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The desperate plea for help that was about to escape sank back down my throat. A small hand emerged from the pitch-black door crack, grabbing the door. Then round eyes appeared. Could the child be about twelve years old? The child with scars on their face and hands saw me and opened their eyes even wider. I blocked the door with my body as the small hands frantically tried to close it.
“M-move away!”
The child, beyond flustered, began hitting my hand that was holding the door. Their desperate appearance made me feel guilty, as if I was deceiving a child to do something terrible.
“Kid, I’m really sorry. I’m in a hurry, but can I… can I just hide here for a moment? I’ll leave as soon as the monster passes by.”
“…”
The child’s eyes darted back and forth. The tightly closed lips and sharpened gaze were full of refusal, but…
*Keeheeheek!*
At the sound of crying in the distance, the child’s hardened face trembled uncertainly. The tightly closed lips opened slightly.
“You’ll really only hide for a moment?”
“Yes.”
“Really… you really have to leave soon? Anyone can’t just come into this house. I’ll get in trouble… Really, really promise you’ll leave quickly.”
“Yes, I’ll just hide and then leave. I’m sorry.”
Despite my promise, the child seemed unsure and contemplated for a while before carefully opening the door. Worried that a monster might burst in, I quickly pushed my way inside as soon as the door opened and closed it. A cold silence descended upon the house as the door locked.
I could see the child’s eyes darting back and forth behind me, so I sat down beside the front door to reassure them. Although being an adult male probably didn’t help much, I raised both hands to show I had nothing on me.
The inside of the house was cold and gloomy. I thought it might be somewhat warm since the house was intact and a child lived here. I believed the interior would match the decent exterior, but what I saw was a bit different from what I expected. There was little furniture, and what remained was either cracked or partially destroyed. Perhaps it felt even colder because only a small portion of the previous home’s furnishings remained.
The one better aspect of this house was that despite being a mess, there wasn’t much dust visible. It seemed someone had been cleaning regularly. I wondered who did it. This child?
“You really need to leave soon.”
The child, seemingly uncomfortable with my eyes surveying the house, pressed me again. I looked at the child. A skinny frame and pale complexion. I could see their neck tightly wrapped in bandages. The child’s hoarse voice was probably due to the neck injury.
To reassure the child, I kept repeating that I would leave soon and that I was sorry. Despite this, the anxiety on the child’s face wouldn’t fade. Understandably so. I tried to think of ways to calm the child, but coming up with nothing, I decided to at least try making conversation.
“Is your neck badly hurt?”
The child’s body suddenly stiffened. I pointed to my own neck with a gesture. The child, who had been curled up, suddenly straightened. In their trembling hands was a sharp piece of wood. Oh, no.
“Did I startle you? I’m sorry.”
I apologized and closed my mouth. I felt that saying anything more would only agitate the child. When I quieted down, the child seemed somewhat relieved. I could see their rigidly stiff shoulders loosen just a little. Still pointing the wooden piece at me, the child sat down on the floor a bit away from me. The child was wearing shorts, revealing legs that were bumpy with inflammation and scars. Seeing that made my heart ache a bit.
“I’m hurt.”
“Huh?”
The child stretched out their hand again. Seeing the sharp wooden branch rise, I sat closer to the wall. The child’s wavering eyes became a bit clearer. They touched their neck with one hand and frowned.
“Knife, I was hurt by a knife on my neck.”
“A knife? Where? Who did that?”
“…Bad men.”
“Men? Did men from the village do this?”
“…No.”
I wanted to curse but held back. Who would pull a knife on such a young child? I was relieved that it wasn’t done by the villagers. The child stared at me for a long time. They would tense up whenever I moved, but when I stayed still, they would look at my face, my hair, and my limbs. Just like a child looking at something fascinating.
The quiet house allowed outside sounds to be heard clearly. At first, only the wind could be heard, but occasionally the cries of monsters and the sound of shotguns firing could be heard. I shrank back, knowing it would make the child anxious. The only fortunate thing was that no human screams could be heard.
I wondered if Kim Doyun was alright. The image of his retreating back as he ran kept flashing before my eyes. He’ll be fine. He won’t get hurt. That’s how I tried to soothe the anxiety swelling in my chest.
But it seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling anxious whenever gunshots were heard. The child shifted uncomfortably, looking out the window. Their tightly closed lips faintly expressed worry.
“Mom… Dad…”
Perhaps if I wasn’t here, they would have immediately rushed to the window to look outside.
“…Are your parents here?”
Perhaps because I had been staying still, the child had lowered their guard considerably. They didn’t point the wooden piece at me when I spoke, and quietly nodded.
“It’s dangerous out there… where did your parents go?”
“…We can’t be together. Dad and Mom said that we all have to pretend not to know each other to be safe in the village.”
I was asking about the monsters, but the child seemed to interpret it differently. They have to pretend not to know each other to be safe? My head tilted in confusion. The child looked out the window again, tapping their knee with a fist. They seemed very anxious.
