Chapter 4
Chapter 4 : It’s an Incredible Gift (1)
Jaegun abruptly expanded his eyes and opened his mouth . The moment he touched the kitten, an indescribable sensation traveled through his arm and entered his body .
“Urgh… Wh-What? Did I drink too much?”
Even his head started aching . Jaegun wrapped one hand around his head and hollered .
“Arrgg, I must have over-drank . I should rest now . You should come to my house for now too, but I would have to use 2 hands to bring the box…”
To Jaegun’s words, the kitten cla.s.sily hopped on top of the box . Seeing this cute scene, Jaegun momentarily forgot his pain and let out a grin . As he lifted the box up, the kitten was already calmly waiting for him .
“Your name is Rika, right?”
“Meow . ”
“There’s nothing to feed you except milk at my house, is that okay?”
“Meow . ”
“As soon as I get up tomorrow, I’ll find your owner for you . I’m just a novel writer with nothing to do . ”
“Meow . Meow . ”
That night . Jaegun dreamt his first dream in a long time .
An old man in his 60s was there, warmly smiling at Jaegun . He approached Jaegun and laid down a piece of advice .
-Write the stories that you want to write, but you must remember to distinguish between what you want to write and writing to solely make money .
-Do not forget what you promised to yourself when you decided to pick up the pen . You must always keep in mind what you promised to yourself in the beginning .
“Urggghhhh…”
Jaegun rubbed his burning head from the hangover and woke up from his slumber .
“Meow . ”
Rika, who was guarding him by his bedside all night, approached him while meowing . Jaegun fondled Rika who was rubbing against his cheeks and stood up .
“You sleep well Rika? I should first take a walk around the neighborhood . And you, play with the toys while I start on my proj-…”
Jaegun couldn’t finish his sentence and closed his mouth . He stared penetratingly at Rika with a face void of tiredness . His two eyes were wildly shaking .
“Ri-Rika, I knew you already…?”
“Meow . ”
Jaegun was in a state of extreme confusion . Memories of his daily life with Rika were flooding into his mind . What was the meaning of this when it was his first time meeting this kitten .
“Wh-What? What? Thi-This is?”
The new memories were not just about Rika . His entire body shuddered while he observed the memories one by one . The memory fragments didn’t make sense nor were they organized .
A scene of him taking a walk with Rika, a scene of him writing a story somewhere, a scene of a young, angry girl throwing a fit, etc… All of these scenes were running past his mind like the floating clouds outside .
A memory of a picture surfaced in Jaegun’s mind . The figure in the picture made Jaegun recall his dream last night .
‘The, the old man from the dream!’
He had completely forgotten about the contents of his dream until just now . The figure was that old man from his dreams who gave him various advices . The memories of the old man were, for some reason, transferred to Jaegun’s mind .
Jaegun sprinted outside of his one-room apartment, wearing mismatching slippers . Behind the huffing Jaegun was Rika, quickly keeping up with him .
The place that Jaegun arrived at was the grave on the mountain . He looked at the gravestone while gasping for breath and he immediately froze .
-Suh Gunwoo (1952~2012)
“How could this be…!”
His teeth clattered as he fell down to the ground . The name of the old man that forcefully planted the memories into him was Suh Gunwoo . How could this possibly happen . The memories of another person, and a long-dead person at that, were planted inside his mind . Jaegun tried pinching his cheeks . He felt the pain for sure; it was not a dream .
“What? Th-This is?”
Another memory surfaced in his mind . It was none other than Suh Gunwoo’s street address .
“Pyeongchang-dong… Jongno District… Seoul…?”
Jaegun sounded out the address with his mouth . Pyeongchang-dong was in the same city he was in and it was not that far from where he was . It was a distance that he could go to in 40~50 minutes by riding the subway .
‘I definitely need to go there . ’
First, Jaegun came back home and quickly washed his body . Inside a big, yellow backpack, he packed the items that he picked up yesterday: the laptop, fountain pen, a mug, and the gla.s.ses . After he was done, he held the kitten in his embrace .
“You come here too . This is probably your home . ”
“Meow . ”
Jaegun boarded the subway while holding Rika . He wanted to use a taxi because of the cat, but due to his financial situation, he had no choice but to use public transportation .
“Ah, what the h.e.l.l is this . Bringing a cat inside the subway . ”
“I have an allergy too, really . ”
“I’m very sorry . I apologize . I’ll get off soon”
As he was profusely apologizing to the pa.s.sengers, it was soon time to get off . Jaegun hugged Rika and quickly got off the subway .
‘Let’s see, the address is…’
The villas became numerous as he was nearing the address . All of a sudden, he stopped in front of a place in a narrow alleyway .
“Meow . ”
Without warning, Rika jumped to the ground and took the lead . Jaegun treaded behind Rika through the twisting and turning alleway .
Suddenly, the duo stopped in front of a worn-down villa . Jaegun looked at the engraved address next to the entrance . It exactly matched the address from Suh Gunwoo’s memories .
“It was your house after all, you remembered well . Let’s go in quickly . ”
Jaegun walked in front of the villa and pressed the doorbell of suite 201 . After a long while,a man’s voice came back through the intercom .
“Who is this?”
“Ah, yes . Excuse me, do you possibly know Suh Gunwoo?”
“… What is the problem?”
The man’s voice turned dark in an instant . Jaegun cleared his voice with a cough and quickly replied .
“Actually, his grave is near my house . There was a laptop and various other items as well . I also found a cat and was wondering if these items were yours . ”
“How did you find this place?”
“The address was written on a piece of paper inside the box . Um, I think it was something like a delivery sticker . ”
Jaegun did not tell the truth . He could not tell the crazy story that he inherited the memories of Suh Gunwoo and he found this place like that .
“There was an address written somewhere? There is no way that would happen… Anyways I don’t need those items so please go back . ”
The man still did not open the door and stubbornly talked through the intercom . Jaegun was enraptured by a peculiar mood . Jaegun was sure that the man abandoned these items in the grave from the way he was talking .
“Excuse me, but what is your relation with Mr . Suh Gunwoo?”
Jaegun asked through the intercom . He needed information . What was the ident.i.ty of the old man named Suh Gunwoo, who came into his head without warning; he desperately wanted to get to the bottom of this .
-Slam!
The door suddenly opened with a deafening noise . In front of the startled Jaegun, who took a step back, was a man in his 30s . A red face and a strong alcoholic smell emanated from the man even though it was currently morning .
“What are you planning to do with information about my Father?”
“Fa-Father?”