Half the World (6)

Half the World (6) — Marin Hotel, Jung-gu, Incheon

Midday, Day 6 of the proselytizing.

Kang Jihye stared up at the ceiling with flickering, unfocused eyes. She didn't care that her legs were splayed wide like a frog's, or that drool was streaming down to her chin. Just basking in the grace so richly filled with the Cult Leader's love was enough to make her feel like she might float away.

"Haah― nnngh―"

She kept rubbing her belly, savoring an afterglow that refused to fade. It was only in this moment that she could escape the memory that tormented her. Her heart felt so utterly full that there was no crack left for that skin-crawling day to worm its way in.

"You okay? Want something to drink?"

Jihye shot up at once and buried herself in his arms. The man, briefly flustered by the sudden hug, let out a small chuckle and patted her back. Only beside this man could she return to who she used to be.

He took her chin gently in his hand. Without a trace of refusal or resistance, Jihye tilted her head slightly—so that he could kiss her at his ease.

"Mmm― mmhmmm―"

Their hot breaths tickled each other's upper lip. Like a baby bird waiting to be fed, Jihye urged him on.

Gulp― gulp―

She scraped up every drop of saliva clinging to his tongue, extorting it all and swallowing it down.

"Hnnnngh―!"

A flash went off behind her eyes at the electric jolt of it. She rubbed her thighs together against her burning lower half and craved even more of his saliva.

"Hmm... that's strange."

Then he suddenly pulled away from her, tilting his head. In an instant, anxiety seized her, and she asked in a trembling voice.

"D-did you not like it?"

"No, no. Your breath doesn't smell at all. It just keeps tasting sweet."

She jolted, shooting back at him.

"M-my breath?"

"No, I must be imagining things. Was it someone else I said that to? Not Jihye?"

What followed was a very quiet murmur to himself. To Jihye, who had been focused solely on the Cult Leader, it landed like a thunderclap.

"Wh-who was it?! Who told you I have bad breath? WHO was it?! What an absurd lie—!"

She shook her head furiously, her eyes darting around. It had to be the slander of someone jealous between her and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cult Leader. Obviously the scheme of some bitch who figured that if the Cult Leader disliked her, her time with him would stretch even longer.

"No, no. I must have misheard. My ears are sharp as it is, you know? Maybe that's why even strange sounds come through like someone's voice."

She nestled back into the Cult Leader's embrace as he graciously covered for his companion's slip. To slander such a kind man! To waste such ugly jealousy on someone this wonderful!

Sniffling, she walked down the corridor toward the Blue Wing. Suspects surfaced and vanished in a chaotic jumble inside her head.

Kim Jian. That naive-looking girl might have said something to the Cult Leader with that innocent face, acting like she knew nothing.

No... not her.

Go Hyemi. Is that unhinged bitch still sulking about having her appointment times with the Cult Leader shuffled around?

Ah...!

The moment she reached the Blue Wing, she shuddered as if struck by revelation. One woman's face lit up vividly in her mind.

...Jeong Seonga.

Back when she hadn't yet understood the Cult Leader properly, she'd given the girl a piece of her mind. She hadn't forgotten the way Seonga had glared up at her with those rebellious eyes. And on top of that—even though she was the first woman to recognize the Cult Leader for what he was, her time with him kept shrinking. Of course she'd pulled something this insane. Every piece fit perfectly.

"Y-you little bitch—!"

With bloodshot eyes, she strode toward the room at the very end of the Blue Wing.

"Hyemi!"

She called out to Go Hyemi, who was smacking her lips in the sitting room of the sprawling suite.

"Ah, Jihye."

"Hyemi! Has the Cult Leader said anything to you?"

"...Hm? The Cult Leader?"

Jihye slapped the arm of Go Hyemi, who was tilting her head as if she knew nothing.

"We all need to be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠careful! That sly little vixen Jeong Seonga is saying strange things to the Cult Leader!"

"...Seonga is?"

"That's what I'm telling you! What do we do now? I can't even scold her anymore, scared the Cult Leader will find out—"

Seeing Jihye's voice crumble into sobs, Hyemi quickly pulled her into a hug.

