Chapter 114
Chapter 114
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: The Witch's Cabin (4)
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“Huff……!!!!”
I woke up, gasping for rough breaths.
“……Where…….”
Is this my room?
What happened? Last night, clearly……
“Urk!”
As I tried to recall last night’s memories, a sharp pain stabbed through my head. I clutched my temple and collapsed. Good thing it was the bed—if it had been the bathroom, it would’ve been a disaster.
‘Something important happened…….’
I could feel the fear, the tension, but I couldn’t remember what actually went down last night.
-Piyoooo…….
All that lingered faintly was that strange cry.
I waited until the headache subsided, then got up. I checked the time……
“Damn it……!”
I was definitely late. I scrambled into my clothes, grabbed my bag, and bolted out the door. Damn, damn, damn—could I catch the bus if I sprinted full speed? I ran until my lungs burned to the chin, but when I rounded the corner, the bus was already gone. This was insane. Taxis weren’t showing up today either. In the end, I waited for the next bus and arrived at the office with the late stamp firmly in place.
“Sorry.”
As expected, I got called in and chewed out. I returned to my desk and rummaged for painkillers. Luckily, there were two left in the back of the drawer. I swallowed them dry and turned on my computer. Wait a second, now that I thought about it……
“…….”
Yesterday, there was definitely a locked file……
‘It’s gone.’
It was there, but now it’s not.
The [Cㄱ0ㅜ] file.
No matter how much I searched, it was gone. No one else could touch this computer but me……
‘What the hell.’
Not remembering last night was one thing, and now this suspicious file vanishing was another. Everything felt off.
“……Ah!”
As I slammed the mouse down in frustration, something clicked.
‘I definitely copied it to the USB.’
I dug through my bag. Fortunately, the USB was still there. I started to plug it into the computer but stopped.
‘The computer might be compromised.’
I’d check it at home later. I carefully tucked the USB into my inner pocket.
“Deputy.”
Right then, as if he’d been watching, my junior spoke up from right beside me. I cleared my throat to hide my surprise and looked at him.
“What.”
“The section chief wants to see you.”
“…….”
Why all of a sudden! My head was already killing me. I bit my lip hard, let out a long sigh, and stood up.
“Come on, hang in there. Drinks tonight?”
“……Sure.”
I nodded at my junior, who playfully mimed clinking glasses with a snap.
“Section Chief, you wanted to see me…….”
“Kang.”
His tone was off. I squeezed my eyes shut then opened them. The section chief, in his ill-fitting wig, glared at me fiercely.
“What’s with the Eohen Season 2 ad plan?”
“……Could you be a bit more specific…….”
“Season 2 should feel like Season 2—grab people’s attention. Flashy! Bold! It’s gotta have that spectacle, that visual punch!”
The guy knew jack about games and here he was yapping about bold and flashy. Unbelievable.
But you can’t mouth off to your boss. The paycheck’s sacred.
“Yes. Bold and flashy. I’ll rework it, keeping the Season 2 theme alive.”
“Good. And quit wasting time on that nonsense about crows or whatever.”
“……Pardon?”
“Out.”
“…….”
Did I ever mention crows to him?
A weird sense of déjà vu swirled in my head. I stood there speechless for a moment, staring at him. But the section chief just waved me off irritably.
One more strange thing.
I worked in marketing at a game company.
For marketing, you need to know the game inside out.
So, requesting game info was par for the course.
But……
This wasn’t some state secret—just minor spoilers at worst. Did it make sense that I shouldn’t touch it?
I wasn’t a newbie; I had seniority.
“…….”
From his attitude, though, I wasn’t getting anything more here.
‘Guess I’ll check the USB at home.’
On the way back, I stopped by the izakaya my junior and I frequented. We ordered a few skewers and drinks.
-Sizzle, sizzzzz……
The sound of skewers grilling and the savory smoke aroma soothed my mind. Grilled green onion chicken thigh skewers glazed with soy sauce, ginkgo skewers, bacon-wrapped enoki skewers, chicken skin skewers, and plain sausage skewers.
“Boss, add a seafood nurungji soup.”
“Sure thing~!”
We chatted idly. As the food started coming out in earnest, I couldn’t hold back anymore and opened my mouth. I itched to ask if my junior knew anything—he was a bigger Eohen fanatic than me.
