Chapter 4

I'm terribly sorry.

Eunhyuk guided me inside the office, where I could cool off while they fix the barricade.

I felt guilty and accountable for what happened, if I decided fast enough, maybe two lives would've been lost and killed by the monster.

If I saved the girl faster, then maybe the two would've been reunited and the Suung would've died.

If only...

I felt tears trickle down my skin, as I curled myself into a corner with my headphones on.

The whispers were getting louder.

They're saying... annoying things... annoying things that were true about me.

I can't handle this, anymore.

They would be better off without me.

"She must be devastated..." Seonyeong commented.

"If my Bom died, I think I'd be devastated, too..." Mrs. Hyein cried at the thought of it.

"I think this is a little different," Seonyeong said to the woman.

"No, it's not... Bom is family to me," She stood and walked beside Seonyeong.

"Still, it can't be the same as losing your own child."

"You don't have kids, either. You wouldn't know what it's like..."

Seonyeong glanced at Hyein before looking at the management office, she hummed in reply.

"Anyway, I feel really bad for Ms. Cha and the firefighter lady." Mrs. Hyein shared.

"What about her?" Seonyeong inquired, referring to Yikyung.

"Her fiance used to live here, he died... The wedding's supposed to be in two days,"

"What happened to him?" She asked, sad about the news.

"I don't know... What do you think happened?"

Seonyeong breathed out, "She seemed so poised, I had no idea... But what's taking her so long...? Do you think something happened to her?"

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

"The cellphone's out of service anyway," Seokhyeon fixed his hair in the mirror.

"Exactly, but how'd she know her daughter was coming? It's a mystery, do you think she's possessed?" Byeongil asked the man beside him.

"Possessed? No, she's just crazy." Seokhyeon replied.

"I feel bad for her, anyway, you better stop calling that Yunji names. That woman is totally heartless, she could do anything to you if she wanted to."

"Please, she'd be arrested for murder."

"You know that won't stop her, right?"

"Bullshit, she doesn't have the courage to kill. She's just a bitchy little whore." Seokhyeon and Byeongil laughed together.

"Hey, Seokhyeon, it's so reassuring to have you as the leader." Byeongil snuck his hands around his shoulder while he fixed his wig.

"Leader, my ass. I don't want that job." He removed his shoulder from his grasp,

"But we can't let that woman be the leader!"

Yunji was inside the bathroom cubicle, covering her lips to prevent her from making any noise while weeping.

She curled herself into a ball and wept with both hands on her ears.

It was just like in high school.

Her voice cracked as she broke down tears away; she attempted to suppress these sounds, but she couldn't stop them from coming out.

Her eyes were already red and swollen, and her lips were bleeding from intense biting.

"I just want to escape this living hell..."

"I just want to escape this living hell..."

As she murmured those words, she remembered her high school self and proceeded to cry on her knees.

She felt liquid coming out of her nose,

Then she felt as though reality had twisted around her. Her uneasy instincts got the best of her.

She exited the cubicle, and the room became a dark abyss. Yujin felt her feet drenched in liquid and turned around, only to see nothing but darkness..

"ISN'T IT COOL? IT'S WHAT YOU WANTED, YOU WANTED TO ESCAPE THIS LIVING HELL, DIDN'T YOU?"

It seemed like the voice was distorted, as an identical body of hers appeared.

"I just want to escape this living hell..."

"━I JUST WANT TO ESCAPE THIS LIVING HELL"

The thing echoed her remarks; its physique was similar to hers, but its eyes were fiery red and had cracks around them.

It had black tattoos on its shoulder that stopped at her neck, and its hand was completely black with no shadows.

"ACCEPT EVERYONE HATES YOU, DESPISES YOU, THEY SAID YOU DON'T DESERVE ANY HAPPINESS."

"THEY'RE SCARED OF YOU, THAT'S WHY THEY KICK YOU, PUNCH YOU, DO HORRENDOUS THINGS TO YOU BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID YOU'LL DO THE SAME TO THEM."

