Under Creature Chapter 12.3

Besides Yigeom, the adults next to him had incredibly familiar faces. I’d even asked Yigeom if they were celebrities because they looked so familiar. And just a while ago, when I saw Cha Jewoo’s parents, I had a similar feeling.

A feeling… or something like it. Something was the same, yet different. The familiarity was the same. But when I saw Cha Jewoo’s parents, I also felt an indescribable, chilling sensation.

Like a herbivore standing before a predator, unable to move a muscle…

It felt like I wouldn’t be able to rest until I figured this out. That’s why I came here so recklessly, but… what is this? Why am I feeling this way?

Seo Doa positioned herself in front of the table and, with her arms crossed, stared intently at the family photo.

‘Where on earth have I seen them before?’

She closed her eyes and wracked her brain.

Where, where…

…Ah.

A splitting headache washed over her in an instant.

‘Hi there. Your oppa is busy today, so I came to pick you up instead.’

A hand, reaching out to her under the guise of kindness.

‘…Help, please help me. That person… I don’t know him….’

A young child, barely managing to come up with a plan and ask someone for help.

‘Oh dear, what’s wrong? Should this uncle and aunt help you?’

Kind people, looking down at her with wide eyes.

‘This is that guy’s sister? Get her in the car, now.’

…Cha Jewoo’s mother.

“…Hup! Heok…”

Seo Doa gasped for breath.

“…Ah.”

Finally, a sigh of realization.

The memories she had buried deep inside came flooding back.

🦅࿐

Eleven years old. Young, but old enough to judge right from wrong.

And so, she knew.

“Hi there. Your oppa is busy today, so I came to pick you up instead.”

She knew that this man extending his hand to her was ‘a bad person’.

No matter how busy her oppa was, he always came to pick her up from school on time. Furthermore, if he ever had to ask someone else, he never forgot to let her know in advance.

That’s how she knew for certain. This person had not approached her with good intentions.

“Doa?”

“……”

The man in front of her smiled sweetly. Seeing his audacity to come all the way to the school, something must have happened to her oppa.

If that’s the case…

Doa smiled brightly and replied.

“Yes! But can I call my oppa first?”

“…Go ahead.”

The man offered her his own phone.

“I have my own phone!”

“Haha, aren’t you something?”

She deliberately puffed out her cheeks and proudly took out her own phone. Her heart was pounding, but she did her best to calm it and called her brother.

Ring, ring. Ring, ring.

It rang several times, but he didn’t pick up.

“Looks like Doa’s oppa is very busy. Don’t worry too much, uncle will take you home.”

Young Doa furtively glanced at him and muttered quietly.

“Th-that’s strange… I was supposed to get ice cream with oppa on the way home today…”

“Ice cream?”

“Yes, we promised. I haven’t been able to have any for a few days, so we were definitely going to get some today…”

The man’s gaze turned cold as he stared at Doa. She swallowed hard at his chilling look.

“…uncle?”

His expression instantly became gentle again.

“Then uncle will buy you ice cream. Let’s get lots of delicious things on the way home!”

“B-but oppa told me not to follow strangers…”

“Will this make you feel better?”

The man took a vigilante badge out of his pants pocket.

“I’m a colleague from your oppa’s company. He had a sudden emergency, so he asked me to look after you. Let’s go, uncle will take you home.”

Doa thought for a moment, then smiled widely.

“…Okay!”

With her short legs, it was obvious she’d be caught no matter how fast she ran. She decided to look for a chance to escape later and took the man’s hand.

“Then let’s go get ice cream right now!”

“Okay, let’s get in the car first.”

“…It’s right around the corner! It’s not even a five-minute walk!”

“Still, it’s dangerous, so in the car…”

“Uncle! Hurry up!”

Doa led the man with her small hand. He hesitated, but eventually followed her.

Arriving at the ice cream shop, Doa sat on a chair, swinging her feet and smiling brightly.

“Hurry back! I’ll wait right here!”

“Why? Don’t you want to pick it out yourself, Doa?”

The man, uneasy about leaving Doa alone, tried to coax her into coming with him, but Doa mustered up every ounce of acting talent her eleven-year-old life had equipped her with and clutched her ankle.

