Separation Anxiety (1)
The perennial F-rank hunter, Eunha, is in a very good mood right now. It's because she's finally handed off that troublesome Black Book to the Hunter Association. It feels just like having a demolition team swoop in and disarm a time bomb planted right in your living room. Of course, the bomb will come back to her arms in a few days once the "Artifact Precision Inspection" is done—but by then, it'll have been safely defused by experts, so no worries there. This is why they call them professionals. Reliable, you know? The psychological comfort is immense.
'I kinda lost my cool back there, so maybe I should buy some drinks for the Artifact Management Department folks once it's done.'
The remaining issue is surviving "those things'" attacks until the inspection wraps up... but honestly, she has no real plan. It'll work itself out somehow, right? For now, she's basking in the joy of liberation from the Black Book.
Good things are good—Eunha returned home with a light heart.
"......Woof..."
And there, smack in the middle of the living room, stood a pitch-black suitcase oozing blood like a faucet. She froze solid as ice.
The bomb... had detonated.
Bomb delivery or rocket delivery, she couldn't tell—but damn, it got back fast.
"Whew... yeah, I get it. I ditched you outta nowhere, so you must've been shocked, huh? Do books get separation anxiety these days too?"
Her buoyant mood plummeted in an instant. Scanning the corners for any lurking "things," Eunha let out a resigned sigh and stepped into the living room.
She just wanted one peaceful day off. It's her house, after all. Sure, it's still month-to-month rent for now, but she'll make bank and switch to a full deposit lease someday.
Squelch—.
Squelch—.
The living room floor was pooled with blood leaking from the suitcase, forming a slick puddle. Yet the viscous red fluid kept seeping relentlessly from the seams.
How much blood is that? Enough for a few people? She didn't even want to imagine it. All she could hope was that no one was stuffed inside that thing.
Eunha wrinkled her nose at the thick, nose-numbing stench of blood.
'When am I gonna clean all this up? The neighbors upstairs and next door are gonna flip over the smell.'
….
To the resident of 1004, whom I've never met.
I hope you're doing well.
Your downstairs neighbor here.
Are you human?
I hear it's hard to get permits for apartment expansions. You must live somewhere pretty rare. Jealous.
Hope the roof doesn't leak, and the new build stays nice and clean...
Sending up a few questions along with the blood smell.
Expect more wafting up from below now and then. Can't be helped.
Just roll with it.
And since running into each other would only hurt me, let's both live quietly without crossing paths.
Best,
Eunha
….
"Ugh...! Whew, that's potent."
The heavy blood reek made her head swim for a moment. Eunha shook her head vigorously to clear the fog.
What was she just thinking about? Oh, right. How to clean up this blood puddle.
Humans are weird like that—after just a few days of survival struggles, cleaning worries take priority. Maybe because she'd died and come back once. Not exactly a great change, though. Even with her Self-Regeneration skill, getting too used to pain would turn her into a total wreck in no time.
Squelch—.
Squelch—.
Shivering at the lukewarm slickness underfoot, she approached the suitcase. Shielding her face with both arms in case something burst out, she drew near—and the endless blood flow abruptly stopped with a drip.
Was it really crying bloody tears from missing her that much...? This clingy possessiveness was a bit creepy. Would've preferred words over this.
Scattered around the suitcase like morbid decorations were shredded clumps of paper. Up close, they turned out to be the "Artifact Precision Inspection Application" she'd filled out at the Hunter Association. Not some kid dodging the dentist—it had straight-up fled home to skip the checkup.
'This is bad... what now? Call the Association? I told you it was dangerous. I even copied the guide's rules just in case...'
Would she get blamed if something happened at the Hunter Association? All sorts of worries flitted through her mind.
Anyway, the immediate problem was the suitcase right in front of her. She'd deal with the rest later.
Carefully laying the upright suitcase on its side, Eunha eased open the zipper. Thankfully, no corpse—just shattered crosses and prayer beads submerged in crimson gore, greeting her alongside the sole intact Black Book.
Enduring the nose-deadening blood stench filling the house, she fished out the Black Book and set it on the living room table. Miraculously, not a drop stained the mysterious tome.
'Soaked in blood, yet spotless... Won't even burn. Try to rip it, and it'd rip me instead.'
