Chapter 16
‘Wait, he’s actually kind of cute in person?’
Since the original novel was told from Dan Seo-hyuk’s point of view, there weren’t many descriptions of appearances — so I hadn’t realized it before.
His skin was pale, and his cheeks still had that soft baby fat that made them look round and full. He could easily pass for a middle schooler rather than a high schooler.
In the novel, Seo-hyuk had only ever described him as “overly dramatic,” “annoying,” or “the kid whose head I can only see from above,” so I hadn’t expected him to be cute at all.
Beneath those round glasses were large eyes with lashes longer than most girls his age.
Because he was so shy and usually let his bangs cover his eyes, maybe that’s why no one else noticed.
It was kind of a refreshing shock.
‘He even kind of looks like that idol Cha Song-yi liked, doesn’t he?’
If he just took off the glasses and cleaned up a bit, he could totally pass as the maknae of some idol group.
And yet the original Seo-hyuk treated someone like this so poorly… well, judging people by their looks would be wrong in itself, but still.
“Uh, excuse me… do you need something from me?”
“Oh.”
I must’ve stared too long because he looked startled — like a small animal — eyes wide and trembling. Which just made him even cuter. Reminds me of how Cho-hae looked when she was younger.
“I just wanted to ask you something. Do you have a moment?”
“…I don’t know you.”
“I’m Ma Cho-yeon.”
“I… didn’t ask for your name, though…”
So is that a yes or a no?
I waited silently, not wanting to rush him — he looked like the type who’d bolt if I pushed too hard. After a moment, Tak Yeon-ho flinched and stood up quickly, as if to say I’ll go.
I smiled in satisfaction.
“Why are you threatening him?”
Seo-hyuk muttered that when we reached the back door together.
Threatening?!
“I asked politely!”
“From the look of it, anyone would think you were about to eat him.”
“Eat him? What kind of person do you think I am!”
“Still looks that way to me. Like a predator eyeing its prey.”
This jerk.
I gave a sharp, disbelieving snort and glared at him — but then Yeon-ho, who was following behind, mumbled softly:
“…I’m not that small.”
Now that he was standing up, I could see it — he was a bit hunched, but if he straightened up, he might actually be my height or a little taller.
Still, he was on the small side for a guy, so I didn’t bother arguing.
Seo-hyuk asked me, “He’s the expert, right?”
“Yeah. I heard he’s known as an occult maniac.”
“M–me? I never told anyone that at school. How do you know that?”
Yeon-ho’s eyes went round as he trembled slightly.
“Don’t worry, it’s only rumored to me.”
Both of them gave me identical what the hell looks. Fair — even I knew how stupid that sounded.
I awkwardly cleared my throat and continued,
“Kidding. I just happened to see you once reading an encyclopedia of ghost stories with the cover swapped out.”
“Gasp!”
That was something mentioned offhand in the novel — Yeon-ho’s secret hobby that Seo-hyuk had once noticed.
“I figured you must’ve wanted to keep it hidden if you were reading it like that.”
Truth be told, I hadn’t even known what Yeon-ho’s face looked like before today.
His expression drained of color in real time. Guess he believed me. Maybe I really did have a knack for bluffing.
“Y–yeah, thanks for telling me. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Yeah… and thanks for falling for my lie, kid.
‘I feel kinda bad tricking such an innocent person.’
Especially since he was supposed to become an ally later in the story — I’d just roped him in early because I needed him.
‘Oh well. It’s not like he can read my thoughts.’
I decided not to overthink it.
Yeon-ho, still eyeing my shifting expressions curiously, finally asked,
“So what did you want to ask me about? Ghosts? Aliens? Supernatural phenomena? What exactly?”
His voice started soft and slow, but by the end he was speaking so fast he was out of breath — his eyes practically sparkling with excitement.
“Ah, do you know much about urban legends?”
“I’d say I know a little!“
That “little” came out way too confidently.
Even Seo-hyuk looked surprised at the sudden assertiveness.
“I wanted to ask about the human trafficking rumors.”
“Oh, because of the recent Eden-dong disappearances?”
“Yeah. My little brother went missing, and the police haven’t found him.”
I almost glanced at Seo-hyuk — but Yeon-ho’s sharp, searching gaze made me stop.
‘He doesn’t know Seo-hyuk’s parents were the first Eden-dong victims, huh?’
“Ah, sorry. That must be really hard…” Yeon-ho said sympathetically, though I could see a spark of curiosity in his eyes.
