Chapter 38
Son Byung-chul, talking about that person, acted again like someone who had put something dirty in his mouth. He spat, covered it with dirt, and crushed it with his foot. Showing anger as if disgusted by his own saliva, he waved his hand at the people who were still gathered.
“What are you looking at? It might rain soon, hurry up and get ready!”
The people stirred once. Each of them looked up at the sky and moved away with quick steps. It was the same for the men with guns, but Han Jong-wook alone remained until the end, staring at us. His sharp gaze made it seem like he was monitoring whether we were doing anything suspicious.
“We should wait until that person comes, right?”
Kim Doyun said, carefully observing Han Jong-wook. Due to his low voice and barely moving lips, it wasn’t very noticeable that he was speaking. I nodded gently, and Kim Doyun also moved his head up and down in response.
“Where should we go?”
Son Byung-chul, who had been hurling insults and telling everyone to move quickly, suddenly looked at us. He examined Kim Doyun who had spoken, and then me standing beside him. Two complicated emotions crossed Son Byung-chul’s face—displeasure, but also satisfaction that we were trying to follow his instructions.
Son Byung-chul gestured for us to follow and moved at a measured pace. To follow him, we inevitably had to brush past Han Jong-wook, but Han Jong-wook didn’t show any particular reaction, perhaps because of Son Byung-chul. Instead, he raised one corner of his mouth crookedly and muttered.
“You’d better think carefully while you’re there.”
Han Jong-wook said only that and left. Before leaving, he glanced sideways at Kim Doyun…. I was anxious, wondering if this would be the same situation as yesterday. Where was “there” that he would casually throw such warnings? I was uneasy, but Kim Doyun didn’t seem particularly concerned. Rather, he patted my shoulder as if to tell me not to worry. Then Son Byung-chul stopped walking and addressed us.
“You two, you’re that kind of relationship, right?”
The words, though delivered in a seemingly friendly manner, contained content worthy of outrage.
“No, we’re not!”
“Son of a bitch. If you’re not, just say you’re not. Why are you shouting? My ears are going to fall off.”
The snake-like demeanor from earlier was completely gone, and Son Byung-chul acted nonchalantly. The way he shook his ears while grumbling was almost comical. I recalled my first meeting with Han Jong-wook and Son Byung-chul. Yes, they were like this then. I had let my guard down when I saw the two of them exchanging words playfully. Thanks to that, I got properly taught a lesson, but seeing this behavior again made my head hurt. Why would he try to make us feel at ease only to blindside us later?
“Strong denial is affirmation, they say.”
I kept my mouth firmly shut to avoid getting drawn in, just in case. Son Byung-chul looked back and forth between me and Kim Doyun, who remained silent, and then joked that we shouldn’t worry, saying it was fortunate since there weren’t many women around anyway.
“Honestly, it’s unpleasant and creepy, but what can we do? If we all have to live together, we just have to put up with it. Besides, it’s not the first time.”
“?”
“There were guys before who gave off a strange vibe in this place.”
“…By ‘before,’ you mean…?”
“They’re dead. Both of them.”
My neck stiffened. I should have thought they were killed by monsters, but my first suspicion was that they might have died at the hands of the villagers. I looked at Son Byung-chul with extreme tension. However, Son Byung-chul seemed to interpret my tension as a request for explanation. He nodded repeatedly and then continued speaking as if it were nothing.
“When the accident had just happened, this place was quite devastating too. Debris scattered around and trees growing rapidly. If it weren’t for that person, many of the people here would have died too. There were more people then than now….”
He put his hands together to roughly indicate the number of people. But soon he stopped the hand gesture, pressed his lips tightly, and then explained again.
“When this place became livable thanks to that person, those guys came. One carrying his injured friend, crawling along. Covered in blood and bruises, as if they’d been crushed somewhere…. Both were in terrible shape, but the one who was somewhat better brought his friend. People praised him quite a bit, saying it was admirable. But those guys who thought of each other as friends, it wasn’t like that? They never separated, and the way they looked at each other was so tender.”
Son Byung-chul’s gaze lingered briefly between the two of us. I showed my displeasure, but Son Byung-chul sent me a look that said he understood everything, which made me feel sick to my stomach. Whether I got angry or not, his story continued.
“When in danger, one would protect the other, and when one was hurt, the other would embrace him. Because of that, rumors spread among the people. Most pointed fingers and cursed at them, but the two didn’t seem to care at all. They must have experienced such things many times before.”
