Satanists Are Fast
The Satanist was fast. His frame was enormous, and his movements had no wasted motion. He certainly wasn't the type to trip on the street. His build was about the same as mine. But the woman who'd fallen ahead of me was much smaller than I was, slow on her feet, and clumsy in her overall movements. Only then did I feel certain she wasn't a Satanist, but it felt wrong to just walk past, so I reached out a hand to her.
She didn't budge, just lay there where she'd fallen.
"Hey?"
No response even when I called again. Passersby were starting to murmur as they stared at the woman on the ground.
What do we do? Is she passed out?
Should we call 119?
A few voices expressed concern for her.
[She doesn't seem dead. She's breathing.]
"Can you get up?"
She didn't look dead to me either. It seemed more like she was just lying there out of embarrassment, but that wasn't the best judgment. The longer this went on, the more people gathered, and some were seriously debating calling 119.
Fortunately, she must have sensed things getting serious. She got up and brushed the dirt off her knees.
"Oh, I'm fine. Not hurt. Anyway, thanks."
She pulled her disheveled hood down tight and bowed her head slightly. I caught a glimpse of curly brown hair. Her voice sounded familiar—more than familiar, one I'd heard so often it was etched in my ears.
"Jeong In-ah?"
"Huh? No, not me."
Her voice was a bit thicker than before, like she was deliberately lowering it to avoid detection. That might change the pitch, but not the innate tone. The tone was pure Jeong In-ah, right down to the habitual phrasing that slipped out unconsciously.
"What do you mean, no? Here to shop?"
I spoke casually—or pretended to. Seeing Jeong In-ah brought back images of her sister Jeong Yun-ah, zombified. The jingle of bells and the rattling of iron bars echoed in my ears. A heavy weight like a stone pressed on my chest. Guilt, maybe, but to me it felt thicker, stickier.
I didn't let it show. Keeping emotions off my face and out of my voice was my specialty.
"Oh, yeah. Grocery shopping. But I don't need anything, so maybe just head home..."
Jeong In-ah tugged off her hood and pulled her mask down to her chin. I'd worried she might keep pretending not to know me or bolt again, but she seemed fine with it. Her face, visible beyond the mask, looked utterly drained of life. A faint flush colored her cheeks, her eyes were hollow, her lips cracked and dry. Her cheeks were gaunt. She'd always been slim, but she looked even thinner than two days ago.
I stared at her face for a while, and she quickly pulled her mask back up, hiding it. The blush crept from her cheeks toward her eyes. She seemed embarrassed.
"What? Why are you staring like that."
"Nothing. If you're heading home, let's go together."
Our paths were the same anyway, and better with company than alone. Plus, there were things to talk about—nothing major, just miscellaneous stuff.
"Uh... yeah, s-sure...?"
But Jeong In-ah's eyes said she wasn't thrilled. I got it; from her side, I made her uncomfortable. I couldn't treat her casually either, even if I didn't show it. I understood logically, but it still stung a little.
I spoke first to her, hesitating awkwardly.
"If you don't want to, go alone. If I'm bothering you."
"Wha...? No, Seon-woo, it's not that. Let's go together."
She fumbled her words more than usual today. Her eyes were focused, but sometimes went glassy. Her tongue tripped occasionally. She seemed scattered. I could guess why—her sister.
"Good. Anyway, let's go."
I pushed down my complicated feelings and spoke. The grocery bags in both hands felt impossibly heavy, like they might drag me to the ground.
*
The sky was oppressively dark. Clouds hid the moonlight. Streetlights dotted the alley, our only sources of light. We walked the alley path, chasing those faint glows. It was always a bleak stretch.
"......"
Jeong In-ah was quieter than usual today. Her expression hovered between lost in thought and blank. Her steps were terribly slow. I matched her pace, walking two or three times slower than normal.
"What'd you come to buy?"
If I didn't speak first, she said nothing. The heavy silence and awkwardness were suffocating, so I broke it. Usually she started the conversation, but roles were reversed this time.
Jeong In-ah walked on as if she hadn't heard.
"You listening?"
"Huh? Oh... what'd you say?"
"What you came to the mart for."
"Oh......"
She dropped her gaze to the ground. I followed suit. Nothing there. Streetlights pierced the dark, but the gray asphalt stayed shadowy.
"Bamboo shoots. To buy th-those."
"Bamboo shoots?"
When she lied, her eyes wavered and her shoulders stiffened. She hadn't gone for bamboo shoots—or probably anything. Maybe bamboo fungus for the dead. No idea why lie to me, though.
"Yeah. Bamboo shoots."
