194 – Mia (2)
How long did I sit and wait?
You may have been late in dispatching, but about 20 minutes later, a police car arrived in front of the convenience store.
After seeing that, I got up from my seat, held the girl’s hand, and headed toward the police car.
“Thank you for your hard work. I received a report of a missing child.”
“Hello.”
“Hello…Hello.”
A child suddenly hides behind me and bows his head in greeting.
It looks like unfamiliar police officers are scary.
“If it’s okay, can the reporter come with us and listen to the circumstances?”
“Yes, may I travel in my car?”
“Oh, if you have your own car, you can come by car.”
When I searched on my cell phone earlier, I found out that the nearby police station was a bit far away.
It’s nice to take a police car there, but wouldn’t it be a hassle to come all the way here and then go home?
“Ji-ye. My brother will follow me in the car, so you can ride with the police aunts.”
“Is it okay if I go with my brother… Together?”
“Uh…”
The face of the child standing behind you and sticking out his eyes was full of deep sorrow.
It felt like I was about to shed big teardrops at any moment.
“How is it?”
“Umm…There is a provision that a child reported missing must be picked up by the police or social worker…”
I know this well because I am also studying social welfare.
When a missing child in a reported case is discovered, a police officer or social worker must accompany the child.
I know that this is the same when heading to the hospital.
“Then what if one of the police officers moves with me?”
“Are you okay?”
“What am I… I’m fine.”
Wouldn’t it be a big deal if something happened while traveling by car?
If I even misunderstand the kidnapper, I might die socially and dive off the roof of my apartment building.
And even if she is a child who will be separated from her soon, she does not want to see her crying for no reason.
Don’t they say it’s the adults’ fault that children cry?
Of course, I am a poor human being to be called an adult.
*
“Fasten your seat belt.”
“Yes.”
A slightly younger-looking police officer sat in the passenger seat, and the child… No, Ji-ye sat in the back seat.
I sat in the driver’s seat and started the car only after fastening my seatbelt properly, just in case.
And I asked the police something I couldn’t ask before.
I thought you might still be looking for that place.
“Have you contacted your parents?”
“Yes, my brother and my mother didn’t make a fuss while looking for him. Not only the police but also personal security personnel were scattered around the area.”
“Security personnel?”
“Didn’t you hear? They say the missing child is the daughter of the chairman of a construction company.”
Is that so?
For some reason, the child seems to have received good home education, and the child is very smart…
But a construction company conglomerate?
There was one person like that around me.
“Hmm… I guess not.”
“What’s going on?”
“No, no. It’s nothing. But why did the chairman of a construction company lose his daughter on the street?”
“There was a take-out cafe next to the convenience store, right? You said you stopped for a moment to order a drink there. From what I heard, the menu was complicated so you had to tell them in person…”
That’s how my daughter got off together. It coincides with the timing when the traffic lights change.
Are you saying the child got lost among the crowd?
What kind of coincidences are there?
“So, my brother and my mother ran around looking for the child for nearly three hours. Where did you find the child?”
“After leaving the cafe to go home, I headed to the parking lot and found myself crying there.”
“Cafe… Ummm… I think I know roughly what happened.”
Fortunately, although I was separated from my parents, I don’t think I moved too far from my original location.
The cafe and parking lot were next to each other, and it was hard to see because it was in a corner, but it was right in front.
***
After following the police car, we arrived at a small police box.
Perhaps because she is the daughter of a chaebol family, there were a lot of black sedans parked in the back in front of the police station.
I guess that’s what the security personnel I mentioned earlier did?
But Minho, even though he is a man, he doesn’t seem to have any bodyguards with him.
Or are these people just special?
“Ji-ye. I have to go see my mom quickly.”
“Oppa… Thank you.”
“Thank you…”
After confirming that the police officer got out first, I got out of the car.
Then, I opened the back seat door and gently lowered Ji-ye.
He is only five years old, so he is very light.
What was I like when I was five years old?
“Then let’s hear the circumstances…”
“I understand.”
I held the hand of Ji-ye, who wanted to hold my hand, and slowly entered the police station.
I can’t even remember how many times I’ve been in and out of the police station over the past two years.
