Parricide (5)

The translucent window overlapping the mangled corpse of the man whispered to me. Well done. Keep it up just like this.

I had rarely received praise in my life, but I couldn't feel any joy from this incomprehensible compliment. Its content was far too sinister.

But it wasn't wrong. I'd thought I needed to work hard to gather food, worrying about how long it would take to collect even a week's worth. Yet with just one murder, I now had twelve days' worth. Whether that was twelve days for me alone or twelve days split between me and my sister, I wasn't sure. Either way, it was fine. It was food.

Still, I had no intention of simply devouring it. I had to ration it. Not just ration it, but conserve every bite to survive and escape this godforsaken apartment. I didn't know how many supplies remained in the complex, but I needed to preserve my strength for exploration.

I immediately opened the backpack. The food was all unopened and fresh, and there was an impressive variety. He must have scavenged it from all over. How many people had he killed in the process? Yeah. That's right. This was self-defense. This man had been killing people to feed his zombified wife. If we hadn't killed him, we might have met a similar end. I had to believe that.

I swallowed the rising nausea and took a deep breath. The smell of blood stung my nose.

“...Oppa, can we eat something now?”

My sister's sudden voice snapped me back to reality.

“Ah.”

I was hungry. I had reached my limit. After starving for three days, that was only natural. I pulled two of the topmost cup ramyeon from the backpack. Two small cups.

“Let's eat these.”

“Is it okay to eat something like this on an empty stomach?”

“We don't have the luxury to be picky. Or should I eat them both?”

“I didn't say I wouldn't eat...”

Even while whining, Kang Ahyeon's concern was reasonable. I knew that after prolonged starvation, one should start with something like thin porridge. But we weren't in a situation where we could afford to be that careful.

“Go boil some water. We'll eat outside.”

Only after my sister left did I rummage through the corpse. Maybe there was something more useful, some practical tool. Unfortunately, all I found was a flashlight. His weapon was probably somewhere else downstairs, or perhaps a single knife had been enough. After all, it took real resolve for a person to swing a weapon at another person. Even I had only been able to stab him with the kitchen knife after imagining my sister dying.

In the end, besides the food, the harvest was a cleaver and one flashlight. And I had no idea how much battery life the flashlight had left. Electricity and water still worked in this cult-owned apartment, but there was no telling when they would cut out, so we had to be frugal.

I shouldered the backpack, tore open the two cup ramyeon I'd taken out, sprinkled the seasoning powder, and sat down in the corridor. The cold floor felt good against me.

“Oppa~ I brought the water.”

When our front door opened, Kang Ahyeon appeared holding a kettle. It was still hot from boiling on the gas stove. I took the kettle from her and poured it into both cups. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠A spicy, pungent aroma hit me hard. It was ordinary cup ramyeon, but long starvation had the power to turn even that into a feast.

“Here, a fork.”

“Not chopsticks?”

“It's easier this way.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

I accepted the fork my sister handed me, placed it on top of the cup, and waited three minutes. She did the same, then clasped her hands and closed her eyes. There was no need to ask what she was doing. It was a pre-meal prayer. Some habit that clung to life out of inertia. I knew it was just a habit, but I should probably stop her from doing it. Especially since it wasn't even a proper prayer to God or Jesus, but a disgusting one offered to the cult leader.

She must have realized it too, because midway through the prayer she gave a violent flinch. Her eyes flew wide open as if startled, and she glanced at me nervously. I waited with my eyes closed until she finished, then let out a sigh and opened my cup ramyeon. My sister looked like she wanted to say something but held back. She simply ate while pressing close against my shoulder, as if trying to soothe my mood.

“Let's eat.”

“Yeah...”

I couldn't really taste it. I'd expected it to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠incredibly delicious, but everything that had happened felt too surreal to fully register. Or maybe I was just wolfing it down too fast. Part of me wanted to eat more, but I held back.

We set the two empty cups down in the corridor and sat shoulder to shoulder, staring blankly at the sky. The sky ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was blue. So clear and bright it was hard to believe the world had ended—a perfect spring sky.

“It's nice, just sitting like this.”

The weather was good enough that I didn't mind the weight of my sister leaning on my shoulder. Even on a nice day, the pain remained. Somewhere in Korea, people were probably fighting for their lives. Somewhere in the world, unimaginable suffering was being born. Honestly, I didn't care. As long as we survived, that was enough. And for that, I had plans to make.

