Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Close the Window, Mister! (2)
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Upon closer inspection, she had a pretty face, was a bit tall, and looked remarkably youthful.
"She looks like a student. Why's she standing there this time of night?"
Her youthful face made her seem like a high schooler, but her long hair and slender figure gave her a mature air as well.
In truth, Dong-jin, now in his mid-thirties, had zero skill at guessing women's ages.
One thing was clear: he'd never seen her before.
No way he'd forget a woman with long hair cascading down to her waist and that slim build.
Judging by the black plastic bag, short shorts, and three-stripe slippers, she probably lived nearby.
'What’s her deal? Rapunzel? That hairstyle is no joke. Gotta be careful not to let her hair clog the toilet. But is she looking at me? My room? Or something else?'
Her stare was so piercing that he averted his eyes back to the monitor screen for no reason.
Dong-jin was all bravado and zero guts.
Thud!
Something collided with the outer wall of his one-room apartment.
"What was that?"
Dong-jin just turned his head toward the window where the sound came from and peered out.
Even after all this time, the long-haired woman was still standing under the streetlamp.
He checked the time on his phone: 1:30 a.m.
She'd been standing there for over an hour, and it didn't look like she was waiting for anyone.
"What the hell? Creepy. Why isn't she going home? Runaway?"
He felt a chill, but curiosity about her won out.
She didn't seem dangerous, so Dong-jin stared straight at her.
Suddenly, the woman pulled something from the black plastic bag and hurled it at him.
Thud!
That explained the earlier sound against the outer wall.
'No way—that woman!'
Guts or no guts, he couldn't just sit there.
"Hey! What the hell are you throwing?"
He yelled at her, equal parts baffled and unafraid.
The woman ignored his shout.
She pulled something else from the bag and threw it again.
Thud!
The sound hit right below the window on the outer wall.
She was clearly aiming for the wall under his window.
"Hey! Stop throwing stuff! Get lost! Go away! I'm a scary guy!"
He bluffed wildly, but she barely reacted.
Instead, she glared at him even fiercer and bellowed back.
"Close the window, mister!"
As he blinked in confusion, she threw again.
This time, straight at him.
It nailed him right on the forehead.
Splat!
It burst against his forehead with a gross sound.
Something sticky and slimy oozed down his face from the impact spot.
It didn't hurt, but it was absurd.
The stuff dripping from his forehead reeked horribly—slimy, sticky, and utterly disgusting.
He touched it: eggshell.
And the stench was brutal.
She'd thrown a rotten egg at him.
"Hey! You, miss, what the hell? Stop it! Just go home!"
His words mixed casual and polite in his rage.
Furious, he yelled and pretended like he was about to charge out the window.
She saw through the empty threat and yelled even louder.
"Close the window!"
Like a thief picking a fight, the culprit who started it all flew into a tantrum and chucked another rotten egg.
'Oh, for real.'
Startled, Dong-jin slammed the window shut.
The rotten egg hit the glass with a splat and burst.
Seeing the yolk slide down the window enraged him further.
Too scared of getting egged again to open it, he just stared.
She threw another.
This one hit the outer wall and burst.
'Guess she's a psycho despite looking normal.'
Dong-jin thought about opening the door, storming out, and grabbing her.
'Why tell me to close the window? What business is it of hers if I leave it open? Whatever—I'll catch her and ask.'
As he headed out, he realized he was still in his underwear, pants off.
He fumbled into his pants and made for the door, but something felt off.
'Is she mad because I'm in my underwear? Nah, she threw the first ones at the wall below. What's down there? A rat? Cat? Not a burglar.'
Dong-jin approached the window to check her out.
After he closed it, she'd thrown once more and stopped.
Now she just glared into his room, doing nothing else.
"What's going on?"
Wondering what was under the window, he craned his neck to look.
It was too dark, and with the window closed, he couldn't see.
He dragged a chair over to the window.
The long-haired woman was still there.
From atop the chair, he'd get the angle to see below.
As Dong-jin started to climb up—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone was pounding on his apartment door.
The woman was still outside.
'What? She's still there. Who's knocking? Her friend? Seemed like she was alone.'
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It came again.
'Team Leader would just punch in the code. Who is it?'
Curious, Dong-jin climbed down to open the door.
As he awkwardly dismounted, he glanced at the woman.
She was shouting something at him.
With the window closed, he couldn't hear clearly, but her lips clearly formed "No!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She kept yelling at him while someone kept pounding the door.
Dong-jin focused on the door noise, thinking.
'That's not a normal knock. A normal person would ring the bell this late, not bang. It's more like something slamming into the door.'
The woman outside kept shouting at him.
* * *
Dong-jin nodded at the woman to show he'd figured it out.
She stopped yelling.
He nodded again to reassure her, then climbed down.
He went to the wall-mounted intercom and turned on the front door monitor.
Nothing showed on the screen.
'Huh? No one's there. Then who knocked?'
