章 5: The Curse

Chief Kim Junwan was staring at Gayoon with his strict eyes. She tried to avoid his eyes by looking elsewhere but the man was not moving his gaze off of her. The drug dealer was sitting next to her, holding an ice pack to his nose.

"I didn't hit him hard at all!" Gayoon exclaimed. "I merely punched him-"

"Liar!" the drug dealer spoke up. "You kicked me in the face too!"

"You're just too weak!" Gayoon said, feeling affronted. "How was I supposed to know a mere punch would knock you out!"

"Mere punch?" the drug dealer shot back. "You were like a bulldozer!"

Gayoon threw him a dirty look before turning back to Chief Kim. The old man was not saying anything but kept on glaring at her with his beady eyes. In his mid forties, Chief Kim was her supervisor and mentor. He had been watching over her ever since she joined the police force. Unfortunately, he was also stuck cleaning up her mess.

"Chief, I really did follow the protocol," Gayoon insisted. "I followed him and saw that he was selling drugs to a teenager. So I arrived to arrest him. I only punched him lightly."

"You punched me first and then kicked me!" the drug dealer countered angrily. Gayoon made a face at him, indirectly telling him to 'say-one-more-word-and-I'll-break-your-bones'. That shut him up immediately.

"Chief," Gayoon smiled to try and appease him. She was known for her cuteness and had no qualms in exploiting her only charm when it came to calming down her supervisor. Putting up her most innocent expression, she widened her eyes to enhance her cute features.

"I really did follow protocol," she repeated. "I did a stakeout and caught him in the act."

Chief Kim smiled at her. It was a cryptic smile, which made her a little nervous.

"Gayoon my child," he started. "You are my best detective, you know that right?"

"Yes!" Gayoon said at once. "Which is why this time, I really did follow protocol. It was only a punch which his weakass body couldn't take."

The drug dealer opened his mouth to argue but Gayoon kicked him hard from underneath the chair while maintaining her cute smile. The man yelped in pain. The lady detective was too damn strong!

Chief Kim kept on flashing his smiley face at her.

"Hee hee," Gayoon slightly laughed. Slowly, Chief Kim's smile began to fade, replaced with a flared up expression.

Uh oh, Gayoon thought in despair. 3...2...1…

"DIDN'T I TELL YOU NOT TO BEAT THE SUSPECT TO A BLOODY PULP?" he shouted at her. His yells caused all the other officers around them to pause their works and stare at them. A vein was bobbing on his head as he angrily glared at Gayoon who braced herself for his fury.

"I didn't realize he'd be so weak!" she protested. "I really did punch him lightly!"

"Did you kick him?"

Gayoon lowered her eyes, conflicted whether to answer that or not. "I might have," she admitted. Truthfully, she was furious when she heard the ghost's story about how he had killed her. Unfortunately, her body was completely burnt to ashes so there was no evidence left of his crime. All Gayoon could do was charge him for drug dealing but not for murder. When she saw him in front of her, she had lost her cool and attacked him for the sake of that dead woman.

Chief Kim threw his hands in the air in frustration. Even though Gayoon was a good detective, she was too amateur in handling criminals. She let her emotions get in the way and even hit them mercilessly to get information.

"He was selling drugs to minors so I got angry!" she protested.

"You could have simply arrested him on the spot," Chief Kim emphasized. "Or called for backup. Not beat him to death!"

"He didn't die," she muttered.

"What was that?"

"I will be careful next time sir!" she replied, lying to his face. Chief Kim sighed and ushered a constable.

"Take him away," he ordered. "And put Detective Jeon on night duty for the rest of the month."

Gayoon's mouth fell in shock. "Chief, I've been doing night duties for the past two days!" she protested. "I didn't even sleep a wink! And I caught the culprit didn't I?"

"By breaking the protocols," Chief Kim said loudly. "If you're not reprimanded then you'll keep repeating this mistake. I've been covering up your actions for a long time because of your track record but it's time for you to learn some discipline!"

Gayoon started to protest but Chief Kim was not listening to any excuses.

"An order is an order, Detective Jeon," he said firmly. "Night shift for you this month."

With that, he left the room to get a cup of coffee. Gayoon groaned in anger. The drug dealer mockingly snickered at her as he was being taken away.

"Serves you right," he sneered.

Gayoon scowled at him and made a motion to hit him. The man quickly cowered away, leaving her to fume. For her night shift was not the issue. The problem was the uninvited guests who barged in on her during the night.

She had been able to see ghosts ever since she was born. In fact, her mother was also a seer and so were a few other women in their family. But once any of the women gave birth to children, then the ability passed on to their daughters. By doing so, the mothers not only passed on the gift (or Gayoon would like to call it a curse), but their own ability to see the ghosts also go away.

Since childhood, Gayoon had been tormented by the spirits. Her power in particular was stronger than the other women in her family, making it difficult for her to stay anywhere for long. While the other women in her family only saw the spirits when they randomly passed by, Gayoon attracted them like magnets. No matter where she went, spirits would follow her like moths to a flame.

Her ability was different from the others which only made it difficult for her to live her cursed life. She made no friends and even her family members had stayed away from her. Her mother passed away while giving birth to her and her father was afraid of her ability. Only her maternal grandmother supported her so Gayoon was sent to live with her. Lonely and depressed, Gayoon was desperate to get rid of her curse.

However, once Gayoon turned 18, she took a drastic step which turned her whole world upside down. What started as a desire to simply get rid of the cursed existence and live a normal life, turned into her biggest regret. Everyday, she wished she could go back in time and slap some sense into her younger, stupid self. But it was impossible.

Sometimes, Gayoon reflected on the punishment she had received for it. Even though she lost her sight, unlike her ancestors, she did not completely lose her ability. She could still hear and feel the spirits around her. They did not come to her constantly anymore so she ignored their pleas as if they were air. But she could still feel them which was almost as bad as seeing them.

She clutched a heart shaped locket which hung around her neck. She tried to fight off the tears which were brimming in her eyes. Every night, she only made one request to any spirit who would hear her pleas. It was to protect the person most precious to her.

"I hope you're well," she whispered, holding the locket firmly in her palm. "My daughter."