Chapter 30: Missing (2)

When I entered the hospital room, Mom was sleeping in a private room. Her face looked a bit haggard. She seemed to have lost weight and become thinner.

She had been missing for three days after all. There were bound to be some changes in her appearance.

It's fortunate enough just to be able to meet her alive.

A doctor with glasses kindly explained to me.

"You must be the son, Young-won? Your mother needs to rest now. She seems to be experiencing mild delirium and confusion in her memories. That's probably why she was wandering the streets."

"Delirium...?"

"It seems she's suffered quite a psychological shock. But these things can be temporary, so it should gradually improve over time. We'll need to keep observing her condition a bit longer."

Mom's mind was unstable due to a big shock...

The reason she wandered the streets instead of coming straight home was due to this psychological shock.

And that psychological shock... was probably because of being trapped in the elevator.

Looking at my sleeping mom again, I asked the doctor.

"Are there any injuries?"

"We'll need to do more tests for details, but there were no noticeable external injuries. She seems a bit malnourished, but strictly speaking, she's in good health."

Phew...

For three days, it felt like my lungs were completely blocked and I could hardly breathe, but now it felt like I could finally breathe a little. Only now did it feel real.

I was hungry, my head was dizzy, and my legs were shaking.

Honestly, I don't know how I spent the last three days.

Whether I ate or not. Whether I slept. Whether I went to school...

It felt like all the things I had been ignoring while focusing on "I need to find Mom" were now presenting their bills to me one by one.

"It would be good for her to stay hospitalized for a few more days. We'll do some more detailed tests. We need the guardian's name, but since you're a minor..."

"I'll be the proxy. I'm an English teacher at Yeongji High School."

It was fortunate that Ms. Hong Mi-ri was here. Ms. Hong Mi-ri became my proxy for legal issues that would be difficult for me as a minor to handle.

I was worried that a private room might be quite expensive, but...

With my miraculous status window, I thought I could manage the money somehow.

Slap-

The English teacher slapped my shoulder with her palm.

"Hey. How can a man be so down? Let's go eat something. I have my car."

Click. Click.

Ms. Hong Mi-ri walked energetically out of the hospital.

There was a red sports car parked at the hospital that would be difficult to buy on a high school teacher's salary, but Ms. Hong Mi-ri got in skillfully.

"What are you doing? Get in."

Swish-

As I got in the car, I smelled a fresh air freshener. It seems most female teachers' cars smell this nice.

Vroom-

After driving for a while, the place where the teacher stopped was the motel street in Jimun-dong. Literally, there were lots of motels.

Suddenly, I remembered the rumor that Ms. Hong Mi-ri and the Class D delinquent Kim Geonho were seen wandering around this motel street in Jimun-dong.

If someone sees me walking here with Ms. Hong Mi-ri, would I become the subject of such rumors too?

"What are you doing? There's a soup restaurant I know nearby. It's really delicious."

"......"

I walked around Jimun-dong street with the English teacher. Soon, the English teacher pointed to an alley.

"This is where your mother was found. Someone had collapsed. When I reported it to the police, they checked her ID and things and said it was your mom."

"Ah."

"Hey! You guys! Yeongji High students, right? Get home quickly!"

I was startled when Ms. Hong Mi-ri suddenly shouted loudly. When I turned my head, two female students in Yeongji High uniforms were smoking and ran away in surprise.

"See that? Tsk tsk. Those delinquents always hang around here causing trouble. There's one in your class too, right? Kim Geonho. The biggest troublemaker. I hear he's seen around here a lot too. But I haven't seen him lately."

"Ah. Kim Geonho."

"You're thinking about the rumor that Geonho and I went to a motel together, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

I was greatly flustered. Then, the English teacher pinched my side hard.

"Look at this naughty boy. It's not like those rumors among you students just started yesterday. It's too bothersome to explain every time. By the way, I prefer older men, so I'm not interested in little kids."

I see.

The story of Kim Geonho and the English teacher walking around the motel street seemed to be a rumor born from misunderstanding after all. Someone must have seen Ms. Hong Mi-ri trying to guide the delinquent Kim Geonho.

