[350 years have passed.]
Oh Haeyoung collapsed onto the floor, her hands shaking. Her lips trembled as she desperately called out to her lifeless family.
“Mom……. Dad……. Haesung……”
Thump. Thump.
Her blood surged backward through her veins. Her mind, drained of all color like a blank sheet of paper, refused to accept the horrific scene imprinted on her retinas. She opened and closed her lips like a goldfish, trying to say something.
Her throat tightened. No voice came out.
Hot tears streamed ceaselessly down her cheeks.
Drip. Drip.
Tell me it’s not true. Tell me I saw it wrong. Tell me it’s a dream.
Please. Please. Please.
I’m begging you.
No, right? This is all a dream, right? I’m just having a terrible nightmare, right? When I wake up, it’ll all disappear, right? Right? Please. Please! Please! Please!
“……”
I… I can’t breathe.
I must not lose consciousness.
[351 years have passed.]
Yeah. Even now, I need to call an ambulance… an ambulance…
So……
[352 years have passed.]
To call an ambulance, the number……
“Haeyoung.”
“……”
“My sister.”
Oh Haeyoung’s gaze turned toward the owner of the voice.
A man drenched in blood held a kitchen knife in his right hand. The thick, clotted blood staining the blade screamed the answer to the question forming in her mind, but she stubbornly denied it.
‘That can’t be. No. There must be some misunderstanding. Of course. It’s him, after all…’
The man standing before her was Oh Haechan. Oh Haeyoung’s older brother. The eldest of the three siblings.
Currently studying at a seminary to become a priest, he had been famous in their neighborhood since childhood for his intelligence and kindness. He had never once raised his voice at his younger siblings, Oh Haeyoung and Oh Haesung. He had never once spoken a harsh word to their parents.
Wherever there was injustice, he was always the first to step in. He had never even had a single argument with his friends.
Even the school bullies didn’t bother with him. No matter how much they hit or tormented him, he would always smile and preach that violence was wrong. Even they eventually got tired of him.
He was the very embodiment of kindness, a saint drawn into reality. His parents, his siblings, his friends, his neighbours—everyone loved him.
And yet……
“A……ren’t I right?”
There’s no way he could have done this.
Oh Haechan ran a hand through his hair. Strands of jet-black hair, matted with blood, stuck together in clumps. His usual glasses were nowhere to be seen.
The brother she had seen every day now felt like a stranger. His bloodshot eyes turned to her.
“What?”
She couldn’t bring herself to speak.
[353 years have passed.]
Dad and Mom… Haesung…
She wanted to ask. She wanted to ask if it was really her brother who did this.
But that question did not come from her lips—it came from Oh Haechan’s.
“You’re wondering if I did this?”
“……”
“Puhahahaha!”
Suddenly, Oh Haechan burst into laughter.
The way his body shook with exaggerated laughter looked grotesque.
“My little Haeyoung. You’re so hopelessly naive. How do you plan to survive in this cruel world?”
“No…… you wouldn’t……. right? Oppa…… isn’t that kind of person.”
Oh Haechan’s expression hardened. The voice that followed was something entirely different from the one she had always known.
“That kind of person? And what kind of person is that?”
“……”
“I asked you, what kind of person is that, you fucking bitch.”
Never—Not once in his life had he ever sworn. Not once had he ever spoken harshly.
Yet now, with a face twisted in cruelty, he spat out curses at her.
“You fucking bitch. You’re nothing but a worthless insect that wouldn’t even be satisfying to chew up and spit out. Who the fuck do you think you are to judge me? Who do you think you are?!”
A thick, suffocating malice filled the air.
Step.
Oh Haechan took a step toward her.
The kitchen knife in his grip gleamed coldly.
“You. You worthless bitch. I’ve always hated that attitude of yours. Acting all innocent and nice while taking everything you could get, pushing all the annoying shit onto me. You fucking bitch.”
“O……Oppa.”
“And on top of that, you’re so goddamn stupid you’re completely useless. If you’re born into a shitty family, you should at least be good-looking or have some brains. What the hell are you even good for?”
“……”
That…… is…….
It’s not my brother.
That person is not Oh Haechan.
I’m not rationalizing to deny this situation.
That is not my brother.
Oh Haeyoung was certain.
It’s just that the shell is the same. Something different had taken root inside.
“Who are you?”
“Who do you think I am, you damn bitch? Your brother Oh Haechan, who killed your mother, father, and Haesung. It’s me, Haeyoung. Oh Haechan. Can’t you recognize your brother? Huh? Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! I’m your brother, I’m your brother! Kekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekek.”
A chill ran down her spine.
Oh Haechan took another step.
