Chapter 10
Chapter 10
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: If You Fall Asleep, You Die (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Byung-su crouched down on the floor to inspect it.
The area around his sneaker, stuck to the floor, was soaked in blood.
Ominous blood was flowing out from under his sneaker.
He carefully lifted his foot and moved it aside.
A black object the size of his thumb lay sprawled on the floor.
He lowered himself further to take a closer look.
It had limbs, and even a tail.
"A mouse?"
He bent his head lower for an even closer look.
It had horns on its head and small wings on its back.
"A bat?"
Byung-su shook his head.
He'd never heard of a mouse or bat with horns.
'Mice don't even have horns, you little horned freak...'
He raised his foot and stomped hard on the bizarre creature's body.
Crack! Splat!
The sound of its spine breaking and its small body bursting echoed out.
'There might be more of these freaks around, so first things first—secure a weapon.'
With that thought, Byung-su stood up and hurried toward the coffin.
No more sounds came from the wooden floor.
He reached the black coffin, grabbed one of the stakes, and sat down on top of it.
He pulled out his phone and called Na-rae.
The signal rang more than ten times, but there was no answer.
This time, he called his unreliable friend Sang-in.
No answer from him either.
At that moment, the coffin beneath him began to shake and rattle.
His butt vibrated as if something inside was pounding on the lid.
Judge Choi's words came to mind.
The absurd claim that the coffin was stuffed full of evil spirits was starting to feel real.
'No way that's true. But then why is it shaking? Who's inside?'
Curiosity overwhelming him, Byung-su lay flat on the coffin and pressed his ear against it.
Thump thump thump—someone inside was pounding on the lid.
'Could it be... Reporter Eun is trapped inside?'
"Hey, anyone in there? If there's a person inside, say something!"
As he spoke to the coffin, the pounding on the lid stopped.
A chill ran through him.
He tried speaking softly to the coffin again.
"You're... not a person, are you?"
The lid rattled violently as something pounded furiously from inside.
Flabbergasted, Byung-su tried again.
"If you're a person, knock on the lid three times."
As soon as he finished speaking, the vibrations stopped.
After a brief pause, thump thump—the lid vibrated twice.
"One, two. Only twice. Knock one more time. Please!"
He pleaded with the coffin, but there was no response.
He pulled out his phone and dialed 112.
A bright female voice answered.
Relieved, Byung-su began explaining the situation.
"I'm at the Chowing Garden, second floor. I'm sitting on top of this coffin right now, and something inside keeps pounding on the lid. Please come quick."
His explanation left the woman on the other end flustered.
"No one lives there. Are you saying you've locked someone in a coffin and climbed on top?"
Something was going wrong in the conversation.
Sensing a misunderstanding, he explained again.
"I didn't lock anyone in. Judge Choi did. It's not a living person. I'm scared to death. Hurry!"
His clarification only flustered her more.
"D-dead? It's Judge Choi's crime? Where is he now?"
"I don't know. I woke up and the coffin was just sitting there. I'm on top of it keeping it shut. Please come quick."
A brief silence followed, then she spoke in a calm tone.
"We'll be there in five minutes. Stay right where you are and don't move."
As soon as the call ended, the pounding on the lid resumed, louder than before.
He pressed down hard with his butt.
The strong impacts reverberated straight through to him.
Then, a sharp child's voice cried out.
"You stepped on me twice! Now I'll bite you twice!"
The voice came from the blood-soaked floor.
The thumb-sized black creature was flailing its limbs and shrieking at him.
"What? You're not a mouse?"
The talking freak fascinated him; he didn't feel afraid.
"You're not a mouse? Sorry I stepped on you. I didn't know you could talk, but I'm busy right now, so shoo."
He tried speaking gently, but the little creature kept snarling in rage.
"You think you can look down on me because I'm small? I'll break that smug nose of yours!"
It shrieked defiantly and flapped its tiny wings, flying straight at Byung-su's face.
Byung-su turned his head to dodge, but the creature spread its limbs, latched onto his face, and bit his smug nose.
"Argh! My nose! You little rat bastard, biting my nose..."
He screamed and tried to pry it off with his left hand, but it clung on tight.
The creature bit his nose again.
The pain was worse than before; he couldn't even scream.
He could only gasp, struggling to breathe.
Judging that it would rip his nose off if he let it continue, he mustered his strength and yelled.
"Hey! You rat bastard! Let's see if you die or I die!"
As Byung-su shouted, the coffin lid lifted slightly.
In his panic, he swung the stake in his right hand at the creature on his face.
Splat!
The creature's blood splattered into Byung-su's eyes and mouth.
The blow stunned his face as well.
From the slightly opened gap in the lid, several pale hands emerged.
Byung-su gritted his teeth and struck the creature on his face again with the stake.
The creature's body burst, pouring blood into his mouth before dropping limply to the floor.
"Gah, that hurts like hell. Ptui ptui. And why is this opening?!"
The pale hands emerging from the opened lid groped toward his body and grabbed his thigh.
"You bastards! Get back in!"
He focused the stake on one of the hands coming out and struck it hard.
The bones in the pale hand shattered with a crack, dangling limply.
