"Ga Motack." 'Is that the voice of ..a woman?' He looks up and sees not one, but two women. One elderly, and another about his age. "You are in a coma," the elder states, "You will soon die. However, if you form a contract with us, you may live on."
"Contract?"
"Yes. A contract with a person from Yung will not only give you back your life but also give you additional strength to help people in your world," the grey-haired woman explains. "Your life will be tied to this woman here, Kim Giran. We come from Yung, a place where spirits ascend. In your world, evil spirits lurk to kill. In exchange for your life, your job is to remove the evil spirits from the bodies and free the innocent souls."
"Okay," he says, wanting to live on.
--
For the past seven years, Motack has been missing time. He lost memories of a few years before his coma, especially what led up to it. Since he woke up, he's been working in a noodle shop with Miss Chu Maeok and Do Hana, as well as their new recruit So Moon. As he lives on, the more he wants to find out who had attempted to kill him.
Motack decides to go down to the police station to see if he could learn anything new about his past life. He finds an investigation file stating that he had attempted suicide. The file mentions that lieutenant Kim Jeongyeong had conducted the investigation.
--
The phone at Jeongyeong's desk rings. "Hello?"
"Lieutenant. There's a civil petition."
"A civil petition?"
"A man wants to have his case explained to him by the detective in charge of it."
"What's the case?"
"The petitioner is ..Mr. Ga Motack."
Jeongyeong sits up in her seat. Eyes blown wide, she repeats, "Mr. Ga Motack?"
"Yes. It's about a case from 2013."
Still in shock, she asks again, "Did you just say Ga Motack?"
--
On her break, Jeongyeong goes to the vending machine to get a drink.
"Are you detective Kim Jeongyeong?" a familiar voice asks. She says nothing and proceeds to purchase a beverage. "I thought you'd be a guy," the man continues, "Anyway, did I just see a wanted criminal walking around here with a smile on his face or am I seeing things?"
"You saw that right," Jeongyeong replies. She looks to the floor, not making eye contact with the man. "You still have those sharp eyes.." she mutters under her breath.
"Do you ..know me?" he asks. She hands him a canned beverage and grabs his arm to lead him outside.
They're now sitting on a bench in the courtyard. "By any chance," the man starts, "Were we on the same team? I heard I used to work at this station before, but I've lost all of my memories. I don't remember much. Also, you seem to know what I like, you grabbed exactly what I wanted from that vending machine."
Jeongyeong exhales. "You wanted me to explain your case," she says. He sighs and hands her the folder. Looking through the evidence images she asks, "What about these did you want to know?"
He lifts up his shirt revealing healed scars clearly from stab wounds on his abdomen. "Does anyone try to kill themself this dramatically?" he asks sarcastically.
"That's what the situation indicated," she says in response. "What was the situation?" he asks. "It's just as the report says."
He lifts his shirt again. "After seeing this?" She looks away from him and holds out the folder gesturing him to take it back. "I saw it," she says, "Look, if you want to file an objection, fill out an application and make it formal."
"If I turn in an application will you reopen the case?" She sighs, "If the case needs to be reopened the higher ups will say so. If you have nothing else to say, please excuse me." She stands up and begins to walk away.
"Wait," he says. "You know me but you're pretending you have no clue who I am. What are you hiding? What made you cover up the case of your colleague who was on the verge of death after getting attacked?"
"Well what can you do now?" she asks. "You're the one who suddenly vanished from the hospital so why show up now?" On the verge of tears she continues, "You lost your memory. Just keep living like that."
"No, I refuse," he says. "I've been living like that for so long, I'm done living like that. You guys found my belongings at the scene. I want my cell phone. I'm coming to get it tomorrow, and if you give me some bullshit like you lost it, I will barge into that building and cause a scene." She lets out a heavy sigh and walks away.
--
She holds his phone in her hand and recalls the day it was separated from him.
~
In the hospital, on a stretcher, lay an unconscious, bloody Motack. "No, no, no! This can't be!" Jeongyeong shouts, tears falling from her eyes. His phone falls out of his pocket, but the situation is too stressful for anyone to notice. "My love..." she shudders, sobbing harder as the doors to the operation rooms section close, with her fiance no longer in sight. She moves to a chair, crying into her hands. His blood covered phone lay on the floor.
~
She takes the bag with the cell phone inside, slams her locker door, and makes her way to the cafe where Motack is waiting.
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😾