Well... most student rumors were like that.

Two bowls of soup came out. It was very delicious.

"What kind of soup is this? What meat is it?"

"I don't know. Should teacher have a drink? You can get home by yourself, right? You don't need me to drive you?"

The teacher ordered a bottle of soju and poured it into a beer glass, drinking it down.

A teacher drinking alcohol... It reminded me of the "Auntie Ghost" and made me uneasy. Ms. Hong Mi-ri is 27 this year, so it might be a bit much to call her an auntie, but...

"It's good that your mother is safe. I don't know why people disappear so often in this city. Maybe it's because of the water veins."

Water veins… Come to think of it, didn't the English teacher mention water veins in the library before too?

Is she someone who believes in superstitions and such?

Drip-drip-

Just then, blood dripped from the teacher's neck.

"Uh... Teacher. Your neck is bleeding?"

I thought some ghost or supernatural thing had appeared again, but the teacher took out a handkerchief from her expensive-looking bag and wiped the blood flowing from her neck.

"Oh, this. I had a big surgery before. I thought it had healed completely, but sometimes the wound opens up like this."

Now that I look... the teacher's neck and face had different skin colors.

because she was drunk, but below her neck was very red, while above the choker line, her face was extremely white.

A difference in makeup?

No, it seemed too extreme to be just a difference in makeup… As a chilling sensation crept up the back of my neck,

"More importantly, how's your class? Class D has been strange lately, right? The atmosphere among students is unsettled too. Anything unusual? Anything strange? Kim Geonho isn't coming to school either."

"I didn't know Geonho wasn't coming to school. I've been out of it lately too..."

"Weren't you close with Kim Geonho? Don't you know why he's not coming to school these days? He seemed to have changed a bit after staying overnight in the old school building. Didn't he say anything to you? Like ghost stories?"

"Ghost... stories?"

"Why. Like the Red Mask that appears on night streets. Don't kids these days know about the Red Mask? Wearing a red mask. Wearing high heels and something like a trench coat. With a mouth split wide open."

"I think I've heard of it, but I don't think Geonho talked about that..."

For some reason, I felt it would be better to pretend I didn't know anything in this situation. Honestly, I wasn't even sure where the soup was going.

Ding-

Just then, my phone rang.

"Oh, teacher. I should get going now. They say my mother has woken up. You've been drinking, so you don't need to get up. I can go by myself."

Scrape-

I pushed back my chair and got up. The English teacher said to me as I was leaving.

"Be careful on your way home at night."

***

8 PM.

I arrived at the hospital again. The message that Mom had woken up was real after all.

When I entered the hospital room, I saw Mom sitting up in bed. Was she having dinner?

"Mom."

"......"

Mom frowned at me. It looked like she was trying to remember me.

"Mom. It's me, Ha Young-won. Your son. Don't you recognize me?"

"...Son? That's strange. My son is Young-won..."

Mom tilted her head, confused. It seemed her mind or memory wasn't fully intact yet. I rushed over and hugged her tightly.

"Ah... I remember this..."

Swish-

Mom hugged me back.

Mom's warmth, smell, everything was vivid in my memory too.

But being her son, I could tell.

...Mom was a bit different. Others might not notice, but whether it was her weight or something else, she had changed ever so slightly.

I felt quite sad about this fact, but for now, I was grateful that Mom had returned alive.

"Oh, Young-won. What's this? Mom can't breathe!"

"Mom! Do you remember me now?"

"Of course. Ha Chae-yeon's son, Young-won! What on earth happened? Did I drink too much? It feels like I've completely blacked out. Where's Mom's phone? Have you seen it? What's the date today?"

Mom's attitude quickly returned to normal. The doctor had said that memory confusion and mental disorientation would be temporary, and it seems that was true.

"Mom. From now on, please keep your battery fully charged. Carry a power bank too."

Swish-

I handed over Mom's phone that was on the hospital drawer. Mom took the phone, connected it to the charger, and tried to operate it, but shrugged as if something wasn't working.

