Unknown People

I phoned Min Gi on my way to work and told him what I found at Min Gyeong's place this afternoon. I also retold what the agency said to me about Min Gyeong's work and that they couldn't reach the photographer's agent's number. I gave the number to Min Gi and said I had repeatedly tried calling the agent's number myself, but no one picked it up.

Min Gi sighed loudly over the phone. He sounded frustrated—I could tell that much. "Well, it's obvious that my sister is in big trouble. I tried calling her again up until an hour ago, but I still couldn't reach her. Probably the battery's dead by now."

"You said you're an independent investigator now, along with your friend," I replied. "There must be something you can find by now that can't be found by the police, right?"

"I did carry my own investigation," Min Gi sounded tired. "My friend also helps me, but I couldn't reach him today. He prefers to work alone, same as me, and we choose to work with our own methods, without telling each other how we do our work. When he finds something, he'll contact me right away.

"As for me, I didn't find much. I asked the Seoul bus station about the passengers arriving from Daegu, and I indeed found my sister's name. Apparently, nobody saw my sister at the station, or they didn't pay attention to her. I asked around, but it was a waste of time for me. In the end, when I already felt too exhausted to lift my legs, there was this homeless guy approaching me and pointing at Min Gyeong's photo I carried in my hand. It was difficult to understand what he was trying to say—he was lisping so much I thought he was going to swallow his own tongue—but I think I got his point."

I gulped, suddenly feeling on edge. "And that was …?"

Min Gi cleared his throat. "The guy told me that he saw my sister last night. He said she was tall and dressed very attractively, so he couldn't forget her. She was standing close to where he was sitting that night, just in front of the station's hall, and she looked lost. A taller man—he didn't know where he came from—suddenly closed in on my sister and said something in her ear, but the guy couldn't hear. Only that my sister then followed this man."

I was alarmed when I heard Min Gi's story. "What? But who was that man?"

"That's been in my head this whole day, too," Min Gi gritted his teeth. "The homeless guy said that it was too hard to see what the man looked like. His eyesight has gotten worse and the taller man was facing away from him anyway, he said. He couldn't see all his features, only that he was taller than Min Gyeong and he wore a short-sleeved shirt. Muscular, too, and wearing a dark-colored cap. The homeless guy said he saw a tattoo, but he wasn't sure."

The situation had grown more confusing and surreal as I listened to Min Gi's story. My head was full of questions and presumptions; my feet stopped walking on their own, now trembling with terror. Min Gi called my name a few times, but it was as if his voice was coming from afar, vague and unsteady. I was tongue-tied, my mind a swirling mess, and I couldn't think of anything else except Min Gyeong's promising smile that she would call me once she got to Seoul. She didn't call me last night. Not until now. That only means that something had happened to Min Gyeong after she met this mysterious tall man. But where was she now?

Who was that man? And why had Min Gyeong followed him?

"Sook Ja, are you still there?" Min Gi's voice had gotten higher—now he was shouting on the phone. "Sook Ja! Answer me!"

I blinked my eyes and pulled myself together. Calm down, I told myself. Min Gyeong is safe somewhere. She probably met her friend at the bus station and is staying with her friend now. But why didn't she call me? At least tell her brother that she wouldn't stay with him. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind.

"I hear you," I answered Min Gi finally, and he replied with a deep, long sigh. "Sorry, I was just … too shocked, I guess. Because we both still don't know where Min Gyeong is."

As Min Gi continued talking to me, my legs had unconsciously moved back and by now reached Min Gyeong's apartment. I was on the same street I passed by this afternoon. The only difference now was the street lamps were on. It was still deserted, just like this afternoon, but with the park emptied from families having picnics before, no single person was seen anywhere. Somehow, it made the street seem spookier, like something out of a ghost town. Yet this street was the shortcut, and it was just fifteen minutes before my shift started. I needed to get to the store fast.

