Chapter 24
“This is all I have right now.”
“Oh dear, why would you want to give me something like this?”
I shook my head, insisting it wasn’t true, but her eyes kept glancing at my watch. I cautiously placed it on the seat next to me.
“It hasn’t been worn much, so I can get a good price for it.”
“Ah, this really won’t do.”
She sighed deeply, but her voice had already become much quieter. Then she added casually,
“You can’t keep it for long.”
“I just want to check something for a moment. Please take me to the Jamsil junkyard.”
And please pretend the dashcam’s battery is dead for a bit.
Finally, the front wheels slowly changed direction. As the car made a U-turn, my body tilted as if being sucked into a new world.
After a quiet and secretive drive, we soon arrived at the junkyard.
I wondered where it could possibly be.
I passed by bizarre cars that were crumpled and twisted like pieces of colored paper. Leaning on my crutch and limping, I checked the red arrow that appeared on my phone.
There must be something around here.
I wandered aimlessly, limping as my heart raced, thump, thump, thump. My chest continued to pound. I couldn’t help but wonder when Kang Yeol-Jin, dressed in black like a crow, might suddenly pop out from behind those crumpled cars.
Just as I was carefully moving forward,
“What brings you here?”
The sudden voice made my heart sink sharply. I quickly turned my head to see an older man, who appeared to be the owner, standing there. I let out a long sigh, and warm sweat trickled down my back.
“Well….”
I couldn’t really figure that out either. I had no idea what exactly I was looking for by coming here. All I knew was that most of the cars here were crumpled.
Moreover, the car Kang Yeol-Jin had driven just a few days ago was a new one…
Perhaps.
A small doubt crept in—what if the car Kang Yeol-Jin used to drive was here?
“…I think I left something in my car and wanted to check.”
“When was that?”
“I can’t remember exactly, but it’s been over three weeks.”
“Ah, then it’s probably already been scrapped.”
The owner’s tone was utterly indifferent, and I sighed inwardly.
“Still, could I at least check once?”
“Okay, then. What’s the car number?”
“Eighteen three….”
The owner, flipping through the file he had in his arms, suddenly let out a sigh of realization.
Then, a wary gaze was instantly fixed on me.
Something was there. The moment I realized I wasn’t mistaken, a thrilling sensation spread through my chest, which had been a chaotic mix of emotions.
What could it be? What on earth was I about to discover?
“What’s wrong?”
Curious that something might be amiss, I asked, and the owner crossed his arms defensively as he replied,
“This one has already been scrapped, so whatever’s inside belongs to us now.”
“Anything is fine; I just need to take a quick look inside.”
I pleaded several times, asking him to let me check whatever was inside, promising that he could keep anything I found.
Eventually, the owner called me to follow him. Limping along, I made a complete circle and arrived at a side path leading to an open space.
And there, revealed, was Kang Yeol-Jin’s car, as familiar to me as if it were etched in my memory.
Parts of the wheels were missing, as if they had been chewed off, and the side mirror was gone.
“Why are you just crushing a perfectly good foreign car instead of selling it…?”
It seemed they were removing expensive parts to sell separately.
“What happened to the car?”
“It was like this when it came in.”
That didn’t matter much to me. However, the front bumper was crumpled, as if it had been in a traffic accident.
“Is there a dashcam inside?”
“Yes, it should be in there.”
I cautiously approached the car. I pushed my forearm through the already shattered window. Carefully, I extracted the chip from the dashcam.
Thump, thump, thump. My heart raced anxiously as I barely held on to it.
“Hey, over here.”
Startled by the sudden voice from the opposite side, I jumped in place, nearly screaming.
“What, what’s wrong?”
“Leave the dashcam alone; it belongs to us.”
I nodded in understanding at the owner’s firm warning. Sweat beaded in my palm, clutching the chip.
What could possibly come out of this?
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