“I think I twisted my ankle when I was running just now. I’ll sit here quietly and not cause any trouble. Oh, I want the rainbow flavor! You should get strawberry, uncle!”

“…Alright. Then stay here quietly.”

Perhaps pretending to follow the man so obediently had paid off here, by some miracle. Instead of arguing with Doa, he left his seat.

With every step he took away from her, he would check to see if Doa was okay, but each time, she would wave her hand to reassure him.

And when the man was no longer looking back, Doa stealthily got up and approached two adults.

“Excuse me… P-please, help me…”

“Yigeom will have chocolate… Oh my, little girl. What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

The two people knelt to meet the small child’s eye level and asked with concern.

Doa wanted to clearly explain her situation, but perhaps because her tension had eased, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes, and she couldn’t speak properly.

“Little one. Don’t cry, try to tell us slowly, slowly, okay?”

“A-a stranger… hic, my oppa was supposed to pick me up, but, sob. He, he said oppa was busy… The ice cream, hhhk, he’s at the counter… I have to run away fast…”

“Excuse me… little girl? Are you okay? Honey, let’s call the police first.”

“Is there a problem?”

Just then, the man, who had approached them at some point, gripped Doa’s shoulder roughly and smiled affectionately. That smile sent a shiver down her spine.

“Doa, I bought your favorite ice cream. Let’s eat this on our way home.”

“……Hic.”

Doa trembled but couldn’t say a word. She knew, vaguely, that the work her oppa did wasn’t ordinary.

Both her oppa and Sangwoo uncle, who looked after them, often came home injured.

Furthermore, there was no guarantee that this man, who was connected to her oppa and his line of work, wasn’t strong.

Fear began to bloom inside her. What if she got these kind adults involved and they got hurt?

The man hurried Doa along.

“Hmm? Doa, we have to go now.”

“……”

“Excuse me. This child, no, is your name Doa? Forgive me for asking, but what is your relationship to Doa?”

The kind woman asked, glaring fiercely at the man.

“Why do you ask? Doa, did something happen with these people?”

“…Hic.”

Doa hiccuped and then frantically shook her head.

“No, I was just, hhp, asking where the bathroom was.”

“Really? Do you need to go badly?”

“…No. I can hold it.”

“You’re brave. Okay, let’s hurry home. Thank you for looking after our Doa.”

The man bowed politely and then pulled Doa’s hand. The grip was so strong that Doa winced involuntarily.

Soon, she was leaving the shop, glancing back with a tearful face at the adults who had been so kind to her.

“……”

The man’s expression was completely hardened, and he didn’t say a word until they got to the car.

Doa looked for a chance to escape in the meantime, but the man had picked her up and was carrying her, so even that failed.

‘What should I do…’

As she darted her eyes around, trying to think of something, they arrived at the car. Now there was really no escape.

The man yanked the door open and threw Doa inside.

“You little rat… Just like your brother, you’re quick on the uptake.”

Then he drove recklessly, spewing all sorts of profanities.

Doa was too busy trembling in fear to think of anything. Her only means of contact, her cell phone, had been snatched away and smashed to pieces long ago.

“Sob, hhhk… Oppaa…”

“Shut up!!”

The man, like a madman, muttered unspeakable things and drove for a long time before coming to an abrupt stop in a certain section.

A sedan pulled over on a deserted, quiet roadside. The man grabbed Doa by the scruff of her neck and got out of the car. Soon, people got out of the sedan in front of them, and the man released Doa as if tossing her aside.

“Here. The sister of that guy you asked for.”

“Good work.”

“Um… So now, the blood…”

Sshk, the neck of the man who had terrified Doa until now was sliced clean in a neat, diagonal line, just like that.

“Uh… why…”

Those were the man’s last words.

“…Ah. Ahh… Aaaaaah!”

Doa clumsily covered her eyes with her hair and screamed in confusion.

Meanwhile, the person who had killed the man with a single stroke wiped the blood from his blade and, as if doing him a favor, explained why he had to die.

“You brought a tail. Can’t even do your job properly, tsk.”

A quick glance showed that the sedan’s bumper was dented.

What did it hit…? In that moment, the aunt and uncle she met at the ice cream shop flashed in her mind. Don’t tell me they were trying to save me…

“Oh, no. Ahhhh…”

She fainted from the overwhelming shock. When she opened her eyes, she was locked up with a boy who looked to be her age. Then she would faint again from another wave of pain, waking up and passing out several times.