"Aigoo, our tender-hearted Jihye. Look at you worrying yourself sick while the one actually at fault just giggles like a fox."

"Hnngh― Hyemi..."

"There, there. It's okay. It's actually my turn to see the Cult Leader right now. Let's talk after this one's done. We'll come up with a plan tonight."

"What do I do if I run into Jeong Seonga before then? That crafty bitch scares me so much I can't even step outside."

"It's fine. This is the end room, so just settle your nerves here. I'll be back before you know it."

Hyemi sat Jihye down in the chair she'd been occupying and wiped away the single tear sliding down her cheek.

"Back soon."

"Okay. Come back fast, Hyemi."

After their warm farewell, Hyemi left the suite and walked down the corridor. Heading toward the Purple Wing where the Cult Leader resided, her expression hardened by degrees, and she muttered icily.

"Well, Seonga had every reason to, I suppose."

Hyemi remembered how Jihye had thrown a fit from the very first day the Cult Leader stayed at the hotel—carrying on about how a murderer had arrived, this and that. And when she found out Seonga had gone to meet him, she'd berated Seonga for hours. And now that woman is scared of Seonga?

"Ha. What a joke."

Hyemi smoothed her twisted features back into calm. She was about to see the Cult Leader—only her prettiest, most beautiful self would do.

"Haah― better hurry up and go get my healing~"

As she scurried along, two women gathered in the lobby caught her eye.

"Oh! Seonga, Jian!"

"Ah. Hi, unnie."

"...Hello, unnie."

She waved brightly, practically skipping toward the Blue Wing. Watching her go, Jeong Seonga looked at Kim Jian beside her with eyes gone cold and sour.

"Seriously unbelievable."

"..."

"Jian, isn't she the one who yelled at you for putting on lip balm? That glistening on her lips—that's lip gloss, isn't it?"

"...I think so."

"Ha! And then she calls our Jian names for it? I'm seriously going to tell the Cult Leader everything."

"...It's fine, Seonga."

"No it's not! This is all because you look too sweet and harmless, that's why people walk all over—"

Kim Jian quietly bowed her head and listened to Seonga's tirade. No—in truth, it went in one ear and out the other.

Says the one who looks down on me herself.

Kim Jian found sitting beside her utterly unbearable.

She was dreaming.

Of course she was. In reality, she would never have been able to see her mother again.

'At this point, I'd like you to mentally prepare yourself...'

The doctor's words—rational, yet heartless. She no longer had any reason to scrape together money with the desperation of a madwoman. She had given up on college and worked a job to earn money; the day her mother left this world, she quit on the spot.

Shim Soyoung planned a trip with the money she no longer needed. Damn it all, might as well blow it all—on a self-destructive whim, she even booked a hotel. She lay down in a bedroom that cost a staggering fortune for no discernible difference from any other, and sank into sleep for a very long time.

When she finally came to her senses a week later—

She opened her eyes to messages swarming dizzily in front of her. Clutching her groggy head, she stepped out of the room. She cut through the hotel's oppressive silence, walking toward the only place making any sound.

And there, she saw it.

'Ugh―! Uuuuugh―!'

'Fuck, stop struggling already! Do I really have to beat it into you?'

'Move over. Crack her skull good and she'll quiet down.'

'Fuck that, she'll pass out. Where's the fun in that?'

Crack―!

The man struck the woman's head as if kicking a ball. Hehehehe― The man laughing like he couldn't be stopped, and another man grinning down at a woman who no longer moved at all.

Before she knew it, Soyoung was backing away.

Rustle―

'U-uuurgh!'

'A z-zombie― ...huh?'

The two flinched, shoulders jerking, then turned to look at her. Their greasy eyes raked over her body like a scanner.

'Oh...'

That was where she met the beasts. She didn't want to remember what came after. Only this: the men's next target was Shim Soyoung—and after a hellish struggle, she killed them.

Gasping for breath, she went to the woman they had so brutally broken.

'...'

