# Chapter 28
The child’s dog, Jjongie, had disappeared from the walking path behind the apartment complex. The boy’s father had loosened his grip on the leash while taking out his phone from his pants pocket to answer a call last night, and in that moment, Jjongie had run away.
“There’s a mountain behind the walking path?”
The Director looked around and then raised her head to observe the low mountain surrounding the back of the apartment complex. My gaze also fell on the densely wooded hill. It clearly wasn’t a mountain that people frequented.
“I hope it didn’t go up there…”
I muttered to myself, concerned that we might have to search the mountain, but the child shook his head.
“Our Jjongie has weak legs, so he can’t walk for long. Sniff.”
“Then he couldn’t have gone far. Don’t worry too much.”
I patted the back of the child who kept sniffling as he tried to hold back his tears. Still, just to be safe, we should check the mountain before sunset.
“Director. I’ll go up there and take a look.”
“Alone, Jaeo?”
“Yes. It doesn’t seem like a very high mountain, so I’ll just take a quick look around.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
Heerim, who had been posting flyers on utility poles, walked toward me. Feeling awkward, I smiled vaguely.
“No, I’ll go alone. It’s more efficient if we split up to search different areas rather than going together.”
“That’s right. Heerim, go check that alley over there.”
“…”
Heerim seemed displeased with the Director’s and my words. His eyebrows twitched as he silently headed toward the alley.
“I’ll be back then.”
On my way to the mountain, I glanced at Heerim who was in the alley. He was diligently doing his assigned task. I felt deflated—I had secretly worried he might insist on coming along.
“Huff, huff. Why is this so tiring?”
I had confidently said I would climb the mountain alone, but randomly ascending an uninhabited hill was a challenging task. Though the mountain was low, there were no paths, so I had to push through grass and trees myself.
“Jjongie! Where are you, Jjongie! Ouch.”
My arm brushed against a branch I hadn’t noticed. I was wearing a long-sleeved knit cardigan, so I wasn’t injured, but some of the cardigan’s threads had unraveled.
Ah, Jaeyeon bought me this cardigan for my birthday last year. She’ll kill me if she finds out.
Once, I carelessly let a fountain pen that Jaeyeon had given me rust. At that time, she nagged me for almost a month, asking how I could neglect a gift from her. I’d need to find a skilled tailor as soon as I got home.
“Sigh. I should go back down. This isn’t a place a dog would come.”
As I climbed, I realized it was unlikely that such a small dog could have made it up this difficult path. I thought it would be better to go back down quickly and help post flyers instead, so I hastened my steps.
“Hmm…?”
But something was strange. I hadn’t climbed that high, but no matter how far I descended, I couldn’t see the end. To make matters worse, it was getting dark.
I took out my phone, intending to contact the people at the bottom of the mountain, but I couldn’t reach anyone.
The screen displayed “Out of Service Area.” This wasn’t even a deep mountain, and there was an apartment complex right below. It was strange that the communication had suddenly gone dead in Korea, where even in the remote mountains of Gangwon-do, data works. Come to think of it, something similar had happened before.
The red moon hanging unnaturally in the pitch-black sky.
The frozen electronic display board and the bus that never arrived no matter how long I waited.
The black waves swirling on the asphalt ground. And what emerged from there and grabbed me…
“Woof!”
“Ahh!”
Just as I was remembering the time I was almost sucked into a Rift, a dog’s bark suddenly came from somewhere. Startled, I let out a high-pitched scream.
“What’s with the dog bark… Wait. A dog’s bark?”
Since it’s unlikely a dog would live here alone, there’s a high probability it’s the child’s lost dog.
“Jjongie? Jjongie!”
I hurriedly turned toward the direction of the sound.
“Jjongie! Where are you?”
“Woof! Woof! Grrr.”
The sound came from nearby. But the barking didn’t sound normal. It was a threatening sound, as if it had seen something.
I hope there aren’t wild boars living here.
I swallowed hard and moved forward, pushing aside branches and grass that blocked my way. Though the back of my hand got scratched, that wasn’t important right now. All I could think about was quickly finding the dog, holding it in my arms, and getting back down the mountain.
After a short while, I saw a white form right in front of me, like a crumpled tissue.
“Jjongie!”
“Woof!”
The small dog spotted me and barked fiercely. I bent down as much as possible so as not to frighten the dog, then clicked my tongue to call it.
