Discomfort
※ Gore description warning!
1.
“Ugh…”
So-hye’s face turned a sickly blue. She clamped a hand over her mouth and leaned forward, looking ready to vomit at any second.
Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. The precarious droplets trembled, then fell one after another onto the floor.
“If you’re gonna puke, just go puke. It’ll be better that way.”
At my words So-hye shook her head hard, then lifted her chin and forced a heavy swallow. She panted—“Haa, haa”—and sank onto the sofa as if drained.
She must have held it in because food was too precious to waste. Throwing up would have been easier on her stomach, though.
“Here. At least drink some water.”
An Ga-hee quickly rose, poured a cup, and brought it over. So-hye bowed her head and drained every drop.
“Th-thank you…”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine.”
I understood the reaction. The photo Park Chang-ho had posted was nothing a human being should ever do.
The skin of the face and the skull itself had been split clean in half, the brain left fully exposed. Eyeballs dangled from the optic nerves. The jaw had been torn downward so the inside of the mouth gaped open for all to see.
Below that, every scrap of skin had been flayed away and the organs crushed without mercy until nothing recognizable remained. Vertebrae jutted out at random angles; the arms and legs had been swapped with each other.
“…Fucking insane bastard.”
An Ga-hee muttered under her breath and let out a long sigh.
“So negotiation’s completely off the table now, right?”
“Yeah. Doing something like that means he’s already past the point of normal. Try talking it out and we could end up in something even worse.”
“Was he always like this? From the way you described him, he didn’t sound like this kind of psycho.”
“Hard to say. The Park Chang-ho I knew was only a fragment. Maybe he was always this kind of piece of shit and just hid it, or maybe the world ending twisted him.”
Place and circumstance shape people. Humans can turn as evil as they want if the conditions are right.
What still bothered me was how extreme the change had been in only a few days. Even after the collapse, Park Chang-ho had still been the same pathetic loser.
Did that bastard awaken some kind of ability like me?
It wasn’t impossible. There was no rule that said I was the only one who got powers.
Still, no one on the community boards had claimed anything like that. Plenty of people joked—or half-seriously shouted—about status windows, but nothing real.
“So what now? Just sit around waiting for him to come back?”
“I’d love to march straight in and end him, but it’s not that simple.”
Even getting there would be a pain, and once we reached Hosu Villa, if Park Chang-ho refused to show his face the whole trip would be wasted.
“We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Can’t move forward, can’t fall back.”
So-hye’s words drew nods from all of us. The situation was pure frustration.
“…Or we could offer a trade and draw him out. That way we can lure him to us.”
“You’re volunteering as bait?”
“Right now it’s the surest method we’ve got.”
I hadn’t failed to think of the same idea. I just hadn’t wanted to be the one to say it first—it left a bad taste.
“You sure? Things could go sideways fast.”
“Honestly I fucking hate it. But leaving that thing alone feels just as wrong.”
She exhaled heavily and kept going.
“Even if that pig bastard doesn’t know I exist yet, it still creeps me out. Our building isn’t that far, and a guy this obsessed with women is going to run into us eventually.”
“She’s right. A maniac like that was always going to end up our enemy. It’s only a matter of when.”
“Exactly. Meeting him this early might even be lucky. Who knows what he’d become if we waited.”
Every word was true, and still the whole thing sat wrong in my gut. Using my own woman as bait.
“What, worried I’ll get hurt? That why you’re making that face?”
An Ga-hee read the look and asked with a teasing lilt. I answered without hesitation.
“You’re my woman now too. Using my lover as bait—how the hell am I supposed to feel good about that?”
“Oh~ really?”
She smiled, clearly pleased. So-hye glanced back and forth between us, startled, as if wondering when the two of us had gotten that close.
“Still, I’m surprised. Never thought you’d offer yourself as bait like this.”
“I don’t like it. But you said it yourself last time—show some trust. So I have to. No choice.”
We had gone looting together, slept in the same place, eaten together, yet I still hadn’t fully trusted her. First impressions had been that bad.
If this job ended cleanly, though, maybe then I could start believing her a little.
“Strike while the iron’s hot. Let’s get this moving right now.”
“Yeah.”
Conveniently, my ability had strengthened just yesterday. Whatever power Park Chang-ho had, I wasn’t going down easy.
“I’ll head downstairs first and talk things over. Cleaner if Kim Min-ho makes the offer instead of me stepping up myself.”
