Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 011
Chapter Title: If You Fall Asleep, You Die (9)
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"Byung-su, keep it down. I'm worried the guy downstairs might hear us."
"It's fine. Even if Beelzebub or Pan hears us, their pride won't let them interfere with our plan. They'll probably show up in the nightmare even more because of it."
Emel spoke confidently, and Judge Choi nodded in agreement.
Byung-su, who still couldn't wrap his head around it, tried protesting.
"No, but... these guys..."
"Hmph."
A snort came from the stairs below.
They were probably listening to the whole conversation.
"Okay, fine, whatever. Even though nothing about this is fine, let's say it is. How are you gonna get that rat bastard Pan out of my gut? You planning to hand me over to Beelzebub whole?"
"We don't need to trade you as a whole. Once you've swallowed Pan and he's in your stomach, you can puke him up behind Judge Choi or shit him out mixed in with your crap. Devils can't use their powers if they're covered in shit, so shitting him out would be best."
Byung-su was utterly deflated by Emel's matter-of-fact tone.
"Hmph."
Another snort echoed through the entire floor. He sounded pretty pissed.
Byung-su glared at Emel and asked,
"You want me to shit on command? Does shit just come out whenever you sit down?"
Even with his rough protest, Emel kept grinning.
"If you can't shit him out yourself, we'll have to cut your belly open. Don't worry. I'm a ghoul with resurrection powers. I can slice open your gut and still save you. Worst case, if you die, I'll turn you into a zombie. No need to fret."
Listening to her only made Byung-su more anxious.
"Why me? You've got you, and Hong Sang-in's here, and reporter Eun too."
His protests grew fiercer, but Emel's smile stayed plastered on.
"What if you fall asleep while I'm asleep? You're the only one who can reliably wake me for sure. And this woman was trying to kill herself in her dreams—what makes you think she can catch Pan?"
Eun Na-rae scratched her head and chimed in.
"She's right, team leader. If I have a nightmare, I'll just kill myself in the dream again. I can't do it. Sorry, team leader."
As Na-rae kept apologizing, Byung-su turned his sharp gaze to his disloyal buddy Sang-in.
Feeling the sting, Sang-in scooted next to the old lady and said,
"The Bodhisattva won't wake up—that's a problem. Byung-su, I've got constipation."
'He bashed his own head with a torch, and now this?'
No choice left, the group looked down at Byung-su lying on the floor.
Forced to lie down, sleep was the last thing on his mind.
Emel prodded him as he just blinked.
"Close your eyes and go to sleep already."
"I got shot in the dream last time. You think a weakling like me can catch him?"
Thinking it over, Byung-su had a point.
Emel placed her hand on his chest, resolute, and pushed her energy into him.
'My energy will recover over time. Gotta survive today first.'
A hot surge flowed into his body through her hand.
It was the evil spirit ghoul's qi.
"Not even humans or most evil spirits can harm you now. Trust me and close your eyes."
Having infused him with half her remaining qi, Emel urged him on.
"You just close your eyes and fall asleep, huh?"
Grumbling, Byung-su got a cheeky grin from Emel in response.
Her smile made him uneasy.
"Why are you smiling again? It's creepy."
"If you can't fall asleep on your own, I'll knock you out."
With that, Emel's hand flashed.
"Ow! My head!"
* * *
Clutching his head as he sat up, Byung-su's vision filled with dazzlingly bright wallpaper.
It was definitely his living room, freshly repapered this year.
He felt the soft sofa cushion under his butt too.
"My house! My apartment that I bought with a loan! Awesome! Starting in my familiar home makes this nightmare worth tackling. Come out, you little rat!"
He jumped up from the sofa, searching for a weapon.
The kitchen knife with its sharp blade felt too vicious.
The ladle seemed too flimsy and unreliable.
His eyes landed on a black frying pan.
Triple-coated, sturdy, hefty, with a great grip.
"Perfect! This is just the thing. Nothing better for catching a rat."
He swung it a couple times.
Whoosh, whoosh—the wind it cut through felt solid and reassuring.
Byung-su didn't realize it, but the evil spirit ghoul's qi was granting him enhanced strength.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
'Who's that?'
Gripping the frying pan cautiously, he stood by the door and called out.
"Who is it? A devil? Come in through the door then."
Laughter erupted from outside at his words.
A raspy man's laugh.
After a long chuckle, the man boomed,
"We're from the Ministry of National Defense. You're Kim Byung-su, right?"
'Why the Defense Ministry?'
"What brings the Defense Ministry here?"
The man outside snapped irritably,
"Open the door first. We're busy with official duties."
Sounded like a hothead.
Byung-su hesitantly cracked the door, and three men in uniforms strode in, handing him a document.
He stared at it dumbly.
An enlistment notice.
His name, 'Kim Byung-su,' blazed across the top.
After staring for a while, he asked the man who'd given it to him,
"What's this? Why me?"
