Chapter 4
“Sister, what’s that sound? Is it an earthquake?”
Jungwoo, who had just come out of his room, looked at Sehyun with an anxious face.
“Jungwoo, just in case, wake up Aunt and help her. We might have to leave.”
Sehyun headed towards the balcony first. It was dark, and the thick trees made it difficult to see outside clearly.
“I’ll be back in a moment. Stay here and don’t move.”
“Huh? Huh? Sister! Where are you going?”
Sehyun immediately flung open the front door and quickly climbed the narrow stairs leading to the rooftop.
As she climbed, she prayed inwardly.
That she was just being overly sensitive. That it was just a groundless assumption fueled by her anxiety.
However, Sehyun’s shoulders slumped as she stood on the rooftop.
Despite the stinging wind, she couldn’t blink.
A black hole, gaping wide open in the middle of the dark alley.
It was so viscous, as if it would swallow everything in the world. It even gave the illusion that something thick would flow out and melt the world like lava.
Trembling.
Sehyun barely managed to lower her gaze and saw her own arms shaking uncontrollably.
Her body remembered. That time when she listened helplessly to the screams from beyond the door.
The Hole wasn’t far from the front gate.
Could she escape if she went out now? Was it possible that the monsters wouldn’t come out for a few days, even in this state?
However, as if mocking her thoughts, tiny electric currents flowed from the entrance of the giant black hole.
She knew from the mandatory safety education that every citizen of South Korea had to undergo.
That this meant the Hole was about to open.
In other words, it meant that monsters were about to pour out.
“Ah, what’s that sound?”
“Eek, what is that!”
“Run away!”
“What is it?”
Residents who had come out of their houses at the sudden commotion screamed as they spotted the Hole.
“Ah!”
“He, help me!”
“It’s a Hole!”
As if on cue, everyone frantically ran away in the opposite direction of the Hole.
Thump!
And sparks flew in the air at the other end of the alley where the residents were running away in panic.
“…No!”
“Aah!”
Sehyun’s small voice was drowned out by the screams. Her eyes widened. She couldn’t believe it even though she saw it with her own eyes.
A black hole appeared at the other end of the alley. The hole quickly widened its mouth, blocking one side of the alley.
So, two Holes in one alley.
“This… Is this even possible?”
Sehyun muttered under her breath.
“Oh, what should we do!”
“Anyone’s phone working?”
“No! It’s not working! The Hole’s waves are blocking the signals!”
Some of the residents trapped between the Holes were jumping up and down in despair.
Sehyun, trembling, hurriedly took out her phone. As someone had said, it was dead.
Something emanating from the two Holes was interfering with communication.
“Crazy. This is insane. This is insane…”
Does it make sense that I’m the only one experiencing this twice, something that others might not even experience once in their lifetime?
More importantly, two Holes appearing at once! Are they trying to kill us all?
Screaming inwardly, Sehyun collapsed to her knees and stared blankly at the Holes. Then she slapped her cheeks hard.
Get a grip.
If she broke down, Jungwoo, who knew nothing, and her aunt, who had raised her all this time, would be in danger.
Sehyun barely managed to get up and looked around again. Now that she knew where the Holes had appeared, she just had to find a way to escape.
There was no choice but to go to the nearest bus stop, make an emergency call, and evacuate to a nearby Safe Zone.
Sehyun hurriedly descended the stairs. The moment her foot touched the ground at the end of the narrow staircase, a translucent window appeared in the air.
“…!”
She missed a step.
Sehyun tumbled down. But instead of regaining her composure, she stared blankly ahead.
Will you answer the System’s call?
Accept or Decline
…Why now?
Sehyun stared blankly at the window, biting her lip.
It’s always like this. It appears suddenly when it seems like I’m about to lose everything, when I’ve lost everything.
This kind of call felt like a mockery.
Nevertheless.
“…Accept.”
It was so frustrating, but… there was no other way. Because maybe, with her choice this time, she could save her aunt and Jungwoo.
The lip she had bitten belatedly burst, and a drop of blood welled up. Swallowing the blood, Sehyun opened her mouth again.
“I said I accept, you bastard!”
Sehyun, who was speaking through gritted teeth, suddenly frowned.
The window floating in the air changed.
You have answered the System’s call.
Unique Ability Manifestation
Sehyun heard the System’s voice as she flung open the front door.
Please let it be a combat ability…
Unique Ability – ??
Slots – 0/3
…What?
Sehyun stared intently at the window that only she could see.
No matter how much she looked, this was all there was. The rest was completely blacked out, and she couldn’t see anything further.
“What, what is this?”
She hadn’t expected to gain incredible abilities as soon as she accepted the System’s call, but she hadn’t expected it to be this useless either.
She couldn’t see what abilities she could use, what she could do.
Thump, thump!
Meanwhile, someone knocked on the front gate.
“Help me! Please help me!”
“Please! Please!”
“Jungwoo’s mom! It’s me! It’s me!”
Terrifying screams came from beyond the gate. It seemed to be the neighbors trapped between the Holes. Coincidentally, hers was the only house located between the Holes.
Sehyun stood at the front gate and pondered.
