Chapter 21: Not Rambo

Mu-yun scrutinized the abandoned motel, which showed no signs of human entry, then approached the entrance to check if it was locked again.

Just like when he had gone inside about three weeks ago after discovering the broken window, there were no footprints on the thickly piled dust.

There were no newly scratched hand marks on the door either.

He pushed on the glass door, but the lock at the top was engaged, and it only rattled.

“Where did he disappear to?”

Pushing aside the fact that his body was shivering from his rain-soaked, cooling body temperature, Mu-yun checked the area around the abandoned motel and the back alley again, but the culprit was nowhere to be seen, as if he had evaporated.

Should he go door to door and ring every bell to check?

Unsure of what to do, he kept trying to recall what he had learned, but the tinnitus rang in his ears again.

Beee―ep!

The persistent sound clinging to his ears made Mu-yun raise his hand to cover them.

It wasn’t coming through his ears; it felt like someone was scraping an iron plate with an awl inside his head.

The ground shook in an instant.

Mu-yun leaned against the wall and stood.

After several bouts of tinnitus finally stopped, he lifted his head.

The rain, which had subsided a bit, began to pour heavily again.

His underwear was already completely soaked, but Mu-yun peeled the shirt clinging to his upper body, wrung out the water, and tried to move again.

Just then, a vibration came from his pocket.

He took out his phone.

The name ‘Jelly Ghost’ was visible.

It was Tae-i’s number, which had settled after being ‘Jerk’ and ‘Firefighter Won Tae-i’.

As soon as he answered, he heard a heavy breath.

[What happened?]

Mu-yun let out a short, sharp sigh.

“I lost him.”

[Where are you now?]

He turned his head and looked at the telephone pole at the far end.

“Coming down to Geumjin-ro, in the back alley of the academy district on Seoheung 14th Street.

I’m heading up toward Hongdu Elementary School now.”

[Get out to the road.]

Mu-yun answered that he understood.

Tae-i’s voice was too low, making him feel uneasy.

Even as he left the alley, he stopped several times, just in case, but each time the tinnitus made him stagger.

Coming out to the road with a pale, drenched face, passersby threw glances his way as if he were some tragic hero.

He had a raincoat in his hand, but it wasn’t usable.

As he stood there for a moment, a car soon turned on its hazard lights and stopped smoothly in front of him.

Mu-yun tapped on the passenger window.

The window rolled down.

“I’m all wet…”

Worried about damaging the seat, he asked cautiously.

Tae-i turned around, took a large towel from the back seat, and laid it down.

“Get in quickly.”

Lifting his sneakers, which squelched and spat out water as if stepping in puddles every time he took a step, Mu-yun collapsed into the passenger seat as if sinking into it.

“Sorry.

I’ll clean the inside for you next time you get it washed.”

“Never mind that.

This guy is more urgent right now.”

“This guy?”

Mu-yun turned his head to look at the back seat and flinched.

His eyes widened.

“You haven’t been to the hospital yet?”

“I was doing first aid until just now.

I just came down.

I barely managed to keep him breathing.”

Tae-i answered, muttering as if to say he hadn’t done much for first aid, and immediately started the car again.

Mu-yun hurriedly put on his seatbelt.

His head kept turning back.

“The only place that can do surgery is a veterinary hospital around here, off Donghaean-ro.”

Tae-i trailed off and let out a long sigh.

His fingers on the steering wheel looked anxious as he entered the alleyway toward their houses, then turned again to head out onto the main road.

Mu-yun looked back at the cat collapsed on the back seat.

It had the same fur color and mackerel pattern as Rambo, but something was different.

Mu-yun’s face hardened.

“That guy.

He’s not Rambo, is he?”

“Yeah.

His chin is white.

Rambo’s entire body is dark fur.”

Tae-i pointed out the difference in a low voice.

“…So it is.”

As if he had spilled milk while drinking, the cat had white patches on its lower jaw and upper chest.

Still, its hindquarters and tail had dark stripes like Rambo’s.

Continuously checking on the cat’s labored breathing, Tae-i parked the car in the veterinary hospital parking lot.

Mu-yun followed Tae-i, who hurried out, opened the door, and stepped out.

Worried the cat might move, Tae-i carefully lifted it, still on the rigid board with a towel underneath and a blanket over it.

Mu-yun grabbed one end as if moving an injured person.

Braving the relentless rain, the two hurried inside the veterinary hospital.

There was a separate entrance for cats, but they had no time to go in that way and check in.

Tae-i pressed the automatic door button on the glass door with his elbow and pushed his way inside.

“Here!”

“The cat goes the other way― Oh!”

The veterinary technician inside the counter ran out and checked the cat’s condition.

Reaching out and pressing the call button nearby, the technician gestured for them to go inside.

“Doctor.”

Mu-yun matched his steps with Tae-i’s and entered the examination room.

The movement of the chest, rising slightly under the blanket, had become smaller than before.

The cat wasn’t even crying anymore.

“Over here.”

