“So what?”
“You don’t feel anything for me?”
He tilted his head, stared at me, and answered casually,
“Not at all.”
“……I know everything.”
I tested him, watching his expression. He looked at me blankly, then suddenly let out a breath and laughed. Pushing his chair back, he leaned back, crossed his arms, and said,
“Did Jin-wook tell you?”
What… did he know? Jin-wook must’ve known something.
Hae-joon added, “Now that you know everything, do I look like a monster to you?”
“……What?”
“You piss me off.”
“What…?”
“Looking at you makes me angry. You’re so loved, yet you’re homophobic. You get all the attention people like me can only dream of.”
“……”
Before I could react, Hae-joon lunged forward. He grabbed my shoulders like he was going to strangle me and spat out his words.
“Hey, how do I get attention like you? Everyone loves you. The world acts like only certain people deserve love, and you’re one of them. Some of us have to struggle, but you take it for granted. It makes me jealous. I feel like I’m going crazy. I want to kill you.”
I didn’t understand why he was suddenly so angry. Kill you. His eyes were unfocused. He looked deranged. I flinched, pried his hands off, and pushed him away.
Hae-joon fell back with a thud. My heart pounded. I couldn’t make sense of his words. All I understood was that he hated me more than I thought.
He quickly got up, dusted himself off, and sat back down as if nothing had happened. He glanced at me, then back at his screen.
“You don’t have to come back to work. Don’t worry, I won’t drop your name. You’re scared, right?”
“……”
I slowly backed away, then grabbed my bag and fled the workshop.
I walked frantically. I was terrified. He seemed like a psychopath. When he said he wanted to kill me, it sent shivers down my spine. His eyes were blank. I was weak against that kind of fear.
Ring—
I jumped at the sound of my phone ringing in my back pocket. Only then did I realize I’d practically run to the front gate. I leaned against a nearby building, catching my breath, my heart racing. I wiped the sweat from my temples and fished out my phone.
It was my aunt.
***
The wind howled eerily loud. The dense trees swayed violently in the gusts. Outside the house, the dim light of the old hallway bulb made the darkness seem even deeper. I closed the front door and stepped outside slowly. The surroundings were shrouded in perfect darkness, but I wasn’t afraid. It wasn’t the suffocating darkness of being locked in a room. The sky was covered in clouds, the moon obscured. As the wind moved the clouds, the rustling leaves revealed the dense forest. I stood still, savoring the sensation of the rough ground beneath my bare feet.
I’d been locked up for so long, I’d forgotten that days were made of night and day.
I stared blankly at the dark sky, and suddenly, emotion welled up. Tears filled my eyes. Everything felt overwhelming— the wind, the night, the moonlight. It was all unfamiliar but beautiful. I wiped my tears with my sleeve and limped forward.
In the faint moonlight, my vision was limited. In front of the house was a wide open space, and in one corner, an old truck was parked. If there was a truck, there had to be a way out. I followed the tire tracks leading to a dim mountain path.
A path this wide must connect to a road where people lived, and that road would lead to others. So if I kept walking, I’d eventually find a way out.
I confirmed my escape route, then turned to look at the house where I’d been imprisoned.
The moonlight outlined the shack. There was only one window, probably the kitchen, and as I’d suspected, it was boarded up from the outside.
The flower bed in the open space was large. I didn’t know why, but I thought roses would suit it.
Now that I was escaping, I’d never see this place again. My heart pounded with excitement and fear. I dragged my leg, limping into the darkness where nothing was visible.
This was a mountain. The uneven ground and my dragging leg made me wince. I remembered asking the man to cut my bangs, and he’d said he’d buy scissors tomorrow. It’s far. Indeed, it was. To buy necessities, I’d have to go down the mountain. The mountain was pitch black. When the leaves blocked the moonlight, I couldn’t even see what was right in front of me.
When I was out of breath and dizzy, I’d stop, leaning against a tree trunk to catch my breath. My left foot, wrapped in cloth, was already scraped raw from the rough ground, oozing.
Was there anything I could use as shoes? I sat with my back against a tree, panting, and finally took off my shirt to wrap around my left foot. My stamina had dwindled from being locked up. I couldn’t walk far, and my leg was limping. At this rate, the man would catch me. Even now, as I rested, he might be chasing me down the mountain.
The old truck in the open space—
With that truck, he could cover the distance I’d struggled to walk in no time. My pale face scanned the invisible mountain path. I clenched my fists and made up my mind. I stared into the untamed wilderness where no one walked, then gritted my teeth and forced my way into the thicket.
Even with my right leg fine, moving through the wilderness with one leg barely supporting me was no easy task.
Branches scratched my face, and the cloth wrapped around my left foot tore on the rough terrain.
It was far harder than walking the cleared path. But I moved forward desperately, one painful step at a time. I never intended to stray far from the path. Wandering into the untamed wilderness at night was dangerous. I couldn’t see cliffs, and without knowing the way, I might never get out.
So I needed to find a place to hide. Wait for the man to come down this path searching for me, then, once he passed, continue along the cleared path. This way, I could win. There was no way he’d find me hiding here. I believed that.
I found a large tree to hide behind and crouched, shivering.
The mountain night was cold. The space between the trees was dark. If I just held on, dawn would come. I clung to that hope. I sat blankly, waiting for time to pass. Waiting was something I was good at. It was all I could do while locked in that house.
How much time passed as I crouched there? My left foot, dragged along the ground, throbbed. My right sole ached sharply. I grabbed both feet, rubbing and tapping them. My face twisted in pain. I fiddled with my sore feet for a while, then noticed a small, nameless flower blooming beside me.
A flower. There was a flower. I didn’t know what kind, but it looked like a spring flower. So it must be spring now.
I was happy to know the season. An impulse to pick the bright, nameless wildflower overcame me. I’d forgotten that the mountain wasn’t just trees, flowers, the man, and the shack.
The moment I touched the petals, something disgusting leapt out and bit my finger.
“Ahh!”
I screamed, forgetting to stay quiet. A snake that had suddenly bitten me flicked its tongue and slithered into the bushes. It seemed to glare at me in pain before disappearing in an instant.
I clutched my finger, groaning as I lay face down.
I squeezed the wound, terrified. Was it just a snake? Or a venomous one? What did it look like? It was long and disgusting. It flew at me and bit my finger. My whole body trembled. It was too dark to tell if it was venomous. I shouldn’t have touched the flower. I should’ve stayed still. Regretting it now was too late.
Groaning, I lifted my head. My face was wet.
I must’ve cried again. My face, wet with tears and sweat, was matted with hair. The world began to split into two, then three.
Venomous snake…… Was it venomous?
I widened my squinted eyes. It probably was. Through my blurry vision, I saw the man standing there, blank-faced. I thought I was hallucinating.
How did he know I was hiding here? And so quickly?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
