Chapter 76
"Ye-ri. When we graduate and leave this orphanage, let's definitely live together. Okay?"
"I don't want to live with you. You grind your teeth too much at night. It's really too noisy."
"Tch, Ye-ri, don't you grind your teeth?"
"No. I don't."
Hong Mi-ri had a twin sister.
Hong Ye-ri.
Hong Ye-ri was the older sister, and Hong Mi-ri was the younger. But being older or younger wasn't very important to them.
They looked so identical that no one could tell them apart. Of course, they could distinguish each other.
"Look here. Mi-ri has a tiny mole on her nose bridge."
"I have a mole on my nose bridge. Here."
"It's true."
"Can't tell them apart except for that."
Ye-ri and Mi-ri were each other's alter ego. They had to be.
"This time, Mi-ri showed the most outstanding performance in the Observer aptitude test. Everyone, applause!"
"Hong Mi-ri is the first person to see up to question 7 since the orphanage was founded!"
"Now our orphanage can get more budget."
The twins who should have been identical in every way. At some point, they became different.
"...Scholarship? Me? Director. Then... what about Ye-ri... my sister?"
"Your sister doesn't have the aptitude. Mi-ri, you're the one chosen as the chairman's special scholarship student. Mi-ri, you won't get this chance again. Don't you want to succeed?"
Hong Mi-ri, who had excellent aptitude as an Observer, became a scholarship student, and Hong Ye-ri was left behind. The time had come for their lives to diverge.
The sisters who had always been together since birth, except for one moment, had to separate after graduation.
As Hong Mi-ri was deeply troubled, one day her older sister Hong Ye-ri said,
"Mi-ri. Want to go to the department store with me this weekend? We don't know how long we can be together. We should cherish the remaining time more."
Hong Mi-ri gladly accepted. Hong Mi-ri and Hong Ye-ri went shopping at the department store. They also visited a dermatologist. It was to remove the mole on Hong Mi-ri's nose bridge.
"Mi-ri, now our faces are exactly the same. Right?"
"Yeah! That mole on my nose bridge always bothered me."
They bought and wore grown-up high heels and matched colors well with the red they both liked.
"Mi-ri. No matter where we are, we're together forever. You are me."
"Yeah!"
Wearing the same clothes and looking identical, they really looked like one person split into two. People around them kept glancing at them. They returned to the orphanage in good spirits.
"Mi-ri. I heard you're starting Observer training from tomorrow? I won't be able to see you anymore."
"Yeah..."
"I have something prepared for you. Want to follow me?"
Hong Mi-ri, expecting a surprise gift her sister had prepared, walked around the orphanage with her eyes covered. There was a smell of chemicals, and Hong Mi-ri's neck was fixed somewhere.
"Now, keep your eyes closed. Now we're really going to be together forever. Now we're one!"
Click-
The sound of a machine operating was heard, and something stung her neck. People rushed in at the sound of the machine running.
"Aaaaaargh!"
"Eeeek! W-what is this!"
"...Why did the guillotine operate already!"
"It's Hong Mi-ri! Hong Mi-ri's head was cut off!"
"This looks like Ye-ri!"
Two heads and two bodies suddenly appeared.
Accidental death. Decapitation. Instant death. When everyone thought no one could handle this situation, the director spoke.
"Hey. Since it's come to this, let's use the 'Red Mask'. With that, we can save Mi-ri who has the aptitude. She might even become a stronger Observer. Move quickly! Hurry! Before the brain completely dies!"
"D-Director. We can tell this body with the butterfly birthmark is Mi-ri's... but which head is Mi-ri's...? They look so identical..."
"Are you stupid? Don't you know Mi-ri has a tiny mole on her nose bridge? There's a mole here! You bastards. You don't know anything unless I tell you every little detail? Start the grafting surgery right now!"
"Th-then what about Ye-ri...?"
"She's useless. Just throw her away. Well..., if she's lucky, she might become some kind of strange phenomenon like 'Headless Woman' or 'Bodiless Head'. Like a Yokohama ghost story."
Hong Mi-ri was revived. The revived her could easily see what others couldn't see and hear what others couldn't hear.
But no one knew that the revived her no longer ground her teeth when sleeping.
These past memories suddenly flashed through Hong Mi-ri's mind. The "Bodiless Head" spoke to Hong Mi-ri in this state.
"Give me back my body! My body! Give me back my body! My body! Give me back my body!"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Crack, crack crack-
Hong Mi-ri's body and head screamed. And finally, they separated with a cracking sound.
Swish swish swish-
The head ghost creakily fitted its head to the body that had lost its owner. When they completely became one, it shouted.
"Yes, this is my body!"