“Okay. Go ahead.”
I grabbed an axe, some food, and a bottle of whiskey, then went down. When I knocked on 301, the door opened slowly.
“…Seong-won.”
“Yeah. Thought I was that bastard Park Chang-ho, didn’t you?”
“Who’s Park Chang-ho?”
“The fat pig who showed up yesterday. His name’s Park Chang-ho. College classmate of mine—already had his number.”
“Ah.”
“This conversation’s going to take a while. Mind if we talk inside?”
Kim Min-ho closed the door. In that brief moment I slipped the axe inside my coat. When the door opened again the chain was off.
“Come in.”
His place looked much the same—still neat. The only difference was that the twenty-plus bottles of liquor had thinned out a little.
“Been drinking, I see.”
“Park Chang-ho, was it? After he left I had a few. The whole thing was… unpleasant.”
“Unpleasant?”
“Yes. That pig didn’t look right.”
“Can you describe it in detail?”
He crossed his arms—defensive. I held out the black plastic bag.
“What’s this?”
“Payment for watching the building.”
He took the bag. His eyes lit briefly, then he bowed his head.
“Thank you. I didn’t do much to deserve this much.”
“There’s work ahead.”
“…I see.”
“Now—tell me what he looked like.”
“Ah. Just so there’s no misunderstanding—I’m not talking because of the gift. I crossed my arms because the memory itself is that disgusting. Pure instinct.”
“Got it.”
I’d thought he was angling for payment. Maybe not. Or maybe he was lying. Either way.
“Before I start, I’m having one drink.”
He stood and went to the kitchen. He picked up a glass and asked if I wanted one; I shook my head.
Drinking in front of someone you don’t trust? Insane.
Looked at the other way, though, it meant Kim Min-ho trusted me. Or the memory was so foul he simply couldn’t talk without alcohol.
Gulp—
He poured whiskey into the small glass and downed it in one shot.
“Hoo…”
A hot breath and a strong wave of alcohol hit the air. I frowned and pushed him to continue. Finally Kim Min-ho opened his mouth.
“Yesterday I was too shaken to say anything. Park Chang-ho, right?”
“Yeah.”
“That bastard… didn’t look human.”
“Didn’t look human?”
He drifted into thought for a moment, then began describing the appearance in careful detail.
A massive body that easily looked over 150 kilos. Red pupils. Face flushed bright crimson, body covered in tumors like advanced leprosy. Skin a purplish hue.
“Any subordinates?”
“Three thuggish-looking guys with him. They didn’t look normal either.”
Eyes glazed like they were high, tongues lolling, panting nonstop—Kim Min-ho explained all of it before the whiskey even finished sliding down his throat.
Strange.
Park Chang-ho had been severely obese, but never that extreme. To change so fast after the collapse? Even with unlimited food it shouldn’t have been possible.
He had to have gained some kind of ability. Nothing else explained the transformation.
There’s still a chance Kim Min-ho misremembered.
The human brain isn’t reliable; it invents things that never happened. Fear clouds judgment. He could have been wrong.
Still, we had to plan for the worst. Assume the bastard had power and move accordingly.
“Kim Min-ho.”
“Yes.”
“I need your help.”
I organized my thoughts and briefly laid out the plan An Ga-hee and I had just discussed.
“So you want me to make contact and go to the meeting.”
“Yes. Can you do it?”
He patted the bag a couple of times and nodded.
“After receiving something this valuable, of course. And honestly, knowing those things live nearby doesn’t sit well with me either. Better to cut off future trouble as soon as possible.”
“Exactly. Then I’ll take that as agreement.”
“I’ll do everything I can. When are you thinking of running the operation?”
“Earliest tomorrow. Latest the day after.”
Kim Min-ho’s eyes widened slightly.
“That soon?”
“Yes. No telling what schemes they’ll cook up. Better to call him out and finish it fast.”
“Understood. I’ll try contacting Park Chang-ho, then. The whole plan only works if he agrees to the trade.”
He pulled out his phone and typed the number. Apparently he hadn’t even saved it—too unpleasant.
Riiing—
He hit call. The connection tone filled the cramped room, hollow and loud in the silence.
Gulp—
Kim Min-ho stared at the screen, face tight with tension. He hurriedly poured more whiskey and swallowed it.
More than a minute passed. Maybe he wasn’t going to pick up? The thought had just formed when the call connected.
Click—