Chapter 13.1

Chapter 13.1

Sungang gave a final, menacing warning look through the slightly lowered window.

Thinking about it, it was somewhat surprising that they allowed her to go out in the first place. Of course, they could easily capture her back if they wanted to, so they let her go without much concern.

“I’m leaving. Have fun.”

After the car left with a low exhaust sound, Heeju entered the school. The Forensic Science Research Institute was located in the medical school research building of Korea University. The medical school was situated at the innermost part of the campus, and since the site was carved out of a mountain, there were many steep slopes.

Normally, she would have driven up to the research building, but the car Sungang brought was an unusually expensive foreign car. She didn’t want to attract the attention of professors or researchers with such a conspicuous vehicle, and she also wanted to enjoy the breeze while walking.

She trudged along the path she once took to work every day. Perhaps because it had been a long time since she last came, it felt strangely nostalgic.

After graduating and completing her internship, Heeju began her residency in the forensic medicine department of the medical school at the age of twenty-five. As a resident, she practically lived in the autopsy room, working more intensely than anyone else.

However, the reason those days felt so distant, as if from a past life, was because everything changed with her sister’s death. Heeju remained stuck there, unable to move forward at all.

“Dr. Ko!”

“…….”

“Hey, Ko Heeju!”

As she slowly made her way up the slope, someone called out to Heeju from afar and quickly ran over. The man’s name was Kim Yeongshin, wearing a coat over his gown and a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck.

He was a colleague at the research institute and a classmate from university days. He was older than her and the very person who had coaxed her into going out today despite her reluctance.

“Oh… why are you coming from there? Were you out?”

“No, I just came out for a moment to run an errand and happened to see you.”

Heeju nodded casually and asked, “Really?”

“Let’s go inside first. It’s cold.”

With a look that suggested he had much to say, Yeongshin shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. The campus, having entered the depths of winter, felt bleak. It was fortunate that it hadn’t snowed yet, as climbing the slopes could be quite troublesome when it did.

“How many months has it been? About half a year?”

“Probably.”

It seems like it had been about that long since she came to submit her resignation on a day when the cicadas were noisily chirping. It was once a place where she spent more time than at home, but returning after a long time didn’t evoke feelings of longing or nostalgia. If anything, it was quite the opposite.

Yeongshin, with his nose buried in his coat collar, glanced sideways at Heeju’s face.

“Why do you look so thin?”

“Do I? I think I still look about the same….”

“About the same? I can tell just by looking.”

Heeju chuckled at Yeongshin’s words. Even with clothes on, being able to roughly gauge someone’s body specs was an occupational hazard for both of them. Yeongshin himself seemed to have lost some weight since the last time she saw him.

“Won’t you get blown away by the wind? Should I hold you down?”

“What are you talking about? If a person gets blown away by a bit of wind, are they even human?”

“You look like that right now. Like you might just disappear with the wind.”

Yeongshin’s voice had a somber tone. She could feel his gaze glancing at her profile. Heeju kept walking, looking straight ahead.

“You know I was really going to go to the police station if I couldn’t reach you this time, right?”

“The police station? That’s a waste of public resources.”

“I really went all the way to the police station entrance, you know? But they said they don’t investigate when an adult goes off the grid.”

“I’m surprised you’re only finding that out now.”

Heeju’s dry response made Yeongshin frown in displeasure.

“Where have you been? I went to your house a few times, but no one was there.”

“Just around.”

Heeju paused, searching for words to describe her current situation. There was no need to mention that she had dived into the sea trying to follow Ko Heejin and was now half-confined, paying off a private loan debt.

“At a friend’s place.”

“A friend? Is there someone you know that I don’t?”

Yeongshin looked momentarily confused before grumbling again.

“If that’s the case, you should have at least contacted me. I imagined all sorts of things on my own. You know I have a vivid imagination, right?”

“Why? Were you worried we’d meet on the autopsy table?”

“No matter what you say, it’s always like that….”