"It won't turn on. Is it broken? This is bad if it's broken. All my important contacts and photos are in there...! Oh, shit...! I'm screwed...!"

"Give it here. I'll take it to the service center tomorrow and see if they can fix it."

"By the way, did you come alone? Didn't she come with you?"

"What are you talking about? Who's 'she'?"

"You know, that pretty girl. What was her name...? I can't remember. What did I just say?"

It seemed Mom would need to stay in the hospital a bit longer. She probably needs to undergo various detailed examinations too.

Since hospital visiting hours were until 9 PM, I had to return home alone.

"......"

How much time was left on the "Subtle Perfume" I sprayed?

I wasn't sure. When Mom hadn't returned, I sometimes thought maybe she had died and become a ghost.

What if Mom had died and become a ghost... but couldn't find me because I sprayed the perfume…? I was really out of my mind then.

But now that I could breathe a little easier, the thought of going back to that house alone was a bit scary.

I picked up my phone... and messaged the group chat "Ha Young-won's Pirate Crew" with Jung-seok and Juhee.

「Found Mom」

「Yang Juhee: Damn, that's a relief」

Juhee immediately checked and replied. Jung-seok also sent a message about a minute later.

「Jungle Jung-seok: That's really great news. Is she okay?」

「Yeah, she seems fine for now. More importantly, can anyone come over to my place today? I have to sleep alone and I'm too scared」

「Yang Juhee: I can't today, my mom's sick :( I'm aching all over from running these past few days lol」

「Jungle Jung-seok: I can't today either.」

I see.

Everyone has their own lives, after all.

Come to think of it... everyone seemed busy after we got out of the elevator. I hadn't been able to pay attention to my friends because of Mom's situation. It also felt like Jung-seok was avoiding me a bit.

"Is he scared...?"

The experience in the death floor of the elevator was particularly frightening. It couldn't be helped that everyone was scared.

Ding-

Just then, a message came. It was a private message from Jung-seok.

「Jungle Jung-seok: I couldn't say this for the past few days because of your mood and situation, but I found something. The place where we got off the elevator looks very similar to the content in this game.」

Jung-seok sent me a link.

It was a game called "Abyss Corridor," priced in the 20,000 won range, and seemed to be a foreign horror game made by a Japanese company.

「Jungle Jung-seok: It's a game where you hide from ghosts and escape.」

「Jungle Jung-seok: The company is in Japan, but the CEO is Korean. I thought there might be a connection. Since tomorrow's the weekend, if you have time, let's play it together at your place or a PC bang.」

I thought he was avoiding me because he was afraid of getting involved in another ghost incident, but it seems that wasn't the case. They really just had their own reasons for not being able to come.

「Jungle Jung-seok: I even talked to my dad about trying to find your mom. I heard Juhee was going around handing out flyers too. Keep it a secret that I told you this.」

I just hadn't noticed, but everyone was trying to help me. I'm totally touched. It made me feel more secure.

"Ah, geez... Still, I'm nervous about going home alone. Maybe I should ask Mom if we can get a pet or something."

Would having a dog or something make the house less scary? Thinking about that, I aimlessly wandered around the neighborhood. And after walking for about 20 minutes, I noticed something.

Click. Click. Click.

Someone was following me. They were about 20 meters behind. When I stopped, they stopped, and when I looked back, they weren't visible.

"Damn. What's this...?"

I was scared.

...Is the Red Mask really chasing me? How was I supposed to exorcise or shake off the Red Mask?

As I was thinking about this and heading towards a bright, busy street,

"Young-won. What are you doing here? I heard you haven't been to school for a few days!"

Someone I knew called out to me.

When I turned my head, Yoo Dahee, the literature girl I once had a crush on, was standing in front of a convenience store with her bag.

"Perfect timing! If you have time, let's eat this together! I bought too much."

Literature girl Dahee chuckled. She was holding lots of snacks and cup noodles.

Maybe it was because I saw a familiar face, or because of the convenience store lights, but my heart felt a bit more at ease.

"......"

Still, just in case, I looked back. I no longer felt the presence that had been following me.

I'd better stick with her for now!