Masquerader Chapter 7

Tap, tap, tap. The sound of weary feet pounding the ground grew louder, then softer. It quickened and slowed again.  

 

Am I dreaming right now?  

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Thrillers and suspense were never my thing. Even indirect experiences of such things stressed me out, so I deliberately avoided those kinds of movies and dramas. And yet, here I was, trapped in this terrifying dream. If this was some kind of joke from the gods, they had to be the cruelest of them all. This was beyond excessive.  

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My physical limits had long been surpassed, and my body no longer felt like my own. My overworked throat tasted of blood. Sweat seeped into my eyes, stinging, but Seol-ah mustered every last ounce of strength to force them open. Her muscles, pushed to their extreme, convulsed uncontrollably.  

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Cough, cough.  

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Her breath tangled, and a dry cough burst through her parched throat. As her pace slowed, her waist suddenly buckled forward.  

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Seol-ah gasped for air, bending forward with her hands braced against her knees. The heavy weight in her coat pocket swung in the air. She pulled out the radio and pressed the button, but once again, there was no response.  

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“Haa…”  

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Though dwelling on depressing thoughts wouldn’t help her in this situation, she couldn’t stop the deep sigh that escaped her lips. Seol-ah shoved the radio back into her pocket and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.  

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Her palm came away slick with sweat. She tugged at her sleeve and roughly wiped her brow, ready to pick up speed again.  

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Bang!  

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A gunshot rang out not far away. Startled birds flapped their wings frantically and took flight.  

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“Hiiik…!”  

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Like a Pavlovian dog salivating at the sound of a bell, Seol-ah instinctively clapped her hands over her ears. She hunched her shoulders, trembling, and spun around in alarm.  

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Who was it? Seo Gyo-jin? But I took the magazine before I ran—he shouldn’t have any bullets left. Or was it that man from before?  

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Whoever it was, the darkness concealed their position. The loud gunshot echoed as if it were bouncing around inside her damaged ears. As she cautiously stepped backward, scanning her surroundings, her ankle twisted to the side.  

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A sharp cry escaped her lips as a ligament wrenched painfully. Her body collapsed like a bundle of straw.  

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“Argh…”  

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Seol-ah clutched her knee, swallowing down a groan. Every inch of her body ached, but her scraped knee burned like fire. Blood, mixed with dirt, trickled down through the tear in her pants.  

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She needed to stop the bleeding. At least the bone wasn’t broken. Rotating her joint to assess the damage, Seol-ah tore a strip from the hem of the man’s T-shirt tied around her waist.  

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Using the relatively clean fabric, she wrapped it tightly around her knee. An owl hooted from a nearby tree. She grabbed a thick branch from the ground, using it as a makeshift cane to push herself up.  

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The moment she put weight on her foot, pain shot up from her injured ankle like a lightning bolt.  

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Are you still not going to give up? A voice inside her whispered. Wouldn’t it be easier to just let go?  

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The mocking tone sounded both like hers and not at the same time.  

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Ugh.  

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Gritting her teeth, she suppressed the urge to surrender and took another step forward. She refused to collapse here out of sheer frustration and resentment. Limping onward, she suddenly halted.  

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“……!”  

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A fork in the road. The crossroads the man had mentioned stood before her.  

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“Hah…”  

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Seol-ah clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp of relief. The realization that she had finally found the right path rekindled the dying embers of hope within her.  

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I can go home…!  

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Her eyes, filled with anticipation, gleamed under the moonlight. Hope, it seemed, had an awakening effect—she could barely feel the pain in her knee anymore.  

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But just as she took a confident step forward, she faltered once again. Her gaze darted between the two diverging paths, flickering with uncertainty.  

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Which way was it?  

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She strained to remember.  

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The man’s face, his eyes, his lips, his deep, haunting voice—  

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– Follow the sound of water… You’ll reach it… Go…

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His words came in fragments. Seol-ah’s face contorted in frustration. Remember, Yoon Seol-ah. You heard him clearly. The ringing in her ears grew even more unbearable.  

 

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“Shut up.”  

 

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Clenching her eyes shut, Seol-ah pressed her palms against her ears. She frantically searched her mind. Remember. Remember. Remember!  

 

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– Take the left path at the fork.

 

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The man’s voice snapped her back to reality. Seol-ah’s eyes flew open.  

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“He said to go left.”  

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She muttered to herself and turned her body to the left. Gritting her teeth as she walked, she felt that something was off. A sticky sweat trickled down her spine. She clenched her grip on the tree branch. Seol-ah looked back at the fork in the road.  

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The left path was a steep uphill, while the right path was a gentle downward slope. The stream, which had been intermittently continuing, was flowing along the right path.  

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What did the man say again?  

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Her certainty wavered. As she hesitated, standing at the crossroads, the strong wind lashed against her face as if urging her forward. Trees trembled in unison as the wind swept down the ridgeline. Amidst the rustling leaves, an owl with shining white eyes hooted.  

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Seol-ah shut her eyes tightly and took a step forward. Behind her stumbling and limping footsteps, the sound of the stream trickled along.  

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***

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The stream had disappeared.  

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And she had lost her way.  

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“Huu, huu……”  

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Gasping for breath, she pressed forward with her makeshift staff. Her feet dragged along the ground, but she did not stop.  

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She had already passed more than five forks in the road. Each time she had to make a choice, she followed the sound of the water. But when even the stream had vanished, she could see nothing ahead. The cold night air made her nose sting.  

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Left. She should have gone left. Thinking that, Seol-ah retraced her steps.  

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When she finally rediscovered the stream she had lost, she momentarily collapsed, sitting down to quench her parched throat.  

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As she dipped her hand into the ice-cold water, the cuts and scrapes on her skin stung. She roughly washed off the dirt on her palm, then cupped her hands to hastily drink the water.  

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She had no idea how much time had passed. When the cold liquid reached her long-empty stomach, a loud growl echoed from within. Even in such dire circumstances, her body was remarkably honest about its needs.  

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“They lost a person, yet no one is looking?”  

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She muttered helplessly, looking up at the sky. Between the dense branches, glimpses of a star-studded night sky came into view.  

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She entertained the thought of a rescue team or a helicopter, but the only sounds that reached her were the murmuring stream and the plaintive cries of mountain birds.  

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Out of habit, Seol-ah took out her radio and pressed the button. Click-click.  

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“There’s no way it’s going to connect.”  

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Just as she was about to put it away with a self-deprecating remark, static crackled from the speaker.  

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“……!”  

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Startled, Seol-ah practically leaped in place. She gripped the radio tightly with both hands and frantically pressed the button.  

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“Hello?”  

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She wiped the damp radio against her clothes and shouted again.  

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“Can you hear me?”  

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Her voice echoed deep into the mountains.  

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“I’m lost in the mountains! Can you hear me? There’s a stranded person here!”  

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Seol-ah, shouting into the silent radio, suddenly raised it high above her head. She figured there might be a spot nearby where the signal could be picked up.  

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As she swung her arm around, static crackled intermittently when she faced a certain direction. Following the signal, Seol-ah climbed the mountain path.  

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Then, her eyes widened in disbelief.  

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She had found a shelter. 

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