Chapter 4
“Whew...”
The moment I arrived home, I collapsed onto the floor.
It had been such a chaotic day that I barely knew how it had passed.
The whole thing had felt like a dream.
I walked over to the bed where I had read the message that morning and checked my phone again.
The message was still gone.
“Today wasn’t actually a dream, right?”
I grabbed my cheek and pinched it as hard as I could.
If it was a dream, I should not feel pain.
“Ow!”
Unfortunately...
Everything that had happened was real.
“What exactly was that message I saw this morning?”
The article inside the message remained vivid in my memory.
So did the actions of the arsonist I saw later.
I could not easily forget any of it.
There was one fact I had learned from the police.
Until I stopped the arsonist that day...
Shinwoo Department Store had never experienced an arson attack before.
There had never even been a minor fire there.
Then what had the message I read that morning been?
No matter how hard I thought, I could not find a reasonable answer.
I opened the internet on my phone and began searching.
News article sent by text.
Can news articles arrive through text messages?
Spam news article text.
How long are deleted messages stored?
How to recover deleted text messages.
Shinwoo Department Store arson.
Shinwoo Department Store.
Gwangju arson.
Gwangju arsonist.
“Nothing comes up.”
Since searching did not answer a single question, I tried looking at it differently.
“So, to organize this... The message I saw in the morning was about something that hadn’t happened yet.”
I rubbed my chin.
“But then it actually happened in the afternoon.”
I bit my lip and thought.
Then I snapped my fingers.
“The future...!”
Nothing else explained it.
What if the message had been telling me about something that would happen in the future?
Of course, the very idea of receiving information from the future made no sense.
But if I assumed it really had been about the future...
Every piece fit together perfectly.
“A message told me what was going to happen in the future.”
I picked up my phone again and began searching.
Message from the future.
Future text message.
Dreams that show the future.
Seeing the future in dreams.
Prophetic dreams.
Prophetic dream message.
I still could not find a real answer.
But there was no explanation more convincing than a message from the future.
“Did something really send that information to me from the future?”
Several days passed after the arson incident.
Even so, the memories of that day continued circling inside my head.
“Come to think of it... Grandma appeared in my dream that day.”
After Grandma passed away, I had desperately wished again and again that I could see her in my dreams.
But she had never appeared even once.
Then, on that particular day...
Grandma appeared in my dream and handed me a phone.
I looked up at the clear blue sky and muttered.
“Grandma... did you send that message to me?”
The moment I became convinced the message had shown the future, I could not help thinking about her.
According to the article sent through the message, many people had been hospitalized because of the arsonist.
But what actually happened at Shinwoo Department Store was very different.
I stopped him before he could start the fire.
The crime ended as an attempt.
No one was injured.
If I had never read that article...
If I had simply gone there and bought the items that day...
Would I have been one of the people sent to the hospital?
“Grandma... please appear in my dream again.”
If I could see her again, I had so many things I wanted to ask.
Why had she shown me that article?
Had she really sent it?
Had she known the arson would happen?
Had she been trying to save me because she knew I would get hurt?
I wanted to ask her everything.
And I wanted to tell her directly...
That because of her, I had survived.
Had Grandma been trying to save me?
For several nights, whenever I went to sleep, I thought about her.
People said the person you thought about immediately before falling asleep sometimes appeared in your dreams.
But Grandma never appeared again.
“Right... Because of you, Grandma, I saved those people and I didn’t get hurt either. That’s enough, isn’t it? That was what you wanted, right?”
Grandma might have been watching me from somewhere.
She might still have been worrying about me.
So I desperately called out.
“Grandma... I survived because of you.”
I wanted to finally move on from that strange message.
I felt as though I had been trapped inside that one moment for days.
I was safe.
No one had been injured.
I had done something good.
So...
I should forget about it.
I held the phone that had received the message and stared blankly at it.
Then...
Bzzzt.
The sudden vibration startled me so badly that I nearly dropped the phone.
[Caller: 062-123-XXXX]
The area code was 062.
It was not a saved number.
But 062 was the area code for Gwangju.
Most of my clients were in Gwangju, so I assumed it was a business call.
I cleared my throat.
“Yes, this is Choi Inwoo from WG Food.”
“Is this Mr. Choi Inwoo’s phone?”
The voice was much calmer than the voices of the client employees who normally called me.
“Yes, it is.”
“Are you the Choi Inwoo who stopped an arson attack at Shinwoo Department Store on the 25th?”
I had only just decided to put that day behind me.
The instant I heard the word arson, my eyes widened.
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Hello. This is the Gwangju Police Station.”
“The police station?”
“Yes. I’m calling regarding the recent incident where a major fire was nearly caused by arson...”
The call was from a police station in Gwangju.
The woman patiently explained why they had contacted me.
After a long conversation, she continued in a friendly voice.
“So, the Gwangju Police Station will be holding a special civilian commendation ceremony.”
“A special civilian commendation...? Is that something like a Brave Citizen Award?”
I could hear the smile in her voice.
“That’s right. The award ceremony will be...”
A Brave Citizen Award.
It was something I had only ever seen on the news.
I could not help letting out a stunned laugh.
Even after the call ended, the situation felt unreal.
