After finishing a deep cleaning of the entire house, Iseul took a long, hot bath. By then, it was already half past midnight. Switching off all the lights and turning on the TV, he dried his hair with a towel and dragged his duvet from the bedroom into the lounge. Wrapped in the blanket with the towel still hanging over his head, he tried to watch one of his favorite films, but exhaustion took over. He didn't even realize when he drifted off.
It was rare for him to sleep so peacefully; a faint, sweet smile played on his handsome face. But then, the sudden, violent shriek of his mobile phone on the glass table startled him awake, leaving him completely disoriented. Clutching his chest, it took him a few moments to grasp his surroundings. Rubbing his eyes, he saw "Sia Calling" flashing on the screen, and shadows of concern clouded his face. No matter how impulsive Noe Sia was, she wouldn't call at this hour without a reason.
By the time he had done a quick sweep of the house to ensure Mr. Kang was still absent, the call had disconnected and Sia was calling again. He answered immediately.
"Iseul! Iseul, please... come to my house. Right now. I need you. Oh God, I don't know what happened... how it happened... I just need you so much right now. I'll never ask you for anything ever again. Please, Iseul!" Before he could say a word, she had poured out her heart in a single, ragged breath through sobs and disconnected the call.
He stood there, listening to the ticking of the clock, staring vacantly at his phone. Sia was crying? Why?
He couldn't imagine Sia crying even in a dream. She had always been strong or perhaps just numb. Even in childhood, he had never seen her shed a tear. What could have happened to break her like this? She sounded terrified. Why? Restless, he glanced at the wall clock. It was 2:00 AM. If Mr. Kang hadn't returned yet, he likely wouldn't be back until morning... or maybe tomorrow evening... perhaps even for two days. But there was always that lingering possibility: he could walk through the door at any moment.
But Sia... why did she need Him ? He was a coward. Back in their childhood, if she fought his bullies for him, he would run away and leave her alone out of sheer fear. Yes, he was that pathetic. But those days were over. Habitually, he gripped his hair in a fist and set it perfectly again.
He stood frozen with the phone in his hand, his mind a battlefield of conflicting thoughts. He might have stayed trapped in that web of indecision forever if the phone hadn't buzzed again. He silently pressed it to his ear.
"Iseul! Are you coming??" She was clearly anxious due to the delay. Their houses weren't that far apart. Iseul bit his lip. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sia beat him to it.
"How can you be so heartless?" The sheer despair in her voice left Kang Iseul drowning in shame. Switching off the TV, he glanced at the clock one last time. For the first time in his life, he cursed the terror of Mr. Kang, threw on a hoodie and joggers, and bolted out of the house.
He covered the distance between their homes like a man possessed, haunted by dark premonitions. Reaching the more crowded block where Sia lived, he intended to call her, but he saw her immediately. She was sitting on the porch of her house, head bowed. Wiping cold sweat from his forehead, he called her name and was at her side in seconds. His breath was ragged from running through the biting cold. Crouching beside her, he watched as a faint smile flickered across her expressionless face before vanishing. A look of relief settled in her eyes.
Truthfully, she hadn't believed the coward would actually show up at this hour. But he was here. He was right in front of her.
"Is everything okay? Why did you call me at this hour? And why were you crying? Is your father okay? Where is he? You look perfectly fine to me... I don't see any tears either, but you were wailing on the phone. You scared the life out of me." He spoke nonstop, scanning her before looking nervously at their surroundings.
"Iseul... I just don't know what to do. After all that crying, I feel empty inside. Like I'm in a trance." She stared at her hands, lost in thought.
"I don't understand either because you aren't explaining anything! Stop speaking in riddles, Sia. I'm already stressed enough about my father." Frustrated, he sat down on the porch beside her.
Tucking a stray hair behind her ear, Sia looked at his irritated expression and stood up. Iseul's eyes followed her.
"Come inside."
"Why??" He looked at her with sudden suspicion.
"If you've come this far, what's the harm in coming inside?" Her tone was sharp and hurried. She walked in, leaving the door ajar. Iseul stared at the open doorway in hesitation.