“Jjongie. Come here. Chu-chu-chu. We need to get you back to your family. Gasp! Jjongie! Where are you going?!”
Despite my coaxing sounds, the dog turned away from me and ran in another direction. I immediately chased after it.
Fortunately, the dog stopped after a short distance. I crept up and barely managed to take the dog in my arms.
“Hey now. Why did you run away? It’s dangerous here. Let’s go down together.”
“Whine, whimper.”
“Huh? Are you cold? Why are you shivering so much?”
I tucked the poor shivering dog inside my cardigan. With only its face peeking out from between the folds of my cardigan, the dog looked incredibly cute.
“Alright, now let’s go…”
It was just as I was stroking the dog’s head and about to stand up.
Boooooom—
A loud resonating sound made the air around vibrate finely, and the ground beneath my feet shook violently. Before I could even understand what was happening, the shaking ground beneath me collapsed, and I fell into a black hole of unfathomable depth.
***
“Nng. Nngh. Whimper. Woof!”
“Ugh, uuugh…”
Lick, lick.
Something wet and smooth licked my face. I frowned at the ticklish sensation but couldn’t open my eyes. The impact from the fall must have been severe, as I couldn’t regain my senses.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Forced by the animal’s cries that kept ringing in my ears, I reluctantly opened my eyes. It was too dark to see anything, but I could sense something soft pacing anxiously near my face. It was the dog I had been holding before falling.
“Woof! Woof!”
“Okay, I’ll get up. Ungh…”
Urged by the dog’s persistent prodding, I pressed my hands against the ground and raised my upper body. Although I was still dizzy enough to feel the world spinning, thankfully, there seemed to be no external injuries.
“Where is this place?”
I regained my foggy senses and looked around. It was too dark to make out anything.
“Are you okay?”
“Whine.”
When I reached out to feel the dog, it nuzzled its face against my palm, acting spoiled. It didn’t seem injured. I put the dog back in my arms and looked up. I was hoping to find some part where light might be seeping through, but above my head was also pitch black. I checked my phone, but it was still not working.
Where on earth am I? I briefly wondered if I had fallen into some underground tunnel someone had dug, but a tunnel couldn’t be this big and wide.
This place felt like a vast space of nothingness. It was so dark that I couldn’t tell which way was up or down, and there was no presence or sound to be heard. It didn’t seem like a place where living beings resided.
“Let’s start moving.”
I couldn’t just stay still. I had to find a way out somehow.
Thud. Thud.
Only the sound of my footsteps echoed in the dark space. The sound reverberated loudly, as if I were in a cave. That desolate vibration enveloped my entire body. I felt anxious and impatient. As my composure faded, my steps naturally quickened.
“Huff. Hah.”
How long had I been walking? I stood still, exhaling ragged breaths. It was so dark that I wasn’t even sure if I was moving in the right direction.
“Ah, that’s right!”
Belatedly, I remembered my phone’s flashlight function. Just as I was about to take the phone out of my pocket, the dog in my arms suddenly whined and cried.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“Whine. Whimper.”
The whimpering dog trembled all over, as if frightened. Worried that it might have been injured in the fall, I quickly took out my phone and turned on the flashlight.
“You don’t seem to be injured. Are you hungry? Are you hungry?”
“Nnnng.”
The dog, with its ears drooping, continued to tremble and burrow into my arms. I stroked its head to calm it down. Its soft fur wrapped around my fingers.
“Big brother will help you get out of here quickly. Um… but am I a ‘big brother’? Or not? Are you female or male? Can I check?”
“Woof!”
As if understanding my words, the dog gently bit my finger. This eased my anxiety as well.
I gathered my strength and started walking again, illuminating the path ahead with my phone. It was so dark that even with the light, I couldn’t see my surroundings properly. It felt like being trapped in a black tube. Whenever I felt anxious, I stroked the dog as I continued walking.
“This is tough… I’m hungry…”
Walking endlessly in the darkness where nothing was visible gradually wore out both my body and mind. Should I just sit down and wait for rescue? In the midst of anxiety and tension, a languid weakness slyly raised its head. Eventually, I slumped down.
“Woof! Woof!”
Seeing that I wasn’t moving, the dog stuck its head out and licked my chin, urging me to get up quickly. I smiled faintly and let my body go limp.
“Just a little, let me rest just a little… Huh?”
I was trying to appease the dog when I froze.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
In this space where only my footsteps had been echoing, I sensed the presence of something other than myself.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