"Hospital say eat bamboo shoots? Gastritis?"
"Yeah... Huh? No. Not gastritis."
She waved it off lightly, eyes wide with surprise. Still shaking. Another lie. Obvious, clumsy, but she thought she'd fooled me perfectly.
"Okay? What'd the hospital say then?"
"......Cold? And I'm not sick. Just faking to skip school."
"You eat?"
"Yeah."
Lie.
"Yesterday?"
"Of course."
"Nothing yesterday or today?"
"I a-ate, I said!"
Her face looked haggard, limbs skinny—she hadn't eaten in two days. Gastritis would've made even water come back up; no appetite possible.
"Gotta eat even if sick."
"I puke if I do... Ah, no. I ate, stop asking!"
"Why keep lying?"
I stared, and she whipped her head away, avoiding my eyes. Classic Jeong In-ah when hit on the nose.
"......What'd you buy so much of?"
She'd looked away for a while before glancing at my grocery bags and speaking.
"Food."
"All this? Food?"
"Eats fast."
I eat a lot anyway, and factoring in stuff for Jeong Yun-ah, this was necessary. Jeong In-ah eyed me curiously, then reached out suddenly.
"Gimme one."
Offering to carry.
"Heavy."
"It's fine. I can."
"Give back if you can't."
I handed it over readily. She grunted along for not even five seconds before dropping it. Tried again, but no strength. Stuck to the ground like glue.
"Told you heavy."
"I c-can. Not heavy."
"Here."
I took them back. Still heavy, but manageable. We walked in silence for a long stretch. Streetlight glows draped a thin veil between us, letting the quiet stretch endlessly.
"Checked the Knight Order?"
I spoke first again. Bags heavy, air thick and stale, everything weighed down and sticky. Silence amplified it, so I threw out anything.
Seeing Jeong In-ah's gaze drift farther away as she looked down, I realized too late it was the wrong topic. Regret hit, but words couldn't be unsaid.
"Went, but no sister... Would've been better not to hope."
"Sorry."
She blinked in surprise at my apology, pulled off her mask, pocketed it, and smiled. A weak, bitter curve.
"What for? My fault for getting excited."
"Still."
"Forget it. Why worry about that? Happens between friends."
She smiled awkwardly. Lips struggled to lift, like it'd been too long.
I stared at her face. "Friends" sounded so strange.
"Friends?"
"Yeah. Friends. What else would we be?"
Irritated tone, but not real annoyance—just her way of hiding unease or awkwardness.
I looked at her silently. Seeing her made my chest churn. Bells jingling, bars rattling, Jeong Yun-ah's screams flashed back. Thicker than guilt, the emotion slowly swallowed me. Breath caught. Around her, I always drowned in this inexplicable ache, like a sinner before a judge. Her the judge, me the criminal. Too warped for "friends."
"We're friends, right."
"Yeah! Not 'right'—we are."
"Got it, got it."
I soothed her piercing glare. Silence fell again, but not awkward—natural, comfortable even. Her house appeared in the distance. Always a nice place. Small, but with a yard, even two stories they said. Wonder the price.
"We'll find your sister soon."
I said, gazing at the house. She looked puzzled, then resigned, dropping her head. She did that a lot today—neck too weak to hold it up.
"......What if she's dead?"
She murmured softly.
"It's been six months, no contact, investigation stalled... She's gone. Waiting's stupid—"
"She's alive."
"Huh?"
"We'll find her soon."
I said "soon," but no exact time. Still, someday—somehow, no matter what—I'd make sure Jeong In-ah reunited with Jeong Yun-ah. Just pray her heart held till then.
"Thanks."
She smiled. Still limp, but not bitter.
I looked up. The house, once distant, was now right there. Before she went in, I spoke.
"Coming tomorrow?"
"School? Hm......"
She rubbed her chin, pretending to think.
"Gotta. Missed three days, behind already."
"See you then. Go eat and rest."
"Hey, I'm not a kid. What worry—"
Clang.
Iron bars rattling. Goosebumps raced up my spine to my scalp. Every hair stood on end. Heart dropped, thudding dryly. Vision blurred faintly; I bent forward, steadying my breath.
When calm returned, I looked up.
"H-hey. You okay?"
Jeong In-ah had tripped over the doorstep, sprawled on the ground.
"Get up. Don't just lie there again."
Seemed embarrassed again. I reached out.
No response. I approached, checked her. Breathing, but unconscious.
"Jeong In-ah. Quit joking, get up. Hey! Hey!"
No reaction even to shouts. This time, for real—passed out.
(To be continued next time)