Chapter 111: CUT. Love and Murderers (2)

Two people lay in bed, their bodies tense with awkward energy.

Nancy felt flustered by the unexpected changes in her body. She definitely wasn’t attracted to Yuna lying beside her, but she couldn’t avoid the natural physical response. Yuna was beautiful and smelled nice, and Nancy now had a man’s body.

Yuna was just as troubled. Though she knew the man next to her wasn’t her lover, he looked identical, making it hard to control her desires. Having Nancy, in Yeoreum’s body, sleep beside her was actually part of a slightly sneaky plan. She wanted to experience spending a night next to Yeoreum, even if it wasn’t really him…

Nancy felt seriously confused about her identity due to her body’s reactions. Meanwhile, Yuna indulged in hopeless daydreams of “What if it was really Yeoreum lying next to me?”

Their bodies slowly grew hotter. Sweat beaded on their skin. The blanket covering them filled with heat as if someone had slipped in hot coals.

In this weird, awkward situation, Yuna spoke first. “Nancy… it’s kinda hot… should I turn on the fan?”

“Y-yeah…”

Yuna turned on the fan. Instead of lying back down, she sat looking at Nancy quietly.

Nancy felt nervous. Did she… n-notice it’s gotten hard…?

Yuna stared intently before speaking. “Nancy…… maybe.”

“No I’m not a lesbian I swear!!!”

The excuse burst out loudly in one breath, her nerves at breaking point.

Yuna tilted her head, confused. “What’re you talking about? I was gonna ask if you wanted the air con on too if it’s too hot.”

“Oh, uh… sorry.” Nancy’s face turned bright red.

Seeing Yeoreum’s (not) face flushed to the ears, Yuna chuckled. “This feels kinda nostalgic.”

“Wh-what does…?”

“Seeing Yeoreum’s face as he lies in bed. I usually only see him when he’s sleeping.”

Hmm, I see…

…….

…Wait. Something’s not right.

Nancy frowned, sensing something off. “Yuna… aren’t you and Yeoreum engaged…?”

“……”

The room suddenly went dead quiet. If they were engaged, she should’ve seen more than just his sleeping face.

Yuna didn’t answer Nancy’s sharp observation. She just silently lay down beside her.

Nancy felt a chill run down her spine. Her sweat turned cold. Could she trust the woman lying next to her? Yuna knows a lot about me, but I know nothing about her… Maybe Yuna is a psycho killer hiding her true identity.

I need to get out of here right now.

How long did they lie there in tense silence, the room filled with blue moonlight? Nancy heard Yuna’s soft, steady breathing beside her. She carefully slipped one leg out from under the blanket. Moving slowly and carefully, she pulled back the covers. Then she slid the rest of her body out.

If Yuna caught her… something terrible would happen.

Nancy held her breath. Her heart pounded like crazy. She turned her head slightly to check on Yuna. Regular breathing. Soft snores… She was definitely asleep.

Relieved, Nancy put her foot on the floor beside the bed.

At that moment-

Something grabbed her arm.

Nancy froze in place. Yuna was still making soft sleeping sounds. With her eyes wide open.

“…Where’re you going, Nancy?”

At those scary words, Nancy’s courage crumbled. Hot liquid ran down her legs.

“I n-need to peeeeee…”

Nancy cried from both ends.

Yuna helped Nancy clean up. It was an innocent bath between women, without any ulterior motives. The misunderstanding was cleared up in the bathroom.

Yuna honestly told Nancy about her relationship with Yeoreum. Imprisonment, stalking, obsession… Nancy never imagined Yuna had such weird interests. It was shocking. But she couldn’t judge, given her own unusual desires.

After leaving the bathroom, Nancy didn’t go back to bed.

“Not gonna sleep, Nancy…?”

“I’m not tired anymore.”

The shock had completely woken her up. Yuna immediately came up with a plan. Operation Yeoreum Rescue/Nancy Return. They would raid the ‘W’ Studio in the basement of the video rental shop. They only had one shot. It had to work.

She handed Yeoreum’s phone to Nancy. “Nancy. This is a smartphone. We’ll use it like a walkie-talkie.”

“Smart…phone?”

