#130
Crunch―
Fingers dug into the door that was already hideously dented. The monster tore off the door as if removing a cumbersome object and threw it into the corridor.
Bang!
The heavy door rolled on the floor, making a loud noise. Apartment residents who poked their heads out at the noisy sound gaped at the transparent ice covering the entire apartment. As the murmur of people grew louder, Ho-woo was gripped by an ominous feeling.
Oh-yul lazily raised the corner of his mouth and stretched his hand towards the sky. The first snowflake gently landed on the back of his hand, instantly melting into a small drop of water that fell to the ground.
As if that small gesture was a signal, thick snowflakes followed, fluttering down from the sky. Ho-woo knew who was responsible for this strange phenomenon of snow falling in early autumn, which anyone could see was odd.
“I’ll wait.”
His eyes, dyed deep blue, curved long. As far as Ho-woo’s gaze could reach, heavy snow was falling abundantly. Although it wasn’t that cold and much of the snow melted as soon as it hit the ground, the amount of falling snow was far too much.
“…Are you threatening me right now?”
Ho-woo furrowed his brow as the image of the rain-soaked city and the panting Oh-yul overlapped with the present.
This vile and despicable…!
Ho-woo barely swallowed his curse. Experiencing it firsthand made him feel sick to his stomach. He didn’t want to feel any sense of kinship with Kim Dong-cheol over something like this. Ho-woo glared at Oh-yul, grinding his teeth.
“Haha, no. How could this mere thing be a threat? A real threat should be at least this level.”
Oh-yul made a light gesture. At his gesture, the small button that had been quietly placed on the table flew up as if flicked and was caught.
“―!”
Ho-woo’s eyes widened in surprise at the object that suddenly flew from behind. He couldn’t even fathom how it was done. Oh-yul calmly placed that button in Ho-woo’s hand and urged him like a tempting devil.
“Press it.”
The ‘ON’ written on the small screen blinked briefly.
Ho-woo bit his lower lip. Unless he was a fool, it would be foolish to press this obediently in this situation. Oh-yul must know this too, but he was confident. As if he was certain that Ho-woo would press that button himself.
“I can wait until Ho-woo feels like pressing it.”
Oh-yul finished speaking and looked around widely.
“But, I’m not sure if this city can wait.”
Little by little, the city was being devoured by white snow. The falling snow was gradually intensifying to the point where the gray concrete was no longer visible.
“……”
Ho-woo fiddled with the button in his hand. The excessively cold small piece of metal was too heavy.
“Of course, I understand it’s difficult to decide right away.”
As Ho-woo hesitated, Oh-yul lightly patted Ho-woo’s shoulder as if doing him a favor, then gripped it firmly. Ho-woo let out a small groan at the rather strong force. His hand slowly moved up along Ho-woo’s shoulder and gripped his nape.
“Ugh!”
It was a neck that could be easily broken if he applied just a little more force, but the monster couldn’t clench his fingers at all. He just reverently kissed the only lighthouse of his own that was glaring at him with a smile. Starting from the forehead, passing through the round nostrils, his lips that lightly settled like snowflakes fluttering on the lips, murmured as if making a vow.
“No matter what choice Ho-woo makes, we’ll always be together.”
The words that were once the most reassuring became the strongest shackles, gripping Ho-woo’s ankles. The monster that had crawled up from the deepest part of the sea smiled with chilling beauty.
“Shall we go back now? To our home.”
Ho-woo regretted as he faced that smile.
To distort that smug face, he should have kicked between the legs as Yu Hee-eun advised, not punched the cheek.
***
It was the third day of snowfall.
There was no sign of the snow stopping.
It was natural, if anything was natural. Because this wasn’t snow falling naturally.
Ho-woo rolled the small button back and forth in his hand, letting the warning broadcasts blaring on TV go in one ear and out the other.
He could make this snow stop right away. However, he couldn’t easily make a choice because he couldn’t gauge what would happen after pressing this button.
He knew he had to make a decision soon.
Early autumn, the city was already in chaos due to the sudden heavy snowfall. Roads were paralyzed and people hurriedly took out thick coats in the suddenly cold weather.
But the biggest problem was separate.
