The True Hong Miri
“Yeri. When we graduate and leave this orphanage, let’s live together, okay?”
“I don’t want to live with you. You grind your teeth so loud at night. It’s seriously annoying.”
“Tch, don’t you grind your teeth too?”
“Nope. I don’t.”
Hong Miri had a twin sister. Hong Yeri. Hong Yeri was the older sister, and Hong Miri the younger. But the distinction between older and younger sister never mattered much to them. They looked so identical that no one could tell them apart.
Of course, they could always tell each other apart.
“Look here. Miri has a tiny little mole on the bridge of her nose.”
“I have a mole on my nose too. Right here.”
“Oh, you really do.”
“Without that, no one could tell you apart.”
Yeri and Miri were each other’s other half. They had to be.
“Miri scored the highest on the Watcher aptitude test this time. Everyone, give her a round of applause!”
“She’s the first person in the orphanage’s history to reach question seven!”
“Our orphanage will finally get more funding.”
They were supposed to be identical twins in every way, yet at some point they began to diverge.
“…A scholarship? Me? Director, then… what about Yeri? My sister?”
“Your sister has no aptitude. You’re the one the chairman chose as a special scholarship student. Miri, an opportunity like this won’t come again. Don’t you want to succeed?”
Hong Miri, who possessed excellent Watcher aptitude, became the scholarship student. Hong Yeri was left behind. The moment their lives diverged had arrived.
The sisters who had been together since birth—save for a single moment—now had to separate after graduation. As Hong Miri wrestled with the decision, her older sister Hong Yeri spoke up one day.
“Miri. Want to go to the department store with me this weekend? We don’t know how much longer we’ll be together. We should make the most of the time we have left.”
Hong Miri readily agreed.
The twins went shopping at the department store. They also visited a dermatology clinic—to have the mole on Hong Miri’s nose removed.
“Miri, now our faces are exactly the same, right?”
“Yeah! That mole on my nose always bothered me.”
They bought matching grown-up heels and coordinated outfits in the red color they both loved.
“Miri. No matter where we are, we’ll always be together. You are me.”
“Right!”
Dressed identically and styled the same, they truly looked like one person split into two. Even passersby stole glances at them. In high spirits, they returned to the orphanage.
“Miri. You’re starting Watcher training tomorrow, right? I guess we won’t see each other anymore.”
“Yeah…”
“I prepared something for you. Want to come with me?”
Hong Miri followed her sister, eyes covered, anticipating the surprise gift. The sharp scent of chemicals filled the air, and something clamped around her neck.
“Okay, keep your eyes closed. Now we’ll really be together forever. We’ll finally be one!”
Clack—. The sound of machinery echoed, followed by a sharp sting at her throat. People rushed over at the noise.
“Gyaaaaah!”
“Eeeek! W-what is this?!”
“…Why did the guillotine activate already?!”
“It’s Hong Miri! Hong Miri’s head got cut off!”
“No, that’s Yeri!”
Two heads. Two bodies. Sudden death. Decapitation. Instantaneous death. Just as everyone thought the situation was beyond saving, the director spoke.
“Everyone, listen. We’re using the Red Mask. With that, we can bring Miri back—the one with the aptitude. She might even become an even stronger Watcher. Move! Quickly! Before her brain dies completely!”
“D-Director, we can tell which body is Miri’s because of the butterfly mark, but… which head is hers? They look exactly the same…”
“Are you idiots? Don’t you know Miri has a tiny mole on her nose? There it is! You lot can’t figure anything out unless I spell it out for you, can you? Start the reattachment surgery right now!”
“Then… what about Yeri…?”
“She’s useless. Just toss her aside. If she’s lucky, she might turn into some anomaly like the ‘Headless Woman’ or the ‘Bodiless Head.’ Like those Yokohama ghost stories.”
Hong Miri came back to life. The revived girl could easily see what others couldn’t and hear what others couldn’t. But no one knew that she no longer ground her teeth in her sleep.
Those memories suddenly surfaced in Hong Miri’s mind.
The “Bodiless Head” spoke to her.
“Give me back my body! My body! Give me back my body! My body! Give me back my body!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Crack, crack-crack—. Hong Miri’s body and head screamed. Finally, with a sickening snap, they separated.
Shhhk—. The head ghost awkwardly fitted itself onto the now-ownerless body and its own head. Once they were fully joined, it shouted.
“Yes, this is my body!”
