Han Jaejun, who casually called Joo Seonghan’s hand “this,” gestured to Kang Hyeonjoo. Kang Hyeonjoo approached and firmly held Joo Seonghan’s convulsing hand, took over the gauze, and wiped the dirty wound. Joo Seonghan grimaced and unconsciously grabbed Kang Hyeonjoo’s arm.
“Hey, do it gently.”
Seeing him, Han Jaejun spoke to Kang Hyeonjoo reproachfully while pulling his shirt out of his pants and tearing a long strip from the hem of the T-shirt he wore underneath with a knife. Since they had come lightly, neither Han Jaejun nor Kang Hyeonjoo had much in the way of medicine or bandages. Han Jaejun was grateful for the few disposable disinfectant gauzes and hemostatic agents they had and wrapped Joo Seonghan’s wound with the torn T-shirt.
It was in an instant. Having finished the first aid in less than a minute, Han Jaejun said, “Let’s go,” and led the way toward the inside of the dark forest thick with trees. Kang Hyeonjoo wiped his fingers with the remaining part of the disinfectant gauze and followed Han Jaejun. Joo Seonghan, who wiped the cold sweat that had seeped out with the back of his hand, glanced behind and moved his feet. The semi-human who had fallen here with them was motionless.
“Ah, fuck. This hurts like hell.”
It was when they had walked for about 30 minutes through the quiet forest where the same scenery repeated that Han Jaejun, who had seemed to be walking fine, spoke irritably. Joo Seonghan removed a thin branch blocking his view and looked at Han Jaejun’s back. He was limping on his right leg. From when he first appeared at the karaoke, Han Jaejun had been limping. Before departing, they had stopped the bleeding, disinfected, and examined the wound, but it seemed to hurt from walking for so long.
“…Would you like me to carry you on my back?”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who had been looking down at Han Jaejun’s leg, asked with a reluctant face. Han Jaejun shook his head as if horrified.
“What are you saying, no way. I’d rather collapse than ask you, with your damn long grudges.”
“Ah, that’s a relief. Actually, I’m a bit tired too, so I was worried about what to do if you really said you’d let me carry you.”
“Fuck.”
Han Jaejun, who cursed without hesitation, spat on the ground. He raised his head and relaxed his expression, narrowing his eyes.
“Uh, wait. What’s that?”
Joo Seonghan stared intently at where he was looking. In Joo Seonghan’s eyes, he could only see green trees; he couldn’t see anything else.
“There’s a house?”
“What?”
“A house. There’s a tile-roofed house.”
“…Let’s go check it out.”
Kang Hyeonjoo put Han Jaejun’s arm over his shoulder and widened his stride. Ah, I can go by myself. To the grumbling Han Jaejun, Kang Hyeonjoo replied half-heartedly, “Yes, yes.” Joo Seonghan, who ended up at the very back, quickened his pace to avoid falling behind.
He had many questions. Where was this place, what was that monster with beast’s legs, how did Kang Hyeonjoo’s tattered side get better in just a few minutes, why could only Han Jaejun see the tile-roofed house at an invisible far distance…. But right now, when he couldn’t let go of the tension, he couldn’t hold them back and pour out questions. Joo Seonghan led his throbbing head and ankle and diligently followed behind them.
At the place they arrived after walking for a while, there really was a tile-roofed house surrounded by a stone wall. Joo Seonghan confirmed the well placed in the middle of the spacious yard and threw open the old wooden door. Creak. The door opened with a chilling sound.
“No matter how I look at it, it looks like a hanok….”
Kang Hyeonjoo spoke as if muttering and entered the room to seat Han Jaejun.
“I’ll look around and come back. Joo Seonghan-ssi, please stay with sunbae-nim.”
“Hey, it’s safer and faster if I look.”
“You didn’t discover anything on the way here. And there are no blind spots here. Also, I’m faster than your injured leg, sunbae-nim.”
Han Jaejun nodded with a lukewarm face. Kang Hyeonjoo, who glanced at Han Jaejun and Joo Seonghan, went outside. Joo Seonghan sat down a little distance from Han Jaejun. The floor was dirty, but it didn’t matter. His body was tired from the long walk, and he was thirsty. As if Joo Seonghan wasn’t the only one whose throat was dry, Kang Hyeonjoo, who returned quickly, brought water in a wooden gourd.
“I drew it from the well, but it doesn’t seem rotten. If you’re anxious, sunbae-nim, taste it first.”
“You already drank it, didn’t you?”
“I drank my own water.”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who turned his body as if to go out again, answered with an innocent face. Han Jaejun let out a dissatisfied sigh and waved his hand.
“Hurry up and get out.”
“Yes.”
Kang Hyeonjoo, who answered boringly, closed the old door and went out. The inside of the room became excessively dark, and he couldn’t see the wooden gourd Kang Hyeonjoo had brought earlier. Joo Seonghan held his breath quietly and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
“Ah, just a moment.”
