2. Escape The Dark

“Dr. Jang, on duty again?”

The door opened without a knock, and a fellow doctor, Kim Je-guk, popped his head in. Instead of answering, Jang Jin-woo gave a faint smile. A sigh escaped Kim Je-guk instinctively.

“Working day and night every single day—who’s going to appreciate that? Are you protesting to the Chairman?”

“Someone has to be on duty anyway. If it’s going to be done, it’s better if someone who likes it does it.”

“No, why on earth do you like this work? What’s so great about dealing with patients who can’t even communicate?”

Kim Je-guk wore a completely bewildered expression. Once again, Jang Jin-woo simply smiled silently.

In truth, there was no need for Jang Jin-woo to be so immersed in the hospital’s work. It was merely a clinic-level psychiatric hospital located on the outskirts of a small provincial town. There were only three specialists: the hospital director, who was practically retired, Kim Je-guk, and Jang Jin-woo. Additionally, there were four male nursing assistants. Even including the security guards, the total staff didn’t even reach twenty people.

Furthermore, it didn’t provide general treatment and operated as a closed ward focused on severe patients, making it difficult to expect high profits. There was no reason for patients to show immediate improvement just because they were cared for with sincerity. In such a situation, volunteering for duty almost every day seemed meaningless. Especially considering that Jang Jin-woo was a surgical specialist and the son of the hospital’s chairman.

Jang Jin-woo took a few syringes from the medicine storage and put them in his gown pocket. It seemed he was going for rounds again. Kim Je-guk shook his head as if giving up.

“Then I’ll head out first. Dr. Jang, don’t push yourself too hard alone.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

He gave a polite bow to Kim Je-guk, who was waving his hand. Soon the door closed, and the presence of Kim Je-guk faded away. At that moment, Jang Jin-woo’s face also froze coldly. The eyes that curved softly when he smiled were now incredibly sharp. It had simply been obscured by his glasses.

Taking off his glasses, he massaged the area around his eyes.

“Meddling in other people’s business… anyone would think he’s the owner.”

Muttering sardonically, he picked up a chart. He also grabbed a daily newspaper.

Leaving the consultation room immediately, Jang Jin-woo headed toward the closed ward along the long corridor. With every step, the syringes in his pocket clinked against each other.

A nursing assistant walking from the opposite direction bowed. Jang Jin-woo responded to him with that same kind smile. However, as soon as he passed by, his face hardened again.

Soon, the automatic door leading to the ward appeared. He swiped his access card and entered. Because it was completely cut off from the outside, the chronically stagnant air was quite stifling. There was almost no sunlight, and it was filled with the smell of mold. His respiratory system and lungs felt so constricted that it was difficult to breathe.

The ceiling and walls were entirely stark white. Narrow windows, only 10cm wide, were attached sparsely to those walls. The patient rooms lined up along the corridor were all locked from the outside, and guards were on standby on every floor.

Of course, they didn’t have much to do. At most, they subdued patients who had intermittent seizures. These days, such unexpected situations were non-existent, making it a position of absolute leisure.

He lightly tapped the toe of a guard who was nodding off in a chair. The guard woke up with a start and looked around. Upon discovering Jang Jin-woo standing before him, he hurriedly offered a greeting.

“…Oops! You’re here, Doctor?”

Jang Jin-woo maintained his usual gentle expression.

“You’re working hard today as well.”

“Hard work? Not at all.”

“You look quite tired; why don’t you rest comfortably in the duty room?”

“No, it is strictly working hours…”

“It’s fine. Who’s going to say anything?”

Certainly, there was no one who would oppose Jang Jin-woo. Moreover, he always dismissed everyone around him during his duty rounds. It was a recurring event for the assigned guards to act shamelessly like this.

The guard didn’t decline for long and bowed, saying, “Then, I will.” A faint humming could be heard from him as he walked away.

Watching that scene impassively, he entered Room 411.

“Mr. Park Ju-wan, today…”

He stopped while asking the usual greeting. This was because the patient, who should have been staying quietly in bed, was doing something to the opposite wall.

Jang Jin-woo approached the owner of the room, Ju-wan, in a single stride and snatched his hand away. Ju-wan’s eyes slowly took him in. The captured hand was completely covered in blood. The fingertips, brutally bitten, were ragged.

Jang Jin-woo raised his voice, a rarity.

“What do you think you’re doing right now!”

“…I was writing. My name.”

There was no expression on Ju-wan’s face. It was difficult to find any vitality in his empty eyes. Jang Jin-woo shifted his gaze to the wall. Sure enough, the name ‘Park Ju-wan’ was written all over it. The letters scribbled in blood on the stark white wall were almost eerie.

Fresh red blood was still dripping from the fingers that must have been bitten numerous times. He gripped the wounded area tightly to stop the bleeding. Even so, as if he couldn’t even feel the pain, Ju-wan continued speaking calmly.

“…In case I forget.”

Ju-wan looked up and stared intently at Jang Jin-woo. No emotion could be read from his vacant gaze. If only he would show some resentment. Something surged up from within.

He yanked Ju-wan’s ankle hard. The thin body slid helplessly, and his head hit the wall. One would expect a groan to burst out, but Ju-wan only frowned.

He forcibly stripped off his pants. The loose pants and underwear passed over the ankles without resistance. Gripping and spreading the bloodless thighs, he hastily lowered his zipper. Then, his already erect penis sprang out, hitting Ju-wan’s buttocks.

His breathing became abruptly ragged. He applied saliva to his hand and spread it roughly over the dry crease of the buttocks. Then, he pushed one of Ju-wan’s legs wide open with his knee. Even in a situation where his waist was naturally lifted and his hole was being touched, Ju-wan had no significant reaction. His eyes also stared blankly into the air.

He carefully aimed his already wet penis at the hole. Then, letting out a long exhale, he opened Ju-wan’s body and entered.

“…Ugh!”

The penis was not fully inserted. The half-swallowed part felt as if it would be severed at any moment. He couldn’t even open his tightly shut eyes. His breath kept catching, and he clenched his molars tight.

“…Hngh.”

Jang Jin-woo groaned with effort and thrust upward sharply. The chronic scabs that had formed because the area was always open without preparation peeled off, as they always did. Thanks to that, the penis, which had been caught stiflingly, was shoved all the way to the root in one go.

“Haah, ha…”

The corners of Jang Jin-woo’s mouth twitched with satisfaction. He slowly pulled his penis out and then thrust it back in once more. The fresh blood flowing from the wound at the entrance mixed with pre-cum, acting as a subtle lubricant. Every time the different pieces of flesh mixed, a wet friction sound—squelch, squelch—was made. The penis also gradually became stained red, evoking a strange image.

Ju-wan looked calmly at Jang Jin-woo, who was panting above him. As if he were a person who knew neither pleasure nor pain, as if he were simply waiting for that moment to pass.

Every time he thrust, the stethoscope hanging around his neck jingled. With an annoyed gesture, he ripped off the stethoscope. Then, he braced his knees and pushed Ju-wan further toward the wall. Ju-wan was completely pinned between Jang Jin-woo and the cold wall. Immediately after, the speed and intensity of the movements in and out became faster and more fierce.

In the process, a syringe in his pocket broke, but he didn’t care. No, intoxicated by pleasure, he had no room to care. Only his groans echoed repeatedly in the empty patient room.

Ju-wan’s gaze, which had been wandering in the air, fell to the floor. He saw the daily newspaper Jang Jin-woo had brought. He reached out and barely managed to pick it up. His vision shook wildly as he was impaled by Jang Jin-woo, but he stubbornly checked the printed date.

Ten years. It had already been ten years since he was locked away in this stark white, enclosed room. And the hope that he would definitely escape this place had become just as stale.

“…Haaah-ugh!”

The rampaging Jang Jin-woo suddenly let out a scream-like groan and convulsed. Subsequently, his body stiffened, and he spurted lukewarm semen. Jang Jin-woo trembled slightly, twisting his body as if to shake off the last of his desire. There was a hint of irritation in that gesture.

Having finished his business, Jang Jin-woo became calm again. His movements were effortless as he zipped up his pants and tidied his disheveled gown.

He lifted Ju-wan and laid him on the bed. He put his underwear and pants back on him and covered him with a thin blanket. Then, he picked up the chart that had fallen on the floor.

With that, Room 411 returned to its original state. Although the air had warmed and a fishy smell lingered, such things didn’t matter. No one would be interested in the circumstances inside the patient room.

The patients there were no different from being abandoned in a prison called a patient room. No one looks at a discarded object. They were the same.

* * *

His weight was measured. It had decreased by 1.4kg in the meantime. Blood was also drawn. Even when the syringe needle pierced the skin, or when it poked the wrong spot a few times, there was no reaction from Ju-wan. It was the effect of the sedative. The X-ray was taken to check if he had swallowed something he shouldn’t have.

