Chapter 12: Chameleon (3)

The Missing Kitchen Knife.

I felt an uneasy sense of uncertainty, not knowing when, who, or where someone might wield a knife.

But at the same time, the fact that the strange person might have the knife gave me one clear conviction:
Hiding and watching was not the answer.

I had to act before they hurt someone.

But what should I do?

If I had it my way, I wanted to forcibly take them upstairs one by one.

However, the elderly woman and her grandson were always stuck together.

The dog-For now, I excluded it from my plans.

If I suddenly called someone upstairs or acted strangely, the strange person might escape or suddenly attack someone nearby.

It would be better if they attacked me; I could dodge it…

While thinking, I came up with an idea.

Instead of hiding, I would make myself the target.

“It’s not possible, it’s too dangerous.”

“That’s right. It’s dangerous.”

Hearing my words, Seo Ji-hyun firmly said.

At some point, Han So-ra, who had approached from behind, gave a similar response.

I calmly persuaded them.

“Since the knife is gone, everyone is in danger. It’s safer for me to be targeted since I know everything and… I’ve even done some physical training.”

“Physical training? You trained?”

“…Yes, I did boxing.”

I lied without even wetting my lips.

In fact, it wasn’t entirely a lie.

Right now, I was faster and had a stronger punch than any boxer.

Honestly, compared to boxers, I could even take on animals like bears or gorillas.

“Then try to dodge my punch!”

Han So-ra suddenly lunged at me, swinging her fist.

Whoosh.

I calmly avoided the punch.

“Oh… Wow… You really dodged it?”

Han So-ra seemed to be in awe, as if she didn’t expect me to actually dodge the punch.

“…Understood. If it gets dangerous, use the walkie-talkie immediately.”

Seo Ji-hyun nodded in the end.

***

After dinner, my act began.

I intentionally stayed near the elderly woman and the grandson.

When they were talking, I listened closely from nearby, and when the two looked out the window at the rain, I stared at them from behind.

Whenever the grandson drew a picture, I subtly approached and peeked at the drawing.

It was an awkward and obvious act, making it obvious to anyone that I was up to something.

Once, I asked the child or the grandmother to come upstairs with me.

The child, frightened by my sudden assertiveness, hid behind the grandmother’s legs, and the grandmother refused to go upstairs, citing her leg pain.

In the first place, the two never separated.

“Sigh, why are you wandering around alone? Playing detective?”

Han So-ra deliberately scolded me loudly as if for others to hear.

“…Please stop annoying people.”

Seo Ji-hyun also spoke more coldly than usual, ignoring me.

It was our little play.

“No, it’s not that… Something just feels off…”

I noticed something, but my team members treated me like a fool and didn’t believe me.

If one of the suspects was the strange person, they would probably try to take care of me, the one who seemed to have noticed something.

…That’s what I hoped for.

I began to walk around more obviously on my own, making myself an easy target.

During a brief pause in the rain, I pretended to walk around the pension alone, and when people were gathered in the living room, I deliberately sat in a corner, staring only at the window.

At night, even when the team members went upstairs, I stayed in the living room, claiming I couldn’t sleep, staying up late.

Even until the elderly woman, child, and medium-sized dog were about to enter the large room on the first floor, I remained in the living room.

I threw myself in as bait.

Hoping desperately that the strange person would take the bait.

And that night.

Everyone else had gone to their respective rooms to sleep.

The couple and the fisherman had locked their doors and gone upstairs, and Seo Ji-hyun and Han So-ra also went upstairs, pretending to sleep first.

In the pitch-black living room, where even the moonlight couldn’t reach,

I sat in the center of the room with only the faint light of my phone.

Then, footsteps were heard from the large room on the first floor.

A small sound that you could only hear if you focused.

My heart raced wildly.

Come out… Please…

In the dark night, in the quiet living room, I waited for the strange person to appear.

Although this situation was frightening, I also desperately wanted the strange person to show up.

I felt uneasy, wondering if the strange person might target someone else in the large room on the first floor, not me.

Should I just rush in?

Looking at the map, it was clear that the elderly woman, the child, or the medium-sized dog was one of the targets.

The couple and the fisherman had gone upstairs, but the red dot remained on the first floor.

How much time had passed?

The door to the large room, farthest inside the living room, opened silently.

It didn’t make a sound, but I could tell because I had focused all my attention on that direction.

And from the darkness, a silhouette of someone slowly walked out.

At first, it was hard to see in the dark living room.

But as the shadow moved closer to the center of the room and into the faint light of my phone, I held my breath.

