episode_0043

‘I want to run away from this place.’

Eunha thought about this as she waved at the ‘things’ looking down at her from the apartment window.

In the past month, Saetbyeol Apartments has experienced big and small changes.

In a small way, the security guard has changed.

In general, the 9-story apartment was expanded to the 10th floor.

And, it seems like ‘new tenants’ have moved into the apartment.

There were many people moving, but I never saw anyone move into Saetbyul Apartment.

Maybe Eunha is the only proper human in this apartment.

I looked up at the brightly lit apartment and let out a helpless sigh.

A pitch-black human silhouette with no visible features… reminiscent of a shadow fluttering in candlelight.

Not human. If you look closely, you can see silhouettes where the body is strangely twisted and the limbs are of uneven length.

[Silhouette] was looking down on her from the 1st to the 10th floor… most of the houses except Eunha’s house.

My body trembles from their creepy gaze.

“Whew… yes. Because good things are good…”

Eunha grasped her slightly trembling fingers with the other hand and tried to think of happy thoughts.

okay. Think differently.

How much effort did those [Silhouettes] put into creating this one scene?

They must have created a group chat room, adjusted each other’s schedules, made schedules, and even rehearsed without Eunha’s knowledge…

There is a lot of effort going on inside that creepy [silhouette].

When I think about it that way, I feel like the fear I felt until now has eased a little.

How long did I look up at the [silhouettes] like that?

“You shouldn’t look up too much.”

“Huh…!”

Before she knew it, the old guard guard came up behind her, grabbed Eunha’s head with his wrinkled hands and forced her to bow down.

Eunha, startled by the sudden contact, tried to shake off the old man’s hand.

However, the cold wind that immediately swept across her body made her instinctively flinch.

Flash.

The sound of lights blinking.

At the same time, the light in the once-white apartment turned bright red, like blood.

It was almost at the same time that Eunha lowered her head.

The night sky with sunset and dusk falling.

The bright red light leaking from the apartment window paints the dark parking lot red.

Eunha lowered her head and somehow held back the screams that were rising to her chin.

You shouldn’t make a sound now. You can’t even move.

I felt that way intuitively.

“The eyes are the window to the heart.”

“……Hiccup.”

“Just as they open their hearts and accept each other… the moment their ‘windows’ touch, they will force open the young lady’s window and come in.”

Grumble. Grumble. Grumbling…

I hear a sound.

The sound of an apartment window opening.

The sound was exceptionally clear, as if pleading for someone to look this way, and at the same time, the thick smell of blood enveloped Eunha.

cold.

If there was weather in the afterlife, would it be like this?

Drudduddudduk…!

Something invisible was trying to pull the galaxy into the sky.

He grabs Eunha’s wrist and pulls her, asking if she was looking at us and telling her to come here too.

I couldn’t resist. Just as life cannot defy gravity.

If the elderly security guard hadn’t grabbed Eunha’s head and pressed it down, she would have been dragged somewhere by ‘that’ holding her wrist.

Neither the laws of physics nor mana… monsters that are one step outside the laws of the world. I was scared. Did I say hello for no reason?

If the security guard hadn’t bowed Eunha’s head.

I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if I had seen the reddened apartment window open.

“Don’t close your eyes. Just look at the floor. As long as you follow the ‘rules’, we won’t be able to touch a single hair of yours.”

The gentle warmth felt from an elderly person’s hand resting on the top of his head.

Eunha fixed her gaze on the floor and focused her consciousness on its warmth.

… … .

… … Flash.

Time passed.

How much time has passed?

All the lights in the apartment went out, as if there was a power outage.

As if he was disappointed or as if he was promising the next time.

Immediately after, the old man removed his hand from Eunha’s head and stepped aside, and Eunha, feeling that the crisis had passed, fell down on the spot.

The sound of my pounding heart was loud.

“Huh…! Huh…! Ugh…! Ugh…!”

I was so nauseous that I vomited.

The old man held her body as it was about to fall forward.

The left hand, which had been pulled with force by the invisible ‘thing’, was bent in a bizarre way.

sick. It feels good to be in pain.

Because it means you’re still alive.

‘Ugh… I lived…’

After all, dying is scary.

He almost died several times and pulled out his internal organs with his own hands… On the contrary, the pain and fear from those times became a trauma that tormented Eunha.

Even though I consoled myself by telling myself that it was okay because I wouldn’t die anyway due to [self-recovery], I couldn’t help feeling scared. Is it impossible to be friendly with ‘those’?

They even bought me a cake to congratulate me on becoming an E-class hunter…

“haha…”

“I’m sorry for touching you so suddenly, lady. Can you get up?”