Physical examinations were conducted once in a while, just as one was about to forget. The process was extremely monotonous. After simple measurements and tests, an interview with the attending physician took place. Today, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Leaving the examination room, I moved to the designated consultation room. The nursing assistant who accompanied me even took the liberty of knocking and opening the door. I neither spoke to Ju-wan nor made eye contact with him.

Kim Je-guk, who was on the phone, flicked his hand instead of telling me to come in. I quietly closed the door and sat in the chair opposite him.

“Ah, yes. Yes, of course. Could there be any doubt? Ahahaha.”

He kept bowing his head as if the person on the other end of the line were standing right in front of him. His complexion was unusually bright. I wondered if something good had happened.

“Don’t worry. Of course. I can do it today. Yes.”

Kim Je-guk finished the call with a broad smile. However, the moment his eyes met Ju-wan’s, he returned to his usual sullen expression as if nothing had happened. His movements as he checked the medical records were clearly laced with annoyance. He scanned Ju-wan’s history of trauma and let out an overt sigh.

“I heard you caused trouble again last night?”

“…….”

“Since you’re going to be here anyway, would it kill you to just live like you’re dead? Then it would be easier for you, Mr. Park Ju-wan, and less troublesome for us. Aren’t you past the age of rebellion?”

No matter how you looked at it, this was not the attitude of someone interviewing a patient. It felt more like being dragged into a faculty office than a consultation room. When Ju-wan remained silent, Kim Je-guk clicked his tongue openly and shook his head. He didn’t attempt further conversation. For a while, only the sound of the keyboard echoed in the narrow room. It seemed he intended to fabricate today’s consultation record as well.

Ju-wan stared at the golf bag placed behind Kim Je-guk. It was something that hadn’t been there last time. He looked down at the desk calendar. Certain dates were marked with specific symbols. Every time Kim Je-guk moved, his wristwatch caught Ju-wan’s eye. Though he didn’t know for sure, it looked quite expensive.

“The grandmother in room 310 mentioned the other day… that the patient in room 308 hasn’t been seen.”

As he suddenly spoke, Kim Je-guk’s hand stopped abruptly. His eyes remained fixed on the monitor.

Soon, he broke the silence with a small sigh. Then he turned his head to face Ju-wan. An ambiguous smile hung on his face.

“That old woman is a paranoid patient who’s always rambling about someone kidnapping her. She’s completely insane. Who would actually want to take in an old body that’s useless for anything? Surely you don’t actually believe that delusional nonsense?”

He asked back in a tone of disbelief. He tried to act nonchalant, but the pupils reflecting Ju-wan were trembling slightly.

“I read the newspaper yesterday, and it said illegal organ trafficking is rampant these days.”

“What does that have to do with our hospital! Stop with the useless delusions; the consultation is over, so please leave.”

Kim Je-guk frowned deeply and brushed his hand off. It was an overreaction beyond what was necessary. Ju-wan, who would normally have followed instructions quietly, did not budge this time.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you leaving? I said leave!”

“The patient in room 412. Whenever the sun set, they would keep screaming for help, saying someone was coming to kill them… but they’ve been quiet lately. I wonder if they’re very sick….”

“That shouldn’t be something for you to be involved in, Mr. Park Ju-wan. Look at who’s worrying about whom.”

“…Are they even alive, that person?”

Before he could even finish the sentence, he was grabbed by the collar. Kim Je-guk glared fiercely at Ju-wan, who had been pulled right in front of his nose.

“You crazy bastard… what do you think you know? Do you think anyone would listen to a piece of shit like you babbling such things? Just live quietly as if you’re dead. Unless you want your organs and your flesh separated.”

It was ironic. The man who had scoffed at everything Ju-wan said, the man who claimed no one would listen to a mental patient like Ju-wan, was now threatening to kill him if he opened his mouth again.

He was immediately kicked out of the consultation room and thrown into the hallway. Normally, he would have been shoved back into room 411. But for some reason, the nursing assistants were nowhere to be seen. Only their voices could be heard faintly from a distance.

He walked slowly in that direction. A patient was causing a scene in the lounge. With a panicked face, the patient was repeatedly swinging a syringe held in their hand. The nursing assistants and guards, who had been missing, surrounded him and tried to calm him down. Other patients watched the scene blankly.

“That’s the patient from room 205. He disappeared a few weeks ago, but it looks like he came back yesterday. He has surgical scars. I think… his kidney was taken.”

He flinched at the voice that had suddenly approached. Turning his head, he saw a middle-aged woman standing beside him. She was wearing patient clothes.

He could tell at a glance that she was in a similar situation to himself. This was because, although her eyes were stained with resignation, they were not clouded.

Watching the patient from room 205 finally being subdued, she murmured hollowly.

“It’s practically a human butcher shop, isn’t it? Really.”

* * *

Baek Do-un threw his phone aside with a half-asleep face. The clock pointed to 3:20. It was still pitch black outside, and it hadn’t even been an hour since he fell asleep. A deep sigh escaped him. He had indulged them once or twice, and now they acted as if he were on call permanently.

He glared at the innocent clock and ruffled his hair messily. His sense of duty was always the problem. He sprang from his seat and packed his medical bag. He swept in all the blood bags he had been storing separately. Without even putting on a coat, he left the house huffing.

A black sedan was waiting outside. As Baek Do-un appeared, a man stepped out of the driver’s seat. He had a quite intimidating build. Just by approaching, Baek Do-un’s entire body was covered by the man’s shadow. Despite this, the man bowed politely to Baek Do-un. He even personally opened the rear door.

Baek Do-un silently entered and sat in the back seat. The man, who had quickly returned to the driver’s seat, said he would depart. Then the car slowly left the apartment entrance. Everything was smooth up to that point.

However, once the car picked up speed, it began to race with a roar, ignoring signals and lanes. Baek Do-un fastened his seatbelt habitually and spoke.

“What is it this time?”

“The President is slightly injured.”

He had already heard such a vague answer during the phone call. The man stepped hard on the accelerator instead of the brake at a yellow light. The car lunged forward, throwing Baek Do-un’s body back. A deep groan escaped him.

“Ha, who doesn’t know that? I’m asking why he’s injured again today.”

“There was a problem during the transaction.”

“Yes, I bet there was. There must have been a problem. As if he’d get hurt all by himself.”

“…….”

Like master, like dog. Truly frustrating and stubborn. It would be easier to treat if they told him how or how much he was injured in advance, but the man kept his mouth shut. Even his expression didn’t change. He was so consistent that Baek Do-un gave up on the conversation early on.

The car arrived in front of a room salon after a series of acrobatic maneuvers. A distance that would have taken at least 40 minutes if the speed limit had been followed was covered in just 13 minutes. Unless God was watching over them, it was a miracle that their limbs and bodies were still intact.

Baek Do-un entered the room salon immediately. The smell of blood vibrated from the entrance. The hulking men, who had been glancing anxiously at the door, quickly approached and bowed.

“The doctor has arrived!”

“My eardrums are going to burst. Where is that bastard?”

“This way.”

He followed the men toward the VIP room. He hesitated for a moment before opening the closed door. It was because the doorknob was smeared with blood. Not only that, but the floor was also sticky, soaked in something. His shoulders slumped with a long sigh.

“This is so annoying, seriously… I’m going in.”

There was no response to his announcement. He nodded toward the doorknob to the man standing beside him. The man tactfully opened the door. However, the door only opened halfway. It seemed someone had collapsed behind it.

The inside of the room seen through the gap was a complete disaster. Nothing was intact, whether it was liquor bottles or glasses. Food was scattered messily across the tables, sofas, and floor. Even the lights seemed to be broken, leaving the interior in complete darkness.

After checking the pulse of the man collapsed in front of the door, he stepped over him and went inside.

A man was sitting straight ahead. Despite the half-dead men scattered around him, he calmly drank vodka. He seemed to have no intention of stopping the blood flowing from the wound in his side.

In one stride, he approached him and swiped the glass away. The glass slipped from the man’s hand and rolled onto the sofa.

“Kwon Su-hyeok. You really are a crazy bastard.”

He ground his teeth. Kwon Su-hyeok merely grinned, unbothered. He looked like someone intoxicated by drugs. He seemed out of it from losing so much blood. Soon, his head leaned back languidly. His limbs were visibly slackening.

After glaring at him as if he wanted to kill him for a moment, he moved quickly. He wrapped the wound tightly with pressure and took out the saline for transfusion and the blood bags he had prepared. The blood bag was marked with the blood type ‘RH-AB’. A sharp needle pierced the back of the hand without mercy.

