After Story 177

After Story 177

His house was his refuge. Even the worries he had would all be stripped off if he stepped past the door.

When he closed his eyes to the noise from the old refrigerator as a lullaby, his body would automatically relax and fall asleep.

However, many things had changed since the disappearance of his sister. His house was no longer a refuge. The closer to his house he went, the higher his heart rate became.

It felt like the density of the air around his house was different, and it felt hard to breathe. He felt like he was better off sleeping in the streets.

Whenever he opened the door, he first opened the windows and observed the street in front of the villa.

He would ardently look for traces of his neighbor for about an hour in front of the window before taking a shower. Then, he would go back to observing.

He had removed the batteries of the clock that his sister gave to him as a present and placed it on the floor. The ticking of the clock was just too much to bear.

He also pulled out the cord for the refrigerator, and it had been like three weeks since he last turned on the TV. He killed all the noise in his house. In the dead still silence, he waited for his neighbor.

Changsik fiddled with the business card that Daecheol gave him before putting it down.

It was midnight. His neighbor had not come home today either. Maybe he went somewhere else, or maybe he only moved during the night.

It would be great if things went well and he could receive Daecheol’s help, but if not, he would have to investigate this case by himself.

Changsik closed his eyes and thought about his neighbor, the man who would always smile brightly and greet him if they came across each other; the man who would joke around with him.

At the end of his thoughts, he pictured his sister being strangled to death by that man.

Changsik grabbed the window sill and started retching. He couldn’t shake off the negative thoughts. Whatever he thought about, he always ended up thinking about his sister covered in blood.

He leaned against the wall, collapsed his hands, and started praying to all sorts of gods he knew. Whoever it is, I don’t care so save my sister.

As he was struggling in despair, he raised his head. He heard a sound. It was the sound of footsteps, slow, rising footsteps up the staircase.

Changsik hurriedly crawled over the door and placed his ear against it. Then, he was disappointed. It was the sound of high heels hitting the ground.

He could also hear a woman swear. It seemed to be the salarywoman he had met a couple times before.

Just as leaned against the shoe rack and laughed in vain, he heard another sound. The person who climbed up the stairs while coughing stood in front of a door.

Changsik slowly stood up and peeked through the peephole on the door.

Outside was his neighbor. The man, wearing a black jumper, sighed and opened the door before going inside.

Changsik let out his breath the moment the door closed and sat down on the spot. That man hadn’t disappeared; he still lived next door.

He walked over to his bed with shaky legs. He opened his phone and sent detective Lee Daecheol a message.

-That man’s still living next door. He just came back.

A few minutes ago, his hands were ice-cold, but right now, they were drenched with sweat. He walked around his room and looked at the door several times. The person that could be the culprit was right in front of him, but he was unable to do anything.

-It’s good as long as you checked that he still lives there. Don’t do anything reckless and stay still.

That was a message from Daecheol. He felt thankful for him to have sent back a message despite it being late at night. However, he couldn’t accept that he had to stay still.

He might be planning to pack up and leave. By tomorrow, he might have disappeared from this neighborhood.

He felt a rush of unease. The sound of his heartbeat deafened his ears as though it was right below his tongue.

Before he could finish wrapping up his thoughts, his hands were holding the door. He left his house and looked at the door to his neighbor’s.

There was a faint smell of cigarettes dissolved in the cool early autumn night air. It was the same cigarette smell as the one he could smell when he talked to the man.

He took three steps and stood right in front of the man’s house. His breathing turned ragged.

Should he knock? What should he say after that?

Would the man listen to him if he suddenly said that he wanted to consult him about something? He felt like the man would accept with a smile.

Perhaps he might buy a can of beer and give him life advice. The man was a kind neighbor after all.

The moment he was about to knock, he could hear his phone ringing.

He turned around to look at his own house. The light on his phone was flashing.

His mind came to complete clarity as though he saw the traffic lights turn from green to orange.

This was no time for a newbie to get swept up in emotions and speed up. He had to follow the expert’s advice.

He returned to his house and checked his phone. Daecheol had sent a series of texts: Don’t do anything reckless, Answer me.

-Okay, I’ll stay still.

Changsik sent a text. There was a need to become calm.

Whatever the case may be, his neighbor was a terrible criminal. While he couldn’t tell if he was the man who killed his sister, he was someone who killed five people.

From how he could walk outside so blatantly after having killed five people, he was definitely not normal. He must be frighteningly smart and also quick to act.

If an immature college student showed something suspicious in an attempt to probe him, the criminal would find out in no time and would disappear without a trace.

Changsik sat at the edge of his bed. It didn’t even happen and he only thought about how things would go, but he was out of energy already.

Feeling thirsty, he opened the refrigerator. What greeted him was a dark interior.

“Oh, I turned it off.”

He grabbed his wallet and left the house. He went to the convenience store in front of the house and grabbed a bottle of water.

If it was a month ago, he would’ve placed instant noodles and rice balls on the counter too. It seemed like his appetite wouldn’t return until the case was resolved. After paying for the items, he left the convenience store. He opened the water bottle and drank directly.

After he took a sip, he realized that he was quite thirsty. He jerked his head back and drank everything in one go.

The bitter taste in his mouth was rinsed away, and his thirst had subsided as well.

He let out a deep breath and turned his head around. He saw the lights in the villa turn on after detecting a presence.

