Cafe Holiday: Knock Knock Knock
Regular knocking sounds. Knock knock knock. A thick stench of blood. The air is unnaturally cold. White breath escapes her lips like sharp icicles. Eunha stared at the front door with a rigidly frozen face.
Thump. Thump. Her heart ached. She couldn't breathe properly. Trauma deeply etched into her brain tore through her mind, bringing agony. Why? She didn't even know who was knocking. It could be someone else. But... if she checked the intercom, that blood-soaked woman from before would be standing there smiling. She'd come in through the door, press that rusty saw against her own limbs...
"Urp...!" Nausea surged up, and Eunha clamped her hand over her mouth. The salty tang of soy sauce wafted up like a haze.
"Red~ so red~ it's dyed~"
The Red Woman. The singing voice. The chilling scrape of bone on the rusty saw. The sensation of her chest and stomach being hacked with a kitchen knife, blood bubbling up her throat.
"Haa... haa... haaah...!" Soy sauce and blood mixed in her mouth. A horrific taste. The fishy reek was so intense tears welled up. Every time she ate, that awful flavor resurfaced... so she'd deliberately added salt to her food. She wanted to ruin her sense of taste. Maybe she should've just cut out her tongue. She shouldn't have survived. If she'd known the aftermath of pain, the trauma searing into her brain, would be this tormenting... Better if she'd never had the Self-Regeneration skill...
Crack! In that moment, as Eunha gasped for breath, she snapped her own pinky finger. A sharp jolt of pain whitened her vision, but it snapped her back to reality, if only a little. She couldn't even open a beer can, but she could break her finger. What a pathetically soft body, she mocked herself.
"Haa... It's fine. I won't die." Eunha stroked her swelling finger and forced her usual drowsy smile. Bad thoughts had flickered for a moment... but now it was okay. No big deal. Just tired, that's all. A good night's sleep would fix it. She thought positively. Pain meant youth, right? What did pain and youth have in common? You can't see straight. So right now, she couldn't see straight.
"Fuck you, you bitch!" Baseless courage surged. Mentally armored, Eunha swallowed the bile rising in her throat and headed to the door. No doubt about it. It was that thing. Back again? After butchering her like that, it couldn't wait and came back. Did it enjoy the feel that much? Clutching the slipping towel around her, Eunha stood before the door.
Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock... Just like last time, no doorbell—just polite knocking from that thing. Eunha took a deep breath... and turned on the intercom.
A blood-soaked woman in a bright red dress, gripping a rusty saw. The Red Woman smiled at Eunha through the intercom.
"Heh... hehehe... hahahaha!" And Eunha burst into laughter at the sight of the Red Woman. Earlier, trauma had unraveled her mind, but now that she was clear-headed, it was different. She'd been waiting for this moment. The instant that thing returned to knock. Eunha recalled the horrific, unjust memory. She'd run out of salt right then, chugged salty soy sauce, and even that failed—she'd ended up unwillingly showing off her innards. Her whole body throbbed just thinking about it. But now? She'd swept every kind of salt from the convenience store. Flavored salt, coarse salt, sea salt, bamboo salt, MSG... the cabinet was stocked. The near-death agony had made her desperate. Countermeasure for the Red Woman: Mouthful of salt, hide in the bathroom within 3 minutes. Salt? Check. Bathroom? Check. Nothing to fear.
"Hey, come in!"
『...?"』
"Last time I had no salt so I got screwed, but not today!" A chance to shake off the trauma. Her body trembled from the memory of that thing, her pounding heart ragged her breath... but it was fine. Overcome this, and she could sleep soundly again. Steel yourself, Eunha. She yelled at the Red Woman on the intercom.
"You think I can't hide in 3 minutes? I'm not going in! I'll tough it out here and slip in exactly 10 seconds before!"
『...』
The Red Woman, who had been grinning eerily, wiped her smile at Eunha's sudden trash talk. She frowned, staring at Eunha like she was insane. Eunha reveled in the reaction, puffing up even more.
"What're you waiting for~? Not counting the 3 minutes? Want me to do it?"
『...』
"Yeah, who slices someone's limbs like that with such glee? You know the feeling of being forced to check your own heart?"
『...』
"Anyway, I'm sleepy, so count quick and come in."