As soon as the emergency measures were finished, he flopped down on the sofa. He was completely drained. Unlike the exhausted Baek Do-un, Kwon Su-hyeok remained composed throughout.

“Got a cigarette?”

“Do you want to die?”

When he growled, Kwon Su-hyeok chuckled. Even though the pressure bandage was soaked in fresh blood, he remained that relaxed. It was as if he had no lingering attachment to life. It was likely because the current situation was practically routine for Kwon Su-hyeok.

He was called the President, but his work was not much different from that of a gangster. Constantly fighting over interests, and not hesitating to harm each other depending on the situation. Without a primary physician who could rush to him at any time, he wouldn’t know on which road or in what manner he would meet a dog’s death.

Moreover, his blood type happened to be RH-AB, which is difficult to procure in the country. He couldn’t guarantee even tomorrow. It was a terribly reckless life.

“You’re really going to die like this. You know that?”

Despite the resigned scolding, Kwon Su-hyeok chuckled again. Then he muttered something cryptic.

“I’ve ordered one from the butcher shop—something clean with no aftereffects. So you don’t have to nag me about that anymore.”

* * *

The two hands gripping the bars of the steel bed’s headboard turned white. Ju-wan held onto those rusted iron pillars as if they were a lifeline, refusing to let go.

However, as Jang Jin-woo pulled his waist, he slid away helplessly. Jang Jin-woo widely spread the buttocks of the limp Ju-wan. The already loosened hole was glistening with a large amount of semen and blood.

He rubbed his stiffened penis heavily against it. Ju-wan shuddered and shook his head violently.

“Ugh… stop!”

Lest the sound leak out, Jang Jin-woo pressed Ju-wan’s head firmly into the pillow. As his breath was suddenly blocked, Ju-wan’s face and neck turned bright red.

Pressing down harder on the body fluttering to survive, he pushed the glans deep inside. As if by magic, Ju-wan’s body flinched and stiffened. He rolled the inserted part softly before suddenly thrusting down with a rebound. As the penis was driven in to the root in one go, Ju-wan’s body jerked. Simultaneously, the mucus that had filled the hole was pushed out.

“Haa….”

For a while, Jang Jin-woo tilted his head back and trembled at the sweet pleasure. The corners of his mouth twitched pleasantly. While pressing down firmly on Ju-wan’s head and back, which were squirming in intense pain, he ruthlessly thrust into the hole as if punishing him. The penis was sucked out leaving only the glans, then slammed back in, mercilessly hacking away at the insides. Ju-wan couldn’t even scream, only struggling to take a tight breath.

Intoxicated by lust, Jang Jin-woo licked his lower lip thickly. It had reached a point where he couldn’t endure even a single day without it. It was as if the nature he had suppressed behind a kind mask had exploded.

No, this was all Ju-wan’s fault. He should have become quite accustomed to it since he’d been done to so much, yet he kept acting as if he hadn’t even broken the seal. The way he always harbored resentment and looked at him with hatred stimulated the sadism within him. While counting down the days waiting only for Jang Jin-woo, while he was the only one to rely on. Because he showed a dull reaction to any pain, he wanted to break him further. Doesn’t every human have that kind of desire for conquest? That was how he rationalized it.

As he accelerated his movements, Ju-wan’s vision turned yellow and a faint dizziness swirled. Blood and heat surged rapidly toward the center, causing his eyes to shut tightly repeatedly. The swollen flesh felt as if it were melting, tingling intensely. He tried to hold back his moans, but Jang Jin-woo could not swallow the roar erupting from his own mouth.

“Haa, haa… damn it… k-ugh!”

He rubbed himself against Ju-wan as if throwing his lower body onto him. The hand pressing Ju-wan’s head tightened significantly and then slowly loosened. Jang Jin-woo collapsed onto Ju-wan and exhaled the breath he had been holding. Ju-wan merely curled up his ravaged body, fidgeting. Jang Jin-woo chuckled with satisfaction and patted his thigh.

Soon, he tidied his disheveled collar and stood up. Then he sat on the edge of the bed and thoroughly wiped away the traces of the sexual act from Ju-wan’s body.

As he inserted a finger to scrape out the semen remaining in the hole, Ju-wan gripped the blanket tightly and trembled. Regardless, he scraped the inner walls. He also disinfected the wounded area of the entrance once.

After finishing everything, he put the underwear and pants back on him and pulled the blanket over him as usual. He also slid the daily newspaper he had brought for Ju-wan to one side.

“Doctor… have you never thought that I might die?”

Jang Jin-woo was just about to leave the room. Ju-wan’s suddenly raised voice caught his footsteps. Jang Jin-woo stopped for a moment, looking at the door. The answer followed shortly.

“Mr. Park Ju-wan won’t die. I’m the one who knows that best. Did you already forget?”

He chuckled and looked back at Ju-wan. Ju-wan lay facing the wall like a corpse, motionless.

Laughing it off as if it were nothing, he left the room. The door closed with a click, and the lock was firmly secured.

“…….”

He pulled the blanket over his head. The narrow room was once again consumed by silence and deep darkness.

* * *

The sunlight was unusually good. So much so that it was a pity the wind wasn’t even warmer.

Ju-wan looked at the unreachable outside scenery through the thick glass window. Even so, all he could see were the nearby hills.

The hospital was thoroughly cut off from the outside. The only main road nearby was a highway, and even that required going down for a long time. The people in the one or two houses far away had no reason to come up toward the hospital. The flow of the seasons could only be guessed by the changes in the trees.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

He turned around at the familiar voice. The middle-aged woman he had spoken with briefly a while ago was standing behind him. In the meantime, her face had become pitifully gaunt.

“Can I sit next to you for a moment?”

Instead of answering, he moved slightly to one side. The middle-aged woman said, “Thank you,” and sat in the spot Ju-wan had cleared. Just being close to her felt like a warm heat.

“You’re just about my son’s age… how long has it been? Since you came here.”

“…10 years.”

“10 years?”

“Yes. I didn’t know it had been that long either, but I found out from the newspaper a while ago.”

“You’re a strong person.”

“…I don’t know.”

“You are, why not? It means you’ve held onto yourself well during that immense amount of time. In a place where you can’t endure without going crazy. I’ve been here for about 2 years now, and every day is so hard. I have nightmares every night, and when I open my eyes, an even worse nightmare is waiting for me.”

The woman laughed hollowly. Her complexion looked terribly bitter.

Ju-wan rolled his eyes and stared at the woman’s thin arm. Countless injection marks and scars that looked like they were scratched by needles or fingernails were lined up. About a year after he entered this place, Ju-wan’s own arms had been exactly like that. His heart softened at the strange sense of kinship.

“How did you….”

“My husband had an affair. My children were all studying abroad. Since there was too much property to divide if we divorced, he framed me as a mental patient. He even bribed my younger brother, who likes gambling. Still, I live because I can’t die, with the faint hope that things might change when the children return, that the eldest would have become an adult, and if they only knew where I was, they would get me out. What about you?”

Ju-wan hesitated before speaking.

“…I live because I’m afraid. I endure because I’m scared.”

The woman looked at Ju-wan, who was muttering haltingly, with curiosity. On his face, as he said he was afraid and scared, no such emotions were reflected at all. Only the way his hands fidgeted with his sleeve revealed his anxiety.

He said he had been here for ten years. No matter how one looked at it, Ju-wan’s age couldn’t have exceeded thirty. In other words, it meant he had been trapped here before he had even turned twenty.

What kind of tragic story could there be? The woman waited in silence for Ju-wan’s story.

“When I look at that mountain, I always think of that time.”

Ju-wan’s eyes narrowed as he looked out the window. He seemed to be recalling the past. He calmly poured out his circumstances in a slightly husky voice. It was a resigned lament, as if it didn’t matter whether she listened to him or believed him from this point on.

When I was young, I lived in a large hanok. One of those traditional houses with tiled roofs over walls made of wood and earth. When you opened the heavy main gate, you’d see the garden first, and then opening another door behind the garden led to the main building and the sarangchae. There was a small side door behind the main building, but I never went in there. My grandfather warned me repeatedly that I must not enter. In the back garden, there were countless giant jars as tall as I was. It was a daily routine to break one while playing with friends and get scolded for it.

My grandfather wore hanbok all year round. Though he didn’t wear a topknot like people did in the old days. When I lay with my head on his lap, there was a rustling sound… I loved that sound, and the feel of the smooth fabric.

Whenever I, as a young grandson, would burrow into his arms, my grandfather always urged me. He told me never to forget who I was, no matter what hardships I faced. He said that no matter how hard or exhausted I became, I must never let go of myself first. I hooked my pinky finger with his and promised I would, but in truth, I didn’t really know what he meant. It was a pretty difficult conversation for a six-year-old.