# # #
I had wet my pants from fear only once in my life. Sixth grade. I’d had an absolutely terrifying nightmare. While trying to hide the soiled blanket and pants, I’d wandered near the storage shed my father had strictly forbidden me from opening. I’d planned to hide my blanket there.
—Is someone out there?
—Mom, eek!
That was when I met the girl beyond the door. According to Jeong Seok’s deduction, it was probably “Yu Dahee.”
…But was it really Yu Dahee? I honestly couldn’t be sure.
—You out there. Are you a ghost?
—M-me? A ghost? Aren’t you the ghost?
I nearly wet myself again. If I hadn’t already gone once, I definitely would have.
—Really? You’re not a ghost? Then let me touch your heart. The housekeeper said ghosts are dead people so their hearts don’t beat.
Whoosh—. A pale, slender arm reached out through the hole in the shed door. Bathed in moonlight, it looked unnaturally white. The hand touched my chest, and the girl inside the shed giggled.
—Your heart’s beating really fast. Want to touch mine too?
Swish—. I slipped my hand into the shed. Back then I was both terrified and intensely curious. My hand met soft, warm skin. The sheer amount of information flooding my palm made my head spin. The girl inside the shed wasn’t wearing any clothes.
Why was a naked girl locked in our shed? Why had Father warned me never to go near it?
Thoughts more frightening than ghosts surfaced.
—I’m human too, right? So let me out. Please let me out of here.
—……
—Let me out. It hurts so much. The man comes every night and torments me. He touches me all over. Yeongwon. Let me out. Please… It’s so cold and dark in here…
Terrified of everything, I ran. Then a thought struck me.
Huh—. Had I ever told the girl in the shed my name?
That was the memory of the first time I wet myself. And now came the second.
Grind, grind-grind—.
“Kkik. Kkihihihik. Kkik. Kkiriririk. Kkik.”
The red woman was doing the poppin’ dance in front of me. With that grotesque face, she kept making that “kiriririk” sound. It was disturbingly hip. Why was she making that noise?
I was so scared I wet my pants. Even then the fear wouldn’t fade; I wanted to slam my head into the floor like a pheasant hearing gunfire and do the breakdance.
“This is my body. My body.”
Head and body had finally become one.
Roll, roll, roll—. The leftover head that had fallen to the floor glared at me with terrifying eyes, its face twisted in fury.
Was this a nightmare? Or reality?
I was terrified. But if I stayed frozen in fear, something even worse might happen. I spoke to the joined body.
“Um… You’re Hong Yeri, right? Teacher Hong Miri’s twin.”
“No? I’m Hong Miri.”
“……”
“You don’t understand. Anyway, thanks to you I was able to return to my original self. Ah, my back of my head was so itchy. Now I can finally live again.”
Scratch-scratch-scratch—. The woman who claimed to be Hong Miri vigorously scratched the back of her head. A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.
Did all bodiless heads get itchy at the back of their heads? Poor circulation? Or did the itch keep compounding because they couldn’t scratch it? I didn’t know. If I ever became a severed head myself, maybe I’d understand that itch. Of course, I had zero desire to experience it even for a billion won.
Swish—. The new Teacher Hong Miri picked up the head rolling on the floor. The head on the ground moved its mouth as if trying to speak but failing. Those terrifying eyes still glared at both of us.
“You want to talk but can’t, right? I understand how you feel. I wanted to scream ‘I’m the real Hong Miri!’ so many times. You rotten bitch. You can stay trapped in this horrible corridor forever.”
Whoosh—. Teacher Hong Miri casually tossed the head away. Fortunately, the new Teacher Hong Miri’s face had regained its color and her expression looked normal. She no longer made those hip “kirik” sounds. Instead, she examined her own body.
“No tattoos. Good muscle tone. She took decent care of it.”
Swish-swish—. She even stripped off her clothes. A female teacher’s pure white naked body. Who could have imagined I’d ever see Teacher Hong Miri naked? I certainly hadn’t.
Teacher Hong Miri touched her breasts and ran her palms over every part of her body.
“All the senses seem intact. So, what do you think?”
“……”
I was extremely embarrassed.
“Say something. Is there anything on my back? Anything weird?”
She turned her back to me. I examined it carefully. It was smooth, without a single trace of fat.
“It’s clean.”
“Good. So who did you say you were again?”
“I’m… Ha Yeong-won. Teacher, you…”
I had no idea where to look. I averted my gaze and asked,
“What exactly happened here? Why did all this occur? Who are you?”
