Chapter 3

"DO YOU BLAME YOURSELF?"

"...What? "

"WELL, IT'S QUITE COMMON FOR THE PATIENT TO FEEL A KIND OF... GUILT."

"What situation?"

"THE ACCIDENT."

"What? Shin Yunji? The school freak, my friend?! Are you out of your mind!"

"Yunji, my girlfriend??? please, I just need to win the dare so I can have my 500 yen and a cigarette pack."

"You're not my sister, you're the reason dad left. That's why you deserve this."

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT."

"IT'S YOUR FAULT."

"Hey, what happened to you? " Mom asked, seeing new bandages on my face, bruises, and scratches.

"...I fell..down the stairs," I lied.

"Oh no, dear... here, let me treat them."

Mom prepared her medication set and put a few items on the table whilst she seated me on a chair.

She gently pressed the wipe soaked in alcohol on her wound, and I flinched consistently.

"Mom... it stings..." me and her laughed.

"You know... I was bullied, I... didn't know what to do and I didn't say anything to my parents because they'll make up excuses why I deserved this..."

She cut a piece of gauze roll and tapped it on my cut, and unwrapped bandages for my small wounds.

"But you, my child, don't. Tell me if you get bullied, okay? I don't want you to experience what I felt. I want you to be happy, okay?"

My mother was the one friend and loved one I could rely on, and I was instantly overcome with emotion as I stared at her beauty and kindness.

She's the only family I consider.

But, she made me realize, everything happens for a reason.

Maybe Yujin did this... because of a reason?

Shin Yujin, was my twin sister, youngest.

Dad had no desire to have two daughters when we were born. Given that he had adequate money saved, he only anticipated one, but.

He turned into an alcoholic and neglected his family since he couldn't bear to care for anybody else other than his alcohol and drugs.

Thankfully, Mom's sister was there, and together with Mom, she took good care of us. But when we were six, Aunt passed away from heart cancer.

Dad abandoned us when we were 10 years old, and I remember the day Yunji's eyes were filled with resentment. The sight of her ignoring me and spitting rude things at me pained me the most.

She shared false information about me bullying her in elementary school, which led to our classmates making fun of me and discarding me.

I never knew it was like that.

I attempted to make friends with the other kids, but they simply gave me strange stares and walked away... They were laughing at me with their other friends.

I was a loner, it was miserable.

High school was one of the most hellish times of my life.

The hatred from Yujin was still there,

She reminded me that I was the reason Dad left, which was why she despised me so much. Because of me, being the reason my mother had to go into debt and my aunt died.

Those words haunted me.

I believed it.

The rumours never ended, they still spread throughout the school.

Yujin never thought of me as her sister; instead, she made fun of me, intensifying the rumours.

And that one night, she and her friends got physical.

It was raining, and my blood joined the water.

I cried, feeling it sting and the wounds were a pain. Questioning myself...

'Why did I deserve such a thing?'

'Was it something I've done in the past???'

'What did I do...?'

It went on for over three years, from seventh grade to tenth.

But... I had a horrible cold one night. It was raining outside, and Mom didn't have any medicine to cure my fever... So Mom had to leave me with Yujin while she went looking for the medicine at surrounding stores.

We both said it wasn't a good idea, but she just kissed us on the forehead and said "I love you..."

That night, she never returned. The only news was that she died because she got hit by a drunk driver.

I...

I was the reason for that.

If I hadn't caught a cold that stormy night, maybe she would've been making us breakfast.

If she hadn't gone outside to get medicine, maybe she would've treated my wounds.

If she just...

If she didn't care about me, maybe she'd live by now.

And if Yujin just tried to apologize to me,

She wouldn't have killed herself from the guilt.

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

Yunji turned down the volume on her music as she saw the news turn on and the president appeared.

"PRESIDENT'S EMERGENCY STATEMENT"

"My fellow citizens, we are declaring a state of emergency. Do not leave your homes, the monsters are extremely dangerous...The government will prioritize the citizens' safety...and..."

"AS IF! SHIT! EVERYONE IS GOING TO DIE, YOU'RE ALL FUCKED!"

The president was shot in the head mid-recording but stood up immediately on his stand.

"YOU'RE ALL GOING TO DIE."

The news ended with the military killing him brutally,

"Seems like we don't have democracy in this country anymore."

"We're doomed."

Yunji lit a cigarette, inhaling and exhaling the nicotine.

