SATURDAY 62

My entire body stiffened and then immediately began to tremble. The Shaman’s scolding continued.

― I put so much effort into raising you as a person, but just like the beast you are, your shamelessness is beyond words! Where are you right now? You are in front of the people who raised you like your real parents. Yet how can you let such reckless words out of your mouth!

“….”

My breath hitched. My head spun, and for a moment, it was difficult to keep my sanity. I was so confused I could barely tell where I was. I… I was currently in front of the intensive care unit where my mother and father were lying.

― It is an accident you brought upon them, you beast. It is an accident caused by the impurity you possess. Your parents, who raised something like you until that age, are lying there like that now, and after causing such a horrible accident, you dare say it is not your fault? You deserve a divine punishment for this.

“Sha, Shaman.”

The words would not even come out properly. My whole body shook, cold sweat poured down, and a feeling bordering on terror enveloped my entire frame. The Shaman’s words continued after that.

With my eyes squeezed shut and my lips merely flickering, I held the phone with both hands and listened to the Shaman’s words. I felt like I wanted to fall to my knees. Before I knew it, I was repeating the words “I’m sorry” in a small voice.

It was then.

“Inyoung-ah.”

I lifted my head, startled by the hand placed on my shoulder. Professor… it was Professor Jang. The Professor was looking down at me with a gentle expression. As if he had heard the Professor arrive, the Shaman stopped talking for a moment.

In that gap, Professor Jang opened his mouth.

“Driver Kwak was on very good terms with the Chairman and his wife. But why did he suddenly do that?”

“….”

“As if he were possessed by a ghost.”

“Ugh, Pro, Professor….”

“Do you really think it was a coincidence? …Do you really think it wasn’t your fault?”

The Professor’s hand slowly rose and stroked my cheek. That hand was very warm. It was the hand of a living human. Since my body temperature was usually low, Inha used to call me a corpse or a ghost at every opportunity. A ghost….

As if he were possessed by a ghost.

Driver Kwak is someone who has worked at our house for nearly 20 years, like my father’s own limbs. Beyond a simple relationship between employer and driver, they were very close. I had even gone on trips with Driver Kwak’s family. I didn’t think such a man would hold a grudge against my parents or do something like that.

“In my opinion…. Didn’t you say you haven’t done an exorcism ritual for a while? Actually, it is strange for a doctor to believe in such things, but, Inyoung-ah.”

“….”

“Is this accident really unrelated to you?”

“Jang Sehyeon.”

Once again, my breath stopped abruptly. The low-pitched, heavily angry voice belonged to Mr. Taeseon.

Mr. Taeseon, who had walked up quickly with his shoes clicking, grabbed the Professor’s arm with one hand and shoved him aside, then took the phone that was in my hand.

― Inyoung-ah, you….

However, the next words could not be heard. This was because Mr. Taeseon had hung up the call. After that, Mr. Taeseon, who manipulated something with his fingers moving quickly, returned the phone to me.

“I blocked the number. And do not answer calls from numbers you don’t know.”

“Haha, General Manager. What did you just call me? You’re being too much. No matter if you are the General Manager, I have my age; shouldn’t you maintain some etiquette?”

Then, Mr. Taeseon glanced at the Professor with a glare and said.

“It seems you haven’t been beaten enough?”

“…!”

In an instant, the Professor’s face distorted sharply and he clenched his fist, but after looking around, he smiled and relaxed his hands and expression. Not beaten enough. I looked up at Mr. Taeseon, wondering what on earth that meant. Suddenly, the day Mr. Taeseon had come back with an injured hand crossed my mind.

“Did, did you get hurt while hitting the Professor? No, what on earth happened….”

Then, the Professor, who had regained his composure before I knew it, said mockingly.

“I won’t charge you for the mirror. It was hospital equipment anyway.”

“Mirror…?”

His wound had healed quickly as always, but I could at least tell it was a mark from stitches. It is rare for skin to be torn to that extent while hitting a person. Then, did he break the mirror in the Professor’s room?

It was easy to imagine. The sight of Mr. Taeseon smashing the mirror attached to the wall with his hand.

He… at the mirror reflecting his own face.

Mr. Taeseon carefully helped me up as I stood there blankly and turned toward the elevator. Since the elevator only traveled to and from the VIP ward, it remained stopped on the floor we were on, just as it had been when I got off earlier, and we were able to board immediately.

