Self-Regeneration (2)
"Phew~ That was tough."
2 AM. Having finally finished cleaning the bathroom, Eunha tossed aside her rubber gloves with a refreshed smile. Staring at the spotless bathroom without a single blemish made her feel great, as if nothing had happened. Ordinary bathroom cleaners would have struggled with the stubborn bloodstains, but luckily, she had hunter-grade detergent at home, making the job much easier.
Eunha proudly admired the sparkling bathroom before grabbing a heavy black plastic bag and stepping out into the apartment hallway. The bag contained chunks of flesh and severed limbs that had clogged the drain. She'd wiped away the bloodstains, but she had no idea how to dispose of these, so she'd stuffed them into the bag in a hurry. Tossing them mindlessly into the apartment trash would cause a huge fuss—dismembered body parts, murder suspicions, the works.
Burying them in the mountains wasn't safe either; with all the hunters out there with bizarre skills these days, who knew how they'd turn up later. 'Chop them up fine, burn them to ash, and toss as food waste...? But that feels like a waste.' She'd have to bide her time and watch the situation. Better safe than sorry. For now, stash them in the freezer and dispose of them bit by bit once a good idea came to mind.
Grunting as she hefted the heavy bag, she headed back to the living room. It was a disaster zone, just like the bathroom. The [Red Woman] must have rummaged through every corner, leaving red handprints and footprints everywhere. The bedroom and kitchen were probably the same. At least, unlike the bathroom, it was just bloodstains to clean up.
Eunha went to the kitchen first, shoving the black bag into the deepest corner of the freezer. 'Yeah. Honestly, it was about time for a deep clean. Might as well tidy up the place.' Sure, it was the middle of the night with no sleep—what a pain—but she thought positively.
She set the kitchen knife from the bathroom in the sink and returned to the living room.
"...Huh...? My soy sauce egg fried rice."
Plopping down on the living room sofa, Eunha frowned at the table. There sat the [Black Book], the TV remote... and an empty rice bowl. She'd been eating her soy sauce egg fried rice when the [Red Woman] showed up, but someone had polished it off clean. Not a single grain left; they'd scraped the bowl spotless. And the spoon on the table had red handprints on it...
...Ah. So she ate it and left. Must've been tasty, judging by the empty bowl. Imagining the [Red Woman] munching away on soy sauce egg fried rice made Eunha chuckle. Must've been boring just eating plain rice. Should've at least turned on the TV. Giggling to herself, she picked up the [Black Book].
The weirdly drawn bookmark had vanished at some point, but the book still had the "guide" on the [Red Woman]. Once written, it seemed the text didn't disappear. Or maybe it meant she'd come back again.
A sharp throb...! Thinking of the [Red Woman] made wounds all over her body ache. Eunha rubbed her chest, covered in scars. '...Why's it bigger than this morning?'
Shaking off the unwanted realization and her confused feelings, she carefully read through the [Black Book]. She'd checked it just moments ago, and new content had been added.
1. If someone knocks on your front door.
~~ Omitted ~~
2. Refrain from going out at night.
- Due to recent facility maintenance, the apartment hallway lights are not turning on.
- The apartment interior is very dark, so venturing out or wandering inside after sunset is not recommended.
2-1. If the sun has set while you're outside the apartment.
- We recommend staying out overnight.
- However, if circumstances require you to return home, knock on the security guard's window at the apartment entrance and explain your situation to the guard elder.
3. When going to bed, close the balcony window but do not lock it.
- Anyone would feel upset if a door that's always been open suddenly became locked one day.
4. Cognition is the bridge to existence.
- Have you heard the saying "Knowledge is power"?
- All actions of recognizing and learning about each other will bring "them" closer to you.
5. Sometimes you hear knocking on the wall from next door...
"Whoa, so many rules. What's 3 even mean?"
No, wait—besides the [Red Woman], there are other monsters? The more she read, the more hollow laughter escaped, and she closed the book midway. Now the balcony was nagging at her. Had she locked the balcony door?
Calming her pounding heart, she glanced at the balcony off the living room. Beyond the balcony outer wall, something peeking its head out met her eyes.
...Eunha smoothly turned her head back as if nothing happened.
