It was a shoe.
A very ordinary-looking shoe.
It seemed a bit worn out, likely from frequent use, but it was undoubtedly a shoe.
However, the shoe was talking.
As if it had a tongue.
Or perhaps it was made from some sort of tongue material.
『The crow said that it used to serve the goddess of war, right? Back in the day, it was a real treat to feast on the corpses of the warriors who died in vain while following the goddess! But since the land has blossomed with clover, and since a great author has appeared bearing the name of the mighty god, the crow can no longer follow behind the goddess! Ha! I’m one to exaggerate, but this crow sure takes the cake with its bragging, don’t you think? How can a money-hungry crow be a minion of the great Badhbh Cath?—-!』
From the shoe flowed the voice of a middle-aged man, clearly drunk.
His speech felt a bit rambling, as if slurred from too much alcohol.
It was a voice that undeniably brought to mind a middle-aged man drunkenly ranting in a pub.
But the peculiar thing was that with every word spoken, the shoe got a little bit dirtier.
The shoe was indeed aging, the once-stiff laces gradually worn out, and the soles began to wear down as if they’d trudged over difficult paths, crumpling like they’d been kicked a few times.
The pace of deterioration was so subtle that it was easy to miss, but if you concentrated, you could definitely confirm it was aging in real-time.
The man in front of the shoe stared blankly at it.
With a look that said he regretted letting it go, yet perked up his ears at the same time.
『But that crow’s bragging was quite entertaining-! It made for a great drinking story! After all, in tales told over drinks, who cares about the truth? The hero with silver arms supposedly drank Badhbh Cath under the table, and the gossip that Badhbh Cath met the warrior women across the sea! Heh, and then there’s the rumor about the hero of light being impotent—it’s all amusing enough, right?』
『Now about that crow. It was obsessed with money, money. The more I think about it, it was completely consumed by greed. You see, a bird should be flying with its head held high, but this crow only looked down. Why? Because if it didn’t look below, it would miss the money and jewels on the ground! That way, this greedy crow piled up heaps of cash, so much that the son of Huraidmar came looking for it! Hahaha! How does that even make sense? At this rate, the crow will soon boast of building a bridge in mid-air to lure people across!』
『But they say that while it was so fixated on looking down, it saw and heard a lot. Recently, it claimed to have seen something fascinating. What was it? It’s about you, sundae! Something very peculiar happening in your land!』
The shoe continued enthusiastically.
If it truly had a mouth, it would have been spitting everywhere with excitement.
The shabby-dressed man, Lee Jae-soon, was just quietly listening.
One hand gripped a notebook, ready to take notes.
『When was it? Was it yesterday? The day before? Anyway, it was while this crow was soaring the skies. It got harassed by an eagle and slapped its face with its wing; after that, I guess its wing got a little sore. So it folded its wings and set out to find a place to rest, and it found a rather rugged mountain where it nestled in a suitable branch.』
『But while it was resting, it suddenly sensed a presence. Weirdly dressed folk came rushing in, shoving sticks into the ground and digging, while some with cameras were making a racket taking pictures. It must have been quite a scene. How bewildered that crow must have felt just trying to relax! So, this crow wrapped itself in leaves, pretending to be a tree while watching the spectacle.』
『Then, first, those strange folks started digging up the ground and uncovered a strange box, and when they pulled it out, people’s faces went pale. So this crow thought, uh, am I just a crow? If it just let that slip by, it wouldn’t be a money-crazed crow. Sneaking up, it went to check what the treasure was, and oh boy! Not treasure, but just an old blade wrapped in a rag. They seemed special, but not remarkable enough to catch any real interest.』
『But here’s the thing, sundae. Since you’re my friend, I’ll share this. I overheard those folks mumbling about that tattered cloth, calling it ‘Emperor’ or something like that. What could that even mean? Interesting, right?』
Lee Jae-soon smiled at the excited rambling of the shoe.
“Interesting, quite interesting. Heh. Heheh.”
People with cameras on a rugged-looking mountain, and ‘Emperor’?
It smelled fishy.
The scent of an exclusive story was in the air.
After gathering all the information, Lee Jae-soon carefully picked up the shoe and placed it into a box. He then hid that box in a secret spot known only to him and sneaked a grin in the silent room.
He powered up his laptop, which had been in sleep mode, to start searching for clues regarding the ‘information’ the shoe mentioned.