Han Jaejun, who noticed Joo Seonghan’s waiting, rustled. Soon, a bright light appeared in the room. The flashlight Han Jaejun was holding had tremendous performance for its size. He placed the flashlight in the center and reached out to pick up the wooden gourd filled with water. He poured a little into his mouth, rolled it around with his tongue like wine, then swallowed the water he had been holding.
“You can drink it. If there’s a problem with the water, my body won’t accept it.”
Joo Seonghan stole a glance at Han Jaejun and drank the water in the gourd. Thinking of him, he left about half and put it down. Han Jaejun gulped down the remaining water.
“May I ask you some questions?”
“I was wondering when you’d ask. Go ahead quickly. I’ve been waiting.”
Han Jaejun answered in a playful voice and unbuckled his belt. He pulled his pants down to his knees and examined the wound on his thigh. Though he couldn’t see it clearly, the wound looked quite serious. When Joo Seonghan just looked at Han Jaejun’s leg without asking questions, Han Jaejun said it was nothing.
“The muscle isn’t injured, so if I rest for a few hours, it’ll get better quickly. Ask your questions.”
Han Jaejun put his hand on his ragged T-shirt once more. He tore it long and wrapped it around his thigh to secure it. His hands were fast. They also looked practiced.
“That monster… what is it?”
“A semi-human.”
“…Are you referring to a semi-human semi-beast?”
“Yes. We call semi-human semi-beasts—creatures with human upper bodies and beast lower bodies—that. As you know, it’s not known to the public. If it became known that such monsters are roaming around outside in the world, there would be chaos.”
“…But shouldn’t people know? It seems too threatening to hide.”
It even blocked bullets. The monster he saw at the karaoke—the semi-human—killed many people in just a few minutes. If one encountered it, they would be helplessly defeated. He couldn’t understand the reason for hiding the existence of semi-humans, let alone warning people about them.
“First of all, semi-humans aren’t that numerous. And they live in a different world from us. Here. Beyond the ghost gate here is their nest, and occasionally, the ghost gate opens. We don’t know why. We also don’t know when, where, or how it opens. Anyway, every time the ghost gate opens, one or two semi-humans cross over to where we live, and the Semi-Human Department handles those bastards. You can think of it as secretly fighting monsters that have invaded Earth.”
When Kang Hyeonjoo introduced himself earlier, he said the Semi-Human Department was a special agency directly under the President. They, who appeared to be bodyguards at most, were armed government officials who killed monsters called semi-humans. At this unrealistic story, his mouth felt dry even though he had just drunk water. Joo Seonghan rubbed his lips with the back of his hand. He tasted the monster’s blood that hadn’t been fully wiped off.
“Does it happen often? Semi-humans… crossing over.”
“Well, first, ghost gates open nationwide. Without exception, they’ve only opened after sunset, and statistically, Seoul has the most—about three times a month? Places where they open less frequently might have only twice a year.”
“The fact that they only open after sunset, does that mean semi-humans are afraid of daylight… or something like that?”
As he listened to Han Jaejun’s explanation, Joo Seonghan thought of things like zombies or vampires. Strange lifeforms that only operate at night.
“We don’t know. It’s always been semi-human corpses that went into the research lab. I heard they captured one alive once… but it died during transport. They’re so ferocious in nature that it’s difficult to capture them alive. The researchers only speculate that semi-humans prefer the night.”
“…Who knows about semi-humans?”
Han Jaejun looked at Joo Seonghan. He leaned his elbow on one knee he had raised and looked quietly. Joo Seonghan didn’t avoid his eyes.
“You’re really calm. Usually people don’t believe it or faint. You even saved us.”
“…No. Han Jaejun-ssi and Kang Hyeonjoo-ssi saved me. From that semi-human….”
A few drops of water remained in the wooden gourd. Joo Seonghan received water in his hand and rubbed his face. The blood that had hardened became liquid. The smell became stronger.
“And I saw one two months ago too. A semi-human.”
“…Two months ago?”
“Yes. I saw Han Jaejun-ssi then too. You were cleaning up a semi-human corpse. Probably with Kang Hyeonjoo-ssi.”
Han Jaejun’s eyes opened wide. Since they were long and narrow eyes, the change was quite interesting.
“Could you be the one sprawled in the back alley after drinking…”
When Joo Seonghan nodded awkwardly, Han Jaejun clicked his tongue as if blaming himself.
“…You said you handle witnesses.”
“Wow, crazy. I thought you were completely unconscious then.”
He hadn’t meant to deceive. He really had been drunk, and if he hadn’t encountered the semi-human at the karaoke, Joo Seonghan would have continued to believe that incident was a dream. Whether knowing Joo Seonghan’s heart or not, Han Jaejun continued speaking with a lukewarm face.
