Yaba slapped his head hard. Apparently he hadn’t learned the lesson of prying into other people’s secrets since ten years ago. There was only one punishment for those who fail to resist the temptation of a taboo: burning at the stake.
He swallowed hard. Surely he hadn’t set him up for this? Just as Bluebeard had given his wife a packet of keys, telling her she was free to explore the room to her heart’s content. The secrets in this room must not cross that threshold. He must never come to this room again. This was Bluebeard’s secret room.
His heart raced. He put the envelope back in its place, although he didn’t know the order. He couldn’t possibly have a pathological memory of the order in which the envelopes were placed, like Jang Sejun, who remembered how to tie a knot. He turned to put the DVD back in its place.
Then, Yaba shuddered as if struck by lightning. He thought he was hallucinating. There, without any pretense of popularity, stood Cha Yiseok in the doorway of the study. If he didn’t close his eyes and open them, he could have mistaken him for a life-size cutout. A chill ran down his spine at the coldness of his coat. He cleared his throat and pushed his voice out.
“Why did you come in unannounced?”
What came back was silence. Cha Yiseok stared at him, expressionless. He looked like he’d just struck someone in the throat, or like he was about to cut someone’s throat…
“You said I could play in the study. I didn’t touch anything.”
He averted his eyes nonchalantly. The gaze glued to the nape of his neck was insistent and his fingertips trembled a little. If he had to, he planned to tell Cha Yiseok that he’d turned into a savage and tormented him at night. Then, even if he had ten mouths, he would have nothing to say.
However, he doubted whether Cha Yiseok would believe it. The only witness was the treacherous snake, and all it knows how to do is flick its tongue and kick their ankles. The figure in the doorway choked on his breath.
“Move.”
“Cha Myunghwan is completely cured. They said the cancerous lump is gone.”
“I know.”
Yaba responded like it was no big deal. He knew how much work he’d put into this, how much he wanted Taeryung, and how much he wanted to crush Cha Myunghwan. Yaba chewed on his lower lip and glared at the buttons of Cha Yiseok’s coat. He lifted his chin. A cold gaze landed on his retina.
“Cha Myunghwan is perfectly healed.”
“I know. I saw it on TV earlier.”
“The bastard got well.”
Yaba furrowed his brows and watched him carefully. He didn’t smell of alcohol, and he didn’t look like he was on drugs.
Cocaine had done great things as a healer, and stupid things that would last a lifetime. But whether it was a good situation or not, Cha Yiseok being involved with Cocaine felt like drinking water from a gutter. The next thought that came to mind was,
“What will happen to you now?”
“Well, I wonder what will happen….”
With his gaze locked on Yaba, Cha Yiseok took off his coat. The coat, resembling a snake’s skin, fell to the floor. It was such a common behavior, but for some reason, it made him nervous.
“But Cha Myunghwan isn’t in the best of shape. He’s addicted to Cocaine and in as much pain as a terminal cancer patient. I’ve also been experiencing some oddities lately.”
Yeah, those things. For whatever reason, he hated the situation where Cocaine and him were involved. In exchange for breaking the shackles on Yaba’s head, Cha Yiseok was cursed every night. A curse that only Cocaine could break. His head went cold.
“Then maybe you two should join hands and ask Cocaine to fix it.”
“I don’t really feel like it. His voice is as sweet as an angel’s, but it carries the devil in it. I can’t help but listen, even though I know it’s going to eat my bones and flesh.”
Like a predator in a swamp, he glided silently.
“I remember the first time I met you.”
“…”
“Back then, I needed a substitute for Cocaine, so I chose you. You sang to Cha Myunghwan for about a month before he discovered you were a fake. After that, because of Cha Myunghwan’s insistence, you continued to work and Cocaine also did healing at the same time. Thanks to that, Cocaine completely cured Cha Myunghwan and I ended up being stabbed in the back. I was distrustful of healers, but their power is beyond my imagination. I’m so ecstatic, I can barely stand.”
His voice was as cold as a machine. Yaba bit his lip, now remembering: when he’d first suggested the performance, he’d warned him that if things went wrong, he’d retaliate against anyone connected to Paradiso.
“…I said no at first, and you’re the one who forced me into it. You said I was a dead man by your own words, and I have nothing to do with Paradiso anymore.”
‘You may have seen me for the first time then, but I’d been seeing you for a long time! You may have needed a substitute for Cocaine, but I wanted to be the one you needed!’
