## Chapter 47
A request to find someone?
“Yes. Of course it’s possible!”
I answered without hesitation. We had found a dog before, so I thought the Earth Peace Research Institute could surely handle this.
“Ah. First, let me introduce myself.”
The man took out his business card and handed it to me. I widened my eyes at his unexpected profession. The man was the director of an orphanage. Even though I barely knew the client, I immediately became interested simply because he was an orphanage director. However, I had no intention of revealing that I was from an orphanage myself.
“Who are you looking for?”
Typically in movies and dramas, people hire private investigators to find spouses who have left due to infidelity or individuals involved in crimes. The man before me, who appeared to be approaching his sixties, didn’t seem like someone looking for such a person—at least from what I could tell.
“Well…”
The client rubbed his face with a troubled expression, let out a faint sigh, and spoke.
“As you can see from my card, I work as an orphanage director. It’s a small place, but it has quite a long history.”
“I see. That must be difficult work. You’re amazing.”
“It’s challenging, but rewarding. The children are so beautiful and cute. Recently, one of our former residents contacted us to say they’d received a four-year full scholarship. And our teachers are all fantastic people. The turnover rate is low; we even have someone who’s been working with us for ten years.”
What’s this? Is he bragging?
I nodded appropriately while listening to the client’s story, but I couldn’t understand the context.
“So who are you looking for?”
I redirected him before he could go off on a tangent.
“Ah! Well… three children from the orphanage have suddenly disappeared.”
“Is there a possibility they ran away?”
“Absolutely not. They’re not that kind of children.”
The client’s expression turned resolute. My initially casual demeanor gradually became serious. If orphanage children were missing, this was a matter for the police, not a suspicious office like ours.
“Um, I think you should talk to the police about this.”
“I can’t do that. I don’t know which children have disappeared. So I can’t file a report.”
Children are missing, but he doesn’t know which ones? I couldn’t understand what he was saying, so I asked again.
“What? What do you mean?”
“It’s clear that three out of fifteen children have disappeared, but I just can’t figure out who they are. The other teachers don’t even seem to notice that any children are missing.”
“So, you’re saying that three out of fifteen children suddenly disappeared? But you don’t know who they are? Hmm…”
It didn’t make sense. It seemed like he might be mistaken about the number of residents. Or perhaps he had developed some mental issue. As an orphanage director, there’s no way he wouldn’t know which children were missing.
“I know I sound crazy. Maybe I’ve gone mad. But I felt too uneasy to just let it go, so I came here.”
“Ah…”
Should I accept this request? Anyone would think the client was strange based on his story. Besides, how could we find someone if we didn’t even know who was missing?
I should have said this was beyond our capabilities, but for some reason, I felt unsettled. I didn’t know why, but it felt wrong to just dismiss this.
“I understand for now. However, the person in charge isn’t here today. Would it be okay if I contact you again later?”
“Ah, yes… I’ll wait for your call.”
The client stood up with a disappointed expression. After he left, I immediately called the Director.
The monotonous ringing tone continued for a long time.
“Must be busy.”
Just as I was about to press the end button after the long ring, there was a click, and the call connected.
“Director?”
-Yes, Jaeo. What’s up?
“A client just came in with a request to find someone. He’s an orphanage director, and…”
-Jaeo, sorry to interrupt. I’m really busy right now and don’t have time to talk. I’ll call you back later.
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
I couldn’t even explain properly before the call was disconnected. I briefly considered contacting Heerim but quickly abandoned the idea. If the Director was busy, Heerim would surely be even busier.
“Hmm.”
I took another look at the business card the client had given me earlier.
House of Dreams
– Child and Youth Protection Center
It was an ordinary business card with nothing unusual about it. I took out my phone and searched for the name of the orphanage, which brought up photos of the building. It did indeed appear smaller than other facilities. If the orphanage I stayed at felt like a dormitory, this one looked more like a small rural school on the verge of closing. Looking further, I noticed several news articles mentioning the orphanage.