“Wow. You really do experience all kinds of things if you live long enough.”
I looked at my phone again to check the date of the ceremony.
Then...
Bzzzt.
Another call came in.
[Caller: 062-123-XXXX]
Another unsaved number.
Thinking the police station might have forgotten to tell me something, I quickly answered.
“Yes, hello?”
“Hello. Is this Mr. Choi Inwoo?”
The voice was different from the one I had heard moments earlier.
“Yes.”
“Are you the Choi Inwoo who stopped the arson attack at Shinwoo Department Store on the 25th?”
The situation repeated itself so closely that it felt like déjà vu.
I tilted my head.
“...Yes. But I just received a call. Is this also from the Gwangju Police Station?”
The person on the other side sounded slightly flustered.
“Oh, no. I’m calling from Shinwoo Department Store in Gwangju.”
Once again, it was something completely unexpected.
“Shinwoo Department Store?”
“Yes. I’m calling from the office of CEO Park Donghun of Shinwoo Department Store in Gwangju. Do you have a moment to speak?”
“Yes. What is this regarding?”
“Because you prevented the arson attack, CEO Park Donghun would like to personally express his gratitude.”
I was surprised and waved my hand even though she could not see me.
“That really isn’t necessary. I didn’t do anything that great.”
“No, what you did was remarkable. He would like to thank you in person. Would you have time to meet?”
“It really is fine...”
“If you tell me a date and time that is convenient for you, may I arrange it to fit the CEO’s schedule as closely as possible?”
Shinwoo Department Store.
The moment I entered the department store lobby, an employee immediately recognized me.
“Hello. Are you Mr. Choi Inwoo?”
“Yes.”
She seemed to be CEO Park Donghun’s secretary, the woman I had spoken with a few days earlier.
She welcomed me with a bright smile.
“It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Oh, no. Not at all.”
“Shinwoo Group is deeply grateful to you for stopping an arson attack that could have caused enormous losses.”
She bowed politely.
“This way, please.”
“Yes.”
I had visited Shinwoo Department Store countless times while living in Gwangju and working for WG Food.
Sometimes to deliver products to the food hall.
Sometimes to purchase products from other companies.
I had been here many times.
Yet I had never imagined the building could feel this unfamiliar.
I followed Park Donghun’s secretary.
Soon, we entered a completely different area.
Wow... So they designed this place so ordinary people can’t just wander into the CEO’s office.
I looked around curiously while following her.
Eventually, we arrived at the CEO’s office.
My mouth almost fell open.
It was the kind of huge executive office I had only seen on television or in movies.
I knew Shinwoo Group was one of Korea’s major conglomerates.
But I had not expected the CEO’s office inside the Gwangju branch of Shinwoo Department Store to be this large.
I barely managed to hide my amazement before approaching Park Donghun.
“Mr. Choi Inwoo, it’s good to meet you.”
He approached me with a gentle smile and handed me his business card.
“I’m Park Donghun, CEO of Shinwoo Department Store in Gwangju.”
I shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Choi Inwoo.”
“First, I wanted to personally bow my head and thank you. Thank you very much.”
He bowed.
I immediately bowed as well.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Yes.”
Park Donghun gave his secretary a glance.
Soon, expensive-looking biscuits and coffee were placed in front of me.
“I wasn’t at the department store that day, so I wasn’t able to meet you. But I heard everything from the employees and the police.”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“It could have become an enormous disaster. I don’t even know how to properly express my gratitude for the courage you showed by stopping it.”
The continuous praise made me smile awkwardly.
“I think anyone else would have done the same if they had noticed.”
“No. Something like that requires genuine courage. I reviewed the CCTV because we had to submit it to the police. Many people passed through that area before you arrived.”
“Really?”
“Yes. But no one stepped forward to stop him, or even seemed suspicious, the way you did.”
That surprised me.
The smell of gasoline had been so strong.
I found it shocking that no one else had questioned it.
Park Donghun continued talking about what I had done that day and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.
Eventually...
“So today, I wanted to meet you personally, thank you, and also repay you somehow.”
“Repay me?”
“Yes. If that fire had happened, the injuries and property losses would have been... unimaginable.”
I nodded.
If the incident had happened as described in the article...
Customers would have been hospitalized.
The fire would have spread from the food hall on Basement Level 1 all the way to the luxury section on the first floor.
Just as Park Donghun said, the financial loss would have been enormous.
“I thought a great deal about how I should compensate you.”
But I did not immediately answer.
I had not acted because I wanted a reward.
And if the fire had actually started, there was no telling what might have happened to me either.
“I didn’t do it expecting compensation. I’m satisfied simply knowing that you invited me here and thanked me personally.”
He seemed genuinely surprised.
His eyebrows rose.
“I didn’t expect you to say that. If there’s anything you want, I’d like to repay you as much as possible.”
His tone suggested that he was willing to grant almost any request.
When I only smiled without answering, he continued.
“We could provide gift certificates that can be used at Shinwoo Department Store and throughout all Shinwoo affiliates...”
While listening to him...
Something suddenly came to mind.
A different kind of reward.
The corners of my lips rose.
“CEO Park.”
He stopped talking.
“Yes. Please tell me.”
“Then... may I ask you for just one favor?”