Until the elevator doors closed, I could feel the Professor’s gaze. I couldn’t understand a single thing about what was going on, but late as it was, my stomach turned over once.

“Urgh….”

While the elevator descended to the basement parking lot, I gagged several times. Mr. Taeseon nonchalantly placed his hand in front of my mouth and told me to throw up here, but I could not bring myself to do so and barely held it back.

Actually, because I hadn’t eaten anything, there was nothing to throw up. Even the gagging wasn’t because I felt like vomiting, but rather a reaction triggered by stress.

A dizziness followed, along with a feeling as if light were exploding inside my head. It was a sign of a migraine.

The basement parking lot dedicated to the ward had strictly controlled vehicle access. I even heard that currently, with my mother and father hospitalized, there were no patients in the other rooms. Therefore, the spacious basement parking lot was empty except for Mr. Taeseon’s car.

Mr. Taeseon, perhaps deciding he couldn’t leave me be, picked me up and headed toward the car. After opening the passenger door, seating me, and even fastening the seatbelt, he went and sat in the driver’s seat. As he was fastening his own seatbelt, a warning sound rang out. When I looked up, startled, it was the notification for a vehicle entering the parking lot.

There shouldn’t be any cars coming in. The vehicle that appeared along the downward slope was a navy-colored domestic compact car, a model that was easily ten years old. It was a type of car rarely seen in this parking lot, and its sudden appearance was strange.

Sure enough, the navy car slid straight into the parking lot and approached very slowly in front of Mr. Taeseon’s car, which was still stopped within the parking lines. When I reflexively tried to lower my head, Mr. Taeseon stopped me.

“There’s no need to avoid them. It’s not like you did anything wrong.”

But because of my fault….

However, I couldn’t say those words to Mr. Taeseon. Because Mr. Taeseon surely wouldn’t understand. He would soothe me kindly, but in his heart, he would think it was nonsense. The words I heard from the Shaman came back to life one by one.

‘It is an accident you brought upon them, you beast. It is an accident caused by the impurity you possess.’

Just as my mind was becoming noisy, the navy car rolled down its window and suddenly thrust out a large camera, beginning to snap photos while the flash went off pop, pop. The sound of the continuous shutter was almost like gunfire.

Whether they had taken enough photos to be satisfied while slowly passing the front of Mr. Taeseon’s car, they giggled among themselves inside, rolled the window back up, and sped out of the parking lot.

While becoming unwanted subjects, Mr. Taeseon was slowly tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, and I looked down, not knowing what to do.

After the car had completely exited the parking lot, Mr. Taeseon suddenly reached his hand toward my cheek.

Of course, I was surprised. As I flinched, Mr. Taeseon withdrew his hand slightly and gave a bitter smile, saying, “Sorry.”

“No….”

When I murmured and lowered my head deep, Mr. Taeseon slowly reached out his hand again.

His hand touched my cheek. I wasn’t surprised this time. Rather, I found myself leaning my cheek into his hand without realizing it. Then, Mr. Taeseon smiled softly, leaned over, and kissed my forehead.

“You were surprised. They probably bribed a parking lot employee. We’ll know which newspaper it is once the article goes up… well, it might not be a newspaper, but if they bought photos from a paparazzi, they’re the same kind of bastards.”

His voice, speaking as if grumbling that he had even switched cars on purpose, felt a little cute. It felt like my tension was easing.

When we exited the parking lot just like that, there was indeed a huge crowd gathered. In the driveway, congested with cars and people, security staff were busy clearing out reporters, onlookers, and others obstructing the path.

Passing them, we finally escaped the hospital and returned home. As if she knew, Lili was already sitting at the entrance. As I entered, she rubbed her body diligently against my ankles.

After letting her leave her scent to her heart’s content, I picked Lili up. Lili was quite heavy now. I had been worried about her not being able to jump, but from some point, she started hopping up and down the sofa and bed at will. Mr. Taeseon, seeing me barely holding Lili, said a word.

“Don’t hold her, she’s heavy.”

“I’m fine….”

“Why.”

Lili answered louder than my voice. Mr. Taeseon asked as if it were absurd.

“Did she just say ‘why’?”

“Kkwa-ang?”

“Is this really a cat?”

At Lili’s nonchalant reaction and Mr. Taeseon’s seemingly serious response, I burst out laughing. The words of the Shaman and the Professor, the reporters taking photos…. The things that had been tormenting me until a moment ago seemed to be forgotten a little.