episode_0012

Usually, even if he begged them to go faster, they wouldn’t listen, but when he asked them to go slower, Usher sighed as he watched the sun setting rapidly. During the Mascapir festival, simple food, herbs, and wooden carvings are sold during the day. Listening to outsiders passing by, it seemed that aside from wearing masks, it wasn’t much different from other village festivals. Still, it seems that you can find herbs and precious trees rarely seen outside the village here.

However, Usher couldn’t understand what was so special about that. Most of those things that are hard to distinguish from weeds are just things you stumble upon while walking through the forest; trees are everywhere. Despite that, seeing the people flocking here like this, he thought Mascapir’s special something must be in the night. In fact, including him, none of the children knew what they did on the nights of the Mascapir festival. It’s a lie if Usher says he’s not curious about what happens at night. But if there’s a reason he doesn’t want to go, it’s because…

“Usher, it’s time.”

“Haah, alright.”

It’s because of the girl beside him. He didn’t mind Belca participating in the festival. It was the villagers that were the problem. He had brought her to the village after the incident with the zelkova tree, but he was still worried about people discovering the girl’s presence. However, he was also annoyed that because of them, Belca couldn’t enjoy the festival with him. Nevertheless, the reason he could even consider bringing Belca out this time was, coincidentally, due to the village rules he hated, or rather, the rules of Mascapir.

The women’s mask concealed the golden hue of the girl’s hair, and the accompanying opaque veil hid her flower-like red cheeks. The flowing clothes emphasized Belca’s slender figure rather than concealing it, but it didn’t look bad. Usher didn’t particularly want to bring her, but since he had to participate in the festival, leaving the girl alone made him uneasy. So, he decided to bring her along.

“You have to stay right next to me.”

“Yes.”

“You absolutely cannot leave my side.”

“Yes.”

Though he didn’t think Belca would disobey, her somewhat reckless nature made him anxious and he couldn’t calm his worries, so he repeatedly warned her.

“Really, no matter what happens…”

“Usher.”

At that moment, the girl reached out and took his hand.

“Does this make you feel better?”

“Th-that… yes.”

Feeling the soft touch in his hand, Usher nodded blankly. Holding hands would definitely prevent them from getting separated, but he couldn’t help the heat rising to his ears. Thus, hand-in-hand with Belca, they walked towards the village. The area around his house was unusually quiet, making it hard to believe it was the same village where the festival was taking place. He always felt uncomfortable with this long distance, where even the festive atmosphere of the village felt hard to sense. It took a long time to get to the village and it was lonely.

Suddenly, the same old countryside scenery flashed before his eyes. Lush crops, still not yet ready for harvest, filled the fields, and in the middle stood a solitary scarecrow in worn-out clothes, standing resolutely in place of a human. The lingering warmth of the sun remained even after sunset. Why did even that tedious scenery feel pleasant because he was walking with the girl? Just as he thought he could stay there forever with the girl in that quiet atmosphere…

-Thump thump thump thump!

As if on cue, the festive sounds of the village rushed towards them. Usher thought he truly had nothing in common with this village and looked at Belca.

“Did you put on your mask properly? Don’t take it off even if it’s stuffy.”

Only after he carefully checked the girl’s attire could they enter the area where Mascapir was held. A huge thumping sound came from somewhere, as if a large drum was being beaten, punctuated by the murmur of the crowd. He had seen the festival several times during the day, but the night festival had a completely different atmosphere. Perhaps it was because of the lanterns subtly illuminating the village, rather than large, bright bonfires.

Rows upon rows of lanterns, prepared he knew not when, hung, illuminating the night village in colorful hues depending on the color of the paper they were made of. They weren’t as bright as torches, but the lanterns didn’t overly illuminate their surroundings and created a mysterious ambiance. The constant sound of the large drum and the excited voices of the festivalgoers lingered in his ears longer than during the day. Even the delicious smell of food tickled his nose. He hadn’t expected much from the festival, yet seeing it in person made his heart pound.

It felt like he was at a completely different festival, merely changed in atmosphere. Even at night, the men wore masks and wandered through the festival, and the women also wore masks, veils, and clothes that covered their bodies. A festival where no one revealed their faces. That sight further fueled the mysterious feeling. He walked through the crowded street with the girl, their hands still clasped together.