"Soldiers from your old unit posted a petition to the Blue House. They miss you so much—two hundred thousand people signed it, and the president specially approved your reenlistment with the Defense Ministry. It's finally happened! Congratulations!"
"What? What are you talking about? Are you really soldiers? I was discharged ages ago. I did my full term as an army sergeant in Haji-ri, Dongsong-eup, Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do, spinning my wheels till the end. And I'm over forty now. Even in a dream, this is ridiculous. Congratulations? On what? I haven't even gotten married yet. Get out."
Byung-su laughed it off politely, trying to shoo them out.
The man who'd handed over the paper signaled his buddies, who lunged and grabbed Byung-su's arms.
"Over forty? Plenty of time for a few more hitches. You're still fit, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
"People go back for seconds sometimes, nothing special. Your old comrades are waiting in agony for you in Haji-ri, Dongsong-eup, Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do. For our military's morale, we need to move fast."
"Comrades? Buddies? None of them are still there! How does going twice boost morale? Ugh, seriously!"
He struggled, but they dragged him out limp as a rag doll.
"You can keep that frying pan as your personal weapon. Hey! What're you waiting for? Take him!"
"I've still got apartment loan payments! I need to pay the interest!"
Whispering in his ear, the man said,
"You'll be stuck in the army forever, so don't worry about the apartment."
'Argh! What kind of messed-up dream is this, reenlisting? Pan, you rat demon—when I catch you, you're done. Argh!'
Powerless, Byung-su was thrown into an air force truck and hauled to Haji-ri, Dongsong-eup, Cheorwon-gun, Gangwon-do.
"Welcome! Second enlistment's gotta be a first for you, huh?"
Arriving at the barracks as dusk fell, it was identical to twenty years ago.
The vicious Sergeant Kim bared his white teeth in a grin.
He looked exactly like he did in his twenties.
"Sergeant Kim? Didn't you get discharged? You look the same."
Kim laughed at Byung-su's question.
"I'm still a corporal. You're a private. We'll be together happily for a long, long time."
Horrifying words.
Reenlisting was bad enough, but living with Sergeant—no, Corporal Kim again? Insane.
Instead of a rifle, Byung-su got his frying pan as a personal weapon.
He was the only one issued old frog fatigues.
'You rat demon, dream fiend or whatever—when I get you, I'll chew you up.'
That first night of his second enlistment, Byung-su tossed and turned in rage before falling asleep.
Dead asleep, Corporal Kim kicked him awake.
"Lazy ass. First day, so I'll wake you. Grab your frying pan and come out. Guard duty at the ammo depot. Lots of snow. Gotta shovel at dawn too. Damn it! Snow in May?!"
Gripping his gear and pan, Byung-su followed the grumbling corporal out.
Midsummer outside, yet snow piled to his knees.
'Let's see what this dream's got. But where the hell is this Pan devil? Midsummer, and it's freezing?'
"Hey, slowpoke! Hurry to the ammo depot for guard duty. Move it!"
The corporal ahead turned, berating him.
His rifle looked menacing somehow.
Byung-su gripped his pan tight and ran, savoring its feel.
No boots issued, his slippers-wearing feet burned with cold.
Crunch, crunch—biting down, he trudged through snow in slippers after the corporal.
Seeing him keep up, Corporal Kim picked up the pace.
Thus, slipper-clad, they endlessly climbed the snowy mountain path.
'Snow in mid-May... Creative nightmare design. This Pan guy's imagination beats our KD Report's old maid editor Kim Cho-seon. But is he trying to freeze me to death? If push comes to shove, threaten Corporal Kim with the pan and snag his boots.'
Plotting clumsily to pan-threaten the armed corporal for boots, Byung-su clenched the handle hard.
Even without mastering Emel's qi, just flexing gathered it powerfully.
Byung-su sensed his changes a bit.
Deep night, but moonlight reflected off snow, brightening everything.
'If I don't catch Pan quick, I'll be shoveling snow at dawn. Gotta watch for him carefully.'
Normal guard duty used vehicles, but knowing this was Pan's nightmare, he scanned silently as they climbed.
Far off, by the knee-deep snowy path, a white figure.
Snow on a rock at first glance, but wind blew flakes, and it swayed.
Closer, its movements sharpened.
A long-haired woman in snow-white mourning clothes crouched by the path.
Snow hid most of her hair, but fierce wind flicked the tips.
How long there? Icicles hung from the ends.
Head lolled back under snow, rocking and humming—not ordinary.
Byung-su called to the corporal striding ahead.
"Corporal Kim! There's a woman sitting up ahead."
Kim stopped, peered, then turned casually.
"Back after ages, and your guts have shrunk? Nothing there. What're you seeing? Hurry up—we gotta relieve the guard!"
He flipped Byung-su the bird.
Teasing, then hurrying ahead again.
Kim acted calm, but his eyes wavered.
Striding after through snow, Byung-su stared at the woman.
Her humming grew louder.