episode_0080

My mind goes blank.

Numerous letters move around in my head.

Letters that are torn, cut, and mixed up, like a collage made by cutting and pasting magazines.

Torn pieces of paper are moving around inside my body. Pieces pierce the lungs and travel through the blood vessels.

I shed bloody tears while I couldn’t see anything.

My head hurts.

I feel like my insides are burning. Every time I breathe in oxygen, the flames get bigger and bigger, and now it’s so hot I can’t stand it.

Spit out what is boiling. I take a deep breath through the pain of my nerves being cut. Contracts the muscles in the neck. My heart is beating wildly. And then spit it out.

“Ahhhh!”

As soon as I screamed, my vision returned.

As if there was something that needed to be done right away.

Shootaaa-

I turned on the tap and brushed the inside of my cheek with a toothbrush.

The tap water in the sink gradually turned magenta.

Blood spreading out like smoke.

My mouth felt numb.

“Heo Eok. omg… … .

What was I doing?

Shootaaa-

I unconsciously licked the wound with my tongue.

The fishy taste is clearly felt.

The smooth mucous membrane of my cheeks became rough, like an old rag.

“Uh.”

And all the sensations came flooding back at once.

Pain as if thousands of needles were piercing the inside of the mouth.

The fishy taste of blood leaking out incessantly.

The sound of water.

I heard the faint sound of wind, and something cold and smooth touched my shoulder.

thud!

There was a backlash against unreasonable attempts to observe anomalies.

Even while I was losing consciousness, I continued to vomit.

Now I can only think of one.

please.

Go away.

please.

I feel like dying.

When I came to, I was lying in the middle of the living room.

As soon as I opened my eyes, Heo Yoon’s face came into view.

“Dabin! Woke up? It’s okay, right?”

Yoon raises his voice and asks various questions.

Looking at his urgent movements, it seems like he was really worried.

“Yes.”

“What on earth happened in the bathroom?”

I tried to give a long answer about what happened, but then gave up.

My mouth was swollen.

All my senses have become strange, and now I can’t even feel where my tongue is.

“… … .”

“And hey, he found you.”

Heo Yoon pointed to the AI standing next to him.

The guy was standing alone with an expressionless face.

“I felt something strange, so I went to see you, and you were found lying on the bathroom floor.”

Originally, it was a morning where we all had to gather together and eat together.

The atmosphere is heavy.

Serim Choi is sitting on the sofa and looking at me silently.

Next to him, Da-ju Yoon is looking at him with the same concern.

Heo Yun asked again.

“What happened?”

“I saw the graffiti. Ugh.”

I spit out a lot of blood that had accumulated in my mouth.

“Something is strange. The graffiti continues to increase… … .”

Seok Hyun-min, who was no better, stepped forward.

“I think I know roughly what’s going on, so listen later.”

“… … Yes. Then, let’s disinfect the wound first.”

Heo Yoon picked up the medicine box from the floor.

A white plastic first aid kit contains all kinds of items.

Bandages, tape, alcohol swabs and red pills. And antibiotics that are only used in emergencies.

“I don’t think there’s anything useful here… … . I think the wound needs to be disinfected with gargle. Can you bear it?”

I nodded.

“Okay. Daju, give me that.”

“Yes, sister.”

What Daju Yoon presented to me was a mouthwash I had never seen before.

I think it’s green.

Your name is Listerine?

“It will sting quite a bit.”

“… … It’s okay.”

I took the gargle cap without much caution.

Fluttering mouthwash. Let’s put it in our mouth,

“Kek!”

Immediately a cough broke out.

It’s too harsh.

It feels like holding a water paste in your mouth. Not only that, it feels like your wounds are being set on fire.

“It’s because the disinfectant contains ethanol. There are other disinfectants, but they are hard to find here.”

Heo Yoon comes next to me and pats my back.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded.

After barely holding on for about a minute, I spit out the mouthwash, and the fishy taste in my mouth was largely gone.

“Phew… … .”

“Can you eat rice? Shall I make you porridge?”

“I’ll just eat it later.”

The important thing now is about graffiti.

I spoke slowly, being careful not to let my tongue rub the wound.

“You know the graffiti I saw with my brother yesterday? It kept increasing.”

“Increasing?”

“Yes. Graffiti is spontaneously appearing here and there.”

I explained how I searched for graffiti with AI.

At the front door. In closets and warehouses.

And on the inside of my cheek.

“What are the other characteristics?”

“I’m not sure. But as I kept watching it, a scary thought suddenly occurred to me. There is definitely no trait that makes people crazy. It’s just an ordinary picture, but somehow it turned out that way. So, to remove the picture, I used a toothbrush… … .”

Heo Yoon nods with a surprised expression.

“So your mouth was a mess.”

“Yes.”

“Umm.”

Seok Hyeon-min is lost in thought with a serious expression.

This time it was Daju Yoon’s turn.

“But you can see almost anything. Are you saying you can’t see anything?”

“Yes. Even when observing the anomaly, I can’t see anything. It’s just an ordinary picture.”

“Huh. Then what is it?”

There was no one to answer.

Anomalous observation didn’t work, and we knew nothing.

Jeong Hae-won, who was listening quietly, said something.

“Could it be that someone is secretly stamping it?”

“The location doesn’t make sense, you idiot.”

Da-ju taps Jeong Hae-won on the shoulder and says.

The location definitely makes no sense.

Even if you somehow sneaked in and scribbled graffiti on the exterior wall or front door of an apartment, it is impossible no matter how you look at it to graffiti the inside of a person’s cheek without being detected.

Still, Jeong Hae-won continues to share his thoughts.

