I Couldn't Tell You Who It Was

I just knew it. He had said that he thought about jumping down while staring down at Goyeon’s body. I recalled his indifference to the deaths that continued to take place. I also remembered him persistently asking if I liked him.

He couldn’t die now. I hadn’t heard anything from him yet.

“Haeseo!” Hyehyun called me again.

I pushed Hyehyun’s shoulders away and said, “Go first.”

Then, I prayed that nothing would fall on my head as I ran back into the room. Hyehyun’s face fell completely. “Haeseo!”

At the same time, a large grand piano plunged to the floor.

Clang!

The piano that was brutally struck down made a cacophonous noise as the keyboard was crushed and completely divided me and Hyehyun. The body of the piano—made of sturdy, high-quality wood—crumpled in half like a piece of paper. “Haeseo, Haeseo!” The sound of Hyehyun’s shouts accompanied the peals from pebbles that hit the damaged keys, alternating between heavy and light sounds. Shortly after, the sound of people grew further away.

The vomiting of the mansion didn’t stop there. Old furniture continued to be regurgitated toward the floor. Thud, thud, thud. But the last purge must have emptied the belly of the house significantly because the noise didn’t last for much longer. Thud, thud, thud…

Meanwhile, the room was destroyed to the point that it was no longer recognizable. Broken and shattered furniture filled the large room to the point that I could neither see the door, the others, nor the wall on the opposite end of the room. Other than a narrow space that could only fit a few people if they stood, the room was completely stacked with objects.

…How much time had passed?

Finally, the room was as quiet as when we first found it. There was occasionally the sound of sand cascading down from the ceiling. When the sound of the sand ceased, Woorim opened his mouth. Maybe because he wasn’t talking for a while, but his voice sounded a bit hoarse. “Why did you come this way?”

I looked up at Woorim.

Maybe it was because his face was right in front of my eyes, but even though the flashlight wasn’t lighting his face, I could clearly see what kind of face he was making. No matter how dark the shadows were, one’s eyes could find the slightest hint of light. Woorim’s face that my eyes captured was ever handsome and beautiful even in the darkness.

…Before such a beautiful face, I really couldn’t say anything.

I swallowed down the emotions that wanted to flow out and replied, “To become friendlier with you.”

Woorim frowned slightly at my answer and chuckled. “You have a bit of a reckless side to you. I had no idea.”

“Do you not like reckless people?” I asked, and Woorim seemed to have recalled what he had continued to tell me and grinned.

“No, there’s no way that’s possible. I don’t have any choices when it comes to you.” He gripped my shoulders tightly in his embrace and whispered in a small voice. “The decision has always been yours to make. I only follow your choices.”

“…” While I was in Woorim’s arms, I thought back to what had just happened.

When I threw myself to run toward Woorim, he moved, looking surprised, although he didn’t budge before. He reached his hand out toward me and grabbed me, pulling me roughly toward him. After that, I was trapped in his arms as he quickly moved toward the corner. As if worried that a grain of sand or the sound ripping through the air would hurt me, he wrapped his arms and hands to cover my head and ears.

Woorim’s hands on my skin felt cool to the touch. In his embrace, I recalled when Yeonseon covered my eyes on the bridge. My heart felt like it was being pierced forcefully. I closed my eyes and hummed the tune that Yeonseon sang for me back then until the mansion stopped purging itself.

Arirang, ara-ri-yo…

It would have been better if it were a grim reaper, Yeonseon.

(To be continued in Volume 2)