Chapter 12: The Ones That Haven’t Returned

March 16th

Mu-yun bundled up tightly against the distinctive chill of dawn.

Stepping out of his front door, he immediately sent a text to Tae-i.

[Are you up?]

His message was read immediately.

[Come down.]

[I’m downstairs.]

Then two messages came in succession.

Mu-yun hurried down the stairs a bit.

Still, because it was so early, he was careful with his footsteps.

As he exited the villa entrance, Tae-i, who was standing right in front, waved his hand as if to say ‘over here.’

Mu-yun waited until he was a bit closer before speaking.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Why did you bring a helmet?”

They spoke at the same time.

Mu-yun answered first.

“It’s illegal to ride a scooter without a helmet.”

He gestured with his chin toward the scooter parked in the narrow alley in front of Chowon Villa.

It was his putt-putt for walks, which he had hesitated to bring because of all the hilly roads, but eventually brought from his family home.

Looking that way, Tae-i chuckled.

“I didn’t bring a jacket because I thought we’d take the car.”

He pressed the car key in his hand, and the headlights of the car parked right behind the scooter flashed.

***

Tae-i’s fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel.

“Which way should we go first?”

“Towards the sports park.”

Mu-yun, sitting in the passenger seat with his seatbelt on, decided the direction without hesitation.

“If he ran away from the fire, I thought he’d probably be in a safe place.”

Plus, given that he avoided people, the mountains on the outskirts seemed more likely than the apartments.

“That makes sense, right?”

Tae-i readily agreed and started the car.

Streetlights twinkled like stars amidst the darkness of dawn.

Slowly exiting the empty alley and entering the road, Mu-yun leaned back deeply into the seat.

“This car, from what I remember, it was always parked.

I’m surprised the battery didn’t die.”

Tae-i laughed softly.

“I usually only use it to go grocery shopping.

And during the special fire inspection period, there’s nowhere to go far anyway.

Usually, the emergency standby isn’t lifted until after May, so until then, I’m stuck in the neighborhood.

Or maybe sometimes take Kkammi to see the ocean?”

At the mention of being on emergency standby until May, Mu-yun looked toward the driver’s seat.

“So right now is peak season for the fire station?”

“We’re swamped.”

At his playful question, Tae-i nodded seriously.

Mu-yun snorted softly and turned his head toward the window.

“It would be really nice if he showed up tonight.”

They had set out armed with an armful of treats that cats supposedly liked.

Last night before falling asleep, he had ordered homemade animal treats and food from a place that delivered at dawn, and miraculously, they were delivered just before he left the house.

He was truly grateful.

He had no intention of capturing him; he just wanted to see with his own eyes that he was safe and sound, so he only brought food.

“It’ll probably take a few days.”

Tae-i advised calmly, saying it wouldn’t happen in one go.

Mu-yun nodded instead of answering.

Even if it took a long time, he just hoped he was alive and well.

That was his only wish.

***

March 19th

“Still haven’t found him?”

Senior Patrol Officer Kim Hye-shin asked.

Mu-yun, his eyes somewhat haggard, answered that it was true.

“It’s been three days, right?”

“Yes.”

At Sergeant Lee’s question, Mu-yun counted the days and nodded again.

Even though he had tried to search quietly, after running into his seniors on patrol in remote places at late hours a few times, the search for Rambo had become a secret known to everyone.

That didn’t mean anyone stepped up to help, though.

Everyone was indifferent; only his colleagues occasionally brought him information.

Mu-yun yawned briefly.

“I’m sure he’s somewhere safe, like the basement boiler room of some apartment complex.”

Sergeant Park grumbled as he handed out coffee.

Mu-yun gave a bitter smile.

“I’ve searched those places too.”

Even though it was nearing the end of March, the weather had been cold enough that snow flurries had appeared unexpectedly until recently, so those places were also within the expected range.

Thanks to that, he had been able to return a few runaway cats back to their homes.

“While searching, I also checked if any of the reported missing animals were there… but I haven’t encountered a single one yet.”

The gazes of the sergeants watching Mu-yun exchanged glances above his head.

“What are you all doing in the pantry?

Whispering with your heads together like that.”

At the police box chief’s sharp scolding from behind, everyone cleared their throats and quickly scurried back to their seats.

Lieutenant Jo saw Mu-yun, the last one out of the pantry.

“It’s your freedom to do whatever you want outside of work hours.

But distinguish between what you have to do and what you can do.

You’re still a probationary officer.”

At the police box chief’s low voice—his white hair had increased a bit recently—Mu-yun pressed his lips tightly shut.

