Chapter 19: Traces Left Behind

Bzzz—

How many hours had he been sitting motionlessly with Choi Jeong’s suicide note placed in front of him?

Taeseo snapped out of his daze at the sudden vibration.

It vibrated twice with short buzzes.

Since he had muted notifications for all group chats, it was bound to be a text message.

[6:40 PM]

Looking at the time, he realized it was already evening.

His physical condition had deteriorated even further.

Taeseo wiped his tired face with dry hands and checked the message.

Yoon Junho: [Young Master, you have a health checkup scheduled for tomorrow, so you must fast starting this evening. Will you be attending school?]

It was the first time in his life that Taeseo felt the need for a health checkup, but his body was currently in no state to receive one.

He immediately called Yoon Junho.

As if he hadn’t expected a call, Junho answered the phone in great fluster.

—Yes, Young Master.

“The CCTV….”

His voice came out raspy.

Taeseo cleared his severely raspy throat and spoke again.

“What happened to the CCTV footage?”

—If you are referring to Choi Jeong’s movement routes on the CCTV, we are still compiling them.

“The agency is slacking off. It shouldn’t take this long.”

Taeseo was certain of it.

Choi Jeong went to die after making a plan.

He wouldn’t have wandered around here and there; he would have walked straight toward his destination along a single path.

“Give them whatever amount of money they ask for, and tell them to send all the CCTV footage containing Choi Jeong’s image by tomorrow.”

—Yes, understood.

“How far has the police search progressed?”

—That is… I apologize. I haven’t been able to look into it yet.

“Send the CCTV footage to the detective in charge, too.”

—Um, if it becomes known that an individual collected the CCTV footage….

“Is that a problem? You can just give them money.”

—…Yes.

“What about the call logs?”

—I will… give them to you by tomorrow.

“You receive a higher salary than other secretaries because you clean up after me. Do your job properly.”

—Yes, I am sorry.

Despite failing to fulfill even a single instruction given by Taeseo, Yoon Junho answered in a very surprised voice when Taeseo refrained from swearing at him.

Having finished his business, Taeseo was about to hang up the phone, but Junho spoke hastily.

—You have a health checkup scheduled for tomorrow morning, so you must not eat. Will you be going to school after the checkup is over?

“I can’t get a health checkup. My body isn’t feeling well.”

—You are not feeling well?

“I think I caught a cold.”

—Did you take any medicine?

“Don’t tell Mom and Dad.”

—…….

Yoon Junho’s silence was as good as saying he would report it to his parents right away.

Taeseo hung up without pressing for an answer.

Telling Yoon Junho naturally meant the story would reach his family, but because his mind was hazy, he had spoken without thinking.

‘I’ll get a call soon.’

Just as Taeseo expected, a call came from his father in less than five minutes.

—Taeseo-ya, I heard. They said you caught a cold. Did you take medicine?

“No. There is no medicine at home.”

—Why does your voice sound so weak? Should Dad come over now?

It was embarrassing to be worried over at this age just for catching a cold.

If his friends found out, it would serve as drinking banter for the next 50 years.

“You don’t need to come all the way….”

He had to say that there was no need for him to come all the way.

<It’s T_T alone. and living lonely miserable sick so when while you’re>

Choi Jeong’s post suddenly crossed his mind, preventing him from finishing his sentence.

—Oh dear, Taeseo-ya. Dad will buy medicine and bring it over. You probably couldn’t eat dinner, right? I’ll buy some porridge too.

—Honey, are you going? Taeseo isn’t the type of kid to tell you to come.

—I don’t know. He seems to be very sick. Do you want to come along too?

As Taeseo remained silent, his parents conversed worriedly on the other end of the line.

His father hung up, saying he would arrive in 20 minutes.

Holding the cell phone in his hand, Taeseo thought blankly.

How nice would it have been if Choi Jeong also had parents who would rush over at a single word of him being sick?

No, even if it weren’t parents.

Even a sibling.

Even a friend.

Or even an anonymous member of an internet forum whose face he had never seen.

If there had been even a single person, Choi Jeong’s life would have changed significantly.

Taeseo was in pain.

He couldn’t tell whether it was his body that hurt, or his heart.

Seeing their youngest son burning with a fever, Taeseo’s parents were horrified and had him admitted to the hospital.

For others, it would have been a simple cold resolved with medicine, but because Taeseo had never been sick since he was very young, they were even more alarmed.

Only after urgently summoning the hospital director on a Sunday to examine Taeseo were Park Cheonsa and Lee Minji able to breathe a sigh of relief.

After the two returned home reassured, his elder brother and sister rushed over, tearfully caring for him as if Taeseo were suffering from a severe illness.

Lying down with a sullen expression, Taeseo kept thinking about Choi Jeong.

Thinking of Choi Jeong, who had longed for a family so desperately, he didn’t entirely dislike all this fuss.

Instead of disliking it, he felt an unknown sense of embarrassment… and a feeling of apology.

The next day, waking up after a sound sleep, Taeseo felt his body significantly refreshed.

He had no fever, and his head was clear.

However, his chest still felt heavy, as if pressed down by a massive boulder.

