When I came to my senses and woke up, it was already well past evening.
I blinked, looking around at the dimming surroundings, then yawned lazily and wiped away tears with the back of my hand.
"Hyun... Hasn't come?"
He said he'd call... Why hasn't he called?
Maybe he called while I was sleeping and I missed it?
This was definitely worth checking, so I got up sluggishly, turned on the living room light, and sat down in front of the home phone to check the display.
There were a whopping 78 missed calls.
"?"
Wait a minute, isn't 78 calls a bit excessive...?
For a moment I thought I might be seeing things wrong, so I blinked.
78 missed calls.
But even after rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand and checking again, even after drinking cold water to drive away the sleepiness and checking again, even after covering the screen with my hand and looking again, the number 78 displayed on the home phone screen didn't change.
Even 18 calls would be plenty, but 78 is just...
Did something serious happen while I was unaware?
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly felt scared.
Just as I was hesitating after swallowing dryly, the home phone rang.
"Eek!?"
Gosh, that startled me... I nearly had a heart attack.
Feeling my body temperature drop, I tried to calm my startled heart while checking the screen. It showed "Caller ID Restricted."
*Is someone making prank calls at this hour?*
Why would someone make prank calls at this hour? That's what I thought, but remembering the 78 missed calls, I stopped myself from pressing the reject button.
Maybe their cell phone broke and they're calling from a payphone?
But do payphones even still exist? I wondered as I pressed the speaker button.
"Hello."
I answered, but strangely, the caller didn't say anything.
Thinking it might not be Hyun, I waited a bit, but still no response.
Actually, if it had been Hyun, he would have immediately said, "Aish, hey. Why aren't you answering the phone! I was worried!"
So who could be calling now?
"Um... hello...?"
Finally unable to wait any longer, I cautiously spoke, but still no answer came.
*Could it be... a ghost?*
As soon as that thought crossed my mind, I got goosebumps all over.
Feeling like I might get cursed if I waited any longer, I moved to hang up immediately.
["...You—"]
Just before hanging up, I heard an eerie voice that made my body tremble.
I would've been cursed if I'd listened longer... As I was sighing with relief, the phone rang again.
"Waaah!?"
Looking at it, I saw the number started with 02, which made me feel a bit safer as I answered. It was probably just a survey or something.
"Hell—"
["Hello, this is reporter Han Yeong-Gi from ââ Newspaper."]
A reporter? Why would a reporter suddenly call...
Oh right, this is Hyun's house. They must be calling about an interview schedule.
I got nervous for nothing.
Sighing with relief inside, I said:
"Yes. What can I help you with?"
["Well, I'm calling because allegations have been raised that Choi Hyun has been hiding a Light Dragon. Could you please tell me your name?"]
My heart felt like it dropped with a thud.
What did I just hear? Light Dragon?
Why would that word suddenly come from a reporter's mouth?
I must have misheard, right? Light... whatever, I must have misheard something similar.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch what you said. Could you repeat that please? What did you say?"
["I'm calling because allegations have been raised that Choi Hyun has been hiding a Light Dragon—"]
I hung up immediately as soon as the name "Light Dragon" came up.
My heart was racing.
It wasn't a bad connection that made me mishear. It definitely wasn't my ears playing tricks.
The reporter clearly said "Light Dragon." And he said Choi Hyun had been hiding a Light Dragon.
I hesitated and stepped back, then slowly took deep breaths to calm my startled heart.
But no matter how hard I tried, my wildly beating heart wouldn't settle down.
"Huu... hu... right... it can't be true. He just said 'allegations,' right? It'll be okay..."
Just as I was trying to comfort myself, the phone rang again.
This time too, it was a number starting with 02. Should I answer? Should I not?
As I watched the phone with trembling eyes, the ringing sound made my head buzz.
Finally unable to resist, I answered again, and once more, a reporter was on the line.
["Hello, ââ Newspaper..."]
As soon as they brought up the Light Dragon again, I hung up immediately.
But right after hanging up, another call came in.
["Hello, this is ââ Media..."]
Again. I hung up immediately this time too.
Then, as if mocking me, the phone rang again right away.
What is this all about? Why is this suddenly happening?
Frowning, I answered the phone, and sure enough, it was another reporter.
