Police Department Report, Incheon, 9:31 pm-
· 12 young adults, eight boys and four girls, have been reported missing in February 20XX.
· six young adults, all boys, have been reported missing in March 20XX.
· 14 young adults, six boys and eight girls, have been reported missing in May 20XX.
· 15 young adults, six boys and seven girls, have been reported missing in June 20XX.
· three young adults, all boys, have been reported missing in July 20XX.
Lee Yoeun-Ho, an officer in the Incheon district of Namdong-gu, stared at the report from last year. His eyes ran through it many times, but no clue could be gathered of it. He stretched his arms and let out a huge sigh. Then he looked at the desk in front of him. He was in a small cabin with two lamps, one flickering. His workspace was against a plain grey wall. A small locker was at the corner of the room—a table with a kettle and some coffee. A small window was to the left of the room covered with curtains.
Yoeun-Ho opened another report. It had a list of names of the missing young adults with the details of their last seen.
"Cheok Sando, age 15 years, last seen in a fish market....... Mo Long, age 13 years, last seen at a public park......." He went on reading the details aloud in an empty room. Finally, he stopped at the last name, the last victim, "Ibuki Kaoru, age 17 years, last seen at the Cheongug Research Facility......Um, interesting."
After giving some thought to the reports, he got out of his chair and put them back on the table. He grabbed his coat and went out on the chilly spring evening.
It had been a year since Ibuki had disappeared. He was last seen by some passerby entering the Cheongug Research Facility but never appeared there. His disappearance was the nail in the coffin, forcing the authorities to rethink a broader connection in the similar disappearance that had happened over the same time. Officer Yoeun-Ho was posted in the district six months after Ibuki's disappearance. He was interested in the case from the beginning because of the complexity it held. For six months, he had been gathering as much information about the missing teenagers as much as he could. Ibuki was the only one left. Yoeun-Ho was failing to get much about him from his research. The only clue he could get was that he may have disappeared from the facility. But the question was, what was he doing there?
"A 17-year-old boy in a renowned research facility?" thought Yoeun-Ho.
He stopped by a roadside eatery that cooked fresh shrimp, to Yoeun-Ho's delight. He sat down and placed his order. While waiting, he took out his phone and texted another officer to meet up. As the shrimp was being cooked, Yoeun-Ho looked about the area. Then he checked his phone for a response to his text.
"Hyung!" A young man, not that tall but fit, waved at Yoeun-Ho. He smiled. The man came and sat in front of him. He bowed to greet him and said, "How was your day?"
Yoeun-Ho passed a bottle of shoujo to the fellow and replied, "I may have a clue. But I need your help."
The man nodded as he poured the drink into the glass.
"Ha-Joon, do you know anything about this boy Ibuki?" Yoeun-Ho took the drink as he asked the question.
Ha-Joon thought for a moment and said, "I am not sure. But I do remember that his mother, I think, had come to report him missing. She said he hadn't returned home for a whole day and was responding to her calls."
"Do you remember his mother? Can you take me to meet her?" Yoeun-Ho asked excitingly.
"Yes, I can."
The next day, Yoeun-Ho and Ha-Joon met up at the police station. Ha-Joon gave Yoeun-Ho all the details he had, and then the two went to meet Mrs Cho.
The dreaded year of not seeing Ibuki had weakened his mother. She was constantly hospitalised, and Maki's life had been impacted. Today, when the police arrived to meet her, no one was home, and they had to return disappointed.
As they walked disappointed, Yoeun-Ho made a sudden stop and said, "Is there someone else we can reach out to, you know, a friend or something?"
Ha-Joon paused to think and shrugged in response.
"There has to be. Not like the boy had no friends."
Ha-Joon gave it a thought again, trying to recall any detail he may be missing. Finally, he gave Yoeun-Ho his desired answer, "Yes, there is. Mrs Cho said his name was.....um.....Park Misao!"
Yoeun-Ho patted Ha-Joon on his back, "And that may be all I need!"
The evening that day somehow reminded Misao of the day she had met Ibuki. Although it was summer then and spring now, the wind, the place and the atmosphere felt the same to her. She had graduated from high school and was preparing to study in Germany. She was going to pursue medical studies. In Germany, she planned to stay with Uno and his mother.
She was cycling back from meeting Youra. She stopped by the old building. It was finally being demolished, and a new park would be set up. Despite the horrifying moments that the building held within it, Misao still felt terrible about its demolition. The building had been abandoned after a criminal was arrested for kidnapping and murdering young children in the building. It used to be a playhouse for young children before the horrifying crimes were unveiled. Then, the building was abandoned somewhat for the superstition of ghosts and some for the trauma it held. Now, the park would be in its place in memory of the kids.
"No doubt it held a dark aura around it. Such a cursed place!" thought Misao as she saw the last of the building fall to shambles. Yet somewhere, she knew that with the shambling of the building, she couldn't hope to see Ibuki again there.
Finally, standing there for long enough, Misao decided to leave. She reached home when the Sun had left the sky.
She went to her room and lay down to rest, occasionally checking her email for any responses from the university she had applied for.
She lay flat on her back, staring at the ceiling. Then she heard a notification. She quickly opened it, and her eyes widened with joy the moment she saw it.
"Mom! Dad! Brother! I have been accepted!!"
