Chapter 65

The pain does not diminish just because it’s something you’ve experienced once before. This is true for anyone. Giving up and resigning oneself is not adaptation. We do not call it evolution when we become accustomed to suffering.

Naturally, it seems there is an uproar on social media. Regardless of the community, people were discussing my story. Ji Kang-hyeon’s agency announced that they would respond to maliciously manipulated articles and negative comments, but that did not mean the world would quiet down.

Of course, at that time, I wouldn’t have thought it would involve Ji Kang-hyeon and me, but there were indeed witnesses who saw us at the aquarium and on the street. Naturally, there would be those who couldn’t believe such explanations.

I knew how to endure the tumult of the internet. The solution was simple: not to look. After all, none of those stories could directly affect my life.

Of course, I knew that this wasn’t easy. No matter how hard you try to forget, some things are not easily forgotten. Ignoring people’s reactions about oneself is also a difficult task.

Whether in a relatively analog society or now, where the internet is deeply ingrained, it has become even harder.

Still, in the end, I managed to endure as much as I could. By completely avoiding looking at my smartphone, I had no medium to deliver such stories to me.

There were only a few people currently in contact with me, so no one would approach me with such conversations. I adequately explained the situation to Jae-Ah, the only one aware of this incident, and told her not to contact me for the time being.

Once I had completely shut out public opinion, there was no further harassment.

Regarding the lawsuit, something would have to progress, but due to its nature, it wouldn’t proceed quickly, so for the time being, it was alright. Of course, I would have to find a lawyer and consider how to respond in the future.

The story involving Ji Kang-hyeon would eventually settle down as time passed. I understood that responding rashly during such a time would only fan the flames.

So there was nothing more for me to do but to remain calm.

At least online, that was the case.

~

Since the incident occurred, I had been refraining from going out, but I couldn’t stay inside forever. As long as one lives, trash naturally accumulates, and at some point, it must be disposed of. Living alone didn’t produce a significant amount of waste, and I could endure it for a while, but food waste had to be thrown away regularly.

It was on one such day when I attempted to take out the food waste that I had come out early in the morning, deliberately paying attention because I had heard about Gu Ji-ye. Naturally, I wore a hat to cover my head.

As I struggled to carry the trash bin filled with food waste to the disposal area, I felt a strange gaze on me. I looked around, but there was no one in sight. It might have been my imagination, but considering my current situation, I couldn’t easily dismiss it as such. I wanted to hurry back home.

Every time I disposed of food waste, my already weak stomach was further provoked, and I often felt nauseous. Since this happened to me, it felt as if I was getting sick more often.

I hurriedly continued my steps along the short path back home after emptying the trash. The problem arose when I arrived at my house. Two unfamiliar men were standing in front of it. One was holding a microphone, and the other a smartphone.

Although they weren’t holding a camera like those seen in the news, just seeing the microphone made me realize their identity. As I saw them blocking my front door, I felt a lump in my throat.

Naturally, as soon as I noticed them, they also spotted me. Seeing them dash toward me quickly caused me to instinctively back up.

“Excuse me! Writer! Could you spare a moment for an interview?”

They were rather large reporters. Feeling an inexplicable pressure, I immediately turned and started to run. The flustered reporters chased after me, and due to the inevitable difference in height, I was soon caught up by them.

It was early in the morning, so there were no people in the streets, and naturally, I had no means to ask for help.

The reporter with the microphone grabbed my hand as I tried to escape. Fortunately, I didn’t fall, but in the natural course of events, I was caught by him.

“Let go!”

“Just a moment! We just want to ask you a few questions.”

“I’ll call the police! Let go!”

The reporter really let go, startled by my intense reaction, but in the meantime, the other reporter blocked my escape from behind.

I could discern that this situation was not normal at all. While they were not aggressively threatening me, the mere fact that two of them were blocking my way in itself was an act of violence.

Breathless, I immediately took out my smartphone to dial 112. But the reporter behind me suddenly snatched the phone from my hand. I was stunned by how easily he took it.

“We’re from Future Entertainment. I’m Song Gil-chan. Please cooperate, it won’t take long.”

It was a newspaper I didn’t recognize. This wasn’t the publication that had previously printed my article. I felt that this situation was really dangerous. With a trembling voice, I reached out toward the smartphone that the man was holding.

“G-give it back.”

“If you can just have a quick chat, I’ll give it right back. We’re not strange people.”