“Ah, this is so fucking funny. Look at you freezing up. It’s such a shame. What a waste. It would have been way more fun if I had torn those maggots apart in front of you… right?”
“Who…”
At that moment.
With a clunk, the door opened, and several men in black suits rushed in.
Oh Haechan, with a twisted expression, licked his lips as he looked at Haeyoung.
“Tch. Just when it was getting interesting… What a disappointment. Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll see you next time, little sister.”
Crash!
Oh Haechan charged toward the window, broke the glass, and jumped out, disappearing.
One of the men in black suits spoke.
“Unidentified entity has escaped.”
“Estimated grade?”
“It’s presumed to be at least delta-grade or higher.”
“Delta-grade or higher possessed entity… This is going to be difficult. Tch.”
The one wearing the highest-ranking suit among the men in black looked at Haeyoung.
“Is she a survivor?”
“Yes. She seems to be the second daughter.”
The man had already witnessed the gruesome scene unfolding here.
The family massacre.
Since he had seen it firsthand, he couldn’t be in his right mind. As a tree manager, he had witnessed such scenes multiple times, but most survivors of these events couldn’t bear the shock and ended up with tragic outcomes.
It was truly unfortunate.
“Poor thing. She’s the only one who survived, she won’t last long.”
“Did you call the cleanup team?”
“Yes. They are expected to arrive in 10 minutes.”
“Alright. Let’s head out. This was a bust.”
One of the subordinates asked.
“What should we do about this girl? We should probably erase her memories, right?”
The superior seemed to ponder for a moment.
Then.
“Who are you guys?”
“…”
“Well, about that guy who just disappeared. That’s not our brother, you know? But do you guys know what that was? Where is it from?”
The subordinate asked with a troubled look.
“Team Leader. We should just erase her memory right now.”
“Wait a minute.”
The team leader’s gaze turned to Haeyoung. A normal girl, with no aura. Just an ordinary high school girl of that age.
But for some reason.
Could it be because she lost her family to an entity when she was young?
The leader’s mind changed.
“We come from ‘The Tree.’”
“Team Leader!”
Haeyoung whispered the two words as though to engrave them in her mind.
“The Tree…”
“Yes. It’s the organization that manages all kinds of monstrosities in this world. I am a manager there.”
“If I enter the Tree, can I find what made my brother like that, my brother?”
“It’s possible. That entity will eventually be contained in the Tree as well.”
The empty look in Haeyoung’s eyes began to shine again.
“How can I get into this Tree?”
The manager answered.
“You… You can’t enter.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re just an ordinary person with no abilities. Of course, there are ordinary employees who work in administration, but don’t you want to track down the entity that made your brother like this?”
“Yes…”
“Then you have to become a manager like us.”
As the manager spoke, he waved his hand in the air, and a magical circle of rainbow-colored light filled the room.
Seeing that brilliant and wondrous sight, Haeyoung felt more of a chill than admiration.
Because the entity right in front of her looked almost no different from her brother, an entity of sorts.
“If you don’t become a manager, you will never even see a single hair of an entity. You won’t even see that entity you call your brother. But to become a manager, you need to have a special kind of power. You can’t deal with entities unless you’re an ‘Awakened’.”
“…”
“Do you want to become a manager?”
Haeyoung shook her head.
“Ah… no. I want revenge. I want to kill that ‘entity’ that made my family like that, with my own hands.”
“It’s not that there’s no way. There are both innate and acquired Awakened individuals. The number is not small. If you want to join the Tree and avenge your family… then look for a way to awaken yourself.”
“Acquired awakening… Thank you…”
“There’s no need to thank me. You’ll most likely be dead before or after becoming a manager. I’m just showing you how to die quickly.”
As the manager turned to leave, Haeyoung urgently asked.
“Could you… tell me your name?”
The manager hesitated for a moment and then spoke.
“It’s Choi Woosik.”
Then he turned his back and quickly exited the room.
However, there was one thing that the manager, Choi Woosik, had overlooked.
He thought of Haeyoung as a normal, ordinary person, but she was far from ordinary from the start.
Once in her room, Haeyoung opened the box and grasped the pendant inside.
“Grandpa Ghost. Can you hear me?”
[….]
“You said you wanted to take over my body.”
[….]
“I’ll grant your wish. Honestly, I’ve been ignoring you up until now, but I don’t think I need to anymore. Whether you’re a ghost, a demon, or a devil… I need power.”
[….]
The pendant, which Haeyoung had picked up from a curio shop when she was young, had been the source of a voice she couldn’t explain. She had tried to ignore it, thinking she was just hearing things…
“So give me power.”
[Are you ready to go to Valhalla, girl?]
Leave a Reply