Changsik froze on the spot. He made eye contact with his neighbor who came out.

There was a vivid 5 on his shoulder. His thoughts stopped for a moment.

“What are you doing at this hour?”

The man approached him with a kind smile just like always. The number and the face became clearer and clearer.

Changsik squeezed the empty plastic bottle with all his might. He could gain a little bit of clarity when the sound of plastic being crumpled hit his ears.

* * *

The empty laughter suited him well. His face was so good-looking that even after gaining weight, his coolness did not disappear.

Maru spoke to Ganghwan, who was approaching,

“I-I was just feeling a little thirsty, you see.”

He let out a voice from his throat, which had contracted due to nervousness. It was the voice he wanted.

Ganghwan approached him without hesitation. His distance was precisely the same as the distance they decided on during the rehearsal.

“Isn’t it expensive to buy water? My salary isn’t that high, so I usually go to the mineral spring in the mountains.”

“I don’t buy it often either. I had no choice because my refrigerator broke.”

“It’s broken? That must be terribly inconvenient.”

Contrary to his soft smile, Ganghwan’s eyes were sharp. Of course, that sharpness was only revealed indirectly. His eyes soon drew a soft curve.

He was like a wild beast. One that did not reveal itself easily and observed its target closely.

Those eyes suited this scene all the more. What was surprising was that there was a strong hint of improvisation.

Ganghwan was letting the atmosphere dictate his movements. He looked like he had zero intentions to hold back.

If he stayed in a daze, he would get swept up. They might have started off as a three-legged race, but after the starting line, Ganghwan would become a short-distance sprinter all by himself, with their feet still tied. If Maru could not run his hardest to keep up, he would fall down and get dragged along.

Please go easy on me — he could not say these words. Slowing down meant swallowing the energy that was supposed to burst outside.

The moment he dragged Ganghwan down from his enjoyment, the mood here would plummet.

Of course, Ganghwan should be a veteran who could keep pace with his partnering actor if need be.

However, walking at a moderate pace. That sounded terribly boring.

A wild horse would only perform at its best without a bridle. If he wanted to keep pace with that horse, he would have to do his utmost best.

“I’ll have to get it fixed soon. Also, heading out?”

He squeezed his voice at first but loosened it as time passed.

Ahn Changsik was an ordinary student, but he was also the main character of the drama. Main characters had to be extraordinary, even if it didn’t mean possessing amazing abilities.

Slowly overcoming an adversary. What induced tension and attracted the viewer’s eyes was always the same thing no matter the time.

His shriveled body also relaxed somewhat. However, he could not look too bold.

Maru could see Ganghwan enjoying himself. When everything fell into place, acting would become enjoyable.

Maru prepared to act the way they promised during the rehearsal, but he also prepared for anything unexpected that Ganghwan might do.

They were heating up. What appeared on camera might be an ordinary exchange of conversation, but Ahn Changsik’s inner mind was practically in hell as he knew the truth.

The tightening tension, the sense of unease that was revealed accordingly.

There was no way Ganghwan, no Yoon Hojung, wouldn’t be able to catch such a change when he had been hunting humans professionally.

Everything was going according to the scenario, so it was now time for instantaneous exchanges of emotions and expressions which was the realm of actors.

The script said A, but the actors did B — It had to feel not like this, but like the actors drove the situation to B.

It was when the actors inside a screen felt alive that the viewers forgot everything else and become absorbed.

The hunter approached. He controlled his breathing. Right now, he still wasn’t capable of facing him openly.

He was ignorant and weak. He would reveal what was on his mind when he was supposed to hide it.

The moment he made a slight change to his expression, Ganghwan smiled as though he had been waiting for that moment.

The viewers would realize that his smile was qualitatively different from the ones he always made.

If they weren’t acting, Maru would’ve applauded since that was splendid, nay, perfect. Ganghwan’s acting was flawless.

“I had some business to attend to.”

“Ah, okay.”

Ganghwan nodded and said goodbye, but before he left, he added a word at the end.

“Also, is your sister not coming by anymore?”

It was a voice that tore through his throat and dug deep into his lungs.

Despite knowing what was coming, listening to Ganghwan, who had perfectly become Yoon Hojung, had a power that made his emotions boil.

Maru placed his hand on his pants and looked at Ganghwan with his mouth closed.

His throat tensed. He could feel the blood vessels thickening. It was a verbal fight without words.

“I saw her once going into your room. She told me to take care of you. It must be good to have a good sister.”

“Yes, she’s a good sister.”

“Alright, see you next time.”

While turning around, Ganghwan was grinning with his teeth visible. That wasn’t in the script. However, the moment he saw that, he felt like Yoon Hojung had to do that.

He sealed his lips and looked at Ganghwan becoming distant.

Producer Cha shouted cut around the time he started having a bad stomach.

He loosened the strength in his stiff neck and let out a heavy breath. He felt like he had been holding his breath underwater.

Ganghwan, who was becoming distant, hopped over like a total kid. His face looked refreshed as though he had been to a sauna.

“That felt terrific, didn’t it?”

Maru nodded. He started becoming worried. So he had to work together with this actor who had nigh-infinite stamina? It would be quite a painful experience to accept all his emotions.

“I haven’t felt like taking a challenge in a long time,” he said to Ganghwan.

Ganghwan made a puzzled expression as though he was confused.