It was sorrowful. Yaba thought he might be special to him. It wasn’t that he didn’t like being treated like a cat, and now even that was in jeopardy. As he walked to the living room, he grabbed his arm. It was a vicious grip so strong that as soon as he shook off his hand, it was gripped again. His expressionless, cold-blooded gaze penetrated.
“But it’s strange, isn’t it? Cha Myunghwan aside, I’ve stayed away from Cocaine’s songs for weeks, so why am I suddenly experiencing symptoms that weren’t there before? I didn’t have any of these after-effects when I listened to Cocaine’s songs in Paradiso before.”
“Whether Cha Myunghwan is alive or not, whether you have any symptoms or not, if you’re going to make a fuss, then go argue with Cocaine. I don’t know, so figure it out among you three on your own!”
“It’s difficult if ‘you don’t know’. Cha Myunghwan’s complete recovery, the strange phenomenon he and I are experiencing, they all seem to have Cocaine at the center. But people get blinded by the bright lights and miss that there’s something else.”
A long finger pointed at Yaba like a muzzle.
“That there’s a shadow behind it, that’s just as present as the light.”
Cha Yiseok dropped his eyes and unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt. He pulled the shirt cuffs up, revealing a bandaged forearm. It was the injury from where he’d broken the shower booth last night.
“You remember this wound, you put medicine on it, and bandaged it.”
Cha Yiseok’s voice pulled back quickly, catching him by surprise.
“And then you sang me a lullaby.”
Suddenly, the conversation took an unexpected turn. His intentions were hard to pin down; his eyes were those of a judge who could never read emotion.
“…Why is that coming up now?”
He unwrapped the bandages as if he didn’t hear Yaba. The movement back to the spiral was slow and steady. With deliberate steps, Cha Yiseok drove Yaba’s breath away, until the layers of bandages fell to the floor.
“Ah.”
Yaba let out an exclamation. The wound that had been torn open so long ago was nowhere to be seen. A stain of blood on the bandage was the only sign. Why… Before he could answer, he wrapped his hand around Yaba’s wrist. Only then did Yaba realize that he had been holding the DVD the whole time.
Cha Yiseok took the DVD and smashed the silvery object in half. A spectral beam reflected off the jagged shard and stung one in the eyes. The weapon-like gaze flew out and pierced him. A spark flashed in his jet-black pupils.
“Let’s cut the chatter and get to the bottom of this. The true face of the shadow.”
In an instant, his thoughts went blank. Kang Giha and Cocaine were probably already dead. They wouldn’t be so kind as to end his life in one fell swoop. His instincts screamed for him to get away.
Yaba pushed him away and ran. The man grabbed his forearm and pinned him to the wall. Immediately, Cha Yiseok pressed his thigh between Yaba’s crotch. Then he slashed himself from palm to forearm with a piece of DVD. Yaba’s body temperature plummeted.
“What are you doing? Why are you suddenly…!”
Yaba rushed for the first aid kit, but he snatched it away and tossed the medicine inside into the trash. He dragged Yaba back into the living room.
“Sing.”
“Let go of me!”
Yaba shook off his hand and tried to reach for the first aid kit, but the maniac pushed him against the wall and lifted his chin by clamping it. He put his bloodied arm in front of Yaba’s quivering lips.
“Sing.”
The madman muttered.
“Is that not enough?”
A fragment that looked like an animal’s tooth rose in a straight line. Like a near-dead state on the verge of falling, all the blood was drained from his body. The brutal weapon that had paused at its apex descended in a harsh descent. Now it was his turn. It must be, Yaba thought.
The falling weapon took an unexpected turn. It sank into the nape of Cha Yiseok’s neck. His eyes twitched as he stabbed a piece into his own throat. Without hesitation, he slashed at the nape of his neck with the tautly set teeth. Tight flesh gaped open. Blood gushed out in a terrifying gush, soaking his clothes and splattering his face.
Yaba was white as a sheet, covered in blood. With an unearthly groan, he pressed down on his throat. Blood gurgled between his fingers. It was foul, like hydrochloric acid corroding skin. He ripped his hand away and slammed it against the wall. His voice cracked with each word.
“Sing.”
“Are you crazy?! Have you really gone insane?!”
He tried to shake off his restraint and tried to call for help from the guards. To no avail, he was grabbed at the front door and dragged into the living room. Yaba harshly broke free of his grasp and ran to the phone, almost smashing the intercom as he tried to make a call. But his body was quickly lifted like a rag doll and thrown against the wall. Blood streaked the floor. The maniac’s brow furrowed and he let out a ragged breath, covered in blood.