I gritted my teeth, trying to push away annoying thoughts from my head. I was always afraid of darkness, especially when I was just by myself like right now. I could easily lose my train of thoughts, replaced by fear and loss. I took a deep breath to calm myself down and, in the process, looked up at Min Gyeong's place. What I saw up there had me frowning deeply. I could see Min Gyeong's window on the third floor from where I stood. Did someone turn on Min Gyeong's lamp? There were shadows moving behind the window. The light, though, was rather strange; it wasn't coming from any lamp because the light was weak. Like a candle's light, or perhaps a torch. It was dim.

Probably her landlord? I thought to myself.

"Sook Ja?" Min Gi called me. "Are you still there?"

I slowly whispered to my phone. "Min Gi," I gulped loudly, "there was someone in Min Gyeong's apartment. I can see their shadows. It's indistinct, but obviously, there's someone up there."

"What do you mean?" Min Gi sounded confused. "Are you in Min Gyeong's apartment now?"

"Yes. No, I mean I'm outside her apartment." Suddenly my throat was parched. "I'm on my way to work now, and I pass the park across Min Gyeong's apartment."

"Can you see who's in her apartment?"

"No, it's unclear," I shook my head as if Min Gi could see me. "But it looks like there's more than one person inside. And they seem to be … looking for something?"

"Looking for something?" Min Gi repeated. "What something?"

"I … I don't know," I stammered. What I saw at that moment was definitely not something done by Min Gyeong's landlord—I was sure about it. "But they're opening the kitchen cabinet and the drawers, taking everything out. I'm not sure, because I can't see it clear—"

Min Gi shouted. "Sook Ja, get away from there right now! I don't think it's good if they see you. Run and don't look back!"

At that moment, I was suddenly aware of one dark silhouette standing still by the window. It did nothing, just standing like a statue and not moving an inch, but suddenly it stepped away from the window and another dark shape of a person came. I saw them moving their arms around and finally pointing outside—or, rather, pointing at me.

I was, in the beginning, too dumbfounded to acknowledge what was happening at the apartment, but soon it dawned on me that those people might have noticed me, plus Min Gi was screaming into my ear. I didn't think long before running fast to my workplace, as if ghouls were trailing behind me. I didn't look back, just as Min Gi commanded me. I ran and ran, only stopping once I got into the store. Right after I opened the door, I tried to take a deep breath and calm my heart that nearly jumped into my mouth, but I was still trembling. I turned back to check whether I was being followed or not, but nobody was behind me. Was it just my imagination then? Or were there real people inside Min Gyeong's room just now, and they spotted me watching them?

"Sook Ja! Talk to me! Where are you now?" asked Min Gi.

I told him I already reached the store. "Why did you tell me to run?" I was still out of breath. A few people at the store were staring at me curiously, as if I was at the wrong place and time.

Min Gi sighed in relief. Then, hesitantly, "This is just my guts telling me, but …" He was silent. "Sook Ja, I think it's better if you leave Daegu for a while," he continued.

"Why?" Daegu was practically the only place in this world I'd ever been familiar with. Unlike Min Gyeong who dreamed of leaving Daegu, I never wanted to leave this place.

"Those people you saw just now at Min Gyeong's place, they might have a connection with the missing of my sister," Min Gi said quietly. "It's just my guts telling me, though, but still, it's suspicious. It's not safe if you stay close to my sister's apartment. They might find out your name or address, and if they suspect you know something, it might not be a good thing if you see them next time."

"But where am I supposed to go?" I panicked. "I don't have family outside Daegu. Well, there are a few, but I doubt they remember—"

"You can stay at my place," Min Gi interrupted. "In Seoul. It's okay. It's just until we can find my sister. And best to go immediately, if possible. Like, right now."

I listened to Min Gi's words half disbelievingly, mouth half-opened. I couldn't think; my best friend just went missing yesterday, and now I might be on the run from a couple of mysterious, menacing guys. I bit my lower lip hard, but I had no other choice. I couldn't think.

As if in a daze, I ended the call and saw my manager, telling him that I couldn't work tonight and also in a few days because of family issues I had to take care of. He was reluctant to allow me not to go to work, but fortunately my partner that night was okay to get more work hours. He needed money for college, after all. So, I said goodbye to both of them and quickly left the store toward the train station, where I purchased a ticket that very evening to Seoul.