The electricity has turned back on, but there were no signs of Yikyung returning.

She observed the electrical room very closely, not noticing any movements yet.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, removed her cigarette and headphones, and looked over to see Suung standing behind her.

"The electricity is back on, why isn't she back yet?" Suung inquired, referring to Yikyung.

"Isn't there a security camera in the basement?"

"The camera is turned like that, I can't do anything about it... something must've happened."

"I told her it was too dangerous, didn't I tell her, Bom?" Mrs. Hyein added, talking to the dog she was carrying.

The three were concerned about the firefighter's well-being, and seeing no signs of her, it increased their worries.

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

"This is so selfish!" Mrs. Hyein complained.

Kim Seokhyeon, the owner of the building's convenience store. Locked the entrance door with him and his wife.

"Hang on, Seokhyeon, it's me, Byeongil."

He stared at the selfish guy who continued munching on his corndog.

"You shouldn't do this to me!" He tried opening the locked door in anger.

"I'm not running a charity here, bring money if you want something!"

"-This is insane!"

"-Unbelievable."

"Excuse me."

Yunji noticed the ruckus and arrived with the empty fire extinguisher.

"H-Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Seokhyeon exclaimed.

"On the count of five, if you don't open this glass door right now, I'll break it open by force."

"Y-You can't do that, you bitch! I'll sue you for property damage!"

"The president is dead, the world has roaming monsters. You can't sue me if you have a dead lawyer."

The residents backed away, preparing for the count.

"1."

"I won't move a single budge!"

"2."

The man started to panic,

"Hey, talk her out of it!" He yelled at his wife.

"One more yell at her, and I'll break your head."

"3."

"Shit! You bitch!"

"4."

Yunji raised both her hands, preparing to throw the heavy item in her hand.

"5-"

Seokhyeon and Seonyeong prepared themselves for impact, but a man's voice interrupted her from hurling the extinguisher.

"Please, don't do it." The male said, pushing his suitcase with him.

"What..."

"Who is he?"

"Ah! You're in room 802, right? What happened to your face? I couldn't recognize you." Mrs. Hyein spoke.

"W-Were you here the whole time?" Seungwan inquired.

"No, I came down earlier tonight." He reasoned.

"Tonight? Your face looks awful, did something happen on the way down?" Byeongil remarked.

"Oh, this? I-I got hurt a while ago. A burglar broke into my house." He giggled as he touched his wounds.

"-A burglar?" The residents were curious.

"Do you have any weapons with you? How can we be so sure to trust you when you suddenly came down here?" Yunji took a step forward.

The guy smiled, carrying the suitcase and putting it on the table. Unzipping it to show a whole lot of food.

"-My goodness!"

"-There's food!"

The residents immediately circled in joy.

"We can share," The man said.

"T-Thank you so much!" Seungwan happily took the food in his hands.

He gave it to the people in the hopes of winning their trust. However, Yunji was leaning on the wall behind the others, intently studying the stranger.

He saw his eyes stare at her for a moment, a mood swing? But then returned to giving food.

Mrs. Hyein's dog, Bom, barked as the man tried to provide food for her. Mrs. Hyein was terrified and alarmed, Yunji noticed her unusual reaction.

She sighed, waiting for everyone to get their food before going back to the management office.

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

Yunji continued to modify the displays in order to acquire a more detailed image of the cameras instead of greyscale.

"Wow, you seem really good at that."

The wounded man suddenly entered the office, sneaking up behind the girl.

She stared at him again, seeing his face smile even though he can only open one eye.

"You're really battered up," Yunji commented.

"Yeah,"

She rose from her seat and took the med kit from the top of the cabinets, placed it on the table, and opened it.

"Please sit down and let me treat the wounds, it's a thank you for sharing the food with us," Yunji spoke.

The man agreed and did what she asked, seeing her unwrap one antiseptic wipe.

"This might sting a little, so please bear with me."

He unintentionally gripped her forearm as she softly put the wipe against his face.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just-"

"-It's fine, you can hold onto me if it hurts," Yunji said.

She kept cleaning the dry blood around the wounds, picking up an antibiotic cream and carefully applying it to his face.

"What's your name?" asked the girl.

"C-Choi Yoonjae, you can call me Yoonjae," he responded.

She unwrapped the bandage and covered the little wounds, then snipped a gauze roll to put over the larger cut on his cheek and taped it with medical tape.