The village elders were also very respectful toward my grandfather. They all called him ‘Eoreusin.’ Whenever a problem arose, they would always come to him to discuss it. Even the village head did. I liked that. Rather than simply being happy, I think I felt proud.

I told you earlier, didn’t I? That looking at that mountain reminds me of that time. There was a mountain like that in the village where I lived with my grandfather.

The village people were all very kind-hearted. For every event, large or small, they would roll up their sleeves as if it were their own business, and if they found wild ginseng or pine mushrooms, they would generously give them to the senior center without hesitation. The reason I wasn’t lonely despite having no parents was likely because the aunts and uncles of the village took such good care of me. I thought Shim Cheong was the only one who grew up on wet-nurse milk, but they say I grew up that way too.

My grandfather was a generous man, but he was stubborn about one thing. People. If someone’s character was bad, he would never deal with that person again.

That must be why it was. Why my grandfather kicked my mother out. A young woman who said she would take me came to our house a couple of times a year. My grandfather wouldn’t even associate with her, but I wasn’t oblivious, so I vaguely knew that woman was my mother. Even to me, she looked a lot like me.

Every time my mother turned away after receiving a harsh scolding from my grandfather, she would hold onto me and say that one day, she would definitely come back for me. She arbitrarily hooked her finger with mine and even ‘stamped’ the promise. I didn’t wait for it, but she really did keep that promise. On the day of my grandfather’s funeral.

Even at seventy, he was healthy. Everyone said he’d easily make it to a hundred… It was an accident. I still don’t know why my grandfather, who said he was going to the five-day market, met with an accident on a remote road far from the town center.

What was truly unsettling was that the person who found my grandfather was a ready-mix concrete truck driver. He said the place where the accident happened was a road where there was no reason for any vehicle to pass other than construction vehicles. Yet, the vehicle that hit my grandfather was clearly a regular passenger car.

The culprit wasn’t caught. There were many suspicious points, but there was no guardian to demand a thorough investigation. There was no suitable physical evidence or witnesses either. At that time, CCTV and black boxes were rare even in the city, let alone in a rural village like that.

Since I was my grandfather’s only blood relative, I wore mourning clothes that didn’t fit me well and greeted the mourners. My mother, having heard the news somehow, rushed over in a heartbeat and hugged me tightly as I stood alone. The words she whispered then are still vivid. ‘Let’s live with Mommy now.’ My mother was smiling then.

I could hear people whispering. I was only eight, but I could tell they were speaking ill of my mother.

As soon as the funeral ended, the people who had been looking after the household left one by one. Including the Gangneung Grandmother, who said she would close her eyes only after seeing me get married. She held my hand tightly and just shed endless tears. Even on her way out, she kept looking back, over and over, as if something was weighing on her mind. I still can’t forget that image.

The house in Seoul where my mother lived was truly small. And another son of my mother’s lived there besides me. I don’t want to talk about that brat right now, so I won’t. Even if I did, it would be hard to believe that such a person exists. No one believes that such a beast can live perfectly fine while wearing a human mask.

My mother slept all morning. Then, only when the sun set, she would wake up, put on makeup, dress up, and leave the house. I never once saw her coming home. When I opened my eyes in the morning, she had already returned and was asleep. Reeking of heavy alcohol.

I thought it was because she was earning money, but even after we moved to a house incomparably larger than the previous one in less than a year, her lifestyle remained unchanged.

If anything changed, it was that I no longer slept in the same room as my mother. There was a man who took over the master bedroom as soon as we moved. He was a rough-looking man, and my mother’s other son called that man ‘Father.’ And unlike when he was alone with me, he acted docile, like a beast with its tail tucked.

My mother seemed to love that man very much. Seeing as she turned a blind eye to any mistake he made. Once, after going out with my mother and returning, I saw a pair of shoes I hadn’t seen before. They were women’s heels. At that time, the master bedroom door was slightly open, and strange sounds were coming from inside. The kind of sounds that happened when I jumped up and down on the bed. Rough breathing and moans were mixed in. What else could it have been?

Despite my young age, I thought the man shouldn’t be doing that. My mother’s complexion became very dark then.

My mother? No, my mother silently closed the master bedroom door. I told you. She loved that man very much.

The man’s eccentricities didn’t end there. At some point, I started feeling a sense of alienation whenever I slept. The feeling of something groping my body.

So once, I kept my eyes closed, pretending to sleep, and not long after the lights in my room went out, the man quietly entered. Without turning on the light, he slid my blanket aside. Then he shoved his large hand inside my pants and started touching me. It felt like a bug was crawling on me. I hated it; it was horrific. Even then, I knew it was a wicked act.

Terrified, I confessed the matter to my mother when the man wasn’t around. My mother’s expression stiffened for a moment, but then she admonished me as if it were nothing. She said the man did it because he found me cute. So there was no need to make a fuss. Strange, isn’t it? My grandfather, who loved me more than anyone, never once did such a thing.

As time passed and I grew older, the man’s midnight visits continued. From around the second or third year of middle school, he stopped bringing strange women into our house. That might have been a joy for my mother, but at least for me, it wasn’t. Because after that, the man’s visits were no longer limited to the middle of the night. And the acts he committed against me didn’t end with just touching.

The truly terrifying thing happened on a day I left school early because I sprained my ankle during PE class. I felt inwardly relieved after confirming the man’s shoes weren’t at the entrance, but it seems he returned while I was asleep. I opened my eyes because I was suffocating, and the man’s penis was inside my mouth. My mouth was being thrust into recklessly, so I couldn’t breathe, and it felt like my mouth was going to tear. The tip kept hitting my uvula, making me gag. My head was hitting the wall incessantly, leaving me dazed and completely out of it.

In my agony, I kept squeezing my eyes shut and opening them, and that’s when I saw her. My mother, peeking into my room through a gap in the door. My mother was pale as a ghost. My throat was blocked so no voice came out, but I screamed toward my mother over and over. To help me. To please save me.

But my mother, as she had done before, silently closed the door. I felt hopeless and terrified. Sorrow welled up, and I cried.

Why didn’t my mother love me as much as that man did? Why didn’t my mother cherish me even as much as her other son? She was my mother. She was still my mom.

I mentioned it earlier, right? That my mother had another son besides me. He was a truly vile fellow. He was a guy who couldn’t resist the urge to torment me whenever he saw me. He had a dog he raised, and it was almost as big as a person. If you look here, on my leg, there are at least three or four scars from being bitten by that dog.

A girlfriend I met in high school committed suicide. She must have found it unbearable. How scared must she have been alone? Just thinking about it still makes my heart crumble and makes me shudder. That half-brother’s gang had done wicked things to her. I felt that I couldn’t let him live. I wanted to avenge her somehow.

I stabbed a guy with a knife—a guy who had caused someone’s death but was just smirking and making foul jokes. I have no intention of excusing it as self-defense. I truly intended to kill him. Even now, I sometimes regret it. That I should have stabbed his neck, not his leg. Blood spurted like a fountain, and he screamed that he was dying. Just then, my mother appeared.

My mother didn’t say a word. She didn’t even shed a tear. She simply calmly called an ambulance and made another phone call somewhere. Saying she wanted an emergency admission.

The woman listening frowned. It seemed she couldn’t believe the fact that a biological mother had thrown her sane son into a psychiatric hospital.

Ju-wan continued to gaze at the tree branches swaying in the wind with an indifferent look.

“Do you know what I’m afraid of?”

The woman remained silent. Though the situation of people forcibly admitted to psychiatric hospitals is generally the same, just listening to Ju-wan’s story made one’s breath catch. He said the reason he had struggled to keep himself together over the past ten years was because of fear. That he endured it because he was afraid, terrified.

“That everything will harden just like this. That I’ll be trapped here, live and die without any meaning to my existence, and my mother, that man, and that brat will live and die well without any guilt, and in the end, the four of us will be tied together as one family. That is what I fear most.”

The identity of the ‘fear’ that had sounded vague finally became clear.

Jang Jin-woo drank his coffee while reviewing Ju-wan’s physical examination results. His weight had dropped again in the meantime. It was a change that any doctor with even a slight interest in their patient would notice. However, Ju-wan’s attending physician, Kim Je-guk, was merely smirking while staring at his phone.

On his behalf, Jang Jin-woo prescribed nutritional supplements for Ju-wan and requested high-protein foods and carbohydrates for his diet. There was no harm in being cautious in everything.

“What have you been working so hard on for a while now?”

Perhaps bored of idling, Kim Je-guk suddenly approached and poked his head in.

“I’ve finished everything.”

As usual, he tried to divert his attention with a smile. Kim Je-guk, who would normally have snapped, “Uselessly diligent brat,” suddenly turned the monitor toward himself. Then, he scanned Ju-wan’s test records with an interested look.