But no new leads turned up online.
‘Is it being kept under wraps? But if there were cameras and many people involved, it must be a filming crew.’
He pondered for a moment before grabbing his phone.
Then began calling up various contacts.
“Hey, good to hear from you! No, it’s been ages! It’s not been that long since I moved to the society section, now has it? Ah, I need some info, you see, and it’s a bit tricky to get in the society section. I figured you might know something over in entertainment, so I called. Got any scoop on what’s being filmed at the broadcasting station or movie studio lately? Hm? You don’t know? What about the production company? Oh, you know them, but nothing’s in the pipeline? Okay, got it.”
He started making calls left and right.
He had created some shallow connections that were now eager for the information flowing from his ‘divine object.’
While they were too opportunistic to be true friends, they weren’t entirely useless people; during times like this, they could still prove handy.
The basic rule of information exchange is that you give and take, and they knew it better than anyone. If they provided him with intel, they’d have something to gain in the future.
So unless it was incredibly groundbreaking info, they’d surely share some details.
However, oddly enough, no matter how many journalists he asked, none were willing to spill any information.
Were they unaware of something?
Or did they know but chose to stay quiet?
Lee Jae-soon began to feel suspicious.
‘Something seems off?’
So he stopped calling journalists and began reaching out to others.
The people from the broadcasting station.
“Ah, yes! Greetings, PD! Yes, we briefly met while I was in the entertainment department. Yes, the thing is, I need some information. Not anything major; I just wanted to know about the trend. I’ve moved to society, but you can’t always neatly categorize where people live, right? Haha, true that. So, is there any big project being worked on at the broadcasting station right now?”
With that, Lee Jae-soon started extracting information from the broadcasting staff, and as he spoke to a few of them, outlines began to take shape.
『A certain broadcasting station is preparing a special broadcast.』
『I can’t tell you the details as that’s confidential, but it’s quite a good item.』
『While I can’t confirm it, there are rumors that it may be related to the monster incident that took place recently.』
『I heard outdoor filming was done a little while back.』
And with that sketch in mind, it was more than enough.
Lee Jae-soon unleashed his journalistic prowess, sharpening that outline bit by bit.
And not too long after, he found out that the special broadcast was titled ‘Tracking, Reporting, Investigation,’ and he also learned that the station held high hopes for this special feature and was supporting it robustly.
Once he reached this point, everything else would be easy.
‘How many people are moving around, how many gathered? Hehe, catching a tail should be a breeze.’
He was able to easily discover where the production crew was headed for outdoor filming and where the supply troops that came to support them were from.
He found out that the production team had gone to ‘Hwangjang Mountain,’ and as soon as he knew the location, he packed up his things and headed out the door. His bag contained food, a GPS, chargers, and extra clothes for trekking through the mountains.
Company?
Just saying ‘I think I may have found an exclusive story’ would guarantee his access.
Wouldn’t it be obvious to allow a journalist who’s always chasing exclusive stories to have the opportunity to catch one themselves?
So, Lee Jae-soon drove toward Hwangjang Mountain and began tracking the production team’s trail by asking around. He learned from people which hiking trail they headed toward, and he followed the path where the crew had ventured off the beaten track, tracing the various signs people had left.
During that process, he got lost a few times, almost scraped himself on abandoned barbed wire, nearly getting tetanus, was almost bitten by a snake that popped out, and shivered through the night in the cold.
But Lee Jae-soon wouldn’t give up.
He believed that there had to be an exclusive story waiting at Hwangjang Mountain, and he had not a single doubt in that belief.
‘The shoe certainly said something interesting was here. Heh, it’s an exclusive, it’s an exclusive.’
The shoe does not lie.
The divine object does not lie.
The information gifted by the fairy had led him to a bright future, and it surely would this time as well.
Following the divine object.
Following the information the divine object relayed.
If he possessed merely the information acquired from it, Lee Jae-soon could keep ascending to even greater heights.
He firmly believed that without a trace of doubt.
That was the truth, and common sense.
Lee Jae-soon believed in the shoe, and with that belief, he could throw himself into danger.
‘I will find it. I will find it. The pit was mentioned. Whether a pit or traces of it, one of those must be out there. I will absolutely find it.’
With his obsession bordering on madness, Lee Jae-soon roamed Hwangjang Mountain.
“Ha.”
And at long last, he discovered the pit.
