Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Mountain Lodge Built on Dokkaebi Grounds (3)
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[Last night, my sister came into my room.
She stared down at me sleeping for a long time before leaving.
She knew I was pretending to sleep.
She's going to kill me.]
And apparently, there were no other notable notes even after flipping through several more pages.
Then, on the lunar calendar for the fifteenth of June, another note appeared.
[I locked the door and slept.
Every night, my sister stands in front of the door and leaves.
I have to kill her first.
But why does she keep reading my diary?
At some point, there's another presence in this house besides my sister and me.]
Gap-dol looked around and said, sounding pretty spooked.
"Man, it's cold in here. This woman's mind is seriously messed up."
That made them realize the notes scribbled on the calendar weren't just pranks.
After that, even flipping through the rest of the June calendar yielded no more notes, but on July fifth, another one popped up.
[My sister still comes every night, begging me to open the door.
Tomorrow, I need to dig up the yard.]
And the calendar entry for July eighth was the last note.
[Ever since I piled up those stones in the yard, she hasn't come.
Probably can't get out from under the stones.
There's no sister, no cat, but someone keeps peeking at my diary.]
That was the end of the notes on the calendar.
Byung-chul suddenly remembered the pile of stones in the yard.
The stones stacked along the mountain path leading to the lodge.
Those were stones that had been used as someone's grave marker.
Eul-dol asked Byung-chul,
"Hey! Was there a pile of stones in this house's yard?"
"There was..."
"It's not there now, though?"
"The stones stacked on the mountain path to the lodge... those are the ones."
"What? You saying that woman carried those huge rocks by herself and built a cairn?"
They'd see later, but those stones were massive.
Even two or three men would struggle to move them...
Then thunder crashed, and the living room's incandescent bulb went out.
Luckily, the fireplace light was there, so they huddled around it, but suddenly someone shouted,
"What are you doing here? You can't light fires in this house!"
The entrance sensor light flicked on, revealing an old man standing there.
He was incredibly tall and sturdy, his clothes worn but neat.
"I bought this lodge. Who are you, old timer, barging in? How'd you even get in?"
Byung-chul confronted him, and the old man just scratched his head and said,
"You're Kim (manager), the owner, huh. I was just crashing here since it was empty. Can't stay if the owner's back. Oh, but listen. I've been staying here a while, so here's some advice: no matter who it is, don't open the door for anyone. Someone went and cleared away that cairn for no reason. Anyway, I'm outta here."
Unlike when he'd entered, the old man opened the front door and left.
It was pouring rain like crazy, and he went out without an umbrella.
"Huh? That old man came in from outside, but he's not wet from the rain."
Gap-dol said it in a trembling voice, and everyone got scared.
The living room bulb was out, no spares, so they figured they'd head upstairs to sleep.
The pairs went into their rooms, but outside Gap-dol and Gap-sun's door, they heard Eul-sun's voice.
"What's going on?"
Gap-sun asked, and it said it had brought peeled fruit and to open the door.
Thinking Eul-sun couldn't open it with both hands on a tray, Gap-sun opened the door.
But instead of Eul-sun, some wild woman was standing there, a knife in one hand.
The knife hand flashed, and Gap-sun's head rolled off.
As the eerie woman stepped inside, startled Gap-dol jumped up from the bed and leaped out the window.
Plowing through the torrential rain, Gap-dol fled to the lower village.
Eul-dol was next door to Gap-dol's room, Byung-chul across the hall, so everyone could hear the noises from Gap-dol's room.
Eul-sun especially—after hearing her own voice in the hallway, then screams and breaking glass—must've been terrified.
They tried their cell phones, but no signal.
No cell towers back then, so phones didn't work there.
Byung-chul hurriedly locked his door when noises came from Eul-dol's room.
It was Gap-sun's voice.
"Please open the door. Someone's trying to hurt my brother."
"Eul-dol! Don't open it! That's not Gap-sun."
Byung-chul yelled, stopping him from opening, then Gap-sun's voice faded, and someone thudded deliberately toward Byung-chul's door.
It stood silently outside, then spoke in Gap-dol's voice.
"You heard everything, huh? So why aren't you coming out to help?"
"Oh, Gap-dol. I'm getting dressed right now. Give me a sec, and I'll come help."
Byung-chul was scared and just bluffed.
Then came Eul-sun's quivering voice.
"Oppa, Eul-dol oppa's acting weird. Please open the door."
It was definitely Eul-sun's voice.
"Byung-chul! Don't open it! Eul-sun's in the room with me!"
Eul-dol shouted desperately from his room.
"You all heard everything, didn't you."
This time it was a woman's voice, none they'd heard before—quite refined and calm.
And then, for a long while, nothing.
Byung-chul hesitated to open his door when suddenly it hit him.
No footsteps.
Right—the hallway was wooden flooring, but no footsteps.
It was still out there by the door.
Then someone came thundering up the stairs, yelling,
"You bastard! Still hanging around? Get lost! Beat it before I thrash you!"
It sounded like the old man's voice from the living room entrance.
A commotion erupted in the hallway, then the old man's voice again.