The pitch-black book with no title. Tucked between its pages was a peculiar "bookmark" etched with strange symbols, just like before. Did it appear whenever anomalies cropped up?
Musing idly, she opened the Black Book. The pages parted smoothly, as if they'd never been blood-drenched.
The marked page was the "Guide to Safe Living at Home" from day one. Scanning for changes, sure enough—a new entry had been added to rule 4.
※Guide to Safe Living at Home※
1. If someone knocks on your front door.
~~ Omitted ~~
2. Avoid going out at night.
~~ Omitted ~~
3. At bedtime, keep your balcony window closed but do not lock it.
~~ Omitted ~~
4. Cognition is the bridge to existence.
- Have you heard the saying "knowledge is power"?
- Every act of mutual awareness draws "them" closer to you.
4-4. All things exist in this world by being cognized by others.
- Have you ever seen air (空氣)?
- Do you know how the concept of time (時間) came to be?
- There are things you can't see but others cognize.
- There are things that don't exist but have been named by others.
- We are the same.
- Cognition is a pathway of the mind—and also the path we take to your world.
4-4-4. We reveal ourselves only to the Awakened.
- Those who cognize our existence are called the Awakened.
- Conversely, those unaware are the Blind.
- While you're with the Blind, we won't approach you.
- But if you're with the Awakened, or alone with them, we'll join you there too.
4-4-4-4. We don't like it when you stay out overnight.
- But it doesn't matter. More territory is always better.
- If you leave Saetbyeol Apartment and live elsewhere, we'll simply claim that as new territory.
5. Sometimes you hear banging from next door...
Eunha clutched her forehead as dizziness hit. What the hell was this?
Put simply: We creeped you out a bit, huh? Fine, we won't touch you around clueless folks. But tell anyone about us, and we'll deal with them first. Oh, and don't think about running—crash somewhere else, and we'll crash there too.
"Whew... so that's why nothing happened at the cafe. I was with Bangul, who knows zilch."
In other words, don't want to watch others die? Then hug your problems close and deal solo.
Closing the Black Book, she rubbed her throbbing temples. Was rashly seeking help at the Hunter Association the trigger? The "rules" were more detailed and aggressive this time. Clearly displeased with her actions.
"What do you even want? Anything you expect from me? I'm just a perennial F-rank hunter flunking promotion exams left and right."
『……』
"...Yeah. What would a book know."
She glared at the Black Book for a moment, then shook her head. What was she doing?
Don't overthink it. Lesson learned: talking spells big trouble, so be careful from now on. Worst case, she'll tough it out solo. As they say, self-study is the end of learning—headbutt the ground a few times, and solutions will appear.
Shaking off the worries, Eunha closed the Black Book. Keep it simple.
Expert help was off the table, so time to gather info methodically.
"Alright, moping over! Now to clean the floor...... wait, what? Why's it spotless?"
With a goal set, she stretched and rose from the sofa. Glancing around to tackle the blood-soaked floor—
The living room, moments ago drenched in gore, was pristine as if nothing happened. Golden sunset rays streamed through the balcony window. Not a speck of trash, save for the lone black suitcase lying there. The metallic blood tang that had numbed her nose was now just the cozy scent of home.
The living room was clean.
Was it a hallucination? No—the bloodstained shreds of the "Precision Inspection Application" scattered on the floor proved it was real.
Eunha scratched the back of her head with a bemused look. Well, great. No cleaning needed.
Clearing that much blood would've been a nightmare.
'Sure, it's good... but if bloodstains vanish like this, why'd the Red Woman make me clean up? Feels like I got ripped off.'
She sulked over the inconsistency.
….
Pong-pang~♪ Pong-pang~♪ Pong-pang~♪
As she tidied the shredded application and suitcase while prepping dinner, an unfamiliar ringtone chimed from her phone.
Even the cell phone acting up now? Sighing, she checked—regular customer Banharin calling.
What could the bottom-rung employee of a subcontractor to a mid-tier guild want at this hour?
Perfect timing. Head's a mess; time to vent with some chit-chat.
She straightened her clothes and hair in the mirror for no reason, cleared her throat, and answered Banharin's call.