“No. It’s not a person, but a being walking around with a stamp on it. Wouldn’t it be possible to think that it’s transparent or has the ability to approach it without being noticed? There may also be something like the ability to fly, or it may not be bound by the laws of physics at all.”

“Oh… … . Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Jeong Hae-won shrugs his shoulders and says to Da-ju.

“You idiot.”

“Are you an idiot to your sister?”

At the same time, Da-joo strongly pinches Jeong Hae-won’s arm.

It was a short attack, but the effect was clear.

“Aaaah!”

While the two were arguing, Seok Hyeon-min stepped forward again.

“What are you guys doing now? It’s serious.”

“Ahh! stop! I was wrong!”

Seok Hyeon-min asks while sighing.

“What do you think about what Haewon just said?”

“But I haven’t even seen such a being. If someone is walking around and leaving graffiti, I should be able to find traces. I couldn’t see it at all.”

“So does graffiti come about on its own?”

“Maybe so. In my opinion, it even seems more likely.”

This time it is Choi Se-rim.

“Dabin. So, is the graffiti still increasing?”

“Yes. Probably so. Even a few hours ago, the more I searched, the more there were.”

The more I think about graffiti, the more questions remain.

The picture itself is ordinary.

What is strange is the process by which the picture is created, but there is no way to check it.

Because the graffiti came from places I wasn’t looking at.

wait for a sec.

if… … ?

“Did you think of something?”

“Yes. If you think about it a little more, I think you’ll find the answer.”

I was deep in thought in front of Serim Choi.

The picture is ordinary.

But can ordinary paintings come into being on their own?

Still, the graffiti is ordinary.

☾

It looks like a crescent moon or like a fingernail.

In any case, there must be a reason for such an elaborate pattern to appear.

Someone has to come secretly and draw or work on something.

However, no such traces can be found. Graffiti appeared even indoors where there was no wind.

I can’t help but think that graffiti came about on its own. That’s impossible.

Because graffiti is ordinary.

Normal… … go… … ?

For a moment, my mind becomes dizzy.

When I came to my senses again, the surrounding scenery had completely changed.

The wall is full of red letters.

☾

It’s graffiti. Graffiti covers the wall.

Now the shape of the wall is almost unrecognizable.

Meanwhile, a broadcast was playing on the TV, which turned on by itself.

Chii profit,,,

[Breaking News]☾Graffiti is ordinary.

The first thing I saw was the subtitles at the bottom of the screen.

Then the screen flickered and illuminated the dark room.

A woman in a suit is standing holding a microphone.

Because the surroundings were dark, I could barely make out the shape.

She seemed to be inside a family home, and red light was coming in through a gap in the curtains of the unlit house.

The lighting was everything.

The caption revealed her identity.

[Reporter Son Ah-jin]

Reporter Son Ah-jin’s head was lowered to the floor, and her toes were hanging down. Her long, long hair cast a curtain in front of her face.

Twisting, toppling. Her toes swaying in the wind. She was standing 10 centimeters higher than her own height. Her toes wrapped in stockings were floating in the air and bobbing.

Red light in the living room. Curtains dyed red.

A black silhouette hanging in front of him.

After a while she started reporting.

“This is reporter Son Ah-jin, who is currently on site. The graffiti that appears in many places across the country and causes confusion is ordinary. The results of the study have been withheld, but the government has issued a statement. Doodles are just ordinary drawings. Don’t be anxious and don’t doubt. The graffiti is normal and has no anomalous properties whatsoever. Graffiti operates within the most common sense laws of the world. Even if the number increases, it is only an illusion. There are cases where unseen people carve graffiti as a prank. They are strange. Graffiti is ordinary. There are also cases where people complain of symptoms such as obsession after seeing graffiti. In this case, it is an accidental manifestation of accumulated stress or underlying disease. There is nothing wrong with graffiti. Please be tolerant so that ☾ can remain with us.”

“Really? Then what happened?”

“What?… … Do it?”

I was startled and looked to the side.

Everyone’s body was covered in graffiti and they were staring into space with mesmerized faces.

People who talk nonsense as if they are talking to someone.

“Daju Yoon! Come to your senses. hey! Jeong Hae-won! Yoongi noona!”

Even if you shake your body violently, people show no sign of waking up.

Rather, it seemed to be getting worse.

“What is it? Damage!!!”

Huh-

Daju Yoon throws herself into the middle of the empty living room.

Wow!

The dishes and cups on the table spill down and shatter.

Daju struggles and screams inside.

“Don’t come. Oh my gosh!!!”

As if I was fighting with someone invisible.

Are you seeing a fantasy?

The voice on TV repeats the same words.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

Graffiti is ordinary. Forbearance so that he can remain with us.

“Huh? ”

And the moment I raised my head and checked the living room again.

It felt like my breathing had stopped.

Red light began to seep out of the curtain.

The clear images of other people change into black silhouettes.

My hands and toes touched by the light… … . slowly… … .

I grabbed my shaking legs and walked to the window.

Sigh!

I closed the curtain with a rough movement.

The curtains blocked the light coming in, but that didn’t last long.

Graffiti covers the curtains.

☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾☾

And just like an old blanket that has become soggy and falling off, each strand has come undone and the curtain has begun to tear.

Pieces of disintegrated cloth and dust hung over the window frame.

After that, red light pours in.

I got up to go into the room alone,

Realized.

Passyuk.

The solid apartment walls turned into powder and fell off.

I didn’t even apply too much force. It was like that even though I just touched it.

☾☾☾

Graffiti engraved everywhere.

That wasn’t a picture.

That’s close to home country.

The marks of fingernails that appear when ‘something’ rips and tears reality.

A new reality was hunting down the old reality.