Ah! You're coming up, huh. Must be a neighbor from downstairs. Probably annoyed by the noise from the [Red Woman] earlier.
'R-Right... According to guide rule 2, don't go out at night? What a shame~ I was just thinking of bolting from this dump to Bangul's place... Guess I'll finish cleaning.'
Ignoring the "thing" on the balcony with gritted teeth, Eunha got up from the sofa. Better clean fast and sleep. She had to wake up early tomorrow to work at Bangul's cafe.
Flashing her usual drowsy smile, she took the rice bowl from the table to the kitchen sink and grabbed the detergent from the bathroom to clean the red footprints all over the floor. Stubborn grime, mold, bloodstains—everything wiped away with trusty hunter-grade detergent.
For reference, "hunter-grade detergent" was invented to wash gear soaked in monster fluids from the [Artificial Rift Zone]. Monster fluids are super sticky and toxic; regular bleach barely touches them. But hunters can't just toss contaminated gear—it's insanely expensive. Enter HuntsClean. Five times pricier than normal cleaners, but so effective it's the cleaning world's ultimate weapon, even stocked in regular homes for tough stains.
Eunbangul had once overordered for the cafe and gifted her a whole box—coming in handy now. Eunha sent a prayer of thanks to Eunbangul, probably dreaming away by now, and resumed cleaning.
...Thus, the midnight deep clean dragged on past 5:30 AM before finally ending. The blood-soaked cotton blanket and bedsheets were soaking in the tub with detergent, so she'd crash on the living room sofa tonight.
'Gotta check my body soon too... But I'm wiped. Tomorrow for real.'
Phone alarm set for 7 AM—less than two hours of sleep. But with pain, trauma, and exhaustion piling up, the moment she lay on the sofa, heavy drowsiness hit.
Rustle... Feels like I'm gonna die. Almost did, actually... But I survived, so good enough.
Thanks to [Self-Regeneration], she could go without food or sleep without dying. But only her squishy body regenerated; hunger and sleepiness hit like anyone else. She wouldn't die. That was it.
Mental state doesn't recover, huh. Anyway. Just a bit more sleep, then off to work...
Creak—...
Just as she turned off the living room light, lay on the sofa, and closed her eyes. The balcony window slid open, and "something" slipped in. The same thing that had quietly peeked from the balcony railing earlier. Still hanging around, huh.
Soon, the gaze of "it." "It" pressed close to the sofa, silently watching Eunha sleep.
"......"
『.......』
Suffocating silence. If she dozed off here, she'd never wake again—that was the premonition. The breath of some nameless woman prowled over the sofa.
Time ticked by meaninglessly until 7 AM.
Beep beep beep— Beep beep beep—
The phone alarm blared at 7 AM, and only then did "it" finally step away, vanishing beyond the balcony.
"Haa... Kinda glad. If I'd slept, I'd be late to the cafe."
Eunha hadn't gotten a wink.
29 days until next month's Hunter Promotion Exam.
May 3rd. 29 days until next month's Hunter Promotion Exam.
At the Fox and Rabbit Cafe in Euncheon-gu, Eunha and Eunbangul were enjoying another peaceful day. A cozy shop with just two employees including owner Eunbangul. Thanks to its laid-back vibe and adorable bunny-eared boss, it had a solid regular crowd—like a hidden gem.
"Yawwwn..."
"You okay? You look super tired."
"Huh?... Oh, yeah! I'm fine! Nothing happened with you yesterday, right Bangul?"
"Same as always for me~."
Eunbangul, loading a tray with the customer's coffee and bread, asked worriedly at the yawning Eunha, who'd been at it since arriving. Eunha, rubbing her bleary eyes, jolted but soon flashed her usual drowsy smile, taking the tray and heading to the customer's table.
She wobbled a bit but made it, setting down the coffee cup and chatting amiably with the regular. Eunbangul puffed her cheeks, unhappy with the sight.
Mask and cap hiding her face. Black scarf around the neck. Gloves... Outfit bundled to cover skin. Slightly thinner voice. Hair noticeably longer in just a day. And the chest subtly pushing up the loose apron...
Bangul thought: Eunha's acting weird.