Mia Returns Crossing the River - Chapter 2
Mia’s eyes widened like saucers. Dieter nodded gravely.
“Your aunt who came to this land a hundred years ago borrowed money using this house as collateral but vanished without repaying it.”
“…How much is it?”
Dieter hesitated briefly about revealing such sensitive information, but if she truly was the rightful owner, there was no reason to delay.
Mia took the document labeled “Unresolved Copy” and skimmed the numbers. There were plenty of zeros, and the amount had even increased month by month.
Compound interest really is terrifying.
On a sunny hillside overlooking the sea, the woman’s scream echoed.
“Damn those crazy fraudsters dumping a mountain of debt on this so-called house!!”
* * *
This happened shortly before contract phone operator Han Mia moved into the seaside two-story house burdened with debt.
“Whew…”
The ice in her iced Americano had completely melted. Mia stood up from her seat.
It was the day she had finally gotten her deposit back from the unscrupulous landlord who had dodged her at every turn. Though she’d been fleeced an extra hundred thousand won or so, citing defects that had supposedly existed for fifty million years, it wasn’t the first time she’d been pushed around like this.
“Take it all, take it all. Hope you go bald eating it all.”
Mia decided to treat it as a lucky escape and celebrate her small victory. Unlike usual, she didn’t go straight home but headed to the riverside park a few stops away.
The big river flowing through the heart of the capital had a somewhat connection with Mia. She used to visit endlessly when she was young but hadn’t come since growing older.
But now, after such a long time, the place was filled with couples everywhere. Mia avoided the rain-soaked benches and squeezed herself between unknown pairs, but soon got bored despite coming out.
“It got chilly after the rain earlier. Might as well go home and have some ssanghwatang.”
Still, for some reason, she wanted to enjoy the night a little.
Stopping at a convenience store, Mia bravely picked up a spicy stir-fried ramen. Her stomach was weak, so she also grabbed some antacids just in case she got an upset stomach tomorrow. She picked some pricey beer with discounts for buying multiples and beef bone soup ramen for hangovers.
After paying, as she stepped outside, a group of male students hanging around a parasol table started pestering her.
“Hey hey, hey! Excuse me! Where are you from?”
Bright blonde hair and blue-purple eyes. Mia, whose features differed from the locals, often heard this on the street.
‘But I’m from here, I was born here, you idiots.’
When Mia responded fluently in the local language despite looking foreign, most people were stunned into silence.
But young guys that age were just a nuisance to deal with. Mia chuckled quietly and quickened her pace past the laughing group.
By the time Mia reached her home, it was just past midnight. As she searched for the key to the shared entrance of her studio apartment, someone called out from behind.
“Miss, may I ask you something?”
At this hour, in a quiet residential alley?
Mia stiffened her shoulders and turned around. Sure enough, two women were looking up at her with clear faces. Both wore elaborate traditional costumes, like actresses in a play.
The clothes themselves were innocent enough, but in this situation, their appearance was unsettling. It felt like madness.
‘One looks exactly like a shaman. And the other, some kind of royalty?’
Was this some kind of multi-level marketing scheme or cult? Either way, Mia felt getting involved would be nasty.
“Take care.”
Mia muttered and quickly turned away, but the woman raised her voice.
“Wait! Just a moment! Are you the ‘baby found in the river’? The child who appeared in the river as if dropped from the sky?”
“Hah… Are you a reporter? No interviews. That’s ancient history.”
It was a trivial old tale. Once upon a time, during a fierce winter cold snap, an unidentified newborn had been abandoned alone on a frozen river, was rescued, and miraculously survived.
It was news long forgotten even by the local news, yet there were people still searching for that child. Unlike Mia, whose mood soured, the women brightened with excitement.
“You’re the one, aren’t you? Yes, it was you. So you’ve been here all this time!”
“We searched for you for so long!”
“I don’t care. Please leave. And seriously, if you’re a reporter, show some professionalism. Talking like that is rude… Hey! Let go, kyaak!”
The two suspicious women suddenly grabbed both of Mia’s wrists and yanked her. Mia lost her balance and toppled forward. She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a harsh impact.
But instead, a splash… huh? A splash?
“What is this—!”
Rainwater pooled at their feet, quickly swelling into a pond, then a stream. The rushing water swept them all up. Mia was swept away by the sudden flood as if by magic.
“Kugh, cough, cough.”
When she barely managed to break the surface, she found herself on the unfamiliar riverbank of a mountain covered in blue ice.
“Baby, welcome back home!”
And so, once again, Mia crossed worlds through the river.
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