The Swimming Emperor(22)
"Shaman... I've met a few times to have my fortune told."
"I'm different from them."
The shaman Yoo Il-am, who used to kick Song Seon-young claiming to catch ghosts, naturally came to mind.
'Really the worst!'
Yoo Il-am is the number one person I don't want to meet again.
"It seems so. The shamans I've met so far were deceived by my husband's appearance."
"......"
She didn't respond to the conversation. Because Mrs. Park Han-hee became conscious of her right foot and couldn't figure out his intentions.
I slightly regretted revealing my cards too quickly.
"What kind of person did you see my husband as?"
"He was very patriotic."
"You saw it right. So I suggested he should try politics, but he didn't like that."
"He must have had a difficult past that he couldn't be proud of."
That's how politics was in the old days.
President, Minister, Mayor, Congressman...
If you don't stand out as a politician, you won't be properly investigated for crimes or corruption.
'Nam Hae-soo can't do it.'
Just like public figures who were expelled for being exposed to the fact that they bullied friends in their school days.
If the numerous evil deeds Nam Hae-soo committed to succeed as a swimmer were exposed to the world, he would be ruined!
That's why he, who had many hidden sins, could not become a politician.
"...You seem to know everything. That's right. My husband had a lot of secrets."
"So, is there a truth that you really want to confirm?"
"Yes."
Park Han-hee readily admitted it.
A husband with many secrets.
Her expression, which was unshaken throughout the funeral, changed frequently. It meant that she cared much more about this than her husband's property.
Secrets hidden until death?
Even entrusted the secret to a complete stranger, not even a family member.
'I can't help but worry.'
I would have been the same if I were in her position.
"Mr. Nam Hae-soo said he would leave it to my judgment."
"So, you can't show it to me?"
"I will decide."
"...These days, men think that if they're handsome, they're all set."
"Excuse me?"
I was taken aback by the remark mixed with criticism and praise.
"Is it a joke?"
"...No."
If Park Han-hee's taste hadn't changed over time, it must be sincere.
"Kang Moon-soo, thank you for talking with an ugly old woman for a long time."
"Ah, no, not at all."
"I'll wait here, reminiscing about our memories, hoping to share all the secrets."
Park Han-hee, who had been with me all along, turned her wheelchair in a different direction.
"Ma'am."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"Even if you couldn't become a national representative, did you want to stay as a track and field athlete?"
"...What did the girl who confessed to you without shaking her right foot say?"
"Tell me first, and I'll let you know."
Looking at the children running around the resort, she said,
"People are happiest when they do what they want to do."
"You haven't changed."
"What did she say?"
"She said she runs just because she wants to run."
If her senior hadn't bullied her, she would have continued running in reality.
Regardless of aptitude.
"Did I pass your test?"
"I was just curious."
"As an elder's advice, in society, that's called a test."
"...I'm sorry."
"I'll wait."
"Yes."
Now, let's find Nam Hae-soo's last dream.
* * *
In the dream, I chose a villa above the sea after escaping from the hijacked plane just before it landed at the airport.
I was confident in swimming, and if I was surrounded, I could escape to the sea.
...That's what I thought.
'Thanks to that, I got caught completely!'
It would have been a pretty good hiding place in a fantasy world without traditional weapons, but it was not the case in modern times.
The existence of a sniper who can attack unilaterally from afar!
The sea, without any cover to hide from the flying bullets, was as good as a shooting range for dying.
"There's no way it's a coincidence."
After all, I chose this hiding place. But there were dozens of houses on the sea that looked exactly like twins on both sides.
Room 503, 504, 505, 506...
Like this!
The resort manager randomly chose an empty house, but what if the manager's employer was 'Nam Hae-soo'?
It doesn't seem like a coincidence anymore.
Click.
I unlocked the door to the house that looked the same as the one in my dream and cautiously entered.
"...This damn trauma."
I caught a glimpse of the illusion of Nam Hae-soo holding a glass of alcohol, gesturing to me.
The perfectly identical room structure, arrangement, and beautiful scenery.
I got goosebumps.
'Is it just the furniture that's different...?'
The furniture of the modern era must be more sophisticated than that of the less developed old era.
"But it's inevitable..."
There had never been anyone who persistently asked where and with whom I was meeting. Usually, if I give a hint that I don't want to tell, they give up.
But Song Seon-young was different.
It's as if she's family...
So, is her nagging and meddling both annoying and pleasant?
It's a very complicated feeling.
'...Should I go and look for it?'
I was slightly delayed talking to Song Seon-young, but the sky wasn't dark enough to not see the baseball-sized box, so it didn't matter.
The lowest place that no one can find.
It's right under the building.
"That's why no one can find it."
Tourists head to well-maintained beaches or swimming pools if they want to swim.