Was it okay for humans to be concentrated in one place? Would it be safe?
“Sehyun, what are you doing!”
Sehyun turned around at the voice behind her. Her aunt, who had come out at the loud commotion, was standing at the front door on the second floor.
“…Aunt.”
Sehyun muttered with a confused expression. Then her aunt spoke with a determined look.
“There’s nothing to think about. Open the door.”
“Aunt, but…”
“If we’re going to die, we should die like humans.”
“…”
“If we ignore them, they’ll all die. What’s the point of surviving then? Are you confident you can overcome the guilt that will follow you for the rest of your life?”
“…!”
Sehyun looked at her aunt and bit her lip hard.
It wasn’t a realistic decision. But it was because of her aunt’s upright nature that she had survived.
How could she, of all people, ridicule her aunt’s decision as foolish?
She could only hope for the same miracle that happened back then to happen again.
After much deliberation, Sehyun flung open the front gate.
Then, some of the residents trapped between the Holes rushed inside.
They didn’t even give Sehyun a chance to speak and ran up the stairs to the second floor, screaming.
“Hole, Hole, Hole!”
They shouted like they had lost their minds.
“Thank you, Sehyun.”
“You saved us!”
Some of them stayed behind and grabbed Sehyun’s hands, repeatedly thanking her. Among them were a granddaughter holding her grandmother’s hand tightly and a mother carrying her child on her back.
Sehyun swallowed hard with a troubled expression.
“It’s too early to thank me. It’s best to hide before the Guards arrive.”
Even as she said that, her vision darkened.
Did the Guards know that a Hole had appeared here?
Even if there were no Guards, there would be personnel to assess the situation, so they would know. But even if they knew, how long would it take them to get here? Could they survive until then?
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind.
What should I do…?
Sehyun looked around, flustered by the sudden increase in the number of people.
Her original plan was to run away.
She had planned to climb over the fence if the front gate of the two-story house was blocked, but escaping was impossible now that the Hole was about to open.
Most monsters were incredibly fast.
Even if they all ran away, it would be a close call whether even Jungwoo would survive. It was impossible for her aunt, of course.
Her health had been deteriorating lately, and her knees were weak, so she couldn’t walk much.
Furthermore…
Sehyun’s gaze landed on a girl, about ten years old, who was holding her grandmother’s hand tightly. She was the girl who often helped her grandmother collect wastepaper on the streets.
The girl was looking at her, clutching her grandmother’s hand tightly.
“I can take care of my grandmother.”
She was subtly appealing to Sehyun not to leave her out.
Contrary to her bold words…
‘Please save me. Please don’t leave me behind. I’ll do anything you ask, just please save me.’
…She must be praying like that inwardly.
The image of her ten-year-old self faintly overlapped with her fifteen-year-old self.
Sehyun closed her eyes tightly and ran her hand over her face.
“…For now, please go up to the second floor and hide in the deepest part. So that the monsters won’t see you.”
At Sehyun’s instructions, the remaining people started to go up to the second floor. Sehyun made sure that everyone, including the grandmother and granddaughter, safely reached the second floor.
“But… what should we do now?”
Her aunt muttered with a worried face.
At her words, Jungwoo and the residents looked at her aunt.
They had taken refuge for the time being, but the future was uncertain.
They were looking at her aunt because it was her house, but most of them didn’t expect her to come up with a proper solution.
“Uh, sister. You’re a bodyguard, right?”
At the child’s small voice, people looked at Sehyun with a glimmer of hope.
“That’s right! You must know a lot about this kind of thing!”
“If you’re a bodyguard, you must have received a lot of emergency training! What should we do now?”
“Say something! Say something!”
As if panicked by the situation, people all looked at her with expectant faces, hoping for an answer.
Sehyun looked at them with a troubled expression.
“I don’t know much about this kind of situation either.”
“You must be better than us!”
“Then will you follow my instructions?”
“Of course!”
Most of them nodded.
Sehyun thought for a moment and then spoke.
“First, grandmothers and children, please hide in the deepest part. They say most monsters don’t attack if they can’t see you.”
“What are you talking about! I heard there are some that track by scent!”
A middle-aged man who had recently moved in shouted.
“I know. That’s why I’m saying grandmothers and children should hide first. Men, all come to me.”
Sehyun calmly instructed the men.
They hesitated and looked at each other. The tallest man among them stepped forward.
“What should we do, Sister?”
Jungwoo asked. As he stepped forward, a couple more men followed suit. When three men came forward, the remaining two men also hesitantly approached. Sehyun pulled out things that were tucked away in the refrigerator and the corners of the storage room.
“The strongest person will carry the heaviest thing.”
“What are you going to do with that?”
“These are the things with the strongest smell. There’s doenjang(thick sauce), gochujang(red chili paste), and things like that. There’s even cheonggukjang(fermented soybean paste).”
“So what are you going to do with…”
“We’re going to throw them as far away from here as possible. If the smell spreads out sporadically, the monsters will at least be confused for a while. That’s the only way to mask the human scent. After you do that, hide in the furthest corner you can find. We don’t have time, so hurry up.”
Hmm