episode_0026

It was clear that I would not have a second chance since I had made my sister angry, and I thought it would be reckless to blindly search for the body in this situation where there was no means of escape.

But since I had no choice, I just kept running and running. Of all the rooms I had passed so far, when I thought about where the body could be hidden, I could only think of one place.

If Sohye hadn’t lied to me, the structure of this hanok would have changed every hour, but I had no choice but to run because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to return to that place even if I searched for my way in the normal way for the rest of my life.

But in the end, this was nothing more than a random way to open a room, so the chances of getting into the room you wanted were infinitely low.

If I can’t find that place… should I struggle as hard as I can and calmly accept my fate?

A door was visible at the end of the floor. But strangely enough, it was a door made of wood, not a window door like before.

Although I hesitated for a moment, I opened the door. When I opened the door and went inside, I saw an empty room with nothing in it.

There was literally nothing and no exit, so I turned around to go back to the entrance I came from. But the entrance I came through also disappeared.

Could it be that the structural change took place as soon as I entered the room? I was embarrassed and tried to touch the wall where the entrance I had come from was, but all I could feel was a smooth wall.

I almost fell into despair, but it was too early to give up. My sister might not be able to enter this room until the structure changes again, and there might be a way to escape.

…No, in times like this, let’s take a look at the notebook. Whether at the hospital or in this hanok, he was the most reliable ally when I arrived in a new place or faced a dangerous situation.

I put on the pants I had brought with me and took out my notebook. I had the belief that the notebook would definitely be helpful to me.

1. Are you human?

However, all the contents of the notebook had disappeared and only one line was written. I looked through all the pages to see if there was content written on other pages, but that was all I found.

I was very embarrassed, but somehow I felt like the notebook was waiting for an answer. If you talk to your notebook, everyone will think you’re crazy…

“It’s a person.”

My voice floated through the empty room and soon disappeared. And after a while, the sentences written in the notebook slowly began to change.

2. Do you trust others?

When I saw the change in the sentence, I was convinced that the notebook wanted to talk to me. The notebook only conveyed information to me in a one-way manner, but why does it suddenly want to talk like this?

“I believe it.”

In my life, I have seen many people, fundamentally evil people, and people suffering from lies. But wouldn’t there be anything sadder than that if you couldn’t trust anyone but yourself in this world? This is a world where good people definitely exist.

3. Do you think the world is equal?

“…No.”

I remembered what happened at the hospital. If the world were equal, would Hayun’s mother and Arin have had to suffer so much? I think I lived a relatively smooth life, but the world was still unfair.

4. Do you consider yourself good?

“No.”

Ultimately, thinking that I want to save someone is my own self-satisfaction. It’s because I don’t feel comfortable leaving those people alone, and I can’t just watch them quietly. If this were good, it could be said to be good, but at least I didn’t think so.

5. If you could persevere and save others even if you were in pain, would you save them?

“Yes.”

I did not hesitate to give this answer. Even if my body hurts and my heart burns, if I can be a salvation to someone, that will be an accomplishment beyond suffering.

With my last answer, the room started to darken. I was surprised by the sudden change, but for some reason, the darkness made me feel at ease.

And when the room became bright again, I was standing in the room with the altar and Buddha statue that I had fled from the room where I first found my sister’s diary.

“Buddha…”

A wooden Buddha statue appeared right in front of my eyes. Instinctively, I felt that Buddha had taken me out of that room. I wanted to express my gratitude, but I was embarrassed because I couldn’t give the boat I was holding.

I searched in the corner of the room to see if there was anything nearby that could be of help, and a well-sharpened kitchen knife caught my eye.

I wondered why something like this was here, but I was happy because it was something I needed right now.

The pear was cut in half and the half was placed in front of the Buddha’s altar. After bowing down and thanking the Buddha, I held the half of the pear in my hand and turned around to leave the room.

Now that I had cut off my stomach, I had no more time. Still, for some reason, I felt like the room I was aiming for was close, so I didn’t feel impatient.

When I opened the window door and left the room where the Buddha was, I saw a dark floor. It looked very similar to the floor I had passed, so I was happy and again thanked the Buddha in my heart.

When I passed the floor and reached the end, I saw a window fingerprint. As I opened the door and entered, the room where I found my sister and her diary finally appeared before my eyes.

Without any hesitation, I went to the same place where my sister kept looking for the same place. I checked the gap between the dresser and the floor. It was dark so I couldn’t see it clearly, but I definitely saw something that looked like a box.

