Chapter 18 – The Second Desire Quest (2)
Seo Joo-hwan and two high school girls got on the bus heading to the concert.
‘This is my first concert. It must be boring.’
In fact, there is no need to go to the concert together.
As long as we meet up on time, nothing will happen.
‘I have to make sure.’
Seo Joo-hwan did not want to risk the slightest bit. That’s why I bought a scalping ticket as soon as I came out on vacation.
When he was looking for a scalping ticket, he targeted the seat next to Seo Joo-hee and Han Soo-ah. And as if the bad luck before returning was a lie, he was able to find a seat next to Han Soo-ah. It was said that he had normalized his karma, but he seemed to be lucky in this life.
“Hwan oppa, is the seat next to us? That is great!”
“Hmm. I didn’t even make a reservation after matching the words, so how could I be right next to you? Didn’t you do a background check on us?”
Han Soo-ah jumps and jumps saying she likes it, and Seo Joo-hee looks at him suspiciously with fluke eyes.
Seo Joo-hwan shrugged.
“Say something that makes sense. Is it possible to make a reservation for the same seat after checking the background? It’s just a coincidence.”
“But. I was too exquisite, so I just said it for no reason.”
Fortunately, Seo Joo-hee was easily convinced. Common sense wouldn’t have even thought that he would have bought a scalping ticket.
The three of them arrived at the concert venue and took their seats.
While waiting like that, the lights in the hall suddenly turned off and the stage was illuminated.
The concert had begun.
“Ah, let’s begin! Please, I hope today is not the last concert…!”
“I hope our swingers do well… Heeing.”
Two people staring at the front with both hands clenched as if praying.
On the other hand, Seo Ju-hwan shrugged and buried himself in the chair.
According to his memory, Swing Lady eventually disbands, contrary to the wishes of the two girls. I don’t know exactly when, but it didn’t seem like it made it past this year. Girl groups that didn’t get popular eventually disappeared.
‘What was the leader’s name?’
I don’t remember very well.
At least, I think the leader sang well.
Seo Ju-hwan did not think deeply. Since I wasn’t interested in celebrities in the first place, I started to feel drowsy right away.
*
“Hey, wake up! It’s over!”
“Hwani oppa!”
“Yes? Uh, uh wow, that was fun Is not it?”
Seo Joo-hwan clapped reflexively at the feeling of shaking his body and stood up.
“What did you say? Keep sleeping.”
“Brother Hwan….”
The response was cold.
Seo Joo-hwan was embarrassed and quickly got up.
“Uh. Have you been exercising too hard lately? I didn’t want to sleep, but I forgot to doze off.”
“Drowsy. I slept very well.”
“Brother, didn’t your health suddenly deteriorate from overexertion?”
“Suah, do you believe that? If you become nice.”
“Well, what if it’s real?”
“Hmm. Just a little tired Now, let’s go home.”
I feel embarrassed when I see Han Soo-ah, who is really worried about the reckless excuses.
Seo Joo-hwan hesitated and led the two outside.
On the bus on the way home, the two girls chatted and chatted.
“Today, the leader’s song was great. Right, is it Sua?”
“Yes! If our leader and agency take good care of him, he will definitely become very popular.”
Less than a year is left until that leader retires, so I can’t tell you the future.
Seo Joo-hwan quietly looked out the window from the back seat.
Through the wet glass window, I could see the rain falling incessantly.
– This stop is Gwanghyeon Notice.
You have arrived at your destination. The three of them got off the bus and walked home.
“Ugh. It’s sticky. I want to take a quick shower.”
“I am cold… It’s fortunate that Hwan-i oppa asked to bring an umbrella.”
“I know. How did you know and got it? It wasn’t even in the weather forecast.”
“It just looked like it was going to rain.”
“Are you a shaman?”
“Hwan is the best oppa.”
It is Han Soo-ah who smiles and gives a thumbs up with his younger brother who looks at him as if he is absurd.
Seeing that bright appearance, Seo Ju-hwan smiled bitterly.
How could he not know the weather today?
‘It’s unlucky weather.’
In mid-January, even though it is winter, sticky humidity rises like the rainy season in summer. It was cold and even sticky, so the discomfort index went up.
The three of them arrived in front of Han Soo-ah’s house.
“Sua, come in. Auntie will be worried.”