When she groggily opened her eyes while moaning in pain, she saw Cha Jewoo taking care of her, people who seemed to be his parents, and a flower blooming brightly in the dark, secret room.

In the end, through her hazy consciousness, she felt a gentle hand taking care of her.

When she finally came to her senses, she was in a hospital. According to her brother, Seo Dohyun, she had been hospitalized with a severe case of the flu for a while.

That’s what she had believed all this time… but now, she had finally realized the truth.

Doa looked at Yoon Yigeom’s family photo and wiped away her tears.

“I… I. Because of me…”

I have committed an unforgivable sin against this kind family.

Beep-beep-beep-beep. Chirp-.

“Seo Doa, are you in here?”

The front door opened and Yoon Yigeom strode into his studio apartment.

“We could have all come up to Seoul together, what was so urgent that you just took off by yourself… Hey, are you crying?”

Yoon Yigeom, who had been speaking bluntly, saw her crumpled in a corner, tears streaming down her face, and approached her in surprise.

“Sob, hhhk. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Because of me… It’s because of me.”

“Seo Doa? What’s wrong? Don’t cry, tell me slowly.”

‘Little one. Don’t cry, try to tell us slowly, slowly, okay?’

As those words overlapped in her mind, Doa burst into tears like a small child, wailing her heart out.

“Ah, what is it? What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Should we go to the hospital?”

The more she cried, the more flustered Yoon Yigeom became, stammering.

“Waaaah, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It’s because of me. If only I hadn’t…”

With Seo Doa endlessly apologizing to him without any context, Yoon Yigeom let out a short sigh.

He pulled out a handful of tissues and roughly wiped her face, but it quickly became soaked. Bits of tissue stuck to Seo Doa’s face, which was diligently producing either snot or tears.

The sight was quite funny, and Yigeom let out a small laugh. Even so, Seo Doa was busy apologizing profusely.

“Ah, what on earth are you sorry for?”

“It’s just… It’s just me… Because of me…”

Yigeom pulled out another handful of tissues and handed them to her.

“Wipe your tears and then talk. I’ll forgive you, whatever it is.”

“No. Oppa, you, you can’t forgive me…”

“Be quiet. Who are you to judge? For now, just get some sleep.”

Worried she might collapse from exhaustion, he laid the frantically crying Seo Doa on the bed. After repeating “I’m sorry” over and over, she finally fell into a deep sleep.

“It’s finally quiet.”

It felt as if a storm had just passed through. What on earth was she so sorry about?

Yigeom first sent a group text to Latter, letting them know he was with Seo Doa. Then he got a message from Seo Dohyun, who had just woken up, saying they were heading to Seoul now too.

Be there soon

He saw the personal text from Seo Dohyun and let out a chuckle.

Ice cream is the best after a good cry.

While Seo Doa slept, as if she had collapsed from exhaustion after crying, Yigeom went to the supermarket to buy groceries and snacks to stock his apartment, and finally, he went to a specialty ice cream shop, chose the largest size, and paid.

When he returned home and was putting things away, he sensed Seo Doa stirring.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, as if the others from Cheonan had arrived.

Beep, beep-beep.

And the sound of a passcode being entered.

“Huh? Hyung. You know Gyeom hyung’s passcode?”

“Yeah. Gyeom-ie told me.”

“Wow, I’m jealous.”

He could hear their chattering from beyond the door.

‘What do you mean I told you… I mean, I did, but that was just by chance, in the heat of the moment…’

Anyway, the door opened and the visitors entered with familiar steps.

“Gyeom-ah, is Doa sleeping?”

Namgoong Sanha asked affectionately.

“Yeah. She cried by herself and then fell asleep from exhaustion.”

“She cried?”

“Yep.”

Seo Dohyun meticulously scanned Yigeom to make sure he hadn’t gotten hurt while he was unaware, then upon hearing that his sister had cried, he went to check on Seo Doa.

“Seo Doa cried? Oh… why did she cry?”

Jewoo also kicked off his shoes and strode into the apartment.

“Cha Jewoo, you need to take off your shoes neatly. Geonwoo hyung, come on in. This is your first time here, right?”