"I CAN MAKE EVERYONE THAT HATES YOU DISAPPEAR, AND I CAN DO EVEN MORE THAN THAT. I AM YOU! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ACCEPT THAT!"

The thing urged her to do something she didn't understand.

Its sinister smile perplexed her; it approached her and reached out to caress her face.

"BE BRUTAL."

"IF YOU'LL SAVE EVERYONE, WHO WILL SAVE YOU?"

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

She got out of the stall and removed the bandage that was on her face. 

Looking at it, the wound had entirely healed; she rinsed her face with water to avoid seeming like she was crying, and dried her face before reapplying the bandage.

When Yunji was about to get out of the bathroom, she heard a thump.

"You knew there was a monster, didn't you? "

She recognized the raspy voice, she figured Yikyung returned.

"Yikyung." She heard Seonyeong's voice echo,

The firefighter left the two alone,

Yunji eventually exited the restroom, noticing Eunhyuk slumped against the wall and Seonyeong standing.

"You both should rest, it's night and—"

"—No, you should be the one resting. I'll be monitoring in the management office." Eunhyuk cut her sentence off.

"I can't..." Yunji sighed.

"I can't be with those people."

"Why should you bring yourself down? You saved us all, if you didn't decide to shut down the shutters and fixed the barricade in time, the monster would've gotten to us." Eunhyuk reasoned.

"I am accountable for the death of two innocent people, I can't risk doing it in the same situation again... I just, want to be alone."

"Yunji dear..." Seonyeong muttered.

"Yunji," Eunhyuk called.

The girl ignored them and walked away,

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

Outside, loud sirens rang from the speakers, and the live report was shown on television.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

BREAKING NEWS

"As of 24:00 on August 17, martial law has been declared throughout the Republic of Korea in accordance with Article 77, Section 1 of the Constitution and Article 2, Section 2 of the Martial Law Act. 

The military will be in charge of all security and civil affairs. The military has confirmed that an unspecified number of people have been turning into unknown creatures. 

The exact cause is still unknown,  but it is believed to be related to human desire. It is not a respiratory or blood-borne infection.

Quarantine those who show symptoms of hypothermia, nosebleeds, fainting, and auditory or visual hallucinations.

These creatures have excellent resilience and regenerative abilities. 

Before an individual turns, there is a period of time when they cannot recover from severe lacerations or damage.

It is the only time these creatures can be killed, we have thus termed this the 'golden hour.'

All captured creatures should be incinerated."

Eunhyuk and Yunji were inside the management office, intently watching the news.

The girl stood beside Eunhyuk, glancing at him.

"I haven't turned yet, maybe there's still time for me to kill myself." Yunji thought.

It would be her last wish to harm others unconsciously,

she wouldn't want that for the people and herself.

"Currently, this is the only action civilians can take. The military can and will solve the current situation.

Survive. Good luck."

"The 'golden hour'? She didn't specify what time this golden hour is, how can we kill them?" 

Yunji sighed in dismay, resting against the wall with her arms crossed.

"It can't be helped, maybe they don't know what time it is. If they did, they'd announce it." Eunhyuk responded.

"How's our food and water supply?"

"It could last for a month or two, but for water supply, it'll last for about three." Eunhyuk checked his list.

"There's a possibility that our water could be cut off, so we have to store it in case of emergencies," Yunji suggested, to which he agreed. Creating a list of to-do's

"Hey, have you seen Eunyu?" The guy suddenly asked.

"Who?" Yunji questioned.

"The girl from before, when that gangster suddenly opened the door, remember?"

"Ahh, her name is Eunyu?"

"Yeah, she's my sister."

"I haven't seen her, nor that guy as well. They might've gone upstairs by now."

Eunhyuk hummed in reply, understanding her answer, and continued off writing.

The both of them heard a thud, startling them as they all looked out of the office.

"I'll go check." Yunji excused herself.

She saw the chair from the barricaded entrance fall, as it continued to move.