<I Drinking I It’s T_T a at bit blood cold dawn. first hard have low me pressure. so think though to up wake wakes water>

Feeling thirsty, Taeseo looked around his surroundings.

It was a VIP room equipped with a leather sofa, a marble table, a wall-mounted TV, as well as kitchen facilities and a coffee machine.

Taeseo stepped down from the bed and put on slippers.

A rug was laid out on the floor.

<I I I’m a ahjussi at but carpet, expensive; floor hate insanely it it’s know? laying leave looking of paperhanger should so thinking this to wallpaper yellowish>

The refrigerator was packed full of mineral water, beverages his family had bought yesterday, and fruits.

He pulled out a bottle of water, gulped it down, and brewed some coffee.

Although it was his first time being hospitalized, he at least knew that not all hospital rooms were like this.

The fragrant aroma of coffee spread throughout the spacious VIP room.

“Sigh.”

Taeseo pressed his forehead.

With every single step he took… Choi Jeong’s posts came to mind.

Just like walking while holding a full cup of water, Choi Jeong’s sentences overflowed.

Taeseo held his coffee and sat on the sofa.

When he wrote in his family group chat—which was filled with worry for the youngest of the family—that he had just woken up and his body was fine, various emoticons popped up.

A short while later, the family’s primary physician came in and diagnosed him with a full recovery.

Since he was scheduled to get a health checkup here tomorrow anyway, he decided not to be discharged immediately.

His worried family members even went as far as telling him to rest without going to school this week.

He wanted to smoke a cigarette, but since he didn’t have one right away, he leaned against the sink instead and chugged the coffee like water.

Skimming through unread notifications, he saw a message that had arrived from Yoon Junho this morning.

Yoon Junho: [This is the compilation of the CCTV footage. I have also forwarded it to the detective in charge. I will send the call logs in the afternoon. I heard you caught a cold, so I hope you recover quickly.]

The reason his heart was pounding fiercely wasn’t just because of the caffeine he had chugged down.

The file size of the attachment was quite large, though not to the point that his phone couldn’t receive it.

However, wanting to view it on a larger screen, Taeseo looked for his laptop.

“Ah, shit.”

He uttered a curse word for the first time today.

It was because he realized he hadn’t brought his laptop in the rush yesterday.

He entered the group chat with his friends.

Minseok: [Is Taeseo doing a self-granted class skip today?]

Lee Sora: [He’s probably sleeping in late because he was busy fanboying kekeke]

Park Kangjin: [Tsk tsk, what a total shut-in]

Me: [Bring my laptop from my place and come to Seoul Goseong Hospital]

Minseok: [It’s Taeseo]

Minseok: [Why the hospital?]

Me: [I’ve been hospitalized]

Bzzzz—

A video call came in immediately.

His friends were worried at first, but as Taeseo sullenly reported the fuss his family threw last night, they soon burst out laughing.

Minseok and Kangjin said they would skip their afternoon lecture, but Lee Sora, who absolutely had to attend the lecture, grabbed them by the collar and threatened them to attend together.

In the end, they decided to come over in the evening to eat dinner together.

Me: [Bring my laptop. Right now.]

Taeseo ran the errand through Yoon Junho instead.

A reply stating that he understood arrived immediately.

He drank all of the remaining coffee.

Taeseo’s fingers lingered over his phone screen.

The file contained Choi Jeong’s last movement path.

He would be seeing him alive and moving.

The video thumbnail was dark, making it impossible to discern what the situation was.

Taeseo suddenly noticed the sunlight shining down over the back of his hand and his phone screen.

He raised his head.

He thought the view outside the window was exceptionally nice.

There wasn’t a single cloud in the blue sky, and the trees in the garden fluttered their green leaves in the gentle breeze.

On a May spring day, in the pleasant afternoon weather, people in hospital patient gowns and others—unclear whether they were family or friends—gathered in groups of two and three, enjoying the pleasant spring.

It was excessively nice weather.

As Taeseo recalled, April 20th had been just like this as well.

Full-blown spring weather, a day when white and red flower petals scattered everywhere, and the wind pleasantly rustled through one’s hair as it passed by.

<The How all annoying……. be days. happens just nice of so to today weather>

“……How annoying.”

Taeseo pulled down the blinds.

Even as the hospital room dimmed, the uncomfortable beating in his chest did not settle down.

In the end, Taeseo did not open the video inside his phone.

He simply sat alone inside the dark hospital room and waited for Yoon Junho.

The secretary arrived in less than 30 minutes, carrying a laptop along with various foods he had packed.

“The housekeepers gave them to me. They said hospital meals wouldn’t suit your appetite. They asked me to make sure to bring them because they made them deliciously using items you’ve been looking for often lately.”

Yoon Junho said as he put several side dish containers into the refrigerator.

Only then did Taeseo realize the fact that he hadn’t eaten a single meal since waking up today.

“Do you plan on not going to school this week?”

“I don’t know. I’ll do whatever I want then. Did you tell my Mom and Dad everything about Choi Jeong?”

“Yes…. Since I had to borrow the family’s help, I had to report it to them first….”

Yoon Junho answered while reading his expression, looking frightened.

However, he didn’t need to be scared at all.

It was because Taeseo wasn’t angry in the slightest.