Chapter 13

‘If people are coming, there’s no way I can help Huikyung escape now. But at the very least… can I figure out why he’s locked up here instead of in a proper prison? Or why the villagers have business with him?’

Lost in thought, Jaekani ignored Huikyung’s warning and dashed toward the side of the building.

“Damn it, Jaekani!”

Huikyung cursed loudly, realizing the boy’s intentions, but being confined, there was little he could do.

The side of the building was even eerier than the entrance. With collapsed walls and discarded items blocking the way, there was barely any space to step. Even so, Jaekani managed to spot a half-melted water tank and peered inside. The stench was overwhelming, enough to make his head spin, but fortunately, the dirty water inside only rose just enough to touch the soles of his shoes. He slipped inside and hid.

Taking shallow breaths instead of deep ones, Jaekani stilled himself. How much time had passed? As Huikyung predicted, the sound of multiple footsteps began to echo. Trying to estimate the number of people, Jaekani frowned. The distinct sound of wet rubber soles sliding against tiles—familiar from the slaughterhouse and livestock pens—confirmed at least one of them wore long rubber boots. But the sound was brief, and he guessed the others wore regular shoes.

The group approached with minimal noise, no idle chatter, just deliberate steps. Jaekani shut his eyes tightly. The approaching footsteps stopped as the sound of crumbling stone and falling concrete blocks reached its peak.

Jaekani opened his tightly shut eyes.

Inside the cramped, enclosed water tank, he could hear nothing but his own breathing. Cautiously raising his knees, he stifled his movements to slip out of the tank. Pressing his back against the filthy outer wall, he carefully stepped forward.

Although he was far from the main entrance of the facility, he was close enough to the semi-basement area to catch faint sounds if there was a commotion inside.

Lowering his body to avoid detection, Jaekani flattened himself against the ground. Dust swirled up, but he held his breath to avoid coughing and giving himself away.

Jaekani exhaled shakily. The tension made it hard for him to breathe properly, his chest tight with fear. But as he focused on the sounds, his breathing gradually steadied.

With his breath quieted, the noises from the basement grew clearer.

“—damn it, how long are we going to keep doing this—?”

Amid the disgruntled tone, the sound of boots echoed in succession. Then came a metallic clatter that prickled Jaekani’s ears. The ominous noise seemed out of place for a basement. What was it?

Chains? Handcuffs?

What unsettled Jaekani even more was the shifting metallic noises, as though preparations were being made for something.

There was more than one person in the basement. At least two voices were audible, and one of them sounded uncannily like Jaebad. If Jaekani hadn’t known his father was at the slaughterhouse, he might have mistaken the voice for his.

While these distant voices were hard to make out, Huikyung’s voice, clear as if pressed against the wall, cut through.

“Well, I’m not thrilled about it either.”

More clattering, followed by angry shouts.

“If we don’t move fast, we’ll have to relocate. Don’t you agree?”

Relocate? What? Or who?

Huikyung?

Amid the chaotic and unsettling noise, what shocked Jaekani the most was the familiar metallic rasping sound.

The ear-piercing shriek of a blade being sharpened against a honing rod. The hairs on Jaekani’s arms stood on end.

‘Did I mishear that?’ No, Jaekani was sure. Having worked at the slaughterhouse for so long, he could distinguish that sound even with his eyes closed.

But why would anyone be sharpening a blade in the basement?

Huikyung’s voice, confident and out of place in the tense atmosphere, drifted to Jaekani’s ears.

“Looks like we have a guest outside. Are you sure this is okay?”

“—Shut it. No one can hear—”

“Outside. They can’t hear, right?”

“—Who said—?”

Their voices turned to murmurs again. Someone muttered, ‘Why not go check?’ in a gruff, irritated tone that reminded Jaekani of his father. Raspy, hoarse, and full of annoyance.

Processing all the sounds he could gather, Jaekani jolted as the heavy clang of a metal door slamming shut reverberated. Huikyung’s earlier comment finally struck him. He had been deliberately signaling Jaekani that someone was outside.

‘Is he trying to get me caught?’

