KTC | Chapter 38

Park Sunhee’s eyes flickered as if an earthquake had occurred within them. She knew that her boyfriend disliked stray cats, but she never imagined he hated them to this extent, let alone that he would cruelly abuse them without hesitation in front of her.

“Ah, why are you doing this again?”

Initially, she didn’t take it seriously and tried to calm him verbally. He had previously chased away cats rummaging through garbage by throwing small stones, but it had never escalated beyond a warning, so she thought he would stop. However, he didn’t.

Choi Seongyeol acted as if he had sworn vengeance against stray cats. He wasn’t throwing small stones anymore; he was hurling large rocks that could kill on impact. In fact, a few smaller cats were hit in the head and didn’t get up. They were likely dead.

“These stray bastards are like cockroaches. No matter how many you get rid of, they just keep coming.”

Choi Seongyeol, speaking as casually as if he were crushing a few cockroaches, was definitely the man Park Sunhee knew—her boyfriend of three years. But the Choi Seongyeol she knew was not present here.

Park Sunhee intuitively realized that this wasn’t the first time Choi Seongyeol had abused stray cats. She tried to keep her expression under control, but inside, she was consumed with tremendous fear.

Animal abuse is a precursor to serial killing, isn’t it?

Why was he revealing this hidden nature now, isolated on this remote island? Was it a sign that she would be his first victim?

She felt like crying, but as the saying goes, even if bitten by a tiger, you must stay alert. With a forced smile, she pleaded with Choi Seongyeol to continue exploring the island rather than returning to their guesthouse. Tired and with bloodshot eyes, he nodded.

“Sure, we’re here to enjoy ourselves. Where do you want to go?”

“Uh… Ah! There was a tavern I saw earlier that stays open late, how about we go for some makgeolli?”

Given the situation, she thought she needed to get him drunk enough not to wake up until the next morning. Park Sunhee licked her dry lips nervously as they hurried along.

Soon, the lit sign of the tavern came into view, a sight that brought tears of relief to her eyes. They entered and ordered pancakes and makgeolli.

Once inside the warm tavern and after a glass of makgeolli, she felt a bit of her tension dissolve and her mind start to work again. Pretending to be a loving girlfriend, she kept refilling his glass, trying to remember when exactly Choi Seongyeol had started acting strangely.

They had arrived at the island late in the afternoon, having pre-booked their meals and lodging to enjoy a leisurely stay until the next day. After a relaxing drive, dinner time approached and they headed to the restaurant they had booked—a grill specializing in eel, run by a man who farmed his own eels.

The atmosphere, warm and cheerful until then, shifted abruptly about halfway through their spicy eel meal. A younger man, appearing to replace the visibly distressed owner, came with a pot of ramen as a service. He glanced at Park Sunhee, smiling as he greeted her, then turned to Choi Seongyeol and flashed a grin.

“Lucky man, your girlfriend is very pretty.”

Choi Seongyeol responded with an unmistakable expression of annoyance. “Why are you interested in someone else’s girlfriend?” Park Sunhee felt the discomfort too, but wanted to avoid a fight, so she tried to calm him.

The owner quickly came over and pulled the young man away. Although the moment left a bit of an uncomfortable feeling, nothing significant happened. The meal was delicious, and they shared a bottle of soju. Choi Seongyeol’s tolerance was well beyond two bottles of soju, so being drunk enough to act out was unlikely.

“The shop closes at 10 PM.”

Around 9:30 PM, the tavern owner came to replace their empty water jug and informed them. Choi Seongyeol, slightly tipsy, acknowledged with a “Yeah.” Park Sunhee’s anxiety began to climb again, but Choi Seongyeol seemed drunk enough, and with few places open late, they had little choice. They left the shop at exactly 10 PM.

“Ah… I smell cats.”

Staggering, Choi Seongyeol suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. Park Sunhee’s skin crawled. Unable to restrain him as he began to search for stray cats, she feared becoming the target of his abuse. A desperate fear consumed her soul, allowing only tears to escape.

In the distance, a cross glimmered faintly. Was it a church, or a cathedral?

Having attended church regularly, Park Sunhee clutched the cross necklace inside her shirt and prayed desperately for the pitiful cries of the animals to stop.

Had her prayers reached heaven?

It was when Choi Seongyeol, hardly able to walk straight, was hitting a group of kittens with a metal rod as if it were a game.

Screaming, a black cat suddenly darted towards Choi Seongyeol’s face. Crouching down to methodically crush the kittens, he was too drunk and caught off-guard on the dimly lit small path to avoid the black cat.

“Ah!”

Choi Seongyeol screamed, and Park Sunhee’s tear-soaked eyes widened. The black cat, having bitten Choi Seongyeol’s jaw, landed smoothly and charged again.

No, run.

But still, her voice failed to emerge. All she could see was the silver glint of the cross around the neck of the black cat as it lunged for Choi Seongyeol’s wrist.

“This little bastard!”

After being bitten again, Choi Seongyeol’s eyes blazed furiously. He screamed like a demon, swinging his arm, and the black cat flew against the wall.

As Choi Seongyeol raised his metal rod to strike the black cat, Park Sunhee instinctively knew that if she didn’t act, the cat’s body would be torn apart. Summoning all her courage, she grabbed his arm.

“Honey! Honey, please stop!”

The metal rod narrowly missed the black cat’s head. Park Sunhee pulled with all her might on his arm. Meanwhile, the dazed cat grabbed a kitten and dashed away like the wind.

“You made me miss, you bitch!”

Thrown to the ground by the force of his swing, Park Sunhee was engulfed in shock. The true face of her boyfriend, who she thought merely disliked stray cats a bit, was beyond her wildest imagination. Pale and frozen in fear, she watched as Choi Seongyeol fiercely raised the metal rod.

I’m going to die…

Just as she felt the end was imminent, Choi Seongyeol hesitated, then dropped the rod.

“Ah, ugh…!”

Clutching his head with both hands, Choi Seongyeol writhed on the ground. Park Sunhee realized this was her only chance to escape from this demonic man.

She ran. Blindly, desperately. She had no destination in mind. After tumbling into a rice paddy, she climbed back onto the road, her eyes wide with terror.

Then, she saw it again—the cross hanging against the dark night sky.

Park Sunhee found her destination. She ran towards the light.

Save me. Please save me.

She had no sense of how long she had wandered off the path. Not even realizing her sandals had come off and she was barefoot, she climbed and climbed until suddenly, car headlights stabbed at her eyes. Instinctively, she waved her arms frantically.

“Over here! Please, stop!”

The car, barely fitting on the narrow road, slowed down and stopped in front of her. Her trembling body collapsed to the ground.

The approaching men had an ominous aura, but at least they didn’t have the fiery demon eyes of her boyfriend.

“Please, help me. My boyfriend, he’s, he seems crazy…”

The foremost man, silhouetted against the moonlight but still strikingly handsome, caught her gaze even in such dire circumstances.

“Take this lady to the church.”

A young man who seemed to be transitioning from a boy to an adult looked down at her thoughtfully. A man in a black suit approached and reached out his hand cautiously. When she instinctively cringed, he scratched his temple awkwardly.

“We might look tough, but we don’t harm women asking for help.”

Finally, Park Sunhee sniffled and slowly got up, looking uneasily at Seo Jihan, the only one in casual attire. Seo Jihan tried to relax his stern face, managing a strange smile.