By Zephyria After running for a while, Eui-jae slowed down to catch his breath. The pure white desert stretched endlessly, and the heavy snowfall still didn’t stop. A desert with no end in sight. Could he find Lee Sa-young? Eui-jae bit his lip, then sped up again. Countless memories of people flashed beneath his kicking feet.
Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
If the memories of those who died because of Doomsday gathered here, wouldn’t his aunt’s memory be here too?
Eui-jae’s steps gradually slowed.
The memories of the Hunters who died in the West Sea Rift would be here too.
Eui-jae stopped completely.
His aunt’s memory too….
He knew it in his head. That there was no way he could find their memories in such a vast place. But his body wouldn’t move. Eui-jae knelt on the spot and began to dig through the white powder. Unidentifiable memories brushed past him like tiny fragments. His hands didn’t stop. Eui-jae kept digging, and digging.
His fingertips stung, and his arms ached. He didn’t know how much he had dug. No matter how much he dug, the accumulated powder showed no end, and not even a pit formed. Only Cha Eui-jae, covered in white fragments, remained.
“…Ha!”
Eui-jae looked up and laughed hollowly. What was he expecting? I just….
I wanted to see my aunt’s face one more time.
I wanted to see the faces of the people who went into the West Sea Rift with me, too.
Pure white light and heavy snow poured from the sky. Suddenly, he wondered if it would be okay to be buried like this. It was a very fleeting thought.
At that moment, he felt his kneeling knees sinking into the ground. Eui-jae slowly lowered his head and looked down. It wasn’t just a feeling. The white powder was really swallowing him up. Like a living swamp.
“What the hell…!”
Eui-jae quickly got up and stepped back, roughly brushing off his knees. What was going on? Before he could even assess the situation, he felt the ground collapsing beneath his feet.
“…Damn it!”
Eui-jae hurriedly started running. He felt like he was sinking with every step. An eerie premonition flashed through his mind. Could it be that this crazy ground was trying to swallow him up because of that fleeting thought?
“You’re out of your mind, really…!”
Eui-jae gritted his teeth and ran. His gray hair flew wildly. Okay, I’m sorry, I’m sorry for thinking like that. I have to find Lee Sa-young, I’m sorry for having such useless thoughts!
“Lee Sa-young!”
Eui-jae shouted Lee Sa-young’s name until his throat was raw. In an instant, the face of a child sitting in an airplane seat, hugging a teddy bear, flashed past him. Black curly hair, black eyes, pretty face, but a face that seemed full of complaints about the world. And… a small mole under his lip.
“…Huh?”
Eui-jae stopped for a moment. He knew it, even though he was seeing it for the first time. That’s Lee Sa-young. He must be… around kindergarten age. He wanted to look longer, but the ground immediately tried to swallow Eui-jae’s feet. Damn it! Eui-jae started running again. Starting with kindergarten Lee Sa-young, Lee Sa-young’s appearances appeared one by one.
As if he were some young master, the young Lee Sa-young was wearing suspender shorts and a white shirt. And in every scene that passed, his expression was consistently crumpled. Eui-jae couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“You’ve had that temper since you were a kid.”
Eui-jae couldn’t stop the giggles that kept bursting out. In the memories that passed by, Lee Sa-young grew up, and his expression remained crumpled. Lee Sa-young swinging alone, Lee Sa-young riding a bicycle alone, Lee Sa-young on an airplane, Lee Sa-young forcibly making a V sign, Lee Sa-young hitting a bigger kid with his bag, Lee Sa-young knocking down a bigger kid and beating him up before being dragged away. Huh? Wait, what?
“…….”
Even as the young Lee Sa-young was being dragged away by the arm, he didn’t stop kicking.
…Why didn’t you change that personality? Eui-jae slyly averted his gaze.
After that, many Lee Sa-youngs passed by. The background changed every time. America, Vietnam, Italy, Thailand, Taiwan, France, Taiwan, China, Japan, and Korea. How many countries had he traveled to? Lee Sa-young, standing in front of Incheon Airport, looked like he was in middle school, wearing a sweatshirt and cotton pants. The ordinary clothes looked awkward.
“…….”
When he gets back, should he try dressing Lee Sa-young in clothes like that?
As he thought that, the force pulling at his feet seemed to weaken a little. Eui-jae moved his feet. The next moment, what appeared in his sight was….
Lee Sa-young, with hazy eyes due to the Poison, looking up at a small space in the rubble. He was being held in his parents’ arms. His lips moved.
Please save me.
As if in response, a firm hand reached out to him. It was Cha Eui-jae’s hand. His face was not visible because of the light.
“…….”