“Nothing else… is possible. Only with your… song.”
“What are you talking about?! You’re bleeding! Let go of me! Let go of me! Ugh…!”
Cha Yiseok pinned his arms upward and shoved his thigh between his legs again, pressing down on his lower body. He flicked his tongue across his own bloodied lips, which were smeared with blood.
“Hurry… My blood is about to run out.”
“Let’s go to the hospital quickly! What’s wrong, seriously…! Do you want to die?!”
His eyes, narrowed tightly, refused to budge. Blood poured out from his torn flesh. What had he just said? What had he just said he needed to do? He was almost fainting from the extremity of his inability to control. Yaba gasped for air. Salty moisture flowed into his mouth.
“If I… sing… will you… go to the hospital? Call an ambulance…?”
His head was spinning. The only thing he could recognize was the blood gushing furiously from the nape of Cha Yiseok’s neck. He’s going to run out of blood. All of it. If only he could sing his way out of this horrible situation.
“You madman! Lunatic…!”
And so, with his eyelids closed, his limbs bound, he sang. He couldn’t remember the title. The notes were off-key, and the lyrics a jumbled mess. Hurry! Hurry! He chewed up the song and spat it out as fast as he could. He needed to get this over with and get this lunatic to the hospital. As soon as he got there and got him treated, he was going to strangle him! He would never leave him alone!
There was only the smell of blood and darkness. His voice was horrible, like torn flesh. An eternity passed. As he was nearing the end of the song, a bloody grip grabbed his chin and forced him up. His shoulders shook and he swallowed the rest of the song. He forced his eyes open, drawn by the touch.
Cha Yiseok was already staring at him. He didn’t even move, as if his breathing and thoughts had stopped, and the coolness that trembled in the shaking eyes disappeared. All that remained was astonishment.
The air was frozen as if even a cough would shatter it into pieces. Yaba lowered his eyes. He traced the corners of Cha Yiseok’s lips, then beneath them, then the strong line of his neck… one after the other. He stopped breathing. All noise and movement in the world stopped.
The nape of his neck was covered in blood… there was no sign of the wound.
Editor: BeeBee
My discord server for chatting! — Link
Yaba slapped his head hard. Apparently he hadn’t learned the lesson of prying into other people’s secrets since ten years ago. There was only one punishment for those who fail to resist the temptation of a taboo: burning at the stake.
He swallowed hard. Surely he hadn’t set him up for this? Just as Bluebeard had given his wife a packet of keys, telling her she was free to explore the room to her heart’s content. The secrets in this room must not cross that threshold. He must never come to this room again. This was Bluebeard’s secret room.
His heart raced. He put the envelope back in its place, although he didn’t know the order. He couldn’t possibly have a pathological memory of the order in which the envelopes were placed, like Jang Sejun, who remembered how to tie a knot. He turned to put the DVD back in its place.
Then, Yaba shuddered as if struck by lightning. He thought he was hallucinating. There, without any pretense of popularity, stood Cha Yiseok in the doorway of the study. If he didn’t close his eyes and open them, he could have mistaken him for a life-size cutout. A chill ran down his spine at the coldness of his coat. He cleared his throat and pushed his voice out.
“Why did you come in unannounced?”
What came back was silence. Cha Yiseok stared at him, expressionless. He looked like he’d just struck someone in the throat, or like he was about to cut someone’s throat…
“You said I could play in the study. I didn’t touch anything.”
He averted his eyes nonchalantly. The gaze glued to the nape of his neck was insistent and his fingertips trembled a little. If he had to, he planned to tell Cha Yiseok that he’d turned into a savage and tormented him at night. Then, even if he had ten mouths, he would have nothing to say.
However, he doubted whether Cha Yiseok would believe it. The only witness was the treacherous snake, and all it knows how to do is flick its tongue and kick their ankles. The figure in the doorway choked on his breath.
“Move.”
“Cha Myunghwan is completely cured. They said the cancerous lump is gone.”
“I know.”
Yaba responded like it was no big deal. He knew how much work he’d put into this, how much he wanted Taeryung, and how much he wanted to crush Cha Myunghwan. Yaba chewed on his lower lip and glared at the buttons of Cha Yiseok’s coat. He lifted his chin. A cold gaze landed on his retina.
“Cha Myunghwan is perfectly healed.”
“I know. I saw it on TV earlier.”
“The bastard got well.”