The area below is still the sea. However, there are no beautiful corals, and no safety personnel, so if you want to swim, you have to risk your only life.
Why bother at the resort?
Not only that, there are other tourists' houses on both sides, so there's a possibility of being accused of invading privacy or being mistaken for a thief if you swim carelessly.
In other words, no one cares what's under the building.
'They'll think it's just sand.'
Now, let's really check if it's just sand.
After changing into my always-prepared athlete swimsuit, I jumped into the sea.
Splash!
"Hmm..."
I could only see the columns supporting the building above the sea surface and the sand.
Is it buried in the sand?
I was seriously considering whether to bring a shovel and come back.
"Life is hell."
The sentence carved with a knife on the lower part of the column, invisible unless diving.
'I found it.'
Hell.
The lowest place in the world.
Nam Hae-soo's video letter contained a detailed description of the location.
"My secret is hidden in the place where we last met."
"I hid it in the lowest place so that no one could find it."
The last place we met.
Broadly speaking, it means this island, but the last place we met and parted was this villa.
And the lowest place.
Since there is no basement in the villa, it must mean the sea under the building.
"Life is hell."
'Even a signpost!'
It's a relief that I don't have to dig up all the sand around me.
Swish swish-
I dug up the soft, white sand under the column with my hands.
'...Oh!'
Thud.
I touched something as hard as a rock with my fingertips.
I immediately pulled it out and saw,
'A black box.'
As Nam Hae-soo said, it was a baseball-sized black cube.
Whoosh!
Using the ladder that connected the sea and the villa, I came back and carefully observed the box.
"It looks like it opens by turning..."
Creak-
Although it was tightly sealed, it wasn't at a level where I couldn't open it due to lack of strength.
Round and round.
After turning it about dozens of times?
Finally, the cubic box split in half.
'Is this... an old memory chip?'
A portable memory device I often saw in Nam Hae-soo's dreams.
It was wrapped in plastic and tissue to prevent water from entering the device.
What should I do now?
Of course, I'll open the contents.
"My preparedness!"
I had roughly guessed when it was said to be the size of a baseball. And even the possibility of it being an old electronic product.
110V, 220V, USB, MP3...
I had brought old exclusive transformers and cables without any burden because they were cheap and easy to carry.
Tock, tock.
I immediately connected my smartphone and memory chip, and ran a program that reads old files.
'What is this...?'
The file names were unusual.
"Woodpecker"
"Cuckoo"
"Kingfisher"
"...Your hobbies are quite refined."
I can confidently say it would have been grounds for divorce if it had been discovered during his lifetime.
The next file is...
"Park Han-hee"
"Park Han-seol"
'Why are the names of his wife and executioner...?'
Curious, I clicked on the file and couldn't help but be shocked.
Numerous videos.
I could see the track and field senior who I teased as a 'turtle' in my dreams.
"This is a really dangerous secret."
I decided to postpone judgment and continue looking.
"Hell"
'...He said life is hell.'
Hell, a term commonly found in both the phrase written on the column and the file name.
There must be a connection.
Tock.
I clicked on the 'Hell' file after preparing to be surprised.
"Hey, it's that woman, isn't it?"
The traitor who was killed by her husband Nam Hae-soo, who turned into a Blade Demon in the dream.
In reality, she committed suicide at a young age after being forced into prostitution...
There was a reason why Nam Hae-soo remembered the old incident.
'You were the one involved?'
It wasn't just her.
Inside this 'Hell' file, there was plenty of evidence of the evil deeds committed by Nam Hae-soo to succeed or afterward.
And at the end,
"Divine Punishment"
There was the last file.
"Divine punishment..."
Tock.
It was a video with only Nam Hae-soo's face appearing, like a video message.
(If this comes out to the world, it means I'm dead.)
"That's right."
(As you may have guessed from watching this video, I am not a great person. I oppress the weak, threaten women, betray friends, and deceive colleagues... I am a devil.)
"It seems so!"
Even from just skimming through the materials, he was an unforgivable person.
(My wife doesn't know. That I used my track and field friends to harass her, and I manipulated her family's weaknesses to induce marriage.)
"Wow..."
Isn't he inhuman?
(I was scared.)
"Of course, you were."
(I regretted it. But it was too late to turn back the mistakes of the past.)
"......"
Nam Hae-soo's world (dream) was not based on patriotism.
Guilt.
The devil, who deceived even the closest person, wanted to repent.
(You must be the person I trusted the most just before I died.)
"Well..."
Maybe?
(So, I entrust this file to you.)
"This guy...!"
I stepped on a landmine!
(I'm really sorry for passing on the heavy burden.)
"What am I supposed to do with this?!"
Nam Hae-soo's dream ended by gifting a bomb.
