The following day Sihon ran into Jong at the market and told him all about the cats he had found. He had left the mother cat at the vet's but taken the little kittens home. He told Jong that one of them was yellow while the other two had cow patterns, which made them adorable. Jong noticed that he had bought a lot of toys for them, and he advised him to raise the cats well, since they would take care of the bugs and mice around the house.
Sihon let him know that he was not raising the cats to do any work. Then he remembered that he needed to stop by the seed and plant shop, because Sumin had told him that cats loved perilla leaves. Jong was puzzled by that, and then realised that Sumin must have meant catnip, which Sihon had confused for perilla.
Sihon was stunned that he had almost got it wrong, and Jong teased him for the mistake, pointing out that he might have a hard time looking after kittens. Then he suggested they stop by the handmade tofu shop to buy some soy milk for cold soy noodles. Embarrassed, Sihon quietly followed him, still thinking about his silly mistake.
Shortly afterwards they arrived at the handmade tofu shop, where Sihon happily placed his order at the counter. Then he noticed that the owner of the store was behaving strangely and that the whole atmosphere in the room felt off. He quickly scanned the shop just as a suspicious-looking individual stepped out of it. Sihon could sense a strange aura coming off the man, but he did not understand what it was.
After looking around for a moment, the man pulled his cap down to conceal his face better before leaving the store. The shop owner let out a sigh of relief the moment he was gone. When Jong asked who the man was, saying he had never seen him around before, the owner lowered his voice and revealed that the stranger was rumoured to be a criminal.
Startled, Jong listened as the owner explained that the suspicious-looking man was said to be a gangster from the city. According to local gossip, he had recently been released from prison and had since moved to their quiet village. The news left Jong uneasy, and he could only hope the so-called criminal would not bring trouble into their neighbourhood. Despite the convincing story, Sihon found himself doubting that the young man was truly a criminal.
Outside the store, everyone stopped to whisper behind the young man's back, which left him visibly frustrated. Even after returning home, Sihon went on thinking about the man rumoured to be a criminal. That word brought back a very old memory, one he would rather have forgotten. In his previous life, he used to follow his teacher to the prison once a month to reform and cleanse criminals.
Even though it was a thankless task, he had loved tagging along with his teacher. On one such day they had gone to the reformation room for a cleansing ritual. There Sihon had seen a criminal who radiated a horribly foul aura, and the stench from his filthy clothes and untreated wounds made it worse. The man had been the priest of a fallen tribe, arrested for cannibalism and demon worship.
Sihon's master had begun chanting the purification ritual. But just as Sihon was about to sweep the cleansing branch over his body, the criminal's voice echoed through the room, saying, "You look very delicious." Before Sihon could react, the vile-looking man sank his fangs into his wrist and tried to bite through it. It was as if he had been biding his time like a wolf stalking prey.
That wound eventually left an ugly scar on Sihon's wrist, and because of it a rumour spread that it was the bite mark of a demon. Thanks to that rumour, he had a very hard time for a very long while. Even now the memory was enough to send goosebumps crawling across his skin. One thing was certain, though: the aura of that vicious criminal was nothing like what he had sensed from the so-called criminal at the tofu shop.
While the hooded man's presence carried a vaguely similar feeling, it did not have the sinister energy Sihon had sensed from the criminal in his past life. It left him wondering whether he was simply imagining things. Just then the shrill ring of his phone startled the cats. When he answered, it was Siu calling to let him know that the group was already getting ready to head out to his place.
Siu asked him to prepare some extra bedding, since besides the band members a few staff would be coming as well to film some group content. Sihon assured him that everything would be ready by the time they arrived and told him not to worry. Relieved, Siu said they should reach the house by the weekend. Sihon wished them a safe trip and was about to end the call when Siu suddenly remembered to ask a favour of him concerning their sick bandmate, Jerome.
Siu's group was called Tracker, a hugely popular five-member idol group. The members were Jaesu, the main vocalist, Jerome, the main dancer, Leo, the group's leader and main rapper, Kay, the sub vocalist, and finally Siu, the group's centre and lead vocalist. On the day of their journey to the countryside, Jaesu happily watched the news talking about their completely sold-out concert and the sales of their newest album.
Meanwhile Kay tried to stop an addicted Leo from wasting all his savings on a claw machine without grabbing a single thing. Siu, who was not even the group leader, seemed to be the only sane one among them, worrying about everybody. Then he realised that Jerome was missing, and Kay told him that Jerome had gone to the convenience store a while ago to buy water.
When Siu went to check on him, he noticed a small crowd gathering outside. Jerome had been recognised by fans, all eager to get an autograph, and he could not escape. A moment later Siu rushed over and yanked him away like a child dragging a toy, scolding him for not wearing a mask in the first place.
Jerome apologised for causing a commotion, explaining that he had still been half asleep when he went to the convenience store and had simply forgotten. Once they had scrambled into their van, Siu urged the road manager to drive off quickly before the fans could catch up. As the van pulled away, Jaesu leaned out of the window to wave at the crowd, calling out for everyone to keep streaming Tracker's music.
Siu, for his part, was relieved that they had managed to slip away. Even so, he could not shake the worry that other fans might make a scene in front of his brother. As they neared their destination, he gazed out of the window at the endless stretch of lush greenery, looking forward to spending some peaceful time in the countryside.