Chapter 33
I opened my eyes wide. I never thought they’d give it to me, but to think they’d hand over the rifle. The moment I grasped the hunting rifle, I heard a clicking sound. Hwang Jang-ju was pointedly aiming at my leg area. With a face more suited to scowling than smiling. Han Jong-wook stared at the hunting rifle in my hand for a long time, then his lips twitched. I could hear him speaking, though faintly.
“Why are you giving it to him, really, ahjussi…”
“What did you say?”
When I pretended not to hear and asked again, Han Jong-wook waved his hand saying it was nothing. Then, as if he’d just remembered something, he took a step closer.
“But you know, I heard something interesting.”
Han Jong-wook tilted his head this way and that with a truly strange expression.
“I heard you’re getting friendly with that bastard.”
“…”
Han Jong-wook massaged the back of his neck and burst into a hollow laugh, as if he found it ridiculous himself. And when he looked at me, his gaze was quite vicious. Since I kept my mouth shut tight, Han Jong-wook urged and pressed me, and finally lost his temper.
“After I saw how that bastard was with you!”
Unable to contain his anger, Han Jong-wook looked ready to overturn the entire building. After raging furiously for a while, he snorted and smiled at me again. Honestly, watching that from the side was a bit… no, very disgusting. This guy is completely insane.
“Well, whatever. You might not have known. The truth is, he’s a really nasty piece of work. At first, I thought he was okay, but now he’s just gotten so arrogant. Ahjussi Jang-ju wasn’t trying to kill him, just trying to fix his attitude, you know?”
This time I wanted to snort in disbelief. He lies so well about it being a disciplinary intent. Both him and Hwang Jang-ju snickering behind me—there wasn’t a speck of truthfulness to be seen anywhere. Han Jong-wook, ignoring my distorted face, pleaded with me to believe him and then spoke with regret.
“There was a bit of a misunderstanding about you getting pushed in. It’s unfortunate, but they were probably planning to use you to catch him. They weren’t trying to kill you, they were planning to save you, I tell you!”
Han Jong-wook looked at Hwang Jang-ju as if seeking confirmation, and he smiled a strange smile with his bruised and swollen face.
“That’s right.”
“See, that’s what I’m saying. It’s a misunderstanding, understand? So don’t get friendly with that bastard. Don’t get close to him. You’ll be in danger.”
Han Jong-wook asked as if coaxing me, yet pressuring me. Though my disbelief was rising to my throat, I could only slowly nod my head. For now… I had to survive by any means until Jang Jae-gyeong came.
Based on what had happened so far, the people in this village are really strange. Even though they clearly see that guy aiming at my leg, they still go on about saving me and misunderstandings, like Han Jong-wook.
It was as if their perceptions and values were all broken, perhaps from being too obsessed with survival. If I had been alone all this time, if I had kept seeing people dying from earthquakes and monsters, would I have become like these people? It probably wouldn’t be sane… But I didn’t feel even a nail’s worth of sympathy or understanding. They were still weighing my usefulness, and if I didn’t measure up, they wouldn’t hesitate to use me as bait. Han Jong-wook grinned as he watched me nod, at least to endure today.
“Yes, you’ve thought well. If you just get through tonight’s watch well, you won’t have to stand watch again. Actually, the previous group complained that you didn’t work alone. They said you didn’t even guard the bonfire at the end and went back alone? If you get through this time, I’ll put in a good word for you. Okay?”
What good word. And was it just those men who claimed that? I glared at Hwang Jang-ju, who seemed likely to have been at the forefront of the complaints, and he rubbed his damaged face with that unpleasant smile of his.
“You’d better be careful not to become monster food.”
Hwang Jang-ju threatened.
“Then, I’m counting on you. After it appears once, it usually stays quiet for a while, so today, there probably won’t be anything. Probably.”
Han Jong-wook said, as if hammering in the point. But it wasn’t even worth a snort. Were those monsters the type to follow a schedule and be considerate? Well, he probably added that last part because he knew it himself.
While I was heaving a sigh, the two men left the building. Today, particularly, powdery dust rose from the heavily cracked door, choking my breath.