"Hah!"
He pressed down hard with his butt, and the dangling hand snapped off at the wrist, dropping to the floor with a thud.
Still sitting on the coffin, he kicked the severed hand away, sending it flying.
The hand hovered in midair, spun around, and flew back at his face.
Too busy pressing the lid to notice, it latched on and twisted his nose.
"Ow, my nose again! Why do you bastards keep going for my nose?!"
Pressing down with his butt, he bit into the palm twisting his nose with his teeth.
"Do you know who I am, acting all tough? Twist my nose, and I'll bite you back!"
As Byung-su bit down, the hand went limp.
At that moment, thudding footsteps echoed from the stairs.
Someone was rushing up the stairs.
The pounding on the coffin lid grew louder too.
He tried closing the gap with the hand still in his mouth, but the hands already out resisted fiercely.
"Freeze! Hands up! Drop the weapon!"
Fortunately, two uniformed officers with guns appeared at the top of the stairs, barking orders threateningly.
Byung-su spat out the hand from his mouth and said brightly.
"Thank goodness you're here. Hurry and help me close this coffin lid."
Instead, the officers' faces darkened.
Their gazes shifted from the hand on the floor and the stake in Byung-su's hand to the slender hands protruding from the coffin gap.
They fixated on the severed wrist oozing dark red blood and grew furious.
"Drop the weapon and get off the coffin nice and slow!"
Byung-su sensed from their eyes that things were going south.
Thinking he needed to explain, he smiled and said.
"No, you've got it all wrong. If I get off the coffin now, these things will escape."
As he spoke, immense force pushed up on the lid, lifting his body.
Something inside was trying to get out.
Byung-su lifted his butt slightly then slammed down hard, sealing the lid with a bang.
Bang!
The lid slammed shut just as a gunshot rang out.
Excruciating pain hit his stomach, and Byung-su collapsed onto the coffin.
The hands from the lid gap groped his body.
'Huh? Wasn't the first shot supposed to be a rubber bullet? Am I dying from a real bullet now?'
Looking at the hands on him, he thought, 'I'll die soon and get dragged off by these things.'
The thought filled him with resentment and irritation.
"Argh! I'm too pissed to die! Why the hell did you shoot me?!"
Byung-su, lying on the coffin, forced himself up and yelled.
His cheek burned as his body tumbled to the floor.
"Oh no! The coffin's opening!"
Byung-su sprang up like a coiled spring and threw himself back onto the coffin.
Fortunately, it hadn't opened yet.
"Team Leader, you like that spot?"
He looked up at the familiar voice—Na-rae was looking down at him.
"Don't fall asleep. You could die in your nightmares!"
He heard the red-haired woman Emel's voice too.
Only then did he sigh in relief.
"Reporter Eun, what time is it now?"
"Twelve-thirty. Five hours until dawn. Don't sleep. Stay sharp!"
Not even a minute had passed since he'd fallen asleep.
Emel asked Byung-su what dream he'd had.
His face was swollen from the two slaps Emel had given him to wake up.
He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and began his story.
"Lady, how do your hands hit so hard? My teeth are loose. My jaw feels off too. You a volleyball player or something? So, the dream I had..."
Bits of flesh were mixed in with the blood he spat.
"Hold on. Whose flesh is this?"
Emel interrupted him and picked up the flesh from the floor.
Byung-su's saliva and blood stretched from it before dripping to the floor.
Byung-su and Sang-in leaned in close to examine the flesh.
"Whoa, why are you picking that up? Gross."
Na-rae shrieked at Emel holding the flesh.
Emel, Byung-su, and Sang-in ignored her and focused on the flesh.
Judge Choi, sitting on the coffin, paid no attention to their conversation, casually petting Black Dog's head.
He seemed utterly relaxed, even though he could be sacrificed.
The flesh was ashen-colored—not like human flesh.
"What exactly did you bite in your dream?"
Emel asked, and Byung-su answered proudly.
"I ripped off and bit a hand crawling out of that coffin. But how did it end up in my mouth?"
Byung-su marveled at the flesh in Emel's hand.
For some reason, Emel's face lit up with joy.
"Finish telling us the dream. Something good might happen for us tonight."
Urged by Emel, Byung-su quickly recounted his nightmare.
After hearing it all, Emel smiled brightly.
She seemed to have come up with a good plan.
"Go back to sleep and catch that horned demon you met in the dream. Bring it here."
Absurd words came from Emel's mouth.
Byung-su just stared blankly.
Judge Choi on the coffin nodded as if realizing something.
Byung-su looked at Emel's mouth and asked.
"How am I supposed to catch a mouse from my dream?"
His face clearly showed disbelief.
Emel, still smiling, explained the plan calmly.
Judge Choi nodded along with every word she said.
When she finished, Byung-su exploded.
"You think that makes any sense? Go back into the nightmare and catch that horned rat bastard? You said dying in the dream kills you for real! Say I find and catch it. Then swallow it and bring it in my stomach? And use that to negotiate with Beelzebub? With the thing in my gut?"
As Byung-su's voice rose, Sang-in hushed him, worried Beelzebub at the bottom of the stairs might hear.