I Couldn't Tell You Who It Was

When he realized that I wasn’t struggling anymore, Hyehyun let go of my arm. Thinking about it, we really did know each other for a long time. He remembered that I felt extremely uncomfortable when other people touched me. Even Yeonseon forgot at times and made me angry.

Hyehyun continued, more careful than before, “…And if you really thought of Yeonseon in that way, don’t flirt with other people.”

“Flirt?” I didn’t like his choice of words, but Hyehyun grimaced as if he was the one who felt even worse.

“That younger guy from before, Woorim Eun or whatever. I heard you telling him that he’s handsome and making a big deal about him.”

“Oh.”

“You’re not some sort of rentboy, so don’t do gross things like that. Don’t you feel sorry for Yeonseon? It hasn’t even been that long since he died and you’re already trying to switch to someone else.”

I clammed up while massaging the place on my arm that Hyehyun grabbed. He must have wanted me to tell him he was misunderstanding things because he made a pretty scary face in the following moment of silence. I thought he would blow up for the second time if I dragged it on for any longer, so I hurriedly said, “Don’t interpret things however you want.”

Hyehyun grinned upon hearing my reply. “Of course. You liked Yeonseon so much, how could you ever think about moving on?”

It was as clear as day what he really meant: just who was the disgusting one there?

I bit my lower lip slightly as I watched him return to the table. While he set and unwrapped his lunch, something squirmed from behind Hyehyun. To be accurate, that “something” was hanging from his back. It was a lump of meat.

“That thing” creakily turned its head toward me. I scratched at my arm and swallowed hard.

“…” The car accident that Yeonseon got into was incredibly gruesome and horrible, and I was told that none of the deceased victims retained a human form.

While carrying that lump of flesh, Hyehyun happily ate his bulgogi lunch. I couldn’t tell whether the metallic smell was coming from the pork that was being masticated in his mouth or the body of the “man” clinging from his back.

* * *

I didn’t want many things in life.

I just wanted to see Yeonseon’s face one more time.

* * *

My mind drifted to a memory of when we were still together…

“You saw something weird?” Yeonseon tilted his head in confusion as he looked where I was looking. The bridge was located in a less populated area, so nobody was crossing it aside from us. Therefore, nobody was standing in the middle of the bridge—at least, from Yeonseon’s point of view.

However, I could see it.

Staring at us from afar, a giant woman with only her face intact stood, eyeballs rolling around.

Her disheveled long hair fell out from the bridge and swirled around with the water, like the grass at the bottom of the river. As it undulated, her black hair made the water look murky and polluted. It was to the point that I was afraid of stepping any further.

Beside the bridge, there was a sign that read “danger.” It was to caution the pedestrians that the stones on the riverbed were slippery. However, it was probably the woman’s hair that was slippery, not the stones.

The woman’s face was as big as a two-story house. Her skin was blue and her eyes bloodshot. Her jaw that rested on the bridge was tattered like it was torn off by wild beasts, exposing her gums and teeth. No matter how much I was used to things like this, this was on a different level.

I heard a rattling, rumbling sound from deep within the earth.

My breathing got a bit heavy. I needed to walk away from this area. I started to feel a bit rushed, but Yeonseon didn’t seem like he was going to budge any time soon. The rumbling sound grew louder.

“But Haeseo, there’s no other way to get to the other side…”

Plus, it seemed too late to look for another way around.

Yeonseon continued, looking nonchalant since he didn’t see anything. I pulled Yeonseon’s arm. I felt the blood in my head draining away. Rumble, rumble. It wasn’t that the sound was getting louder; instead, “that thing” was coming closer. Rumble. The woman’s body. The woman’s body. That woman’s body.