Chapter 11
He introduced himself as Inspector Kang Injeong.
The man, who said he was the team leader of Criminal Division Team 2 at Seoul Dobong Police Station, got straight to the point.
Serial arsonist?
Yes.
Recently, arson incidents have been occurring in Dobong-gu.
There have been three arson cases so far.
The problem was that it appeared to have been done by one person.
Don't you have anything like CCTV in the neighborhood?
Unfortunately, the place where the fire broke out was in a CCTV blind spot.
Hmm...
Would that be possible?
First, I looked into his future.
But unfortunately, I couldn't see a future where he caught the serial arsonist.
At this rate, even I wouldn't know...
I held out a card to him, and when he flipped it over, I shook my head.
It's a little difficult.
...Is that so?
Yes. I don't see a future where you catch him.
...That's unfortunate.
But couldn't someone else catch him besides Inspector Kang?
What do you mean by that...?
Since another detective at Dobong Police Station might be the one to catch him, I think it would be best to use divination to find who that is.
So you're saying you'll help us!
Yes.
I looked into his future.
Because of the arson case, the traditional market area in Dobong-gu would be completely burned down.
Dozens would die, and hundreds would be injured.
How could I just sit by and watch that?
Then shall we go right away?
Yes. Let's do that.
.
.
.
I followed Kang Injeong to Dobong-gu Police Station.
It was a pretty big building.
I'd wondered if an ordinary person like me would ever come to a police station like this, but this is how it happens.
Team leader? Didn't you say you were on vacation today? Uh... and this person is?
He's someone I brought with me. A very... hmm. gifted fortune-teller.
....What?
When we went to Criminal Division Team 2, one of the detectives there stared at me in disbelief.
Regardless, Kang Injeong nodded.
Haha. Hello. I'm Kang Noa.
...Ah. Yes. I'm Detective Seo Ingyu.
You seem to be very suspicious of me, so shall we try a simple test?
I held out the tarot card I had taken out.
When Detective Seo Ingyu took it and flipped the card over, I saw his past and said,
You graduated from Hyangung High School in Chungnam. After coming up to Seoul, you immediately prepared for the police exam and failed three times, right?
.....!!
You have both parents, and a younger sibling, who is also a civil servant. It looks like they work in the fire service.
...Gasp...
And... the anime you're watching right now...
Anime?
W-wow! Amazing!!
Sweating profusely, Seo Ingyu grabbed me.
He had an expression that begged me not to say any more.
Come on, it's not like he can't watch anime.
Is Precure embarrassing or something?
Seo Ingyu deflated.
Kang Injeong looked back and forth between us and let out a sigh.
Thanks to this gentleman, we were able to catch that prowler.
Wow... if that's really true... does that mean we don't have to investigate?
That's not it.
What I see is the future.
A future where they work hard, investigate, uncover the truth, and catch the culprit.
I only show it to them through that, so if they don't do the work, I wouldn't be able to see that future.
It's kind of complicated.
I don't know the details either. I just tell you what I can see.
Anyway, it means the work we do isn't meaningless.
At Kang Injeong's words, Seo Ingyu nodded.
But the fact that you brought me here like this means...
We're asking for your cooperation regarding the serial arson cases currently happening in Dobong-gu. Teacher, let's go.
Yes.
I followed him around from place to place.
I had the detectives and officers we met flip over the card; some found it amusing, while others were thoroughly offended.
But that wasn't my problem...
.......
This is bad.
Nothing.
I couldn't see any future in which they caught the serial arsonist.
There isn't.
...You mean... we won't be able to catch the arsonist.
Yes.
The mood sank.
In that case, let's try another method.
Team Leader Kang. There's somewhere I'd like you to come with me for a moment.
Huh? Where are we going?
The place I took him to was where a major fire would break out.
It was the Dobong-gu traditional market.
Maybe someone here had seen the arsonist.
Why did you come here... don't tell me.
The confused look on his face hardened.
Right.
This place would burn.
Dozens would die and hundreds would be injured because of that arsonist.
I could even see property damage totaling hundreds of billions of won.
Welcome~!
The waffle vendor greeted us with a smile.
That man.
He dies.
He dies, trembling as he's engulfed in flames.
He dies horribly, thinking of the wife and daughter waiting for him at home.
Our apples are delicious! Apples!
The fruit seller lady dies too.
Having lost her husband and raised her son alone, she would suffocate in the thick smoke and die after sending her son an apology message.
Our cutlassfish is fresh today! Cutlassfish!
The fish vendor man dies too.
Mom!! Buy me tteokbokki!!
The young mother who came shopping at the traditional market holding her child's hand, too.
Hey! Let's go eat hotteok!!
The high school students who are just happily running around, too.
All of them will die or be seriously injured.
I can see countless futures.
I searched through those futures.
I looked for the future of the one who would set this place on fire.
The one who would kill dozens and torment hundreds.
The one who would make even more people grieve.
And I found him.
You there, student.
Yes?
Could we talk for a moment? Ah, we're not suspicious people or anything.