Mascapir was an annual village festival, and Usher knew almost everything that happened in the village during the festival. At least during the day, the children could enjoy the festival and play normally. Of course, after experiencing the festival once or twice, if it’s always the same, you’ll get bored. But this time was different. It was full of things different from what he knew. He was now at the secret night festival, where adults were usually not allowed, with his secret friend.

“Belca, is there anything you want to do?”

The special time, the special place, and the special friend – nothing was ordinary. Even the festival stalls, which he normally would have ignored, seemed special. As he was busy looking around the festival, the girl watched him silently, her mask concealing even the light in her eyes. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but he couldn’t deny that her gaze was full of goodwill. It was easy to tell, just by listening to the girl’s voice coming from behind her mask.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know much about this. Teach me, Usher.”

“You don’t need to apologize, but sure!”

Knowing that Belca readily taught him anything he asked, he wondered if this small girl really knew everything in the world. But when this girl asked him for instruction, the reversal of their usual roles and the resulting dissonance brought forth a strange thrill that excited him even more; Usher readily volunteered to be her guide. As he walked through the masked people, unable to calm his excitement, guiding Belca to the various stalls…

“Are you curious about that?”

First, his gaze fell on a stall that was remarkably empty considering the crowds, even for a country festival. Even though Usher had come to the festival during the day, he had never seen this stall before. Curiosity pricked him, and as he approached, he saw a masked owner snoring peacefully, proving the lack of customers. Around him, inks and pigments of unknown purpose lay scattered.

“Excuse me! Aren’t you open?!”

He wasn’t sure why the girl was looking at this place, but she shouted to wake the sleeping man, who woke with a start. Usher became even more curious about what this place was, but then the man spoke, and he realized something.

“Eh?! What brings you to such a place… no, aren’t you that young man I saw earlier today?”

It turned out to be the owner of the stall where he bought Belca’s mask and clothes earlier that day. And surely enough, his gaze turned to the girl with Usher. And then, those unpleasant words followed.

“Heh heh, it’s just my shift, and I was so bored. Did you come to introduce someone? She looks smaller than I thought. This is… this is…”

Even through the mask, the man’s gaze and words were laced with blatant lust, causing Belca to flinch.

“Keh, so she is shy, is she? She looks… quite… delectable.”

“Mind your own business!”

Usher didn’t understand what he meant, but he knew it wasn’t good. Especially the way he looked over the girl’s body chilled him. When Usher protectively placed Belca behind him, the man chuckled. His initially excited mood now turned cold. Truly, he hated this village.

“So, it seems you aren’t here to introduce a lady. What do you want?”

Usher wanted to turn around and leave immediately, but Belca’s curiosity towards this place was more important. Since he seemed to be on duty and it didn’t seem like he chose it, even though the place wasn’t doing so well, her curiosity remained legitimate.

“What does this place do that it has no customers?”

He ignored the rising disgust and asked about the stall’s business. The man seemed deflated, making it clear how bored and annoyed he was to be here.

“It’s just a mask-decorating stall.”

“Masks?”

Thinking back, the men’s masks were too plain. Even if unadorned, the women’s masks, like the one Belca wore, had some sort of design engraved on them. Male masks didn’t even have that. Considering that, decorating masks didn’t seem strange, but the lack of customers was odd.

“It’s perfectly normal to have no customers. In this kind of festival, who would want to choose a partner?”

What on earth did decorating masks have to do with choosing a partner? Before Usher could voice his question, the man continued.

“Anyway, because of the rules, we can’t close it. So they assign people shifts and, of course, I’m stuck doing this.”

He grumbled about how there were no customers, so it was merely a loss, when he felt a tugging at his sleeve. It was the girl who came with him.

“Do you want to?”

Just in case, he asked, and the girl quietly nodded. Without further thought, Usher asked the man.

“How much is it?”

“Huh?”

The man looked at him as if he had heard something unbelievable.

“How much is it?”

“You really want to do it?”

He looked at them as if he was watching something unbelievable, then said,

“Well, since you’re doing it I won’t stop you, but it’s three cheon per mask; six cheon for both, but give me five cheon.”

Five cheon wasn’t too outrageous but also wasn’t a small amount either. Usher had earned fifteen cheon when he helped a woodcutter, but usually, he only received one or two for errands. Noticing his hesitation, Belca tugged at his sleeve again, whispering,

“It’s okay if it’s too much of a burden.”

