You Shall Witness, The Vengeance of the Wicked Shall Be Shown to You
The words struck like a curse: You shall witness the retribution of the wicked.
"You can't... you can't really mean that, can you?"
"That’s… Soyeon… I mean… that’s…"
"You said you’d do anything for me. Didn’t you tell me that? Darling… she’s our daughter. For our daughter’s sake… isn’t this something you can do? As her father… after everything you’ve failed to do as a dad, isn’t this the one thing you can finally give her?"
The word only pressed down on Junhee’s chest like a lead weight. A surge of defiant anger rose in his throat, but it caught there, choking him. And yet… if sacrificing himself could truly save his daughter Sohee, if it could free her from this impossible nightmare, then yes. He was ready. After all, as she said, he had never once been a proper father to her.
But he couldn’t bring himself to answer right away. Something about her words felt false. No matter how he looked at the woman before him, she didn’t seem like Soyeon at all. Cold sweat trickled down his skin. Junhee took a shaky step backward, his lips, now deathly pale, moving again.
"If… if what you’re saying is true, if my death really would set Sohee free, then of course. I’d do it without hesitation. But… can it really work? If I sacrifice myself like this… will Sohee truly be freed?"
"Yes… it will work. It absolutely will. Sohee will definitely gain her freedom. I… can guarantee it."
A bitter smile curved her lips. The sight of it sent a chill racing down his spine. Without realizing it, Junhee took another step back. That was when it happened.
"Grrrrr…"
A low, beastly growl suddenly echoed from behind him. He spun around in shock. In the warehouse, where thick darkness had settled, something was prowling. Yes, those things that had been circling them like predators from the start. They were massive, with glowing yellow eyes that made his skin crawl.
"Huk!"
He gasped sharply, swallowing a breath of terror. His body froze solid. There was no escape. He was trapped, unable to move forward or backward.
Meanwhile, Soyeon continued to wear that horrifying smile, as if she were savoring the moment. And still she pressed him.
"Please. Die for our daughter… sacrifice yourself in Sohee’s place."
"S-Soyeon… before that, where is Sohee? I want to see with my own eyes that she’s safe first. Even if I have to die, I want to know she’s safe before I do it."
"You… don’t trust me? Or are you planning to run away again?"
"What…"
"You’ve always been like that. Always running. You left us behind and ran from reality. Are you going to do it again? At the very moment we need you most… you’re about to make the same choice you always have?"
"That’s not it! I’m not trying to run. I… I…"
The divorce, his failure to hold on, his avoidance of Sohee even after the separation…
"I did it for you."
But Soyeon only laughed at Junhee’s desperate cry. She shook her head. Her chilling gaze bored straight into his eyes. The look made his blood run cold. It felt as though she could see straight through his soul. Shame flooded him under that stare.
"I know you. Better than anyone. You’re incompetent, a coward who never accepts his own faults and always blames others… As a father, you’ve done nothing for her. Ashamed of your own uselessness, you ran and hid. Every single time… every time…"
"Th-that’s not true."
"You always lie. Be honest. It was too much for you, wasn’t it? You were scared. You were ashamed to face your own incompetence. That’s why, when I suggested divorce, you gave up without a second thought, right?"
What could he possibly say? It felt like a sharp awl was stabbing into his heart again and again.
"I wanted you to hold on to me. No… I wanted you to hold on to me. I wanted you to find just a little more courage and say you’d protect us no matter what. I wanted to hear that you wanted to stay with us. Just a little more… as a father… I wanted you to say you’d watch over us. But you didn’t. You gave up. You chose to run."
"Soyeon! That’s… that’s…"
"Being responsible as the head of the family was too heavy. Living in a life compared to your wife was too shameful. That’s why… you ran away. And even now, you’re trying to run again?"
"Honey…"
The tears finally broke free. She wasn’t wrong. He couldn’t deny the resentment in her accusations. Regret and guilt swelled inside him like lumps of lead, crushing his chest until he could barely breathe.
"I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…"
"Then this is your chance to make up for it. This is the first and last moment you can sacrifice yourself for your daughter. The moment you can finally fulfill your duty as a father, accept your regret and guilt, and become a true father at last."
Grrrr… The beast’s growl came closer. Junhee, drowning in sorrow, turned again to face the glowing eyes. They were getting nearer. There wasn’t just one. There were two. Each heavy step on all fours sent vibrations through the floor. Their growls grew clearer, their chilling eyes gleaming with enormous greed. They looked ready to tear into his throat at any moment, filled with raw, hungry desire.
Facing them, Junhee could no longer hold back his tears. They were tears of fear and regret. Tears born of guilt.
"Will my death… really set our daughter free?"
"Please… it’s for Sohee. Think of all of this as being for our daughter. If you can do that, you’ll be able to shake off all your past guilt. And Sohee will never forget her father’s noble sacrifice. She might even be prouder of you than anyone else. And I too…"
She let out a low laugh.
"I too… will never forget your sacrifice. I’ll carry gratitude for you my entire life."
"I… I…"
"Now! Die for Sohee… please…"
"Soyeon… that’s… I… I really don’t know if this is the right thing. Really… what should I…"
Grrrr… In the meantime, the growling thing in the darkness drew even closer. It was a being that carried death itself. The nearer it came, the closer he felt to death. Even the foul, metallic stench it gave off smelled of death.
At some point she had moved directly behind him. She whispered into his ear.
"Die… for our daughter…"
"W-wait!"
Thud. She shoved his back.
At the same time—
"Krrraaawr!"
The beasts with glowing eyes in the darkness let out savage roars, drool dripping from their jaws.
"Ugh!"
The moment he was pushed, the phone he had been holding slipped from his grasp. It clattered across the floor. Junhee’s own feet tangled beneath him, and he fell hard. Even the light from the phone vanished, and sticky darkness swallowed everything.
Fear surged all the way to the top of his skull. And then he saw it. Right in front of him. It was too dark to make out clearly, but he knew something was there, inches from his face. Hot breath washed over him. A nauseating stench rolled in. Junhee’s face grew even paler.
The yellow eyes stood out starkly against the pitch-black darkness. His breathing grew ragged. His heart hammered as if it would explode. Cold sweat poured down like rain.
"Grrrrr…"
It drew a little closer. Once again, a hot snort blasted against him. This time it carried the thick smell of blood. The beast before him had clearly tasted human blood more than once.
"Krrraaawr!"
It opened its jaws wide. A blast of hot breath exploded outward, followed by a roar so loud it felt like his eardrums would burst. Behind him, Soyeon’s bitter laughter grew thicker, as if she had been waiting for this very moment.
Junhee finally squeezed his eyes shut.
Ah… warmth spread through his lower body. In his terror, he had wet himself. But there was no time to care about something so trivial. He was going to die now. He would be torn apart cruelly by the beast before him…
That was when it happened.
BOOM!
A sudden deafening crash shook the entire warehouse. The beast that had been about to rip into him froze in shock. At the same time, Soyeon’s laughter cut off sharply.
Thud… Thud! Crash…
The door, violently torn off its hinges by immense force, bounced across the floor several times before slamming into a metal shelf and stopping. The impact caused the shelf to slowly tilt, then collapse. The falling shelf struck another, and they began to topple like dominoes.