...You look suspicious no matter how I look at it.
I grabbed the high school student walking by.
He was Kim Guhwan, a student at Dobong High School near the traditional market.
The broad-shouldered boy looked at us with a sullen face.
This guy is a cop.
Uh, I didn't actually do anything bad.
Kim Guhwan, that bastard—I knew he'd be like this!
Officer! Over here! Here!
Kim Guhwan, who had been caught in the middle of eating tteokbokki with his friends, looked extremely flustered.
The friends beside him seemed unaware of the seriousness and were only busy teasing him.
It's nothing, so just a moment. Could you flip this card over for me?
...A tarot card?
Still puzzled, Kim Guhwan flipped over the tarot card Kang Injeong held out.
When I saw it and nodded, Kang Injeong grinned.
Yeah. Thanks.
Is that it?
Yep.
Tarot cards, huh... Since Kang Noa is all the rage these days, I keep hearing people everywhere telling me to flip tarot cards.
Huh? You know Kang Noa too?
Yes! Tarot cards have suddenly become hugely popular at school lately. There are even kids walking around in masks.
So I'm the one setting the trend.
That's a good thing.
Anyway, that's it, right?
Yeah. Thanks for cooperating. This big brother will pay for the tteokbokki.
Wouldn't you be more of an uncle than a brother...
When Kang Injeong's expression twisted, Kim Guhwan smiled brightly.
Hehe. Thanks, big bro!
No conscience at all.
The age gap was more than a full twelve years, so what 'brother'?
But Kang Injeong paid for the tteokbokki with confidence.
Then he came over to me, who had been watching from behind.
Teacher. What do you think?
I saw it.
Really?
That boy saw it.
Right.
Kim Guhwan saw it.
When he entered the traditional market, he saw someone sprinkling something in a corner of the market.
Who is it?
Follow me.
And that person was someone Kim Guhwan knew well.
After all,
he was a teacher at Dobong High School.
.
.
.
We arrived at Dobong High School.
We got into the school by borrowing the power of the state.
What brings you here from the police station...
We headed to the faculty office under the guidance of the head of academic affairs.
The teachers were still in the faculty office, and among them I fixed my gaze on one man.
He was a pleasant-looking man.
He looked like the kind of person who couldn't even steal from a neighborhood convenience store, let alone commit serial arson.
But in his past
and in his future, I could see his horrific actions.
***
Ever since he was young, he liked burning things.
At first, it was ants.
The sight of ants engulfed in flames, writhing as they burned, was utterly mesmerizing.
After ants came mosquitoes, moths, grasshoppers, and cicadas.
Every time he watched insects burn, he felt his own omnipotence.
But it wasn't enough.
The omnipotence he felt from insects alone was nothing more than a sprinkle of water on a parched throat.
More.
He needed more.
So the next targets were animals.
First, chicks.
Then stray cats.
He even tried burning things like turtles he'd bought from a pet shop.
Watching them struggle delighted him.
But this still wasn't enough.
Something bigger.
Something with a higher intelligence.
He wanted to see them suffer in the flames.
But in a society like this, doing that wouldn't end with mere social ruin.
So he held back.
But.
'I can't hold back anymore.'
His mother, his only family—the shackle that bound him—died.
Was that why?
The desire he had been suppressing and suppressing was no longer something he could hold back.
So he tried it out a little.
He set fire to a place where people lived.
But unfortunately, no one died.
Still, that was okay.
Next time...
Because next time, he'd do better.
So.
The next place is here.
The place the man's eyes were fixed on was
a place that hundreds of people passed through every day,
a place where, if a fire broke out, no one would get out and at least dozens would die.
The Dobong-gu traditional market.
.
.
.
Wow.
What trash.
A mindset this rotten is top-tier trash, hard to find even in an orphanage.
Is this what you call a psychopath?
But can a psychopath even become a teacher?
Anyway, now I know why he hadn't been caught.
That man will die too.
He'll die after getting caught up in a gas explosion while watching the Dobong-gu traditional market burn.
He'd be dying in the fire he started himself, so there's not much to feel wronged about, but other people dying and getting hurt is not okay.
So I had to stop him.
Hello.
Huh? Ah, hello. But who are you...
I'm from Dobong Police Station. Teacher Lee Ilje... am I right?
Yes. That's right, but...
Excuse me, but could you flip over this card?
A card? Haha. Students nowadays seem to play with these cards. I guess they're popular at the police station too?
The authority of the police easily lowered his guard.
He accepted the request without resistance; after all, it was just a request to flip a card, not an accusation from a serial arsonist.
After that, the other teachers as well.
Everyone in the teachers' office flipped over the card Kang Injeong held out for me.
All done, sir.
Yes. Let's go.
I left the school with Kang Injeong.
Who is it?
The chemistry teacher, Lee Ilje. He's the culprit.
...I see.
There was no doubt.
Kang Injeong looked at me.
Four days from now. He'll do it near the mural village in Dobong-dong.`,`...I see.`,