“Oh? Uh-huh… Excuse me.”

The small studio apartment was bustling with six people crammed inside.

Eventually, the commotion woke Seo Doa up.

Yigeom, thinking the timing was perfect, took out the ice cream he had bought. Seo Dohyun didn’t particularly like ice cream, so he specially prepared five spoons.

“Want some ice cream?”

“Gasp! Yes! I do! Hyung, give me the spatula spoon!”

“What the heck is a spatula spoon… Just eat what you’re given.”

As soon as Yigeom placed the largest size of ice cream from the store and some disposable spoons on the table, Cha Jewoo pounced on it.

“Hhhk…”

At that moment, Seo Doa, who had just woken up, started to sob again.

What on earth is it…

“Uh… Seo Doa. Do you want some too?”

Jewoo, who was greedy when it came to food, awkwardly offered the ice cream he had scooped for himself to the sniffling Seo Doa. However, Seo Doa shook her head slightly in refusal and pushed her tired body up.

“…I should get going now. I’m sorry to have intruded.”

“What? You’re leaving? Is something wrong?”

Cha Jewoo asked, his eyes full of worry.

“No, it’s… It’s nothing.”

Seo Doa muttered, avoiding Yigeom’s gaze.

The cheerful mood from the ice cream was short-lived. Just as everyone was focused on gauging Doa’s mood, Seo Dohyun got up.

“I’ll take Doa home.”

It seemed he had noticed that Doa wanted to be alone right now. In the end, Yigeom stepped in to stop Seo Dohyun.

“Hey, just rest. You just woke up… I’ll take her home.”

“No, I can just take a taxi by myself.”

“Then just to the front.”

Ignoring Seo Doa’s insistence on going alone, Yigeom stubbornly put on his shoes.

Just a moment ago she was apologizing profusely, and now she was subtly avoiding him. He felt he wouldn’t be at ease until he found out the reason why.

Finally, Seo Doa, noticing his stare, quietly put on her own shoes.

And so, leaving his guests at his place, he stepped outside with Seo Doa.

“……”

“……”

Neither of them spoke, both too busy gauging the other’s reaction.

Finally, Yigeom broke the silence.

“Seo Doa, what are you so sorry about?”

“…It’s just. I… oppa…”

As if uttering a single word was so difficult, she just fidgeted with her hands and mumbled.

“That… when I was little…”

“What? When you were little, what.”

Could it be that seeing Cha Jewoo’s mother made her remember what happened when she was young? Yigeom was inwardly flustered. But what does that have to do with being sorry to me?

He looked at Seo Doa, who hesitated until the very end without speaking, and let out a faint sigh.

“Haa…”

Flinch. She startled as if she’d had a fit at his small gesture. There was no way to have a conversation like this.

Just then, a taxi pulled up in front of them. Yigeom personally opened the door and helped Seo Doa in.

“For now, just go home and rest.”

“……Okay.”

“And if you’re going to apologize to me, tell me exactly when, why, and for what, according to the five Ws and one H. Then I’ll forgive you, whatever it is.”

“…You won’t be able… to forgive me.”

“What are you talking about. Contact me when you’ve sorted out your thoughts.”

And with that, he closed the door. Yigeom watched the taxi carrying Seo Doa become a small dot in the distance before he turned and left.

🦅࿐

A few days passed like that.

Seo Doa neither came to the office nor contacted Yigeom.

Only her brother would occasionally visit Yigeom’s place.

“Seo Dohyun. What’s Seo Doa up to?”

“Doa? I think she got her memory back.”

“What!?”

Yigeom, who had been lying on the bed, shot up. He had suspected it, but he didn’t think she had actually recovered it. More importantly…

“Why are you telling me this now?”

“She seemed reluctant to talk about it.”

“Reluctant?”

“Yeah. So I couldn’t hear the details either.”

Seo Dohyun said as he lightly flipped through a booklet. He was currently looking through Yigeom’s childhood photo album.

“Gyeom-ah, you were really ugly when you were little.”

Yigeom narrowed his eyes slightly. For what it’s worth, he had often been told he was cute when he was young.

Ignoring Seo Dohyun’s useless chatter, he continued.

