DS | Chapter 3

Yoon Seol, who had retreated to a corner of his mind, buried his head in his knees. He wanted to escape from the chaos in front of him, from everything that rendered him powerless. If this was a bad nightmare, he wished it would end and he could wake up.

And if it was reality… well, what was he supposed to do?

Yoon Seol, who had been keeping his eyes tightly shut, took a breath and lifted his head. At that moment, he made eye contact with a merchant who was trembling behind a stall. The merchant was clutching something so tightly that his face turned red.

It was the neck of a living baby. Only then did Yoon Seol realize the choking, painful cries he had been hearing. The sound was growing weaker and weaker.

“What, what are you doing?”

Without realizing it, Yoon Seol stood up and approached, taking the baby from the merchant. It was a fragile, tiny life that he was afraid to touch. Was he trying to kill it? Why this little child? And by the mother’s hand?

The merchant let out a scream-like plea.

“Please, please forgive me, the child is innocent. The child hasn’t even spoken a word since birth…!”

Yoon Seol placed the unmoving baby on the stall and bowed his head. Dizziness washed over him, making his vision spin.

“I don’t care what happens to me. Just let this child die in peace…”

The merchant, trembling madly, continued to beg for mercy. He rummaged under the stall, pulled something out, and handed it to Yoon Seol with shaking hands.

Yoon Seol focused his blurry vision on what was placed in his palm. It was a gold coin he had never seen before. Astonished, he looked at the merchant, who spoke in a strained voice.

“This is all I have. It may not be enough, but please, just my child!”

The child was already half-dead because of you. He wanted to say that, but the words wouldn’t come out. The merchant hugged the child tightly, whom he had been strangling moments ago.

Yoon Seol, forcing himself to move, distanced himself from the merchant and the child, his vision constantly trying to flip.

One step, two steps. His sluggish legs began to move faster. Soon, Yoon Seol was running at full speed. He couldn’t get a grip on reality. Was this truly happening? Where was he supposed to go now? Could he return to his original world, the peaceful one he had found so tedious just this morning?

People passing by screamed as they noticed him running aimlessly. Yoon Seol loved movies, but he never imagined facing a reality more intense than a film.

Suddenly stopping, he stared ahead, like an audience watching a screen. Was this a horror film or a disaster movie? The exaggerated expressions and gestures of the people suggested it wasn’t a serious drama. It couldn’t be real. This chaotic long-take scene couldn’t be reality.

But one fact remained unchanged. The person causing this chaos was none other than Yoon Seol himself. Everyone was fleeing in panic from him. Screams echoed from all directions. Some people fainted, foaming at the mouth.

“Hoo, hoo…”

His irregular breathing echoed in his ears. He couldn’t control his breath. It felt like he might suffocate, like drowning on dry land. Was he physically running out of oxygen? Everything around him began to distort strangely. It was as if the essence of all shapes disappeared, leaving only outlines.

The outlines, like rough sketches, expanded and contracted chaotically. People with blurred lines screamed and ran away.

Yoon Seol took a deep breath, his chest heaving. Black and white spots kept appearing before his eyes. It was as if his vision was flickering.

“…Huh?”

A small sound escaped his parted lips. Yoon Seol blinked and straightened his body. There was no doubt. Amidst the chaos, there was one person walking calmly, maintaining a normal human form in this bizarre montage.

“Team Leader?”

This time, his voice was quite clear. As certainty hit him, his upper body almost lunged forward, nearly causing him to fall. Yoon Seol ran towards the person walking in the distance, shouting.

“Team Leader Chae!”

He ran madly towards the man who stood out clearly. It seemed like the slow, sluggish shapes around him were finally catching up to his speed.

“Team Leader Chae.”

Yoon Seol grabbed the man’s sleeve tightly as he finally caught up. His heart raced as he faced the man who turned around in surprise. It was a face that always seemed to crumple automatically whenever he saw it. He always thought it was annoying.

But now, it felt strangely familiar, like they were old friends.

Yoon Seol, catching his breath, looked at Chae Yujin. He saw the finely sculpted face stiffen all at once. Chae Yujin’s already large eyes began to expand endlessly. It seemed like he was more surprised than Yoon Seol, maybe even more than Yoon Seol himself.

While Yoon Seol was bewildered by the unfamiliar expression, Chae Yujin’s lips moved.