"Kim (manager)! Tonight, no matter who comes, don't open the door for anyone! They can't open it themselves, so if they beg, tell 'em to open it and come in on their own. Your friend's gone to the lower village for help— just sit tight."
Sure enough, about an hour later, Gap-dol returned with the police.
The blaring sirens and sounds of people coming up finally let them relax.
* * *
"The calendar we used for kindling—I found it by the upstairs bed while cleaning and kept it. That's why I know the contents so well. Still got it at home. Cops searched everywhere and missed it, but it jumped right out at me. Show it to you later if you're curious."
The old man handed Dong-jin the lodge keys and asked,
"So? Planning to stay at the lodge tonight?"
"No. It's getting dark, so I'll head there tomorrow."
Totally spooked, Dong-jin had no confidence in spending the night there.
"Smart. I don't believe in that stuff myself. Look at me... managed that lodge for over a decade, no problem. Oh, sure, only went daytime, except once at night with a foreign lady, but after that, headless houses started popping up in the upper village."
"Headless?"
Na-rae asked, startled, and the old man nodded.
"Murders happened. That's why everyone fled. This grandma's son and daughter-in-law lived in the upper village too, ditched their house and ran. Ask her for details later."
The old man's long tale ended as dusk fell.
* * *
Dong-jin and Na-rae decided to stay the night in the lower village.
Good for reporting, but zero desire to go up at night.
"We'll go together when the team leader arrives."
Dong-jin agreed instantly to Na-rae's suggestion.
The old shopkeeper's place had plenty of empty rooms, perfect for the night.
Na-rae and Dong-jin each took a room.
Na-rae wanted to ask the shop granny about the upper village incidents but saved it for tomorrow since it was dark and went to her room.
Alone in his room, Dong-jin couldn't sleep, haunted by the creepy stories from earlier.
Guess I'll grab some canned beer.
He threw on some clothes, went to the shop, bought six cans, and sat on the platform.
"Hey! Isn't that beer? Mind sharing a sip?"
Dong-jin had just cracked one and taken a refreshing swig when a burly middle-aged man—suddenly there—smacked his lips and spoke up.
"Here, have one."
Dong-jin handed over a can, and the man downed it in one go.
"Ahh! Refreshing. Beer's got that smooth finish. My health's been off lately—soju just doesn't appeal. Say, no squid?"
The man, having emptied the can in seconds, stuck out his hand for another while asking.
Chuckling at the guy's nerve, Dong-jin went back to the shop for squid and more cans.
Judging by his build, one or two wouldn't cut it.
Well, I'm wide awake anyway. Might as well have a drinking buddy.
Coming out with the beer, Dong-jin saw another person had joined.
Na-rae, apparently sleepless, sat on the platform sipping beer.
"Oh? Senior's here too? I came for drinks, and this ajusshi offered beer, so we're drinking buddies now. Super nice guy! Sit here, senior."
Wait, that's my beer, and he's taking credit? And Eun reporter drinks with just anyone? Trouble brewing.
Grumbling inwardly, Dong-jin sat by Na-rae and tore into the squid.
"When'd you come out? You can't just drink with strangers. What, you take food from any woman without fear?"
Dong-jin scolded sternly, and the man boomed a laugh, chiming in.
"Right! A grown lady's gotta be careful. Haha. But I'm not just anyone. Haha."
Dong-jin felt a bit sheepish at the man's hearty laugh.
Ignoring him, Na-rae asked the man,
"You've lived around here a long time, right ajusshi? Where's your house?"
Na-rae tore off some squid leg and handed it over, prompting a reply.
The man's face looked honest and kind as he took it.
"Yeah, across that river, by the bridge. My dad's wandering around everywhere these days. Not in the village now. When he was, he mostly lived at the lodge."
Dong-jin whipped his head to look at Na-rae, startled by the man's words.
Na-rae just kept chugging her beer casually, no reaction.
"Eun reporter, he says the lodge."
Dong-jin whispered, but she showed no surprise.
"Ajusshi, so you know all about the upper village, huh?"
"Sure do. Better than anyone but this granny and my dad. You bet!"
The man puffed up proudly.
Seemed like a point of pride.
As the man geared up to unload his tales, oblivious Dong-jin cut in.
"But why'd your dad live at the lodge?"
Dong-jin's interruption shifted the topic to the man's father.
"That spot where the lodge is? That's where my dad lived. Under that big tree—that's where he always napped. The Japanese built the lodge right there. Least they didn't cut the tree, but the young punks who took it over chopped it down, leaving dad no spot for naps."
The man seemed older than he looked as he spoke.
"Ungrateful brats! Still, they'd clean up now and then, so dad took pity on 'em."
The "young punks" were probably the lodge-managing old man and his cousin Byung-chul.
"Dad stories later. Tell us about the upper village first. Lower one's fine, but upper's a ghost town. What's the reason?"
Na-rae steered it back.
"This village is safe 'cause I guard the bridge every night."
The man pointed into the pitch-black darkness.
Invisible in the gloom, but a small bridge was there.
"That nagging wife begging at doors every night wrecked the upper village. I don't meddle in folks' business usually, but she's gone too far, so I chase her off. I guard that bridge—that's why the lower village is fine. All thanks to me."