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Chapter 6
“Uh, what is this?”
As soon as he opened the door, what he saw were bookshelves. Three large bookshelves were lined up in a row. These were things he had never seen before in the country house.
“Right, this is the room Grandfather locked up, telling me never to enter.”
Cough!
Similarly, the room was filled with dust because it hadn’t been ventilated. When he turned his gaze to the wall to open a window…
“Huh? Only this room has no windows?”
Houses built in the old days usually have many windows. Back then, air conditioning wasn’t widely available. Because of the “room within a room” structure, windows were usually made for ventilation. But this room uniquely had none. There were honestly just three large bookshelves lined up.
“…That’s strange.”
Something felt off.
“I can faintly hear the sound of wind…?”
Whirrr!
He could hear the sound of wind escaping through a narrow gap.
Where was that sound coming from? With that thought, he took out three wet wipes from his side-bag, covered his mouth and nose, and closed the room door.
Then, tap tap! He brushed the dust off the top of the bookshelf with his hand.
Poof!
As if a dragon were breathing fire, the dust exploded outward.
“Gasp!”
Realizing that even wet wipes couldn’t block this, he held his breath. Ugh! But he hadn’t considered the dust getting into his eyes. He hurriedly closed his eyes and wiped away the dust stuck to his eyelids. Fortunately, it wasn’t painful enough to make him collapse, but he received such a shower of dust that tears welled up in his eyes.
“As I thought… there’s something here.”
Even though the door was closed, he could hear the faint sound of wind. The dust flickered slightly along with the breeze. It seemed there was something behind the bookshelf.
“Grandfather, I’m sorry. I’ll move this for now.”
All the books on the shelves had covers on them. That’s how much his grandfather must have cherished them. He felt a sense of guilt for touching them. Worried that Grandfather might appear in his dreams to scold him, he offered a silent apology.
Ugh!
He closed his eyes for a moment and offered a prayer to his grandfather. Then, he immediately moved the bookshelf.
Grrrrk!
The bookshelf was heavy, filled with books. However, having worked all sorts of jobs in factories, he didn’t lack the strength. He was only afraid that the old bookshelf might break.
“Hnngh!”
Scrape!
The bookshelf scratched the wooden floor.
‘I definitely shouldn’t walk here barefoot…!’
Just like the wooden floors in school back in elementary days, if he walked barefoot, he might end up with a splinter in his toe.
As he applied enough pressure, the bookshelf slid away.
Huff, huff.
Wiping off the dust-covered sweat with a wet wipe, he looked at the wall. But, wait?
“What? There’s no window on the wall.”
Strange. There was definitely a breeze blowing…
“What? This house had a basement?”
What is it? Looking at the floor with that thought, he saw a door leading to a basement. What on earth was down there that it was blocked by a bookshelf? He was incredibly curious.
Ugh!
Unfortunately, only half of it was visible, so he moved the adjacent bookshelf as well. Finally, the door to the basement was revealed.
That door wasn’t made of the same wood as the floor. It was a steel door covered in strangely alien patterns. And just like the dust had flickered earlier, he felt a faint breeze.
“Sigh, I hope it’s not a bug hell.”
Since it was an old house and hadn’t been maintained, he worried that bugs might swarm out when he opened the door. Inhale, exhale, cough! Forgetting about the dust, he took a deep breath and his throat got itchy, making him cough. At the same time, he applied strength to his hand that was gripping the handle.
“Huh? Whoa?!”
Suddenly, the door gave way, and Yoon Yeon-woo fell inside. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like a door you were supposed to pull open…!
Thud!
Yeon-woo fell. He came to his senses along with the sound of his body hitting the floor.
Ugh!
His elbow stung from the impact of the fall. Fortunately, however, he didn’t feel any pain in his face or head.
‘This place is…’
He quickly looked around. A very large door, looking like the entrance to a boss room in a game, caught his eye. The patterns on that door were very similar to the ones on the door he had just pushed. He looked up.
“What in the world…”
If he had fallen, there should be an entrance above him. But there was nothing on the ceiling. It was a space he had never seen before.
Hummmm—!
The door vibrated with a low sound.
“Does it want me to open it…?”
Hummmm—!
As if answering his words, the door began to vibrate even more violently.
Dammit, what should I do? Looking around, there was no space to escape. He tried digging the ground with his hands, but the floor wasn’t ordinary dirt. In the end, there were only two choices.
Open that door and go out.
Or stay here without opening it and starve to death.
There were only those two options.
‘I’ll have to open it first.’
A room he couldn’t leave unless he opened the door. It couldn’t be helped. Yoon Yeon-woo placed his hand on the door handle. Just as his skin touched it.
— “Welcome to the Spirit Realm.”
He heard a familiar voice.
[The Spirit Realm, which has been disconnected for decades, is once again connected to the real world.]
[The spirits can now return to their rightful places.]
Along with a voice he was hearing for the first time, a bright light spread before Yeon-woo’s eyes. The light was incredibly bright but didn’t hurt his eyes. For some reason, it felt very warm and soft. At the same time, it felt… familiar.
[The person you are calling is in an area where they cannot receive calls or the power is turned off…]
“What?”
Jang Hoe-cheon tilted his head when Yoon Yeon-woo didn’t answer the phone.
“Where on earth is he and what is he doing that he’s in a ‘no service’ area?”
No matter how rural Haenam is, there are almost no areas where calls don’t connect. Unless he took his phone underwater or went into a cave, that shouldn’t happen. Or maybe he’s taking a nap without knowing his phone died?
