Chapter – 08
I steadied my dizzy vision and looked around.
It was a completely empty space, painted entirely white. Judging by the tape covering the windows, it seemed to be an abandoned building.
“I’ll take care of things outside. Wait here.”
The man knelt on one knee in front of me as he spoke.
I nodded, but then my gaze shifted toward the door across from us.
…That door looks a little worse for wear.
“Was it already like that?”
I pointed at the door.
The man turned to look at it as well.
Then he let out a short sigh.
“Ah.”
He soon answered in his usual resigned tone.
“I’ll deal with it later.”
Apparently, even he hadn’t realized he’d damaged it that badly.
“Wait here until I come back. Don’t even think about going anywhere.”
After emphasizing that to me, he stood up and walked out through the doorway.
Because he’d thrown the door open so roughly, it didn’t close properly behind him.
I was left all alone in the white room.
At first, I had been too overwhelmed to understand what was happening, but now that I was alone, my eyes gradually began to sting.
All I’d done was leave the house because I wanted some scones.
Why was all of this happening to me…?
BOOM!
A tremendous, unidentified noise came from beyond the door.
I flinched and curled myself up.
What was happening out there?
There had been three snake-headed creatures chasing us.
Was it really okay to send that man out there alone?
I considered calling the police, but quickly abandoned the idea.
The fight outside would probably only be visible to me anyway.
If that was the case, what good would calling the police do?
I buried my face in my knees and rubbed my burning eyes.
The thunderous noises continued behind me.
BOOM!
I want to go home.
I want to go home.
BANG!
I miss Mom and Dad.
Please let me out.
BOOM!
Please just send me home…
How long had I been waiting like that?
“…”
When my legs began to tingle from sitting in the same position for so long, I lifted my face from my knees.
I perked up my ears and listened carefully for any sign of movement.
Unlike before, there wasn’t a single sound coming from outside anymore.
…Is it over?
But why wasn’t the man coming back?
Unable to sit still any longer, I turned around and stared through the narrow gap in the door.
All I could see was a spacious area, some white pillars, and a staircase leading downward.
“What the…”
Where did he go?
Did he go upstairs?
I leaned my face closer to the gap so I could see more clearly.
And then—
Someone’s face suddenly appeared through the crack in the door.
“Aaaaaah!”
Holy shit!
I squeezed my eyes shut and screamed.
At the same time, desperate to stay alive, I somehow tried to force the door shut, even though it barely worked.
Don’t come any closer!
I said don’t come any closer!
“Ms. Myung Sena.”
“Don’t come near me! Shit… I said don’t come near me! I’ll kill you if you do!”
“Ms. Myung Sena. It’s me.”
“Ugh… h-huh, don’t… …What?”
Only after saying that did I finally realize what I’d heard.
I opened my eyes and carefully looked through the gap in the door.
There was a stranger standing outside.
But just from the voice, I knew he was the man wearing the skull mask.
I cautiously grabbed the doorknob and opened the door.
As I stepped several paces backward, his figure gradually came into view through the slowly opening door.
A strange, unfamiliar face.
A gloomy air reminiscent of winter.
Cold eyes beneath a broad forehead.
Deep-set eyelids and hollowed cheeks.
A sharply defined jaw.
Distinct facial features accentuated by shadows.
A severe impression, as though his entire face had been carved from straight lines.
That was my first proper impression of the man.
“Sk-skull…”
“…Yes. Skull. Are you all right now?”
He asked with an expression as emotionless as his voice.
I finally understood what was happening and nodded.
Even so, I nervously glanced beyond the open door.
“W-what about those people from earlier?”
“They’re gone for now.”
Wow.
Thank goodness.
Seriously, thank goodness…
I was just about to let out a sigh of relief when—
Whoosh.
His cold face suddenly came right up to mine.
Without warning.
“You’re crying again.”
“What?”
“Your eyes are red.”
He stared at me from an almost dangerously close distance.
Only after hearing that did I realize that my eyes were wet.
I hadn’t even noticed.
I was crying.
…But isn’t he a little too close?
“It’s… because I finally relaxed. I was a little scared…”
I avoided his gaze and took a step backward.
The man straightened his head without taking his eyes off me.
I roughly wiped away my tears.
Then I suddenly became aware of how quiet everything outside had become.
My legs were no longer running.
