Surviving as a Writer in the British Empire

London outing (3)

“Amazing. it’s Joseon It’s a name I’ve never heard of before.”

“Well, it was a country of quiet mornings.”

I said, taking a big bite of Yorkshire pudding.

The gentleman, who seemed calm and reticent, was surprisingly curious. And, he was also rich in knowledge.

“Actually, when I first saw you, I thought it was really strange. I’m sorry if I sound offended, but compared to the Japanese or Chinese I saw in Mrs. Bishop’s books, I felt like a completely different person because he was much bigger and neater.”

“No, that’s about it. We Koreans hate Japan and China. Just like the British hate the Germans or the French.”

“Huh, is that so? The world is so vast and mysterious, but people’s lives are all similar.”

So that would be more fun. The gentleman said while dipping his fries in sauce.

“Listening to your story makes me want to go out into the world again. If it wasn’t for my hospital, I’d like to go back to the boat like before.”

“Were you a sailor?”

“He was a good doctor. Since it was a whaling ship, it only went to and from the North Sea, so it wasn’t much fun. Of course, I went to Africa later, too.”

From noble mtl dot com

Unlike his appearance, the gentleman was quite an adventurous person, and he was also good at conversational tiki-taka.

Shall we call it a conversation that fleshes out each other’s stories? Thanks to this, it is not too difficult to have a meal and a conversation at the same time.

“It was not a bad experience. The salary was more stable than others. Since I opened the business, there are no customers.”

“As a self-employed person, that is the hardest. There is no guarantee of income for the next month. Originally, I also thought of becoming a civil servant if things didn’t work out.”

“As a civil servant, did you try to do something boring like that? Didn’t the doctor have an idea?”

“Because it’s not usually hard to be a doctor where I’m from.”

I shrugged and said.

Of course, I heard that the path of a doctor is very tough in England in this era, but it is still 8 lanes wide compared to Korea in the 21st century.

There is nothing that didn’t suit my aptitude. I was really bad at creatures.

After saying that, the gentleman thought about something for a while, then showed the newspaper next to him and said,

“Well, now that I think about it, maybe it was fortunate that I wasn’t a doctor.”

“What is this?”

I tilted my head and looked at the newspaper.

Let’s see, the title is…

“Serial killer Thomas Neill Cream, was he really ‘Jack the Killer’?”

Killer Jack? Is this the Jack the Ripper I know? Rather, Thomas Neal Cream? What is this guy doing again?

“Do you know about Jack the Killer?”

“There are things I have heard. A perverted murderer who only killed powerless women, right?”

“You are not wrong.”

Well, first of all, it’s one of the standard materials in our industry.

Somewhere as a duo of reapers and a doctor, somewhere as zombies, and somewhere as a girl with white hair who couldn’t even go to elementary school… isn’t this? Anyway, even today, it is famous as a synonym for serial killers.

“Jack the Killer is famous for killing his victims and dissecting them with sharp blades like a scalpel. So Scotland Yard assumed that a doctor or someone with equivalent medical knowledge was the culprit.”

“aha. Is that why all the doctors were suspicious?”

“Yes. I was acquainted with the police, so I cooperated and was able to get released quickly, but the other doctors had no choice but to go through some hardships.”

Then you’re lucky you’re definitely not a doctor. I naturally nodded.

When the Jack the Ripper case broke out, he wasn’t even in England, let alone London, but anyway, if an unknown doctor suddenly appeared, the police would have been suspicious.

In a way, I’m really glad that I’m a writer.

“Then if this Thomas Neil Crim confessed to being Jack, wouldn’t he have already been executed? Isn’t the case over now?”

Then the gentleman stroked his mustache with a bitter expression.

“You can think of it that way. But not this little guy. Of course, it’s true that he’s a bastard.”

“Why?”

“Those who commit serial crimes have patterns in their crimes. Killer Jack’s tool of crime is a knife. But this guy was arsenic. Besides, Jack’s alibi for the time of the crime is clear. He wasn’t.”

“Hmm.”

Gorenga. I blankly nodded.

Frankly speaking, even if he is Jack the Ripper, his fame is because he poured cold water on the Belle Epoque, not particularly intelligent or particularly damaging. There are only 5 victims.

After all, Yoo Young-chul and Kang Ho-soon are more vicious and vicious assholes.

I remember that the evaluation in the future was just ‘the British police were incompetent and couldn’t catch it’.

Seeing as there’s no mention of it reappearing since then.

Still, for some reason, seeing the gentleman who was good to me is so gloomy, I want to help him in some way… but is there anything?

Wait, come to think of it, there seems to be something similar to this among the rules of liberal arts programs and mystery novels that I did on the weekend.

I opened my mouth slowly, searching through the fragments of my memory.

“I don’t think there is a law that means you have a lot of medical knowledge just because you have to use a scalpel.”

“huh? what does that mean?”

think, think

In a mine of vague memories, I remembered what other writers had historically verified while writing about this incident.

“You say you dissected the body, but to be honest, it was the London police who first judged it?”

“That’s right.”

