Chapter 4
But life can crash to the ground in an instant, something she had forgotten for too long.
“That person disappeared…vanished like evaporating mist.”
Seoryeong let out a self-deprecating laugh. The throbbing pain that erupted at unexpected moments had become all too familiar now.
I want to find him. I can’t imagine giving up like this.
“… Somehow, such things came too easily to me.”
Her face, drained of color, still seemed dazed as if she couldn’t believe reality. Leaning on a single stick for support, she lost her way.
“But, sister. Today’s encounter may be the will of God.”
Listening silently, the priest took the flyer that Seoryeong was holding and unfolded it with sincerity.
“Matthew 7:7, keep on asking, and it will be given to you. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”
While hearing the sacred words of the priest, she took the flyer in a moment of confusion.
It was not an illusion.
It still seemed blurry, but for a moment, it felt like the fog within her vision was dissipating. Bewildered, she blinked her eyes.
[We will find anything. Money/People/Things
☆Reasonable Price
★Perfect Confidentiality
This is not an illegal intelligence agency. We are a company run by a former National Intelligence Service employee◀ ☎010-XXX-XXXX]
***
Passing through various instruments, the journey concluded with a circular penlight illuminating Seoryeong’s eyes.
The ophthalmologist seemed perpetually perplexed, tilting his head as if things were rather strange. He sighed, hugged his head, and even grumbled.
“Patient, you’ve been seeing objects for a few days?”
“Yes.”
“It doesn’t make sense….”
She was equally puzzled by the situation. When initially diagnosed with retinal dysfunction, they mentioned it could be genetic or just one of those things that happen. While regrettable, she could accept it.
I’ve had ‘just such’ things happen to me too.
But what about this?
“This… We should report it to the academic community first.”
“Is it that serious?”
“Yes, I’ve never encountered a case like this during my career in ophthalmology.”
Over the course of a few weeks, her once blurry vision was gradually improving.
It wasn’t an illusion. Her surroundings were now becoming distinguishable; even the doctor’s features were faintly visible.
Wearing corrective glasses felt like it would make things even clearer. Her heartbeat quickened.
Once, it felt like the world was crashing down, but now it seemed to flip upside down.
Her husband disappeared, and the haze in her vision disappeared… It was strangely ironic, almost like fate balanced sickness and remedy.
Whether it was a result of divine intervention or a fair exchange of affliction and cure, she couldn’t help but wonder.
“My eyes… Could it have not been an illness?”
Seoryeong opened her mouth without even knowing what I was asking.
“What does that mean?”
She didn’t know either.
It was just an inexplicable logic that seemed to overlap with her husband’s disappearance and this anomaly.
What did his disappearance have to do with this eye condition?
But retinal dysfunction came suddenly, and disappeared just as suddenly.
It felt just like Kim Hyun. He appeared when things were most unfortunate, and light returned when I was most frustrated.
Lately, hermind was filled with such absurd thoughts. At this point, even the police officer’s scolding about going to the hospital felt somewhat like useful advice.
“When I first received the diagnosis, my doctor said it wouldn’t get better.”
“That’s correct; this disease is nearly incurable. Looking at the patient’s chart, the progression was acute. But now, you seem to be recovering again.”
The doctor, scratching his chin, cautiously spoke.
“It’s been two and a half years since you first received the diagnosis.”
“Yes.”
“It feels like it was temporary.”
Listening to the doctor’s careful words, Seoryeong surveyed the inside of the examination room.
“It does require further research in the academic community… But if the functions of the optic nerve and retina stopped and some paralysis was relieved, theoretically, it’s not entirely incomprehensible if things return to normal.”
“…!”
“However, even for me as a doctor, I’ve never heard of such a case. It’s theoretically quite challenging to ‘temporarily’ paralyze this optic nerve. It would be easier to go completely blind; this would imply that they someone tampered with the optic nerve—”
The doctor shrugged lightly.
“It seems malicious, even as a hypothesis.”
That’s right.
She quietly gripped the walking stick.
Once a week, putting eye drops into her eyes was a task her husband used to handle. It wasn’t unfair or lonely when he was around. Blinking her eyes to ensure the eye drops spread evenly, she would soon receive a comforting kiss from him.
“If your recovery continues like this, you should be able to regain your previous vision without any problem. Let’s observe for a bit!”
The doctor showed a fist in a resolution filled with excitement. Seoryeong, who had been fidgeting with her eyes for a moment, asked,
“But by any chance, has my assigned doctor changed?”
“Oh, that…”
The doctor hesitated for a moment, then cheerfully said, adjusting his glasses,
“I apologize for the late explanation. I took over from Dr. Park. He got a great opportunity and was appointed as a professor at Johns Hopkins University from this semester.”
“….”
Her husband didn’t disappear alone. Strangely, many people disappeared along with him.
Could this be another absurd thought?
Now, she wanted to know the truth. She wanted precise answers, not guesses or assumptions. She wanted clues that would connect all the scattered pieces into one.
But at that moment, she felt that neither the police officer, the priest, nor the doctor could talk about all this uncertainty.
***
“Everything’s fake—his name, the company he works for, even his car plate number. So, his resident registration number is useless since it’s also fake. There are no CCTV cameras inside the villa or in the alley. Even the neighbors in the villa suddenly disappeared, leaving no witnesses. Can you still find my husband?”
The voice that spoke only the truth was dry.
The errand center employee, a young woman, whose lips parted like a fish, smiled cynically.
Her desperation and this peculiar case aroused his interest. His eyelids, devoid of any double-fold, sparkled with a hint of excitement.
“It’ll be difficult, but it’ll certainly be fun. We’ll start with four million won. Is that okay with you?”
Seoryeong nodded without enthusiasm.