* * *
“Those bastards.”
I bit my tongue hard. From the moment they started talking, I felt uneasy, and sure enough, they didn’t just hit me from behind—they completely crushed me.
When I arrived at the promised bonfire, there was no one around. I was bewildered because there wasn’t even a trace of people having passed by, let alone any human presence. Thinking I might have arrived first, I waited for others, but no one came until the bonfire began to die down. Throughout the wait, I had a feeling I’d been tricked, but the process of my thoughts turning into certainty was disgustingly unpleasant.
I got up from my seat, thinking I should return to the building. I could just leave this night watch business. But after thinking that far, I tilted my head. Hwang Jang-ju had said it. To be careful not to become monster food. Whether he was referring to monsters that might come today or people with guns, one thing was clear: nothing good would happen if I left the night watch.
I exhaled a sigh that felt like my lungs would come out. I was at the point of missing Jang Jae-gyeong, whom I had only recently gotten to know. Just like with Kim Doyun, my mind was clamoring that I shouldn’t rely on others too much, but the situation was driving me to do so. I looked down at the hunting rifle neatly placed on my legs. I picked it up and checked how many rounds were loaded.
It was fully loaded with bullets, as if they meant to choke off my breathing. Why give this precious rifle to me? My head was filled with questions. It doesn’t seem like they gave it with good intentions… What could they be thinking? I don’t understand the meaning of giving a weapon to someone they’re wary of and rejecting. Are they perhaps planning to watch me struggle alone when I see the monster? If that’s really the meaning, it’s filthy and infuriating.
I held the hunting rifle and aimed it at the empty air. Since I have a gun too, should I move forward, whether I shoot or not? For a moment, my thoughts inclined recklessly, but that quickly subsided as well. I’m not an action movie protagonist. Bullets won’t dodge me like in movies, and if I charge ahead without even knowing how many opponents there are, I’m bound to die like a dog.
But staying like this, if I’m unlucky, it’s the same outcome. I’d be bait for the monster. I ground my teeth and clutched my head. No matter how hard I racked my brain, no particular solution came to mind.
Just then, the eerie forest swayed violently in the wind. The clamorous, heaving branches and the noise of falling leaves made even more dismal sounds in tune with the wind. The sound of the blazing bonfire and the forest’s turmoil were creating fear where there was none. And because I was alone, that fear was doubled.
I hugged the hunting rifle to myself and suppressed my fear. After flinching at the cold barrel of the rifle, I grasped the butt of the gun, which had been warmed by the bonfire, with one hand. Even just having my palm warm made me feel a bit more alive. As I felt when Kim Doyun disappeared, the feeling of being left alone really made me want to vomit.
Just as I was barely gathering my wits because of the bonfire, I saw something black rippling. Startled, I waved my hand—it was my own hair. My bangs hadn’t been that long originally, but they had grown quite a bit without me noticing and were now poking around my eyes.
When I raised my hand to stroke the back of my neck, my still-short hair tickled my fingers. In the past, only rough traces would have wrapped around my palm, but the hair I was feeling now seemed strange. My hand, which had moved up to my face, stroked my hollowed cheeks, and as I felt each part of my body, I forgot my fear a little.
My appearance had changed. A thin face and rougher fingers. From tearing at tree trunks and scratching at trees, my still-blunt nails gave a tough impression. A scar remained on my shoulder, and my body, like my face, had lost some flesh. Thanks to my remaining muscle, I barely avoided looking too unpleasant.
While holding one hand up to the bonfire’s light and thinking deeply, I slowly lowered my hand and turned my head. At the bonfire located inside the village, which I had seen light from earlier, black shadows were dancing. Not just one, but quite a number of them—that place must be the night watch spot. One shadow walked over as if examining this way, growing quite large, but after seemingly confirming who I was, it shrank back down and melded with its companions.
“?”
And not far away, I discovered someone standing alone in front of a fire. The faintly visible figure was Son Byung-chul, who had brought me here. Why is he out alone like that? I narrowed my eyes and stared at him. He looked at me for a long time and then entered a nearby building. What’s going on?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
