By Zephyria While tidying up his belongings, Yohan rubbed his eyes after seeing something like a pale face in the window. When he looked again, only the gloomy landscape, characteristic of the Abyss, was visible. Lee Hyun-muk, keenly noticing Yohan’s unease, asked.
“Yohan-ah? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I must have seen something wrong.”
Yohan mumbled. But even after that, something seemed to flicker with his gaze from the window, and when he quickly turned, there was nothing. Only after repeating this several times did he realize the reason. He looked back at Lee Hyun-muk and Yoon Seung-ryong, who were resting with such composure.
“Um, is Joo Ho-young nearby right now?”
“Hmm, it seems he followed us.”
As Lee Hyun-muk nodded, Yohan’s head stiffened. Just then, a facial shape appeared in the window he was looking at. It flickered for a moment and then disappeared, but it was clearly a person’s features. However, its appearance was so much like a paranormal phenomenon that goosebumps rose on his skin. He had expected to meet Joo Ho-young, but he hadn’t expected such a horror experience.
“Why would you suddenly come in like that?”
“It’s a glass window, so we would know if he came in. And in a space this narrow and confined, Ho-young is at a disadvantage, so he wouldn’t try to come in.”
Lee Hyun-muk’s kind explanation made Yohan realize that they had deliberately chosen such a small building to prepare for Joo Ho-young. He tried his best not to look at the flickering shape in the window and went to help Yoon Seung-ryong, who was attempting to make shaved ice.
The ice, which was damp and somehow smelled foul, turned a clean white when Yohan, the Human Purity Purifier, purified it. The shaved ice machine, which was so dirty it looked like something strange would come out if ground, became just an ordinary, old product after purification. As Yoon Seung-ryong opened the red bean and fruit cans, the sweet scent wafting out made Yohan forget about Joo Ho-young for a moment and concentrate.
Grind, grind. As Yoon Seung-ryong operated the shaved ice machine, snow-white ice powder poured down softly onto the bowl. He then generously topped it with red beans and scattered pieces of fruit and sweet fruit preserves obtained from the jungle. After drizzling syrup and taking a large spoonful, it was a delicious fruit shaved ice, even without milk. Yohan became happy.
“Um, how about giving Joo Ho-young a bowl too?”
As he ate the shaved ice deliciously, Yohan suddenly thought of it and made the suggestion. Yoon Seung-ryong, who was enjoying the fruit shaved ice, tilted his head.
“Even if I make it, Ho-young probably won’t eat it… He hasn’t eaten anything since coming down to the Abyss.”
“…Nothing? But he’s still alive?”
Yohan asked, surprised. On one hand, he could fully understand Joo Ho-young’s feelings. The only thing edible in the Abyss was monster flesh, which reeked of a disgusting and unpleasant odor. How terrible was the frog side dish Lee Hyun-muk brought when he first fell into the Abyss? He hadn’t tasted it, but the flavor wouldn’t be much different.
“I know. Maybe it’s because it’s the Abyss? Anyway, there’s no harm in trying.”
Yoon Seung-ryong brought a bowl and quickly made another bowl of shaved ice. Yohan filled it to the brim with the energy of purification, and Yoon Seung-ryong took it out, placed it in the middle of the road, and returned. Watching from outside the window, something appeared near the shaved ice in the blink of an eye.
As Yohan observed closely, surprisingly, unlike Yoon Seung-ryong, Joo Ho-young had a relatively human-like form. Relatively, because while it was roughly the shape of a person, it was so blurry that its form could not be properly discerned.
“I thought Joo Ho-young would look like Hyung Seung-ryong too.”
Yohan whispered in a hushed voice, like someone secretly observing a wild animal. Lee Hyun-muk, leaning on the windowsill and watching, explained calmly.
“Ho-young’s legs are fast, so he’s the only one who has never fallen into a Flood. Perhaps because he doesn’t eat anything, he’s the best preserved among us.”
Was it because he was trapped in the Abyss and affected? Yohan often felt a lingering unease from the conversations between Yoon Seung-ryong and Lee Hyun-muk. Even now, the expression ‘preserved’ used for a person felt strange.
Whether it was because he was so fast or because he had mutated in that way, the form, like a heat haze, flickered near the shaved ice. The flickering, bright gray form peeked around, looking into the shaved ice. The eyes and mouth on its face were blurry like afterimages, drawing strange curves that vaguely resembled a smile.
As they watched tensely, the ghost-like figure crouched down right in front of the shaved ice. Then, instead of eating it, it simply placed its hands on the shaved ice as if warming them by a fire. It seemed to enjoy the purification emanating from it, even if it didn’t eat it. However, as time passed, perhaps because the shaved ice began to melt or the purification energy ran out, it suddenly disappeared.
