Troll Chapter 29

‌⁠♡⁩ TL: Khadija SK

 

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On the morning of the 24th, the sky was already gloomy, and soon, heavy rain began pouring down. Jin-ah grumbled as she opened her umbrella. People living in London rarely used umbrellas, but even someone like Jin-ah, who had lived there for a long time, found herself unfolding one in the face of the torrential rain.

 

After walking for some time, she arrived at her friend’s house, where the sound of lively chatter could be heard from inside.

 

A moment later, her friend opened the door, revealing a bustling crowd that seemed to include all of Jin-ah’s London friends.

 

“Oh, Jin-ah!”

 

Her friend, already flushed from drinking, hugged Jin-ah enthusiastically. Jin-ah returned the hug and stepped inside.

 

Unlike the harsh weather outside, the inside of the house was warm. Though her friend often complained about the old and shabby condition of the house, all Jin-ah could feel was the cozy atmosphere created by the people filling the space.

 

“Here, a gift.”

 

“You didn’t have to bring anything… Oh my! Oh my! How could you bring something this amazing?”

 

Her friend, who was about to respond with the usual polite remark, froze when she saw the label on the wine Jin-ah had brought. It wasn’t the kind of wine young people casually drank to get drunk—it was something far more special, the kind that could easily be posted on social media as a showpiece.

 

“It’s fine. The hotel gave it to me, so I can’t sell it anyway. Let’s drink it together and finish it.”

 

Even as Jin-ah said this, her friend muttered, “Still…” before rushing to the others to announce loudly that Jin-ah had brought the wine. She then quickly went looking for wine glasses.

 

Most of the friends were aspiring chefs like Jin-ah. Perhaps that’s why, the moment they saw the label, even though it was slightly damaged, they immediately recognized its value and cheered in excitement.

 

“Jin-ah, I love you!”

 

“Marry me!”

 

Jin-ah laughed brightly for the first time in a while at the playful declarations.

 

The wine had come from the hotel. Clearly, they were so worried about their reputation that they had sent her such a gift. However, the fact that the label was deliberately damaged to prevent resale reminded her of the general manager’s petty face.

 

She had briefly considered selling it out of spite, but seeing her friends’ reactions, she felt glad she had brought it.

 

Her friends made a fuss, pulling up a chair for her and squeezing it among the others. A plate of pasta, haphazardly topped with tomato sauce, was placed in front of her, along with a cheese platter brought by another friend.

 

Since most of them worked as chefs, the dishes were, thankfully, all well-prepared and suited to her taste.

 

Though there weren’t enough wine glasses, they poured the wine into hastily washed mugs and handed them out. No one complained.

 

“Merry Christmas!”

 

“Merry Christmas!”

 

Various kinds of cups clinked together in the center of the table, and the conversations resumed.

 

The warm atmosphere, cheerful chatter, occasional bursts of laughter, and the delicious smell of food—all of it filled the room.

 

Overwhelmed by the comfort she hadn’t felt in a long time, Jin-ah felt a wave of emotion wash over her.

 

While the conversation turned to the newly opened fine-dining restaurant, a friend who had once worked at the same establishment as Jin-ah switched seats with the person beside her. Leaning in, the friend spoke in a low voice.

 

“How have you been?”

 

“Getting by.”

 

“Actually, a close friend of mine works at the hotel where you worked briefly.”

 

Hesitating, the friend lowered her voice even further.

 

“And… I heard about what happened on the 14th floor.”

 

Jin-ah’s hand froze mid-motion. Her friend gestured subtly, suggesting they step outside to talk. Once they moved to the adjacent room, the friend set down her wine glass and took Jin-ah’s hand.

 

“Are you really okay?”

 

“I got a little hurt, but it was nothing serious. They ended up fighting among themselves. Thanks to that, I got lucky and slipped away. That wine was sent by the hotel, by the way.”

 

“Phew… that’s a relief.”

 

Her friend sighed in visible relief but then hesitated, her lips moving as if there was more to say.

 

“What? Do you want to ask me something?”

 

“Not really. I don’t want to know anything more about those crazy rich people’s games. Actually… your mom contacted me. She said she couldn’t reach you and asked me to check if you’re okay.”

 

Jin-ah’s eyes widened.

 

“She did? She contacted you?”

 

“Yeah, to be honest, it’s been a while since we started exchanging messages. She found my social media and reached out, saying you’d blocked her. She promised not to bother me too much, just to check in on you occasionally and let her know you’re okay.”

 

“That must’ve been annoying for you.”

 

“Not at all! She only contacted me very occasionally. You know, your mom used to take care of me, too, when we were kids. I figured it was out of worry for you, so I was happy to do it.”