At his words, Han Soo-ah waved her hand and said hello.
“Hwani oppa, thank you for taking me there.”
“What kind of honor all of a sudden?”
“Hi-Hi. Thank you?”
“Singy. It’s cold, so hurry up. Don’t forget what I said.”
“Yes! Goodbye oppa and Joohee too!”
“Sua, hello!”
The two of them turned around after watching Han Soo-ah enter.
Their house is about 15 minutes from Han Soo-ah’s house in the opposite direction. In the past, they were neighbors who lived right next to each other, but the distance widened because they moved.
When he arrived near the house, Seo Joo-hwan called the desire quest.
『Save Han Soo-ah!』
▶ You regretted it over and over again.
‘If I had picked him up on time, that wouldn’t have happened.’
It was never because of you, but it is also true that you could have prevented it. That’s why your trauma deepened day by day. You cursed yourself for your bad luck, even though you didn’t blame anyone.
But you are different now.
You know the future, and you have enough abilities to save Han Soo-ah.
Stop overcoming your trauma.
▶ Achievement condition: Han Soo-ah’s safety
▶ Reward: 20,000LP
Now that Han Soo-ah has safely entered her house, her safety is certain. She had also told her not to come out of the house just in case. Even so, she was worried and even begged her to call her if anything came out.
Perhaps because of that, Han Soo-ah showed a strange expression she had never seen before.
‘Is this the end?’
The current time is a little after 10 o’clock.
If you go home, wash and lie down, the day is over.
Han Su-ah was no longer harmed by her.
“… It’s embarrassing.”
But why am I so uneasy?
Seo Ju-hee overheard him talking to himself.
“Is it not it? Aren’t you embarrassed too? Oh, but will I take a shower first?”
“… Did you?”
“What. Why are you so flustered?”
“What am I?”
“Chit. Done. Anyway, thank you for today, brother.”
“Ok?”
Seo Joo-hwan narrowed his eyes, wondering if he had heard it wrong.
Why does he say thank you?
Seo Joo-hee glared at him once, as if asking what he was looking at, then muttered as if talking to himself.
“Is it weird to say thank you? It just didn’t rain thanks to me, and to be honest, I was scared because I was a heinous criminal or something, but thanks to that, I arrived safely, and maybe it’s because I came back from the military, maybe I feel a bit more reassured?”
As she folded her fingers one by one, Seo Joo-hwan let out a laugh.
How long has it been since I had a conversation like this with her brother her.
He was chatty only when the three of them were together with Han Soo-ah, but it was the first time the two of them had a conversation like this after returning.
Seo Joo-hwan felt awkward for no reason, so he pushed Seo Joo-hee on the back and said,
“What? Stop talking nonsense and get in. Arrived.”
“Seed. Even if you say thanks a pig.”
“Yes. No longer a pig You have lost a lot of weight.”
“Is it still a pig?”
“Stop talking and go in, pig.”
“Who says who is a pig? And if you can go in first, why keep pushing?”
“I’ll be coming in later.”
“What? Why?”
Instead of answering, Seo Joo-hwan took out a lighter from his pocket and showed it.
As Seo Joo-hee frowned at her, she walked into the front door of the apartment.
“Smoke a little bit!”
“Don’t you know that cigarettes are essential for artists?”
“Art is a piece of shit.”
As Seo Joo-hee sighed, she entered the hallway.
Seo Joo-hwan giggled and looked at her from the back before pulling her out a pack of cigarettes.
“… Is it a mast?”
I wasn’t smoking because I was next to the kids, so I didn’t even know it was a mast.
“Oh, it’s raining and it’s bothering me.”
Even as he said that, he headed to the convenience store to buy cigarettes.
It was just 5 minutes away anyway.
With my daughter
After opening the door and entering, Seo Ju-hwan sighed as he habitually looked around the convenience store to see if there was anything to eat.
I’ve been working on my own diet lately. Convenience store food should be avoided.
Eventually, he approached the part-time worker and pointed to the cigarette section.
“Well, a pack of weeks….”
Took.
“Calculation.”
While they were talking, a man pushed Seo Ju-hwan and intervened. Looking back reflexively, he saw a tall, rather bulky man.
The man who threw up his work gloves glanced at him and urged the part-timer.