***
I had wet my pants only once in my life. It was in 6th grade of elementary school, when I had an extremely scary nightmare.
While wandering around the house trying to hide the wet blanket and pants, I went near the shed my dad said never to open. I was planning to hide my blanket there.
─Is someone out there?
─Gosh, you scared me!
That's when I met the girl beyond the door.
According to Jung-seok's deduction, it was probably 'Yoo Dahee'.
...No, was it really Yoo Dahee? Honestly, I couldn't be sure.
─You out there. Are you a ghost?
─M-me, a ghost? Aren't you the ghost?
At that time, I almost wet my pants again. If I hadn't already relieved myself once, I would have really wet myself again.
─Really? You're not a ghost? Then let me touch your heart. The housekeeper unnie said ghosts are dead people so their hearts don't beat.
Swish-
A white, thin arm stretched out through a hole in the shed. That arm, shining in the moonlight, looked especially pale. That hand touched my chest, and the girl in the shed giggled.
─Your heart is beating really fast. Want to touch mine too?
Swish-
I put my hand into the shed. At that time, I was very scared but also very curious.
My hand touched soft, warm skin. The amount of information rushing to my palm was so overwhelming it made me dizzy. The girl in the shed wasn't wearing clothes.
Why was a naked girl locked in our shed? Why did Dad tell me never to go near this shed?
I felt more scared than of ghosts.
─I'm human too, right? Right? So let me out. Let me out of here.
─...
─Let me out. I'm in so much pain. The mister comes every night and torments me. The mister touches me all over. Young-won. Let me out. Please... it's so cold and dark in here...
I got scared of everything and ran away. Then suddenly I thought.
Wait-
Had I ever told the girl in the shed my name? That was the memory of the first day I wet my pants.
And now is the second time.
Splurt, splurt splurt-
"Krik. Kihihik. Krik. Kiririk. Krik."
The Red Woman was doing popping dance in front of me. She kept making "Kiririk" sounds with that hideous face, which was very hip. Why on earth was she making such sounds?
I was so scared that I wet my pants. Even so, the fear didn't subside, and I felt like burying my head in the ground like a pheasant that heard a gunshot and doing a break dance.
"This is my body. This body."
The head and body finally became one.
Roll roll-
And the leftover head that fell to the floor was glaring at me with terrifying eyes, its face deeply furrowed.
Is this a nightmare? Or reality?
I was terrified. But I thought that if I just stayed scared, something even scarier might happen.
I asked the merged body,
"Um... are you Hong Ye-ri? Ms. Hong Mi-ri's twin."
"No? I'm Hong Mi-ri."
"......"
"Seems like you don't understand. Anyway, thanks to you, I was able to return to my original state. Ah, the back of my head was really itchy, now I can finally live."
Scratch scratch scratch scratch-
The woman who identified herself as Hong Mi-ri scratched the back of her head vigorously. Somehow, it felt like déjà vu.
Do all bodiless heads get itchy at the back? Is it because of poor blood circulation? Or is the itch constantly building up because they can't scratch it?
I don't know.
If I became a severed head, would I be able to empathize with that itch?
Of course, I wouldn't want to be in that state even for billions of dollars.
Swish-
The new Ms. Hong Mi-ri picked up the head rolling on the floor.
The head on the floor was moving its mouth as if it wanted to say something but couldn't. Those scary eyes were still glaring at me and Ms. Hong Mi-ri.
"Want to speak but can't, right? I understand that feeling. I wanted to shout 'I'm the real Hong Mi-ri!' so badly. You wicked girl. Now you try being trapped in this horrible corridor forever."
Whoosh-
Ms. Hong Mi-ri threw the head away carelessly.
Fortunately, the new Ms. Hong Mi-ri's face had regained its color and her expression became normal. She wasn't making those hip "kirik kirik" sounds anymore.
Instead, she was examining various parts of her body.
"No tattoos. Well-exercised. Used cleanly."
Rustle rustle-
She even took off her clothes. A female teacher's stark naked body.
Who would have imagined I'd see Ms. Hong Mi-ri's naked body? I didn't.
Ms. Hong Mi-ri touched her breasts and caressed every part of her body with her palm.
"All the senses seem fine. So, what do you think?"
"......"
I was extremely embarrassed.
"Say something. Is there anything on my back? Anything strange?"
Ms. Hong Mi-ri showed me her back. I looked at her back carefully. It was smooth without any excess fat.
"It's clean."
"Good. So, what did you say your name was?"
"I'm... Ha Young-won. And you..."
I didn't know where to look. I averted my gaze slightly and asked,
"What on earth is going on here? Why did this happen? Who are you?"