Yaba furrowed his brows and watched him carefully. He didn’t smell of alcohol, and he didn’t look like he was on drugs.
Cocaine had done great things as a healer, and stupid things that would last a lifetime. But whether it was a good situation or not, Cha Yiseok being involved with Cocaine felt like drinking water from a gutter. The next thought that came to mind was,
“What will happen to you now?”
“Well, I wonder what will happen….”
With his gaze locked on Yaba, Cha Yiseok took off his coat. The coat, resembling a snake’s skin, fell to the floor. It was such a common behavior, but for some reason, it made him nervous.
“But Cha Myunghwan isn’t in the best of shape. He’s addicted to Cocaine and in as much pain as a terminal cancer patient. I’ve also been experiencing some oddities lately.”
Yeah, those things. For whatever reason, he hated the situation where Cocaine and him were involved. In exchange for breaking the shackles on Yaba’s head, Cha Yiseok was cursed every night. A curse that only Cocaine could break. His head went cold.
“Then maybe you two should join hands and ask Cocaine to fix it.”
“I don’t really feel like it. His voice is as sweet as an angel’s, but it carries the devil in it. I can’t help but listen, even though I know it’s going to eat my bones and flesh.”
Like a predator in a swamp, he glided silently.
“I remember the first time I met you.”
“…”
“Back then, I needed a substitute for Cocaine, so I chose you. You sang to Cha Myunghwan for about a month before he discovered you were a fake. After that, because of Cha Myunghwan’s insistence, you continued to work and Cocaine also did healing at the same time. Thanks to that, Cocaine completely cured Cha Myunghwan and I ended up being stabbed in the back. I was distrustful of healers, but their power is beyond my imagination. I’m so ecstatic, I can barely stand.”
His voice was as cold as a machine. Yaba bit his lip, now remembering: when he’d first suggested the performance, he’d warned him that if things went wrong, he’d retaliate against anyone connected to Paradiso.
“…I said no at first, and you’re the one who forced me into it. You said I was a dead man by your own words, and I have nothing to do with Paradiso anymore.”
‘You may have seen me for the first time then, but I’d been seeing you for a long time! You may have needed a substitute for Cocaine, but I wanted to be the one you needed!’
It was sorrowful. Yaba thought he might be special to him. It wasn’t that he didn’t like being treated like a cat, and now even that was in jeopardy. As he walked to the living room, he grabbed his arm. It was a vicious grip so strong that as soon as he shook off his hand, it was gripped again. His expressionless, cold-blooded gaze penetrated.
“But it’s strange, isn’t it? Cha Myunghwan aside, I’ve stayed away from Cocaine’s songs for weeks, so why am I suddenly experiencing symptoms that weren’t there before? I didn’t have any of these after-effects when I listened to Cocaine’s songs in Paradiso before.”
“Whether Cha Myunghwan is alive or not, whether you have any symptoms or not, if you’re going to make a fuss, then go argue with Cocaine. I don’t know, so figure it out among you three on your own!”
“It’s difficult if ‘you don’t know’. Cha Myunghwan’s complete recovery, the strange phenomenon he and I are experiencing, they all seem to have Cocaine at the center. But people get blinded by the bright lights and miss that there’s something else.”
A long finger pointed at Yaba like a muzzle.
“That there’s a shadow behind it, that’s just as present as the light.”
Cha Yiseok dropped his eyes and unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt. He pulled the shirt cuffs up, revealing a bandaged forearm. It was the injury from where he’d broken the shower booth last night.
“You remember this wound, you put medicine on it, and bandaged it.”
Cha Yiseok’s voice pulled back quickly, catching him by surprise.
“And then you sang me a lullaby.”
Suddenly, the conversation took an unexpected turn. His intentions were hard to pin down; his eyes were those of a judge who could never read emotion.
“…Why is that coming up now?”
He unwrapped the bandages as if he didn’t hear Yaba. The movement back to the spiral was slow and steady. With deliberate steps, Cha Yiseok drove Yaba’s breath away, until the layers of bandages fell to the floor.
“Ah.”
Yaba let out an exclamation. The wound that had been torn open so long ago was nowhere to be seen. A stain of blood on the bandage was the only sign. Why… Before he could answer, he wrapped his hand around Yaba’s wrist. Only then did Yaba realize that he had been holding the DVD the whole time.
Cha Yiseok took the DVD and smashed the silvery object in half. A spectral beam reflected off the jagged shard and stung one in the eyes. The weapon-like gaze flew out and pierced him. A spark flashed in his jet-black pupils.