“Oh my… at this late hour…”

Grandmother?

It was the elderly woman.

But she looked completely different from usual.

Her slightly hunched back was now straight as if by magic.

Her posture was so straight and firm that it was hard to believe she was an elderly woman.

And in her hand, one of the missing kitchen knives glinted.

She was no longer the kind, gentle country grandmother.

With her straight back, empty eyes, and the knife in her hand, the elderly woman slowly turned her head and fixed her gaze directly on me, who was standing in the dark.

There was a deadly, murderous gleam in her eyes.

“…!”

A terrifying chill ran through my body, causing every hair to stand on end.

I had anticipated this moment, but facing it in reality, my mind went blank.

However, I couldn’t escape now.

This was the situation I had wanted.

I clenched my teeth.

“…Come here… come…”

The old man—no, a chameleon in the shape of an old man—muttered in a hoarse voice.

The old man adjusted his grip on the kitchen knife and slowly approached me.

I swallowed dryly and stepped back.

Swish!

The creature swung the knife.

The speed was hard to believe for an ordinary old man.

But I could see it all too clearly.

I twisted my waist lightly to avoid the attack.

The blade brushed against my collar, leaving a cold sensation.

Swish! Swish!

The creature swung the knife again and again, continuously attacking after seeing me evade.

I was now barely avoiding the attacks by a hair’s breadth, lifting my fist for a counterattack.

However, I couldn’t strike.

“…?”

The creature’s face was filled with confusion.

It gave me an odd look, as I had evaded its attacks too easily, and I, on the other hand, had to face another kind of dilemma.

‘…I can’t hit it.’

Every time I avoided an attack, there were countless opportunities to counterattack.

One punch from me could end this, just like with the mannequin before, or even easier.

But… the enemy in front of me appeared too much like a “human.”

With wrinkles on its face, gray hair, and, aside from being far too spry for an old man, it looked like an ordinary human.

It was hard to strike with my fist, almost like a weapon, knowing how human this creature appeared.

Noticing my hesitation, the creature swung the knife even more fiercely.

A rough voice, unlike that of an old man, broke out.

It was at that moment.

“…Grandma?”

With a creak, the door opened, and a child’s sleepy voice came through.

The door to the room where the old man and his grandchild had been sleeping opened, and the half-awake grandchild rubbed their eyes and came out into the living room.

It seemed too dark in the living room for the child to notice us yet.

“…!”

Both the creature and I turned our gaze toward the child at the same time.

I thought I saw a strange gleam flicker in the creature’s empty eyes.

‘No way!’

The child was in danger.

I instinctively read the creature’s thoughts.

There was no more time to hesitate.

The creature might attack the child or even take them hostage.

I clenched my teeth tightly.

In an instant, I lowered my stance and dove into the creature’s embrace.

I clenched my fist and aimed for the creature’s solar plexus.

Whoosh!

Thud!

My fist pierced through the creature’s chest without resistance.

There was no sensation of breaking bones or tearing flesh.

It felt more like piercing through wet paper—an unpleasant feeling.

“Ugh…?”

The creature looked down at its chest in disbelief.

I twisted my fist, pulling it out from the creature’s chest.

And at that moment, the old man’s form began to rapidly collapse.

The wrinkles on his face melted away, his body distorted, and soon thick, dark red liquid began to flow from him, pooling on the ground.

The liquid bubbled on the floor for a moment, then evaporated with a hiss, turning black as it burned away.

All that was left in its place were tiny beads.

“…Grandma? Have you seen Grandma?”

By now, the child had come to the living room and asked, looking at me with teary eyes.

I quickly forced a neutral expression and knelt down in front of the child.

“Maybe she just went outside for some fresh air? I’m not sure… It’s late, so go on and get some rest. She’ll be back soon.”

“…Okay…”

I soothed the child with the gentlest voice I could muster.

Though the child still looked uncertain, they nodded at my words and went back into the room.

I watched the child’s back with a somewhat bitter expression.

The living room was again filled with silence.

Only a faint stain remained on the floor where the creature had melted away.

Silence.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, a sound came from below, and I looked down to see a dog approaching, rubbing its head against my leg.

With its hind legs, it seemed to be scratching at the spot where the creature had died, leaving a faint trace.

Then, it trotted off toward the large room where the child had gone.

Now that I thought about it, the reason the creature didn’t target the child might have been because of the dog.

After all, it had always been between the child and the old man.

“…The creature has been dealt with.”

I reported the completion of the mission to my team.