The Lingering Lament
A multitude of uneasy feelings hung heavy in the air, their sorrowful wails refusing to reach the other side. Those plaintive cries seemed to afflict the man with a profound sadness. With a heavy sigh, he lifted the silver cross necklace and closed his eyes. Folding his hands together, he murmured the words as if by habit: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.” It was a verse from Revelation 21:4. Yet he knew that such words alone could not soothe souls as tormented as these, and his sighs continued unbroken. Only by freeing the deep-seated pain engraved within them could they finally cast off their attachments to this world and depart for the afterlife. And those attachments were…
Jae-hyeok walked slowly through the pitch-black darkness, his steps calm and steady as he headed toward a distant light that flickered in the distance. He was peaceful. Extremely peaceful. His footsteps were light, almost weightless. Even in sub-zero weather, he wore only a sweater and jeans, bare feet exposed. Still, he looked perfectly at ease. He simply walked toward the sparkling light ahead. At last, he passed through the long tunnel of darkness and reached a street shining with light. It was a bustling area. The shops still held their Christmas decorations, and the lights were new. But the hour was far too late. Though crowded, there were few people. Especially on a weekday… Yet a few college students, enough to make the street feel drunk, swayed by the alcohol. The scent of liquor seemed to drift from the very pavement. Jae-hyeok stood quietly, staring at the lights with vacant eyes. Soon he spotted the intoxicated ones. His eyes, deep and bottomless, gleamed with the predatory, hunting stare of a creature that had found its prey. Watching the drunkards, he noticed some glance at his bare feet and bare chest and burst into laughter. In this freezing weather, with no outerwear and bare feet, it must have looked ridiculous. Or perhaps they mistook him for a madman. Or thought he was too drunk to notice. Most simply ignored him and walked past. They didn’t care about his appearance. Jae-hyeok paid no mind to their gazes either. He merely continued to observe each intoxicated figure as they passed. Then his eyes fell on a woman emerging from a bar. She was also heavily drunk. Her steps were so unsteady that friends seemed to be helping her, but they too looked barely conscious. They were all so intoxicated they could barely stand. Loudly laughing and shouting, they were drunk out of their minds. The woman Jae-hyeok had been watching was no different. Her eyes half-lidded, she struggled to laugh and chatter. Finally, she clapped a hand over her mouth and sprinted toward the nearby alley, vomiting violently. Her friends laughed even harder. One shouted at her to stop laughing hysterically, then staggered and said she’d better go home. “Hey… my head hurts so bad I might die… I’m stopping.” “Hey! What? You said we were going to karaoke! Not leaving?” “Aaaah! I don’t know… I might die if I keep going like this.” Her eyes were barely open, fluttering. Half-closed, she waved her hand weakly in the air. Her friends laughed again and told her to call them later. “Sigh, you really should drink less, you crazy woman! I knew from the moment you started running that you were drunk.” “Hehe… it’s been a while, so I got excited.” “Fine! See you later! Call me when you get home! Bye, Heejin!” “Mmm…” The woman called Heejin waved her hand once more. Then she staggered away from her friends, leaving them behind and heading toward the road, her steps slow and precarious. Every few steps she stopped, letting out a soft groan. The alcohol still clung to her. The urge to vomit kept rising. At last, she headed to the nearby convenience store, bought a chocolate milk, and came out. Sitting at the table in front of the store, she sipped the chocolate milk, and only then did she seem to feel a little better. Finally, she pulled out her phone from her pocket, stared at it for a long time, tossed the empty chocolate milk bottle into the trash, and stood up again. Had she improved? Barely. She took the slightly steadier steps and headed home. Leaving the well-lit bustling street behind, she walked along the now-empty roadside. The surroundings grew quiet. There wasn’t even a single car passing on the road. After all, it was so late. Past 3 a.m. Heejin kept breathing out breaths heavy with alcohol. She should have taken the bus, but both subways and buses had stopped running. Maybe she should have called a taxi… but the walk home wasn’t far. She didn’t want to waste money, so she decided to walk. Besides, she had walked home many times this way before. ////// She opened the common entrance door of the villa and stepped inside. Pressing the elevator button, she waited for the elevator to arrive. Even while waiting, her body swayed unsteadily. The doors dinged open. She stepped in, pressed the 3rd floor, and reached for the close-door button. At that moment, a hand suddenly shot out from between the doors and blocked the closing panel. Heejin flinched. The doors soon opened again. And there stood a man. Heejin stared at him with a slightly tense expression. Especially because the man’s appearance was so disheveled. It was below freezing outside. Yet he wore no outerwear, and his feet were bare. The alcohol seemed to be fading from him. A strange unease crept in as she looked at him. The man’s expression was blank. Suddenly, it felt as if his eyes had no focus. So that was why Heejin felt a strange fear that even the drunkenness could not suppress. With a noticeably tense face, she waited for the man to step inside the elevator. Heejin kept her distance, standing a little farther back. The doors closed. The man stood facing the closed doors, completely still. But why wasn’t he pressing any floor buttons? It made him even more suspicious. In the midst of the anxiety and fear, Heejin glanced at the man and idly fiddled with her phone. Eventually, she tried to contact her friend through the messenger app, but of course, inside the elevator the messages wouldn’t send. Biting her lower lip hard, she stared at the back of the man who had his head bowed. The elevator seemed slower than usual today. The man still gave no reaction. He simply stood with his head lowered. And he hadn’t pressed any floor buttons. Was something mentally wrong with him…? The elevator dinged and stopped at the 3rd floor. The doors opened. The corridor was dark, but the lights had come on. The man still stood motionless between the open doors. Heejin’s heart pounded hard. Thoughts from YouTube shorts and Instagram reels flashed through her mind, just like the incidents she had seen while scrolling. The creepy stalker who sneaks into a woman’s solo apartment, or the thief… Swallow. She gulped down the dry saliva. The elevator remained stopped at the 3rd floor. Heejin knew she couldn’t stay like this forever, so she forced herself to stay calm and cautiously stepped forward. Glancing at the motionless man, who didn’t even breathe, she whispered, “I-I’ll be going past…” and barely managed to step out of the elevator. She had held her breath the entire time, terrified. The fear was so intense that her legs felt weak, not from the alcohol but from pure terror. Looking back at the lit elevator, Heejin hurried toward her apartment. Ah! Her hand was trembling. She had to press the door lock button. Was she nervous? Her password kept mistyping. Biting her lower lip out of habit, she tried to stay as calm as possible. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the password more carefully. Ding. Ah! The door lock finally clicked open. The door opened. Heejin stole a glance at the elevator. At that moment, their eyes met. The man was looking at her. Even as the elevator doors tried to close on their own, they opened again and again. He was opening the doors himself. While staring at Heejin, he let out a sinister chuckle.