Guest Ch 5

Invitation to the New Seoul (5)

I gripped the steering wheel of the car that wouldn’t start no matter what I did. I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm and not panic.

“Yeah, it’s obvious the car won’t start. It’s normal for it not to start. If you leave it here like this, won’t the battery completely discharge?”

I muttered to myself, trying to comfort myself.

“Stay calm. Woo Hyunho, let’s stay calm. There must be another way.”

It would be better to have a vehicle that doesn’t rely on power like a car.

“Right, there’s a bicycle.”

I got out of the car and started looking around. I wandered through open houses and narrow alleys, hoping to find an abandoned bicycle. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t even find a single bicycle wheel.

I guess everyone thinks the same. Someone in this situation must’ve already taken the bicycles to get around.

My mind went blank again as my best options failed. I didn’t know what else I could do, so I just gripped the sweaty metal pipe and stared down at the tips of my sneakers for a while.

The sky was starting to get dark. After scouring the neighborhood looking for a car, I had sweated so much that the inside of my clothes was damp.

“Haah, haah.”

I’m thirsty.

My throat feels scratchy, and I keep getting phlegm stuck in my throat.

I didn’t want to waste any saliva, so each time I forced myself to swallow, my thirst only got worse.

“Haah….”

As I started to grow impatient, my thoughts became jumbled. There was no time to move around cautiously anymore. I grabbed and shook the doors of any house I could see. The tightly locked doors wouldn’t open.

Seeing the darkening sky only made me more anxious. Maybe it would be better to head back to my grandmother’s house and wait until tomorrow morning. But I was too thirsty to wait all night. My throat was already stinging.

“Damn it, I don’t care anymore.”

I raised the iron pipe in my hand.

Clang!

Recalling the feeling of smashing a car window, I shattered a building window. Ignoring my racing heart, I broke into the empty house. I opened the refrigerator, pressed the water purifier, turned on the sink, and even checked the toilet, but there was no sign of water anywhere.

“Haah, ha.”

It felt like the inside of my throat would tear apart at any moment. Every time I exhaled, the inside of my throat felt drier, and I felt like I was going to die. I desperately tried to gather saliva under my tongue and swallow it to keep myself from falling into despair.

Water, where can I find water?

Cheonggyecheon? It’s probably dried up too. Maybe if I go to a big public building, I might find a water tank?

I had to move before it got even darker. I walked all the way to Seoul Station, thinking that I could only find water if I left the residential area and entered a building. The scenery I saw as I walked was nothing but ruins that shattered even my hope.

Inside the desolate skyscraper, I could feel the eyes of animals on me. Pigeons were staring down at me. On the high ceilings, there were traces of birds that had built nests out of twigs and feathers, which had now fallen to the floor. I could hear the sound of rats squealing under the cracked stone floor, and long-bodied insects clung to the nameless grass growing through the gaps in the stones. Nature had taken over in the absence of humans.

Fear gradually built up. What remained of human presence were signs of looting and plundering, and nature was taking over the places untouched by human hands.

Who should I rely on? If I meet someone, I might get robbed or killed. But if I rely on nature, there are only animals and pests carrying diseases.

The fear of the unknown gradually turned into a real, tangible terror. Walking along the empty four-lane road was terrifying, and I started walking faster. The moment I began to run, I started breathing even more heavily.

“Haa, haa, ha…”

Tears felt like they were about to burst out.

The overwhelming fear that I couldn’t handle alone left my mind in chaos.

As soon as I arrived at Seoul Station, I hurriedly ran down the stairs. But the run didn’t last long. I froze when I saw the broken stairs ahead.

“Haa, haa, damn it…”

The inside of the empty platform below was completely engulfed in darkness. I couldn’t see anything—not the platform or even the tracks. The air was thick and damp. Every breath carried the metallic stench of rust, and the smell of the heavy darkness was like that of a wild animal.

The darkness felt like the jaws of a giant beast. It felt like if I jumped down the broken stairs, I would willingly become its prey. I hesitated and took a step back. A pebble that had gotten caught on the tip of my foot rolled into the darkness.

Thud, thud, thud.

I could hear the faint sound of the stone rolling.

Thud, thud.

The sound continued for a long time. I couldn’t figure out how a small stone could roll for so long on its own.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

It kept rolling for an unnervingly long time, like someone was playing with a toy.

…What could it be? A person… maybe?

“Hello?”

If it’s a person. If it’s someone who means no harm, I wanted to ask for help, even if it meant putting my pride aside. If it’s someone who intends to hurt me… I’ll have to fight back.

I gripped the pipe in my hand more tightly, my voice trembling as I asked again.

“Is there anyone in there?”

The sound of the stone that had been moving away from me suddenly started to get closer.

Thudthudthudthudthudthudthud.

It was a very fast and light sound. As if it was rolling the stone toward me and approaching.

“!”

I quickly covered my mouth before a scream could escape and stumbled backward.

Thud!

I lost my footing and fell onto the stairs, and I crawled up the stairs on my hands and knees.

Thudthudthudthudthudthud.