"A person?" Yunji thought.

She moved closer to the door and heard a blood-curdling scream.

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

Hyunsu woke up on a metal table, looking all across the room to see a familiar girl leaning on the wall.

They were inside the gaming room.

"You're... alive," Yunji spoke, surprised as the boy had shown no pain.

"Yunji... where am I?" he spoke softly.

"First floor, majority of the residents are here. Surviving." Yunji answered.

"What about the other two?"

He might've been referring to the music girl and the one with the katana...

"They are safe," Yunji reassured him, as he sighed in relief.

"You fell from the ninth floor with extreme blood loss, but woke up in three hours," Yunji informed him.

"Maybe the golden hour saved you, isn't it ironic?" Eunhyuk entered the room,

"The golden hour used to mean the last hour to save someone, now it means the only possible period of time to destroy someone."

"How do you feel?" the male asked.

Hyunsu placed his arm out to the back of his head, his eyes widening as blood coated his hand.

"I-I think I'm okay," Hyunsu answered.

"Good," Eunhyuk glanced at the girl beside him.

"It's going to be tough from here on out."

Yunji looked at him with concern, having divergent opinions about his plans for the kid.

"━What is it?"

"━Why did they call us?"

"━What?"

Jaehwan, Seungwan, and Byeongil came to a halt to look at the three people walking.

"━Keep going." Byeongil pushed the two.

"You're really out of your mind, you bitch. You bought a frigging monster in here,"

He faced Hyunsu with a cutter in his hand, 

"Don't you dare turn," Pushing it upwards to reveal the rusted blade,

"Got it, you fucking monster?"

He received no answer from the kid.

"You should answer when an adult speaks━"

Yunji was standing behind Hyunsu, quickly grabbing the cutter in his hand and pushing him back.

"This bitch!" He muttered and clicked his tongue as he left to go to the daycare.

"━What?"

"━We can't do that."

Two of Hyunsu's companions, a girl and a man called Yoon Jisu and Jung Jaeheon, objected.

"I don't intend on missing the golden hour," Seokhyeon calmly spoke.

"The Lord said━ I'm sure Jesus never lived in a world like this, did he? " 

Jaeheon wanted to speak his opinion but was cut off by him.

"It's for everyone's safety." 

Eunhyuk entered with a box, red pencils, and a sticky note in his hand. Placing it on the small table,

"Here."

"What is that?" Seokhyeon questioned.

"Each of you takes a piece of paper, If you think we should oust Hyunsu, draw a circle. And if you don't think we should draw an X, then put the paper in this box." Eunhyuk explained the rules.

"Obviously, he'll be kicked out. Why bother?" Seokhyeon commented.

"Just do a show of hands, I want him out. Who wants him out? Who?" He urged the others to raise their hands, then glanced at his wife.

"Why don't you raise your hand?"

The guy asked his speechless wife.

"I don't."

Eunyu entered the nursery while raising her hand and slipping it inside her pocket.

"You aren't old enough to vote!" Seokhyeon reasoned.

"Are we electing the president? Age doesn't matter." Eunyu responded.

"How dare you talk back? When an adult says something, you should shut up and agree."

Eunyu then used sign language to swear at him, signing the words 'Fuck bastards like you.'

"Did you just swear at me? I'm old enough to be your dad, how dare you!" He moved forward, attempting to hit her.

Jisu chuckled in the background, obviously understanding she swore at her.

"No, I don't. I said you're the best." She joked, smiling at him as she did a thumbs up.

She then made a hand-gun sign with only her ring finger down and blew it like a gun, perplexing the old man.

"To protect everyone's privacy, it must be a secret ballot," Yunji answered for everyone.

"What?"

"━Because ousting him..." Eunhyuk continued for her.

"...would be taking part in murder."

People's thoughts broaden once they realize they are voting for a life-or-death circumstance.

Seokhyeon scoffed and stood up.

"Privacy? My ass, I want him out. Out!" He raised his voice and raised his hand since the people were not listening to him or what he was saying.

