Chapter 236
Chapter 236
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 236. Worn to Shreds
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Heaven.
Everyone has their own idea of what heaven is.
Some might see it as a place where money never runs out. Others might call it a spot where you can live without working. Still others might point to a world free of conflict.
And for us...
"There's nothing here?"
Song Arin's voice echoed through the empty air.
She was right.
No dancing angels in sight.
No rivers of flowing gold.
But at least there was no overtime.
"No overtime means this has to be heaven, right?"
"...Jaeheon, after we wrap this up, can we take a break?"
Yoo Daon murmured worriedly, tugging at my sleeve.
If she was getting worried, that meant I'd said something that made me sound way too burned out. Time for some self-reflection.
"...It really is empty, though."
Jang Chaeyeon muttered as she looked around, while Park Ye-eun just frowned like she was in a bad mood.
Eileen, on the other hand, kept muttering to herself in disbelief.
"This is the place... where Mom and Dad are..."
The emotions in her voice were so tangled up, I couldn't even begin to describe them.
I scanned our surroundings.
Houses straight out of a fairy tale book. No hint of human presence. A silence so deep it made my ears ring.
"Let's check it out fir—"
Before I could finish, something shiny caught my eye.
The brooches were glowing.
Each one shimmered in its own color, swaying in place even though there wasn't a breath of wind.
They trembled as if resonating with one another.
...
Gold with gold, myrrh with myrrh, frankincense with frankincense—the brooches drew toward their matches.
"What does this mean?"
"...Beats me."
Eileen tilted her head at my question.
"If it were me, I'd stick with my match. By position."
"You heard him. Everyone, pair up with your position match!"
At my words, people glanced around and started grouping up.
Me with Jang Chaeyeon. Yoo Daon with Park Ye-eun. Song Arin with Eileen.
Aside from me and Jang Chaeyeon, the pairings felt oddly mismatched.
"...Hi, unnie?"
"Oh, yeah. Hi... no, hello...?"
Yoo Daon stumbled awkwardly over the informal speech, while Park Ye-eun bowed her head politely.
...
...
Song Arin and Eileen stayed silent too.
Our hypothesis seemed correct—the brooches clicked together with a faint metallic clink.
"What does it mean?"
"Soulmates?"
"As if."
Jang Chaeyeon tilted her head in response to my question, and Song Arin let out a sigh.
"Probably means each position has its own task."
"Or maybe it's time to split up and go our separate ways."
Song Arin and Eileen picked up the thread as if scripted, their eyes meeting briefly.
...
...
Then they turned away without a word.
"I have no clue, so I'll stick with Jaeheon!"
"Me neither, so I'll follow unnie or oppa!"
"Maybe it paired us with surprisingly good matches."
"Yeah."
I kept walking, chatting with Jang Chaeyeon.
*
Nothing special.
If anything, it was boring.
No one around. Not even a glimpse of another soul.
The need to stay constantly vigilant in this total emptiness was exhausting in itself.
I headed slowly toward the hills.
Or tried to.
"...They're gone."
The moment we entered the village, the hills that had been spread out before us vanished, leaving only tall rooftops looming overhead.
Hills visible outside the village.
Gone once we stepped inside.
"No sign of people anywhere. Not even a speck."
...
Eileen looked grave at my mutter, while Yoo Daon hummed thoughtfully, hand on her chin.
"It feels familiar somehow."
"...Where exactly have you seen this?"
"Not from the hospital, right? Too much hallucinogen? Or anesthesia?"
"Arin."
Song Arin raised one eyebrow as she spoke, and I scolded her lightly. She muttered "whatever" and stepped back.
"Whatever. I've heard that plenty."
"Doesn't mean you should say the same stuff. Are you a kid or an adult?"
"Damn, why you gotta be so strict with me..."
"You're not the type to say that, Arin."
"So she's fair game?"
"Daon is pretty innocent."
"You don't even know what innocent means, do you?"
"No, it's not from there."
While Song Arin and I talked, Yoo Daon shook her head.
She frowned in concentration, completely ignoring the jab.
"Let me know if it comes to you."
"Okay!"
I turned to Eileen.
She had to be on edge, being here to find her family.
Sure enough, she was scanning the area with a serious expression.
"No traces of anyone ever living here."
Eileen murmured.
"Where did my parents go? Did they even make it here?"
...
Her words dripped with anxiety, leaving me at a loss for a reply.
