Chapter 10
Where am I? It’s white. Everything is white.
It’s as if all color has been lost—as if I’m looking at a comic book before it’s been colored.
Yet, somehow, this scenery feels familiar. The tall buildings, the neatly paved roads, the people holding plastic cups as they stroll down the streets, and the leaves falling as if performing their final duties—it’s the streets of South Korea, where I lived my first life and met my first death. The only difference is that everything is white.
Everything is frozen in place. Why am I here? I’m sure I was…
A sphere of light appeared before my eyes. In this world where everything was white, the light was no exception, but instinctively, I knew it was bright. It moved slowly as if guiding me somewhere.
It wasn’t hard to feel that it wanted me to follow. I walked and walked and walked some more. I felt as though I’d been walking for hours without rest, but I didn’t feel tired. I felt nothing.
Time had passed—how much, I didn’t know. Before me stood a building so tall that it seemed to pierce the sky.
I glanced to the left and right. The building stretched infinitely in both directions. It was a structure to which the word “infinite” seemed perfectly suited. The light stopped in front of the building’s door. When I opened it, no sound came out.
Inside, I could tell there were countless bookshelves, even without looking around. No, it would be more accurate to say that it was impossible to look around completely.
Every shelf was filled with white books. I picked one up and opened it, but there was nothing written inside. Had the letters turned white too? I opened another book. Again, there was nothing—not on the cover, not on the pages inside. The same was true for every other book I checked.
The light appeared before me again. Hello, light, we meet again, don’t we? Are you here to guide me again? I spoke to it, but the light did not respond. It was laughable how I acted like it was strange that it didn’t answer.
When the light moved, I moved. It was as if we were bound by some universal law. I followed the light until we reached a place where only a single safe stood amidst the empty surroundings.
The safe, too, had no color. But I could feel it. “Something is different…” I could tell that something inside the safe was different. I wanted to open it, but it seemed to be the type that required a four-digit combination. What numbers should I enter? Was there a clue somewhere? Ah, I know what to enter.
█ █ █ █
I entered the amount of time I’ve lived so far. With a beep, the safe opened soundlessly, revealing a single book with a bright red cover. The color was beyond what words could describe.
It was redder than the setting sun beyond the horizon, redder than the blood that spurts when one is stabbed, redder than the intense color desired by kings of communist nations.
I was certain this was the book my sister tried to read to me back then. When she tried to read it, I fell asleep against my will.
I tried to open the book. No, to be precise, I tried to open it, but the book seemed determined not to allow it, and its stubbornly shut cover greeted me. I tried to tear the cover open, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Damn it!”
It’s so frustrating! What’s the point of a book if it can’t be read? If it’s like this, how is it any different from a blunt object? I don’t need this!
Unable to contain my anger, I flung the book far away. I couldn’t see where it went, and I didn’t even hear the dull thud it should have made upon landing. I didn’t need it in the first place. I’ll just investigate something else.
Even though I couldn’t think of anything useful to do after throwing away the red book, going back to retrieve it would be a blow to my pride, so I just wandered meaninglessly.
Maybe this book will have something written inside? Nope. I threw it. This book should be different, right? Nope, nothing again. I tossed it away.
Maybe this one will be different. It has to be. Is there really nothing at all?
Is there really some idiot in this world who writes white letters on white paper? Ah, there is, right here. My body didn’t feel tired, but my mind felt like it was being drained. Am I supposed to give up and rot here forever…?
Everything here, and there too, is white. White… White… White… Red… White… White… Wait, red?
I could see the red book I had flung somewhere earlier, now suspended in mid-air as if fixed in place. Not wanting to spend eternity talking to myself in this place, I hurried back to the book. Unlike before, the book now had a black hole that resembled a keyhole, but there was no key in sight. Moreover, the shape of the hole looked slightly unusual. It’s the exact same size as a finger…
Schlick.
“Ah!”
When I inserted my right index finger into the hole, I felt it being cut, and blood trickled out. As I silently cursed the book to a long life, it opened by itself, and I could see the contents written inside.