“Come to think of it, patient Park Ju-wan was RH-AB type, right?”

He had an expression as if he had discovered a pearl in the sand.

* * *

“…There won’t be any problem. No one has visited for nearly ten years.”

As an untimely voice echoed through the hallway, his eyes snapped open. However, all that filled his vision was deep darkness.

He listened in silence to the noise beyond the door. The presence of five or six people grew closer, and soon a faint light seeped through the gap in the door. The sound of footsteps that had been echoing steadily through the hallway also stopped abruptly.

Immediately after, the lock began to be released from the outside. His heart throbbed violently as he sensed the crisis. He bolted upright and glared at the rattling door.

Soon, the door was flung open, and a dazzling beam of light poured in.

“……!”

His eyes stung from the LED lantern light, making it impossible to grasp the situation properly. He shook his head, covering his eyes with his hand. It was agonizing. In the meantime, men dressed in black stormed in and grabbed Ju-wan’s limbs. A gag was shoved into his mouth in an instant.

He tried to resist by twisting his body, but he was completely overpowered and couldn’t budge. The last thing he saw before his vision was blocked by a blindfold was Kim Je-guk standing at the door, smiling.

He was being sold off as meat.

A chilling premonition pierced his mind. He hadn’t endured the last ten years for this. He hadn’t put up with all the injustices just to end up in this state.

He grit his teeth. He kicked out with all his might with a leg that wasn’t yet fully tied. His foot collided with something with a thud. A barely suppressed groan followed.

But that was all. Soon, a sharp pain exploded at the nape of his neck, and the strength left his body. His consciousness remained faintly attached, but he couldn’t move a single finger.

The suspicious men completely bound Ju-wan’s body. Then, one of them easily slung Ju-wan over his shoulder.

While his ears were ringing, fragments of their conversation drifted in.

“Excuse me, but the balance payment…”

“I’ll have the President verify the item first, and then I’ll deposit it immediately.”

“Ah, is that so? Then let’s head over.”

After the short conversation, the group left the hallway with quick steps. The door to Room 411, now without its owner, closed heavily.

At a low knock, Kwon Su-hyeok’s eyelids lifted. It seemed he had fallen asleep for a moment. As he shifted his body, there was a splashing sound of water. Consequently, the hot water filling the bathtub overflowed mercilessly.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, he looked down to see blood slowly seeping from the abdominal wound that Baek Do-un had sutured a while ago. It was the price for ignoring the warning not to let water touch the wound for the time being. Kwon Su-hyeok looked at his abdomen indifferently and stepped out of the tub.

Streams of water fell relentlessly from his massive body. As he swept back his wet black hair, his sharp features became prominent. It was a handsome face without a single flaw, yet a strange sense of intimidation lingered.

The subordinate waiting outside the door reported.

“President, the item you ordered has arrived.”

Kwon Su-hyeok’s hand, which was putting on a robe, paused. He had said he would be ready soon, but he didn’t expect it to be this swift. Indeed, it was no wonder the rumors in that underworld were widespread.

He opened the door and went outside immediately. The dark-clad men bowed their heads in unison. None of them made eye contact with Kwon Su-hyeok.

As he headed toward the living room, a four-legged beast covered in golden fur approached leisurely from the bedroom. It stepped forward with its massive front paws, swaying its body flexibly. The creature, whose length from front to back legs seemed to be at least 2 meters, was none other than a wild jaguar. The men were tense, fearing they might brush against it. In fact, more than a few organization members had ended up in the hospital after being bitten by it.

However, he wondered if the jaguar before him was truly the one from the rumors. Like a giant cat, it slowly circled around Kwon Su-hyeok’s legs, rubbing its body against him. Kwon Su-hyeok simply walked forward, removing the moisture from his hair with a dry towel, regardless of what the beast did. The jaguar, which had been acting cute continuously, suddenly ran ahead of him.

When Kwon Su-hyeok arrived in the living room, the jaguar was pinning down the prepared item with its front paw.

“…….”

Ju-wan, who had just woken up, stared blankly at the jaguar growling as it pressed down on him. Even though the gag in his mouth had been removed long ago, he couldn’t even let out a gasp. It was because a scene he had never expected had unfolded.

He looked around in bewilderment. He had thought that when he opened his eyes, he would be lying on a freezing operating table. No, he had thought he would simply meet his end right then and there, without even that.

But where he was now was inside a house. And one where a large feline beast lived, at that. Was he dreaming?

“Don’t cast your eyes on things that don’t belong to you.”

Just then, someone approached and gave the Jaguar a light kick. The Jaguar kept a close eye on Ju-wan as it slowly backed away. Finally, the owner of the voice, Kwon Su-hyeok, came into view. He was looking down at Ju-wan incessantly with his arms crossed.

A jet-black jaguar that had discovered its prey.

That was the first impression Kwon Su-hyeok gave. There was no other way to describe it.

Kwon Su-hyeok’s thick eyebrows and pitch-black hair were damp and sleek. His high bridge of a nose flowed seamlessly into a distinct upper lip. Deep-set eyes that cast shadows, paired with pupils as dark as obsidian, completed his characteristically sharp impression.

He was remarkably tall. Ju-wan had never seen anyone that large in his life. Matching that height were broad shoulders, firm muscles visible through a disheveled gown, and long, straight limbs—it all felt surreal. He looked perfect, as if meticulously carved with a sharp chisel, but “handsome” was not a sufficient word.

Perhaps a Grim Reaper would be more fitting. He didn’t seem human at all. Not even the way he looked at people.

“He doesn’t look particularly fresh.”

After scrutinizing Ju-wan for a long while, those were the only words he uttered. Ju-wan still couldn’t quite grasp the situation.

He scanned the interior of the house again. The ceilings were exceptionally high. On one side, men in black suits were waiting quietly. A wild beast—whether a leopard or a cheetah, he couldn’t tell—was still prowling around. While it was unusual in many ways, it certainly seemed to be a living space. At the very least, it didn’t look like there were facilities for harvesting organs anywhere.

His eyes met Kwon Su-hyeok’s again. Around that time, a loud presence was heard from the direction of the entrance. Even so, neither of their gazes wavered.

Soon, a man carrying a medical bag entered the corner of Ju-wan’s vision. Another man following him was wearing a black suit like the other men. Surprisingly, he was bulkier than Kwon Su-hyeok.

“Why the hell are you waking up a sleeping person and making a fuss again?”

Baek Do-un expressed his dissatisfaction openly, his footsteps thumping. Instead of answering, Kwon Su-hyeok gestured with his chin toward Ju-wan. Following the gesture, Baek Do-un’s eyes widened. This was because Ju-wan, dressed in patient clothes, had both his hands and feet bound. After freezing for a moment, he turned to Kwon Su-hyeok and raised his voice.

“You really, you actually did it!”

“Well? Do you think he’ll be useful? I paid quite a high price for him.”

Baek Do-un clutched his head and let out a deep sigh of despair. Was he planning to bring a living person here to raise them like livestock? Just to draw blood whenever he needed it? It was too inhumane. He couldn’t tolerate such a thing.

“You said before that there was nothing left, right? Then I should prepare in advance.”

“Kwon Su-hyeok!”

“Draw it.”

Kwon Su-hyeok paid no heed to Baek Do-un’s protests. He simply watched him quietly, as if urging him to obey.

Baek Do-un frowned and looked at Ju-wan again. Ju-wan was noticeably emaciated. A neck, arms, and legs so thin it was hard to see him as an adult man, and collarbones with sharp, distinct lines. But more than anything, what weighed on his mind were the hollow eyes that remained undisturbed even in this situation.

How could he be asked to do such a thing to a person like this? Baek Do-un clamped his mouth shut. As he remained silent and motionless, a murderous stillness settled over them.

Kwon Su-hyeok, who had been waiting quietly, slowly clenched and unclenched his fist. Before long, his face had hardened even more coldly than before. The men watching the situation from behind exchanged anxious glances. Then, a man of overwhelming bulk approached Baek Do-un and quietly urged him.

“Doctor. Please do as the President says.”

“I can’t. No, I won’t.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Kwon Su-hyeok moved. In one swift motion, he grabbed Baek Do-un’s head and slammed it toward the wall. If the bulky man standing nearby hadn’t quickly shoved his hand in between, his head would have surely hit the wall.

A terrible silence fell for a fleeting moment. Kwon Su-hyeok’s gaze, which had been fixed on Baek Do-un, shifted to the man who had blocked him. Baek Do-un violently shook off the hand clutching his head.

“Look at this man’s state, you son of a bitch! It wouldn’t be strange if he died right now, so how can you talk about drawing blood? What the hell would even come out if you drew it! Are you planning to bleed a person to death?”

