The old man who keeps saving my life (and I don't know who he is)

I wasn't going to post this but I've been thinking about it for years and I need someone else to hear it.

So there's this old man I've never actually met, but we have this really deep connection. I've run into him like three times now. First time was about 7 years ago when I was in my first year of middle school.

I grew up in Gapyeong (super rural) and right after elementary school my family moved to Guri. And that March? Was NOT March. Like snow up to my ankles on the first day of school. Freezing cold. Wind. I was already overwhelmed from moving to the city and then I caught a cold on top of everything. Miserable.

My house was a 20 minute walk from school and since we just moved I hadn't even figured out the bus situation yet. So every day I had to walk up this hill by the Guri gymnasium. Short hill but STEEP. And that day it was below freezing with insane wind.

By the time school ended I was running a fever. Felt like I was gonna pass out but I figured standing in the wind was worse than just powering through, so I started up the hill.

I still remember it so clearly. Wind hitting my face so hard I thought my cheeks would split open. My eyeballs were stinging. So I just closed my eyes, hunched over, and walked. home. home. get home. get home. That's all I was thinking.

Then suddenly it was warm.

I opened my eyes and I was inside some kind of shopping arcade?? Totally normal looking. Little shops on both sides, people walking around buying stuff. Glass doors at both ends. People going in and out.

Looking back this is INSANE because anyone from Guri knows the gymnasium hill is just. empty. Nothing there. And past it is just bars and karaoke places, no big arcade. And the place I was in? Does not exist in Guri. I've looked. It's nowhere.

But at the time I didn't think any of that was weird. I just wanted to go home because I was burning up. So I started walking toward the glass door at the other end.

That's when someone grabbed my arm.

It was this old man, maybe 70s, white hair, face all twisted up like he was FURIOUS. Wearing one of those mustard-yellow military padded jackets (깔깔이¹). And he just starts dragging me. I wasn't scared as much as confused and in pain because his grip was not human. Like no way a 70 year old should be that strong.

And he's SCREAMING curses at me. "You crazy bitch. Why did you come here." etc etc. I fought back as hard as I could. Nothing. Couldn't get free.

Then we bumped into someone. Hard. Hard enough that my eyes watered. I felt so bad (even though it was the old man dragging me) that I turned around to bow or something.

And there was this man.

I still see him in my head. Cheekbones sticking out. Face so pale it looked BLUE. Black turtleneck. Black coat. And he was smirking at me. Like a smile that wasn't a smile.

The second our eyes met he started following us. And the old man somehow got even madder, cursing louder, walking so fast we were basically running.

We hit the end of the arcade. He threw the door open, shoved me outside, screamed "don't EVER come here again," and I fell face-first onto the ground. Passed out from the pain and the fever.

Woke up in the hospital. My mom said I collapsed crossing a crosswalk. A motorcycle was about to hit me but because I fell FORWARD I just barely missed getting killed.

---

A few years later.

I don't really dream. I get sleep paralysis but no dreams. But this one night I had the most vivid dream. My family was in the car going somewhere. Up ahead someone was waving at us.

It was him. The old man.

My parents stopped the car and he yanked the door open and started screaming and pulled all of us OUT of the car. My dad was arguing that no, we have to drive, we HAVE to go. And the old man turns to me and goes "today. your dad absolutely cannot drive. tell him." Over and over.

I woke up feeling so weird. I was gonna tell my dad but of all days he was running late that morning, so I never got to mention it. He rushed out to drive to work.

I was at school when I got the call. Dad had been in an accident. The truck in front of him was a cargo truck and something fell off the back of it. He was hospitalized for 8 weeks. Doctor said he was incredibly lucky.

When I finally told my dad about the dream later he yelled at me like "WHY are you telling me this NOW??"

---

Last one is recent.

Last winter my parents went on a couples trip abroad and I had the house to myself for about 5 days. First night my friends came over and we stayed up all night. Next night I was alone and went to sleep.

I'm calling it a dream now but at the time I had NO idea it was a dream.

I was thirsty so I walked out to the living room. And he was there. Standing right in the middle of the floor like he owned it.

He grabbed me, wouldn't even let me drink water, and shoved me back into my room. Locked the door. Told me "no matter what you hear. do NOT open this door."

I didn't understand but something in me KNEW. I locked it and sat in the corner.

Then someone knocked.

Very polite knock. That's when the real fear hit. I asked who it was and I heard my mom's voice. But I didn't open it

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