Episode 103
“…It’s very quiet.”
The person who responded to Park Da-young’s mumbling was her younger brother, Park Da-hoon.
“Isn’t that better?”
“Why do you argue with everything I say?”
“It’s not a fight… why are you so sensitive?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry for being sensitive.”
The content was certainly sharp, but at least it didn’t seem like the words were said out of genuine anger or displeasure. Even Kang Min-ah, who was in awe of the unfamiliar way of speaking, was now able to find the playfulness hidden within it.
Kang Min-ah let out an awkward laugh, moved away from the tree trunk and opened her mouth.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to come this way? But still…”
“Oh no. The tree itself is thick… Look, there’s plenty of room on both the front, back, and sides. “It’s enough.”
“That’s right, sister. Rather, it is more difficult to change positions now. “It could fall.”
“Yeah…but…”
Kang Min-ah, who was purring her lips, quickly nodded.
“Yes, thank you. “Thanks to you, I will rest in peace.”
“No, thanks to my sister, I came this far without getting hurt.”
“That’s right, your swinging the hammer is really cool.”
“…Ugh…. Thank you.”
It was a gratitude that did not particularly resonate with Kang Min-ah, who dragged minors to a dangerous place in a panic, but it was not a good thing to deny the words of students who continued to comfort and consider her. At least that’s what Kang Min-ah thinks.
In the end, Park Da-young, who glanced at Kang Min-ah, who swallowed a sigh, gently snuggled up to her and spoke quietly.
“But… he was just over there. “You saw him, right?”
“Oh yeah. saw.”
The place that Park Da-young glanced at was none other than the cliff where Kang Min-ah almost fell. It’s a cliff filled with hundreds and thousands of flowers that appear at the bottom in the distance.
“It’s really dangerous… I didn’t even know that was a cliff.”
“That’s right, I only found out when I climbed the tree. “You wouldn’t know it if you didn’t see it from above, right?”
“Is it because the trees are all so big…? “You don’t even know there’s a cliff because it’s not visible at first glance.”
As the siblings said, all the trees in this park were tall, so the group didn’t know there was a cliff when they were on the ground. No matter how far the tree stretched below, it was hidden by short bushes.
Park Da-hoon’s face turned white as if he was remembering that time.
“Even though I kept calling you, you didn’t stop… I was surprised because there was a cliff in front of you.”
“Oh that. Sorry. That’s really what I was trying to do….”
“I’m not really saying anything. “It’s just a bit…”
He continued, scratching his temple.
“There are so many strange things.”
Aside from being simply dangerous, things that were unthinkable happened in real life.
There is no color in the sky, no stars, no moon. The tree boasted a size so large that it was hard to see in Korea, but there was snow stuck in between the trees. Just breathing can cause headaches, anxiety, and nightmares that make it difficult to fall asleep.
Everything in the world seemed like a trap set to catch them.
“I… thought my sister was seeing a ghost. No, isn’t it? “The person I saw was you, so it’s not a ghost.”
“But you were alive. Or is it really a ghost imitating you? Wow, it’s crazy.”
“…Ghost…”
As Kang Min-ah laughed awkwardly, Park Da-young smiled brightly and asked. Kang Min-ah’s face was mischievous, as if she had found something to prank on a friendly person, but Kang Min-ah’s expression became even more ambiguous.
“What are you afraid of ghosts? “But you can’t watch horror movies?”
“Um… that’s not it.”
“Uh… no? really?”
“I don’t like it, but I like it.”
Surprisingly, she was strong in the horror thriller genre.
What should I say? Should I say that I don’t really feel the presence beyond the screen that has nothing to avoid? No matter how well the directing was done and the makeup was outstanding, it wasn’t particularly scary because I knew the effort of the actors and directors behind it all. To the extent that all I could think was, ‘This movie was well made.’
“Uh uh. Then what if it suddenly pops out…?”
“I feel like I know roughly when it will pop out, so that’s not a big deal. No, it’s not that I’m not surprised at all, but rather than being scared, it’s just… something like that.”
“Wow…”
After a short exclamation, the siblings gathered together and started whispering.
“There was a reason why I held the hammer.”
“For some reason, he ran first…”
“…Oh well. “Is watching horror movies the basis for that?”
Kang Min-ah wiped her nose once and continued speaking again.
“But… when I think about it, it seems like In-ho wasn’t really scared of horror movies either. Yeon-seok also said that he was somewhat enjoying it. “I don’t know about Yeonhee, but…”
“Oh, we also enjoy watching horror movies.”
“If there’s something weird about the makeup, they just laugh.”
“That’s why I’m embarrassed that we can’t go to the movies together.”
“what? “What a man of manners he is.”
In any case, it seemed like they were thinking of going to the movies together or had already seen them together. Although they pretend to be different from each other, their friendly side seems like a person who starts with the letter ‘Lee’ and ends with the letter ‘Heon’. The one who is not here right now.
Kang Min-ah was making a sad expression, and Park Da-young, who saw it, kept her mouth shut and said.
“No… not this, just. “There are a lot of strange things here.”
“That’s right. There are monsters…”
“….”
“…Dayoung?”
Both scared and anxious. It’s not like I’m nervous.
It was just a calm face.
“Aren’t you worried about your sister?”
“huh…?”
“Family.”
The voice of a student who would soon become an adult rang softly.