I stopped by early last year, and I also stopped by a Japanese police station during my honeymoon…
Why do I stop by this damn police station so often…
I entered the police box and sat down in the seat shown to me by the police officer.
There was a pet saying above it that said, “Civil Complainant Consultation Seat.”
“It’s nothing special, but please have a drink.”
“Thank you.”
“But it’s mostly what you said earlier, right? Then there’s not much to hear…”
I laughed bitterly at the police officer’s words.
I understand that it is a situation where you have to follow the manual, but didn’t I already say everything about listening to the circumstances?
*
“Jiye!”
“Oppa!”
As I was yawning loudly and stretching, someone kicked open the door of the police box and came inside.
And if you see the door behind you open, it looks like your mother has come in.
Ji-ye seemed to feel at ease after meeting her brother, so she jumped off the chair and ran.
I couldn’t see clearly as I sat looking back, but I automatically smiled happily.
I feel very refreshed because it feels like I have done something good for the first time in a long time.
Today, I will go grocery shopping before going home and see Ara eating deliciously.
“Then can I go quickly?”
“Uh…It’s okay, but it might take a little while.”
“Is it caught?”
The police officer aunt was frozen as she looked behind her, so she tilted her head.
Now that I think about it, if you are the daughter of a chaebol family, then the mother who came in earlier must be the chairman of the chaebol family.
If you’re in front of someone like that, it’s natural to become stiff like that.
“I heard that a student looked for my daughter? How can I repay her favor?…”
“No, no, it’s not a favor, it’s just something I did for granted.”
When Eunhye said something, she automatically turned around.
Isn’t it natural to report a missing child?
As long as you don’t misunderstand me as kidnapping, you can do as much good deed as this.
“Well… Still………… Uh…”
“…………Huh?”
When I looked back, a person I had seen many times before was standing there.
The chairman of an architectural company I know….
Minho’s mother was a chaebol.
Wait a minute….
Then, the person Jiye ran to saying he was her brother….
I jumped up from my seat and looked in the direction Jiye ran.
There, Jiye was being hugged by a friend whom she seemed to have seen a lot somewhere, and her head was being stroked.
“…………………..”
Do things like this happen in the world?
No matter how small Korea and Seoul are, does something like this happen?
I was shocked and grabbed her head and walked up to the man who was squatting down and hugging her.
And then I tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey.”
“Huh? I think I’ve heard this voice before…”
Then the man slowly turns his head.
The expression on the guy’s face as he looked down was filled with astonishment.
“Yoo…Yoo Seong-hwan!?”
It seems that my friend Lee Min-ho is Ji-ye’s older brother.
My head is about to start pounding.
***
“Ji-yeah. Didn’t you say this often? Your friend, Yoo Seong-hwan.”
Minho introduces his younger sister to me as if we were meeting for the first time.
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It wasn’t the first time, but I called his name and said hello.
“Did Jiye know your brother?”
“I know. Mom watches my brother’s QTube often.”
“Really? Did you know?”
Minho looked at Jiye with a puzzled expression, as if he didn’t know.
Is this the kid who shed tears again after meeting his older brother?
It feels a little different.
“Yes.”
“Okay, okay… We did well, lateborn.”
“hehehe..”
Ji-ye started to laugh, probably because she was happy that her older brother was stroking her head.
It’s surprising to see even that stupid Minho act like an older brother.
It seems absurd to act more properly than I thought…
“I heard that’s true?”
“So you stopped crying as soon as you saw your brother?”
“Yes, I think I can trust you.”
I think this goes beyond being smart.
When you grow up, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have Minji tutor you to study.
“Seonghwan, what should I do to be thankful for today?”
“Then take a bite.”
“Can I have just one treat? Just tell me and I’ll get everything for you.”
“Then why don’t you get me some meat?”
“Meat? If Ara wants to eat it, it’s not a request, it’s an obligation.”
“Stop making a fuss. But why did you never talk about your sister?”
“What are you talking about? I’ve talked about Jiye several times.”
“Is that so?”
I don’t really remember that.
Have I been looking at it so closely that it doesn’t even go through my head?
No?
No matter how much I don’t care about people, there’s no way I would have missed the story about my younger sister.
You can clearly see that he said it to someone else and not to me, but he is under the illusion that he said it to me.
Wow, this guy is also my brother.