“I was going to ask him to grab lunch together for the first time in a while.”
A new tonkatsu place had opened a few days ago, and he wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, Yoon Yeon-woo didn’t answer. Well, nothing to be done; he’d have to go and eat alone.
Tinkle!
Just as he put on his clothes and grabbed his car keys to leave, the hair salon door opened and a customer walked in.
“Hey, Oppa. Hi.”
“Oh, it’s Yuna?”
A woman whose hair was a mess, as if she had just woken up and come straight there. Jo Yuna waved her hand and greeted Jang Hoe-cheon.
“What? Why did you come down? Did you quit your job and come down too?”
“Huh? Yeah, why. Is there another Oppa who came down besides me?”
Jo Yuna is Jo Hyun-jun’s younger sister. That’s why they had been close since they were kids.
“Wait, it’s not Yeon-woo Oppa who came down, is it? Out of all your friends, Yeon-woo Oppa was the only one who stayed up north.”
“Yeah, that’s right. He said he’s going to live in Haenam now.”
“What?! Why are you only telling me this now? I’m so glad I came down!”
Jo Yuna smiled brightly at the news that Yoon Yeon-woo had returned.
“Where is he? At home? I should go see him right away.”
Jang Hoe-cheon grabbed Jo Yuna as she suddenly rolled up her sleeves to head out.
“You’re going with that hair?”
“Huh? Ah… is this hair a bit much?”
Her hair was a complete mess. Jang Hoe-cheon burst out laughing at the charismatic hairstyle that looked like a male lion’s mane. He couldn’t help but laugh at her appearance, which was more like a boy than a girl.
“Are you a lion? Yeon-woo might have a heart attack seeing you.”
“Hey, well… I still have good looks. Wouldn’t this hair be okay?”
“Good grief.”
“What’s with that reaction?”
Jo Yuna frowned.
“Anyway, get it trimmed before you go. Oh, and Yeon-woo isn’t answering his phone. You won’t see him even if you go now.”
“Really? Hmm, then it’s fine to get it trimmed first. It’s not like it’s an emergency.”
Jo Yuna naturally sat in the salon chair. Jang Hoe-cheon adjusted the height, raising Jo Yuna to the top of the chair.
“Oppa, you should decrease your height. Aren’t you too big? My feet don’t even touch the ground. And what’s with that hair color? Did you eat someone’s liver?” (Note: a joke about looking like a gumiho/fox)
“Then you should have grown more. You’re not even 150cm.”
“What?! I’m 152cm!!”
And so, the two began to bicker just like the old days.
“You really haven’t changed a bit since you were little.”
“What? Surely you aren’t talking about my height?”
“The height too, but your personality is so rough. Sometimes you seem like a real ‘tough guy’.”
“It’s because I grew up playing with you Oppas. Sometimes when I’m on the second floor, I think if I just do a landing roll, I’ll survive the jump.”
Recently, terms like “Egen-nyeo” or “Teto-nyeo” (Note: slang for certain aesthetics/vibes) were popular; Jo Yuna was like a “Teto-nyeo.” At the same time, her looks were pretty enough to rival an idol.
Even Jang Hoe-cheon, who had attended hair school in the city and worked in shops for years, considered looks like Jo Yuna‘s to be rare. Although it was her own choice to cancel out that advantage with her “tough guy” personality.
“So, why did you come?”
Swish, swish. He brushed through her hair. The hair followed the comb in long lines. Contrary to his large, thug-like build, Jang Hoe-cheon’s touch was incredibly gentle. Feeling that touch, Jo Yuna smiled.
“I wanted to rest a bit, and remember how we used to be in a band together? I missed that. So I thought I’d try singing again after a long time… maybe start a ‘YouTube’ with it?”
“What would you have done if Yeon-woo hadn’t come down?”
A band needs many things like drums and guitars, but the most important thing was a vocal. The one who did the vocals was Yoon Yeon-woo. He was the best singer among them. Jo Hyun-jun did sub-vocals, but he seemed very busy lately.
“But I don’t know if he’ll do it. The band wasn’t exactly something Yeon-woo desperately wanted to do. In the end, Yeon-woo left the band, and we haven’t gathered as a band since then because of various life events.”
Yoon Yeon-woo was a guy who was both fascinating and a bit pitiful. Usually, by high school, people have some outline of their dreams or what they want to do. But he had nothing. He just did things because his friends asked him to.
“Hmm, that’s true. If it doesn’t work out, well, I’ll have to sing.”
“There are no vocal academies around here, punk. Are you planning to explode our ears? Hey, you need to do your roots too.”
“Really? Then do them.”
Black hair had grown in significantly under her blonde hair. For a girl who always maintained her looks even when busy, she must have been going through a lot to neglect what she liked.
“I guess you had a hard time too?”
“Can you tell? It was a bit tough. That damn manager bastard…!”
At Jang Hoe-cheon’s words, a dam seemed to burst, and all sorts of curses poured out. Deep profanities that made his ears feel like they were bleeding. He listened to all of it, cursing along with her, while trimming Jo Yuna’s hair.
***
While his friends were worrying about him, Yoon Yeon-woo couldn’t help but doubt his own eyes.
— “Woong~. It’s Yeon-woo~! Yeon-woo!”
— “It’s Yeon-woo-ham! Just like Yeon-nim said, Yeon-woo came-ham!”
This was because, upon opening the door with the strange patterns, the scene he had seen in his dream unfolded right before him.
