DS | Chapter 4

“I don’t know. I don’t understand anything.”

Yoon Seol barely managed to utter a word before closing his mouth again. The arms wrapped around his back tightened their grip. He could feel the warmth supporting his body. The embrace smelled like a deep forest. It was a fresh and vibrant scent, like walking on a rainy forest path.

Taking a slow deep breath, Yoon Seol began to speak again.

“I was leaving for work in the morning, but when I opened the door, I ended up here. I don’t understand anything, but people are calling me… a murderer, a Demon King.”

Yoon Seol clenched and unclenched his fists as he continued.

“And right in front of my eyes, they stabbed each other, siblings killing each other… Someone even strangled their own child…”

His words trailed off. Swallowing the rising nausea, he looked up and saw his reflection in the window across. His wretched appearance was like evidence from a bloody scene.

“Did that person really die because of me? Why…?”

Biting his lip, Yoon Seol looked at Chae Yujin. With a trembling voice, he asked.

“This is a dream, right?”

It’s too absurd to be real. Even this situation where you’re holding me.

“…It’s horrible.”

At the sudden words, Yoon Seol quickly looked up. He met eyes with Chae Yujin, who was looking at him. His eyes were deeper than the ocean.

What are you going to say? Are you going to condemn me too?

Yoon Seol bit his lower lip, waiting for his words like a prey showing its neck to a predator. Chae Yujin’s lips slowly parted.

“It must have been scary.”

His heart sank. It plummeted to his toes, pulsed once, and then soared up, pounding wildly. Was it because he was surprised? Probably.

Yoon Seol wetted his dry lips. The gaze meeting his was strangely gentle. Gentle, and also…

“Yes.”

As if even looking was a waste, deep and heavy emotions dripped down, making his heart flutter. Yoon Seol murmured softly, mesmerized by those eyes.

“Everything is just unbelievable.”

Chae Yujin nodded. Looking down at Yoon Seol, he spoke.

“Let’s go back.”

His short and firm tone, which he always thought was annoying, felt strangely kind. Whether he meant to go back or to return, Yoon Seol nodded anyway. Chae Yujin, who nodded back, added as if talking to himself.

“You said you opened the door and ended up here. There are too many eyes here.”

As if it was truly a monologue, Chae Yujin matched eyes with Yoon Seol and spoke again.

“We need to go where there are no people. This way.”

They walked side by side down a narrow alley. After turning into a few side streets, they came across a shabby brick house that made one wonder if anyone could live there.

“Wait a moment.”

Turning to Yoon Seol, Chae Yujin grabbed the handle of an old wooden door. He mumbled something to himself, then turned to look at Yoon Seol.

“Go through this door.”

Yoon Seol was dumbfounded. Everything was so uniquely strange that he couldn’t grasp anything. Chae Yujin was staring intently at the confused Yoon Seol. The voice that came out soon seemed to be filled with regret.

“It’s not scary. Just open the door and go in.”
“…”
“Go on. Once you go, everything that happened here will be forgotten.”

Yoon Seol slowly walked towards the door. He glanced at the wooden doorknob and then at Chae Yujin standing beside him. Could this person be different from the Team Leader Chae he knew? Like someone with the same appearance but a completely different soul… What do they call that, a character from a parallel world or something?

Lost in such absurd imagination, he suddenly spoke.

“How do you forget something like this?”

“It’ll happen naturally.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Chae Yujin smiled slightly without answering. Then, in a low voice, he asked.

“How long has it been since we first met?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Yoon Seol quickly calculated in his head, despite his confusion.

“You came in early September, so exactly three months.”

“It’s already been that long.”

As if it was another monologue, Chae Yujin nodded when their eyes met and gestured towards the door. Yoon Seol reached out as he suggested. The feeling of the metal doorknob wrapping around his fingers was chilling.

Just before entering the door, Yoon Seol glanced back. He immediately met eyes with him. He smiled dreamily.

“Soon…”

As he listened for the next words, a piercing high-pitched sound cut through everything.

Goosebumps rose all over his body. Yoon Seol rubbed his eyes roughly with the back of his hand.

…What is this? Suddenly, I feel incredibly awful.

He removed his hand from his face and looked around. He was in a suit, and the scenery in front of him was familiar. Gray cement walls and doors lined up along the corridor.

Turning around, he saw the door to unit 505. The one he had just opened and come out of…

Yoon Seol checked his phone’s clock. He always left the house at 7:50. He had never missed it. But now, it was 7:53.

When did it get this late?

As he was about to put his phone back in his pocket, something caught his hand. Yoon Seol absentmindedly took it out.

“What is this?”

It was a strange-looking coin. It looked like a 10 won coin, but it had characters he had never seen before. And judging by the color, it seemed like real gold.

Is it a commemorative coin? When did I buy this?

But there was no time to think for long. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be late. In the end, his conclusion was simple.

“…I need to quit drinking.”

Whenever he got drunk, he had to buy something expensive and useless to feel satisfied. He couldn’t even remember when or where he bought this.

Thanks to his lousy liver, he had another pretty piece of junk… Yoon Seol put the coin back in his pocket and hurried his steps.