“Since it suddenly disappeared, won’t we find it?”
“….”
Kang Min-ah closed her mouth at those words. Park Da-young’s face as she said that was not expressing her own anxiety by comparing it to her, but it seemed as if she was truly curious about Kang Min-ah’s story.
I felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
“…I’m already independent.”
Nevertheless, the reason they gave an easy answer was simply because these students were young.
“At my home… So, in the house I lived in when I was young, my parents were there and there were two cats… I didn’t bring them in separately when I became independent.”
“….”
“My mom is a little weak, so I thought I would take them both with me, but she was against it. It would be upsetting for them to go while you were away too. I feel a bit fortunate now. If I had brought them, who would have taken care of the children’s meals?…” “
…I see.”
“Actually, I don’t contact you very often, so I’m not really worried, but I hope I can contact you within this month.”
Kang Min-ah continued speaking while fiddling with the tip of the hammer.
“If you go out like that….”
“….”
“Uh um. “My sister will buy me food.”
They say that one of the promises that Koreans make the most is the promise of food, and Kang Min-ah seemed to have no choice. Now that I said it, I felt weird because it seemed like he was flirting, but the siblings’ reaction was pretty normal.
“…Is it meat…?”
“Let’s go for pork belly, sister.”
“Can I have pork belly? “Once again, with bigger ambitions…!”
“Sister, I have beef.”
“yes.”
Kang Min-ah suddenly became cheerful and hugged Park Da-young, who was right next to her, with one arm. Not to be outdone, Park Da-young also snuggled in further. It would have been quite embarrassing if the rhythm had not been matched, but it was fortunate for the timid Kang Min-ah.
Park Da-hoon, who was looking at the two women ambiguously, soon rubbed his temple with his wrist and opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry for breaking the good mood…”
“If you know, shut up.”
“I didn’t say this to you, so shut up.”
His voice sank awkwardly.
“…When you were running in front of the two of you, I chased after you.”
“…Isn’t that right?”
“I was wondering if I should tell you that my sister saw a man who wasn’t there on the cliff earlier, but uh…”
“Why are you stopping me?”
“Oh, please.”
Park Da-hoon, who complained a little, glanced sideways over the cliff and looked at the road where they came this way. His gaze was quite serious, so Park Da-young and Kang Min-ah also stared at him.
Park Da-hoon said, rubbing his temple once again.
“I think I saw a child when I came.”
“….”
“6 years old? “He looks like he’s about 7 years old.”
I couldn’t see them clearly because I was rushing after them, but they were quite short. I couldn’t see it clearly because I was turned around, but it had been a long time since I’d seen someone of that size, so it didn’t easily disappear from my retina.
But what Park Da-hoon cared about was not the existence of such a child.
A short deep breathing sound was heard.
“…How did I see that?”
There was no light source at the time I was running.
“When I came around here, there was a fire from afar, and I can see it now because the man gave me the fire, but at that time. At that time, you shouldn’t be able to see anything. I definitely learned that in science class…”
“…Uh…”
“But rather, how did you run all the way here? How did you hit the monster in front of you and run while avoiding the trees… How did you get this far? What are you looking at? According to what….”
“….”
“…Am I overreacting?”
But didn’t something similar happen just a moment ago? Kang Min-ah jumped into the cliff as if she were possessed or tempted by something. No, it went right up to that point. If Jaeheon Lee hadn’t stopped her right away, Minah Kang would have probably died.
When the atmosphere calmed down after Park Da-hoon’s words,
“…Mina?”
“Huh.”
“Oh my. sorry. “You’re surprised.”
Doctor Ha Seong-yoon called them.
“Dayoung and Dahoon too. “As expected, I followed Mina.”
“…Mr. Seo?”
“Where have you been, teacher!”
“Now wait a minute, is that really you? “What if the monster is imitating me?”
“Ah seol….”
Park Da-young, who was about to say “Ma”, looked at Ha Seong-yoon’s one eye and kept her mouth shut. To say no, the usual dark brown eyes had changed to something white and blue.
Confusion that could not be hidden appeared on the faces of Park Da-young, Park Da-hoon, and Kang Min-ah.
“…A monster?”
“I couldn’t imitate it properly, so…!”
“No way…?”
“No, these people.”
In the end, Ha Seong-yoon had to explain his existence for over 30 minutes in his unique soft voice, and even after that, he was not allowed to climb the tree. Ha Seong-yoon smiled softly at that cautiousness, but did not force a rebuttal.
However, it was only after a while that he realized that he had also seen a child on his way here. A boy who looked about 6 years old.
“…One child?”
“Yes, is there any problem?”
“There were two people I saw… one boy and one adult…” “
…”
“… as expected, the monster disguised himself as a doctor…!”
“Where is the real doctor!”
What are kids these days?
Ha Seong-yoon gave up explaining.
* * *
“…So.”
Jaeheon Lee asked back with a tired face.
“Are you saying there’s a child… in there?”
“yes.”
“Inside that monster-infested jungle…? There is only one guardian, but even that is unreliable? “Did Yeon-seok find her by chance while looking for her?”
“Very accurate.”
“….”
Lee Jae-heon muttered inwardly, looking at those unsuspecting gazes that no matter who looked at him, he thought, ‘If you are a kind-hearted person, you would definitely try to save that child, right?’
Fuck making a living.
