“Well, if I know, I know, if I don’t, I don’t.”
The old woman replied, smiling meaningfully.

In Ho couldn’t ignore or dismiss the old woman’s words as they sounded as if she knew Su Yeon very well.

To him, the old woman seemed suspicious through and through.

He felt like he needed to understand how she knew Su Yeon.

A long stareoff, akin to a battle of nerves, ensued.

In the end, it was the old woman who surrendered, breaking eye contact first.

“It seems like you’re having a hard time sleeping because of your headache and you’re on your way to buy medicine. I’ve given a good remedy to Su Yeon, you should try to find it.”
With her back rigid, the old woman mumbled as she bent down to pick up a trash bag again.

In Ho furrowed his brows.

‘She gave a good remedy to Su Yeon? If she cares enough to do that, they must be close.’
But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t remember hearing any story that could be inferred to involve the old woman.

The incomprehensible words continued thereafter.

“It’s in the largest glass bottle, there should be enough left for a quick burn.”
“Grandma.”
In Ho called out to the old woman in a rather polite tone.

But the old woman didn’t even glance at him.

The more she behaved this way, the more his suspicions about the old woman grew.

What should he do? Is it right to let the old woman go just like this?

Yet he couldn’t just forcibly stop her and have a conversation.

While he was wrapped in thought, the old woman pressed the elevator button.

The elevator door opened as if it had been waiting, and the old woman took a step forward.

As he stared blankly at her retreating figure without being able to stop her, she suddenly turned around when she was right in front of the elevator.

“You should never forget the pain you’re feeling now, no matter what happens.”
The old woman’s impassive face turned toward In Ho.

For a moment, In Ho stared at the old woman, frozen stiff.

He felt suppressed by an indescribable pressure.

Goosebumps pricked the delicate skin on the inside of his arm.

In the suffocating atmosphere, the elevator door closed smoothly.

Then, the old woman gave a smile that seemed like a lie.

“Of course, you have to collect the trash and dispose of it cleanly.”
“……”
“But there are people who just stack it up because they don’t know how to dispose of it. They get used to it and think it’s a big deal to throw away even one thing, but if they keep stacking up without throwing away, they will eventually get sick.”
In Ho furrowed his brows as he listened to the old woman.

There was not a single word he could understand.

The more it was like this, the more suspicious the old woman’s identity became.

In Ho asked, making his wariness clear.

“What exactly are you talking about?”
“Why, haven’t you ever seen it on TV? Old people who collect a lot of garbage and keep it at home.”
He thought something would change if he was a little prickly, but it was a wasted effort.

The more the old woman spoke, the more his forgotten headache seemed to intensify.

“Sometimes when I see those old people, I tell them they should throw it away but they don’t listen. They’re busy hiding it as if it’s some great treasure. They don’t realize it’s making them sick.”
In Ho let the old woman’s words go in one ear and out the other, wishing for her to just finish already.

He pressed his temples and scowled.

His rudeness might have been apparent in the old woman’s eyes, but In Ho didn’t want to listen anymore.

However, at that moment, the old woman wiped off her smile and her face instantly became cold.

“Garbage that has been stacked up tends to stink. You might be able to bear it at first. You wouldn’t even dream of how horribly it could change.”
“……”
“It might start as a mild headache, but once the stackedup garbage starts to rot, you’ll become irreversibly sick.”
“……”
“And by then, it’s too late to regret.”
In Ho looked at the old woman with a perplexed expression.

He still couldn’t understand a single thing she was saying, but he couldn’t just let her words go.

He wanted to ask.

So what exactly are you trying to say?

However, before he could stop her, the old woman was already boarding the reopened elevator.

“It may sound like an old man’s babbling, but heed my words. Do you understand?”
Just before the door closed, the old man raised a smile that was as warm as if he had never been emotionless.

Soon, the elevator door closed.

And the figure of the old man was no longer visible.

“What on earth…”
In Ho mumbled as if he was bewitched.

As he had hoped, the old man disappeared and he was left alone, but the lingering discomfort was not resolved.

What on earth did the old man want to say?

As he recalled what happened just a while ago to find the answer, the pain that he thought had subsided pierced his head sharply.

“Ah…”
In Ho bent one knee and slumped down on the spot.

It was an indescribable pain.

He decided that taking medicine and sleeping would be the priority right now.