“Let’s cut the chatter and get to the bottom of this. The true face of the shadow.”
In an instant, his thoughts went blank. Kang Giha and Cocaine were probably already dead. They wouldn’t be so kind as to end his life in one fell swoop. His instincts screamed for him to get away.
Yaba pushed him away and ran. The man grabbed his forearm and pinned him to the wall. Immediately, Cha Yiseok pressed his thigh between Yaba’s crotch. Then he slashed himself from palm to forearm with a piece of DVD. Yaba’s body temperature plummeted.
“What are you doing? Why are you suddenly…!”
Yaba rushed for the first aid kit, but he snatched it away and tossed the medicine inside into the trash. He dragged Yaba back into the living room.
“Sing.”
“Let go of me!”
Yaba shook off his hand and tried to reach for the first aid kit, but the maniac pushed him against the wall and lifted his chin by clamping it. He put his bloodied arm in front of Yaba’s quivering lips.
“Sing.”
The madman muttered.
“Is that not enough?”
A fragment that looked like an animal’s tooth rose in a straight line. Like a near-dead state on the verge of falling, all the blood was drained from his body. The brutal weapon that had paused at its apex descended in a harsh descent. Now it was his turn. It must be, Yaba thought.
The falling weapon took an unexpected turn. It sank into the nape of Cha Yiseok’s neck. His eyes twitched as he stabbed a piece into his own throat. Without hesitation, he slashed at the nape of his neck with the tautly set teeth. Tight flesh gaped open. Blood gushed out in a terrifying gush, soaking his clothes and splattering his face.
Yaba was white as a sheet, covered in blood. With an unearthly groan, he pressed down on his throat. Blood gurgled between his fingers. It was foul, like hydrochloric acid corroding skin. He ripped his hand away and slammed it against the wall. His voice cracked with each word.
“Sing.”
“Are you crazy?! Have you really gone insane?!”
He tried to shake off his restraint and tried to call for help from the guards. To no avail, he was grabbed at the front door and dragged into the living room. Yaba harshly broke free of his grasp and ran to the phone, almost smashing the intercom as he tried to make a call. But his body was quickly lifted like a rag doll and thrown against the wall. Blood streaked the floor. The maniac’s brow furrowed and he let out a ragged breath, covered in blood.
“Nothing else… is possible. Only with your… song.”
“What are you talking about?! You’re bleeding! Let go of me! Let go of me! Ugh…!”
Cha Yiseok pinned his arms upward and shoved his thigh between his legs again, pressing down on his lower body. He flicked his tongue across his own bloodied lips, which were smeared with blood.
“Hurry… My blood is about to run out.”
“Let’s go to the hospital quickly! What’s wrong, seriously…! Do you want to die?!”
His eyes, narrowed tightly, refused to budge. Blood poured out from his torn flesh. What had he just said? What had he just said he needed to do? He was almost fainting from the extremity of his inability to control. Yaba gasped for air. Salty moisture flowed into his mouth.
“If I… sing… will you… go to the hospital? Call an ambulance…?”
His head was spinning. The only thing he could recognize was the blood gushing furiously from the nape of Cha Yiseok’s neck. He’s going to run out of blood. All of it. If only he could sing his way out of this horrible situation.
“You madman! Lunatic…!”
And so, with his eyelids closed, his limbs bound, he sang. He couldn’t remember the title. The notes were off-key, and the lyrics a jumbled mess. Hurry! Hurry! He chewed up the song and spat it out as fast as he could. He needed to get this over with and get this lunatic to the hospital. As soon as he got there and got him treated, he was going to strangle him! He would never leave him alone!
There was only the smell of blood and darkness. His voice was horrible, like torn flesh. An eternity passed. As he was nearing the end of the song, a bloody grip grabbed his chin and forced him up. His shoulders shook and he swallowed the rest of the song. He forced his eyes open, drawn by the touch.
Cha Yiseok was already staring at him. He didn’t even move, as if his breathing and thoughts had stopped, and the coolness that trembled in the shaking eyes disappeared. All that remained was astonishment.
The air was frozen as if even a cough would shatter it into pieces. Yaba lowered his eyes. He traced the corners of Cha Yiseok’s lips, then beneath them, then the strong line of his neck… one after the other. He stopped breathing. All noise and movement in the world stopped.
The nape of his neck was covered in blood… there was no sign of the wound.
Editor: BeeBee
My discord server for chatting! — Link