“What are we going to do now, oppa?”

My sister seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

“We have food now, so we should leave this shitty apartment.”

In truth, I'd been planning to leave for a long time. Even before the world ended—ever since Kang Ahyeon got into university.

“Don't swear. You should use pretty words.”

“...Are you my older sister now?”

“No, but still.”

I pretended not to hear and continued.

“Anyway, this place is on a mountain. There's nothing here. No convenience stores. Not much food either.”

I spoke as earnestly as I could, even though it still didn't feel real.

“So we should leave this apartment as soon as possible... wasn't there a village ahead? We should stop there, and if possible, look for a government shelter or evacuation center. Heading into the city would be best. Yeah.”

“The city... right. Even without a shelter, there should be plenty of food. We need medicine too, and clothes to change into. A car would be nice if we can find one...”

“A car? You know how to drive? Do you even have a license?”

“Uh, ah, nooo, not exactly... but I learned a bit while working part-time...”

The place I'd worked at definitely hadn't taught driving. It seemed illegal, but with the world ending, it didn't seem worth worrying about, so I let it slide. Still, the fact that she could drive was good news.

“There are cars here too. If we look carefully, we might find one with the keys in the ignition or one that's already running.”

In the end, the conclusion didn't change much. We would leave Sion Mountain Fortress and head to the city to survive.

“Alright. For now, let's observe the situation and move carefully. Our main direction should be getting out.”

“Ah, then I'll pack a few things? Clothes, underwear, that sort of thing.”

“Do whatever you want. Since we've eaten, we should wash up—”

I tossed the two empty cup ramyeon containers over the railing. There was no one left to get hurt by it, and no one left to complain.

But in the brief moment I turned my eyes to throw the containers, something moved at the edge of my vision, down on the ground.

“...What the hell is that?”

At my words, my sister, who had been about to go inside, turned back. She came to my side and craned her neck. Worried she might fall, I placed a hand on her waist to steady her. Together, we stared at the shadow cast on the ground below.

“A snake?”

It wasn't a shadow. It was something enormous. So enormous that for a moment my brain couldn't process it and mistook it for an earthworm or centipede crawling across the floor. But it wasn't. Even from a distance, its size was immense. Larger than the vehicles parked nearby, with countless long, thick legs. And it wasn't just big. It was long. Its elongated body was crawling up at an angle from the underground parking lot of the apartment.

“...Ah.”

It was a monster. A monster that had emerged to check on the cup ramyeon container we'd dropped, now tumbling like a speck on the ground. Its form looked like a massive clump of congealed blood. Human limbs tangled together, torsos and heads sprouting like blisters across its skin. It raised what could only be called its head, bending it upward to look.

I swallowed hard and pulled my sister back, leaning away. It wasn't enough. We needed to get inside. I frantically opened the front door, rushed in, slammed it shut with a heavy thud, and locked it. I pulled my sister into my arms, covered my own mouth, and covered hers too. Had it seen us? Had it noticed? What the fuck was that thing? My thoughts wouldn't connect.

The faint sunlight that had been filtering in through the peephole between us was suddenly blocked. Reflexively, I dropped low. We clung to each other like scolded children, trembling. A shadow fell.

A shadow fell across the high, narrow window facing the corridor. The small window on the storage room visible from the entryway. The shadow drew closer. I instinctively knew what was happening. It was looking inside through the window. That indescribable monster was searching for us.

I held my sister tight and listened to the sticky, wet, slithering sound crawling closer. The shadow swayed left and right. It seemed to be examining the interior closely, shaking its head from side to side, peering in. It felt like an eternity. After what seemed like forever, the shadow finally retreated with a sticky sound. Even then, we didn't move. Not until the heavy presence, the slithering noise, and the shadow over the peephole had completely vanished. We simply stayed still, relying on each other's body heat to barely hold onto our sanity.

While embracing my sister, who was breathing in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shaky, sobbing gasps, I took her place at the peephole since she was too busy clutching the hem of my pants in a death grip. Through the lens, I saw the railing covered in red handprints. Handprints larger than my head. It felt like a warning. A warning that, at least for now, we shouldn't leave this apartment.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.