Even though Gu Ji-ye had issued a warning, I didn’t imagine it would escalate to such a situation. I felt anxious. A fear that resembled nothing I had felt before took hold of me. This was the first time I was confronted with such direct and overwhelming violence.

I had always been a man and stood in a position of strength. I wasn’t particularly brawny, but I was tall enough to dismiss most conflicts. I hardly remembered being hit by my mother in my childhood, but that was on a different level than my current predicament.

I was scared.

I couldn’t speak any further and just stood there trembling quietly. But my stillness didn’t mean they would just leave me alone. I was powerless.

“P-police! I’m over here!”

A voice of salvation called out from behind me.

Turning around, I saw a girl in a school uniform, along with two police officers. The male officer ran toward me, shouting immediately. The two reporters, upon seeing the police, froze and then tossed my smartphone aside before fleeing.

One of the male officers pursued them. The remaining officer was a female one, and she ran straight towards me.

“Are you okay?”

Perhaps she didn’t recognize me since I was wearing a hat. Her tone, as if she was speaking to a child, would typically annoy me, but oddly, it brought me great comfort at that moment.

The shy girl who had been standing in the back approached me and started checking my condition. Was she already going to school this early in the morning?

“This older sister reported you. Are you alright? Can you talk?”

“I-I’m fine.”

A slightly tearful response slipped out. I was embarrassed by my pitiful voice, but this was not the time to worry about that.

~

With that, I was led by the female officer to the police station. The officer who chased after the reporters soon returned, and he, along with the female officer and the student who reported it, got into the police car.

I began to calm down a little after climbing into the car, and only then was I able to take off my hat and reveal my identity.

“Oh, you’re the writer.”

It seemed that none of them were unaware of who I was. An awkward atmosphere enveloped the car. The student must have thought I was just a child, which is why she reported it—it made sense since that wasn’t the case.

“Th-thank you. I owe my life to you.”

“Oh, no, it’s alright.”

The student introduced herself as Im Mi-ra, a high school girl living nearby. She usually goes to school early and said she just found it odd when she saw me running and decided to report it.

I was lucky. By chance, there was a student heading to school on this route. Furthermore, a police car roaming nearby quickly responded.

While I was curious about her immediate decision to report without fully understanding the situation, it seemed there was another reason.

“Well, actually, I’ve seen those men hanging around the neighborhood for a few days. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but today, the moment I saw you, the writer, I thought something was off… so I reported it.”

I could only say I was extremely fortunate.

Upon arrival at the police station, I was immediately questioned. Of course, as the victim, they only asked me a few questions, which I answered to the best of my knowledge. I didn’t know much, but I at least knew that the reporter had introduced himself as Song Gil-chan from Future Entertainment.

The high school girl who helped me, Im Mi-ra, finished her questioning first and got into a police car to go to school. I wanted to express my gratitude to her, but in the flurry of things, I couldn’t exchange contact information.

However, at least they realized that the victim wasn’t an ordinary child, so the investigation was conducted rather hastily. They likely thought it was just an overly aggressive inquiry.

While I was dissatisfied with this, I also knew that there weren’t any particular measures I could take. However, they did say they would investigate the journalist, so I accepted it for the time being.

After the questioning was over, I rode back home in the police car. As the officer dropped me off, he mentioned that they would enhance patrols in the area, but somehow I didn’t believe it would actually happen.

When I arrived home, I was mentally exhausted and fell onto the sofa immediately.

Although I received a warning, I never imagined something like this would actually happen. I thought it was just a storm in the internet realm. I believed that as long as I remained still, nothing would happen.

But the storm began to invade my reality. I could no longer bury my head in the ground and pretend it wasn’t happening.

I had already calmed down at the police station, but still, my state was not good.

I felt fear and powerlessness. Yet, the most agonizing part was my own inability to act in that moment. I thought I had sufficiently recognized that I had changed, but I had not fully grasped what it truly meant to have changed.

I feared the insidious hands of desire that had been thrust upon me that day.

And I feared the pressure of that burly man who had approached me today.

The two were similar yet different, and different yet similar.

It hurt.

~

That day, I received a call from the police station. Since the other party had directly revealed their identity, it was naturally quick to identify. However, the police’s words were shocking.

There was no reporter by the name of Song Gil-chan at Future Entertainment.

They claimed that their newspaper had not sent a reporter to me.

They even provided their employee directory for verification, and it wasn’t a lie.

I unconsciously gazed toward the direction of the front door.

Cold sweat broke out.