Chương 7: S.04 Memory of the Clock 02(03)

Scene 05. Inside the quarters of 본청(Bon-cheong_Headquarters) where Yeon-hui had stayed. Yeon-hui's room, situated at the end of the wide dormitory building, sat exactly as she had left it — not a single fold of bedding out of place. Yeon-su could not bring herself to touch the bed, so she had been lying on the bare floor. Dressed in a 소복(Sobok_White mourning garments) woven from 삼배(Sambae_Hemp cloth), Yeon-su — curled up with her tall frame — roused herself from sleep.

Through her sluggish eyes, a presence behind the 창호지(Changhoji_Traditional paper-paneled door) came into view. Familiar enough that Yeon-su did not bother to respond. The presence, too, could not bring herself to speak. Yeon-su had been waiting, but she had no intention of offering what was expected of her. I-seon:... Yeon-su. A quiet call. I-seon's wretched voice was thick with apology. Yeon-su did not want to exchange a single word. She held her silence to the very end.

She could feel the hatred — but she knew its target was wrong. It was simply the reality that the one she should direct her hostility toward was not in front of her right now. That reality was the only thing steering Yeon-su's hatred in a crooked direction. I-seon understood Yeon-su's state of mind well enough, and so could say nothing more. I-seon: I'm sorry. Doe Yeon-su. Yeon-su: And still, Yeon-hui sis isn't coming back.

Inside Yeon-su's head, the only narrative that existed was "I-seon, who refused to help her until the very end." The only thing lodged there was the misunderstanding that I-seon had stood by and let Yeon-hui be dragged away to the prison ward. I-seon, too, tried to bear it in silence. Why she had done nothing that day — she could not make sense of it herself. Why it had been her, of all people, who was made to escort Yeon-hui to detention — she could not fathom. That stretch of time had moved mechanically.

The memory was hazy. She had wanted to forget it badly enough to distort it. There were moments she even convinced herself she had never gone to the prison ward at all. I-seon could not answer Yeon-su's quiet accusation. Yeon-su: Go. That single curt word was more terrifying than any curse. The shadow I-seon had cast beyond the threshold of the door grew faint and receded. There was nothing more she could say. Yeon-su, too, knew she was in no position to treat I-seon this way.

She felt sorry for I-seon, who absorbed it all without a word. But right now, she wanted to let it out. She wanted someone — anyone — to take the brunt of her anger. Scene 06. So-hui sat amid black flames, her eyes steeped in a dark gaze. Early evening. The daylight — shortened to its limit — had already pulled back even the early sunset. Inside the roaring black flames, So-hui straightened her darkened gaze. Si-yeon watched from nearby, eyes full of worry.

So-hui closed her eyes once more, and without warning began to vomit blood from her mouth. Si-yeon did not rush but moved to help quickly. She had seen this several times already. Carrying a towel, Si-yeon pushed through the black flames and reached So-hui. She wiped the blood from So-hui's mouth with the towel and covered the blood spat onto the floor with another. So-hui's hands trembled as though in agony. Si-yeon could not stop her. She could not. This was what So-hui wanted.

Only after this could So-hui sleep in peace. The black flames that had engulfed So-hui and the living room began to die down. Cold fire that had not singed a single thread of clothing retreated to the edges of the black candles, lowering its fury. Si-yeon patted So-hui's back with her own hands, helping her cough and spit out every last drop. So-hui clutched the towel with trembling hands and expelled the remaining blood.

She caught her breath for a moment, then slowly lowered the towel she had been pressing to her mouth. So-hui: Hah. Si-yeon, having awkwardly blown out the eight black candles arranged around the room, darted across the floor wiping up So-hui's blood with a towel. So-hui carefully covered Si-yeon's cold hand with her own. So-hui: I'll do it. Si-yeon: Already wiped it. Give me that one too. So-hui: It's disgusting. I can move, so just give it to me. Si-yeon: It's not disgusting at all. Hand it over.

Si-yeon snatched the blood-soaked towel from So-hui's grip as if confiscating it and dropped it into a washbasin she had prepared beforehand. The basin sitting in the living room was full of clear water. So-hui blinked several times, trying to steady her swimming vision. She shook her head once, exhaled hard, then looked up at Si-yeon — who had been shouldering every unpleasant task without complaint. So-hui: Si-yeon. Si-yeon: What. So-hui: Thank you. A weak voice, but deeply meant.

