A Day Earlier.
In reality, fewer than twenty-four hours remained.
Soon Kim Sinhwa would arrive in Paju.
RUMBLE—
An immense downpour battered all of Paju.
This was the very rain spawned by the Dragon King Festival’s curse.
Imbued with Abyssal malediction, the unending floodwaters wrought unfathomable side effects across the city.
“Ugh...”
Although comparatively safer than Sinhwa, Hyun-deok felt far from comfortable.
“My fever won’t break.”
For days he’d suffered pounding headaches and body aches. It wasn’t heartbreak or emotional wounds—something far stranger was at work.
“Those cult bastards...”
Technically they called themselves the Hwangwang Reintegration Fellowship, but Hyun-deok, ignorant of their true name, dismissed them as “those cult bastards.”
Whenever he closed his eyes, that grotesque symbol swirled in his mind. He couldn’t purge it.
‘They did something to me.’
He didn’t know what, but something had changed. That book they’d shown him had altered his spirit and psyche.
“As soon as the Mage returns, everything will be okay.”
He had no logical foundation for that hope, yet he clung to it: Please, Sinhwa, save me. So he hid in his home for days.
“No matter what, stay here. Home is safest.”
His fever climbed. His head throbbed. Headache and heat joined the creeping terror and madness nibbling at his mind.
Had it been any other problem, he might have made better choices.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
“Who is it...?”
No one should be coming. Who could it be?
“It’s me—Hyun-deok. Please open the door.”
An unforgettable voice.
Yeon.
How did she find him!? Psychic powers? Nanomachines? A transmitter? A bug? Oracle? Feng shui?
“Ugh—”
He suddenly remembered he’d given her his address.
“What do I do? What do I do?”
First—do not open the door. Hold out until the Mage returns! But when would the Mage return?
Should he flee? Where to go? The Immigration Office? Where was the Mage?
Indecisive, he paced his room. Then the door was knocked again, and Yeon’s voice pleaded.
“Please help me, Hyun-deok! Please!”
“Help... you say?”
What on earth?
Was it a trick? Though doubt flickered on his face, he moved toward the door. Even at full strength, it would be hard to resist such a plea in his feverish state.
“I escaped the cult! Please open up!”
“Uh? That means—”
Her story tumbled out: She’d finally realized they were a dangerous heretical church. She’d tried to leave but wasn’t allowed—she’d barely escaped. Please open the door. She was terrified. If he didn’t help, they’d recapture her.
Her desperation rang true, and Hyun-deok felt her sincerity. She had indeed fled and come straight to him.
Just as he reached to unlock the door, he became aware of strange words spilling from his lips.
“In the late Goryeo period, a youth in Paju pined until death. After dying, he became an imugi with yellow scales. Consumed with bitterness, the serpent-dragon unleashed endless rains and floods upon Paju. The villagers, desperate, offered the maiden he loved at the riverbank...”
What was he saying?
“The maiden begged him to devour her and end the deluge—”
He gripped his cheeks with both hands, but his mouth would not stop, reciting the odd Paju legend to its conclusion.
“—In the end, the imugi ate the maiden he once loved, released his resentment, and ascended as a yellow dragon into the heavens.”
Come to think of it, the Mage often asked him about legends. Was this one? A warning perhaps? Why could he speak this way? Had the Mage cast some spell on him?
His headache flared too fiercely to think further.
‘A lovesickness tale... a maiden eaten by a dragon...’
At least the ominous theme was clear.
“Hyun-deok! Please! I ran all the way here barefoot in the rain. Please help me.”
Her next sobs broke him. He crept to the peephole.
“Wha—sob—sob—”
There she was: Yeon, truly at his door. Whatever she’d endured left her pitiful. Outside, rain hammered down.
He saw her wet, bruised, swollen, exhausted, torn clothes—and tears streaming as she pleaded to be saved, fearing death.
The sight convinced him utterly. Above all, those eyes and that voice were genuine.
“I—I’ll open up!”
Had Sinhwa seen this, she’d have scolded him like a fierce lynx—but Hyun-deok unlocked the door.
CREEEAK—
The feared turn of events did not follow.
“Thank you... thank you, Hyun-deok. Thank you so much—sob—”
Yeon had truly come alone, soaked through, and barefoot.
She clung to his chest, crying, and whispered,
“This scent... this fragrance. I wanted to feel it again. Only you, Hyun-deok. Thank you... thank you.”
His face, already flushed by fever, grew even redder. He stammered,
“P-please come in.”
“Lock the door. We don’t know when they’ll come. I don’t care what happens to me, but I’m terrified they’ll take you. I’m scared.”
“Oh, o-of course. I’ll lock it. Just a moment.”
Click.
He secured the door.
At the same time, elsewhere.
Hee-in found herself in a quandary.
“Sister Yeon escaped?”
“I’m sorry.”
Trouble upon trouble. ‘Is it because of that guy?’
She pictured Heo Sang-hyeon who’d ruined the Masquerade. Strictly speaking, she saw the image of the “Super Rookie Heo Sang-hyeon” created by Sinhwa.