“This is… my story…”
A long time ago, or perhaps a long time in the future, or somewhere in between. In an era where the ruler of a nation is chosen by the people, where the sound of horseless carriages emitting smoke can be heard everywhere, and where even if you are on the opposite side of the world, you can see someone’s face with just a small device.
In this era lived a young girl named Jiwoo Hyun in South Korea.
In this country, where every child must complete compulsory education, Jiwoo was on her way home from school. All her other friends had gone to private academies and tutoring sessions, leaving Jiwoo alone.
To pass the time as she waited for her parents, who were always busy with their jobs, Jiwoo sat on the playground slide, kicking at the sand absentmindedly.
Suddenly,
Wheee—eeeee—
The grating sound of a red siren echoed.
“A B-grade monster has appeared nearby. Residents are urged to evacuate immediately.”
There was an announcement saying that a monster had appeared and that people should evacuate.
Monsters were categorized into six grades, from A to F. A B-grade monster, the second most dangerous type, required dozens of armed police officers equipped with live ammunition to merely suppress, not kill.
While there were professional hunters in this world, they were not affiliated with the government, making them expensive to hire. More importantly, the government had established a special anti-monster unit capable of handling A-grade monsters, reducing the reliance on these hunters.
As Jiwoo got off the slide and tried to take shelter inside her apartment building, a terrible sight blocked her path. A wolf-like creature, the size of an African elephant, with multiple eyes stared back at her. It was undoubtedly the B-grade monster mentioned by the siren.
Overwhelmed by its enormous size and intimidating appearance, Jiwoo froze momentarily, then screamed in terror and ran away. Little did she know that her fleeing would only further provoke the monster.
“Kyahhh!!!”
The wolf monster, finding Jiwoo to be an amusing prey, slowly but surely pursued her. The situation, where it seemed like the creature was just a hair’s breadth away, only heightened her fear.
“Hic… Mommy… Kyah!”
Running blindly, Jiwoo tripped over a protruding rock she hadn’t noticed. As she fell, she looked back at the approaching wolf monster and realized that death was closing in on her. Overcome with fear, Jiwoo could only sob and let her tears fall. This seemed to excite the wolf monster even more, but was it hungry since it had just appeared? The wolf’s massive jaws opened wide, as if it was about to devour her whole.
Ah… Am I going to die now? I wanted to eat something delicious, go to an amusement park… I want to see Mom and Dad…
With her eyes tightly shut, hands over her ears, Jiwoo waited for the end.
Yet, nothing happened.
Why was the wolf not moving? Was it not going to eat her? Is it letting me live? And what is this strange smell? All these thoughts filled her mind when a warm drop of liquid splashed onto her hand.
“Kyah!”
Already on edge, the tiny stimulus triggered an enormous reaction, and Jiwoo opened her eyes reflexively.
The wolf that had been standing before her now had its jaw pierced by an unknown woman. With a pained whine, the wolf thrashed around, trying to dislodge the woman’s hand, but she stood firm, unmoved by its struggle.
Who is this woman saving me? Jiwoo’s curiosity was short-lived as the woman, as if annoyed by the wolf’s resistance, shoved her other hand through the opening in its jaw and ripped it apart.
Jiwoo couldn’t help but be captivated by the overwhelming presence of this black-haired, black-eyed woman who not only stopped the wolf that was about to kill her but overpowered it entirely. Her savior.
“Th-thank you! But… who… are you?”
When I asked her, she seemed to glance in my direction for a moment. As soon as our eyes met, she quickly turned away, as if avoiding showing me her face. I thought I saw a smile, but maybe I imagined it?
Just as I was about to ask again, I heard the sound of police sirens in the distance. When I looked back to where the woman had been, she was gone without a trace. My savior, who left without saying a word, not giving me a chance to thank her properly—I really want to meet her again.
Just as there are people who, saved by firefighters from burning flames, grow up admiring them and become firefighters themselves, Jiwoo couldn’t help but look up to the woman who had defeated the monster. Little did she know that it was all part of a greater plan.
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