Si-yeon wrung out the towels roughly, refilled the basin with fresh water, and carried it back to So-hui. Si-yeon: How long are you gonna keep doing this? At this rate, you might just — suddenly — So-hui shook her head. So-hui: I'm gonna live a stupid long time. Till I'm smearing shit on walls. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Si-yeon: How am I supposed to believe that. At Si-yeon's rebuke, So-hui smiled weakly and made her plea.

So-hui: I wish you would. Si-yeon: SSibal. That doesn't work on me anymore. So-hui: Ah-ni, SSibal, then what am I supposed to say. Si-yeon: Tell me a definite deadline. Living a stupidly long time is a given, so that doesn't even need saying. So-hui: This year. Fine. After this year, I won't do it every day. And I really am going to live a stupidly long time. Si-yeon: Mm. This year, huh. Si-yeon stole a glance at the calendar hanging on the wide living room wall. Si-yeon: Oh? There's not much left.

As Si-yeon's light remark trailed off, a faint glow of emergency lights bled into So-hui's living room from outside. Si-yeon's startled eyes shot toward the window — but So-hui grabbed her hand. Blue and red light flooded into the dark living room. Si-yeon looked at So-hui for a moment, read her intent, and held still. So-hui: We can't be seen. Don't turn on the lights. Si-yeon nodded, then — supporting So-hui — crouched low and crept toward the living room window. Scene 07.

Si-yeon's hands were cuffed behind her back. The police, who had entered just as she was finishing her preparations to go out, had arrested Si-yeon on the spot and were now escorting her out of the apartment. Face twisted in a scowl, Si-yeon grumbled her way into the back of a patrol car with its lights flashing. Si-yeon: Ah-ni! SSibal!! I'm telling you!! I didn't have the TIME to kill that SSibal — whoever the hell they are!! Even after climbing into the car, Si-yeon's string of profanity did not stop.

The officers ignored her. A suspect denying the situation was nothing new. Si-yeon, face crumpled to its limit, hurled a fresh volley of curses at the officers who would not so much as respond. Si-yeon: You SSibal pig bastards!! Are you even listening to me?! The door of the patrol car Si-yeon sat in opened again from behind. At the abrupt swing of the door, Si-yeon — hands cuffed behind her — flinched and looked sideways. Ju-hyeon: Si-yeon. Could you scoot in a little. We need to ride together. Scene 08.

FLASHBACK Ju-hyeon stood wearing an apron, the clamor of children behind her as she silently jotted down what was being said over the phone. When she finished her brief notes, she spoke to So-hui, whose voice had been coming through the receiver. Ju-hyeon listened to So-hui's voice — straining to stay calm — with quiet sympathy. Ju-hyeon: So the person named as a suspect is, in the end... So-hui: Yes. That's why I'm asking. I'm not asking you to get her off.

Just please take the evidence we're providing — that alone. Ju-hyeon: Mm. That's no problem. It's a tip-off, after all. The department in charge is different from mine, so there'll be some side-eye, but don't worry. So-hui: Thank you. Ju-hyeon: If everything you've told me is true, this must be hard on you. So-hui could not answer. Ju-hyeon: And your mother — she... So-hui: Yes. Ju-hyeon: I'm sorry. Half of what I've heard, I still can't believe. She seemed like... truly a good person.

Ju-hyeon knew full well why So-hui could not continue. As the silence stretched, So-hui barely steadied her breathing and left a parting word. So-hui: In any case, I'll be counting on you. Detective. Ju-hyeon: Yes. Don't worry. I'm only picking up the evidence. Scene 09. The procession of patrol cars pulling out of the shabby redevelopment zone was visible in the distance. Early evening, hardly any daylight left — a winter evening where the cold wind cut without mercy.

Hee-jin, collar of her coat turned up as high as it would go to block the bitter air, paid the taxi fare and stepped out of the back seat. She walked on heels of considerable height and entered the run-down apartment building nearby. She pressed a familiar button and rode toward a high floor. Hee-jin straightened her coat, and just as she was about to ring the doorbell, the door opened as if it had been waiting — and So-hui stood there, looking somewhat worn, facing the 책사(Chaek-sa_Strategist).