Setting the boat down next to me, I stretched out my hand as much as I could and put it into the gap. Fortunately, my hands are small, so it went in easily and I was able to take the box out safely.

I carefully picked up the old box and inspected it with my own eyes. The box, tightly tied with gold string, gave off an ominous aura, so it seemed certain that it was the box I was aiming for.

“Sihyeon. Did you find what you wanted?”

Just then, I heard Sohye’s voice behind me. I quickly turned my head to check, and Sohye, who I had seen for the first time, caught my eye.

“To the cute naughty boy, I will make you feel what I went through.”

My sister tapped my forehead – lightly touching it with her fingertip. My vision darkened for a moment, and then I felt like the sky had brightened.

When I raised my head and looked at the sky, I saw a round blue sky. A moment later, a beautiful woman’s face appeared, blocking the sky.

“Forgive me…Please forgive me…”

The sky was slowly getting narrower. When the face of the woman with the creepy smile disappeared completely, I was enveloped in pitch black darkness.

“Mom, are you coming soon…?”

My mouth spoke against my will. No, that person said it was my mother and that she would be back in a few days. You forgot something so important…

“My mother said she would come get me when I wake up after seven nights, so let’s be patient. Just be patient, Sohye.”

When my mother comes back, I will eat a lot of delicious food with my younger brother and there will be no lamenting that my mother is not around, so the whole family will be able to live happily. It’s okay if it’s just a little difficult for me.

“Mother, when will you come…”

What night is it today? I don’t know when day passes and night passes here, so I don’t know when my mother will return. But since you haven’t come to get me yet, seven nights won’t have passed.

Oh, I’m hungry…I hope my mother comes quickly.

I’m so thirsty. I want to quench my thirst, but I have nothing to drink. I’m so hungry that I want to rip off my own flesh and eat it, but if I hold on just a little longer, will my mother come?

Will I die like this? Mom, I’m sorry I couldn’t last seven nights. Sorry… Ah, I think I smell meat somewhere…

“Aaaah!!!”

With a sharp pain in my hand, I returned to my original room. I was so hungry that it hurt, and my throat was so dry that it felt like it was on fire. I wanted to drink water quickly, but I looked around and there was no water, so I continued to suffer.

“Are you distressed, Sihyeon? I wanted to show you a more painful experience, but I held back here. You showed me that woman’s photo – I can’t forgive you for that.”

As I raised my head, struggling in pain, my sister began to transform back into the evil spirit I had last seen. Strange Chinese characters were engraved on her clean naked body again, and her beautiful face became strange.

“I will live with you for the rest of my life. Let us share the pain together, go through the pain, and share love forever in this narrow space. Then we can be happy with each other.”

My sister’s hand began to move towards my neck. A terrible hunger and thirst still tormented me, but right now, at this moment, that was not the point.

I slammed my hand down with all my strength and broke the box. The old box broke easily even with my strength – its contents came out.

“Huh?”

My sister’s gaze moved to the box. The contents of the box were white powder and a child’s twisted wrist. Most of the powder ended up on my hand, but I held the remaining wrist carefully.

“Sister, now you…are free…”

I showed my wrist to my sister. My sister seemed embarrassed and couldn’t do anything, just put her hand out towards her neck and stayed still, so I placed my wrist on top of her hand.

And I picked up the pear that was sitting next to me. Although I was overcome with a crazy desire to eat, I persevered. Because this is not for me.

” I wanted to give this belly to my older sister because I thought she would be full even if she ate it then..”

My throat hurt so much that every word I spoke was filled with pain, but I continued to speak. I didn’t know if what I did was really freeing my sister or if it was the right thing to do.

But I never wanted to burn my sister’s body, and if I did, it was the last thing I could think of…

“You…”

As my vision grew darker, I saw my sister’s face. Her face had returned to the pretty and wonderful older sister I knew.

thank god…

“Why are they so…different…”

I felt a soft touch on my lips. It felt like a stream of hot water was flowing down my cheek. At the same time, I finally stopped feeling the extreme hunger and thirst that had been bothering me.

I searched, I searched, I searched, I searched, I searched, I searched

Something big grabbed my leg. At the same time, my vision began to move rapidly and I realized that something was dragging me.

I finally found it.

When I turned my body as far as I could and looked behind me, the thing that had eaten the man had lost one of its arms and was pulling me with its remaining arm and moving somewhere.