Though the evangelists didn’t know Sinhwa’s name, they blamed him for every disruption.
‘He demolished the Masquerade, now what will he destroy? Our order?’
Destruction brought rebirth—an end-times sect’s mindset. Indeed, Sinhwa’s ruin of the Masquerade had benefitted Hee-in: in the chaos, she killed her master and became the order’s new arbiter of judgment.
‘Honestly, I wish he’d really destroy them all.’
The Hwangwang Reintegration Fellowship was no small group. They had many who could be called Judges. Though Hee-in held the title, to the centuries-old elders she was merely a plucky newcomer. ‘I’d like to see those cowards who can’t even die of fear get exterminated.’
She spoke in that eerily beautiful voice:
“Can we track her?”
“It shouldn’t be impossible.”
Yeon’s report had conspicuously omitted Hyun-deok’s address—but tracking Yeon was simple.
“Wait—who’s on the pursuit team?”
“Mission Team One.”
“Why?”
“They volunteered.”
Team One was Yeon’s own cell. As in real-world cults, they used thirty members to convert one person. If they volunteered, it meant they all met Hyun-deok—and experienced the same strange visions. Volunteered?
Why did Yeon defect? How did she break such strong indoctrination?
‘Heo Sang-hyeon, please dispatch some reaping angels for my foolish minions as well.’
“Summon Teams Two and Three, and the Special Operations squad.”
“As you command.”
Hee-in donned her three-eyed mask and gazed out at the cursed rain.
“A rare reunion awaits, Heo Sang-hyeon.”
Do you remember me? I actually want to befriend you.
Hyun-deok sat by his bedside, waiting for Yeon.
SWISH—
In his ten-pyeong studio:
A cramped entryway doubling as kitchen.
A bathroom with shower.
Within that tiny space, the sound of water running in the shower.
“...”
Yeon had sprinted barefoot through the flood to reach him. Between hugs, rambling conversation, and sobs, they agreed she needed to wash up before speaking further.
So she showered.
“...”
He fidgeted, uncertain how to sit or what expression to wear.
“My hair—my hair...”
Suddenly he leapt up and brushed through his hair. He looked as if about to go out again, then sat awkwardly on the bedside, still shifting uneasily.
He recalled something Yeon had said:
“You don’t need to believe in that strange religion anymore.”
“Because I have you.”
Did that mean... she loved him?
And another:
“I kept thinking of your face—even in my dreams.”
Yes.
This face. This face saved her when she was in danger.
The shower stopped.
CREEEAK—
Yeon appeared, wearing his shirt and pajama pants. Already small and slight, the clothes made her look even more petite.
Her damp long hair framed flushed cheeks.
THUMP-THUMP-THUMP—
His heart pounded.
She ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) stood by the bathroom door—i.e., the entryway—gazing at him.
“Tha-thank you...”
“Huh? Thank me?”
“Yes. Thank you for believing me. If you hadn’t opened the door...”
“Oh—of course. Why wouldn’t I believe you?”
How could he not? His mouth went dry. What should he say next? Invite her here? No—should he approach? The Mage? What do I do now?
He rose uncertainly and moved toward her.
CLINK—
Something shifted in the kitchen. Ah—those dishes he never washed.
Her left arm was hidden by the doorway; the sink lay just beyond her left side.
Before he noticed anything amiss, she spoke:
“Hyun-deok, you’re my savior. You’re like a god to me.”
“Oh—well, that’s a bit much...”
“I’ve thought about this feeling. I thought it was some mystical experience, but it wasn’t. It’s love. It has to be love. I love you.”
“Uh...”
A woman’s confession—first that thought crossed his mind. Then he realized something was very wrong.
“Could you... could you eat me?”
“Huh?”
“W-what? What?”
He flushed and stepped back.
Whoa! Wait a second! This is too fast! Suddenly—so intense! But... what did you say?
“I don’t want to share you with anyone else. That’s why I left the cult and came here. I want you to eat me. I want to become one with you. I want to see the world through you, feel the world through you. Surely a god inhabits your body—I want to unite with that god.”
“W-what did you say? Yeon? Wait—please!”
Mage, where are you? I’m in crisis!
“So please, eat me. My brain—my entrails—my flesh—my blood—my soul—eat them all. I want to become one with the god inside you. I want to be mixed into your flesh and blood.”
“W-wait! Don’t come closer! Calm down! Stop! Yeon! Stop!”
Yeon lifted a kitchen knife from the counter and advanced slowly.
“This scent, this fragrance—just being near you, I sense a god’s presence. You are our magnificent Lord, the Yellow King, the Yellow Sovereign, the Unspeakable One, the Yellow-Robed King. Please, eat me. Take me to the Promised Land, beautiful Carcosa. I’ll offer you everything I have. I will be the living sacrifice for you!”
“AAAHHH! AAGH! Don’t come near me! What on earth is wrong with you!?”
Though his cry was close to a shriek, Yeon answered faithfully:
“Because I love you! I love you! I love you! Please, eat me! Taste my love!”