Yoon Seung-ryong brought the melted shaved ice and gulped it down himself. Yohan, the Human Purity Washer, cleaned the bowl and muttered in disappointment.
“I wish he had eaten it.”
“It’s not purified by food alone.”
“Still… eating something delicious makes you feel good.”
As he muttered regretfully, Yoon Seung-ryong looked at him for a moment and then suddenly patted his head vigorously. Yohan, stopping his cleaning, looked up in bewilderment. Before he could ask why, Yoon Seung-ryong got up from his seat.
“I should go stand watch on the rooftop.”
“You’re not staying inside?”
“That way, if Joo Ho-young invades, we can block him from both inside and out if necessary.”
…I see! That was something Yohan hadn’t considered. Just like in the jungle, Yoon Seung-ryong and Lee Hyun-muk showed a particular skill when hunting. That meant their days in the Abyss were a continuous struggle.
Yohan poured a generous amount of purification energy onto an old cushion for Yoon Seung-ryong, who would be working hard while he slept, and handed it to him. Yoon Seung-ryong happily took the brightly glowing cushion under his arm. Only then did Yohan realize he was left alone with Lee Hyun-muk.
Suddenly, Lee Hyun-muk’s presence became intensely noticeable, so Yohan tried his best to act natural while tidying the bedding. He deliberately placed the two mattresses, which had been very useful since he brought them from the swamp, a certain distance apart. Lee Hyun-muk seemed to gaze at the distance between the mattresses for a moment, then lay down without a word. Yohan greeted him with a cheerful tone.
“Sleep well!”
“Yes. Sleep well, Yohan-ah.”
His voice was a low, soft baritone, as usual, as if he felt no awkwardness in the other’s demeanor.
Yohan lay down quietly, closed his eyes, and tried to sleep. As always in the Abyss, the faint sound of monsters echoed from somewhere. He wasn’t scared of such sounds anymore. It was only Lee Hyun-muk’s presence that bothered him. But that was brief, and just as sleep was starting to pull him under, making him drowsy.
Creak, creak… A strangely irritating, faint sound disturbed Yohan’s sleep. At first, he thought it was just the sound of the old building. It was because the sound came from all directions. However, feeling a strange sensation, Yohan opened his eyes and almost screamed. His gaze met Joo Ho-young, who was staring intently at him from the window.
“Hhh…”
Truly, it was like a ghost. And not just any ghost, but one like from a horror game, with graphics glitching and stuttering. Yohan took a sharp, startled breath. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore it, but after their eyes met, Joo Ho-young began to whisper, barely audibly.
— Play with me
— Come out, come out, come out, come out
Was it “come out” to play, or “come out” and see? Was it because he had never been submerged in a Flood? Unlike Lee Hyun-muk or Yoon Seung-ryong, the Madman Joo Ho-young could speak with some reason. That made him even more terrifying. Even though he knew he couldn’t open the window and come in, his appearance was frightening. It was even more so because he appeared at the windows every few seconds, staring only at Yohan.
Hee hee hee… Joo Ho-young let out a barely audible laugh, sending chills down Yohan’s spine and making his hair stand on end. Trembling, Yohan looked at Lee Hyun-muk with a tearful face, but today of all days, he was sleeping!
‘Aaaah…’
Yohan screamed silently in his mind. Having seen Yoon Seung-ryong and Lee Hyun-muk, he knew they rarely slept. Unable to bear disturbing them, he choked back a sob and tried to force himself back to sleep.
However, Joo Ho-young seemed to be having fun, constantly making irritating noises or flickering wherever Yohan’s gaze turned. He could no longer close his eyes. It was obvious he was testing the waters, seeing what he could do to him. When he appeared upside down, staring with a pale blue face, Yohan truly wanted to cry. He realized there was a window where Joo Ho-young didn’t appear.
‘He can’t dare to approach because he’s afraid of Lee Hyun-muk…’
The only place Joo Ho-young couldn’t approach was the window near where Lee Hyun-muk was sleeping. Sobbing, Yohan asked in a voice like a crawl.
“Lee Hyun-muk… are you sleeping?”
There was no answer, not even a breath could be heard. His breathing was so quiet and slow that it seemed as if he wasn’t breathing at all. Finally, Yohan fixed his gaze on the floor and crawled towards Lee Hyun-muk’s side. The eerie corner of an eye, flickering like an afterimage outside the window, shot up. Then, it slowly disappeared.
Yohan let out a sigh of relief and carefully laid his head near Lee Hyun-muk’s side. Using the mattress as a pillow, he tried to sleep curled up on the bare floor, but a warm hand suddenly grabbed his body.