Snow that piled up was heavier than rain that flowed away as soon as it fell. People had to endlessly clear the incessantly falling snow. Even the most sturdy buildings would be under tremendous weight if snow piled up by meters, so there was not a moment to rest.
In that situation, Oh-yul gave Ho-woo two choices.
If he pressed the magic button, he would make the snow stop, but all the consequences would be entirely Ho-woo’s fault.
The other choice was simple.
Ho-woo just had to give up. The snow would stop if he just stayed by Oh-yul’s side as a loving partner and guide.
Hearing these unreasonable options, Ho-woo proposed to Oh-yul.
Even if their romantic relationship ended, he would still help occasionally as a guide. It was a choice that involved a lot of compromise on Ho-woo’s part.
However, Oh-yul flatly refused. As if it wasn’t even worth considering, he didn’t change the options he had presented. When the proposal that came after much deliberation was rejected, Ho-woo’s blood pressure shot up. Ho-woo retreated, holding his stiff neck, and that was just yesterday.
In fact, pressing the button might not cause anything special to happen.
…It’s an embarrassingly optimistic thought, but. Still, it was hard to endure without thinking like this.
Ho-woo put down the button he had been rolling in his hand on the table with a thud.
He had made his decision.
***
“I’ve made my decision.”
Oh-yul, caught by Ho-woo as soon as he got off work, smirked as he examined Ho-woo’s resolute face. The area under his eyes was dark, perhaps from losing sleep for three days.
It would be nice if he gave up soon, but it’s probably not yet.
“Have you decided to give up?”
However, Oh-yul asked with a bit of personal interest and hope. But the response was a firm answer.
“No.”
“I see.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
Can’t be helped. Ho-woo sent a disgusted look at the gesture that seemed to say this, but Oh-yul lightly ignored it.
“Then press it.”
“……”
At Oh-yul’s urging, Ho-woo opened the cover on the button with trembling hands. The small button didn’t need much force. It was a button that just needed to be lightly pressed with a finger, but Ho-woo couldn’t press it as his fingertips trembled.
Despite the frustrating situation, Oh-yul just waited. Just as he had waited with his hand outstretched for Ho-woo to take it, he waited for Lee Ho-woo, who had turned pale and was biting his lip tightly, to fall into the pit by himself.
And Lee Ho-woo pressed the button with his eyes tightly shut.
“Ah….”
The button was pressed easily, to the point where the tension felt futile. It didn’t even feel like it was being pressed. Ho-woo blankly looked down at the button. The ‘ON’ that had always been on the screen was now changed to ‘OFF’.
What? What turned off?
Ho-woo looked around quickly. Nothing had changed, from the turned-on TV to the refrigerator humming as it ran.
Ho-woo was about to ask what on earth this was when he flinched, hunching his shoulders at the sudden sound of a loud siren starting. Soon after, Ho-woo’s eyes widened greatly.
Weeeng― Weeeeng―
From a young age, schools taught a few things. That the city is safe and outside the city is dangerous. And about how ferocious and cruel the monsters roaming outside the city are.
Receiving such education, people naturally became wary of monsters. They took it for granted that they might never leave the city in their lifetime. However, even in such a safe city, there was one education preparing for the worst-case scenario.
That is, when the city loses its defense function.
At school, they taught children the sound of the siren that would be broadcast at that time. The high, shrill, and long-lasting sharp and chilling sound was exactly the same as what they had heard then.
“Ah―!”
Ho-woo hurriedly pressed the button again.
No, it can’t be. Surely, it’s a lie.
Muttering, he pressed the button again several times, but the letters on the screen didn’t change. The siren continued to sound throughout the city. Faintly, the shouts of people could be heard.
As Ho-woo, terrified, slumped down in his seat, Oh-yul bent down to meet his gaze.
“W-what on earth did you give me?”
“Are you asking because you don’t want to believe it, even though you’ve already realized?”
His voice trembled severely, but Ho-woo would be fine. A mental esper wouldn’t lose their mind over just this much. He comfortably took out a folded paper from his chest.
“Do you remember this?”
Oh-yul unfolded the paper and created an ice knife sharply honed, pointing it at his own neck.
“Now, here’s your second choice.”
