Chapter 24: Doki Doki literary club

A quiet yet razor-sharp silence descended.

The cool breeze felt unusually cold now.

Under the yellow streetlight, Seon-a’s wide eyes were fixed on me.

Blood dripped from the hem of her blazer.

Even standing still, she swayed, so stained in red that it was hard to recognize her.

“Ah… Hi.”

Seon-a’s blood-red lips curved into a beautiful arc. Pushing that image to the back of my mind, I forced a smile.

“W-What is this? Isn’t this prank a bit too much?”

Still sitting on the ground, I scooted backward, using my hands.

I knew I looked pathetic, but I was too weak to stand. No matter how gruesome the sight, it was just a prank, right? Why?

The scattered pieces of meat and the pervasive smell of blood were grotesquely overwhelming, but they were just props.

Just an overly elaborate prank. I barely managed to hold onto my trembling lips and maintain a smile.

I looked at Seon-a’s face. Her usual bright smile was what gave me a sliver of reassurance.

But the next moment came a cruel proclamation.

“Prank? You still believe that? How pitiful. I didn’t plan to reveal it here, but if that’s the case, I’ll show you reality.”

Seon-a’s lips stretched into a grin that seemed to tear at the corners of her mouth.

Her beautifully colored eyes glinted menacingly, and her neat face contorted into a grotesque mess.

After a short but intense transformation, it was less human and more monster. Just by a slight change in expression and atmosphere.

A face I spoke to familiarly.

A face I had laughed with today, yet the trembling wouldn’t stop.

Her appearance, her aura, her smell—so unlike her usual self that not even a small moan could escape me.

My heart had broken down, and my breathing grew shallow.

Again, I crawled backward, ignoring the scraping of my skin.

She giggled like an innocent child, as if amused by my pathetic state.

Then, she roughly rummaged through the pool of blood with her bare hands.

Red stains spread in the narrow alley.

With an agitated gesture, thick drops of blood scattered everywhere. Soon, as if she had found what she was looking for, she smiled brightly and turned towards me.

“Found it.”

She smiled. A clear, girlish laugh echoed, and her cat-like eyes curved slyly, like a seductress.

In Seon-a’s hand, as she looked back at me still unable to stand, was a familiar face—no, a head.

Its jet-black hair, as if it had absorbed the night sky, looked even blacker now, having soaked up a copious amount of red liquid.

I recognized it without needing a closer look.

A beauty that was alluring despite being male, but now horrifically contorted as if screaming.

The front of the face was also spattered with red, but I recognized it instantly.

Of course.

No matter how strangely contorted it was, no matter how foolish I might be, there was no way I wouldn’t recognize it.

The person I had promised to meet at this very time and place.

“Well? Familiar face, right? Hmm? Seen it somewhere before? …I’m not usually the type to keep these things, but I left this one intact just to show you later. What rotten luck, to end up showing it to you right here, right now.”

“But since I’m revealing my identity, I should say, ‘Ta-da!’ right? The identity of the serial killer who’s been making headlines is such a delicate girl. A bit cliché, but still a thrilling development, don’t you think?”

“…Uweeegh!”

My stomach churned, and my vision blurred. Bile began to boil.

So I reflexively vomited. The revulsion I had been suppressing surged up my esophagus.

My throat felt clogged, and I choked for a long time, clutching my nauseous chest.

I lifted my head and looked ahead. She was staring at me with a smile so bright it was hard to believe she was the one who had created this gruesome hell.

At the same time, an eerie chill ran down my spine.

I swallowed the bitter bile and barely managed to move my stiff tongue.

“S-Stop it… This prank is too much. And a murderer? Don’t say things like that, even as a joke…”

“I couldn’t believe it, but you’re still denying it? How foolish. Still cute, though.”

The head in her hand dangled like a bell.

With its movement, the mouth opened and closed, a discolored blue tongue lolling out. She playfully pulled on the tongue.