 "Murder? We're making this decision to survive, don't be scared!" Seokhyeon tried to make a point.

"Hey, aren't you going to raise your hand?" He looked at his wife who was looking down, not wanting to face him.

"W-What? Well..."

"Raise your hand, you stupid cow━"

"━Shut your mouth, dickhead, nobody wants to hear your voice complaining."

Seokhyeon turned to the voice, Yunji.

"What did you say?"

"Did I stutter? Shut your mouth, sit your ass down. Your voice could get us killed by now, I'm surprised it hasn't." 

"Why you... How dare you call me that━" He attempted to punch the girl.

"Stop it." Yikyung stared at the man deathly, as well as the girl.

Mrs. Hyein raised her hand to speak.

"I think Eunhyuk has a point, isn't it better not to know who agreed to oust him? It's only natural to vote in a democratic country." 

The residents around her acknowledged it as they settled off with an agreement.

"There were seven in favor and eight opposed."

Seokhyeon hastened to inspect them to see whether they were false after Eunhyuk scrawled the number of votes on the notes and set them on the table.

"If one of the last two ballots is in favor, he'll be ousted."

"Seven people opposed? Are you guys crazy?!" He yelled at the group of people.

Eunhyuk opened the folded paper, that had an X written on it. 

"Opposed." Seokhyeon turned to the man, 

"It's eight to eight."

"Damn it," He muttered under his breath to turn to his wife, "Did you oppose?"

"Her vote doesn't concern you, it's a secret ballot, dumbass." Yunji defended the woman before she spoke.

"All the bitches and bastards on his side should all be thrown out!" He yelled specifically at the girl, Eunyu, Jisu, and Jaeheon.

"Hey, mister." Jisu almost snapped at the man.

"Don't get worked up yet, this last vote will determine the result."

Everyone was eager to find out who had won as he took the yellow box and slipped his hand inside to obtain the final piece of paper.

The people were startled by the expression on Eunhyuk's face, as he showed them the folded piece of paper while maintaining his normal composed demeanor.

It had an X and a circle, meaning, it was invalid.

The crowd exhaled; some expressed displeasure while others displayed emotionlessness.

Seokhyeon snatched the paper out of his hands, denying it.

"No way..."

He looked at the residents with anger fuming out of him.

"Hey, bring that bastard here." He ordered Byeongil who tried not to get noticed.

"M-Me?"

"Yes! We have to get rid of him as fast as we can!"

Byeongil walked out of the room to go and get him.

Seokhyeon, on the other hand, raged and threw the ballots on the ground.

"Voting, my ass. Huh, are you all nuts? Did you already forget that someone died?" He yelled at everyone

"Are you against the result?" Eunhyuk inquired.

"What? 'Taking part in murder'? Murder is killing a human being, not a monster!"

He threw the small table in anger, as the residents heard and saw liquid dripping down the floor.

Yunji whistled, tilting her head to her side to see such a view.

"Maybe the military was right after all..."

"H-Honey... Honey...!" 

When Seonyeong saw her husband, she was utterly shocked. Blood was pouring continuously from his nose, which he had covered.

"...human desire really does turn them into monsters."

Seokhyeon looked at the girl beside him and reached his hand out.

"T-This... This is because I'm tired! It's because I'm tired!" As he made an effort to approach everyone, he said while holding up his hand.

"━Don't come near us!"

"━Don't!"

They all reacted in a state of terror and stepped aside from the man whose nose was gushing.

A recognizable person then appeared in front of him. preventing himself from leaving the nursery.

"You better brace yourself," Hyunsu spoke.

"W-What?"

"If you don't want to be eaten by a monster,"

"You son of a bitch." He swore, unable to stop the blood from his nose from running down his face and onto the floor.

Hyunsu moved aside and reached for the papers on the ground.

"Do I have the right to vote?" He asked,

grabbing the paper that had a circle on it, putting it inches away from the box.

"If I put this in, he'll be thrown out with me, right?"