The memories that appeared after that were all hazy. Was it because Lee Sa-young’s eyes weren’t right? Eui-jae watched the black shadows that popped out here and there in the hazy vision. That must have been what he looked like back then. That’s how Lee Sa-young saw him. As a dark figure constantly running around.
Before he knew it, Lee Sa-young was standing. Cha Eui-jae was right in front of him. A slightly raised black mask, revealing his jaw and mouth underneath. He was resting his cheek on a small hand wrapped in bandages. His faintly revealed lips were trembling terribly. Enough to be seen even in the hazy vision.
‘Will you wait for me?’
A terribly trembling voice asked. Lee Sa-young took his hand off his cheek. Cha Eui-jae was seen trying to grab the falling hand, but clenching it into a fist.
Lee Sa-young raised his pinky finger and held it out to Cha Eui-jae with a hand that had no strength.
The mouth revealed under the mask opened, then closed without saying anything. In the memory, Cha Eui-jae grabbed Lee Sa-young’s hand and lowered his head. Tears dripped down from under the raised mask. With a trembling hand, he intertwined his pinky finger with Sa-young’s. A sobbing voice whispered.
‘…It’s a promise.’
“…….”
Eui-jae looked at his own figure and turned his head away. It felt awkward to see himself from someone else’s perspective. Did he cry that messily back then? He scratched his head awkwardly and passed by the awkward memory. After that, it was a repetition of similar scenes. Lying in bed, getting up, taking medicine, lying down, getting up, taking medicine.
Soon, a woman’s voice, as sweet as a snake, was heard.
“If you go with me, you might be able to see J.”
It was Ga-young’s voice. Her voice, like a snake, like Poison, seeped into his ears.
“Is that all? You can even go save J yourself.”
The hand holding the sheet loosened slightly. No. Eui-jae shook his head. Ga-young whispered.
“How about it, want to go with me?”
Sa-young moved his lips, but only the sound of air escaping came out. Ga-young sighed softly and muttered.
“Hmm~ I can’t hear your answer because you can’t speak. What did J do…? If you want to go, nod your head.”
Sa-young nodded without hesitation. Hehe, a small laugh was heard.
“Then you have to listen to me. Got it?”
…….
Eui-jae gritted his teeth and moved his feet. After several blurry memories flashed by, Ga-young’s voice grabbed Eui-jae’s ankle again.
‘Let’s call this one~ um, yeah, Number 4. Since you can’t say your name. Okay?’
Ga-young clapped her hands.
‘Number 4 is! A precious talent who has survived so diligently even though he was poisoned by a Monster. Let’s all work together to help Number 4 get healthy!’
Wow, applause erupted. Noisy. He wanted to cover his ears. A cold hand touched Sa-young’s shoulder. Goosebumps rose on his neck. Unpleasant. The sound of a multi-legged insect busily moving its feet could be heard. It seemed to be a spider….
‘First, let me introduce you to your room. You’ll be living there from now on.’
A strong grip pulled Sa-young’s arm. Sa-young stumbled after her, leaning on his crutches. The long, white path continued. He was getting more and more out of breath. Before long, Sa-young stopped, panting. He supported himself on his crutches and caught his breath. Ga-young’s irritated voice rang out.
‘Hurry up.’
Sa-young gritted his teeth and started moving his crutches again. Huff, huff, rough breaths poured out. He tasted blood in his mouth. His shaggy bangs were wet with sweat. When he finally reached her, he heard the sound of a door opening. Ga-young whispered in a laughing voice.
‘Welcome. This is where you’ll be staying.’
‘…….’
The room was all white. Enough for Lee Sa-young’s terrible eyesight to recognize. The floor, the walls, the ceiling. A cold, spider-like hand pushed Sa-young’s back. Thud, Sa-young fell into the room with his crutches. He struggled to lift his head. Clang,
The door closed.
“…….”
Eui-jae wasn’t running anymore. He walked. From here on out were the memories of the time he spent alone, which Eui-jae had so desperately wanted to know, but which Lee Sa-young had never uttered.
The next scene was all black. It seemed like he was wearing something like an eye patch. A voice echoed from within.
‘You know, there’s a saying that you treat Poison with Poison.’
The potion sloshed. A sharp pain was felt in his arm, which seemed to be tied up somewhere and unable to move. Something viscous flowed in from the needle. And from there, a burning pain was felt in his arm. Ah, Lee Sa-young opened his mouth. No scream came out. Only the sound of air escaping flowed out. Finally, the needle was pulled out. Lee Sa-young twisted his body roughly, but he couldn’t escape.
‘So I’ve prepared all kinds of Poison. Shall we test how much we can endure?’
A laughing voice whispered. Eui-jae stared at the memory with bloodshot eyes.