Kwon Su-hyeok slowly straightened his posture. Then, he pushed Baek Do-un aside and approached Ju-wan.

Strangely, Ju-wan wasn’t intimidated at all. No, from the beginning, he had a somewhat detached feeling. Humans are just one type of animal, and instinctively, one cannot help but be sensitive to the atmosphere, but he seemed to be a person completely numb to such things. His expression remained unchanged from start to finish. Perhaps it was because he wasn’t in his right mind.

Kwon Su-hyeok abruptly grabbed Ju-wan’s chin. Despite it likely being quite painful, Ju-wan didn’t let out a moan. He didn’t even knit his brows.

He scrutinized Ju-wan’s face, turning it this way and that as if inspecting the condition of an object. Ju-wan didn’t offer any particular resistance. He simply stared blankly at Kwon Su-hyeok with his large, round eyes. Kwon Su-hyeok let go of his chin. Then, sliding his hand down, he swept over the neck, chest, and abdomen before standing up.

“Go buy some food. Something that will make him plump up as much as possible.”

Emphasizing the word ‘plump,’ he looked back at Baek Do-un as if asking if he was satisfied now. The men replied, “Yes,” and hurried outside.

Kwon Su-hyeok was about to enter the bedroom but stopped in front of the man who had blocked him from punishing Baek Do-un earlier. The large man hung his head as if he had committed a great crime.

Slap. A sound like leather tearing rang out. Simultaneously, the man’s head snapped violently to the left. Even in a situation where a groan would naturally escape, the man grit his teeth and endured the pain. Kwon Su-hyeok stared intently at the man before disappearing into the bedroom. The Jaguar, which had been lingering around Ju-wan the whole time, followed him leisurely.

Baek Do-un, who had been glaring at Kwon Su-hyeok with disapproval until the end, quickly grabbed the man’s shoulder and turned him around.

“Are you okay? Let me see.”

“No. I am fine.”

“It looks like it might have burst inside, how are you fine?”

“I am really fine.”

The man insistently stepped back. Everything was always like this. Baek Do-un let out a sigh that could have sunk the ground and asked the man.

“Then please untie that person. I need to give him a bath in warm water.”

The man hesitated for a moment before obediently untying the ropes that bound Ju-wan. Baek Do-un helped Ju-wan sit up by supporting his back.

“Come this way for now. It’s okay, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

While repeatedly soothing Ju-wan, he led him to the bathroom. The bathroom was filled with a warm atmosphere. Since Kwon Su-hyeok had used it not long ago, his characteristic scent filled the air.

While Baek Do-un filled the tub with water, Ju-wan took off his clothes without hesitation. As he removed the baggy patient clothes, his skeletal body was revealed without concealment. He leaned over and took off his pants and underwear as well. Baek Do-un, who had been watching unconsciously, suddenly froze. It was because he had discovered a suspicious mark.

The warm air clung to him pleasantly. He wanted to immerse himself in the water quickly. Just as he was about to enter the tub as if drawn by something, Baek Do-un abruptly grabbed Ju-wan’s arm. Ju-wan looked back with a questioning gaze.

“That thing on your butt…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence. This was because a dark red blood scab was stuck around the hole on the inside of Ju-wan’s buttocks. What it implied was clear.

“Just… what happened to you?”

He asked despondently, yet felt sorry. He felt as though he shouldn’t touch him rashly. Ju-wan smiled bitterly and silently.

I felt like I was serving a life sentence. I spent vague days without knowing when I could return to the world. For the first year, I really thought I would die. I tried to understand my mother’s feelings for putting me in that hospital, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why she did it.

I actually wished someone would make me understand. I thought I would feel a bit better if I realized that my mother had no other choice.

But no one at the hospital wanted to listen to me properly. They just told lies with fake smiles. They said they knew everything, that they understood my heart.

Every time I screamed that I wasn’t crazy, I had to be injected. Once, I was pricked by needles more than ten times in a single day. Do you know what happens to a person then? You lose your soul completely. Your body sags, and your thought processes slow down so that you can’t think of anything.

If you stay there, whether you’re normal or not, you’ll eventually become a mental patient. Because it was a place where you couldn’t endure without going crazy. It might have been better to just die.

I endured out of spite. I really held on with just that. My grandfather raised me with such love and care. I felt too sorry to let myself go just for my own peace of mind. I also felt it was unfair that I had to live like that.

I lived without knowing how time passed. So I don’t remember exactly when I met that person.

There, we were allowed to leave the ward once a day to rest in the lounge. On that day, I went to the lounge and happened to find a book on humanities.

Have you ever imagined it? A situation where you can’t speak, hear, or see writing for several years. The Korean alphabet, which I encountered after a long time, felt so foreign. When I tried to read aloud, there were characters whose pronunciation I was confused about.

Then I became afraid. How long would I be able to remember my own name fully? Whether I could live a normal life even if I went out into the world, like the hope I held in my heart.

That was around the time I met him. He was a face I had never seen before. He probably started working there around then. He wasn’t my attending physician.

He was a person whose smiling face looked kind. He didn’t show any dislike even though a mental hospital patient was reading his book. Instead, he only asked if it was interesting.

That’s why I had expectations. I held onto a foolish hope that maybe this person could help me.

He was just a cunning person, like a snake. Because after meeting that man, who seemed like a ray of light, a hell worse than before unfolded.

Jang Jin-woo drove his car down a narrow slope without a single streetlight. The clock on the center fascia pointed to 3 AM.

His body felt like it weighed a ton. Since morning, he had attended a conference alongside his father. There, he was dragged around by his father to greet people here and there, and he met alumni for the first time in a long while. The expressions of those asking after him were a sight to behold. Some pitied him, while others looked down on him, saying, “You should return to work soon.”

He had stopped by his family home for the first time in a while and had dinner prepared by his mother. After that, he was caught by his father again and had to listen to nagging about how long he planned to hide in that boondocks.

He irritably threw off his glasses. He also nervously massaged his throbbing temples. On a day like this, even a deep sleep at home wouldn’t be enough, yet he stubbornly headed toward the hospital. In that state, it seemed he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily.

In the dark dawn, the hospital surrounded by mountains looked exactly like an abandoned lodge. He finished parking in front of it and got out of the car. He walked briskly into the consultation room.

He took off his coat, hung it on a chair, and put on his gown. Then, he took the medical records from the bookshelf. He was maintaining appearances so that his visit without a pretext wouldn’t stand out to others.

He habitually flipped through the records organized alphabetically. In any case, what Jang Jin-woo was looking for would appear around the middle.

“…?”

Before long, he tilted his head. He pulled back the records he had already passed to check the patient’s name and checked the name on the following page again. But no matter how many times he looked, nothing changed.

Park Ju-wan’s medical records had disappeared.

After standing blankly for a moment, he shook his head lightly. He thought he might have been mistaken because he was too tired. He gritted his teeth and slowly flipped through the medical records one by one from the beginning. He checked meticulously, rubbing the pages with his hand to make sure two pages didn’t flip together.

But it was all in vain. It wasn’t a mistake. No matter how many times he checked, only Ju-wan’s medical records were nowhere to be seen.

‘Come to think of it, patient Park Ju-wan was RH-AB type, right?’

Suddenly, Kim Je-guk’s words flashed through his mind. At that time, his face had brightened as if he had accidentally discovered a precious jewel.

A shallow sigh escaped. His unfocused eyes rolled busily as he agonized over what to do. There was only one answer.

He immediately burst out of the consultation room. He walked briskly through the empty hallway and gradually began to run. As he tried to enter the ward, he realized his pass card was missing. He remembered leaving it in the consultation room drawer. He didn’t have the luxury to go back and get it. He had to check right now. Right this instant.

He pounded on the closed door with his fist. The door rattled incessantly. At the sudden noise, lights began to turn on one by one in the dark ward.

Soon, a guard on night duty came down the stairs. Perhaps he had been sleeping in the duty room, as he yawned deeply. Then, upon discovering Jang Jin-woo, he jumped in surprise and ran over.

“I mean, Doctor. What brings you here at this hour…”

“Open it.”

Jang Jin-woo, who would normally have said “you’re working hard” as a courtesy, commanded while staring only at the closed door. Without knowing why, the guard opened the door first, and Jang Jin-woo entered without any explanation. Had something terrible happened? The guard hurried after him.

Jang Jin-woo stopped his steps upon reaching the 4th floor. Even though he had only followed, he was out of breath.

“Doctor. Exactly what is going on that you’re doing this…”

Before the guard could finish his sentence, Jang Jin-woo snatched his access card. Then, he used it to open the door to Room 411. His fingertips trembled violently from an ominous premonition.

The sound of the lock releasing echoed lengthily. Jang Jin-woo flung the door open without even breathing.

