Chapter 17: Was That Him?

“From 9:30, we have DUI checkpoints.

Let’s head back before that.”

“Yes.”

Waiting for the remaining time, Mu-yun headed out to Geumjincheon Intersection again.

Fortunately, perhaps because the patrol car’s flashing lights were spinning on one side of the road, there were no reckless drivers attempting to violate traffic laws.

Rubbing his fingertips that had been gripping the traffic baton tightly, for fear it might slip, he looked up.

Just as he was watching the crosswalk where the signal changed around the intersection, a car’s headlights flashed across his field of vision.

The moment he turned his head again with narrowed eyes, the tail of a dark gray, black-striped cat—the one he had desperately wanted to see—swished gently.

“Huh?”

Following Mu-yun’s involuntary exclamation, Sergeant Park quickly turned his head.

His eyes also widened.

“Rambo?”

He hadn’t seen the face, but it was a cat of similar size with black stripes.

They said there were almost no cats with such mottled patterns on their legs and paws around here.

“That was Rambo just now, right?”

Sergeant Park asked back, but Mu-yun wasn’t sure either.

“I don’t know.

But they said a cat with its entire hind legs black like that is rare around here.”

The cat had come from the direction of Seoheung Elementary School in Seoheung 2-dong and quickly ran back that way, disappearing from sight.

Mu-yun noted the direction.

Sergeant Park let out a deep sigh and lightly slapped Mu-yun’s shoulder.

“See?

I told you he’d be hiding somewhere safe like an apartment complex.”

His fierce eyebrows twitched as if to say, ‘See?

I was right.’

“Yes…

That’s a relief.”

If what they had just seen was really Rambo, it was truly something to be thankful for.

Sergeant Park, seemingly unsatisfied with Mu-yun’s hesitant answer, let out a sigh mixed with a snort.

“I’m telling you I’m right.

That incinerator case—it’s definitely illegal cremation of animals that died from disease after being bred to sell puppies at some illegal breeding facility or something.”

Sergeant Park, who had insisted on the illegal breeding farm theory rather than animal abuse, puffed up his shoulders triumphantly.

“Sergeant Song might have been in the violent crimes unit back in the day, but even he’s lost his edge now.”

Sergeant Park brought up Sergeant Song, who had advised them to watch out because it could be something more dangerous than illegal cremation, then shook his head.

“Let’s wrap this up quickly.

They’re starting to come out bumper-to-bumper again.

Why are they coming out when there’s a perfectly good traffic light?”

As Sergeant Park ran off, swinging his arms rapidly, Mu-yun followed.

He turned his head and looked back at the spot where the cat had been just moments ago.

“So Mu-yun, aren’t you coming?!”

“Yes!

Coming!”

***

March 29th

“Woof!”

Kkammi, who had come to the fire station with Tae-i, wagged his tail.

Mu-yun smiled brightly at the handsome, sleek, black dog.

“Hey.”

Perhaps because it was the employee parking lot behind the fire station, it wasn’t as busy as the front.

Mu-yun relaxed and sat down right in front of Kkammi.

“Leaving work just an hour after coming in….

Our Kkammi takes half a day off too.

Very smart.”

He reached out his hand to Kkammi, who greeted him enthusiastically as if they had met several times before.

A wet nose tickled the back of his hand.

After letting him sniff enough, he took out his phone from his pocket.

“I should call your master now.

He asked me to call as soon as I arrived, but I forgot.”

“Isn’t that a bit too quick to remember?”

Startled, Mu-yun quickly raised his head toward the sound.

Tae-i, leaning out from a stairwell window, waved his hand.

“What are you doing down there?”

Mu-yun asked with wide eyes.

“Coming down after finishing the meeting.”

“Hello, Officer So.”

Mu-yun saw Firefighter Kang Byeong-jo sticking his head out next to Tae-i at the window, jumped up, and bowed.

“Woof!”

Before he could even greet them, Kkammi barked.

Mu-yun straightened up, nodded his head, then bent down again and sat in front of Kkammi.

“Sorry.

Surprised, didn’t you?”

Whether he had come down while Mu-yun was apologizing, Tae-i appeared in the parking lot with Firefighter Kang.

Kkammi wagged his tail vigorously again, happy to see Tae-i.

“Were you playing nicely?”

As Tae-i spoke to Kkammi, Mu-yun stood up more slowly than before and greeted Firefighter Kang, who was said to be two years older than him, again.

“Hello.”

“Yes.

Hello.”

Firefighter Kang answered with a gentle eye-smile.

“By the way, speak comfortably.”

Before Mu-yun could respond to Firefighter Kang’s words that he didn’t need to bow so deeply after meeting several times, a low voice interjected.

“Byeong-jo hyung, he’s shy.”

Mu-yun tilted his head as he saw Tae-i’s finger pointing at him.

“I am?”

