Common Cliché
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
“You were cursing up a storm at dawn, waking everyone up—what was that about?”
“That… sorry.”
I must have shouted in my sleep without realizing it, because when the others mentioned hearing me, I ducked my head sheepishly.
Seoyeong placed a rolled omelet on my rice bowl and gave me a reassuring smile.
Seeing my face flush at that smile, Gaeun shot me a glare that screamed what's your deal?, but I ignored her.
I shoveled the food into my mouth before it got cold.
Afterward, I insisted on doing the dishes despite her refusals.
“If it's not too much trouble—okay, it is, but… could I stay a few days?”
“Of course, stay as long as you like. Make yourself at home.”
“Really… thank you, Seoyeong… Aunt.”
“I'm heading out to work and stopping by the Church on the way back. Gaeun, you'll be at School, so the house will be empty all day. You can go out if you want, but be back before 6.”
Was it really okay to trust a kid she'd known less than a day like she was her own daughter?
I watched Seoyeong stroke my head so naturally until she vanished through the door.
Then I wiped the water splatters around the sink and finished up.
The quiet house, empty of everyone.
Aside from the occasional car outside or birds chirping, only the sound of my own heartbeat tickled my ears.
If I didn't have this body, I might have confessed to her later.
Right now, I looked about the same age as her daughter, Seoyeong.
But originally, I was an adult man.
Maybe that's why—despite her youthful face that didn't match her mannerisms or speech, every glimpse of the nape beneath her black hair tied back, every drop of kindness in her voice and smile, hit me with a powerful jolt.
Eh, it's just mental fatigue making me think like this.
And feeling drawn to someone who helped you wasn't weird.
I plopped onto the sofa, reminding myself not to confuse gratitude with love, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
A few days bought, but zero problems solved.
Come to think of it, anomalies? If they're common in this world, maybe there are cases like mine.
Minus the not-dying part, they might just see me as a girl whose records vanished. Worth checking for agencies that handle it.
I stood from the sofa, grabbed the vacuum cleaner, and got to work.
Least I can do for the food.
Skipping the master bedroom and Gaeun's room for privacy, I vacuumed every corner and mopped meticulously.
By the time I finished, evening was closing in.
Gaeun had come home around now yesterday, but she'd said it was early, so maybe later today.
As I tidied the cleaning tools, the door lock beeped and the door swung open.
“Oh, you're back?”
“What? You cleaned?”
“Didn't touch the rooms, don't worry.”
“That's a given. Mom not back yet?”
“Nope, not y—.”
“Weird. Unless there's volunteer work, she just prays quick and comes home.”
Gaeun tilted her head, tossing her bag into her room.
Then her phone rang from her pocket.
She picked up, assuming it was Mom, and started to ask when she'd be home.
But a frantic voice leaked from the receiver.
“Auntie? Why call?”
Gaeun answered naturally—she knew her from the Church.
Her face hardened at the next words.
“What? Tell me! What's wrong with my mom?!”
“An anomaly?!”
Gaeun hung up and bolted for the door.
I'd pieced it together from beside her, grabbed my bag from the room, and dashed out after.
She didn't spare me a glance, shoving the front door open violently and sprinting off, clutching her phone, down the sunset-wrapped street.
The Church front yard, packed yesterday with volunteers sharing noodles and familiar faces, now swarmed with crowds beyond the police line.
The once-colorful stained glass had grayed out.
Blackened walls like scorched ruins wrapped the building, looking abandoned for decades.
“Everyone back! It's dangerous!”
Heavily armed cops in thick vests and rifles ringed the entrance, holding the line.
Gaeun arrived panting, trying to push in.
One grabbed her arm.
“Mom… Mom's inside!”
“No can do, kid! Experts are coming soon, just wait…”
“When do those 'experts' show?! They couldn't handle last week's news spot and just left it!”
“Sir, calm down…”
I watched the chaos from afar, eyes closed.
Honestly, scary.
In a world where they called this an anomaly, no way was I diving back in after barely escaping one.
No matter the debt, life mattered more.