“Then wouldn’t it be difficult for the police to know if the dissection was done correctly according to medical knowledge or if it was done roughly by an amateur? I heard that the site I found was quite damaged…”

“hmm!”

The gentleman’s bent leg loosened and his body slowly leaned this way.

I worked out what was in my head as carefully as possible.

“But he must have been someone who used knives often. Otherwise, I wouldn’t try to kill a person with a short knife like a scalpel.”

“yes. Because humans are large creatures that don’t die surprisingly easily.”

“Furthermore, they deliberately killed them, dismembered them, and laid them out to expose their crimes. This must be someone, ah! However, it is not a specific person, and I think it was just intended to be shown to an unspecified number of people.”

species.

A person who intentionally uploads his crimes on social media to be criticized. Idiots who mistakenly think that by making others angry, they control their emotions.

The fact that Jack the Ripper was such a guy has already been profiled in the future.

But in this era, there is no social media.

This means that even if the crowd curses at them in real time, it is difficult for them to catch them right away. If so, how would such ancestors behave?

“It must have been not far from the crime scene.”

Hide directly among the crowd.

And it becomes a tree hidden in the forest… stealing and listening to what other trees curse. Because it satisfies your needs.

In short, summed up.

“A person who lived near the crime scene. A person who wields a knife well. But that’s not a doctor. A lone wolf that does not adapt well to society and needs human attention. I think that’s Jack the Ripper.”

“mmm…!”

The gentleman carved a deep groove between his brows. You’re listening to something very serious… I said with all the remaining meat in my mouth.

“No, it’s just an amateur’s light guess. If you just let it flow…”

“Um, no. What you point out is definitely worth checking out.”

He took off his hat, touched his hair, opened a small notebook in his arms, and began to write something hastily.

“Yes, and do you have any other opinions? Like a way to characterize the culprit.”

“yes? the culprit? uh······.”

If there is such a thing, I already wrote a mystery novel when I was in Korea.

It’s easy to make a drama or a movie, but it’s not a young trend in web novels, so I just gave up.

But those eyes, those eyes full of anticipation that seemed to melt my face, kept tickling my heart.

For some reason, saying I don’t know is like committing a sin, I feel like I have to say something.

“Well, wouldn’t it be normal for people like this to be a little insane at first glance?”

“I guess so.”

“Then maybe he’s already been caught for another crime, or he could be sent to a mental hospital or something?”

Because there were many such cases in the future.

“······her!”

The gentleman opened his mouth wide.

Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to be so shocked.

He soon lost himself in his own thoughts. This is a pattern I can’t talk about for a while.

I slowly emptied the remaining ale.

It was then.

The sound of a bell that I had heard so many times at school that started with ding~dong dangdong~ hit my ears.

what is this?

When I turned my head, the time told by the giant clock tower of Big Ben Tower was…

what?! It’s already 9pm!?

“It’s a big deal!”

“Um, what’s going on? you?”

“Oh, sorry. Actually, I have an appointment and I have to go in! Excuse me first!!”

“Hey, wait!!”

I heard something being said behind me, but I ignored it and hurriedly ran.

Thinking of my promise to Mr. Miller, running was the only way for me to survive.

***

“hahahaha. Oh, what a stormy young man.”

The gentleman who was left alone smiled dejectedly. The owner of the pub approached him and said.

“Sir, are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I saw him hanging out with an Asian like that…”

“There is no need in the first place for those who would argue over trivial matters like that.”

than that

The gentleman wiped his chin and summarized the stories he had just heard.

I used a scalpel, but you don’t have to be a doctor.

A coward who scares the public, puts them in a panic, and enjoys it.

And… the one who may have already been captured.

“It’s an interesting story.”

Tok, tok.

That makes enough sense. Rather, I wonder why I hadn’t thought of it before.

No, maybe he was already on the suspect line.

However, considering that the investigation was stopped because another suspect had unnecessarily committed suicide, it was more likely that the investigation was not properly conducted. I should have thought of that…!

The gentleman sighed and murmured.

“’Criminals in London are idiots. Doesn’t the figure of a person vaguely emerge and then disappear into the fog again? I forgot for a moment that if a person can disappear into a fog, the criminal himself can also disappear into that fog.”

And I didn’t expect that there would be a guy who gets pleasure from the fog itself.

Even though such an irrational psychology is undoubtedly in the human mind.

“Sir, are you okay?”

“It’s okay, Jim. Oh, wait a minute.”

The mustachioed gentleman’s head began to spin rapidly. As if regaining lost vitality, it feels like the brain cells that were bleached white are regaining their color again.

When he came to his senses, he took out a handkerchief and fountain pen from his bosom and scrawled something.

Immediately after, I handed it to the pub owner.

“Immediately take this and go to the Metropolitan Police Department. Go find Inspector George and show him this handkerchief. As soon as I finish preparing, I will follow you right away.”

“Well, it’s not that difficult. I will go right away.”

Despite the unexpected words and unexpected instructions, the pub manager politely bowed his head.

“Mr. Arthur Conan Doyle.”

From noble mtl dot com