He had been inside her house only once or twice as a child. Setting aside her profligate father, the dilapidated state of the house and the gloom seeping from the walls had always weighed heavily on his young heart. It was the only place besides his own home that filled him with such dread. Biting his lower lip hard, he stood up and entered. Everything was the same, shabby and sad. Dust lay thick on every surface, as if no one had bothered to clean for years. His neat freak nature immediately wanted to flee.
As Sia climbed the stairs, she glanced back at him. Their eyes met. This time, he didn't ask questions or throw a tantrum; he just followed her, feeling tangled in confusion.
She was waiting for him at the door of her room.
"Now what?" At his annoyance, Sia looked at him with unreadable eyes and pushed the door open.
The moment the door swung back, Iseul's world turned upside down. He instinctively recoiled, nearly falling backward. In the small room, lying in a pool of blood, was the body of Sia's father.
"Oh... Oh my God!" His muffled scream was involuntary. Goosebumps all over his body.
"Oh... Mr. Noe?? Is... is he actually dead? I'm sorry, Sia. I... is this real? Are you okay? When did this happen? How??" A deathly chill washed over him. Death was never a pleasant thought, and his mother's death in a horrific car accident had made him fear it even more. He backed away from the room, the bloody scene seared into his brain.
"Sia... what was all this? That was Mr. Noe, right? How did this happen? This doesn't look like a natural death! What happened??" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her.
"If I hadn't done it, I would be the one lying dead there. It's not my fault, Iseul! I was forced! What I did was in self defense!" Her voice cracked with the weight of her emotions. The tears she had held back began to flow freely down her cheeks.
Iseul looked at her as if she were a stranger.
What was she saying? Self defense? Did Sia do this? Impossible. His heart refused to believe it. He shook his head in denial.
"Sia?? I don't understand. Wait, let's call the neighbors for help. They'll call the police. You aren't in your right mind, and I don't understand anything. My brain isn't working." He hit his temple lightly with his fist and moved toward the stairs, but Sia blocked his path.
"If the police come, I'll go to jail, Iseul! I'm exhausted. I don't want any more trials... I'm just done!."
"So you actually did it? Murder??" He screamed in a low, strangled voice, still in disbelief.
"Didn't you hear me? I did it in self defense!" In frustration, she shoved Iseul. Being near the stairs, he stumbled. If he hadn't grabbed the railing in time, he would have ended up at the bottom of the stairs like Mr. Noe. Fear began to replace disbelief in his eyes. Sia suddenly looked like a blood thirsty monster to him. He saw his own life in danger. Leaping down the steps two at a time, he dashed down the stairs. Sia was right behind him, calling his name. Before he could reach the door, she tackled him. In his desperate attempt to break free, they both crashed to the floor. Even in the fall, her grip didn't loosen.
She was a girl. Iseul was a boy.
But he was a boy who wouldn't hurt a fly, while Sia... she had apparently killed everything But a fly.
"What is your problem, Iseul? Why don't you understand me? Why won't you listen?" After slapping him repeatedly, she stared into his shocked, frozen eyes.
"I did it in self defense. SELF-DEFENSE!!"
"Okay... okay, fine! It was self defense! I get it. It was self defense, and you're still a minor. You won't be in jail for long. The whole neighborhood knows what kind of man your father was. Everyone will testify for you. Everything will be fine. Don't be afraid." Shaking off the shock of the slaps, he grabbed her arms and tried to speak to her gently. He just wanted to get out of this house of horrors.
"Do I look like a child to you? Or a fool? 'Don't be afraid'... hmph... I won't let fate ruin my life anymore! Enough! If I go to jail, what will I have left? You won't even be there... you're a coward. You won't even look at me again if I go to jail!" What she said wasn't entirely wrong. For a moment, Iseul was speechless.
"I... I'll meet you. I'll come to the jail to see you. I'll wait for you... I promise..." He was coddling her like a child. Sia let out a cynical laugh.
"You are such a terrible liar."
Iseul clenched his jaw and looked at this stubborn girl with a mix of hatred and fear. His temples were wet with tears. He cursed the moment he had come here to check on her.
"What..? You are crying.. ? You want to go ? Fine, go." She suddenly climbed off him, letting go of his collar. He was too stunned to move.
"But the moment you walk out of this house, I will scream and chase after you. I'll tell everyone you murdered my father and ran away. I'll say that when I, the wayward girl, returned home after wandering all night, you fled in terror while my father lay dead inside. Police stations, jails, courts, hospitals... you have no idea the circles you'll be forced to run in." She spoke with terrifying calmness while Iseul watched her, breathless. How could she be so cunning?