I couldn't promise vague hope, but I couldn't be brutally honest either.
In the end, I had only one thing to say.
"...Shall we check inside the houses?"
We'd know more once we looked. If there were signs of life, it might ease Eileen's mind a bit.
"H-hey... is it really okay to just wander around like this...?"
Song Arin poked my side fiercely and whispered the second she heard.
"What if something dangerous happens...!"
"Just a quick look. Just a peek."
Eileen needed to search for her family anyway, and I had to look for traces of my little sister.
Even if it was all hinging on a single manual's guess about whether they were here at all.
"...If it gets dangerous, we'll prep first."
"Sorry for dragging you into this."
They'd chosen to come along, but throwing team members into danger still felt wrong.
"It's fine—"
"No problem."
Jang Chaeyeon cut off Song Arin, who stared at her.
"We chose to come. And we know we won't die."
"How do you know that?"
"Because he's here."
Jang Chaeyeon smiled faintly, and at that moment, Eileen pushed open the door.
The creak of old hinges mixed with the thud of her shoes on the floor, reaching our ears.
"Thanks. I feel a little better now."
Let's go take a look.
As I turned to follow,
"...We're really gonna die...?"
"...Try it."
I caught Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin bickering softly, but couldn't make out the details.
*
The house was spotless.
Spotless meaning it looked like no one had ever lived in it.
But even more surprising...
"Not a speck of dust."
Eileen murmured, looking around.
She was right.
Even if nothing was here, there should at least be a sense of abandonment.
Dust bunnies rolling around. Rotting floors.
Places untouched by humans decay or fall apart faster than you'd think.
"It's heaven."
Park Ye-eun said from behind us.
"In heaven, no dust makes perfect sense, right?"
"By that logic, the oxygen disappearing right now wouldn't be weird either."
Park Ye-eun pouted at my words and wandered off to look around.
Kitchen, living room, bedroom.
Perfectly set up for everyday life. If only people were around.
...
Eileen, having checked everywhere else, shook her head.
"Nothing here."
"Let's try somewhere else."
We left the house.
The hills were still nowhere in sight.
Eileen ransacked the house like a woman possessed, and I checked the ones she missed.
Everyone else did the same.
"Nothing!"
"Nope."
"Nothing here either."
"None here~"
...
Five voices, always the same answer.
I glanced at the sky, wondering if the sun might set, but in heaven, it hung eternally—no sign of dusk.
How much time passed?
...
Eileen now stared at the ground, her face not just depressed but like she'd lost everything in the world.
"How much have we covered?"
"About half."
Yoo Daon raised her hand in reply.
"A bit more..."
"No."
Eileen shook her head at my words.
"Just one more. If nothing, we head to the hills. Something might show up there."
"...Okay."
She nodded and hurried into another house with desperate steps.
Song Arin sighed as she watched Eileen go inside.
"They're probably dead anyway."
"Arin."
"It's for Blondie's sake."
Song Arin avoided my gaze.
"People taken to places like this don't last long. At most a year. Two with miracle luck. Anything longer, and they're not human anymore."
"Assimilation. Can't leave at that point."
Jang Chaeyeon followed up, and Song Arin glanced at Yoo Daon.
"...Huh?"
"...Of course, there are exceptions."
"I'm human, though?"
"That's why you're the exception. Only half crazy."
"You're pretty twisted too, Arin."
"Hey, I'm just jaded by society. Not socially stunted like you."
"Arin."
"...Fine..."
Song Arin started arguing with Yoo Daon, but sighed when I called her.
"Anyway, if they've been in a place like this over ten years and still alive, then for sure—"
"Found a trace!"
"...What?"
Eileen burst out before Song Arin finished, who whipped her head around.
With just those words, Eileen ducked back inside.
We all followed her like we'd been enchanted.
Into the house, past the living room, through the kitchen.
Eileen stood frozen in the master bedroom.
"...Eileen."
...
She turned and handed me a shirt that was worn completely to rags.
Once white, now grayed to tatters.
"...It's my dad's shirt."
...
"...Ah."
As we stared at it, Yoo Daon murmured like something clicked.
"I remember."
"Daon?"
"...The lodge."
Lodge?
Memories flooded back: countless mud dolls lying around, the fabricated village.
"...It feels just like that."
Yoo Daon murmured.
The frayed shirt fluttered in a breeze from nowhere.