SELA - 60

Ji-hyuk stared ahead, still pondering the dream for which he couldn’t find the cause or meaning. No matter how thoroughly he examined it, it was exactly the same. It was astonishing and absurd.

Leaning back in his seat, Ji-hyuk ran his fingers through his hair and scanned the surroundings. Then, his gaze stopped at a particular spot. In an instant, his face hardened menacingly.

“Huh? Hey, where are you going? Director! Director! It’s dangerous!”

It happened in a flash. Ji-hyuk opened the back door and got out of the car. Before anyone could stop him, he strode away, ignoring the traffic signals. As he weaved through the cars, horns began to blare from all directions. Honk, honk, honk! The harsh noise filled the surroundings.

Despite this, unlike Jin-ha, who was flustered and didn’t know what to do, Ji-hyuk continued on his way. He was already out of his mind. Loosening his suffocating tie, he quickened his already large strides, breaking into a run.

Soon, the traffic light changed, and people began crossing from the opposite side of the crosswalk. Ji-hyuk, crossing the intersection, ran straight towards “someone.” There was a man in the direction he was headed.

Can I really confirm this?

The very man he had seen in his dream.

The man, lost in the crowd, held his stomach and grinned widely. Ji-hyuk pushed through the people, approached him, and abruptly grabbed his collar.

“Who are you?”

The man, yanked up by his collar, dangled his legs in the air and gasped for breath. Even then, he lifted the corners of his mouth into a grin.

“Put... this... down... cough... please... cough... !”

Passersby glanced at them and moved away. Soon, the traffic light changed, and car horns began to blare again.

Ji-hyuk, glaring at the man until his eyes burned, threw him to the ground. The man, who landed on the ground with a thud, heaved his back. It was unclear whether he was laughing or crying.

“I’m asking you what you are.”

At Ji-hyuk’s murderous voice, the heaving intensified. Then, abruptly, the man tilted his head back and looked up. He was still grinning, as if he were having a great time. It seemed like saliva was about to drool from his mouth.

Cars zoomed past them, honking loudly. The man, with a smiling face, staggered to his feet. Then, swaying his hunched body, he approached Ji-hyuk.

Ji-hyuk stared down at him with cold eyes. The man met his cold gaze and finally opened his mouth.

“Long time no see, Shin Ji-hyuk?”

The car carrying Ji-hyuk and the man stopped in a nearby parking lot. Jin-ha, following Ji-hyuk’s instructions, got out of the car and waited outside.

Jin-ha’s phone had been ringing incessantly for a while. From company officials to engagement ceremony staff, Ji-hyuk’s relatives, and his parents, people desperately looking for Ji-hyuk, who hadn’t arrived at the engagement venue, kept calling.

“This is driving me crazy. What should I do?”

Checking the time, he saw that the engagement ceremony was about to begin. The venue must be in chaos.

Glancing back, Jin-ha frowned at his reflection in the darkly tinted window. He couldn’t tell what was happening inside. He wanted to open the door and ask what was going on and tell them he was going crazy from all the calls, but he held back. He remembered Ji-hyuk’s murderous expression on the road earlier.

Clicking his tongue, Jin-ha silenced the constantly ringing phone and sighed deeply. This was all he could do.

He cautiously glanced around and took out a cigarette from his pocket. He didn’t light it, but chewed on the filter for comfort. His mouth tasted bitter, whether from the cigarette or his uneasy feelings.

“Was that really what you wanted?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m asking if you’re enjoying your trip.”

Ji-hyuk and the man, sitting side by side in the back seat, looked at each other. The man asked him, his eyes sparkling as if he were expecting something.

“Stop talking nonsense and answer my question.”

“...”

“What are you?”

“Ah, how boring.”

The man pouted like a sulking child and sank into the seat. Disappointment was evident in his tone.

“You’re the one who called me.”

“Me? I called you?”

“Yes. You called me more desperately than anyone else in the world. I even heard your voice from ‘that place’ and came to see you.”