“Aren’t you counting?”
“Hey there, guest. Because the person in front came first.”
The part-timer slightly frowned at her and said.
“What?”
The man’s voice was harsh.
Seo Joo-hwan took a step back and mediated the situation before it escalated.
“It’s okay, so pay first.”
“Yes? However…”
It’s best not to get involved with the truth.
“Do you calculate quickly?”
The man spoke again in an annoyed tone.
A part-timer trying to open his mouth as if he was crying.
However, when Seo Joo-hwan shook his head and pretended to stop him, he soon clicked his tongue once and took a barcode and counted.
“…….”
After paying the bill, the man muttered something and passed by.
Took.
This time, the bag the man was holding hit Seo Ju-hwan’s knee and passed by.
I felt a tingling sensation.
With my daughter
Seo Ju-hwan crouches down with a frown on the man who opens the door and walks out.
The part-timer looked at him curiously and asked.
“Guest, why are you like that?”
“Oh, it was stamped on the bag of the person who just left.”
When he pulled up his pants to check, his blood was oozing out like tears.
Stabbed by something.
At that moment, Seo Ju-hwan clearly remembered what the man had muttered earlier.
‘Shall I kill him?’
A chill runs down his spine, and goosebumps set in.
Seo Joo-hwan was intuitively convinced.
‘Lucy, that guy’s status window!’
Immediately, the man’s status window popped up.
〈 Seongbeom Joo 〉
Gender: Male
Age: 37
Height: 183cm
Weight: 80kg
Likeability: F+
Current sexual desire: S
Fetishes: Apotemnophilia (top), Erotophonophilia (top), Pecattiphilia (middle)
Retained Talents: Reasoning (E+/A), Medicine (E/B+), Organizing (C+/B)
The fetish displayed in the status window.
I don’t know the exact meaning, but it’s not unusual even at a glance.
Lucy explained the exact meaning of fetishes.
[Apotemnophilia is a syndrome in which sexual arousal is felt by the act of cutting the body, and erotophonophilia is a syndrome in which sexual pleasure is obtained from killing people. Finally, Pecattiphilia is a syndrome in which sexual pleasure is obtained from committing crimes such as rape and theft. Two of them are advanced, one is intermediate, and the sexual desire is currently at the highest level, S. It is not strange to commit murder right away.]
Seo Joo-hwan’s face twisted viciously.
“What the fuck!”
From rape to mutilation to murder.
There is not a single normal sign.
‘A guy like this is roaming the streets right now?’
A chill chill ran up his spine.
‘It wasn’t the end that only Sua was safe!’
Seo Ju-hwan reprimanded himself.
I was caught up in the trauma and only cared about Han Soo-ah, so my thoughts had become too narrow. At this rate, someone else would die instead of Han Soo-ah.
I immediately called 112. However, for some reason, the phone does not answer and only rings the waiting signal.
He nervously waited for the signal and called the part-timer who was standing on the other side.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes Yes? Me?”
“Call the police right away and tell them that the killer is here.”
“Yes? What does that mean…”
“There is a case of mutilation in the news recently, right? That bastard is the culprit, so call me quickly!”
“No, how do you know that? Of course, he was unlucky, but…”
“It’s not important, call me quickly!”
Seo Joo-hwan screamed in frustration.
He said impatiently, putting his wallet on the counter.
“Here! I’ll leave this behind, so if the police say anything later, say my name! Oh, the police told me to come to an abandoned building near here! He must have gone that way!”
“Yes? No, hey! Excuse me! Hey!”
Jump!
Leaving behind the part-timer who urgently called him, Seo Joo-hwan started running in the rain without even using an umbrella.
It has already been quite some time since the culprit left the convenience store. I would rather have followed from the beginning, wasting time.
‘I know the place!’
Before returning, the incident took place in an abandoned building near here. The waste building, which had a scheduled construction date and blocked people from entering, was the best place to commit a crime.
“Huck, huck. Huh.”
Arriving in front of the building, Seo Ju-hwan gasped. It’s a short time, but he runs full force and his breath fills up to the tip of his chin.
“Whoa.”
After calming his breathing, he approaches the building.
He intended to remain undercover even if the culprit was not here. After all, the culprit will come here.
Seo Joo-hwan nervously swallowed his saliva and slowly entered the building.
