Pro.
A ruined city where the voices of people and the exhaust fumes of cars could no longer be heard, where twilight-like monsters crawled about instead of the bustling energy of life. Two men were passing through that wasteland.
“Is this the right way to the mart? Are you sure?”
“Fuck, how the hell would I know.”
Among them, the man with a particularly fierce-looking face irritably spat out a curse and threw down the map. The map that fell from his grasp fluttered through the air before crashing down onto the asphalt road.
“Forget it, what map. Originally you’re supposed to go by instinct with this kind of thing.”
“What? Are you crazy? The sun’s already setting and you have the luxury to think about dying?”
“Ah, then what am I supposed to do! When have I ever lived looking at maps… Mmph!”
The fierce face that was suddenly gagged scrunched up. Then he glared at the man with the surly face who had arbitrarily pressed down on his mouth and swatted the hand away.
“Ugh, fuck. What the hell are you doing!”
“You’re being loud, so shut up for a bit.”
“You shut up and answer me first!”
“If I shut up I can’t answer, you idiot. Don’t do that and look over there.”
The surly face reached toward the fierce face and grabbed the back of his head. Soon a brutal grip turned his head. The fierce face, about to express his displeasure at the forced touch, discovered something and opened his eyes wide, then finally held his breath.
Where the two men’s gazes were directed, about two blocks away from them, they could see someone alone.
He was sitting perched on the hood of a black car covered in dust from long neglect. The distance wasn’t close so they couldn’t see his detailed features, but a few peculiarities stood out. That he was wearing what appeared to be a school uniform—a wine-colored vest over a white shirt. That his black hair was faded white from far away from the roots. And strangely, that his eyes were covered with a white blindfold that looked like it was made from torn cloth.
The surly face slowly furrowed his brow.
A white blindfold, blindfold… It seemed like he’d heard about it somewhere.
“Hey, that bastard’s got a backpack! A fucking huge backpack!”
Whether the surly face was lost in thought or not, the fierce face paid no mind and raised his index finger. In the direction his fingertip pointed was indeed a heavy backpack as he’d said. The backpack that the boy in the school uniform was clutching tightly was substantial in both weight and size even at a glance.
The fierce face’s eyes glittered with anticipation and excitement.
“With a backpack that big, there’s gotta be food or medicine, or at the very least weapons in it!”
“Hey, hey… wait a minute.”
“Let’s go snatch it right now. He looks blind at first glance, so this is that bastard’s fault for wandering around alone like that in this harsh world…”
“Ah, just! Wait, I said!”
The surly face grabbed the wrist of the fierce face who was about to rush out immediately and restrained him.
“You, didn’t you hear about that? Huh?”
“What? What bullshit are you suddenly spouting?”
“The ghost story about some crazy bastard wandering the streets wearing a blindfold!”
So that’s where he’d heard it—at a gathering of nearby survivors not long ago, the story had briefly come up.
It had been a meeting he’d attended as if enchanted when they’d obtained alcohol, which was hard to come by in these times. It had been a casual gathering where survivors who mainly traveled in groups of two or three came together to form alliances and show off friendships, and though no one was completely drunk, everyone was sufficiently tipsy, so important information hadn’t been exchanged.
The story about the ‘boy with the blindfold’ was just one of those urban legends. Since interesting story material and dopamine were so scarce, they’d just enjoyed chattering away about it. Even those who rambled on had all heard it secondhand or thirdhand, and since no one there had actually witnessed the mysterious boy, most had dismissed it as fiction and moved on.
How could it not be? Even if it was midday with the sun high in the sky, monsters still roamed the streets and prowled throughout the entire city. Just because their ferocious temperament and strength were less during the day compared to night didn’t mean they became weak enough for humans to carelessly deal with. Moreover, they said he wore a blindfold to cover his vision, so everyone giggled that it was a fancy delusion and were busy tilting their glasses.
That’s surely how it was, but could it not just be a ghost story after all?
