One Missing Piece
The voice echoed in his mind like a crack in the dark: One is missing!
It seemed the village chief, who had only recently returned from a long stay at a nursing home, had urged them to come here. Hwan wasn't sure how his parents had met the man, but there must have been some distant connection through mutual acquaintances. His father, in particular, had grown quite weary of city life. That was when this chain of indirect ties had somehow led them to this place.
Of course, there had been plenty of worry at the beginning. After all, both his mother and father had spent their entire lives in the city. Anyone would be concerned if people like that suddenly decided to move to the countryside. Even Hwan had initially thought the two of them were being far too reckless. But looking at them now, the move didn't seem like such a bad choice. At least, not when it came to his parents.
Still, Hwan hated it. A boy in the prime of his youth had no reason to want to live in the countryside. Especially since he'd been forced to leave without any real discussion beforehand. Naturally, that meant leaving his old school behind too, which made it even worse. He had planned to follow his father into seminary and become a pastor someday, but did that really mean he had to tag along to some rural village like this? Wasn't it all a bit too selfish?
But at his young age, Hwan had no say in the matter. He could only obey his parents. And so, they had ended up here. A full year had passed since then.
Hwan still barely exchanged more than a few words with the villagers. He would simply offer a quick greeting when passing by, nothing more. He couldn't seem to adapt. Aside from the occasional times he helped his father or mother and ran into people, he mostly stayed shut up in the house, studying. Sometimes he would ride his bike into town to meet friends, but traveling that long distance back and forth on two wheels wasn't easy. He still hated the countryside.
That was why Hwan wanted to return to Seoul as soon as possible. Maybe that was the real reason he threw himself into his studies so fiercely. At the very least, he wanted to get into a university in Seoul. If he could manage that, he believed he could finally escape this wretched village.
Yes... that was why he forced himself to keep studying, no matter what.
He was deep in concentration, noise-canceling earphones clamped over his ears, when he glanced at the clock. More time had passed than he'd realized. The hands showed it was already past seven in the evening.
They must be starting the welcome ceremony by now, right?
Right on cue, his stomach let out a loud growl like thunder. Outside, real thunder and lightning cracked through the sky while torrential rain continued to pour down in sheets. It didn't look like the storm would let up anytime soon. He was already worried about whether he'd even be able to make it to school tomorrow.
Hwan glanced out the window toward the church, barely visible through the downpour. It looked like the lights were flickering inside. But it seemed strangely quiet. If it was a welcome ceremony, they should have been blasting music and making plenty of noise... That was exactly why he'd put on the earphones in the first place. Yet he sensed none of that energy.
He tilted his head in confusion.
That was when it happened.
'Run...'
The sudden voice made Hwan jump in alarm. He yanked the earphones out in a panic. The sound of pouring rain, previously muffled by the noise cancellation, rushed in clearly. But the strange voice had already vanished.
//// -One is missing.-
Had he misheard it? Yes, it must have been a mistake...
He put the earphones back on. The rain faded into the background again as the familiar pop song resumed. Naturally, there was no voice telling him to run. Hwan let out an awkward laugh. It had to be his imagination. He tried to convince himself of that as he removed the earphones once more, set them on the desk, and started to leave the room.
But then...
'You'd better run.'
The strange voice returned, even clearer than before. And this time, it was unmistakably a woman's voice. Startled, he whipped his head around. There was no one in the room. A chill of pure fear ran through Hwan.
The rain hammered down violently outside. The cold wind cutting through it carried the unmistakable bite of approaching autumn. Normally he would have found it refreshing, but right now every inch of his skin prickled with goosebumps.
"Wh-who..."
His voice wouldn't come out properly. Maybe it was the fear. Hwan licked his dry lips and picked up his smartphone. Maybe the Bluetooth on the earphones disconnected and the music or some YouTube video is leaking through the phone speaker? It was a ridiculous thought, but he clung to it anyway.