“Seonghoon.”
“Yeah?”
“About Eohen.”
“Ugh, you’re killing the vibe. Work talk here too?”
“I’m buying tonight, so hear me out.”
“Ooh, anything for you. Hold on, let’s add some mego fish grill.”
“…….”
“Boss~! Mego grill too!”
Sure thing~! came the boss’s cheerful reply. I shot my junior a glare, cleared my throat, and tried again.
“You’ve been playing Eohen way longer than me.”
“I’m not like you healing types. I’m a level-grind warrior.”
“Yeah, anyway. Point is, you know more about Eohen than me.”
“Probably.”
“……The Crows.”
“…….”
An icy silence blanketed the air.
Again.
This weird atmosphere.
Like I’d brought up something taboo.
“……Haha, Crows? What Crows? Birds? Birds?”
My junior laughed it off belatedly, but I’d already caught the strange vibe.
“The Crows in Eohen. Know anything?”
“Crows in Eohen?”
“…….”
He played it cool, but that only fueled my suspicion. He definitely knew and wasn’t saying—like the section chief……
No point forcing it out of someone who wouldn’t talk. I gave up prying and grabbed a skewer.
‘Home it is, check the USB there.’
We drank moderately and left. My junior kept nagging for round two, but I was fixated on getting home to check the USB.
“Come on, karaoke after so long~!”
“No way. Gotta work tomorrow—karaoke? Go alone to a coin one if you want.”
“Aww, it’s no fun without someone to listen!”
“Call a cab. Cab.”
How long did we bicker?
-Beep, beep……
Waiting for a taxi under the streetlights, I heard a feeble bird cry like a drained sparrow. I looked around. There, under the tree, was a plump sparrow-like thing.
‘Do sparrows go beep-beep?’
Aren’t they chirp-chirp? With mild curiosity, I crouched down for a closer look. This sparrow was way fatter than normal, with an odd tail—like a purple feather stuck in……
‘……Huh?’
Wait, no way.
“What’s that?”
As realization dawned, my junior swooped in and snatched the sparrow first.
“Ah~ sparrow. Poor thing’s hurt. Gonna die soon.”
“Seonghoon, give it here.”
“Nah, why? Gonna keep it? No can do.”
“If it’s hurt, nurse it. We can take it to the vet tomorrow.”
“It’s done for anyway. For these, mercy kill’s the kindest.”
This psycho…… I swallowed boiling rage and grabbed his wrist. Then I froze. This guy, who’d never beaten me at arm wrestling, had insane strength—like he’d crush the sparrow for real.
-Caw, caw, caw……
Crows started gathering, watching us like they eyed the sparrow’s corpse. I grew frantic and yanked his wrist harder.
“Hey, Park Seonghoon!”
I yelled till veins bulged in my neck, but he didn’t budge. Meanwhile, the sparrow fluttered weakly, crying softer.
-Thud!!!!
I couldn’t take it—I punched him. He tumbled back, dropping the sparrow, and the circling crows dove in.
“Scram! Get lost!”
I shooed the crow flock. Or tried to. They ignored my kicks, clawing and pecking me. I scooped up the sparrow and ran blindly.
-Caw, caw, caw!
I felt their cries chasing me. I darted through alleys, alleys, more alleys. Lungs burning, legs giving out. Damn, if I were a druid. I could run faster, farther, stronger, and heal this beep-beep sparrow too……!
“Huff……!”
Dead end.
And not just that.
‘That’s……!’
On the wall blocking the alley, black shadow clumps were massing. Seeing it unlocked yesterday’s forgotten memories. Right—darkness swallowed the girl, and then a massive rainbow flame……
-Piii……
The frail cry, about to snap, snapped me back. I looked down at the sparrow in my arms.
“……Ppippi.”
On a hunch, I called its name. It blinked small black eyes and flapped its wings faintly.
“Ppippi, is that you?”
It flapped again, stronger.
-Grrrrrr……
-Caw, caw, caw……
The shadow ahead swelled huge, and crow cries closed in from behind.
-Ppiii.
“……Yeah.”
I cradled Ppippi tight and reached toward the devouring darkness. Insight hit—familiar mana flowed from my dantian to my palm.
“Arjan, lend me the glory of radiance, if only for a moment.”
As if waiting, blinding light erupted from my palm.