Chapter – 07
Cold sweat gathered at my temples and ran down my spine.
I felt like this must be exactly what it would feel like to meet the Grim Reaper in person.
Had I ever been this scared in my entire life?
“Ms. Myung Sena?”
Ignore him.
Just ignore him.
I turned my gaze forward.
It was broad daylight, and there were plenty of people around, so he wouldn’t pull out a gun like he had that time.
If he had even half a brain, he would know better.
The bus would be here soon.
Once it arrived, I’d just get on immediately.
“I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t think that’s a very effective plan.”
It’s fine.
There are people around me.
I’m fine.
“Because I have no intention of leaving until I’ve spoken with you, Ms. Myung Sena.”
Aaaaaah.
I can’t hear him.
I can’t hear him.
“Even if you ask the people around you for help, they won’t understand what you’re saying.”
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
“Because, right now, no one else can see me.”
Ah…
What?
I whipped around.
I’d completely forgotten my determination to ignore him.
My eyes immediately met the gaze behind the mask.
When I stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, he raised his gloved hand and pointed across the road.
Almost as if hypnotized, I stared at the place he was pointing.
For some reason, I felt like I had to.
Across the road was a small clothing store.
The scenery around the bus stop where I was standing was faintly reflected in the glass, visible over the mannequins displayed inside.
Me.
The other people around me.
Even the tall trees standing in the background.
Everything was reflected.
Except for the man standing beside me.
…Am I actually losing my mind?
I nervously looked around.
Even though the man was wearing such a suspicious-looking mask, no one paid the slightest attention to him.
What the hell?
Can only I see him?
Seriously?
Seeing that I had finally reacted instead of ignoring him, the man tilted his head and asked,
“Are you going to keep ignoring me?”
Screeeech…
Just then, the bus I’d been waiting for pulled into the stop.
While everyone hurried onto the bus, I stood there frozen in place.
The man silently waited for my answer.
Did I want to talk to him?
Of course not!
What was I supposed to talk about with the guy who had shot me in the head?
The only thing I had to say to him was an endless stream of curses!
I absolutely had to avoid being left alone with this man.
Who knew whether he’d put a gun to my forehead again, just like last time?
I quickly attached myself to the end of the line.
Whether the man followed me or not, I just couldn’t be alone.
By the time I got onto the bus, all the seats were already occupied.
I moved farther inside and stood there, holding onto one of the handrails.
I discreetly glanced toward the front door.
The man wearing the skull mask had followed me onto the bus.
The doors closed just in time.
The man walked over and stopped beside me, maintaining a reasonable distance.
Without even pretending to tap a transit card.
…So it really is true.
I’m the only one who can see him.
But why can only I see him?
While I was thinking about it, the bus started moving.
I staggered slightly from the sudden acceleration, and the man reached out and caught my shoulder.
For a moment, I looked up while he was supporting me.
Then his hand, which had casually steadied me, quickly moved away.
“If you don’t feel like talking, at least listen. I’ll tell you the urgent matters first.”
I listened to him while feeling the faint pressure his hand had left behind on my shoulder.
Even though I didn’t want to hear him, I had no choice.
Right now, I was the only person who could hear that voice, too.
The man withdrew his hand completely and spoke.
“There are people who have been following you, Ms. Myung Sena.”
“…”
“And they’re still following you now.”
Ah.
I should’ve just covered my ears.
But regardless of whether my heart was about to fall out of my chest, the man continued speaking smoothly.
“There should be a car following behind this bus… They’re probably waiting for the moment you get off so they can follow you. Of course, they’ll only be visible to you as well.”
Just listening to this was driving me crazy.
I finally leave the house after so long, and this is what happens?
In a hurry, I pulled out my phone and held it to my ear.
Pretending to be on a call, I asked the man,
“Uh… How long has this been going on?”
Fortunately, the man immediately played along with my clumsy act.
“Since you left the hospital.”
This was driving me insane.
They’d been following me for that long?
“I had no idea. Nothing happened at all…”
“They couldn’t approach you carelessly because there were eyes watching over you. You didn’t know it, but the past week has been a very precarious time.”
What kind of genre was my life turning into?