“Did you finish today’s work?”

“Yes.”

He answered promptly, nonetheless.

“It’s time for patrol.

Go ahead.”

“Understood.”

It was time for the morning patrol, a large loop around the jurisdiction, so everyone busily got up.

“We’ll be back.”

The people who had been quiet poured out like a flood through the side door leading to the parking lot instead of the front.

A short click of the tongue was heard.

“Oh, it’s me…”

Mu-yun turned his head, saw the police box chief starting a call with someone, and let out a held breath.

He had been roaming around at dawn and ran into the Team 3 seniors, then nodded off during the morning shift meeting.

Even if he got scolded, he had no excuse.

It had really been just a moment, but that was from his perspective.

He rubbed his cheeks vigorously with both hands and got into the patrol car.

***

[Took Kkammi for a walk, checking around the Sea View Apartment area.]

[Thanks.

Let me know if you want anything to eat tonight!

For Kkammi too!

I’ll buy.]

[Kkammi ate too many sweet potatoes in winter and got scolded by the vet.

No treats for a while.]

[Then I’ll buy you some jelly, Captain Won.]

[So I pick them out and Officer So pays?]

[Jelly within 10,000 won.]

[The newest one is 2,000 won per pack, so that’s five packs.

By the way, did you eat lunch, Officer So?]

[Yeah.

Just ate and writing reports.

But you’d buy five packs of jelly?]

[You said you’d buy it, didn’t you?]

[I’m just saying it seems like the doctor might have to ban you from jelly too.]

Exchanging trivial chatter via text with Tae-i, who was out for a walk during his day off, Mu-yun was wrestling with his reports when he heard the wind chime hanging on the door.

Mu-yun, who had his head buried on the desk, perked up his back like a meerkat.

An adult woman was walking into the police box with hesitant steps.

“Hello.”

Her voice was so small it was barely audible, but everyone quickly welcomed her.

“Hello.

How can we help you?”

Senior Patrol Officer Kim Hye-shin, despite her blunt tone, stepped forward first armed with a smile of civil-service kindness.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Lee, who always looked like he was smiling, went out with a cup of cold water.

“Well, you see…”

Whether it was something difficult to bring up or something that made her emotional just thinking about it, the woman couldn’t continue easily.

“Please have a seat over here for now.”

Senior Patrol Officer Kim pointed to a table and chairs on one side.

“You can take your time.”

Sergeant Lee chimed in from the side in his characteristic gentle tone, as if there was no hurry.

“Thank you.”

She drank the offered water all at once, and only then, seeming somewhat calmer, did the woman crumple the cup, swallow, and open her mouth.

“Our dog… ran away from home… so… this morning.”

Sergeant Park, who had been on edge wondering what was going on, quietly let out a deflated sigh and buried his head back on the desk.

“I didn’t even know he was gone.

I saw the balcony door was open, and I heard a sound from the yard, so I thought he was there and kept cleaning.”

She said she finished cleaning and called the dog, but he didn’t come.

Only then did she frantically start searching, but even after scouring the neighborhood, he didn’t show up.

“Is your pet registered?”

Even if it was registered, it wasn’t like the police could track it.

It was just the minimum measure to find the owner a little faster if the runaway animal ended up at a shelter.

The woman rubbed her reddened nose and nodded.

“Yes.

And just in case, I attached a small animal GPS to his leash.”

Having said that much, the woman let out a long sigh.

“I thought of it late and tried to go look for him.

But it’s deep inside the mountain behind the apartments with no roads, and when I went up, there was something like a barbed wire fence.

There was also a sign saying not to enter because it’s private property.

I didn’t have a phone number to contact anyone, either.”

If it was a request to find a runaway pet, it wouldn’t be accepted, and they would have refused from the start, but in this case, they could help.

Sergeant Lee narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.

“Could you check the location?”

“Huh?

Yes.

Here.”

The woman urgently pulled her phone out of her pocket.

“It’s been showing this same spot for an hour.

He’s probably still there.”

When she opened the app, numerous paw prints were visible on the familiar map of Seoheung 3-dong.

The last recorded time and location also appeared immediately.

“We’ll look into it.”

Senior Patrol Officer Kim immediately went back to her desk to find the owner of the private property.

Often, the owner of the mountain didn’t live nearby, or there was no contact information, so she had to check carefully.

Sergeant Park lightly tapped on Mu-yun’s desk.

At the glance telling him to get ready, Mu-yun quickly finished the report he was writing and stood up.

He thought perhaps Sergeant Lee and Senior Patrol Officer Kim from Squad 1 might go out, but it seemed they were the ones going.

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