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The slamming continued.
But the monitor was empty.
'In a blind spot.'
Something—intentionally or not—was banging the door from a camera blind spot.
'The spot under the window was a blind spot too.'
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The noise irritated him.
"Who's banging on doors in the middle of the night, making all this racket?"
He yelled loud enough for it to carry outside.
Scared as he was, he crept to the door and undid the lock.
Beep.
The lock disengaged, breaking the silence.
"If I catch whoever it is!"
He shouted big and turned the handle.
That instant—
Bang!
Something slammed the door again.
'I unlocked it, even started opening... and it's still slamming. Something's wrong.'
Dong-jin stopped turning the handle and quietly backed away.
Beep.
After a bit, it auto-locked.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It slammed even while locking.
Terrified, Dong-jin called Byung-su again.
It was just past 2 a.m.
This time, Byung-su picked up after three rings.
"What're you doing? You said you were coming—now you're not? Why?"
—Yeah, Sang-in was going on and on with excuses... Took forever listening. Swore he'd never betray us again, total drama queen. He was wasted, so I'm dropping him off in a cab... Mind if I swing by now? You still up?
"Hurry. It's creepy. Call before you come in. Something's outside the door."
—Something at the door? Package? Grab it?
'Clueless team leader...'
"If it was a package, I'd have it already. Sigh. Something's banging the door, but it doesn't show on the monitor. Weird vibe—call before entering."
—Just open if someone knocks. Oh, that sound. I'm almost there. Open when I call. Sounds like a weirdo banging at this hour. Cabby's here—wait. Close by.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The slamming continued during the call.
Byung-su must have heard it too.
Dong-jin relaxed a bit knowing he was coming soon.
Tension gone, his legs felt weak.
He wobbled to the bed and sat.
Scraaatch—scraaatch—
Now something scraped the outer wall below the window.
He went to the window and looked down.
Something was definitely scraping, but nothing visible.
Scraaatch—scraaatch—
Just the scraping sound.
Door: slamming.
Wall: scraping.
Dong-jin felt like he was going insane.
Thud!
Another egg hit the outer wall.
The scraping stopped.
Outside, the woman across the street stared below his window.
She must have thrown a rotten egg at whatever was scraping.
She was definitely helping him.
'Damn, great aim. Who is she?'
Impressed, he backed from the window and returned to bed.
His eye caught the knife on the desk.
He remembered its sharp blade.
'Yeah, might need a weapon.'
Thinking it could help, he tucked it in his back pocket.
His phone rang: Byung-su.
—It's me, just getting out of the cab to head in. Yeah, hearing that banging. I'll call when I'm at the door—run out and we'll grab it together. Whoa, still drunk.
His tongue was slurred from the booze.
Dong-jin suddenly worried it might be too much for a drunk Byung-su and him alone.
"Team Leader, wait. This seems dangerous. Just us..."
—What're you talking about? What else we gonna do? I'm here. Thanks to this snake thing's front paw, I'm super strong. Don't worry!
Byung-su's voice now echoed from outside too—he was really close.
No choice, Dong-jin crept to the door and braced himself.
'Did I call him for nothing?'
Still, couldn't leave a drunk Byung-su out there alone.
—Huh? Park, don't... don't open the door!
Byung-su's trembling voice came through the phone.
—Argh!
Then a sharp scream from outside.
Followed by a thud as he fell.
"Team Leader! What happened?"
No time to hesitate.
Dong-jin frantically unlocked and burst out the door.
Byung-su lay collapsed outside.
On the floor, he stared blankly at the ceiling without a word.
His face twisted in agony or terror—it was horrifying.
His gaze pointed straight above the apartment door.
Right over Dong-jin's head.
Dong-jin followed his eyes and looked up.
Instantly, slimy liquid reeking foully poured down onto his face.
Eggshell floated in the goo.
Definitely the egg from the woman outside.
She'd thrown it at this thing too, just like with him.
Dong-jin wiped his face and looked up again.
A ragged-clothed monster woman clung to the ceiling, limbs splayed.
Meeting Dong-jin's eyes, she suddenly snapped her neck to peer down at him.
Her ashen, rough face had torn lips revealing yellow teeth.
Empty sockets gaped where eyes should be, and rotten egg yolk dripped from her long hair.
She'd taken quite a few hits.
'Can a living person's neck twist like that?'
The surreal sight left Dong-jin dazed; he couldn't even scream, just stared.
Even then, her hand crept toward his face.
Despite the bony hand descending, his foggy mind kept him frozen.
He just gawked at the ceiling-clinging monster twisting her neck down.
Hollow eye sockets, exposed teeth from ripped lips.
It felt like a dream.
Her hand neared, claws reaching for his head.
Blood oozed from nail-less fingertips.
The drunk Byung-su staggered up and yanked Dong-jin away.
"Snap out of it, Park!"
Only then did Dong-jin come to his senses.