Chapter 163 - A Thriller Night

Ye Rim looked back, and was pleased that Jun Hyeon stepped up to catch up with her. More than concerned about Professor Shin's influence on Eun Ha, her experience on the carousel made her apprehensive. She no longer saw the shadows that came to attack the merry-go-round. Did they specifically attack Eun Ha? That was the impression she had. Unfortunately, at the exact moment of the attack, the lights were too bright. She wasn't sure if it affected the shadows, or if it was just a side effect. She also wasn't sure if her intervention had made a difference this time. And mainly, why were these creatures appearing and attacking people close to her?

A clearer thought appeared in the mire of doubts and the fear of being crazy: there was a real chance that she wasn't crazy. There was a real chance that these things had come to chase Eun Ha, as they could have chased Eun Ha's mother in the past. Whether it was a family curse, or whatever, it didn't matter. If she had a chance to help her friend, she would. Eun Ha wouldn't die as her mother had died, attacked by the shadows.

"They already realized that we are following them, Ye Rim," commented Jun Hyeon. "What do you suspect?"

"Yesterday I found them having a strange conversation. I want to make sure my friend is safe," she muttered, resolutely keeping her eyes on the couple a hundred meters away.

Jun Hyeon didn't comment on Ye Rim's words,

"The night is so dark. None of us should walk around here at night," this city area wasn't particularly dangerous, but in fact, the moonless night contributed to the couple's feeling of apprehension. Ye Rim agreed,

"It's a strange habit for a man as wealthy as Professor Shin. He's very eccentric, don't you think? Just by looking at him you can imagine that he's a man who likes action and sports. But then he lives in a giant mansion with hundreds of works of art. It sounds so unreal!"

"Hm, I got what you mean. I also had that impression. He's very athletic and assertive, and he doesn't even seem to be a good language teacher. He has a very martial stance. But why would he be lying to your friend and to all of us? Unless you think he's some kind of Korean James Bond," Jun Hyeon chuckled, and Ye Rim hit him with her bag, as a punishment.

"Ouch! Wifey!" They arrived at the intersection, just around the corner from the public park. The traffic light was closed for cars, and the avenue was quite empty, actually.

ººº

Mr. Choi had lost his job ten days ago and still hadn't had the courage to tell his wife. His former boss had convinced him to help him defraud the company's accounts, in exchange for a great salary and gifts like travels, bonuses and extended vacations. Counting on the extra cash flow, he had financed a beautiful house and a car for his wife. Mr. Choi had even taken out a loan for his daughter and wife to do their long-awaited plastic surgeries. But not only had he been fired, but there was a risk that he would end up in prison in a few days. Recently, Mr. Choi had tried to speak to his ex-boss, but he pretended he didn't see him and crossed the street.

He pretended to go to work and even work overtime, so as not to alert his family. Mr. Choi didn't know what to do. The sad song of the singer Hani, on the car radio, didn't help to improve his mood, and he even wiped his moist eyes, concentrating on the traffic. He changed the station, but didn't realize that the radio changed to a station he never heard. Deep Dive, by Hani, started playing at that moment,

"What's up with this song, for a person to be successful all they need to do is kill themselves?!" Mr. Choi asked aloud, but he wasn't in the mood to actually turn off the radio. 

Mr. Choi felt a chill and a sharp pain in his head.

He couldn't have known, that at that moment, a shadow escaped from his speakers in the trunk and climbed his back, digging his tentacles into his head, and crossing his heart with a small thorn. He felt suffocated and saw the couple crossing the security lane. A well-dressed couple engaged in conversation.

'Look at that hateful woman ... Your boss will remain unharmed, and going out with beautiful women, while you sink into debt and shame,' a voice rang out in his mind.

Was that his boss? The excruciating headache didn't allow him to see right now, but that was how his elegant boss dressed, wasn't it? He was always with beautiful women like that.

Grinding his teeth, Mr. Choi stepped on the accelerator while staring at the couple in the lane with hatred.

