Chapter 7: Shin On-yu-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 7: Shin On-yu-3
I closed the door and scoured every inch of the room.
From the closet to under the bed. Just in case, I even opened the window to check the surroundings.
Whether it was a stroke of luck or a curse, there was no sign of anyone.
No, it was a curse.
Because it meant I was effectively trapped in this room.
I pressed my ear against the door, monitoring the situation outside.
Thump, thump.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs. Cold sweat trickled down my jaw and onto my neck.
The fear blooming in my mind began to swell, assigning terrifying meaning to every trivial noise I had previously ignored.
Fear and imagination are a perfect match; together, they conjured a scenario where I was facing off against a vicious intruder through a locked door.
Was I just imagining things? Did I subconsciously throw away the triangle gimbap wrapper and then simply forget about it?
No. I distinctly remembered leaving it on the dining table.
Someone had definitely entered this house.
I didn't know if they were still here. No, the odds were high that they were.
I focused all my senses on my ears, straining to catch any movement outside.
No matter how still someone tries to be, a person usually gives off some kind of presence.
Hmm... maybe there’s no one there?
Part of me wanted to kick the door open, turn on every single light in the house, and scream my head off, but my feet refused to move.
'Fuck, fuck... why is this happening to me of all people...'
Someone, please help.
Then, a good idea struck me.
'I’ll call On-yu.'
If I told her I was scared or anxious, she would definitely come over, given her personality.
I didn't stop to consider what might happen if On-yu ran into the intruder.
Actually, it was more like I didn't care. I was the one who was terrified right now.
*
I picked up my phone and sent her a message.
The reply came almost as soon as I sent it.
She was quick on the uptake.
On-yu’s overprotectiveness really shone at times like this. Thanks to her, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
I asked out of politeness. I knew she wouldn't refuse.
Now, if there was someone in the house when On-yu entered, there would be some kind of noise.
Then I could catch the intruder with her. It would be two against one, so we could take them down.
Gaining courage from the fact that reinforcements were on the way, I finally managed to step away from the door.
It was only after I sat down in front of the glowing computer screen that I remembered downloading those Word files earlier.
"Let's see... the most recent one."
I opened the Word file with the latest date.
[Year XX, Month X, Day X]
Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me.
Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me.
"What... what is this...?"
The font was neat and orderly, but the content was anything but. Goosebumps broke out over my skin again.
Even as I scrolled through the pages, the same words repeated. The small scroll bar on the right indicated the sheer length of the document.
I spun the mouse wheel, descending further, but only the words "Don't look at me" filled the screen.
I grabbed the scroll bar and dragged it all the way to the bottom.
Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me. Don't look at me.
I told you not to look.
.
.
.
Shin On-yu.
Knock, knock.
I heard a tapping at the door.
"In-ho, I'm here. Open up."
A voice that usually made the listener feel good echoed from the other side of the door.
"Oh, hang on a sec."
"What? Were you watching porn or something?"
"No, I wasn't."
I deleted all the downloaded Word files and logged out of the cloud storage.
Trading banter with On-yu as she urged me to hurry up and open the door, I reached for the handle. But then, a sudden thought stopped me cold.
Wait, why didn't I hear the front door open?