Jaekani forced strength into his trembling legs and awkwardly stood up. There was no time for hesitation. With the metal door closed, someone would be heading to the entrance soon. Just as Jaekani hurriedly tried to retreat along the outer wall, a voice grumbled, ‘I’ll go check.’

‘Where should I run?!’

Struggling with his decision, Jaekani ultimately abandoned his eavesdropping plan and headed back toward the water tank where he had hidden earlier. His plan was to hide beside the building and then reemerge later. However, in his tense state, he accidentally knocked over the water tank.

The loud crash echoed, and Jaekani winced as he tightly shut his eyes. At the same time, he heard movement coming from the front entrance of the building.

Realizing he had no other options after this critical mistake, Jaekani quickly made a decision. There was still time. The secluded side of the building offered him a chance to escape unnoticed if he ran in a wide arc toward where Huikyung had mentioned earlier.

Without hesitation, Jaekani ran. If he kept running to that location, he would remain out of sight.

‘If only I’d had just ten more minutes—just ten minutes to listen—I might have figured out why Huikyung is imprisoned and what the people wanted in the facility.’

Jaekani’s breath hitched in his throat, and sweat blurred his vision as it dripped into his eyes. It was a physically grueling moment, but he mentally distanced himself from the pain in his trembling legs, focusing only on replaying the earlier scene in his mind.

‘What are they hiding so desperately that they’re willing to risk being caught by someone overhearing?’

Finally reaching home, Jaekani collapsed against the wall, sliding down until he sat on the ground. His lungs burned, and his breath wouldn’t calm, but what tormented him more was the endless scenarios playing in his mind about what might be happening to Huikyung.

Huikyung’s voice had been disturbingly calm. Was there something he needed to accomplish there? Or was Jaekani letting his imagination run wild, spurred by the ominous sound of chains?

Jaekani buried his face in his palms.

‘If only that woman hadn’t been there today. Or if I hadn’t seen the grim faces of people who’d returned from outside the village. Or if Huikyung hadn’t so brazenly called this village trash. If I weren’t someone who could recall every odd and unsettling moment…’

‘…then maybe I wouldn’t be having these horrifying thoughts.’

Sweat dripped down Jaekani’s jawline. He wiped it away haphazardly with the neckline of his shirt, exhaling deeply as he made a firm resolve.

He would help Huikyung escape.

To do that, he needed to understand how Huikyung was being held captive. Jaekani started mentally listing the tools he might need.

A flashlight. Bolt cutters? …A hammer? Was it completely out of the question to free Huikyung as soon as he got inside?

Picturing Huikyung, Jaekani remembered that his hands appeared to be free. Could it be his legs that were bound? Or was he simply confined without physical restraints?

Jaekani suddenly imagined Huikyung stepping out of that grim, dingy semi-basement. He had never seen Huikyung’s full figure in sunlight. Jaekani stared blankly, thinking how different his face might look under the sun. Features trapped in shadow, disheveled hair—it all seemed so familiar, yet Jaekani’s curiosity burned at the thought of seeing him in a new light.

‘What does Huikyung’s daily life even look like?’

The Huikyung Jaekani knew seemed to carry himself lightly, someone who might complete tasks but never wholeheartedly.

‘Then I’ll just have to help him.’

After all, Jaekani thought, he already worked at the slaughterhouse. Helping someone a bit more wouldn’t make a difference. He nibbled on his lip, feeling a strange mix of nerves and excitement.

‘He’d fit into the village easily, unlike me—an outsider who sticks out and draws whispers.’

But for that to happen, Jaekani first had to help him escape. Once Huikyung was free, then…

The pen in Jaekani’s hand stilled.

He realized how futile his imagination was.

Even if the escape succeeded, there was no chance Huikyung would stay. No villager would accept an outsider who escaped from their underground prison.

Jaekani decided to focus solely on the escape—how to get Huikyung out of the facility and safely beyond the village walls.

‘If he does escape, then maybe we could meet again, but in a different way.’

“Jaekani!”

A sharp voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Susan, hands on her hips, scowling as deeply as ever.