ºº

Jun Hyeon noticed something wrong and looked first at the car that was coming, and then at the opposite side, confirming the red lights. But the car was coming at full speed!

Ye Rim just looked ahead, and he grabbed her by the arm, throwing himself forward with all his strength while trying to protect her from falling. He felt the impact of the body on the asphalt and felt the car's rear tire go a few inches from his head. His right elbow had hit against the hard ground, but he had prevented Ye Rim from being hit by the car at high speed. The cars on the cross track abruptly braked to prevent a collision with the car that ran through the red light.

Ye Rim, on top of him, looked up at the fleeing car, and exclaimed, as if she had seen a ghost,

"Omo, they are everywhere!"

Jun Hyeon sat on the floor, grabbing his arm, and she asked if he was okay, worried, as she got up too,

"I think so. What a crazy driver! He could have killed us!"

"The way he drove, it even looked like he wanted to kill us," she said in a sinister tone. Getting up Jun Hyeon went to the sidewalk with Ye Rim. She looked at the sky, just as he had seen Shin Hye Seong do on the day of the fashion show.

"What are you doing? What are you looking for in the sky?"

"This is a weird night, Oppa. You once asked me if I believed in ghosts, and that day I didn't know how to answer. But on a night like this, I feel that bad spirits are at loose... Ant what just happened was not a coincidence. It almost killed us."

As she dramatically spoke, the modern doctor in his mind wanted to make fun of that kind of superstitious thinking. But Jun Hyeon refrained from doing so. With each passing day, reality became more confused. Even the words of a seer years ago seemed to make more sense now. Still rubbing his throbbing arm, he looked around,

"I'm not seeing your friends anymore."

"They entered the park. I'm concerned about them. I know you're in a little bit of pain, Oppa. But please, come with me! I have a really bad feeling about tonight."

"Will I be able to convince you not to go?" Dr. Kim asked. The pain in his arm had taken a lot out of his spirits, and his senses were unreliable, since his nerve cells wanted relief. He hoped he didn't crack an arm bone.

"No, you won't. I need to know if my unnie is okay."

"I hope your Oppa deserves the same care afterward," even with that strange night, he might as well try to get a little more of the affection from the night before.

She didn't answer him, however.

They entered one of the park's alleys. It was already a little late, and there weren't many people walking around. For now, Jun Hyeon just hoped that all of this anxiety from Ye Rim was overkill. And that what Hye Seong reasons to be here were something much simpler like helping a friend find a lost puppy. But he was believing that Ye Rim and his female intuition were right.

"Can't you find your friend on her cell phone?" If Eun Ha were the type to share her location, perhaps that would help them.

Ye Rim tried, but then shook her head, "Her phone looks out of range."

"So we have to keep looking," the surgeon said, trying to refrain his own irritation, which he knew was because of the pain. They continued to walk, and passed close to a group of homeless people, in their cardboard shells. Ye Rim grabbed his hand to make him walk faster. He understood that she, as a woman, would be anxious when passing through a large group of strangers considered suspicious by society. But he thought the drastic change in behavior was a little offensive. They were victims, not potential bandits.

A familiar song started playing over the park's speakers. He didn't like that song. It was Lee's famous hit. Jun Hyeon just clenched his jaw, keeping to himself his frustration at how horrible his night was getting by the minute. Today could have been the night he would declare himself to Ye Rim in his 'Hubby and Wifey' joke, and they could be making love right now. But they were looking for a couple in a dark alley and they had almost been run over. Not to mention the carousel incident. 'How lucky for me!' he thought wryly.

"Oppa ..."

"Yes?"

"I-I think we have to run," she stammered, squeezing his hand even tighter. He looked back, and saw the homeless people walking in a group. And coming in their direction. They acted strangely and menacingly. 

To Jun Hyeon, they seemed to act like zombies from horror movies.

And really, it was a terrifying situation.