"Shin Yunji, you're all done, after three days we'll change the bandages. It might get infected if you don't change it."

Yoonjae bowed and thanked her as he exited the office. As he went away, she noticed something suspicious about him.

"Eunhyuk is still probably sleeping, haven't heard from him for a while."

Yunji put her headphones back in her ears, opened the radio box, and attempted to make an announcement.

She touched the button to turn it on, and music began to play from the speakers.

"Ah, shit... wrong button."

She turned the switch off, and grabbed the walkie-talkie attached to it; speaking like she was broadcasting.

Not realizing Mrs. Cha entered the office and opened the shutters.

"Survivors in the building, this is Shin Yunji speaking, take any food, medicine, clothes, and weapons you have and come to the first floor. The first floor is quite safe for now, and it'll be safer to stay together. We survivors..."

"Yunji..." Hyunsu muttered her name, hearing the announcement she was making.

"You know her?" Jisu asked the guy, and he nodded as they listened to the announcement further.

"...We survivors must stick together."

"I assure you, we'll survive and we'll be safe. Please, come down. Please. I repeat-"

Yunji withdrew her headphones and clicked her tongue in annoyance when the radio broke again.

All of a sudden, she heard a metallic clang outside.

She dashed outside, noticing Jaehwan and Seungwan preventing Mrs. Cha from going outside.

The shutters were gradually opening, and she removed the blocks, leaving a big gap.

"What's going on here? What's going on here?!" Yunji raised her voice for the people in front of her.

"Look, my daughter's here! My daughter's here!"

"-Lower the shutters." She ordered Jaehwan, ignoring the begs from the mother.

"Don't!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and dashed for the partly open gate, but was halted by two guys.

Eunhyuk, Suung, and the other residents showed up, and the individuals near the shutters spotted something from a distance.

Mrs. Cha recognized the person running, it was her daughter.

"My daughter's here! Minju! Run!"

The girl was in her uniform, dusty and bloodied, pleading for help as she dashed towards the building.

Mrs. Cha kept calling her name, but she tripped on her steps.

Yunji is terrified, unsure whether to save her. Even with an injured ankle, the poor girl struggled and kept running, limping slowly.

"S-Shouldn't we do something???"

"She's right there!"

"We need to decide now!"

"H-Hey, what do we do?!"

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"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

"Close the shutters or save the girl?"

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Yunji was breathing rapidly, sweat dropped from her forehead as she gulped.

"Yunji, what do we do?" Eunhyuk asked her.

Suung shoved the crowd aside and raced to the girl who had held out her hands; he was on the verge of saving her, but-

"Don't-!"

Suung and Mrs. Cha's daughter was pierced, the soldier fell to the stone floor, and the tongue pushed within the girl raised her up and sucked the life out of her.

Cha Jinok yelled in agony as the body of the soldier and the girl lay lifeless, blood pouring from them.

"Close the shutters."

Eunhyuk understood her order and rushed into the office, while Yunji ran to Jinok and pushed her to the residents.

She started repairing the barricade by herself, pushing the steel cabinet back up.

The door then swung open unexpectedly. exposing a well-known death machine that slithered like a snake.

Yunji stood next to it, her body frozen as it had been when she first encountered this beast.

As the flesh came into contact with her nose and blood landed in her eye, the shutter slowly closed.

Jinok broke down with a hand on her chest, while Yunji expelled a trembling breath.

The woman looked at the aghast Yunji and stood up,

"She died because of you! If only I'd gone out sooner! If only you didn't stop me, then my daughter would've been alive by now!"

Jinok shoved her against the wall and proceeded to pound her shoulder while bawling her eyes out.

"This is all your fault!"

"Remember, this is all your fault."

"What...? Yujin, what are you talking about?"

"Mom would've been happy by now if you weren't born with me, look at her, crying!" Yujin yelled at me.

"If you weren't born, maybe my life would have a perfect family."

"IF YOU WEREN'T BORN, MAYBE THOSE PEOPLE WOULD'VE BEEN ALIVE BY NOW, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"YOU KILLED THEM!"

"You killed her!"

Jinok wailed, tears dropping from both her eyes as her body dropped.

Yoonjae came to push her away from the girl, glancing at her thunderstruck face.

Eunhyuk came to her aid, while Byeongil and the others fixed the barricade.

"Come on, let's go to the management office."

"I..."

Her quivering voice tried speaking.

I'm sorry.