She was no longer breathing. Shim Soyoung turned back to the men. With her face twisted beyond recognition, she stomped their dead heads into the floor. She crushed them until her rage was spent, then staggered outside, heaving even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠harder.

'KYAAAAAH―!'

She experienced the world that had changed while she slept.

'Heheh― damn, look at those melons.'

'Hey, give me one can and I get a free pass to your pussy, right?'

She met the most wretched creatures this world had to offer. Shim Soyoung decided she would never again treat them as human. From that moment on, they were 'Tess' to her—an abbreviation of the hormone's name from a sex-ed class back in her childhood.

From then on, she moved without rest.

'A-an Awakenerrrr!'

'Fuck, you crazy bitch! Why are you killing usss—!'

She saved women being trampled under the Tess.

'From now on, this is our home.'

'S-soob... thank you.'

'Relax. There won't be a single Tess in here. Ever.'

'...Tess?'

'Yeah. Tess.'

She built them a safe haven of their own.

Through Shim Soyoung's eyes, the women always seemed to be preparing to leave. Not the place—their own bodies. She understood the women staring blankly at the ceiling, indifferent even to hunger. Her own skin crawled just from having nearly suffered that same horror.

So Shim Soyoung gathered them all in the lobby. Around candlelight, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠opened their hearts to one another, talked, and held each other up. And the moment they finally poured out their festering old wounds and clung to one another, sobbing—

Shim Soyoung understood the path she had to walk from then on.

Just then, a familiar chime rang out.

Ding―!

Without even a moment's deliberation, she nodded. The men had power, yet never used it for what was right. They trampled people at will, ensnared by nothing more than lust. But things would be different now—because she, too, had been granted the power they once held.

WHAM―!

Shim Soyoung finally woke from her long dream. Sitting bolt upright as if startled, she clutched her head. Slowly, she got out of bed and walked down the corridor. Everything was exactly as it had been that day. A light body, a foggy mind. The only difference was that she could no longer hear the Tess's disgusting voices.

Steadying her mind bit by bit, she slammed her feet into the floor.

Fwoooosh―!

An Awakener's body split the wind, blasting through the corridor in an instant. She turned over her last remaining memory. The day two Tess had stormed their haven. The humiliation of blacking out under their hands. But it didn't matter anymore.

As long as they kept me alive—next time, I'll be the one who beats them.

Like I always have.

Reaching the lobby with movements far faster than before she'd lost consciousness, she blinked wide-eyed.

"...Huh?"

They had made a promise. A community of women scarred and trembling with fear had sworn to gather in the lobby every morning, ready for whatever might come. Sunlight sparkled beautifully through the glass, flooding the lobby with light. She stared out at the utterly empty space with hollow eyes.

"...Unnie?"

"Ah!"

At the familiar voice from the direction of the Blue Wing, she whipped her head around. There stood Kim Jian, staring at her with a stunned face.

"Jian!"

"Unnie!"

Shim Soyoung crushed her into a hug and asked urgently. Not one of the people who should have been in the lobby was there.

"Jian, where is everyone? Where'd they all go?"

"...I don't know. In their rooms, maybe?"

"What? Their rooms? What are you talking about?! Did you forget our promise?!"

She seized Kim Jian by both shoulders, seething. And then—surfacing from the depths of her mind—came the faces of those bastards she'd momentarily forgotten. Right. Those sons of bitches!

"Ah! Did they threaten you?! Told you not to come out?!"

"...Who?"

"Who do you think?! The filthy Tess, obviously!"

At Soyoung's shout, Kim Jian tilted her head with an awkward expression. After a brief pause, as if grinding through her thoughts, she lifted her chin slightly and said:

"Oh! Do you mean the Cult Leader?"

"...What?"

She dumbly echoed the question, staring at Kim Jian's suddenly radiant smile.

What?

The Cult Leader?

Not the Tess?

"Ah! What am I doing! I have to tell the Cult Leader right away! He's been waiting SO long for you to wake up, unnie!"

And so she—the Avenger who had declared war on half the world—hardened her expression, her brow furrowing.