Misao ran down to share the good news with her family. They all rejoiced and congratulated Misao on her achievement.
"When are you going then?" asked Rui.
"Somewhere around mid-August or early September, to, you know, get to know the place." Misao kept looking at the email in excitement. Finally, her dream would come true—another doctor in the Park family.
"I think I should let Uno know. So he can talk with his mom, and we can plan when to leave."
To celebrate Misao's admission that night, Rui planned to cook the entire dinner with some special dishes that Misao loved. Rui adamantly insisted that neither Lisa nor Seo-Yun would help him. He wanted to cook all on his own. Therefore, the dinner happened later than usual.
While Rui set up the table with the dishes and a congratulatory cake in the centre, Lisa and Seo-Yun decorated the kitchen. Meanwhile, Misao was in her room sharing her thoughts with Youra.
"I will miss you!" Misao said. Youra was going to apply to Seoul University, and so was Joon-Woo. This meant that Youra and Misao would not be able to meet physically frequently enough.
"I will miss you too. But hey! Your dream is coming true. Right?!" Youra cheered her friend but was met with silence. "Misao, are you okay? Say something."
"Youra....... I feel........sad."
"Why? You should be happy!"
"I am here sitting, enjoying my life in the comfort of my family and my friends. If I am sad I can call you, I am happy I can call you,........ But, Ibuki....... God knows where he is, how he is and what he is doing. He probably has no one to talk to."
Youra sighed, "Misao, it's time you move on. Wherever he is, he will be fine. I am sure."
"I don't think so."
"Come on!"
Just then, Misao heard Rui call her down.
"Youra, Brother is calling me. I will go have dinner."
She hung up the phone and went down to have dinner. There, she met her joyful family with a brightly decorated kitchen.
"Congratulations!" all of them said in unison.
"Aw! Thank You soooooooo...... Much!" Misao hugged her family and then proceeded to cut the cake.
The dinner was a ride. Rui had cooked so much that Misao couldn't figure out what to eat and where to begin. The whole kitchen was filled with the aroma of tasty dishes and laughter.
After the dinner was over, Misao went outside to have a walk in her garden. Rui followed her to give her company.
As they walked, Rui asked, "I can tell you seem upset with something. What is it?"
Misao looked at her brother and said, "Ibuki. Where is he?"
Rui lowered his head and then lifted it to turn to Misao, "Wherever he is, the police will find him. Don't worry. Life is, its........you know....... like a, um, a malicious naughty....... pet. It loves to play with you. I suppose sometimes you have to play along until it gets bored and stops. Okay?!"
Misao giggled and hugged Rui, "I think I should go to Grandma. One last time before I leave for Germany."
"Good idea. It will relax you, and you will feel better. Let me know when, and I will take you there."
"Okay, Oppa!"
It was all black and quiet. Ibuki opened his eyes but could not figure out where he was. He felt someone's arm against him. On his left, he felt a cold metal. He tried to position himself straight. Softly, he asked, "Where am I?"
A hoarse, deep voice answered, "We are off to Seoul, lad."
Ibuki clenched his fist and asked, "Who are you?"
"You shut your mouth and stay put!"
Ibuki remained silent, listening to any sound that touched his ears. Whoever was next to him wasn't moving. He tried to reach out for the person's hand and felt it was cold. He slowly moved his hand, about to figure out who it was. The skin was soft, and the chest felt flat. The hair also fell short. The entire body was cold. Ibuki figured it was a boy. He tried to push him to see if he woke up, but there was no response.
With no other option, Ibuki remained still, thinking how he had ended up being there.
"Chang-shi! He .... he put me here!"
Ibuki cleared his throat and asked, "What... time is it? What day is it?"
The hoarse voice responded, "10 pm Tuesday."
Ibuki did some calculations and figured he had been in this weird place for almost thirteen hours. But he could not recall anything beyond his meeting with Chang.
Then suddenly, he heard someone cry, "Let me out! You monsters!"
A light flicked, and a giant man held out a gun at the boy who had screamed. The boy got up to rebel, but the man pulled the trigger. The loud shot left Ibuki utterly shocked. He crouched and remained like this until they arrived.
Somewhere, two hours after the incident, they made a stop. The man got up and turned on his torch.
"Hands behind your back, head low, walk in line!" he shouted.
Ibuki helped himself up using the wall. He put his hands behind his back and lowered his head as said. He followed a weaker-looking young boy and was followed by an even weaker-looking girl. Ibuki was scared. He looked about, and it was all a vast green forest. It was impossible to make a run for your life there. You did, and either the men shot you, or a hungry predator had you for his meal.
The line was directed by gunmen, who were well-built and big. The line was made to enter a fenced area with a vast four-storey wide-based concrete building. It was grey and rusty. The land on the forepart of the building was dry and dusty.
The line entered the building. They were asked to bend down on the floor, and everyone was given a box with some essential stuff in it.
Then, each one was led to a different room, with six people in each room. Ibuki shared his room with relatively younger boys and girls. They were asked to remain in the rooms till they were asked to come out.
The rooms had six beds. The walls were old. There were only three lamps and one small washroom. The beds had thin quilts, not much for the cold nights that were to come. There was a system for heating. Each table had a small desk attached to it with drawers to keep the essentials given to them.
Ibuki took his bed and sat down. His arm was aching. He held and crouched.
"What has happened to me? What will happen to me?"