She whispered so that only he could hear it, and attempted to walk away. He caught her.

“No, it’s not that serious.”

He’d been saving as much as he could with the goal of leaving the village, so while he was trying to be economical, he didn’t need to be so frugal. Spending about twenty cheon wouldn’t hurt. He handed the man five cheon.

“So, how do you usually decorate them?”

“Rather than decorate, it means leaving them untouched since they supposedly have partners; you usually just draw the same simple design on each one.”

They had five cheon for this… he felt resentful, but since that was the meaning, Usher quietly accepted the black ink and the feather of an unknown bird. The ink smelled faint but sweet, like it was made from sap.

“What design do you want?”

To his question, the girl took his hand and moved his index finger from top to bottom and from the right to the left side of his palm. The slight touch tickled, but he understood the design she wanted. First, the girl held the quill and placed the ink-dipped tip to his mask. Belca drew carefully, as if worried she would hurt him, even though it was a simple design. He wished he could see her face without the mask obscuring her expression.

Next, it was his turn. He drew the same design she showed him on her forehead on her mask. The quill scratch against the wooden mask in a raspy sound. She moved so smoothly, without sound. His strokes, were scratchy against the untreated wood of the mask. She didn’t seem to mind, but he was careful.

The mask was hard and smooth, making detailed designs difficult with the quill, and yet the ink seemed good quality; soon it dried, as if it were a design naturally on the mask. He thought it might be made with resin rather than simple sap. He’d heard that ink made with resin is expensive. He wondered about using it in this place, but the mask wouldn’t have been painted otherwise.

“Tch, to think someone would actually come for this.”

He licked his lips, seeming to regret the ink as they finished. They were leaving when he gestured to Usher. Curious, he looked.

“You seem to cherish that girl a lot, so be careful. There are some… individuals… who prefer women who already have partners.”

Such an unpleasant man. The night festival, which he then walked around with Belca, was painted with various colors. The atmosphere initially captivated him with its mystery, but now, after hearing him, he felt creeped out. How many things was this village hiding? Something was amiss with this festival. The rules stipulated that men were only allowed to wear masks during the day, yet everyone was wearing masks without much concern. Were these the same people who were so strict with the rules?

Perhaps because of the crowds, the girl became quiet. Even after wandering around the village for some time, he couldn’t find anyone scolding others for breaking the rules like before. Everyone wore masks and wandered freely through the night streets. Those adults who would react so harshly to any rule violation seemed hidden behind white masks. He couldn’t understand what was going on. Why were the adults so strict about the rules if this was the case?

The festival showed no differences from the daytime other than the masks. Except for the atmosphere created by the lanterns, it was the same as during the day. Then why did one have to mandatorily participate in this festival for their first time? As Usher’s doubts about this festival grew… a strange sound caught his attention.

“What was that?”

Thump thump! Amidst the town shaking drums, he heard a different sound. The sound was akin to a beast’s snarl, yet different. It was stickier and unpleasant, a sound of one-sided lustful demands. Although it was his first time hearing such a noise, the strange sound was firmly imprinted in his ears in the extremely brief gap between the drumbeats. He listened closely as the sound echoed around him. As he stopped walking, the girl, holding his hand, gave him a puzzled look, but his ears continued to follow that faint sound.

He couldn’t shake off his curiosity about where the sound came from, who the source was, and what caused the sound, and he stood still in the middle of the road, following the trail the sound had left behind. People occasionally looked at them strangely as they passed, but no one bothered them. And once again, during a pause in the drumbeats…

“~!”

The sound grew clear, clearly coming from the darkened alley. Wanting to find the source, he peered into the alley. It was narrow, barely wide enough for two adults, but sufficient for him and the girl. The light of the lanterns couldn’t even reach the depths of the alley, it was dark, and there was nothing there. He thought his ears had been tricked, but…

“Haaah!”

As if refuting his thoughts, a shrill scream pierced the night. While it sounded like a scream, it was different. If it had been a scream, there wouldn’t be that sticky and swampy pleasure deeply entwined with it. The sound originated from another intersecting path where the light of a lantern could be seen. The girl fiddled with their intertwined hands nervously, and Usher felt an involuntary pull towards the deeper parts of the alley and peered beyond the darkness beyond.

What his eyes witnessed is a scene of pure pandemonium.