“Why did your parents say you need to pretend not to know each other?”
“They said we shouldn’t let others have leverage over us. If we stay together, we’ll just lose things. So Mom and Dad said we need to pretend. Then we can take things back too.”
Maybe it’s because they’re still young. Despite being cautious, the child answered my questions straightforwardly. That made me even sadder. Before the world changed, they must have been a very kind and gentle child.
“Are your parents possibly…”
“Youngjin, what are you doing!”
A sharp cry from one side cut off my words. I remembered something I had forgotten while watching the child. That there were more people staying in this house. I think they mentioned three people. So there are two more besides this child?
As soon as the child heard the voice, they repeatedly sat down and stood up, not knowing what to do. Their eyes were wavering again, just like when we first met.
After the sound of dragging footsteps from the inner room, a young woman appeared. She looked so young it was difficult to call her a woman. Maybe she was just a high school student?
“Why aren’t you coming in? What are you doing there? I’ve always told you to stay by the fire! Were you waiting by the window again? What if a monster comes…”
The non-stop stream of words suddenly stopped. As soon as she saw me, she quickly changed direction and went back inside. She reappeared with a kitchen knife in hand, dragging one leg. Now I was also getting a bit tense.
“Who are you!”
“S-sister…”
“Youngjin, who is this person? Why is he in here?”
“W-well, this person asked for help, so I just for a moment…”
“Hey, you idiot! Didn’t you hear what Mom and Dad said? They told us not to trust even the villagers! There are perverts here too! What if he does something to us? Have you forgotten everything we’ve been through? Why did you let him in on your own!”
“I-I’m sorry. I was wrong, sister.”
The child apologized to the shouting sister with tears streaming down their face. She limped as she yelled, then called towards the inside of the house.
“Sister! Songyeon sister! Bring a knife!”
The once-quiet house suddenly became noisy. The last woman to appear looked about my age. She wore broken glasses and appeared with a large kitchen knife, her face hardening when she saw me. The two women engaged in a serious conversation over the child. Though their voices were low, the house was so quiet that their whispers were quite clear. My fingertips grew cold when I heard everything from suggestions to throw me out to remarks about killing me.
“Sorry to startle you. I don’t have any bad intentions. I couldn’t evacuate, so I was just looking for a place to hide…”
“This is really suspicious. Why come to this house when there are many others?”
The kitchen knives in their hands gleamed dangerously. I swallowed hard and tried my best not to provoke them.
“I tried other houses first, but everyone… wouldn’t let me in.”
“Why?”
“I’m… a bit disliked in this village…”
“What, are you someone who caused trouble?”
The woman with glasses, who had been listening to the conversation a step behind, spoke with her nose wrinkled. Her cold tone declared that troublemakers are more dangerous and not acceptable.
“I didn’t cause trouble… I just had a bit of a fight with some villagers.”
“Hmm.”
They showed no signs of believing me. What should I do? I thought I’d be fortunate just to find a place to hide temporarily, but I never expected to face such threats in this house. The only good thing was that even if they charged at me with their knives, the front door was right beside me, making it easy to escape. The unfortunate part was that the door was locked, and no matter how quickly I could open it, a knife thrust would be faster.
If things turned bad, I would have to somehow take a knife from one of them. But there was no guarantee I could safely disarm someone when facing two armed people. My mouth turned bitter at the thought of getting injured again so soon after recovering. The limping student kicked her still-sitting, crying sibling with her toe.
“Stop crying. What’s done is done. We need to deal with it.”
“Sorry, sister.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, mister. Whatever your circumstances are, we don’t care. We just can’t leave someone who’s entered our house alone, you know?”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to stay until I could avoid the monster… If it’s uncomfortable, I can leave now.”
I raised both hands and pressed myself as close to the door as possible. The two people who had been staring at me intently whispered to each other again. Then they started questioning me like an interrogation. How I came to the village, why relations were bad. I explained the events so far in as much detail as possible to avoid provoking them.
They seemed not to trust the villagers. So I strongly expressed that I wouldn’t stay in this village for long and wanted to leave right now.
“Is he telling the truth?”
“He seems clueless. If he were that pervert, he wouldn’t enter like this.”
“Is he just an idiot?”
Idiot… I stared in shock at the two people making rude remarks about me. Once again, they discussed killing or sparing me, then glanced at me. The woman with glasses stepped forward. Unlike the child and the student, she only had a slightly broken pair of glasses and minor injuries, with no major visible trauma. Perhaps that’s why she stepped forward. She pointed the knife straight at me, then moved her hand to the door.
“You don’t seem crazy, so I’ll let you off just this once. Now leave.”
“Uh, could I at least have some fire…”
“Leave.”
Even her tone was firm. She didn’t seem like she would spare me even if there were monsters outside. I awkwardly stood up and positioned myself in front of the door. The two women approached and stood behind me. As if they would stab me in the back if I made any suspicious moves.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