She explained how to use it. Nancy was amazed by the touchscreen, a marvel of modern tech. “Wow, I’ve only seen stuff like this in sci-fi movies!”

“It does more than you’d think. Not just calls, but photos, videos, even internet. It’s like combining a phone, camera, and computer.”

Nancy burst out laughing. “Come on Yuna~. Jokes are only funny if they’re kinda believable.”

“I’m not joking.”

“Don’t treat me like an idiot just ’cause I’m from the past! No way a phone, camera, and computer could fit in something this small. And how could you combine those three?”

She only believed it after Yuna showed her how it worked.

Yuna took Nancy outside. They headed for the closed video rental shop. The window they’d broken last time was still smashed. They climbed through to get in.

The inside looked the same as before. A maze-like layout. Rows of shelves packed with videotapes and DVDs. Only more dust had built up since last time.

They went down to the basement. A concrete space spread out before them. Unlike the messy rental shop upstairs, the basement was neat and clean. But it didn’t feel homey at all. It was more like an alien orphanage than a place where people lived.

Yuna stood by the stairs, peeking into the concrete hallway. She carefully checked for any movement. Something came towards them from the end of the corridor. It was a weird creature that looked like a gorilla.

“Keek, keek… What’s the sorriest animal in the world?”

But the voice was familiar. It was the Clown. The Clown monster with a gorilla mask made by Jung Joo-Yi.

“The answer is… sorry-pede! Kekeke, hehehehe, huha, uwahahahaha!!!”

Long saw blades were attached where its hands should be. A gorilla mantis? It looked really stupid.

Yuna and Nancy tiptoed silently, moving carefully. They saw a room with an open door. They quickly slipped inside to hide.

Yuna turned on her phone’s flashlight to look around the dark room.

“This is…”

“Looks like some kinda lab…?”

Lab equipment and tools were scattered everywhere. Blueprints were pinned to the walls. They were blueprints of the monsters. Not only did they show what the monsters looked like, but also how to make them and why. The blueprints looked totally crazy.

Yuna looked at the blueprint of the virgin ghost. “This is Joo-Yi’s work. She’s been using this place to make creatures.”

“She’s making the monsters herself…? By hand…?”

“Looks like it.”

Even before becoming a director, Joo-Yi was good with her hands. She was especially great at special effects makeup, making bloody effects and creepy monster models perfect for B-movies. Is she using that talent to its fullest here? It was definitely something Joo-Yi would do.

They heard footsteps from outside. Someone was coming closer. They were heading this way.

Yuna and Nancy looked around frantically for a place to hide. They saw a cabinet in the corner. It was too small for both of them. Yuna hid under the desk and told Nancy to hide in the cabinet.

Just as Nancy hid herself, the door swung open.

“Grrrr……”

A scary growl echoed. Yuna looked down. Through the gap under the desk, she saw furry feet. Sharp claws and a beastly skeleton. It was a werewolf.

The creature that came in was drooling a lot, its nose twitching. Yuna held her breath. The werewolf went up to the cabinet and sniffed. Her heart raced, scared Nancy would be found.

“……”

But nothing happened. The werewolf seemed to lose interest and left the room. She felt like she’d aged ten years from the stress.

But it wasn’t time to relax yet. She took out her phone and sent a message to Nancy in the cabinet.

-[Nancy. Reply when you see this message]

-[Okay]

-[I can still hear footsteps outside. Let’s wait till we’re sure it’s gone]

-[Got it]

Nancy’s replies were spot on. She even added cute emojis. Teaching her how to use the smartphone paid off. Yuna smiled fondly.

But her smile froze as she realized something. …I never taught her how to send emojis.

She crawled out from under the desk. She went up to the weirdly quiet cabinet.

“Nancy.”

“…”

“Nancy…?”

The cabinet door creaked open.

“Oh dear, you found me out.”

Jung Joo-Yi’s voice came out of nowhere. She came out of the cabinet, her hand over Nancy’s mouth. She’d been hiding in there the whole time.

The room’s lights came on. The door opened and werewolves and the narrator came in. Yuna was quickly grabbed. Nancy was pushed to the ground.

Joo-Yi looked down at the two with a smirk. “Welcome. We’ve been waiting for you.”