And I was just a normal person with a changed body—normals don't butt into this stuff.
Wait, none of that fits me.
I opened my eyes.
I was at the police line.
People still argued with cops nearby, Gaeun among them.
“Gaeun.”
“Piss off! I'm going in!”
“You don't need to.”
“Shut up, you bitch! Easy for you to say, you're not—”
“I'll go in.”
Gaeun froze, staring like she'd misheard.
Then I crossed the line for real.
She screamed.
“You… crazy bitch, where?! Uncle, there—her!”
“Wha…? Hey…! Kid! Stop! You can't go in! Hey, you idiots, do your jobs! Stop that girl!”
Easier to dodge than monsters, I thought, slipping the panicked cops' grabs lightly.
I kicked the Church door open in one bound.
“Ugh, what a mess.”
Ash and embers billowed up inside.
Charred furniture.
The layout way bigger than yesterday.
I pulled an iron pipe from my backpack.
“Shit, hope no ghosts. Monsters I can beat to death, but…”
Gaeun watched my silhouette vanish like a mirage near the building.
Her legs gave out; she collapsed limply to the ground.
“…Why?”
She couldn't grasp the scene before her.
Not just the shady kid Mom brought home rushing in.
But cops failing to grab one girl.
And her, stuck here despite how easy it'd been.
Thoughts chained together.
Sirens from police cars, crowd shouts turned to noise, faded.
She sank into her own world.
Less than five minutes later, she snapped to, forced strength into her legs, and stood.
Citizens parroted “what now?” like cuckoos.
Cops bickered over the breached line.
Ignoring it, she lifted the yellow tape, ducked under, and ran forward.
Voices behind became white noise.
Each step weighted forward.
Suddenly, she was inside the ash heap of the Church.
No sign of me or Mom, but she convinced herself we were alive inside.
She pushed through acrid smoke, advancing.
“The pastor falls to corruption and turns villain… total cliché.”
I brushed ash from my shoulder—it crackled down.
Deep inside now, no signs of life, so I muttered to shake off the stuffiness and anxiety.
“Good thing embers linger; it's not pitch black.”
Impulsive entry on a whim—no light source on me.
Almost got eaten in an invisible hall again, I smirked.
Then, past the dark corridor, a figure.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Shadow?”
Human-shaped, but just a black mass, approaching silently.
I slipped behind furniture debris, holding my breath, waiting.
Flickering embers gave blurry sight, but closer now, clear form emerged.
A charred human silhouette, not mere shadow.
Hit it?
I shook my head.
I revived, sure, but felt pain, experienced death—no need for needless risk.
Memories: respawned elsewhere, not the death spot.
Unclear if sleep spot or relaxation spot decided it—no time waste.
It vanished into darkness.
I peeked out.
Burnt church, burnt people… looks like fire victims turned monsters.
But if post-fire anomaly, firefighters should've been there, water traces at least.
Outside pre-entry: none.
I trudged deeper, thinking dumb gamer thoughts like tell me the lore or rules already.
“Oh god, what do we do…”
“Sigh, don't worry, everyone. These days, the government sends rescue teams, handles everything, right?”
A narrow storage room held huddled people whispering worries, encouragements.
When the anomaly hit the Church, trained kids led evacuation.
A few succeeded; Seoyeong among them, pushed along by the crowd luckily.
Their room stayed pristine amid ruins—oddly untouched.
No one knew why, or cared to ask.
They just waited for help.
“It's been three days already. You sure they're coming?”
Three days sheltered.
Luckily stocked with free meal instants, donations—no starvation.
But drinking water ran low.
“They will. We have to believe.”
“Gaeun's mom, we can't get out, right?”
“Well…”
Seoyeong and others couldn't continue.
Day one: late evacuee grabbed by black figure from nowhere, body crumbling like burnt wood.
Everyone saw.
Luck the figure ignored this room.
Else, all dead.
“Think on it later.”
Seoyeong dodged; asker sighed deeply, head down, muttering.
“Whew… hope the Pastor's okay. Kids are out safe, at least.”