For My Daughter
For my daughter... **CRACK!** And then came another deafening boom. At the same moment, the door, torn apart with vicious violence, was ripped clean off its hinges. Junhee felt that the final line she had left—the last thread holding her sanity—was collapsing completely. *I wish this moment, this scene, could end as one of the nightmares I’ve endured so many times before...* But it wasn’t. It wasn’t a nightmare. Something imitating So-yeon... was growling like a beast. Moreover, the hand that had torn the front door away wasn’t human. It was huge, like a tiger’s paw, with claws jutting out sharply. Staring at that absurd sight, Junhee simply fell on her butt. “**KHEUNG!**” So-yeon—**NO**, something wearing So-yeon’s face—howled like a tiger and lunged. Just like in the nightmare...
“**Ugh...** It must be a dream. This can’t be real. Please, let me open my eyes and wake up from this nightmare...” Junhee squeezed her eyes shut tightly, desperately hoping the nightmare would end. **THUD!** A sudden, heavy sound rang out. **KHEUNG!** And another howl followed... This wasn’t human either. It was the kind of sound only an animal could make. But then, between the eerie beast’s roars, a young man’s voice began to seep through. Listening quietly, it sounded like a prayer. “By the Lord, we trample the adversary, and those who rise against us in our name shall we crush...” The voice echoed like it was rumbling inside a cave, growing louder and louder until it became thunder itself. The beast’s roar was swallowed by the prayer. Junhee, trembling like aspen leaves, finally opened her eyes a crack. The next second... she almost swallowed air. Right in front of her, it was So-yeon... **NO**, something imitating So-yeon, eyes glowing blood-red. It lay sprawled on the floor, reaching out a hand toward her. And that hand was no human hand. It was the size of a beast’s paw, thick claws protruding between the fingers like blades. One inch closer and her face would have been shredded. Just watching it made Junhee swallow another gulp of air. Meanwhile, behind her stood a young priest and an incredibly beautiful woman. The pair looked utterly mismatched. The priest wore a solemn, pious outfit; the woman was decked out in flashy, high-end designer clothes and sparkling accessories. The priest’s prayer was still unfinished. “Saint Michael the Archangel, protect us in battle. Become a safe haven against the devil’s malice and schemes. God, hear our plea on behalf of these petitioners.” A miracle was unfolding before her eyes. Following the prayer, the monster that looked like So-yeon grew even more tormented. Like something crushed by an inexplicable scientific force, it thrashed pathetically on the floor, unable to rise. The sound that escaped it was nothing but a beast’s howl. Junhee had convinced herself this whole scene must be a dream. “Summoner of the heavenly host, cast Satan and the other evil spirits into hell with the sacred power that makes them run rampant on earth for the destruction of souls. Amen...” The young priest opened his eyes. At that moment, blue light flashed from his eyes too. Between those cold, piercing eyes, one could feel an immense power overflowing like an ocean. It was the gaze of an angel sent to judge. The priest turned to the woman, reaching out his hand. A sword began to emerge from her chest, covered in sticky blood. At the same time, her body seemed to melt into the blade. The sight was strangely eerie. The young priest felt holy and noble, like a god descending, yet the sword he gripped felt overwhelmingly evil. It was as if the divine and the demonic had somehow fused into something horrifying. The young priest brandished the sword and advanced. “**KYAAAAAK!** **KYAAK!**” Before him, the creature imitating So-yeon was writhing in agony. Trembling, it still couldn’t move, pinned down. Now it wailed pitifully, struggling. It looked like it didn’t want to die. The priest reached the front of the creature, lifted the sword high. Junhee’s eyes widened in shock. No way... with this sword, So-yeon... Her gaze fell on So-yeon. At that exact moment, the eyes that had been blood-red returned to their original color. Those lips, now pale as death, whispered... “Husband...” It was calling her name. **Ah!** Junhee’s eyes flew wide open. At the same time, the sword was about to swing down like a guillotine blade toward So-yeon’s neck. “**No!**” Junhee cried out instinctively, throwing her body forward and tackling the priest so he couldn’t strike. The priest, caught off guard by Junhee’s sudden move, rolled across the floor. Sadly, the sword he swung missed her. Along with it, the strange power pinning down the creature vanished. “**KHEHEUNG!**” Finally free, the creature let out another beast-like howl. Then it threw itself at Junhee, wrapped her in a hug, smashed through the balcony door, and climbed onto the railing. “**S-So-hee!**” Junhee cried in panic. She rushed toward her, hand outstretched. But the creature—**NO**, the thing pretending to be So-yeon—held So-hee in its arms, kicked the railing with its foot, and leaped off the balcony, hurling its body into thin air. Its figure tumbled in the air like a gymnast performing acrobatics three times before landing lightly on the ground from the thirteenth floor. Junhee’s jaw dropped open in utter disbelief, eyes hollow. In the meantime, So-yeon and So-hee vanished into the darkness. “**So-hee!** No! So-hee! **DON’T GO!**” Junhee’s panicked voice echoed sadly... but they were already gone. In the end, Junhee had to taste the bitterest despair she had ever known. This situation was simply unbelievable. Everything she had experienced until now—it wasn’t possible for this nightmare to be real, either. *Am I going crazy?* At that moment, the young priest approached and clicked his tongue briefly. Then, without a word, he turned to leave the house. Junhee grabbed his hand desperately. “**W-what on earth is happening?! Who are you?! What are those things?! What... what is it...**” Her face was drenched in confusion.
—**For My Daughter—** Between the two of them, warm coffee was placed. **No**, to be precise, there were three. But Junhee still wasn’t sure whether she could call that woman a human. Everything she had experienced so far felt like a nightmare. *Please, let it be a dream... I just want it all to be nothing but a dream.* It didn’t feel like a dream. Behind the world she knew, there were things that couldn’t be explained by science. The young priest... the man who had introduced himself as a healer took a sip of coffee. He seemed very calm. After experiencing something absurd like this, he wasn’t shaken at all. Maybe he had already lived through it several times. This situation had become so normal to him. That only made it more mysterious. What was the identity of this man? Even if it turned out he was good at heart, he looked younger up close. Maybe it was because of his small frame. But the body hidden under his clothes had solid, well-developed muscles. Junhee forced her swirling mind to steady and asked him again. “**What is happening?! What have I experienced?! How should I accept it...? I still feel like I’m dreaming.**” She wanted to know the truth about So-yeon’s identity, where her daughter had gone, and what the beings using these mysterious powers before her eyes really were. At that moment, a heavy sigh escaped the healer. Finally, his tightly closed lips moved. “**Actually, I’ve only recently learned about these bizarre incidents. Two years... no, counting by the solar calendar, it would be three years.**” “**Bizarre incidents? What do you mean? Like... ghosts or... or monsters? Are they real?**” “**I saw them with my own eyes. How can you not believe it?**” In response to his words, Junhee swallowed air again and lowered her head. Yeah, as he said, she had seen it with her own eyes. The bizarre sight in front of her wasn’t a dream—it was reality. It existed. The things often called ghosts, monsters, or demons were truly real. **Aah!** Dizziness rushed over her. She pressed her fingers to her throbbing forehead and bit her lower lip for a moment. Her complicated mind needed order, but it didn’t come easily. It still felt like an extension of a nightmare. She didn’t usually drink franchise coffee, but now she felt she needed something. Her mouth was dry as a desert. She took a large gulp of the coffee. It was so hot it startled her. The tongue got burned a little, but the warmth inside her body helped it calm down a little. She started to accept that this wasn’t a nightmare. That everything happening right now was reality.