Chapter 29: The rescue

Click, click, click

“……….”

I had to get out. I had to. Now. Escape.

“…..”

Thump-thump-thump

I was losing my mind. My body… Days blurred together, an endless cycle of… of that. Dozens of times a day, for hours on end. I couldn’t breathe, my nerves frayed, my body on the verge of collapse, but she wouldn’t stop. Hyeji.

She whispered sweet nothings in my ear, keeping me tethered to consciousness.

Words of love. But it wasn’t love. Not this. I had to get out. Please, let me out.

“Hngh…!”

Hyea… Hyea… I missed her. So much. What time was it? Would she come back?

“…I have to… escape…”

I was dying. I couldn’t… I couldn’t take this anymore. I wanted to live. What time was it? I didn’t even have a watch.

Click

“Eek…!”

The door opened.

“…Aww, my little puppy… Were you waiting for me~? You seem… energetic today~.”
“……..”

I’d been huddled by the door, listening for footsteps, but she’d approached silently. I looked up at Hyeji, my body trembling.

“… “

She was holding a knife.

“You’ve been so listless lately. I’m glad you’re feeling better~ Aren’t you~?”

Step, step

She walked towards me. I backed away, my eyes fixed on the blade. Where would she…? Did she know? Did she know I was trying to escape?

“Why are you so scared, Semin? You used to glare at me like I was… a bug…”
“……..”

My body trembled. I climbed onto the bed, crawling backwards as she approached. What was she going to do? The things she’d done to me, the positions, the… things she’d used… The drugs, the concoctions she brewed, appearing out of nowhere… she’d even talked about creating a drug that would… change me… permanently. How could I not be terrified? And the knife…

“…You weren’t trying to escape while I was at work, were you? Banging on the door… trying to break the handle…?”
“…Hic…”

The knife moved closer to my face. Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn’t close my jaw, my mind racing.

“…S-sorry…”

The pathetic whimper escaped my lips, my gaze locked on hers. A desperate plea for mercy. I wanted to live. I had to get out. My friends, my colleagues… they’d be looking for me. The police would find me, eventually.

Slide

“Hngh…!”

The blade grazed my ear.

“…Heehee…”
“Hngh…!”

Snip

She started cutting my hair.

“Why are you so scared~? I’m just… giving you a haircut~ Your hair’s a mess~”
“Ah… Ah…”

My arms gave out. I started to fall, but…

Slide

“Sleepy?”
“…Mm…”

…she caught me, her arms wrapping around me. She placed the knife on a shelf.

“…Don’t… run away… ever…”
“……..”

She whispered in my ear, her lips brushing against it.

“…You don’t want to go back… to that room… do you…?”
“……..”

Every time she mentioned the room, my body convulsed. She smiled, a look of pure… satisfaction on her face.

“Heehee… That’s right, Semin… You’re mine… No one… no one will ever find you…”
“…Uh…?”

She continued,

“They found a body~ Washed up on the shore… A perfect replica… laced with your scent… I collected it over weeks… See~? I didn’t kill you~ Did I do well~?”
“……..”

I froze.

“Heehee… Your colleagues… well, your former colleagues… their faces were priceless…! I wanted to laugh… but I couldn’t… I didn’t want to give you away…”

She moved closer, her body pressing against mine, forcing me back onto the bed.

“…Ah…”

I…

“…Just look at me, Semin. You’re not going anywhere…”
“……”

I gave up.

An endless cycle of r*pe. A living hell. Despair consumed me.

“…Semin… Haa… the drug… it’s almost ready… Just… clinical trials… and then… I can give you… unimaginable pleasure… Semin…”
“……..”

My eyes were empty, my face devoid of emotion. My body, no longer under my control, twitched and convulsed with each wave of forced pleasure. I’d given up. It didn’t matter anymore. Whether she came to me with a… or not… it didn’t matter.

“… “

I was her toy, destined to break in this prison.

“………..”

I envied the painted cactus on the wall, its image of a window a cruel joke. Why was I staring at it? I didn’t know. It was better than listening to her voice.

“I love you… I love you, I love you, I love you…”
“…Ugh…”

Her words were madness.

Click

Hyeji had started going to work again. At first, she’d stayed with me, constantly.

“… “

I lay on the bed, listless, and then I saw it.

“… “

The knife.