My breathing was no longer labored.
Even his clothes were more disheveled than before.
It was sudden, but…
He had helped me.
That much was true, wasn’t it?
I lowered my gaze and expressed what I was feeling.
At the very least, in a situation like this, I felt like I absolutely had to say these words.
“…Thank you for helping me.”
“…”
An awkward silence followed.
He had clearly heard me, but the man said nothing.
He didn’t move an inch.
I hadn’t said anything strange.
Maybe he just didn’t know how to respond and intended to let it slide.
“Ms. Myung Sena.”
Just as I was thinking that, the man’s voice called my name.
I raised the gaze I’d been keeping lowered and looked up at him.
Almost as if I were under a spell.
The man was looking at me with the same posture and expression as before.
“Then… shall we talk now?”
And as he asked that, I could have sworn a faint smile briefly appeared at the corner of his lips.
By the time we came outside, the sun had already begun to set.
The café, which we arrived at later than planned, was quiet and nearly empty.
The scent of freshly baked scones blended pleasantly with the aroma of coffee, while soft piano music played in the background.
If everything had gone according to plan, I would have been peacefully enjoying this atmosphere while eating some scones.
But now…
I was sitting across from the man at the most secluded table in the café.
In front of us were the Americano and chocolate parfait covered in syrup that we’d ordered earlier.
I hadn’t ordered any scones.
I wasn’t in the mood to eat anything.
The Americano was mine.
The chocolate parfait belonged to the man.
Yeah.
In the end, I’d decided to talk to him.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t see any other way out of this situation except talking to that man.
The man wearing the skull mask.
He was mysterious, but he was also the only person capable of explaining this terrifyingly unreal situation.
As frightening as he was, and as much as I wanted to avoid him, there was no denying that reality.
Of course, I still hadn’t decided whether I was going to take him at his word or not.
“Ms. Myung Sena.”
Startled, I looked up.
My eyes immediately met the man’s across the table.
He had the kind of face I probably wouldn’t have been able to take my eyes off if we’d met under different circumstances.
Maybe it was because I’d gotten so used to recognizing him by his skull mask…
Seeing actual facial features there felt strangely unfamiliar.
“I apologize for introducing myself so late.”
As he spoke, the man pulled a business card from inside his coat.
“I am Genzer, from the Seoul Field Investigation Division of the Lachazert Management Headquarters.”
At the same time, he extended the business card toward me with his gloved hand.
I glanced back and forth between the man and the business card, mulling over what he’d just said.
Lachazert.
The place I could no longer dismiss as a mere nightmare.
I already knew what kind of place that city was.
He’d told me before that it was a city where souls lived.
But I hadn’t known there was an organization specifically responsible for managing it.
Did this man work there?
With a strange feeling, I examined his business card.
Beside the stylized letters “RCZT,” printed vertically, there was a small line of text.
[Genzer, Manager — Seoul Field Investigation Division, Lachazert Management Headquarters]
When I’d only heard his name spoken aloud, I’d assumed it was “Kwon Jezer.”
But it’s Genzer.
Still… is “Geon” even a Korean surname?
“The Lachazert Management Headquarters is the organization responsible for overseeing the city of Lachazert, which Ms. Myung Sena has visited before.”
He calmly continued.
“Our primary responsibility is to prepare for situations that have occurred there or that may occur in the future.”
So they really did exactly what their name suggested.
I turned the business card over in my fingers, then my eyes stopped on one particular word.
“Seoul…”
I looked up.
“Does being part of the Seoul division mean there are other regions as well?”
“There are eight headquarters across the country, including Seoul. They’re all managed by the government.”
What?
There were eight?
The organization was that large?
“Th-then… are you basically a government employee?”
“In a sense.”
Genzer answered immediately.
“However, because a significant portion of our work is classified, we are officially designated as a secret organization.”
That explained why I’d lived my entire life without ever hearing that name.
If that was the reason, then it made sense that the organization couldn’t be publicly known.
It would have been strange for me to know about it in the first place.
I had no way of knowing whether everything he said was true.
And yet, strangely enough, I found myself trusting him.
Perhaps it was because of Genzer himself.
How should I put it?
He was still an impossible person to understand.
But for some reason, I didn’t feel like this man was lying to me.
He had been like that from the very first time we’d met, too.
