Netherworld Market (3)
I walked along, staring only at the trading partner's broad back.
I had no choice.
The street grew stranger the further we pushed through the crowd.
The entrance had looked like any ordinary Seoul alleyway.
Something's off.
A taxi sped past us. It was definitely a taxi.
But it wasn't. My head prickled. The shape was right, the movements too.
It's wrong.
But it wasn't a taxi. That's just how it felt.
Shadows brushed by.
A sense of wrongness crept in.
For real...
The 'people' filling the street. They weren't people either.
I hate this.
Shadows brushed by again.
It was instinct, probably.
Nothing here was normal. The normalcy was just skin-deep.
Corpses hung from signposts, bloodstains smeared the pavement, writhing flesh lumps squirmed inside shops.
And worst of all, eyes from the sewers below.
Bloodshot whites and pupils deeper than darkness.
Staring right at us.
"You shouldn't look too much?"
Silence. The street froze. Snapping back to reality, I saw the trading partner looking at me.
"You'll get sucked in."
I wished he'd explain what exactly gets sucked into what.
"Curious? Better not to be."
...So he said.
"Just follow my back?"
He whispered in that in that weird cadence. I nodded firmly, vowing to do exactly that.
And soon enough.
We arrived safely at the destination. An old shop tucked in a dingy corner of the street.
No writing on the sign. But it wasn't blank.
...A drawing.
A childlike scribble adorned the sign.
Crooked crayon strokes that, if you were generous, might pass for a witch's hat and some pills.
Oh, and a cross. Or was that a plus sign?
Hard to tell. If it meant pharmacy, cross. Otherwise, some symbol I didn't know.
[Childish scribble: Witch hat, pills, + sign]
"Come in?"
Still in that odd tone, like what are you waiting for, open the door.
Should I go in?
This was suspicious as hell.
Time to fish for info.
"Um..."
The moment I opened my mouth, he pointed at the briefcase in my hand.
What to say? It held fifty million won in cash.
"Not doing it?"
His face was hidden under the deep hood, but I was sure he scowled.
"Going back?"
His index finger shifted, pointing down the street now.
I turned. The street was even weirder than before.
Like that wall smeared with red handprints, for instance.
"...Shall we go in?"
I asked meekly. He nodded like it was obvious.
More normal than I expected.
The shop belonging to this ambiguous human-or-not was more ordinary than I'd thought.
A pharmacy, for example.
Faint medicinal smell wafted through. Unknown pills lined the shelves.
Guess the cross meant pharmacy.
"Wait?"
The trading partner said it in his usual weird way. His finger pointed to the waiting area.
"...When will the medicine be...?"
"Making it?"
"You're making it?"
He shrugged. Then pulled a paper from his pocket. Scribbled crookedly on it:
Leave medicine to the pharmacist.
That was the whole explanation.
I didn't press for more details.
No point. Conversation wasn't happening.
What a dawn this turned into.
I sighed inwardly and sat down. He nodded again and vanished behind the compounding room counter.
And that's when it hit.
The medicinal smell stabbed my nose.
Bubbling sounds rose.
Chop, chop— cleaver noises.
Clatter, clatter. The counter shook. Jerk, jerk— shelves twitched.
What the hell...!
I lurched to my feet. Thud—! A handprint smeared the pharmacy's glass window. Thud! Thud! Thud! Outside was blood-red. Danger at a glance.
Couldn't leave.
No one warned me about this!
Netherworld Market or whatever, wasn't it just for humans?
Team Leader Ham said...
That's when it happened. A breath whispered in my ear.
"You'll escape being human. You'll escape being human. You'll escape being human..."
Dead Team Leader Kang's voice. I jumped, looking around.
No one there. Just twitching shelves, jiggling counter legs, and sobbing chairs!
"Escape being human? Escape being human? Escape being human?"
The breath in my ear was now the trading partner's voice.
Stop being human?
Wait.
I get it!
Not just company employees become non-human. Freelancers, other BIG3 folks too...
The longer you deal with anomalies, the less human you get!
Wait, but that wasn't the point right now...
That's when it struck.
Thud!
The sobbing chair kicked my Achilles.
"Gah!"
I yelped and toppled onto the chair. As I tried to rise, it swung a leg, binding my ankle.
Can't move?
Trapped. The chair knew it. The sobs quieted.
"...Ah."
Terrifying. Truly losing my mind.
And the scarier thing happened right after.
Cackle cackle cackle—!
Toad's shit, lizard's eyes, chick's wing from a dead egg!
Good potions don't come from there!
Root of hemlock, beard of woman, cat's footfall, bird's spittle!
Good potions don't come from there!
Fishy breath, bear's tendon—!
Yeah, good potions don't come from there!
A shadow rose behind the compounding room curtain with the nasty old hag's wicked voice.
Black. Witch hat. Hooked nose with a huge wart.
She dumped filthy ingredients from her bosom into the cauldron again, stirring the bubbling brew with a thick ladle.