“Then what about Seo Doa and Cha Jewoo?”

Technically, Cha Jewoo’s parents were also involved in Seo Doa’s kidnapping. Would she hate him, thinking of him as the son of her enemies? He was secretly worried.

“They’re keeping in touch.”

Seo Dohyun answered in an indifferent tone, his focus on the album.

“…She’s keeping in touch with Cha Jewoo but not with me?”

While Yigeom was muttering and deep in thought, Seo Dohyun opened the album and took out a picture of Yigeom as a baby.

“What are you doing?”

“You were so ugly, I couldn’t help myself.”

“What kind of nonsense is that. Put it back.”

Seo Dohyun silently tucked the photo into his pocket, leaned his back against the bed, and stretched his neck back to look at Yigeom.

“I’m looking at your album, but why does it feel like I’m looking at someone else’s?”

“I told you. I was childhood friends with Kang Taeha. And take that out of your pocket.”

“How close are you with him? Closer than you are with me?”

“You’re not a kid, why are you keeping score… Are you trying to change the subject? I said take that out of your pocket.”

When Seo Dohyun pretended not to hear, Yigeom bent over and reached for his pocket.

His attempt was futile, as his wrist was caught shortly after.

“What, why? What’s the reason.”

“Just because. I’m curious about your childhood.”

“……”

Yigeom gave up on retrieving the photo Seo Dohyun had taken from the album and muttered with his face buried in a pillow.

“Since we were little, Kang Taeha and I…”

“I’m curious about your childhood. Not his.”

“…I played with him every day. That’s all. Our parents were close.”

Though they had passed away now, Yigeom remembered his parents perfectly.

The memories, which had now become just that, were all warm.

Kang Taeha helping him up when he fell at the playground and cried his eyes out, his mother applying ointment to his scraped knee, the fact that there was spicy squid salad for dinner that night, and his father, who came home late, seeing the bandage on his knee and lifting him up in a big hug.

He remembers every single trivial detail vividly.

That’s why he had gone astray for a while after his parents passed away, but thanks to the warmth and care of his aunt and uncle, and his friend Kang Taeha who was there for him during tough times, he quickly found his footing.

And a while ago, when he visited his uncle’s house, he had sat him down and told him the truth.

He thought it was a simple car accident, but it was a hit-and-run. The culprit had yet to be found.

Yigeom let out a weak laugh into the pillow.

“It’s kind of funny thinking about it now. In this day and age, it’s not like CCTVs are just for decoration…”

“CCTV?”

“Yeah. They said they searched the whole neighborhood but couldn’t find a trace. So, what, did a ghost kill them?”

“……”

When no answer came, Yigeom turned his face from the pillow.

“Ah, you scared me.”

Seo Dohyun was resting his chin on the bed, looking at him. He tilted his head to meet his gaze.

“Gyeom-ah.”

“What.”

“Wasn’t the CCTV footage deleted?”

“…What?”

Yigeom frowned.

“Are you saying it’s something like in a drama or movie, where a high-ranking police official is involved?”

“No. There are people who can erase it without any connection to that.”

“Who… ah.”

For a moment, Yigeom’s pupils trembled faintly.

There are. People who can delete CCTV footage anytime, even if they aren’t high-ranking police officials, members of the National Assembly, or in some other position of power.

‘A Blood Hunter-related incident occurred around 4:10 near Gwangalli. We’ll handle it, so please delete the CCTV records.’

That’s what Kim Hyungkyu had said while on the phone with someone.

Vigilantes, Hunters, the Association.

When an incident related to creatures or Blood Hunters occurs, Hunters go through the Association, and vigilantes contact them directly to erase any related data.

Because their existence must not be revealed to the general public.

Creatures couldn’t harm ordinary people who weren’t Hunters. The most likely possibility here was…

Vigilantes, and Blood Hunters.

Could my parents have been involved in that? If so, what about the incident that happened that day?

April 5th, the anniversary of his parents’ death.

April 5th, the day Seo Doa was kidnapped.

“Ah…”

His heart dropped with a thud.

“No… Wait a minute. That can’t be…”

The date was too much of a perfect match to be a coincidence.

“……”

Yigeom’s thoughts froze for a moment, and he just stared blankly.