["Hello, this is reporter Park Cheol-Do from ââ Newspaper. Is this Choi Hyun's residence?"]
This time it was a bit different, so I cautiously answered.
"...Why are you calling?"
["Well, there are allegations that Choi Hyun has been raising a Light Dragon..."]
The moment the Light Dragon was mentioned, I hung up immediately.
For a while, no calls came in, and I thought it was over, but as if someone was reading my mind, the phone rang again.
["This is reporter Kim Su-Hak from ââ Daily. Recently, allegations have surfaced that S-Class Hero Choi Hyun has been working with Harmageddon and hiding a Light Dragon—"]
"...Stop talking nonsense! Why would Hyun work with those bastards?!"
I shouted at the reporter spewing such absurd nonsense and hung up.
Hyun working with Harmageddon? Fuck, what kind of bullshit is that?
As I was grinding my teeth and trying to collect myself, the phone rang again.
Like before, it started with 02. Another reporter.
Could it be that all 78 missed calls were... from reporters?
Unable to stand the continuously ringing phone any longer, I tore out the phone line with my fingernails.
The ringing that had been filling the house suddenly stopped like a ghost, and silence fell over the entire home.
Though the house was so quiet I could hear the windows rattling in the wind, strangely, I still felt like I could hear the ringing.
"Huff... it's okay... it'll be okay... Hyun said he'd take care of it..."
Frowning, I muttered this several times, then turned on the TV to erase the unpleasant silence.
And as I flipped through channels and landed on a news channel, I dropped the remote.
The TV was showing Hyun being interviewed in front of reporters.
Reporters were pushing cameras and microphones at him, pressuring him with sensitive questions about his relationship with the Light Dragon and whether he was working with Harmageddon.
Hyun eventually couldn't break through the crowd and returned to the Association, while the reporters, not daring to cross the line, were making assumptions among themselves like "it seems that..."
Next to appear was Noona Ha-Young.
Her face, already looking tired, seemed even more haggard today.
As soon as Noona appeared, the reporters changed targets and thrust their microphones at her.
Noona skillfully deflected the reporters' questions and only answered the non-sensitive ones.
["That child has already completed Monster registration. Also, that child is capable of rational thought like humans, and has also passed psychological evaluation."]
But the reporters, emboldened, threw even more nonsensical and unproven questions at her.
["They say Choi Hyun is raising a Light Dragon, what is the Association's stance on the Light Dragon!"]
["After the Giman Catastrophe, heroes who had Light Dragon weapons went berserk, why do you think that child will be okay!"]
["Citizens are anxious! Shouldn't you decide on that child's disposition right now!"]
["Is the Association endorsing Harmageddon!?"]
["Do you think you can manage a monster that killed 5 million people!"]
["What do you think about what happened at Seongmo Hospital! Wasn't that also the Light Dragon going berserk!"]
Sensitive questions, nonsensical questions, even bringing up past events.
The very thing I had been most worried about was happening right there.
I wasn't in that picture.
More precisely, the "me" they were talking about wasn't Yu Sia.
They saw me as a monster, the same being as the Light Dragon that killed 5 million people.
—To others, you're just the same monster.
The skin under my eyes trembled.
Regardless of whether I trusted Hyun or not, I couldn't see a way out of this situation.
"Fuck..."
It's starting again.
I thought I had overcome it, but as soon as a similar situation arises, I immediately plummet.
My stomach felt so bad I almost dry heaved.
A terrible world that couldn't be overcome with just a little courage was slowly unfolding before me.
I immediately turned off the TV and went to my room to lie down on the bed.
It must be a nightmare. This must all be a dream. Thinking that, I closed my eyes and let time pass, but bad thoughts kept multiplying endlessly, not letting me sleep.
Even when I tried to sleep, my eyes opened on their own.
I couldn't sleep anyway since I'd been sleeping until just a while ago.
I was so dizzy that everything was spinning before my eyes.
"Light Dragon... Light Dragon!"
I called for the Light Dragon, but no answer came.
Come to think of it, did he say he was tired and going to sleep? When is Hyun coming?
No. Don't think about it. Just go to sleep. When I wake up... what will be different?
Will anything change? Won't things just get worse than they are now?
Forcing myself to breathe through rising panic, I swallowed dryly.
The night was long. Too long.