So-hui let Hee-jin inside with a slight bow. The moment So-hui and Si-yeon sat side by side, Hee-jin — still standing — lowered herself into a deep formal bow. So-hui, seated beside Si-yeon, bent at the waist in a deep return. Si-yeon, still visibly awkward with this kind of formality, managed an uneasy dip of her head. Having finished her bow, the Strategist gathered her coat around her and carefully lowered herself to the floor, folding her knees beneath her. So-hui spoke to Hee-jin in a composed voice.

So-hui: Strategist. This level of courtesy is still beyond what we deserve. Hee-jin: 안내자 (Annae-ja_Guide). You must accept it now. No — you must be the first to accept it. So-hui could not argue against the Strategist's steady persuasion. Hee-jin: The former 단장 (Dan-jang_The Oldest), Jeon I-sim, has now become The Oldest of the previous generation. As she had wished for a long rest, she walked the path she desired. Now, the true The Oldest is Kang Ji-young.

And you, Jo So-hui, are the only Guide whom the current The Oldest can trust and rely upon. This is no longer something you can simply turn away. So-hui only stared at Hee-jin in silence. Hee-jin: The reason I have come today is because of their movements — as you have likely already seen. So-hui: Yes. I saw. Hee-jin: Someone is stirring things from behind. You already know who. So-hui: Yes. I skimmed over it through Gyeong-seo's eyes. Hee-jin: A vicious yet pathetically stupid woman.

So-hui: She still doesn't know? What situation she's actually in? At So-hui's question, the Strategist let a faint, enigmatic smile surface. Hee-jin: As you saw, today's arrest of The Oldest was something I arranged. So-hui: Meaning she still has no idea. Hee-jin: I allowed it on purpose — a brief release — so please do not worry too much. So-hui: Are you all right, Strategist? Hee-jin: This, too, is something I was prepared for.

It seemed as though someone had been surveilling this place, so I judged it better to hand her back quickly. If you leave one mosquito alone, it becomes two, then three. The longer you wait, the more of a nuisance they become. That is why I have come — to ask you to prepare. So-hui: Yes. I've been waiting for this. Si-yeon: So basically, we just need to chop off one arm? Hee-jin: A head would be fine as well. No — it must be the head. Si-yeon: But... if we kill her, doesn't she drop off So-hui's sight?

Hee-jin looked at Si-yeon with a flicker of genuine surprise. Si-yeon glanced behind herself, checked whether Hee-jin was really looking at her, and — finding no one there, as expected — stared back at Hee-jin blankly. Si-yeon: Hm? Hee-jin: It seems you have come to understand far more than I realized, Si-yeon. Si-yeon snorted at the Strategist's mild praise and lobbed a light jab back. Si-yeon: Ah-ni, seriously, sis — just how much of an idiot did you think I was. Hee-jin flinched and bowed deeply.

Hee-jin: I'm sorry. That was absolutely not what I — So-hui, who had been watching the Strategist's helpless guilt in silence, drove her elbow hard into Si-yeon's ribs. Si-yeon: Uh, um.... It was just a light comment, I didn't mean.... Hee-jin: In any case, I apologize. Si-yeon: No, no — I really didn't mean it like that, honestly, uh.... You don't have to go this far, uh.... Hee-jin: I understand your concern, Si-yeon. But the Guide will not bear a burden from this. Si-yeon: Why not?

Hee-jin: Because the one commanding them is none other than 사무장 (Sa-mu-jang_Executive Secretary) Doe Yu-seok. Those vermin-like women can never operate beyond his reach, or mine. Si-yeon nodded at the Strategist's certainty. Hee-jin: And, Guide. So-hui: Yes, Strategist. Hee-jin: One more death will surface. Not from the 사절단 (Sa-jeol-dan_The Envoy's Legion), but you must be cautious. So-hui: Bae Ju-hee, wasn't it. Hee-jin: Yes.

The former 감사원장 (Gam-sa-won_The Inspectorate), the Director whose head was blown apart by the Acting Executive Secretary.