pretended to listen, and the paladin continued explaining, as if they were seizing In-Ah’s confused state as a chance.
"Lately, the number of voluntary disappearances have increased due to cults, and typically we conclude missing person cases within six months of investigation. We've been investigating for about eight months now, and not finding anything. It seems—"
To summarize, the Paladin Order had done everything in their power. There was no evidence that Yoon-Ah was kidnapped by the 'Voodoo Revival Church,' and they should consider the possibility that Yoon-Ah had joined voluntarily. Therefore, further investigation seemed difficult. In-Ah neither nodded nor shook her head; she just stared blankly into space. She didn't even have the strength to speak. That was the jist of what they had to say.
In-Ah neither nodded nor shook her head. She merely stared into nothingness. She did not have the strength to speak. She left the Paladin Order, hailed a taxi, returned home, and went to sleep.
"Ah..." When she woke up and checked the time, it was 8 a.m. She had fallen asleep yesterday at 2 p.m., so she had slept for eighteen hours straight.
Her head throbbed, and she felt woozy to the point that she couldn't even get up. Her stomach churned. Her jaw ached, supposedly from grinding her teeth all night.
"Oh, Teacher. Yes. I'm not feeling well. I’m going to go to the hospital... Yes."
Since she would be late for school even if she started to prepare herself for school immediately, she decided to go to the hospital and take a leave from class. She felt that she was in too poor of a condition to be able to focus on class.
Her head was spinning, and her stomach felt both empty and nauseous at the same time. She collapsed and laid down on her bed again, trying to get more sleep.
Beep, beep, beep, beep...!
But then she heard a sharp ringing sound, waking up from her sleep. It was her mother. In-Ah tried to settle down her aching insides, cleared her dry throat, and answered the phone.
"Hi, Mom."
—Are you at school?
"I'm taking a rest today because I'm not feeling well. My stomach..."
—Is that so? Are you in a lot of pain? Have you been to the hospital?
"No, no. I'll go later..."
In-Ah looked at the clock. It was 4 p.m. It seemed that she would need to leave soon before it got later.
"Well, I'm going now."
—Alright. Get some medicine. By the way, did you visit the Paladin Order yesterday? How is Yoon-Ah doing?
"Ah... Yesterday, about that. Not yesterday, today... Tomorrow. They told me to come tomorrow," In-Ah lied.
—Well, that's convenient. I was planning to visit tomorrow. I've been busy lately, and we haven't gotten to see much of you either...
"Oh? No, it's fine. You don't have to come if you're busy."
—I have to see both of your faces even if I’m busy. What time did they say to go to the paladin branch?"
"Um... I’m not sure. Maybe two, or... was it three o’clock? I can't remember. But Mom, don’t get your hopes up. The paladin order said it might not be Yoon-Ah."
In-Ah’s voice was definitely trembling. She couldn’t bear to tell the truth and lied instead. In-Ah felt immense pain as if her heart was hardening up. She held in her tears.
—What? If they’ve found her, then they’ve found her. If not, they haven’t. Which branch are they from, the Seoul Eastern Branch?
“I’m not sure. I can’t remember. If it is her I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
-You don’t have to put it all on yourself... Okay, then I’ll make plans to visit when you’ve given me a call. Make sure to go to the hospital today.
"Okay. I'll... go to the hospital now." In-Ah abruptly stood up from her seat.
Suddenly, her vision went pitch black. Her stomach acid surged, and cold sweat dripped down, sticking to her hair. Her ears felt clogged, and her steps trembled due to a lack of strength in her legs.
—In-Ah.
In-Ah was preparing to hang up when she was startled by her mother's voice coming through the receiver.
"Yes, what is it?"
—If you want to see me or Dad, let me know. We’ll be there right away. Tell me if anything happens, okay?"
"...I understand. I’m not a kid anymore, Mom. Seriously, there’s nothing wrong. We’ll be able to see Yoon-Ah tomorrow anyways. Alright, I'll hang up now. I have to go to the hospital quickly."
In-Ah quickly hung up the phone. She was parched, so she took out cold water from the refrigerator and gulped it down. Shortly after, she threw up everything.
The wind blowing in through the window was undoubtedly a warm spring breeze, but it felt as cold as the winter wind. In-Ah wrapped herself in three layers of clothing, but she still felt cold. It felt like her body temperature, rather than the outside temperature, was low.
At the hospital, she was diagnosed with stress-induced gastritis.
The doctor advised her to fast today and start eating soft or liquid food tomorrow. They used a lesser healing array to ease the pain and prescribed her medication.
"Since the pain is only temporarily relieved, you should be careful of what you eat. In addition, there could be a relapse, so for approximately three days, you must take an absolute rest..."
Although healing arrays were as effective as surgical treatments, they weren’t as effective for internal medicine. Moreover, the pain wasn't gone completely because it was a lesser healing array. Although she felt better than before, her stomach still felt discomforted and in pain.
She returned home and continued a cycle of sleeping, drinking water, and vomiting. She had forgotten to buy porridge and attempted to cook it herself, but she ended up vomiting that up as well. It wasn't just because her stomach felt unwell but also because it tasted bad.
"Teacher, today, I..."
"I'm really sorry, but my condition is still not good..."
She took another day off, followed by an additional day, resulting in a total absence of two days. Sun-Woo, Jun-Hyuk, and other friends had sent her several messages, but she didn't reply. She didn't even answer the phone calls.
There wasn't any particular reason. She simply didn't feel like responding.
She spent most of her time sleeping and barely ate. She intended to cook porridge whenever she had time but ended up discarding the idea as she found it so bothersome.
‘What was the point in putting the time and effort into creating a dish when it would taste so bad?’ she thought. But she couldn’t just not eat because she was starving.
"...Hm I’ll just buy it." In the end, she made up her mind to head outside. Her goal was to go to the grocery store and buy porridge, probably enough to last her for two days. Judging from her condition, it didn't seem like she would get better today, and she felt that she should eat porridge for at least two days.
"Ah."
As she was about to enter the mart, she ran into Sun-Woo. He looked at her with suspicion in his eyes when he heard her sigh unconsciously.
In-Ah instinctively turned around, attempting to run away. She was afraid of bumping into him, especially since she had been dodging his calls, not to mention, they had fought on Monday.
Thud.
Then she fell down.
She couldn’t bring herself back up not only from the pain but also because of the embarrassment. As she was contemplating on whether she should play dead, someone approached from a distance and lightly tapped her shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
There was no need to see his face. She could tell who he was just from the sound of his voice. She wished she could just lie there and die. Her face was already bright red.
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