But that wasn't it. The smartphone was still connected to the earphones on the desk, and the pop song continued to play from them. He swallowed hard, throat clicking.
Then it came again.
'It's coming.'
"Ahh!"
He screamed in terror. At the same time his legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor. Then—
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang. Hwan flinched, his gaze darting toward the open bedroom door. The second-floor hallway beyond was pitch black. He was the only one home. Naturally, every light in the house was off except for his own room.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang again. Then came the sound of knocking on the front door. Thud, thud, thud.
"Hwan! Are you in there?"
It was an elderly voice. But why did it send such a horrible chill down his spine? Normally he would have opened the door without hesitation. But now, for some reason, his body felt frozen in place. Hwan didn't understand why he was reacting this way, but he found himself holding his breath.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell persisted stubbornly. Once again, the voice called for him—not his parents. In the entire year he'd lived here, this had never happened before. There was simply no reason for any of the villagers to come looking for him.
The old man's voice continued. Hwan couldn't quite place it, but something about it felt vaguely familiar. It was probably one of the villagers. The knocking grew louder. And so did the voice.
"Hwan! Are you inside? We came because of your parents, so open the door!"
The word parents snapped him out of it. Had something happened to them? Finally regaining his senses, Hwan jumped to his feet, burst out of his room, and started down the stairs to the first floor.
But then...
'Don't go down.'
The woman's voice rang out again. His movement stopped dead. His heart began pounding so hard it felt like it might explode. Trembling, he slowly turned to look behind him. He was halfway down the stairs to the first floor. There was still no one there.
A ghost? No... what kind of world was this? He was aiming to become a pastor, but he didn't believe in ghosts or evil spirits. If he was being completely honest, he couldn't even say he fully believed in God yet. After all, his pursuit of theology had mostly been due to his father's influence.
Whatever the case, the situation he was experiencing right now felt far too bewildering and terrifying. His body was so frozen he could barely move. For a moment, he even felt like he might wet himself.
Then he heard voices talking outside the door. It seemed more than one person had come to the house.
"Doesn't look like anyone's home? Where could they have gone in this downpour?"
"But there's a light on upstairs. Maybe he's sleeping?"
"You don't think he's caught on, do you?"
Caught on? What were they talking about?
"Come on! No way! Nothing strange has happened so far, right? If he'd noticed anything, the pastor or his wife would've shown some sign by now. But they didn't. He's probably just asleep. Come on, keep calling him!"
The urging tone, the suspicious conversation—Hwan couldn't make sense of any of it. The doorbell rang again. Then came the sound of someone violently rattling the doorknob.
"Hey! Hwan! Kid! I told you, we're here because of your parents! If you're there, say something! Open the door!"
The voice had grown far more agitated than before. Hwan remained frozen in the middle of the staircase leading to the first floor. His legs shook uncontrollably. The bizarre conversation he'd overheard weighed heavily on his mind. Something felt terribly wrong. The anxiety was suffocating. And that strange woman's voice kept whispering to him, telling him not to open the door under any circumstances. Telling him to run.
He shook his head fiercely. He couldn't trust the words of a ghost. Didn't the Bible say not to listen to the wicked? If ghosts and evil spirits truly existed, he shouldn't listen to them...
Taking several deep breaths, he tried once more to descend the stairs.
That was when it happened.
Crash!
The living room window suddenly shattered. Hwan froze again in shock. At the same time, panicked voices rose from outside.
"Hey now! This guy has no patience! What if that makes him even more suspicious?"
"Hmph! Let him be suspicious! We don't have time for this. Before he ruins everything, we should just drag him out by force! Right?"
"Well, that's true, but..."
It was definitely strange. Their conversation was far too suspicious. This was nothing like the friendly voices he'd grown used to hearing. And now they were climbing through the broken living room window, entering the house.
The sound of rain grew even heavier. The crunch of glass breaking underfoot echoed through the room. Soon, they were heading toward the staircase that led to the second floor.