"Let's imagine you manage to prove your innocence. Then what? Will your father embrace you? Will he hand out sweets to celebrate your innocence? No, my dear friend! That image conscious man won't even look at you again. What will you do then? I'll even throw in harassment charges. You pulled my hair. Some of the skin on my neck is under your fingernails... do you understand? I'll make sure that if I go to jail, you won't be living in luxury either. Go ahead, go outside and scream for help. Let's see whose scream is louder."
Her expression was lethal. There was no spark in her grey eyes today. Only desolation. Only malice. He crawled toward the door; Sia didn't move an inch.
Standing up on trembling legs, his eyes remained fixed on her while his mind involuntarily played out the scenario she had described like a film. He opened the door, looked out, and then looked back at her. Sia didn't even blink. Swallowing hard, he cast a helpless glance at his mobile phone lying near her feet, and in the next second, he bolted out the door and began to run blindly. But before he could shout for help, he was stunned by Sia's voice behind him.
"Catch him! Help! Someone help me... he killed my father!" Her voice wasn't that loud. Chasing him like a demon, she clearly only wanted him to hear her screams, to prove she would really do what she said. Realizing this, Iseul's pace slowed until he finally collapsed to the ground, sobbing in a stifled voice. He had never hated himself more than he did today. He felt so weak. His mind was going numb. He was in no state to think or understand. This monster of a friend was playing with his mind exactly as she wished.
Sia stopped and folded her arms across her chest. She turned her void like gaze to the sky where the moon was alone and the stars were lost in the clouds.
Five minutes later, when he composed himself and stood up, Sia turned to go back. Staring at the tangled clouds of hair on her back, he made a decision: after today, he would never look at Sia again. Once his studies were complete, he wouldn't just leave Gwangju; he would leave South Korea entirely, and then he would inform the police of this crazy girl's crime. If not today, then tomorrow, he would bring her crime to light.
On the walk back to that house of horrors, he made several vows to himself. His graph of hatred and fear continued to rise.
"What I did was pure madness, but you're the one who forced me into it. You could have just listened to me."
"You were just in such a hurry to send your friend to jail. Such a coward."
"If the police ever uncover this secret, believe me, I won't tell them anything about you. But until the secret reveals itself, we must remain silent! Understand?"
"Listen. If I hadn't killed him, he would have killed me."
"We have to put him in this sheet and take him to the backyard. I couldn't do this alone. That's why I called you."
"My grandmother used to grow vegetables in this backyard once. Flowers were always blooming here. So much greenery. I don't even remember it; my grandfather told me."
"There's a pit here, see? We have to put him in it. This pit is actually..."
"STOP!! JUST STOP IT! Shut up. Don't talk to me like I'm your partner in crime. You blackmailed me. You took advantage of my weaknesses, you low life girl!"
She had been talking for so long. He didn't know why, but she just kept talking. Moving like a machine, he helped her dispose of the body, his emotions frozen, until he finally erupted in a roar of frustration.
"Keep your voice down, Iseul! Even walls have ears. What if a neighbor hears you?" After silently watching the boiling hatred in his eyes, Sia spoke with chilling composure. He was at his breaking point. He might have burst into tears right then, but Sia stepped forward and took the shovel from his hand. "I'll handle the rest. Go home now. And listen... there are some stains of blood on your sleeves. If you want, leave the hoodie here. I'll wash it. Here is your phone."
As she pulled his phone from her sweater pocket and handed it over, she looked as if they hadn't just illegally disposed of her father's body, but had merely been pruning rose bushes. Snatching the phone from her hand, he ran back home even faster than he had come. He was profoundly grateful that Mr. Kang hadn't returned yet. If he had faced his father now, all his defenses would have crumbled.
Despite the freezing cold, he was drenched in sweat. In a trance like state, he kicked off his shoes and stripped off his clothes, washing them along with the hoodie in a frantic blur. After taking a haphazard bath and crawling under the duvet, he was shivering with a high fever.
He didn't know if he fell asleep or lost consciousness. He had only one desperate wish: that when he woke up in the morning, all of this would turn out to be a dream. Just a dream.
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