In other words, while I had been lounging around at home without a care in the world, there had been intense surveillance and covert approaches happening all around me.
“Could they be… those police officers from that time?”
“No. They’re completely separate individuals.”
“Then who are they?”
“That…”
BOOM!
The bus suddenly jolted violently.
I let out a short scream and fell sideways, and the man immediately caught me.
“Ow, my back… my back…”
“What the hell?! What happened?”
“Didn’t we hit something from behind?”
“Oh my God! Are you okay?”
The bus instantly erupted into chaos.
Passengers who had no idea what had happened began murmuring among themselves, and before long, the bus hurriedly pulled over to the side of the road.
Screeeech…
“I’ll go check the back! Please wait a moment!”
After asking for everyone’s understanding, the driver got off through the front door.
While the driver went to inspect the rear of the bus, the man stared toward the damaged section and muttered,
“This is more urgent than I thought…”
Then, all of a sudden, he turned toward me and held out his hand.
“Ms. Myung Sena. Get off.”
“What?”
“There could be a bigger accident. Get off. Quickly.”
But why exactly did I have to get off?
Still, I didn’t have much time to hesitate.
I grabbed the hand he offered me, and he immediately pulled me through the open front door.
“This way.”
His hand tugged me along.
I was completely helpless against his strength and could only follow.
As we hurried between buildings, I cautiously glanced behind me.
I could see the driver examining the bus with a puzzled expression, surrounded by several people.
There were obvious signs that the bus had hit something, but apparently no one could figure out what it had collided with or where.
And then…
Tap, tap!
A group of three or four people came running toward us, passing right by them.
They were dressed entirely in black from head to toe.
Red scales protruded from their necks.
Snakes.
Or perhaps lizards.
Their faces were those of reptiles, though I couldn’t tell whether they were elaborate makeup or masks.
Whatever they were, they were chasing after us at full speed.
They were unbelievably fast.
I could actually see the distance between us shrinking.
The people around us didn’t seem to notice their bizarre appearances.
No.
They didn’t even seem to realize that the creatures were passing right beside them.
Exactly as the man had said on the bus.
But why were they following me?
What had I even done?!
“Ms. Myung Sena. Look ahead.”
Gasp.
At the man’s words, I immediately focused on what was ahead.
The man naturally pushed his way through the crowd and continued toward a secluded area.
He seemed to be searching for somewhere with fewer people.
I wanted to look behind me every now and then because I was afraid they were catching up.
But I remembered his warning to keep looking ahead and desperately kept my eyes forward.
As time passed, however, even that determination began to fade.
I was gradually no longer running alongside the man.
I was being dragged along.
I wanted to match his pace as much as possible, but my stamina simply couldn’t keep up.
Huff.
Haa… huff…
After we’d been running without stopping for about five minutes—
“I-I can’t run anymore…”
The man stopped.
I was still holding his hand, gasping for breath.
He looked down at me.
Then, after a moment, he made a decision.
“Stay still for a moment.”
At that point, I thought he was simply going to leave me behind.
“Eek!”
I didn’t expect him to suddenly throw me over his shoulder!
My view flipped upside down.
I could see his broad, flat back, while his solid shoulder pressed against my stomach.
He had lifted me as effortlessly as if I were a doll and slung me over his shoulder.
Then he said,
“Just relax so it’s easier for me to carry you.”
I need to be in a situation where I can actually relax for that!
Whether I protested or not, the man carried me and started running again at a rapid pace.
Every time he ran, I swung helplessly upside down over his shoulder.
I’m going to throw up…
I had never experienced motion sickness like this before, but I could feel it rising.
Bang!
Crash!
BOOM!
Every time the man entered somewhere, I heard the sound of something breaking.
I had no idea what he was destroying.
All I could see from time to time was something resembling dust or tiny fragments of stone drifting into my field of vision.
At one point, he smashed through something else and stopped abruptly.
“Ah.”
But when he sensed something approaching, he immediately started moving again.
The surrounding noise and signs of other people gradually faded.
Soon, all I could clearly hear was my ragged breathing and the man’s rapid footsteps.
After repeatedly rushing through one place after another without knowing where we were going, we finally reached somewhere completely quiet.
The man set me down.
The strong smell of paint filled the air.