The Swimming Emperor(22)
"Shaman... I've met a few times to have my fortune told."
"I'm different from them."
The shaman Yoo Il-am, who used to kick Song Seon-young claiming to catch ghosts, naturally came to mind.
'Really the worst!'
Yoo Il-am is the number one person I don't want to meet again.
"It seems so. The shamans I've met so far were deceived by my husband's appearance."
"......"
She didn't respond to the conversation. Because Mrs. Park Han-hee became conscious of her right foot and couldn't figure out his intentions.
I slightly regretted revealing my cards too quickly.
"What kind of person did you see my husband as?"
"He was very patriotic."
"You saw it right. So I suggested he should try politics, but he didn't like that."
"He must have had a difficult past that he couldn't be proud of."
That's how politics was in the old days.
President, Minister, Mayor, Congressman...
If you don't stand out as a politician, you won't be properly investigated for crimes or corruption.
'Nam Hae-soo can't do it.'
Just like public figures who were expelled for being exposed to the fact that they bullied friends in their school days.
If the numerous evil deeds Nam Hae-soo committed to succeed as a swimmer were exposed to the world, he would be ruined!
That's why he, who had many hidden sins, could not become a politician.
"...You seem to know everything. That's right. My husband had a lot of secrets."
"So, is there a truth that you really want to confirm?"
"Yes."
Park Han-hee readily admitted it.
A husband with many secrets.
Her expression, which was unshaken throughout the funeral, changed frequently. It meant that she cared much more about this than her husband's property.
Secrets hidden until death?
Even entrusted the secret to a complete stranger, not even a family member.
'I can't help but worry.'
I would have been the same if I were in her position.
"Mr. Nam Hae-soo said he would leave it to my judgment."
"So, you can't show it to me?"
"I will decide."
"...These days, men think that if they're handsome, they're all set."
"Excuse me?"
I was taken aback by the remark mixed with criticism and praise.
"Is it a joke?"
"...No."
If Park Han-hee's taste hadn't changed over time, it must be sincere.
"Kang Moon-soo, thank you for talking with an ugly old woman for a long time."
"Ah, no, not at all."
"I'll wait here, reminiscing about our memories, hoping to share all the secrets."
Park Han-hee, who had been with me all along, turned her wheelchair in a different direction.
"Ma'am."
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"Even if you couldn't become a national representative, did you want to stay as a track and field athlete?"
"...What did the girl who confessed to you without shaking her right foot say?"
"Tell me first, and I'll let you know."
Looking at the children running around the resort, she said,
"People are happiest when they do what they want to do."
"You haven't changed."
"What did she say?"
"She said she runs just because she wants to run."
If her senior hadn't bullied her, she would have continued running in reality.
Regardless of aptitude.
"Did I pass your test?"
"I was just curious."
"As an elder's advice, in society, that's called a test."
"...I'm sorry."
"I'll wait."
"Yes."
Now, let's find Nam Hae-soo's last dream.
* * *
In the dream, I chose a villa above the sea after escaping from the hijacked plane just before it landed at the airport.
I was confident in swimming, and if I was surrounded, I could escape to the sea.
...That's what I thought.
'Thanks to that, I got caught completely!'
It would have been a pretty good hiding place in a fantasy world without traditional weapons, but it was not the case in modern times.
The existence of a sniper who can attack unilaterally from afar!
The sea, without any cover to hide from the flying bullets, was as good as a shooting range for dying.
"There's no way it's a coincidence."
After all, I chose this hiding place. But there were dozens of houses on the sea that looked exactly like twins on both sides.
Room 503, 504, 505, 506...
Like this!
The resort manager randomly chose an empty house, but what if the manager's employer was 'Nam Hae-soo'?
It doesn't seem like a coincidence anymore.
Click.
I unlocked the door to the house that looked the same as the one in my dream and cautiously entered.
"...This damn trauma."
I caught a glimpse of the illusion of Nam Hae-soo holding a glass of alcohol, gesturing to me.
The perfectly identical room structure, arrangement, and beautiful scenery.
I got goosebumps.
'Is it just the furniture that's different...?'
The furniture of the modern era must be more sophisticated than that of the less developed old era.
"But it's inevitable..."
There had never been anyone who persistently asked where and with whom I was meeting. Usually, if I give a hint that I don't want to tell, they give up.
But Song Seon-young was different.
It's as if she's family...
So, is her nagging and meddling both annoying and pleasant?
It's a very complicated feeling.
'...Should I go and look for it?'
I was slightly delayed talking to Song Seon-young, but the sky wasn't dark enough to not see the baseball-sized box, so it didn't matter.
The lowest place that no one can find.
It's right under the building.
"That's why no one can find it."
Tourists head to well-maintained beaches or swimming pools if they want to swim.