Ji-hyuk replied with an indifferent expression at the man’s nonchalant explanation.

“I don’t know who you are. So I never called you.”

“Denying it? Well, it’s natural that you don’t remember now.”

“What do you mean by ‘don’t remember’?”

“Just what I said.”

The man grinned and pointed at Ji-hyuk’s head.

“You don’t know a lot, do you?”

Ji-hyuk, who had been staring coldly, smacked the man’s hand away.

“Speak plainly, now.”

Despite Ji-hyuk’s imposing attitude, the man hummed a tune, doing his own thing. Ji-hyuk, who had been watching him quietly, grabbed his collar and pulled him closer.

“I’m not in my right mind right now. I’m about to lose it, so tell me nicely.”

“Oh, okay, okay. I guess I have to.”

The man lowered his eyes and replied. But only for a moment. Suddenly, the man’s eyes widened, and they were strangely eerie. His pupils were unusually large, and his irises were small. Ji-hyuk, facing those black eyes up close, felt a chill run down his neck.

“Shin Ji-hyuk.”

“How do you know my name...”

This time, the man grabbed Ji-hyuk’s chin. His dry hand had an unbelievably strong grip, and he couldn’t easily break free.

“Look at me. What do you see?”

“What are you...”

The man brought his face closer, and black flames flickered in his large pupils. In that instant, Ji-hyuk’s mind became hazy and dizzy, as if he were hypnotized. Even though his eyes were open, he saw something overlapping in front of him.

It was like watching a movie. He watched the rapidly overlapping images, like a fast-forwarded film, without blinking. Soon, he realized they were his own life. He was born, grew up, went to school, became an adult, loved, and finally faced death. Sa-hee was there.

He and Sa-hee loved each other. They promised each other a lifetime together and got married. And a week later. It was only a week later. She died in a collapse accident. He lost Sa-hee, his lover and wife, so futilely, without being able to do anything. In an instant, Ji-hyuk lost the purpose, goal, and meaning of his life. He couldn’t find any value in living anymore.

A month after she left, on an ordinary night, like any other, Ji-hyuk’s car plunged into a reservoir. That was the end. That memory was the last one before the man released his chin. Ji-hyuk slumped back into his seat, drained of strength.

A hollow laugh escaped him. A single tear streamed down his unblinking eyes.

He had finally met Sa-hee, whom he had desperately searched for, but he had sent her away again. He was about to get engaged to someone else. He couldn’t believe his own foolish choices and mistakes. He felt like killing himself from disbelief.

“It really turned out as you said.”

“I don’t lie. I just like to joke.”

“Joke? So you erased my memories?”

“That was a kind of trade. I granted your wish, didn’t I? So I should get something in return. Like... precious memories.”

Ji-hyuk, still leaning back in the seat and only turning his head, looked at the man and asked.

“What are you?”

His eyes, though weak, were still fiercely alive. The man found that amusing and smiled. That last flicker of spirit that wouldn’t give up.

“Ah, boring. So boring.”

The man shook his head and sank into the car seat as well.

“Is that so important? What’s important is that I granted your wish. And that your memories have all returned now.”

“You’re not a god. A god wouldn’t play such childish tricks.”

The man stared at Ji-hyuk and then chuckled.

“I find that old man interesting. But he probably doesn’t like me. I don’t listen to him.”

The man, whispering as if delivering important information, chuckled again. Ji-hyuk felt disgusted for some reason, but he deliberately didn’t react. He knew the man was enjoying his reaction.

When Ji-hyuk stared at him with an intentionally blank expression, the man frowned.

“You’re such a boring person.”

“Thank you for noticing.”

The man, who had been glaring at him, lifted the corners of his mouth as if something had occurred to him.

“Then how about this? How was it to meet that woman again? You know, the one who got crushed under the collapsed building.”

The man asked, imitating the act of slitting his throat. Ji-hyuk couldn’t help but be shaken by the mention of Sa-hee.