“I’m Hong Miri. I was trapped here for certain reasons. My consciousness felt like it was drowning, but all I could think about was finding my body. By the way, where are you staring? Pervert.”
“No. Teacher, that butterfly… on your face…”
Teacher Hong Miri had a butterfly-shaped mark. It fluttered across her face, which bothered me. She looked startled.
“A butterfly? There’s a butterfly on me? On my face?”
She touched her face. Then she let out a short “Ah—” as if realizing something.
“You mean this mark. The creepy moving spot. This thing?”
The butterfly that had been wandering across her face descended to her chest. As I blushed, Teacher Hong Miri asked,
“This looks like a butterfly to you?”
“…Yes?”
“So it looks like a butterfly to you. Speak clearly.”
“Isn’t it a butterfly?”
“It looks like a butterfly to you. People without spiritual sense can’t even see this mark. All I see is a dark blur. You have incredible spiritual sensitivity. So it really is a butterfly.”
Apparently she herself hadn’t known the mark on her body was shaped like a butterfly. It wasn’t visible to those without spiritual sense. Come to think of it, Jeong Seok had never mentioned the butterfly mark on Teacher Hong Miri either.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, it’s just…”
“Ah.”
Rustle-rustle. Teacher Hong Miri quickly gathered her clothes and put them back on. Only then could I finally breathe a sigh of relief. She asked me,
“So who are you?”
“I’m… Ha Yeong-won. You tried to kill me, so I ran and ended up here, and… it’s a bit complicated.”
“I see. Yeri must have been jealous of you. Just like she killed me out of jealousy, she tried to kill you this time. Makes sense—you have the talent to see a butterfly in that mark. I understand now.”
Oh. She caught on quickly. She’d even figured out that Hong Yeri had tried to kill me out of jealousy. But Yeri, Miri… it was all so confusing. Who was who?
“Um… could you explain?”
“Sure. We’ve got plenty of time anyway.”
Chatter-chatter—. Teacher Hong Miri told me the story of the twins who grew up in the orphanage. How the older sister had killed the younger out of jealousy, then lived as her. In other words—
The Hong Miri we had known until now had actually been Hong Yeri pretending to be her younger sister.
Was something like that even possible?
“Can someone whose head was cut off… really be brought back?”
“The director of this orphanage, Kwon Oh-sung, was a genius.”
“Kwon Oh-sung… you mean the chairman of Ohsung Group?”
“Ohsung Group? Does that exist?”
She didn’t know? Come to think of it, Ohsung Corporation had only risen to prominence about ten years ago. They’d built that massive headquarters in Gaeryong City; even young Jeong Seok had visited it. The company had become a corporate giant only in the last decade…
The original Hong Miri, trapped in this darkness for ten years, might not know.
“I wonder how the world has changed. But the problem is I can’t leave this place. Finding my body is good, but now there’s a whole new mountain to climb.”
Hong Miri didn’t seem to know how to escape. Of course, I did. I had the shop’s parcel delivery service. But…
Was it really okay to leave with this Hong Miri? Could I trust her? Her twin sister had been a complete psychopath.
“Teacher Hong Miri. If I help you get out of here… can you promise me something? Promise you’ll never attack me or try to eat me.”
“Eat you? Am I some kind of cannibal? You’re funny.”
“……”
“Fine. I promise. If it means getting out of this disgusting place, I’d promise anything. Once we’re out, I’ll treat you like my lifelong benefactor. Happy? I’m not the type to betray or lie like someone else.”
Good. I operated the status window. After purchasing an item, I had 280 points left.
“Follow me. Just so you know, once we leave, this entire space will disappear.”
All the ghosts I’d dispatched via the Mercenary Group had been purified. This nightmare elevator would be purified too. Though the idea of an elevator achieving enlightenment felt a bit odd.
“So there’s no way back here? Everything in this place will vanish too. Then wait a moment. I need to take something with me.”
Hong Miri picked up Hong Yeri’s head rolling on the floor. She also grabbed the body that was clacking toward us from afar. It was probably Hong Yeri’s body.
“Hey, can you help carry this? It’s pretty heavy. Ugh, stop squirming already. Hey! We have to make sure the head and body don’t fuse back together! You carry the body properly! I’ll take the head!”
“……”
What did she plan to do with the head and body? I was curious, but… too scared to ask. For now, we just needed to escape this terrifying place!