Son Byung-chul asked me.
“Was it like that for you too?”
I was horrified, but Son Byung-chul’s interest had already moved on from me. He rubbed his chin as if pondering the past events, then tilted his head.
“Anyway, they died after that.”
“…What? Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“Nobody knows what happened then. Their bodies were found outside the village. They were just starting to recover, so why did they go outside? How they died there is a complete mystery. We found out their necks were broken, but there were no signs of them being eaten by monsters.”
Weren’t they killed by monsters or used as bait? I pondered Son Byung-chul’s words. It clearly wasn’t the work of humans. If it were humans, they wouldn’t have called out two people at once and killed them by breaking their necks. A human neck isn’t a toy, and even though they were injured, the victims were young men who wouldn’t have gone down without a fight.
I suspected there might be something else in the forest besides monsters. Honestly, with unknown things prowling underground, it wouldn’t be strange if something else was added to the mix.
“Well, since those two died, people in the village have become uneasy, so they won’t say much to you guys. No need to worry.”
But thanks to Son Byung-chul, my gloomy thoughts completely flew away. Instead, I had to feel like my head would explode from indignation. Despite my denial, we seemed to have been firmly labeled as a couple, and men passing by shuddered at us. Some clicked their tongues or looked at us with expressions reserved for garbage.
Moreover, I felt ominous seeing people whispering to villagers who were checking out the newcomers. That… they’re not spreading rumors, are they?
“Of course, you’ll hear some insults.”
Son Byung-chul shrugged, saying even he couldn’t do anything about that. I guess this is what they call adding fuel to the fire. I felt dizzy. I wanted to look at Kim Doyun with reproachful eyes, asking why he did something he’d never done before.
But I couldn’t even voice my reproach. The moment I saw Kim Doyun’s frighteningly serious face, I was at a loss for words. Kim Doyun stared intently at Son Byung-chul, having swallowed even the smile he usually wore.
“Is the person we’re meeting that person?”
“Huh?”
“The one who first helped the village.”
I took a step back from beside him. Kim Doyun’s tone was terrifyingly sharp. His voice was low and eerie. In addition, Son Byung-chul became as menacing as Kim Doyun’s aura, and his hand reached for his shotgun. Seeing his finger on the trigger, I was about to step forward, but someone else intervened first.
“Oh, you’ve arrived. We’ve been waiting for you.”
It was a man whose head was half bald. The man greeted us with a bright face but then looked at Son Byung-chul after speaking. Then he shrank his skinny body as if frightened. I secretly looked at Kim Doyun. The fierce appearance had disappeared, and he had returned to his gentlemanly face. Kim Doyun seemed to have felt my gaze and turned his head toward me, smiling slightly.
“Giving people a scare.”
Son Byung-chul spoke indifferently while tapping around the trigger. His outward appearance was calm, but his finger wouldn’t leave the trigger. Kim Doyun looked at Son Byung-chul’s twitching hand and then turned his eyes away. He didn’t look tense at all.
“There was just something I wanted to confirm.”
“Is that so?”
Son Byung-chul took a step back. I was anxious, fearing he might open fire. Son Byung-chul turned away from Kim Doyun and spoke to the balding man. The startled man shook his head and waved his hands. Then he pointed to a house and waved both hands with a troubled face. Son Byung-chul spat with a face more crumpled than when he had faced Kim Doyun. He cursed, kicked the ground, and then turned toward us. Discomfort was dripping from Son Byung-chul’s face.
“This won’t work. Then it’s impossible for today, let’s meet tomorrow.”
Son Byung-chul looked at the church and house again and made a contemptuous face. I found that part very strange.
When Son Byung-chul was explaining to us earlier, when mentioning that person, he subtly showed respect, but now he looked like someone who had witnessed filth. His twitching lips seemed to be chewing on curses. Perhaps my curiosity showed on my face, because Son Byung-chul smiled, baring his teeth.
“You don’t need to know the circumstances. Rest well today and let’s meet tomorrow. You should also keep firewood in your house. At least on rainy days, even if those creatures are active outside, they can’t smell, so just keep the fire well.”
But Son Byung-chul didn’t explain. The man who had talked at length about the two men who died now seemed reluctant to even speak to us, as if he had never done so. Son Byung-chul looked at the balding man, shrugged his shoulders, and left.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