“Look carefully, you bastard. The blindfold, the hair color, even wearing a school uniform—it’s all the same!”
The surly face, muttering in rough tones while lowering his voice lest even that boy might hear, hurriedly looked around.
The content of the ghost story didn’t end there. They said the mysterious boy with the white blindfold didn’t travel alone a hundred times out of a hundred. Even if it looked that way right now, in reality, there were two people by his side…
“And here I thought you were going to say something. You can believe in that ghost story bullshit.”
The fierce face spat on the ground—ptui—and shook off the surly face’s hand.
“If you’re that scared, you stay here and cower. I’ll go by myself.”
“Hey, hey!”
The surly face shouted urgently and reached out again, but it was already too late. The fierce face who’d dashed out had already passed one block and was rushing toward the boy.
The surly face, anxiously stamping his feet, reluctantly kicked off the ground as well.
***
The fierce face couldn’t understand his companion’s restraint at all.
Sure, that kind of distinctive appearance wasn’t common. So let’s say, as his companion said, that boy was indeed the very protagonist from the ghost story. But so what? In the end, the boy had his eyes covered, seemed to be just a student, and looked so small and thin at first glance that a fight didn’t even seem possible in the first place.
He wasn’t holding a weapon in his hands either. And if you asked whether that boy possessed an exceptionally strong ability, that wasn’t the case either. Since the fierce face’s ability was to distinguish whether an opponent’s ability was sufficient to attack him or not, he could be certain.
Hmph, the fierce face sneered and twisted up the corners of his mouth.
It was a world where law and morality were no longer needed. Harming others’ lives and plundering their belongings had long since become no different from daily life. Even if the target was a clearly weaker person by comparison, his trampled conscience wouldn’t raise its head now. Rather, he even thought it was an opportunity that couldn’t be better.
Crack, a small noise rang out. A dry twig crumbled under the fierce face’s sneakers.
The boy, keenly noticing the small noise, flinched and trembled. Watching him intently, the fierce face didn’t stop moving. He gripped the rusty kitchen knife hanging from his waist in his hand, exhaled a short breath, then leaped high into the sky like a pouncing beast. Just as he was about to plunge the knife blade into the boy’s back without holding back—
Slice—
Without even being able to scream, the fierce face’s head separated from his body and fell.
“Tch. How many times is this already.”
A black-haired boy who appeared without any sign muttered quietly.
The pitch-black sword that had sliced off the round head in the blink of an eye vibrated in his hand. Drops of blood beaded on the sword’s tip dripped onto the asphalt road. He who’d briefly raised his eyes coldly swung the sword roughly to shake off the blood. He was the younger of the twins.
“That’s what I’m saying. When they’re poking around everywhere trying to target Hayoung, where are they, but why can’t we find them when we go looking?”
This time, another black-haired boy suddenly revealed himself from behind the boy with the blindfold. Identical to the previous black-haired one from head to toe, down to a single mole on his face, he was the older of the twins.
The older brother carefully seated himself on the car hood next to the boy and blinked. Where the older brother’s gaze reached, there was the man with the surly face who had somehow approached in front of them. As if possessed by a ghost, he had unfocused eyes and was hitting his own head with a brick he’d picked up.
The younger brother, who was likewise watching that scene, waved his hand. The sword that had been displaying a fierce, intimidating presence disappeared without a trace.
“Let’s move locations. If there’s corpses and blood scattered around nearby, even the ones who were coming won’t come.”
“Haah… Why are there so many bad people in the world.”
The older brother, muttering as if lamenting, slowly rose. Then he turned toward the boy with the blindfold who’d been keeping his seat without a word the whole time.
“Hayoung-ah, excuse me.”
At the touch that came with advance notice, the boy was lifted up familiarly. As the older brother who’d firmly supported the boy with both arms began to walk, the younger brother followed behind.
Thus, surviving today again without witnesses, the protagonists of the ghost story moved to another location for their purpose.