“…!”

He rushed into the narrow hospital room, searching for any trace of Ju-wan.

But he was nowhere to be found. Only the blanket on the ownerless bed was messily disarrayed.

“No.”

Kwon Su-hyeok refused flatly. Even though he had fully expected this, Baek Do-un felt drained. He had asked to take Ju-wan to his own home to sleep for just tonight, only to be rejected. Kwon Su-hyeok looked steadily at the hand clutching Ju-wan’s sleeve, making it clear there was no room for negotiation.

“I’m not going to eat him. So let go and leave.”

It wasn’t as if Kwon Su-hyeok welcomed an uninvited guest. Still, it couldn’t be helped. If he left him to Baek Do-un, he would surely whisk him away somewhere else.

As if in silent protest, Baek Do-un looked at the Jaguar next to Kwon Su-hyeok. It felt as if he was racking his brain to see if he could use the beast as an excuse. That shallow intention was quickly seen through.

“I’ll feed this guy until he’s full. Then he won’t be salivating for a while.”

“…Still.”

“It’s okay. I’ll stay here.”

Ju-wan, who had been watching the nerve war between the two, slipped in. Otherwise, it seemed they would continue to bicker like that. He nodded to Baek Do-un, who was worried about him, as if to say he was fine. Then he turned his head and stared at Kwon Su-hyeok.

Kwon Su-hyeok smirked and drove the point home.

“He said so, didn’t he?”

“Fine. Instead, I’ll come back tomorrow, Ju-wan. I need to check if you’re hurting anywhere or how your nutritional status is.”

“Don’t come.”

“What?”

“I said don’t come until this thing gets plump with fat. You’re just a nuisance.”

When he said ‘this thing,’ Kwon Su-hyeok’s gaze fixed on the back of Ju-wan’s head before dropping.

“You crazy… what do you mean ‘this thing’ to a person, ‘this thing’?”

“Goodbye.”

He waved dismissively at the vehemently protesting Baek Do-un. Then, the men who were still in the house led him out. It was practically the same as dragging him away politely.

Once the door closed, only Kwon Su-hyeok, the Jaguar, and Ju-wan remained in the house. Without warning, Kwon Su-hyeok grabbed Ju-wan by the collar and took him to the living room.

The sofa table was filled with food that the men had bought while scouring the city. Pizza, chicken, gimbap, tteokbokki, chicken feet, steamed seafood, sushi, jokbal, and all sorts of bread. These were menus he hadn’t encountered in nearly ten years.

While he was staring blankly at the laid-out food, Kwon Su-hyeok pushed Ju-wan in front of it. Then, he sat in a single-person sofa and crossed his arms.

“Eat it all. Don’t leave a single bit.”

It seemed he intended to watch until that happened. For some reason, Ju-wan felt he couldn’t disobey.

Jang Jin-woo sank down onto the bed, where the signs of a struggle were evident. The white slippers provided with the patient gown were scattered—one beneath the bed, the other by the door.

He raised a hand and brushed back his forehead. He wondered what had happened here while he was away. Even trying to think as optimistically as possible, it wasn’t easy.

The guard watched him, tilting his head in confusion. There was no smell of alcohol coming from Jang Jin-woo. Yet, he was more aggressive and edgy than ever before. It was strange; he seemed like a completely different person.

“…What were you doing?”

“Pardon?”

The voice was so low it was barely audible.

“I asked where the hell you people were and what you were doing while a patient vanished into thin air!”

Jang Jin-woo suddenly exploded, shouting in a fit of rage. An unbearable anger was etched clearly on his face and in his voice.

“…Doctor? Why are you acting like this today?”

The guard let out a hollow laugh, completely bewildered. However, the blatant hostility cast over Jang Jin-woo’s face did not soften.

Jang Jin-woo stood up from the bed and walked toward the guard with steady strides. Perhaps because he wasn’t wearing his glasses, the corners of his eyes, which usually looked soft, felt exceptionally fierce.

As Jang Jin-woo closed the distance, the guard instinctively stepped back. Before long, the guard’s back hit the hallway wall. Jang Jin-woo stopped there. Even so, the distance—neither too close nor too far—created a strange sense of pressure.

“Who is it?”

“What?”

“Who told you that you could leave this post, other than me?”

“That, well…”

“It was Dr. Kim, wasn’t it? Am I wrong?”

The guard’s gaze, which had been meeting Jang Jin-woo’s, began to drift to the side. In a situation of interrogation, silence was an admission. It was no longer something that could be hidden.

In an instant, all emotion vanished from Jang Jin-woo’s face. He let out a scoff of disbelief, and the guard’s head slumped forward.

“This is negligence of duty. As of today, I am terminating the contract with your security firm.”

“What? No, you can’t just do this suddenly… I was just doing as Dr. Kim instructed…”

“I don’t want to hear it. What I need is a dog that faithfully guards its territory, not a mongrel that sleeps while taking scraps from anyone.”

The guard thought he was being possessed by a ghost. If not, there had to be two Jang Jin-woos. Otherwise—really, otherwise—this was impossible.

“Ugh…”

Ju-wan shoved his head over the toilet and struggled to heave up what he had eaten. It seemed the binge eating had put too much strain on his stomach. While confined in the hospital, his appetite had plummeted, and he had often skipped meals. As a result, his shrunken stomach struggled to handle even half a hamburger.

He flushed the toilet and took a moment to catch his breath. His throat stung. The sour smell of vomit was agonizing. This was already the third time he had rushed to the bathroom. He hadn’t even finished a quarter of the food. His strength was failing, and he could barely put power into his legs.

“…….”

While waiting for his stomach to settle, he organized his thoughts. It seemed that Ju-wan had become useful for something again. That was the sole reason he had escaped that tedious hospital room and come here.

For ten years, he had longed for the world outside the white building. As the number of words he couldn’t find in daily newspapers grew, so did his desperation. That long-held wish had become a reality, albeit in a somewhat bizarre way. As long as he didn’t have to return to the hospital, there was nothing he couldn’t endure.

He turned on the faucet. He diligently rinsed his mouth with the pouring water. Then, he suddenly looked at his reflection in the mirror.

A stranger with an expressionless face was staring back at him. Unbelievably, that image was who he was now. Dazed, he raised a hand to stroke the reflection in the mirror. He felt as though he had wasted too much time in the prison of the soul.

He could not go back there. Even if he vomited ten times, even if all his gastric juices came rushing up, he would eat it all. If that was the price for obtaining freedom, however imperfect, he would gladly pay it.

Steeling his resolve, he opened the door and stepped out. Kwon Su-hyeok, who had been sitting on the sofa, was nowhere to be seen. Had he gone to sleep?

Taking advantage of the lack of surveillance, he looked around the house. Starting with the owner, everything—from the furniture to the decor—was pitch black. He had been trapped in a white space for ten years, and ironically, the world he faced upon escaping was a world of darkness.

As he gazed blankly up at the high ceiling, he shifted his gaze toward a sound of movement. Soon, he locked eyes with Kwon Su-hyeok, who was walking out from the kitchen. In his hand was an unidentified lump of meat. It looked vaguely like a chicken, but it was much larger. A turkey, perhaps.

Kwon Su-hyeok tossed the heavy lump of meat in front of Ju-wan. It landed with a dull thud. In an instant, something dashed across the floor with speed.

It was Jaguar. The beast pressed down on the meat with a large front paw. Then, stepping forward with the other paw, it bared its sharp teeth at Ju-wan. It was a threat to protect its prey. Ju-wan instinctively took a few steps back. Only then did the creature relax its posture and begin to tear into the meat.

There was a loud, wet ripping sound. Even then, it did not let down its guard. Ju-wan could almost see the fur standing stiffly on end. The turkey, its raw flesh ruthlessly torn, soon became unrecognizable.

As it steadily filled its belly, Jaguar occasionally raised its head and growled at Ju-wan, who was observing it. It seemed its wild nature had not completely vanished. Ju-wan wondered what kind of person Kwon Su-hyeok was to keep such a creature as a pet.

“It won’t bite your neck anymore. Though I can’t guarantee the rest of you will stay intact.”

Ju-wan looked up at the sudden scent of cool wood. Kwon Su-hyeok had approached without a sound. His shadow completely covered Ju-wan. As Ju-wan looked up blankly, Su-hyeok suddenly grabbed Ju-wan’s arm and pulled him along. Su-hyeok didn’t seem to be using much strength, yet Ju-wan was pulled along easily without any chance to resist.

Kwon Su-hyeok only let go of Ju-wan once they reached the bedroom. Inside the room, which was larger than the living room, sat a single large bed. Even the sheets that draped over the bed were black. With both the owner and the room being entirely black, the glint in his eyes felt even more prominent.