I frowned slightly — subtly enough not to show offense. No point getting defensive when I was the one asking for help.
“I just thought knowing the stories might help me find some clues.”
“Yeah, I get it. People say a lot of strange things happen in Eden-dong.”
He nodded seriously, trying to sound supportive.
“There are lots of human trafficking legends — some from abroad, some local.”
He pushed his horn-rimmed glasses up.
“For Eden-dong, it’d be one of the domestic ones. Usually it’s about people being kidnapped and sold off.”
“Like the stories about vans pulling up beside pedestrians?”
“Exactly. The van slows down, grabs the person, and drives off.”
He raised a finger.
“Or someone takes a drink or candy from a stranger, passes out, and wakes up in a trafficking ring.”
A second finger went up.
“Or an old lady or a child asks for help and lures you somewhere secluded — that one’s the most common.”
He lifted a third finger, face serious.
“I actually looked into the Eden-dong disappearances myself.”
“You met the victims’ families?”
“No. You guys probably don’t know this, but there’s an Urban Legends Community online — people like me who are into stuff like that.”
Of course he knew it.
‘Ugh, just thinking about the hell that site caused me at Eden Villa…’
And come to think of it, Red had said she’d be back someday — but she’d never reappeared. Maybe she’d gotten lost again.
I sighed inwardly.
“Someone there posted that they’d almost been kidnapped themselves.”
“What?”
“Could’ve been fake, sure, but the story was detailed. Said it happened through a secondhand trading site.”
My eyes met Seo-hyuk’s in the air.
A secondhand trading site?
“How? What were they trying to sell?”
“You know those canned gift sets people get during holidays? Someone posted a free giveaway since they had too many, so the user contacted them.”
That kind of post was common enough after holidays — usually for cheap, though rarely free.
“But the seller started asking weird questions.”
My stomach sank. “Weird questions?”
“Like, ‘Are you coming alone?’ and ‘You’re a woman, right?’”
“…So they didn’t go, right?”
“Of course they did. People who like ghost stories tend to be curious, like me.”
He said it so casually.
“They were told to meet in an alley in Eden-dong. The seller said they had a kid and couldn’t go far from home.”
Eden-dong. Alley.
“They brought pepper spray just in case — and an old woman showed up. Weird, huh?”
“…What’s weird about that?”
Seo-hyuk answered instead of me, his expression suddenly hard.
“She said she couldn’t go far because she had a kid.”
“Oh.”
Goosebumps prickled down my arms. Still, I tried to rationalize.
“Maybe she meant her grandchild?”
“Right, and when the user asked that, the old woman said the parents abandoned the kid, so she was raising them alone. Doesn’t that make it even stranger?”
Yeon-ho adjusted his glasses again — his eyes glittering with something between excitement and obsession.
“If she’s poor and raising a kid alone, why would she be giving away canned food for free?”
Ah. Right.
If anything, she’d have kept it or sold it for cash.
“And older folks who do giveaways usually start with neighbors, not random strangers online, right?”
That was true too.
Even if she was tech-savvy, why ask if the buyer was alone — or female?
“The user said they ran away on the spot.”
“Well, that’s creepy, but it’s not proof of kidnapping. Why did they think it was trafficking?”
“Because a few days later, someone actually disappeared near that same alley. And right after that, all the posts offering those free giveaways were deleted.”
Yeon-ho shuddered, rubbing his arms. “Creepy, right?”
Could the person who gave Jang Hyun-woo that keychain doll be the same one?
‘But that woman wasn’t old…’
Still, the similarities were too much to ignore.
I frowned, unease twisting my stomach.
“It was just a community post, so maybe it’s not reliable,” Yeon-ho added quickly. “Could’ve just been a runaway. I’m sure your brother will turn up soon.”
“I hope so…”
“They say most of the recent missing people were minors. The only adults who vanished together were in the first case.”
Right — that would’ve been Seo-hyuk’s parents.
He didn’t seem to realize it, speaking casually, but I suddenly felt tense and uncomfortable.
I was about to change the subject when—
“So there’s even speculation that the first victims were actually the traffickers themse—ack!”
Thud!
Yeon-ho was slammed against the wall, Seo-hyuk’s fist gripping his collar.
‘Oh, crap. You never, ever insult the protagonist’s dead parents!’
Seo-hyuk’s face was colder and more murderous than I’d ever seen.