“…..…”

She’d forgotten it. The genius Hyeji. She’d actually forgotten.

“……..”

This was my chance. A gift from the gods. With this blade…

“…Haa…”.

…I could escape. Finally.

“……….”

I held the knife above me, the cold steel against my throat. A prayer.

I…

“……”

Now…

“……..”

Tremble

Now…

“……..”

Now…

Stab

“……..”

I can’t.

“……”

I…

“…Ah…”

I can’t… kill myself.

“……”

Nothing. I couldn’t do anything anymore. Not on my own.

“… “

The knife wouldn’t even pierce deep enough. Hyeji would find me, alive, and then…

“…Ah…”

No, please, no, not again…

And so…

Click

“……..”

…I waited…

“…Let’s go…!”
“………..”

…to die.

*****

A small, barren island.

The stars had guided me here. I flew, a ghost, across the water, no need to swim. But even standing on the shore, away from the crashing waves, I could see nothing. Just…

“……”

…a scent. The salty tang of the sea, mingled with… the scent of my child’s soul. And another… a corrupted soul… a monster.

“…Where are you…?”

The monstrous child wasn’t here. But the scent… it lingered. I looked down.

“……..”

Faint lights flickered beneath the waves. Souls. Protecting something. Not just Semin.

“…There you are.”

I examined the seabed. Rocks, mostly. But then I saw it. A metal plate, camouflaged against the rocks.

Clang, screech

“……”

I pushed it open. A ladder, leading down into a corridor.

Thump

“…..”

I solidified, climbed down, and closed the hatch behind me.

“…Time to… stretch my legs.”

I extended my claws. I would kill them all.

“……”

But I couldn’t. Not yet.

Tap, tap

They were armed, patrolling in pairs, in groups of three. I couldn’t risk alerting them. Not while Semin was here.

“… “

I turned into a ghost again, searching, but…

“…Where are you…?”

…she wasn’t here. Nowhere. The corridor stretched endlessly, intersecting at right angles, descending deeper and deeper. I searched every room, every corner, but she wasn’t there.

“…The scent…”

It was fading. The light… dimming. I was so close. I couldn’t give up. Not now. I had to save her. To apologize.

“……”

I had to act.

Grab

“…Where is Semin…!”
“Ugh…! Who…!”

I grabbed the nearest guard, dragging it into a room.

“Where is she…!”

Stab

I plunged my claws into its thigh, severing an artery.

“Agh…! I don’t know! I just… I’m just paid to…!”
“…Useless.”

It wasn’t talking.

“…..…”

I saw a piece of paper on a table. A blueprint.

“…Blueprints…?”

Of this place.

“…Wait…”

And then I saw it. Something I’d missed.

“……”

There was more to this place than just this corridor. A hidden room, behind a false wall at the end of the corridor. A larger space.

“…You lied.”
“Ugh…”

I looked at the guard, bleeding on the floor.

I ripped its heart out and walked away.

“……”

I’d tried to resist the curse. When I left her, I’d thought I could stop killing. I’d believed it was possible.

“…”

Stab

But it was a delusion. A fool’s hope.

“What the—! Intruder!”

Resisting the curse meant defying fate, rejecting my purpose, choosing a different path. Was that even possible?

“……”

Not for me.

Stab, rat-a-tat-tat

I didn’t know how. I was just flailing, a desperate ghost, clinging to a fool’s hope.

“… “

But not anymore.

“…I…”

Defying the gods once didn’t mean I couldn’t defy them again.

“…I reject your will… before I am even reborn…”

I rebelled against the gods, against the curse they’d placed upon me.

“…I will kill… by my own will… And one day… I will turn my claws on you… you selfish god…”

Stab, stab

They weren’t wrong, but I wouldn’t follow a god who offered choices disguised as commands, demanding respect while inflicting suffering.

“…I will have my revenge…”

I killed them all. Every last one standing between me and Semin.

“… “

To protect her. My child.

I found the hidden door, opened it, and entered the larger space, searching every room.

“…Semin…”

And then I saw her.

“Semin…!”

Tap, tap, tap

Her soul, so faint, but flickering, fighting to stay alight. She’d given up, but she was still… waiting. For someone.

For me.

Crash

I broke down the door.

“……”
“…Ah…”

Our eyes met. And I said it.

“Let’s go…!”

A surge of emotion, overwhelming, as I pulled her into my arms.