“I couldn’t finish the food you prepared…”

“There’s no point in continuing to put things in just to vomit them back up.”

Muttering, Kwon Su-hyeok unceremoniously took off his robe. The outline of his naked body, wearing nothing underneath, was clearly revealed even in the darkness. Large, firm muscles were intricately and delicately woven.

While Ju-wan stared blankly without realizing it, something clicked around his wrist. It was a handcuff. Ju-wan watched Kwon Su-hyeok as if asking why. Su-hyeok yanked the handcuff and fastened the other end to his own wrist. Then, he explained the reason in a single sentence.

“I don’t trust things that walk on two legs.”

Despite this, Kwon Su-hyeok moved as freely as if he weren’t wearing handcuffs. Because of that, when he lay down on the bed, Ju-wan was helplessly dragged along and fell on top of him. Lying on his stomach, Kwon Su-hyeok immediately closed his eyes to sleep. It had been so long since Ju-wan had heard someone’s deep breathing at night. Perhaps that was why it felt so surreal.

Before long, Jaguar, having finished its meal, plodded into the bedroom. The beast lightly leaped over Ju-wan, who was barely clinging to the edge of the bed. The bed swayed under the creature’s weight.

With a familiar motion, Jaguar curled its body against Kwon Su-hyeok’s back. Its bright yellow eyes seemed to monitor Ju-wan for a long time before disappearing behind its eyelids. Following Kwon Su-hyeok, Jaguar’s languid breath now touched his skin. It was, truly, a bizarre cohabitation.

Ju-wan wondered if he was perhaps dreaming a long, long dream. That seemed more plausible.

* * *

Kim Je-guk entered the hospital humming a tune. They say when something is rare, you can name your price, and it was certainly true. Every time he calculated the amount he would receive in exchange for handing over Ju-wan, a mindless smile crept onto his face. He felt as if he were floating, unable to contain his excitement in both body and mind.

He walked through the hallway with a light, airy step. He even exchanged friendly greetings, wishing a good day to the people he encountered. The staff tilted their heads at his unusually elated appearance.

He hesitated as he opened the door to the consultation room. This was because Jang Jin-woo was sitting in the desk chair. Just in case, he looked at the nameplate on the desk, and it indeed bore his own name.

“What brings you here so early in the morning?”

He spoke casually while taking off his coat. Jang Jin-woo smiled brightly as usual.

“You’ve been on my mind since last night, Seonbae. I missed you.”

“Suddenly with the unfitting flattery. It’s creepy, so stop it.”

He reacted with playful disgust as he put on his white gown. Jang Jin-woo didn’t react much. Kim Je-guk turned his head in curiosity, only to flinch. Jang Jin-woo was silently glaring at him. The smile that usually lingered on his face had completely vanished.

“…What is it? Is something wrong, Dr. Jang?”

“Where did he go? The patient in Room 411.”

He pressed in with a low voice. Did he know something? For now, Kim Je-guk played dumb.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden? What happened to the patient in Room 411?”

“I’m asking where you sold off Park Ju-wan.”

A hollow laugh escaped Kim Je-guk. He thought he knew Jang Jin-woo quite well, but it seemed he was mistaken. The murderous look on his face made him seem like a completely different, unfamiliar person.

Kim Je-guk let out a scoff and shrugged his shoulders as if it were absurd.

“How should I know? Why? Is he gone? Did aliens take him, like the patient in Room 104 said?”

As he made the joke, Jang Jin-woo suddenly grabbed him by the collar. Jang Jin-woo slowly looked back and forth between the bewildered eyes of Kim Je-guk. Every time he opened his mouth to speak a word, the bridge of his nose wrinkled.

“You don’t actually think you’ll get away with this, do you?”

“What, are you going to run to your father and tattle?”

“I should go to the police station, not my father. This is a serious violent crime.”

“Go ahead and try.”

Kim Je-guk provoked Jang Jin-woo and violently shook off his hand. Despite being caught by the throat, he wore a confident smile.

“Do you think I’m the only one who will die? What do you think will happen when your precious father finds out what you did to a patient who isn’t even mentally sound? What if I report it to the police?”

He fought fire with fire. Jang Jin-woo’s face went blank. As if he had been suddenly hit in the back of the head, a flicker of bewilderment that he couldn’t hide appeared in his eyes. Along with it, a hint of doubt surfaced. It seemed he had believed without a doubt that it was a perfect crime.

“Why? Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

Kim Je-guk pushed Jang Jin-woo away and walked to the desk. Then, he opened a locked drawer and showed him a small memory card.

“I recorded everything, every single day.”

It was an unexpected turn of events. A victor’s smile spread across Kim Je-guk’s face.

* * *

The man was a violent human being. If something slightly displeased him, he started with physical abuse. If he slapped someone with his large, thick hand, anyone would be sent flying by the force. The real beginning started there. He did not hesitate to grab and beat his trembling, terrified young child again, or to trample them with his feet. Even a beast wouldn’t act that way.

Perhaps that was why. Even that devil-like bastard acted obediently only in front of the man. He looked almost servile. Yet, the man would beat him as if shaking out a blanket at the drop of a hat. Looking back, the ruthless domestic violence was almost always limited to that bastard. Was he trying to tame him? He always said he didn’t like the look in the bastard’s eyes. There was never a day when the bastard’s body was free of bruises.

There was no reason. No, even if there had been some excuse, it could never justify beating a child under ten years old until they fainted. He was beaten because he was lying down when his father entered, because he spilled a little water on the floor, because he ate messily, or because the way he smiled was unpleasant. Only that bastard was treated that way.

Whenever he opened his mouth, he grumbled, wondering whose child he even was. Even though the bastard and the man were practically carbon copies of each other. His mother did not protect him. If she got into a loud argument with the man, she would often leave the house. On those days, the bastard was beaten to death in her place.

Ju-wan didn’t know why the man just left him alone. Whether it was because he didn’t call him father, because the man could live without worrying about money thanks to him, or because the man had different uses for the bastard and himself.

After being beaten by the man, the bastard always took his anger out on something. The bird his mother kept had long since been killed by the bastard’s stones. The ornamental fish released into the small pond had their fins torn off and were thrown onto the dry dirt. Only one thing remained. A scruffy puppy that had followed the bastard around since they lived in a small house.

One day, on the way home from school, he heard the sharp cry of an animal. The bastard’s puppy was dangling from the front gate. Its neck was tied in a noose, and its four legs were kicking painfully.

From inside the gate, the bastard pulled the rope connected to the noose with all his might. The more the puppy struggled, the more the bastard’s face was colored with joy and ecstasy.

‘Stop it! It’s pitiful!’

He pushed the bastard with all his strength. In that moment, the bastard let go of the rope, and the puppy plummeted to the ground. When he rushed over, the puppy was gasping for breath. Blood flowed from its soft nose. Its bent front paws trembled as if convulsing.

‘You killed it.’

The bastard blamed others like that. With a face that looked resentful for losing a loved one, which was utterly loathsome.

Unable to defy his own father, the anger that had lost its target searched for a weaker opponent. At first, it was ants, flies, and cockroaches, then birds, carp, and eventually the puppy. In the end, it seemed only a matter of time before he started harming people.

It was as if one devil had given birth to another.

At the sound of a knock, Woo Hyeong-seok opened his eyes. His whole body was stiff because he had fallen asleep in the chair. He stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. Before long, something caught his foot. Frowning, he looked down. Several women were collapsed at his feet.

He lightly poked the women’s bodies with the tip of his toe. Their faces, a mess of blood, bruises, tears, and snot, were starkly revealed in the natural light.

“…I told them, they should have done better.”

Muttering indifferently, he stepped over a woman. Then, he flung the window wide open. As the outside air rushed in, the smell of blood that had filled the room finally faded.

When there was no response from inside, the man outside raised his voice.

“Hyung-nim, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

Soon, a man opened the door and entered. He first bowed deeply to Woo Hyeong-seok. He wasn’t surprised to see the women collapsed on the floor. He simply reported the reason he had rushed over.

“I finally found him, Hyung-nim.”

“You found him?”

Woo Hyeong-seok’s gaze snapped to the man. The man bowed his head again, saying yes. Then, before Woo Hyeong-seok could even ask, he detailed the news he knew his superior would be curious about.

“There was a guy named Park Ju-wan among the patients at a place called the Central Psychiatric Hospital in the provinces. The admission date and age match what you mentioned, Hyung-nim.”

“Is that so?”

A faint smile spread across Woo Hyeong-seok’s lips. Yet, his complexion looked more desolate than ever.

“I’m curious. I wonder what kind of face Park Ju-wan will make when he sees me.”

Woo Hyeong-seok turned his head back toward the window and stroked his thigh. There, a long-old scar remained clearly visible.