They placed the cat on the table and let go.

The veterinarian lifted the blanket, visually confirmed the wound, palpated it with his fingers, then lifted his head.

Even if he couldn’t voice his anger, curses were plastered all over his face and in his eyes.

“The chest bones are completely shattered.”

It looked like he wanted to report it immediately, but forcing himself to remain calm, his voice conveyed the urgency of the situation.

Mu-yun exhaled shortly and opened his mouth.

“I’m Patrol Officer So Mu-yun from Seoheung Police Box.

And this is―”

“Firefighter Won Tae-i from Seoheung 119 Safety Center.”

Mu-yun met the veterinarian’s eyes as Tae-i stated his affiliation, and swallowed.

“This guy… was just rescued.”

Not knowing if ‘rescued’ was even the right word, Mu-yun felt a lump in his throat.

“His breathing has been bad since right after the injury.

His skin temperature was lower than my hand.

I checked his pulse at the aorta; it was about 65 beats per 15 seconds.

I tried pulling his skin to see the recovery time, which is a sign of danger if slow, but it was the same.

I knew there were fractures, but I gave artificial respiration and chest compressions.

The fracture was close to his lower abdomen, so I pressed a bit higher up.

Was that the problem?”

As Tae-i precisely pointed to the area he had pressed, the veterinarian shook his head.

“No.

You did a really good job with the first aid.

Still, to see the full extent of his condition, I’ll need to take X-rays… But there’s something you need to know before I do.”

The veterinarian looked at the two of them, then at the cat, then raised his gaze again.

“Treatment costs money.

A significant amount, since it’s not covered by insurance.

You’ll need to sign a consent form.”

Mu-yun hesitated for a moment, but then nodded.

“There’s also a chance that treatment might not be possible because his condition is so critical.”

The veterinarian’s voice was flat, asking how much they were willing to do for a stray cat that could stop breathing at any moment, and it seemed very cold.

But unlike his tone, his eyes were shaken.

Even as he spoke, he was nodding toward the X-ray room to the technician beside him.

“Please do your best, as much as you can.”

Tae-i said in a low voice and bowed his head as if asking.

Mu-yun also bowed his head and asked.

He wasn’t rolling in money, but at least he wasn’t so hard up that he could do nothing but watch a small, dying life slip away before his eyes.

“Nurse Lee.”

“Yes.

I’ll prepare it right away.”

The cat, who resembled Rambo but whose name they didn’t know, was picked up by the veterinarian and moved very carefully.

“Please wait outside for a moment.”

The technician approached and guided them from the examination room to the waiting room.

It was his first time at a veterinary hospital.

Mu-yun looked around, then hesitated whether to sit on the long chair, and just stood in an awkward posture.

Tae-i, who was as drenched as Mu-yun, swept back his wet hair and frowned.

Though it was spring, the weather was still cold, and the rainwater was chilling.

“I’ll get the blanket from the car.”
“What?

No, it’s fine.”

Clasping his trembling fingertips from the dropping body temperature, Mu-yun shook his head.

“The heater is on too, so I’ll be fine in a bit.”

Even if he smelled like half-dried laundry.

Tae-i soon nodded and let out a long breath.

“Will he be okay?”

Mu-yun looked at the tightly closed treatment room and spoke involuntarily.

“I don’t know.”

Tae-i answered, looking at his own palm.

The condition had been too bad for him to even use his hands.

“It looked like he was kicked so hard his bones broke.”

At the words conveyed in a low voice, Mu-yun’s expression hardened.

“His shoes were hard, the kind that go up over the ankle.

Like basketball shoes.”

He hadn’t seen the face clearly; he had only seen the back of his head and his clothing.

He was about Mu-yun’s height, and definitely male.

Tae-i threw a glance toward Mu-yun.

“What are you going to do?”

Just because he lost the culprit didn’t mean it was over.

“I’ll find him again and catch him.”

Mu-yun rubbed his face with his palm.

“A male in his late teens to early twenties.

Black baseball cap, navy t-shirt, black pants, and black, hard-material sneakers.”

If they searched the CCTVs from the public parking lot to the last place he was seen, they would surely get at least one image of his face.

“I’ll go to the station, file a report, and ask them to pass it on to the detective team.”

Since he couldn’t arrest him at the scene, it was now out of his hands and became the detectives’ job.

Several more animal carcasses had been found over the past few days, so this time they might act a bit faster than before.

“…I should have caught him back then.”

Mu-yun hit his thigh with his fist.

He should have lunged the moment he touched him.

The problem was that hesitation, holding back because the road was right there.

“I shouldn’t have let him go.”

The bitter taste of regret lingered in his mouth.

“We’ll catch him.”

Tae-i patted his shoulder as if to comfort him.

“We have to catch him.”

Mu-yun pressed his lips together and nodded.

The bastard would probably lie low for a while, but there was no telling when he would start again.

He waited with Tae-i for the veterinarian to call them back.

“You two.

Please come in.”

The veterinary technician, her face pale, gestured.

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