And then. As Eunha, smug from toying with the Red Woman, gripped her trembling hands and spat nonsense...
Click. A chilling sound—the front door opened.
......
Creeeak. The door swung open. Not even 3 minutes had passed, smooth as silk.
『...』
"......"
The atmosphere turned solemn in an instant. Eunha clamped her mouth shut, staring at the Red Woman at the door. Her gaze fixed on the Red Woman's hand gripping the door handle.
Ah. It just opens if you turn it.
『...Going in?』
"............No. Wait a bit, you bitch."
Creeeak...Click. The door closed. Only then did the Red Woman begin counting, one by one.
『Three... four... five...』
The countdown echoed in her head. Eunha clutched her towel and headed to the kitchen. She demurely grabbed a salt packet, tiptoed to the hallway, popped salt in her mouth, and meekly entered the bathroom.
......And so, the etiquette teacher who turned the swaggering Eunha into a proper lady in seconds. Feeling refreshed, the Red Woman finished her 3-minute countdown, opened the door, and entered the home.
Pathetic.
Rrrumble.Rumble.
The next morning. After a quick wash, Eunha dragged her suitcase with the Black Book along Eunchun-gu's main street. Where to? She didn't know. Just wandering aimlessly.
......Yesterday passed safely in the end. After the Red Woman drilled etiquette into her, she didn't make a fuss—obediently crouched on the toilet for 10 minutes. This time, salt firmly in mouth, and the Red Woman, who inspected every corner, left without entering the bathroom. And she realized: Follow the 'guidebook' rules, and the house stays clean. Last time, she deep-cleaned bloodstains everywhere. Today, the bathroom was spotless when she emerged. Screw up the rules, and you die and clean up...
Another reason to heed the 'guidebook'.
"Huh... my beer." Emerging into the living room with a sigh of relief, the beer cans on the table were empty.
......The Red Woman's doing? Last time she ate soy sauce egg rice, this time drank beer. Hungry? Next time, stuff onigiri with wasabi. Wonder if she'll eat it. Vowing petty revenge after her etiquette lesson, Eunha went to bed.
......Anyway, back to now: Eunha wandered from Saetbyeol Apartment, no destination.
'Nice weather~. Did I take laundry from the washer?' Gazing at the clear sky, such thoughts arose. Locked the door? Gas off? But she didn't turn back. More like, her feet wouldn't. Didn't want to go home. At night, maybe, but not while the sun shone—didn't want dealings with those things. Who could understand this feeling of your home vanishing overnight? Even a beaver watching its hard-built dam demolished by zookeepers wouldn't feel this wronged.
Move to quiet countryside? She'd thought that. Escape the world, farm peacefully... But wherever she went, they'd follow. Unpack after a hard move, and knock knock—housewarming gift from the Red Woman.
'No answers no matter how I think... Fine! Then I just won't think.'
Eunha accepted reality with half-enlightened resignation. Good things are good. At least no lonely death. Humans are social after all.
2. Nighttime outings are not recommended.
- The apartment interior is very dark, so leaving your home or wandering inside after sunset is not advised.
The book has a 'rule' against going out at night. In other words, return before sunset, no problem. Kill time outside, head home as dusk falls.
What to do meanwhile? Normally play with Eunbangul at the cafe, but Banharin booked it whole, forced holiday. No other friends—totally place-less. Holidays more inconvenient than workdays... All because of the Black Book.
'Banharin's at an emergency meeting over a company fatality... Fine. Walk a bit, then visit Bangul.'
Can't go cafe, can't go Banharin's, scared of own home. Only cute Bangul left. Too early would bother her—aim for lunchtime? Eunha skipped across the crosswalk, planning to stroll till then.
"Just hit the PC bang~. Teachers busy with classes, won't come here."
"Y-yeah? What game tho...... Huh?"
Crossing the street, uniformed students from the opposite side stared blatantly at Eunha as they passed. What? Puzzled by their gazes, she dragged her suitcase onward. Students out before lunch... Skipping?
Expensive-looking uniforms... Pride of Eunchun-gu, Eunchun Academy. Even elite hunter academies have delinquents. Eunha smiled drowsily, eyeing the grand building at the boulevard's end.