“Eve?”

…What?

Yoon Seol reflexively questioned out loud. The delicate face of the other person was trembling. Seeing that, Yoon Seol felt like he was starting to understand. This person, too, was seeing something unreal and disconnected from reality, just as he had been moments ago. He was suffering.

He was about to say something when he was startled by a horrific figure reflected in the window behind him. Covered in blood and filth, it was a gruesome sight, like a murderer. A few seconds later, Yoon Seol realized that the figure was none other than himself.

“……”

All the insults he had heard today flashed through his mind. Murderer. Demon King. Someone who should be thrown into hell. Weren’t those descriptions perfectly fitting for the horrific image reflected in the window? He couldn’t understand why he had been so angry hearing those words. The image was that intense.

Any desire to try and resolve this absurd situation, to do something, washed away like a sandcastle before the tide. Like a mirage at dusk. His legs gave out, and Yoon Seol was about to collapse.

Then, he felt a firm grip on his arms. Yoon Seol slowly lifted his blurred eyes.

“……”

He saw an unreal face. Unlike him, it was spotless, without a trace of blood. Only then did he feel a sense of dissonance. Why was this person here? Shouldn’t he have already gone to work, or even finished and gone home by now? And he wasn’t in his usual suit, but in clothes Yoon Seol had never seen before…

“Breathe.”

A small whisper accompanied the hand pulling him closer. Yoon Seol reflexively tried to shake off the hand, but the other person didn’t budge. He had no choice but to lean into the broad chest. A scent reminiscent of a deep forest enveloped him.

“Slowly… take a deep breath, okay? It’s alright.”

The whisper was so gentle that Yoon Seol was left speechless. Chae Yujin disliked him and would have ignored him even if they met in a place like this. He was sure of it.

“I’m sorry, I should have come to see you.”

Chae Yujin whispered, resting his forehead on Yoon Seol’s shoulder. Why was this happening? Was it because he met an impossible person in this impossible situation? Or was it because he had been hearing nothing but nonsense all day in this unknown place? The sorrow rising from his stomach seemed ready to spill out, so Yoon Seol pushed his shoulder away.

Then, wide eyes stared straight at him. Eyes that seemed to contain the entire sky. Yoon Seol stared into those eyes, mesmerized. As he did, he suddenly remembered his own terrible appearance. He began to wipe his face with his shirt sleeve.

Soon, a large, white hand grabbed his wrist.

“You’ll get it all over your clothes.”

Chae Yujin said, reaching out with his other hand. The cold but gentle touch on his face made Yoon Seol flinch. Maintaining eye contact, Chae Yujin carefully wiped Yoon Seol’s face with his palm. The sensation of skin touching skin made Yoon Seol unconsciously bite his lip. His body kept flinching with each touch.

Before long, he shook off Chae Yujin’s hand and lowered his head.

“Pl-please stop.”

When there was no response for a while, he glanced up to see Chae Yujin, his bloodstained hand frozen, staring at him.

“You know me, right?”

The person he saw every day was asking him an unexpected question, even adding a seemingly anxious comment.

“You called me. Holding on here, right?”

He tapped his wrist with his right index finger as he asked. Watching this, Yoon Seol twisted his lips. Suddenly, all the events he had just experienced came rushing back, filling him with anger.

Soon, the man in front of him hugged him again. A low voice spoke.

“It’s okay. Just calm down a bit, Seol-ah.”

“……”

In the midst of it all, Yoon Seol wondered if he had misheard. Did that person just call him what? The one who always seemed to hate even mentioning his short name.

“I’ll send you back.”

At those words, Yoon Seol’s head shot up. A hoarse voice escaped his dry lips.

“You’ll send me back?”

At a nose-touching distance, Chae Yujin looked down at Yoon Seol. Yoon Seol remembered. There was only one time he had faced him at this distance. Last Friday. Even then, was this person looking at him with such eyes? Yoon Seol quietly thought as he stared at Chae Yujin.

Probably… No, he was sure of it.

With deeply sunken eyes, Chae Yujin nodded.

“So first, calm down. Can you tell me what happened?”

He hesitated a bit before adding a word.

“Why you’re here, too.”

Yoon Seol opened his mouth to answer, but his jaw trembled so much that he couldn’t speak. Instead of words, he only let out suppressed breaths.

Chae Yujin quietly watched him.