 

Her friend waved a hand dismissively as if the idea was absurd.

 

“But recently, she’s been reaching out a lot. Especially the day you went to Scotland and the day something happened at the hotel—she even called me then.”

 

“…”

 

“So I told her I got back in touch with you and that nothing major had happened. But… she’s really worried about you. Maybe you should unblock her and at least say hello? She was on the verge of tears.”

 

“…”

 

Jin-ah didn’t answer right away. Sensing her hesitation, her friend suggested she give it some thought and left the room.

 

Now alone in the quiet room, Jin-ah fiddled with her phone.

 

“Worried about me, huh.”

 

At first, the thought that her mother might be using her friend to spy on her had made her angry. But hearing that her mom had been crying while reaching out left her with a strange feeling.

 

Come to think of it, her mom’s messages always came before something major happened to her. Did this mean there was some truth to the whole Asian shamanism thing?

 

Jin-ah chuckled bitterly and opened her messenger app. She searched for [Korean Woman] and unblocked the contact. After hesitating for a moment, she typed out a short message.

 

[Merry Christmas.]  

 

If her mom had been so worried she called her friend in tears, this much of an effort should be fine.

 

The screen showed that the message had been read almost instantly. Was her mother typing something in response? As she waited for a reply, Jin-ah pressed the block button again.

 

Her heart was pounding. She knew what would come—her mother would ask if she was safe, send her Christmas greetings, and inevitably say something like, “I love you”. Jin-ah didn’t feel strong enough to confront that, and the thought of her own weakness made her laugh bitterly. Hastily, she left the room and rejoined her friends.

 

The warm air was filled with conversation.

 

After so many recent hardships, even a moment of lighthearted chatter felt like a great happiness.

 

The wine disappeared quickly, and though her friends grumbled about how drinking cheap wine after something so luxurious would ruin their palates, they opened another bottle anyway. One bottle, then two.

 

As the empty wine bottles piled up under the table, more and more of her friends ended up sprawled on the sofas.

 

When even the host collapsed on the table, Jin-ah stood up. Being the only one who hadn’t drunk much, she felt obligated to clean up.

 

“Why are you cleaning… Leave it… I’ll do it tomorrow…”

 

“Just sleep,” Jin-ah replied firmly.

 

She quickly got to work, gathering the leftover food, washing the empty plates and glasses, and tidying up the table.

 

Before long, only spotless dishes, dried with a cloth, were left neatly stacked on the table.

 

It had been a long time since she had such a worry-free evening. She could manage this much for her friends.

 

Jin-ah thought about heading home but hesitated. All that was waiting for her there was a cold, dark room. Walking alone through the dark streets seemed unsafe as well, so staying with her friends and leaving in the morning felt like the better choice.

 

She thought about lying down to sleep but found herself unable to drift off. Resting her head on the table, she pulled out her phone.

 

With no particular aim, she browsed through random sites, scrolling through articles about newly opened restaurants and Christmas recipes.

 

But when she absentmindedly clicked on the social news section, one headline caught her eye.

 

[Patient Jumps to Death from Hospital Rooftop.]

 

Below the headline, the name of the deceased was listed.

 

[William Evans.]

 

Jin-ah sat bolt upright.

 

The article was brief:

 

At midnight today, a patient at a London hospital died after jumping from the rooftop. CCTV footage confirmed that the patient went up alone, and there were no signs of communication with anyone else before the incident.

 

Recently, the patient had been struggling with guilt over the death of a colleague and was reportedly in a fragile mental state, leading authorities to believe the act was impulsive. Police are investigating potential negligence in the hospital’s care of the patient…

 

Jin-ah wondered if it could be someone with the same name, but the small photograph accompanying the article confirmed it. It was indeed the William Evans she had met.

 

“Suicide?”

 

There was no way. William, who had asked her to find the memory card, had indeed been tormented by Colin’s disappearance, but his determination to uncover the truth had been clear.

 

He had even promised her compensation, repeatedly asking for her help. Not once had he shown any sign of wanting to give up on his life.

 

Then, suddenly, Ian came to mind. He must have met William after she had left. Could something have happened during that meeting to change his state of mind?

 

Lost in thought for a long while, Jin-ah eventually turned off her phone screen and closed her eyes. It had been such a joyful day for her, yet now her heart felt heavy again. In the end, she didn’t get a wink of sleep and met the dawn wide awake.

 

Leaving her friend’s house, Jin-ah walked toward her own home. The streets were deserted, save for the faint sound of an electronic carol playing from someone’s house.

 

<Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright…>

 

Jin-ah softly murmured the next line to herself.

 

<Sleep in heavenly peace… >

 

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