“Ha… Thank you, old man. Thanks to you, I survived.”

The hand of an elderly security guard is carefully extended.

If the wise old man I met in the park reminded me of an old giant tree, the old man in front of me reminded me of a strong castle wall.

A huge wall that repels evil and looks down on the good people.

After catching her breath for a while, Eunha held his hand with a faint smile and staggered to her feet.

The hands of the old man, who always sat in the security office and combed the clay doll, had the scent of soil soaked in sunlight.

“The sun has set. Let this old man take you home.”

“Haha… Thank you, old man… And this time, I became an E-class hunter.”

“Congratulations on that.”

The old moon was rising in the pitch-black night sky.

It’s like a smile laughing at Eunha.

‘It’s okay if you live… Let’s go home. I’m tired.’

My wrist was broken and I was nauseous, but I somehow survived.

I will never have to say hello to my neighbors again.

Eunha entered the apartment with the support of an elderly security guard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ha… it was hard.”

Eunha returns home safely with the help of an elderly security guard.

The first thing she did while lying down on the living room sofa was to check the guides in the [Black Book].

I’ve been memorizing the rules whenever I have time, but I’ve never seen the rules for that [silhouette].

So there are times when I reacted too complacently.

If the elder hadn’t helped me, I would have definitely died. It wouldn’t have been so bad if you said that he had broken his wrist instead of his life.

“……Look. Something else has appeared.”

Eunha, who was flipping through the [Black Book] with one hand, burst into laughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

※Guide to a harmonious apartment culture※

1. This guide was created to encourage a harmonious neighborhood life for all Saetbyeol Apartments residents, including you.

– This guide is distributed free of charge to all apartment residents.

​

1-1. If the guide is lost or damaged

– Please visit the security office at the entrance of the apartment in person to receive a new one.

​

1-2. If part of the guide is ‘missing the table of contents’

– You may use your discretion until the item returns to normal.

– Good luck to you.

​

​

2. The little lady in the black dress has just moved into the house!

~~omitted~~

​

~~omitted~~

​

​4. Please be considerate of your neighbors’ privacy.

– Have you ever heard the saying that the eyes are the window to the heart?

– Everyone has privacy. Therefore, please refrain from looking into other people’s windows as much as possible.

​

​5. If there is excessive noise between floors, contact the apartment security office.

– It would not be wise to go directly upstairs and ask questions.

​

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Guide to a Harmonious Apartment Culture’, which contains the rules of [Bug Princess].

Immediately, item number 4, which was missing only yesterday, appeared.

Originally, it was number 5 right after number 3.

There was no number 4.

Because you’ve been wronged once, you’re revising the guide as if you were being generous… Are you making fun of people?

There seems to be a terrible malicious intent to harm the galaxy in any way possible.

“Okay, well… the missing items have been filled in. Let’s be careful next time.”

Eunha closed the book and headed to the kitchen.

My broken wrist throbs, but I guess I should have survived. I’m tired, so I need to eat dinner quickly and go to bed.

Eunha, who worked hard to cheer herself up, looked in the refrigerator.

Today’s dinner was fried rice using vegetables left in the refrigerator. It’s simple to make because you just need to cut the ingredients into small pieces and stir-fry them with rice.

“…….”

Eunha took out the pumpkin, carrots, and onions from the refrigerator and put them on the cutting board. Without thinking, she picked up a kitchen knife…

The moment she looked down at the sharp blade, she froze like ice.

Excited. Excited.

Kitchen knife. An item used to reduce one’s weight during promotion exams.

Now that I have successfully completed the exam and become an E-class hunter, the weight of the kitchen knife in my hand feels unfamiliar.

It feels like the adrenaline secreted in my brain has stopped.

Eunha looked down at the kitchen knife and broke into a cold sweat.

Did you do something like that just to try one push-up?

I realized once again how desperate I was. Or maybe he was crazy.

If someone were to ask Eunha now if she could take the promotion test again, she would confidently shake her head.

I can’t do it right now. Are you crazy and cutting out my intestines again?

It would be easier for me to bite my tongue and die.

“……Fried rice later.”

Eunha, reminded of a terrible memory, returned the kitchen knife.

I suddenly started hating fried rice.

I want to eat ramen.

Eunha put the vegetables on the cutting board back into the refrigerator and took out a bag of ramen from the cabinet.

I think I will only eat ready-to-eat foods for the next few months.

… … .

… … .

And as night falls,

The time when Eunha came out from the shower, lay down on the bed and fell asleep soundly.

Grumbling…

Today too, ‘something’ came into the living room through the veranda and quietly headed to Eunha’s bedroom.

The night was deep.