If his parents were truly involved in Seo Doa’s incident, and if Seo Doa, having recovered her memories, was crying her eyes out because of it…

‘Oppa, by the way, were your parents celebrities? Like entertainers… or something? They looked so familiar.’

Yigeom scrambled to get ready to go out.

“…Seo Dohyun, I’m going to Seo Doa’s place right n—”

“Doa’s at school right now.”

“Oh.”

He let the jacket he had grabbed fall limply.

Right, what would I do even if I went?

He couldn’t just confront a kid who was already confused from just having recovered her memories and demand to know why his parents died. But the fact that Seo Doa felt sorry towards him clearly meant his parents’ deaths were closely related to it, one way or another.

What on earth happened to Seo Doa on April 5th?

According to the files he had read in Bae Sangwoo’s office when he was still alive, it was only recorded that someone claiming to be Seo Dohyun’s colleague had taken Seo Doa.

Only Seo Doa knows the circumstances of that time. Or… someone in a higher position than Bae Sangwoo who could tamper with the files… like A.

Wait, come to think of it, the incident report also stated that ‘Delo’, the Blood Hunter organization Cha Jewoo belonged to, was wiped out, and that it was also the day A first became active.

If that’s the case, A must know something.

“Seo Dohyun, get up.”

“Where are we going?”

“Let’s go to the vigilantes. I have something to ask A.”

Seo Dohyun, who had been looking at the album, closed the booklet with a reluctant hand and grabbed his car keys.

As they headed to the vigilante headquarters in Seo Dohyun’s car, Yigeom’s mind was racing.

What does A know? No, does he even know anything? What if this is all my own delusion…

Yigeom, feeling like he was grasping at straws, analyzed the A he had experienced so far.

As befitting the leader of a group, he never acted thoughtlessly and was always so prudent as to be cold, but sometimes kind. Like putting a desk and chair in the archives, or occasionally buying him his favorite sandwich…

‘…How did he know I liked that sandwich?’

He had thought it was a coincidence all this time, but for that to be the case, A had consistently gotten him food that perfectly suited his tastes.

‘It’s as if he’s someone who knows what I like…’

Upon arriving at the vigilante headquarters, the two went straight into the base to find A.

“He is not in today.”

But as soon as they heard those words from Kim Hyungkyu, they knew their trip had been for nothing.

“Ah… Then when will he be back?”

“I’m not sure. But it seems he won’t be in at all today. Please come back tomorrow. Or, I can pass on a message later? That Mr. Yigeom was looking for him.”

“No, it’s okay.”

He trudged out of the building, feeling drained. As he slumped into the car with a gloomy expression, Seo Dohyun asked.

“Where should we go now?”

“…There’s nothing to do, let’s just go get something to eat.”

He thought A was the one who could tell him the truth about his parents’ deaths, but perhaps he had no choice but to wait for Seo Doa to sort out her thoughts and hear it from her directly.

Just then, he got a text from Kang Taeha.

What are you doing today?

Was he asking to meet up? Sorry, but he wasn’t in the mood for that today.

He turned him down by vaguely saying he was working, then leaned his body back into the car seat.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t been able to see Kang Taeha at all lately. He’d even been skipping the morning workouts they always went to, using the excuse of being busy.

His head felt hot, like it was overheating from all the complicated thoughts.

‘Do you even know what Kang Taeha is up to?’

Why did Jooseungtae’s words have to pop into his head at a time like this?

The Blood Hunter group Jooseungtae belonged to was Adrel, and Adrel had been instructed by Adam to have Jooseungtae get close to Kang Taeha.

‘…What is going on.’

He had been living so hectically lately that his head throbbed whenever he tried to think even a little deeply. Deciding it would be better to distract himself, he asked Seo Dohyun.

“Right, what did you do with my picture?”

“I threw it away earlier.”

Seo Dohyun said in a flash, without a hint of hesitation. Anyone could tell it was a lie.

“Whatever, just give it back.”

“You barely even look at the album, yet you’re so hung up on one or two pictures.”

“What are you going to do with my picture anyway?”

“Laugh whenever I’m bored. You’re so ugly, it’s funny.”

“Are you crazy?”

Yigeom asked, disgusted, but Seo Dohyun was too busy smiling quietly.

In the end, he couldn’t get the photo back.