Chapter 52
“So…You’re saying…that…I’m a hero or something?”
Well, there were many people who had claimed that at the beginning of the Trial Tests. However, they didn’t exist at the end of the tests. In the meantime, I and the other survivors had turned into the exact opposite.
“I’ve never said that. I meant monsters exist, and we could get rid of them before they attack one day,” I said.
“How can you be so sure?” Woo Yeon-Hee asked.
“That they will attack us one day? I guess you do believe in monsters,” I responded.
Woo Yeon-Hee looked at the bandage wrapped around my shoulder rather than answering. I had recovered a lot compared to the time when the mutt tore away my flesh. It looked hideous, as my muscles had been torn to shreds and my white bone was left exposed. Woo Yeon-Hee would have never seen a wound like this before.
She asked, “Can you show me?”
“The wound?” I questioned back.
“No, the monsters,” she replied despite her blank eyes.
She was immersed in the story I was telling, and she seemed to put us into a narrative fantasy where the chosen pair kills monsters and saves humanity.
“Think of it, Woo Yeon-Hee. You’re surrounded by darkness, and monsters creep out in every direction to kill you,” I said.
I shook my head at her as she was about to open her mouth, then covered her eyes with one hand.
“You’re trembling in fear alone, but you are desperate to survive. So, your hand touches a monster when you try to feel your way out, and you have no choice but to shriek and open your eyes. It’s so painful, and that was when you made eye contact with the monster chewing on your hand,” I continued.
She might have imagined the scene, or perhaps she was feeling fear from me as I described the dungeon. Anyway, Woo Yeon-Hee was shaking.
I told her more, “Then, you see the other monsters in the dark you have forgotten. They surround you and rush into you. You can only see a few for now, but you know that there are many more that you can’t see. You try to scream, but you can’t, because one of them bit your lower jaw. You can’t see what happens next, since you are dead.”
“...”
“But it’s obvious. Monsters will ravage your body. Some will eat your limbs, and others will start fighting over your stinking intestines,” I continued.
I took my hands off her eyes.
“Open your eyes.”
Woo Yeon-Hee followed my command, and she was as frightened as she was when she first arrived here.
“Whatever monster you thought of, things are worse. Is it still like a fantasy movie to you?”
I leaned over her stiff face and finished the story.
“This is a horror movie,” she said.
***
Woo Yeon-Hee’s emotions were rubbed raw, and if she was a civilian, she wouldn’t have been so deeply immersed. She acted as if she was alone in the dungeon I described, and she shuddered for a while with a pale face. Some time later, she looked at me like a three-year-old child who had lost her way.
“But you’re saying…that we have to do this, right?” she questioned.
“It’s up to you,” I answered flatly.
“...I guess I have to,” she replied.
I shrugged. “You can either prepare with me or forget about everything and 'get killed' while living an isolated life.”
“Forget everything and live like a dead man?” she asked.
“Isn’t that obvious?” I responded.
“What do you mean?” she questioned.
I patiently explained, “Monsters’ attacks won’t start soon, but you wouldn’t have been able to survive until that day without my interference. You can’t say you would have endured your family’s gaze, society’s bias, and how you view yourself. Before you came here, you were just a psychopath who couldn’t even deal with your mother.”
“Seon-Hu.”
I retorted, “Just listen. Today, I gave you a reason to live. Something that would only come out of a challenger box. You won’t commit suicide until monsters come. Don’t you think so?”
Woo Yeon-Hee remained silent.
“I don’t mind you deciding not to be the heroine of a horror movie, but if so, then live quietly until the day the monsters come.”
I leaned against the bench after I finished talking.
“You’re lying,” she said.
“What?” I looked at her.
“It’s a lie that you don’t care. You need a teacher…No, you called me because you needed me not as your teacher but as one of you.”
She was hesitant but certain.
I looked her directly in the eyes. “That’s right, but I’ll find a way to win in the dungeon without you. So, you shouldn’t feel pressured, because it’s a matter of life and death for you.”
I meant it. I did need her for another try, but I didn’t want to grab her hair and drag her forcefully in there. I stood up.
“You don’t have to decide here. Go back and think about it,” I said.
“...You said I’d bump into it one day, right? Even if I don’t want to,” she questioned.
“Yes,” I answered.
“About my traits and skills…I’m a healer who treats hurt minds,” she continued.
“You’re right about your major responsibility. If you don’t understand, go and play video games. Those would be your best resources to learn,” I said.
Woo Yeon-Hee nodded with a tense face, and I passed down my emotions with a deep breath. She really had to make up her mind now.
“I’ll take you outside. Follow me,” I said.
I had to force Woo Yeon-Hee to stand up.
“Go home and think about it while imagining yourself being surrounded by monsters. Oh, and this.”
I handed over two contracts that I had prepared to Woo Yeon-Hee. The first was to become my partner, and the second one was to become my employee. She had to realize how dangerous it would be to work with me by seeing those documents.
“Read through them at home. You don’t need to come back if something bothers you. If so, we didn’t meet today. Keep that in mind, Woo Yeon-Hee,” I said.
***
Woo Yeon-Hee hurriedly turned the steering wheel as she saw a sign pointing toward a rest area. Her driving was risky enough to cause an accident, but she was fortunate, as her minivan was the only vehicle entering the rest area. She stopped her car in the outer line of the parking lot. She didn’t remember how she had managed to drive, even though she wasn’t drowsy. The cause of her fast heartbeat was not her own reckless driving, but the emotion she felt towards Seon-Hu.
Many people in the world lived with fear, but Woo Yeon-Hee had never felt such intense dread from others. She had thought that she was the only one with such feelings, like when her mother stormed into the school and made a mess.
“His fear was so intense…” she whispered to herself.
Woo Yeon-Hee hugged herself, but the tremor didn’t disappear. She ended up thinking of Seon-Hu again. She had also acknowledged for a long time that he was a unique being that couldn’t be explained verbally. Not only was he physically too mature, but his mind and soul were also sturdier than adults. However, to think that he would harbor such fear... She was more shocked at that emotion compared to how Seon-Hu explained that she was not crazy.
“Monsters. Dungeon…”
She couldn’t stay in the car any longer. Instead, she sat down on the bench in front of the crowded washrooms and tried to focus on the music coming from the speakers. Nevertheless, she suddenly felt a bit out of sorts with the scenes of normality: kids begging their parents to buy snacks, couples arguing over short skirts, and men smoking or stretching.
“Status window,” she murmured.
[Name: Woo Yeon-Hee
Mental Strength: F (12)
Total points: 50
Trait(1) Skill(1)]
A few hours back, Woo Yeon-Hee had considered this only a hallucination. However, the mere sight of it now calmed her down. She wiped away the tears and returned to her car as she recalled that Seon-Hu had given her an envelope containing two different contracts.
The documents included words she had not seen in reality, like parties, cooperation, betrayal, points, and dungeon boxes. The only one she was most familiar with was the death compensation that was written in the second contract.
「If you die in the dungeon, KRW ?3,000,000,000.00 (three billion) shall be paid at once to the designated beneficiary.」
She realized that the world wouldn’t recognize this contract as anyone would laugh at it when bringing it to court. However, Woo Yeon-Hee’s face was serious as she recalled the barren hill, the newly built hospital, and Seon-Hu, who seemed to own all of them.
“It must’ve been so tough to be alone. Woo Yeon-Hee, your pain… was nothing compared to his.”
She bit her lips tightly at the thought.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