The area below is still the sea. However, there are no beautiful corals, and no safety personnel, so if you want to swim, you have to risk your only life.
Why bother at the resort?
Not only that, there are other tourists' houses on both sides, so there's a possibility of being accused of invading privacy or being mistaken for a thief if you swim carelessly.
In other words, no one cares what's under the building.
'They'll think it's just sand.'
Now, let's really check if it's just sand.
After changing into my always-prepared athlete swimsuit, I jumped into the sea.
Splash!
"Hmm..."
I could only see the columns supporting the building above the sea surface and the sand.
Is it buried in the sand?
I was seriously considering whether to bring a shovel and come back.
"Life is hell."
The sentence carved with a knife on the lower part of the column, invisible unless diving.
'I found it.'
Hell.
The lowest place in the world.
Nam Hae-soo's video letter contained a detailed description of the location.
"My secret is hidden in the place where we last met."
"I hid it in the lowest place so that no one could find it."
The last place we met.
Broadly speaking, it means this island, but the last place we met and parted was this villa.
And the lowest place.
Since there is no basement in the villa, it must mean the sea under the building.
"Life is hell."
'Even a signpost!'
It's a relief that I don't have to dig up all the sand around me.
Swish swish-
I dug up the soft, white sand under the column with my hands.
'...Oh!'
Thud.
I touched something as hard as a rock with my fingertips.
I immediately pulled it out and saw,
'A black box.'
As Nam Hae-soo said, it was a baseball-sized black cube.
Whoosh!
Using the ladder that connected the sea and the villa, I came back and carefully observed the box.
"It looks like it opens by turning..."
Creak-
Although it was tightly sealed, it wasn't at a level where I couldn't open it due to lack of strength.
Round and round.
After turning it about dozens of times?
Finally, the cubic box split in half.
'Is this... an old memory chip?'
A portable memory device I often saw in Nam Hae-soo's dreams.
It was wrapped in plastic and tissue to prevent water from entering the device.
What should I do now?
Of course, I'll open the contents.
"My preparedness!"
I had roughly guessed when it was said to be the size of a baseball. And even the possibility of it being an old electronic product.
110V, 220V, USB, MP3...
I had brought old exclusive transformers and cables without any burden because they were cheap and easy to carry.
Tock, tock.
I immediately connected my smartphone and memory chip, and ran a program that reads old files.
'What is this...?'
The file names were unusual.
"Woodpecker"
"Cuckoo"
"Kingfisher"
"...Your hobbies are quite refined."
I can confidently say it would have been grounds for divorce if it had been discovered during his lifetime.
The next file is...
"Park Han-hee"
"Park Han-seol"
'Why are the names of his wife and executioner...?'
Curious, I clicked on the file and couldn't help but be shocked.
Numerous videos.
I could see the track and field senior who I teased as a 'turtle' in my dreams.
"This is a really dangerous secret."
I decided to postpone judgment and continue looking.
"Hell"
'...He said life is hell.'
Hell, a term commonly found in both the phrase written on the column and the file name.
There must be a connection.
Tock.
I clicked on the 'Hell' file after preparing to be surprised.
"Hey, it's that woman, isn't it?"
The traitor who was killed by her husband Nam Hae-soo, who turned into a Blade Demon in the dream.
In reality, she committed suicide at a young age after being forced into prostitution...
There was a reason why Nam Hae-soo remembered the old incident.
'You were the one involved?'
It wasn't just her.
Inside this 'Hell' file, there was plenty of evidence of the evil deeds committed by Nam Hae-soo to succeed or afterward.
And at the end,
"Divine Punishment"
There was the last file.
"Divine punishment..."
Tock.
It was a video with only Nam Hae-soo's face appearing, like a video message.
(If this comes out to the world, it means I'm dead.)
"That's right."
(As you may have guessed from watching this video, I am not a great person. I oppress the weak, threaten women, betray friends, and deceive colleagues... I am a devil.)
"It seems so!"
Even from just skimming through the materials, he was an unforgivable person.
(My wife doesn't know. That I used my track and field friends to harass her, and I manipulated her family's weaknesses to induce marriage.)
"Wow..."
Isn't he inhuman?
(I was scared.)
"Of course, you were."
(I regretted it. But it was too late to turn back the mistakes of the past.)
"......"
Nam Hae-soo's world (dream) was not based on patriotism.
Guilt.
The devil, who deceived even the closest person, wanted to repent.
(You must be the person I trusted the most just before I died.)
"Well..."
Maybe?
(So, I entrust this file to you.)
"This guy...!"
I stepped on a landmine!
(I'm really sorry for passing on the heavy burden.)
"What am I supposed to do with this?!"
Nam Hae-soo's dream ended by gifting a bomb.