“Yeah.

Aren’t you?”

“You’re the one who’s shy, surely.”

Recalling their first meeting, Mu-yun asked back as if to say ‘what are you talking about?’

“Officer So.

Won Tae-i just has a rude face.”

Firefighter Kang, calmly criticizing Tae-i, saying he wasn’t shy, his personality just showed on his face, laughed.

Then Tae-i smiled very brightly.

“I can spit in your smiling face, you know.”

Mu-yun snorted and looked at Kkammi.

“Say hello to your master quickly.

Let’s go home.

We’ll get you some water and let you sleep.”

“Are you looking after Kkammi for him, Officer So?”

“For the time being, yes.”

Firefighter Kang looked at Tae-i.

Tae-i shrugged and looked up at the sky.

“The weather is bad.

They said it might rain tomorrow morning, but it looks like it might start today.

I don’t want him to catch a cold, so I’m sending him home early.”

Even though it wasn’t even 10 AM, the sky was as dark as evening.

Tae-i, who had a full shift until 9 AM tomorrow, ultimately asked Mu-yun, who finished his night shift and got off at 9 AM, for help.

Tae-i reached out, rubbed Kkammi’s face, and greeted him.

“Hyung will work hard to earn your keep.

Play nicely with the police officer.”

As he stroked him with his large hand, Kkammi rubbed his face against it, as if happy.

“Kkammi’s personality has really improved.”

Firefighter Kang muttered enviously.

“When we first rescued this guy, he really hated people.”

“He was scared.”

Tae-i retorted immediately.

Then he unclipped the leash attached to Kkammi’s harness and held it out to Mu-yun.

“I’ll come by as soon as I get off work.”

Mu-yun nodded.

Then he gave Firefighter Kang a nod of farewell.

“Senior Captain Kang, I’ll see you later.”

“Officer So, your eyes look hollow.

Go home and rest.”

“Yes.”

Mu-yun burst out laughing and said he would.

Tae-i laughed along with him.

“We’re going in.

Go carefully.”

Even though his house was practically in the back alley of the fire station, Tae-i waved as if seeing him off a long way.

Mu-yun held Kkammi’s leash and gestured with his eyes as if to say ‘say goodbye.’

When he saw Kkammi’s tail wag, Tae-i rubbed his forehead again, then turned and went inside with Firefighter Kang.

“Should we get going too?”

Mu-yun spoke to Kkammi and slowly pulled the leash.

Kkammi naturally came to his side and looked up at him.

Mu-yun met his gaze, smiled, and leisurely walked out of the parking lot.

As soon as he left the fire station and entered the alley just a few meters away, Chowon Villa came into view.

When they went up the stairs and entered Unit 305 instead of 303, Kkammi looked a bit bewildered, but perhaps because he had come to play with Tae-i before, he familiarly settled down on the carpet in front of the sofa.

“Wait a moment.

I’ll get you water.”

Having no separate dog bowl at home, Mu-yun took out a bowl he had used before and put aside, rinsed it with bottled water, and filled it with an appropriate amount.

He placed it where Kkammi could drink easily, and Kkammi immediately approached and lapped up the water noisily.

Watching that, Mu-yun lay down on the carpet just like Kkammi.

His eyes felt achingly strained.

He yawned deeply and reached out toward Kkammi, who came to his side.

The night-sky-colored creature came close, curled up beside him, and settled down.

“Pretty one.”

He smiled as he looked into Kkammi’s eyes, as black as his fur.

Facing the creature who listened silently, he remembered Bap-al lying in the ashes.

“I wish they’d catch him soon.”

If he had a bit more experience, he might have found a clue to catch the culprit, but he had no idea at all.

His head became complicated again.

If Rambo was alive as Sergeant Park said, then the cat in that pit wasn’t the one he knew, but that didn’t mean the culprit who had brutally killed Bap-al wasn’t the same person.

Anyway, the culprit was still stirring up this quiet neighborhood, committing horrific acts.

And doing it for his own pleasure—that made Mu-yun angry.

If he got his hands on him—

“Ugh―!”

Mu-yun winced again at the long, drawn-out tinnitus ringing in his ears.

Beeeeep―!

He waited a moment for the tinnitus that came with the headache to end, and it soon disappeared.

Kkammi, hearing his groan, sat up and opened his eyes wide.

“No.

It’s nothing.

Hyung does this sometimes.”

Mu-yun tried to remember when the tinnitus had started, if it had happened in the past, but soon another splitting headache hit, and he stopped thinking.

He took out some emergency headache medicine, then got a blanket, gave one to Kkammi, and covered himself with the other.

Strangely, he couldn’t clearly remember what he had done before coming to work at the police box.

As if floating up and then falling, Mu-yun lost consciousness again.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Enemies on a Single-Log Bridge

AcademyBattleBL

Read Now →
Not interested