"I'm Hong Mi-ri. I was trapped here due to circumstances. My consciousness was hazy like someone drowning, and I only thought about finding my body. But where are you looking? Are you a pervert?"
"No. Teacher, that butterfly... on your face..."
Ms. Hong Mi-ri had a butterfly-shaped birthmark. It was distracting as it fluttered around her face.
Soon the teacher was surprised.
"Butterfly? I have a butterfly? On my face?"
Ms. Hong Mi-ri touched her face. Soon she uttered a short exclamation as if realizing something.
"You mean that birthmark. The unpleasantly moving spot. This, right?"
The butterfly that was moving around her face came down to Ms. Hong Mi-ri's chest. As I blushed, Ms. Hong Mi-ri asked,
"This looks like a butterfly?"
"...Pardon?"
"I'm asking if this looks like a butterfly to you. Speak clearly."
"Isn't it a butterfly?"
"So this looks like a butterfly to you. People without the sense can't even see this birthmark. I can only see it as a dark spot. You have an amazing spiritual sense? So this was a butterfly."
Apparently, she didn't know that the birthmark on her body was butterfly-shaped. Is it not easily visible to people without spiritual sense?
Come to think of it, Jung-seok didn't know Ms. Hong Mi-ri had a butterfly birthmark.
"Are you sick?"
"No. It's just..."
"Ah."
Rustle rustle.
Ms. Hong Mi-ri quickly picked up her clothes and put them on. Only then could I finally feel relieved.
Ms. Hong Mi-ri asked me,
"So who are you?"
"I'm... Ha Young-won. You tried to kill me, so I ran away and ended up here... it's a bit complicated."
"I see. Ye-ri must have been jealous of you. Just like she killed me out of jealousy, she must have tried to kill you this time. Because you have the talent to see a butterfly in the birthmark. I understand."
Oh.
She's quick to understand? I couldn’t even figure out that the reason Hong Mi-ri tried to kill me was because of jealousy.
But Ye-ri, Mi-ri. It's really confusing.
Who's who?
"Um... can you explain?"
"Hmm. Okay. We have plenty of time anyway."
Chatter chatter-
Ms. Hong Mi-ri told the story of twins raised in an orphanage. Up to the story of the older sister killing the younger out of jealousy, then living as the younger sister.
In other words-
The Hong Mi-ri we had been seeing so far was actually Hong Ye-ri pretending to be the younger sister. Is such a thing really possible?
"Can a person whose head was cut off... be revived?"
"The orphanage director Kwon Oh-sung was a genius."
"Kwon Oh-sung... you mean the chairman of Osung Group?"
"Osung Group? Is there such a thing?"
You don't know?
Come to think of it, Osung Corporation emerged about 10 years ago. They built a grand headquarters building in this Gaeryong City, and even Jung-seok used to visit when he was young.
Osung became prominent and turned into a giant corporation in these 10 years...
The original Hong Mi-ri, who had been trapped in this darkness for 10 years, might not know.
"I'm curious about how the world has changed. But the problem is we can't get out of here. It's good that I found my body, but it's out of the frying pan and into the fire."
Hong Mi-ri didn't seem to know how to get out of here.
Of course, I knew. I had the shop's package delivery guide service.
But...
I wasn't sure if it was okay to leave this place with this Hong Mi-ri. Could I trust this Hong Mi-ri?
The twin sister was a complete psychopath.
"Ms. Hong Mi-ri. If I help you get out of here... can you make one promise? Promise that you'll never attack me or eat me."
"Eat you? Am I some kind of cannibal? You're funny."
"......"
"Okay. I'll promise. If I can get out of this godforsaken place, what wouldn't I promise? If I can just get out of here, I'll think of you as a lifelong benefactor. Satisfied? I don't betray or lie like some people."
Alright.
I manipulated the status window. After buying the item from the status window, 280 points remained.
"Follow me. By the way, when we leave here, this space will completely disappear."
All the ghosts dispatched as mercenaries so far have attained enlightenment. This horror elevator should attain enlightenment too.
No, it feels a bit strange to say an elevator attains enlightenment.
"Then there's no way to come back here again? Everything in this place will disappear completely. Then wait a moment. I need to take this."
Hong Mi-ri picked up Hong Ye-ri's head rolling on the floor. And she also picked up the body approaching with clicking sounds from far away.
It was probably Hong Ye-ri's body.
"Hey. Can you help me carry this? It's a bit heavy. Oh geez, stop struggling. Hey! Be careful not to let the head and body merge into one! You carry the body well! I'll carry the head!"
"......"
What is she planning to do with the head and body?
I was curious but... too scared to ask.
For now, let's escape from this terrifying place!