I ran frantically, trying to escape the sound of the stone. I was too scared to look back. The moment I burst out of the station, I collapsed onto the stairs, exhausted.

“Ha, ha, huff…”

I covered my face with both hands. I tried not to cry, but it wasn’t easy. I kept glancing back at where I had come from. That strange being, the one who had been rolling the stone, whether it was human or not, never showed itself. I waited, but it didn’t appear. That made it even scarier. The unknown only made me more tense.

I was so terrified, I didn’t even know where to go. There are so many tall buildings around Seoul Station, but my legs refused to move. Who knows what might be lurking around? My whole body trembled.

“Calm down.”

I deliberately slowed my breathing, trying to reassure myself, though my voice was shaky and far from calm.

If I didn’t do something to settle myself, I was afraid I might make a rash decision.

‘Go up to the roof of Seoul Station and jump off. Who knows? Maybe you’ll wake up from this nightmare.’

I can’t believe I’m seriously considering suicide as an option. Where is this thought coming from? Could it be from the thing rolling the stone in that dark tunnel? It must have crawled out and taken root in my mind. The devil must be playing a prank on me, hoping I’ll lose my sanity.

‘You have to wake up from this nightmare, hurry.’

“…Calm down, calm down, Woo Hyunho.”

I suddenly opened the hand that had been covering my face.

Slap!

I slapped both cheeks hard once and then swung my palm again without stopping.

Slap!

The sting and pain in my cheeks seemed to chase away the strange voice that had been swirling in my head. My hardened thoughts began to soften.

Let’s not think in extremes. I don’t know how to get water or how to move to a different area yet, so for now, let’s just go back to grandma’s house. Don’t worry about the bugs or the rats, just sleep for a while and think about it again later. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll wake up from this dream.

Don’t give up. Don’t dwell on bad thoughts. If I keep sinking into these dark, depressing thoughts, I might end up making the extreme choice of jumping off a building. I steeled myself, determined not to let my mind break, and stood up.

Grrr.

I could hear a strange sound coming from somewhere. It sounded like it was coming from a place deeper and lower than a person’s vocal cords. The sound gradually became clearer.

Grrr, grrr.

I stopped walking at the sound that I could definitely hear. I slowly turned my head back.

A dog was standing on all fours at the entrance to the history building. Unlike the darkened surroundings, only its yellow eyes shone brightly. Even the saliva dripping from under its sharp teeth.

It was the first time I had ever seen the gaze of such a starving beast. The dog that recognized me as prey, no, the wolf-like creature that was too big to be called a dog, couldn’t take its eyes off me. It looked like it hadn’t eaten anything in a long time, its belly skin was stuck together, and even its ribs were clearly visible. Meeting me was the greatest fortune of its life.

Damn it, why now of all times…

A curse slipped out of my mouth. I didn’t even have time to feel the humiliation of becoming prey to a predator for the first time in my life.

I tightened my grip on the iron pipe, squeezing it so hard my fingertips turned white, trying to keep it from slipping from my sweaty hands. My entire body tensed as I slowly backed down the stairs.

The growling dog suddenly lifted its head.

“Awooooo!”

The sound was more like a wolf’s howl than a dog’s bark.

A wolf? In the middle of the city?!

Rustle!

The sound of something moving began to mix with the wolf’s howl. It was coming from inside a bus abandoned on the road. From inside a building with a broken door. From a flower bed overgrown with weeds. The sound of several four-legged beasts sprinting at full speed.

Whether they were wild dogs or wolves, a pack of them was rushing toward Seoul Station. I guessed there were at least thirty of them. I turned around and ran as fast as I could. My knees wobbled, almost causing me to fall, but I managed to steady myself and kept running at full speed.

“Fxck.”

This time, I cursed without hesitation.

“Fxck, I’m losing my mind, seriously.”

A four-legged animal runs at full speed. The distance quickly closes. A fighting dog with half its fur missing opens its mouth wide. Instinctively, I swung the pipe.

Whoosh, bam!

The fighting dog’s skull collided precisely with the pipe.

“Grrrrr…!”

The dog that charged at me fell backward. However, the fighting dog staggered to its feet and twisted its mouth even more viciously than before.

“Ruff, Ruff, Ruff!”

Drool dripped from its wide-open mouth as it charged again. I was so shocked that I instinctively shoved the pipe into its mouth. The sensation of stabbing its esophagus startled me, and I let go of the pipe. The dog let out a deathly scream as the pipe pierced through its throat.

“Kwak!”

This time, it collapsed to the ground and didn’t get up. There was no time to celebrate its death.

“Grrrrr, grrrrr!”

Another dog rushed at me from the left, aiming for my leg. I hastily kicked it.

“Kkegaeng!”

While the dog that had fallen back was getting up, I turned and ran. In an instant, dozens of dogs were chasing me. I instinctively sensed danger when I saw that they were herding me somewhere like sheep. Instead of running where they intended, I jumped onto the hood of a car parked near the wall. I grabbed the wall next to me with both hands and climbed up, and the dogs that had chased me to the roof of the car started barking like crazy at the bottom of the wall.