“Stop talking such nonsense! …E-Even if that’s true, wh-why… why are you doing things like this!”

“Why, you ask? I’m the one who wants to ask, why such a cheap question? Does a person really need a reason to kill another person?

I just kill because it feels good.

That being said, this guy was a bit special.

Because he’d been getting on my nerves for a while. He was annoying—so I killed him.”

Her reply was so clear that I couldn’t utter a word.

Not just my mouth, but my mind froze too.

For a moment, I absentmindedly thought, ‘I see, so that’s what it was,’ and accepted it.

Is this really reality? Is this garbage-like thing the truth?

My head spun.

I felt like I was going to vomit again. I couldn’t even tell if this was a dream or reality.

No, I wished all of this was just a prank.

If she would smile brightly as usual and say the prank went too far, that it was all just to tease me, then I’d be angry, but not like this, not like this…

I clung to the last shred of hope that hadn’t disappeared yet.

Because otherwise, there was no way I could endure this reality. Whatever it was, it was already a futile act.

Hope, which was nothing more than predetermined despair, finally shattered with the twisted smile she wore.

“Well? Your first impression of my hobby?”

“…Get lost! Just get lost!!”

Drifting madness, the thick concentration of death, it was driving me insane.

Half-mad, I screamed and shrieked. She too, hadn’t anticipated such a violent reaction, as her large eyes widened like a rabbit’s.

“Weren’t we friends? You shouldn’t say such harsh things to a friend, Sia.”

“If I had known you were like that, I wouldn’t have become friends with you in the first place! Enough, just get lost, you f*cker!”

I strained my voice as much as I could, but it was no use.

Instead, the distance between us slowly closed.

I tried to get up to escape somehow, but my legs, already weak, could only manage to stand. My legs wobbled unsteadily, as if drunk.

“I was happy thinking you finally noticed, but if that’s the case, I have no choice.”

She said in a calm tone. At the same time, a white flash glinted before my eyes.

“_!!”

The next moment, something sharp pierced my forearm and lodged in my bone.

I couldn’t even process the simple act of her throwing something.

Thus, recognition was delayed, and pain was swift.

Blood gushed from the torn wound.

I looked down and saw that what had torn my flesh was an ordinary kitchen knife.

The moment I realized that, an animalistic scream tore from my lips.

Perhaps it had hit a twitching artery, as blood spurted like a fountain, and my mind went blank.

For some reason, my head felt numb.

My legs completely gave out, and I slid down, leaning against the alley wall.

Through my blurred vision, I could see her approaching, step by step.

A new kitchen knife was clutched in her hand.

“Not friends? I’ll kill you. If you say that one more time, no matter who you are, I’ll really kill you.”

Whether from pain or fear, tears pathetically streamed down my face.

I couldn’t bring myself to face her approaching face and closed my eyes.

Then, a quiet darkness came, and the sound of footsteps grew louder.

But soon, even those footsteps stopped.

Then, the presence of a person right in front of me, breath tickling my sweat-beaded forehead. I shuddered.

“Hey, we’re friends, right? We’re friends, aren’t we? Huh?”

“T-There’s no way. Who would be with someone like you…”

Where did the courage for that denial come from? My body was on the verge of collapsing, and my mind was consumed by fear, yet even as my vision blurred, my tongue moved defiantly.

As soon as those words ended, I heard a click of the tongue… Ah, this time I could clearly feel it.

The sound of wind cutting through the air, it was definitely aiming for my other arm.

The clock inside my body ticked loudly.

The tolling bell that signaled the end made a grand sound. And so, the critical line of my life was approaching, calmly yet clearly.

The verdict, probably death.

“Keoheok!”

The anomaly occurred at that moment.

The sound of something being swung, followed by a dull thud.

When a pain-filled scream finally hit my ears, I managed to open my eyes and could see a small back standing tall in front of me.

“Who are you to kill anyone as you please? You disgusting trash.”