《Protecting the Environment Through Recycling Movements. ‘House of Dreams’ Holds Small Flea Market》
《’House of Dreams’ Shares Love Through Kimchi Making》
《Raised Over 100 Children Over the Years. Everyone’s Father, ‘House of Dreams’ Director Kang Jinseok》
I read the articles slowly. With a smaller facility comes a smaller budget, and sadly, less money means fewer options. Nevertheless, the client was running the orphanage as adequately as possible through modest volunteering and sharing. Seeing that he was even featured in interview articles, he was indeed an impressive person.
That’s why his words bothered me even more. He didn’t seem like someone who would mistake the number of residents. Nor did he appear to have mental issues.
While reading information related to “House of Dreams,” I suddenly thought of the director at my former orphanage. Since that director had worked in this field for a long time and had extensive connections, they might be able to provide some hints about this case. I immediately called them on my phone.
“Hello, Director. It’s Jaeo.”
-Oh my. What a surprise, Jaeo.
“Have you been well?”
-We just saw each other recently. Why are you calling?
“Ah, it’s nothing major. I just had something to ask. Director, do you happen to know an orphanage called ‘House of Dreams’?”
-House of Dreams? Of course. I’m close friends with Director Kang there.
“Then… do you know how many children they have in total?”
-Children? Hmm. Probably around fifteen. I met Director Kang last month, and he didn’t mention anything unusual, so that number is likely correct.
Fifteen children.
The number matched what the client had said. So there was a high probability that his claim about three orphanage children disappearing was true.
But how could he not know who they were?
“Is it possible for three children to be adopted within a month?”
-Well, I can’t say it’s impossible, but it would be difficult. House of Dreams is small. And the director operates it more for child protection than adoption. But why do you ask?
“I happened to meet someone who works there. As we talked, I thought of you, so I called to check in.”
-Oh, you. By the way, bring Jaeyeon next time. I miss her.
“Yes, I will. I’ll visit soon.”
After ending the warm conversation with the director, I furrowed my brow and sighed. This was definitely strange.
“What should I do?”
Should I accept this request?
If other employees were here, I could discuss it with them, but everyone seemed too busy to pay attention to this matter.
“…”
After much deliberation, I picked up my phone again. This time, instead of making a call, I composed a message.
[Hello. This is Son Jaeo from the Earth Peace Research Institute, whom you consulted with earlier. Would it be okay if I visit your workplace tomorrow?]
I entered the client’s number from the business card and sent the message. I had nothing else to do anyway. I planned to investigate what was going on with this case, even if I had to do it alone.
***
“House of Dreams” was located on the outskirts of the city. It wouldn’t be a long distance by car, but because it was in a neighborhood with low foot traffic, public transportation options were limited, requiring several transfers. After a two-hour epic journey, I finally reached the neighborhood of my destination.
I had left home at a leisurely pace after lunch, but it was already almost 4 o’clock. After getting off the subway, I had to walk quite a distance. Since it was my first time in this area, I had to walk while checking a map app, which slowed me down. To make matters worse, the weather was hot, and I was getting increasingly tired.
“This alley should be right.”
Fortunately, as soon as I entered the alley, I quickly spotted the orphanage building I had only seen in photos. In person, it looked much more modest and cute. As I lingered in front of the orphanage, someone came out from inside. It was a middle-aged woman wearing a pink apron, the kind typically used in kindergartens. She appeared to be a childcare teacher working there.
“Who are you?”
“Hello. I’m here to see the director. Is he inside?”
“He’s inside, but… what’s your business? A lot of handsome young men have been visiting lately. Are you here to volunteer?”
She looked me up and down with curious eyes. It seemed someone other than me had visited recently. I smiled awkwardly while mentally searching for something to say that wouldn’t sound suspicious.
“Do you know Somang Orphanage? I work there, and our director said they had something to give to your director…”
“Ah, Somang? Yes, I know it.”
When I mentioned the name of the orphanage I had stayed at, she fortunately opened the door without any suspicion.
“The director’s office is at the very end of the hallway. And if he talks nonsense, just go along with it and leave. I don’t know if he’s going senile early or what’s wrong with him. Sheesh.”
I had thought she might be around the same age as the client, but it seemed she was the director’s wife. She was dismissing the story about three of the fifteen children disappearing as nonsense. I was confused about who was mistaken.
I bowed respectfully to the sighing madam and entered the building.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