Cackle cackle cackle—! The evil laughter filled the pharmacy.
Shelves danced tight, counter bucked and sang, chairs sobbed and shook.
And...
Ding—!
A clear bell rang. All sounds vanished.
I panted, looking around.
No anomalies anywhere. Counter, chairs, shelves, even the handprints on the glass— gone.
The witch emerged from the compounding room. Tottering steps. Exhausted, sweat-drenched, I stared at her.
"What's wrong?"
She tilted her head. Gestured me over. I shakily rose and approached the counter. She thrust out her hand.
"Done?"
A medicine packet. Scribbled on the front in crayon: Plan Y.
[Crooked crayon label]
"Need dosage instructions?"
"...Yes."
"Anytime, before or after meals? No effect on any disease?"
She tapped the packet with her sleeve-hidden hand.
"Side effect: death? Revive in three days."
She nodded like it was obvious.
...Absurd.
"That's it?"
"Need more?"
The witch tilted her head. Like I said I'd buy, now you're picky?
"..."
Nothing to say. I carefully took the packet.
"Pay? Heavy?"
The witch reached out. Money time.
Feels like I'm doing something insane...
Shoving aside the unease, I handed over the fifty million in the briefcase.
The witch hoisted the case high, spinning in delight.
"Money? Pay taxes? Rent? Tribute?"
She spun and jumped. Pure joy.
I'd probably do the same for fifty mil on one pill.
"Oops! Forgot to check? Almost scammed again?"
She stopped spinning, stared at me intently.
Now what...
She handed back the case, mimed opening it.
"Open it?"
Nod nod.
...I opened it. Stacked fifty-thousand-won bills, not much volume.
Her eyes gleamed under the hood. She snatched it, tilted her head, and...
What the hell!
Poured the money into her hood. Fifty million gone in seconds.
"Tasty?"
She mumbled, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and offered the empty case.
I took it numbly. She spoke again.
"Company taste? Big Three?"
Mirae Co., Ltd. employee? I nodded.
"Yeah, well..."
"Want steady trade? Good at potions. Last company tasted good too?"
"Pardon?"
Company taste?
Traded with someone else from the company?
I stammered in shock. The witch pitched herself.
"Bosses and buyers both thrilled? Good payer, businessman?"
That wasn't the point.
"No, wait... You traded with another company person before?"
"Tell and steady trade?"
She pulled a glass jar from under the counter. A smirking human lip floated in mystery liquid.
"Selling this? Great effect? Clears inventory?"
Clearance sale!
Not interested!
"No more medicine. Tell me about the company person..."
Her arm drooped. The jar slipped from her sleeve, shattered.
"No trade?"
Crash—! The freed lip grinned and floated up. But her eyes stayed fixed on me.
"Trade? No? Really?"
Bad kids get baked and eaten. One lip whispered in my ear.
...
I blurted desperately.
"I'd love steady trade with a pharmacist selling such fine goods, but the location's too rough, right?"
"..."
"Every trip's nerve-wracking. So, uh, different meetup spot, and I'd buy tons more."
"...?"
"You know, change the rendezvous point."
Businessman's killer move: Business talk!
Convey regret, hint at issues, propose alternative!
Tongue, save me!
"..."
Working...?
Tilt. She cocked her head. Tilt. The other way.
Tilt tilt, then she beckoned.
Leaned in for a whisper.
"Not company?"
"No, not."
"Corrupt econ bigwig?"
"..."
"Internet trade? Risk illegal?"
Atmosphere said nod or else.
"Really?"
Nod. She patted my cheek with her sleeve.
"Take this?"
She pulled a business card from her bosom. Scribbled in crayon:
Secret online trade? Violates pharma laws? Busted by bosses, shutdown. Waaah? She whispered shady-like.
"Uh, yeah?"
"Connect? Sell potions? Internet trade?"
...Apparently. I took the card with both hands, pretended to check, then offered mine.
Business habit. She glanced, tucked it under the counter.
"Like good trades?"
"Yeah."
She yawned.
"Go home now?"
"...Pardon?"
Longer yawn, head jerk to door.
OPEN: 04:44 CLOSE: 04:45
Wall clock neared 4:45 a.m.
Time's up.
"Wait, the company person you traded with...!"
"Night sunglasses, longcoat, surprisingly good figure."
She muttered fast, annoyed. And I knew one person matching that.
Department Head Kang Mi-young!
She was alive?
No, wait. Maybe pre-death trade.
"Th-that person, when did they...?"
"Closing time?"
I glanced at the clock. 4:45 a.m.
Timeout.
The witch yawned loooong— ah— ah— ah— phoo— um—.
"Go home?"
Drowsy voice. Shoving hand on back. Street. Dawn's light.
"...Did they come?"
No answer.
Sky was navy. Morning chill bit my bones.
Outside.
Precisely, the alley mouth where I'd entered via Jalmangmaero.
Looked back. Clear entrance before, now blocked by a ruined wall.
"Ah."
Yeah.
I'd been booted before I could finish.