Hyunsu turned to gaze at her and Eunhyuk for clarification while Yunji was surprised by the rapid shift in his eye colour.

"Am I right? "

Yunji nodded in reply, as the guy behind him finally collapsed after freezing for a period of time.

Hyunsu put the paper in his hand in the box, making the opposing side, won the votes.

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

The infected were quarantined inside the apartment's gaming room,

To check on Seonyeong, who could have been devastated as a result of her husband's infection, Yunji took a leave of absence.

She observed Jieun shoving Mrs. Hyein away from Seonyeong, who was seated still.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, about... him." She heard Yunji's voice and looked at her,

Yunji sat down next to her after noticing the tear in her eye. She took a cigarette out of her pack and a lighter from her pocket.

"It's hard, living like this. But, we'll get through this. Alright?"

As she exhaled the cigarette, she could already see her shivering. Yunji took her into an embrace and massaged her back after hearing her whimpers.

Seonyeong cried on her once more, not able to bottle up her emotions.

"Let it all out."

Were the words Yunji spoke that made her feel safe to cry it all. Her frustration, her anger, her sadness, her happiness.

Seonyeong didn't know what to feel.

━° ⌜ 미지의 악마 ⌟ °━

Jinok was sitting there with her phone in her hand when Yunji went to check in at the nursery. staring at the photos of her daughter.

She had the courage to sit next to her, urging to apologize.

"She's very pretty." Yunji complimented the girl on the screen.

"Did you take many pictures of her? I only took a few... and that's what I regretted the most."

She showed a of her mother and her high school self and showed it. 

Additionally, there were photos of her and her twin sister as well as her mother and her own twin.

When Jinok saw the pictures and saw Yinju was delighted to see the pictures... she realized she had also lost her family.

"My mother was the greatest person and the greatest friend I ever had, and my twin sister was the best."

She took out a candy bar from her pocket and gave it to the woman.

"You need the energy to miss someone," Yunji spoke softly.

She saw her hands tremble, and her face welled with tears.

"I'm terribly sorry, for not saving your daughter. I couldn't━ I didn't decide on time. It was my fault." Yunji apologized, and Jinok looked at her.

"You both could've been happy together if I weren't here to stop you from saving your child, she looks like a wonderful kid."

Jinok sniffed, as tears streamed down.

"But, I'm sure she would've wanted you to live on for her━to be kind to kids her age or younger, to be happy and joyful."

"She would've been proud to see you standing and surviving this crisis."

Yunji could hear her sobbing as she trembled her hands to unwrap the candy bar in her palm.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Mrs. Cha. I'm sure to repay you,"

and with that, she left the daycare.

"with my life."

Yunji glanced in the mirror at the face she hated the most about herself.

"SO, YOU'RE KILLING YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU WANT TO ESCAPE ME? I'LL JUST REVIVE YOU ALL OVER AND OVER AGAIN UNTIL YOU SURRENDER YOURSELF TO ME. IT'S THAT EASY."

The black tattoos that extended up to her neck shared the same breaking pattern and scarlet eyes with her reflection.

"COME ON, SURRENDER TO ME. YOU KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE HATE YOU, DESPISE YOU, SCARED OF YOU, WHO'S LEFT HERE IN THIS WORLD FOR YOU TO LIVE FOR? NO ONE!"

Yunji continued washing her face with water until the whispers stop, but she kept looking at the same identical face in the mirror over and over again.

"YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM YOUR DESIRES, YUNJI, I AM YOU, AND I'LL KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DESIRE FOR."

"JUST SURRENDER YOURSELF TO ME."

"THEN WE'LL LIVE HAPPILY, EVER, AFTER━"

"It's disgusting to see you act nice, do you think a frigging chocolate bar can cheer her up?" 

Eunyu appeared next to the door and laughed at her.

Yunji didn't say a word and stared at her reflection, seeing her eyes return to normal.

"You did that to make yourself feel better,"

"I did, didn't I? " 

Yunji responded, walking away from her.