The Territory Where the Dead Wander

Minta was the first to get tired.

“Huff, huff, ah, was Dongjun always this fast?”

Jaeyoung was panting too as he wiped the sweat beading on his forehead.

Even though it was the dead of winter, he could feel his whole body growing damp with sweat.

“Maybe it’s because she grew up running around in the countryside? Layoon’s stamina is no joke.”

Jaeyoung’s expression hardened further.

The image of Layoon as seen from the terrace flashed through his mind.

“Let’s hurry and find them.”

Growing impatient, Jaeyoung shoved past Minta and moved ahead.

“Huh? Hey! Wait up!”

After staggering once, Minta chased after him, staring at Haewoon’s back.

Thud, thud, thud.

Their footsteps clanged loudly as they climbed the metal stairs.

Dongjun jolted awake as if shaken out of a dream.

He looked around with a dazed expression, then flinched again when he realized he was alone with Layoon.

“Where are we? I think we’ve come too far. The others will be worried.”

Dongjun spoke with an awkward smile.

The promise he had made to himself never to be alone with Layoon weighed heavily on his mind.

“I didn’t think you’d really come.”

“Should I not have?”

Dongjun replied absentmindedly as he glanced around.

Layoon didn’t respond at all.

Wondering if he had sounded too careless, Dongjun startled and looked at her.

“Huh? Wait a second…”

Dongjun reached out toward Layoon’s cheek.

Layoon’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at him.

Her lovely face made Dongjun’s thoughts grow hazy.

“I think you’ve got something on your face.”

“Really?”

Layoon smiled shyly, yet leaned her face gently into Dongjun’s hand.

Grabbing at his pounding chest, Dongjun tried to brush away the speck on her cheek.

But it didn’t come off easily and kept tugging back, as if it were stuck.

‘Why is this like this?’

Dongjun tilted his head again and again, clearly confused.

What he was trying to remove was still dangling from Layoon’s cheek.

‘It’s just dust. I’m just brushing off dust.’

Making excuses to no one in particular, Dongjun stepped closer to Layoon.

And the moment he looked more closely at her cheek, he froze.

“Ra, Layoon…”

The skin beneath was peeled away, revealing raw flesh tinged red with blood.

‘Did I do this? Did I peel off Layoon’s skin?’

Dongjun was thrown into confusion, wondering if he was the cause.

Yet Layoon remained perfectly calm, as if she felt nothing at all.

Meeting her clear, vacant gaze, Dongjun swallowed dryly.

All of a sudden, the back of his head prickled.

Jaeyoung whipped around.

Aside from his friends walking around just as restlessly, there was only a small mirror, about the size of a picture frame, hanging on the wall.

It seemed he had caught a glimpse of himself there in passing.

“Huh?”

At that moment, Minta let out a strange sound.

“What is it?”

Jaeyoung followed Minta’s gaze to the floor.

More precisely, to where Jaeyoung’s shadow was.

“No, I thought your shadow just moved… It’s probably just my imagination.”

As if desperately hoping it was a mistake, Minta kept repeating it.

His eyes were wet with fear.

“Are we… possessed by a ghost?”

Unable to ignore it any longer, Minta asked, clinging to him.

Jaeyoung began to think he could no longer brush off the strange things happening around them.

Layoon standing beneath the thick trees at the train station, refusing to come out.

Their phones not working.

Jaeyoung finally realized what that sense of déjà vu had been whenever Layoon drew close.

“It feels like a dungeon…”

At Jaeyoung’s words, both of his friends’ eyes widened.

“What? Then what do we do?”

“Are you sure? How do you even know? And if it’s a dungeon, then what is Layoon?”

Despite the sudden mention of a dungeon, his friends didn’t seriously doubt Jaeyoung.

“Did you give your brother the address, tell him we were coming here?”

Minta asked Haewoon, clinging to him as if this were their last hope.

“I didn’t even hint that we were traveling. I didn’t want him following us.”

Haewoon spat out curses with a face full of regret.

Minta’s last shred of hope shattered.

“Anyway, it’s dangerous, so don’t separate. Not for a second.”

“O-Okay.”

After nodding, Minta suddenly held out his hand.

“What are you doing?”

“I think if we hold hands, we won’t lose each other.”

And it’ll be less scary.

Hearing Minta mutter that last part, Haewoon shot him an irritated look.

The three of them started moving again in search of Dongjun.

“Damn. What is that? That’s disgusting.”

Haewoon recoiled toward the stair railing.

On the wall right next to where he stood, black things about the size of coins were crawling in a line.

Watching them move all at once made the hair on his arms stand on end.

“Aren’t those hermit crabs?”

There were similar bug-like things crawling on the wall beside Minta too.

Unlike Haewoon, Minta pressed his face close to inspect them and spoke.

“If this is a dungeon, then those are probably creatures.”

When Minta tried to grab one for a closer look, Jaeyoung’s words made his face turn pale, and he yanked his hand back.

“But if Layoon’s been coming here to hang out, doesn’t that mean it’s not that dangerous?”

Minta asked with an innocent expression, lifting his head.

Jaeyoung looked at him with pity.

“Did it not occur to you that she can come and go freely because she’s a creature herself?”

Haewoon said disdainfully, and Minta sucked in a sharp breath.

“T-Then what about Dongjun? Isn’t he in danger? We have to find him, now—!”

Boom!

Before Minta could finish, the ship shook violently.

Jaeyoung had already reached the top of the stairs and wasn’t holding onto the railing.

The moment the ground lurched beneath him, he lost his balance and was thrown backward.

“Whoa—?”

“Moooom!”

Haewoon and Minta weren’t spared either.

Not even fully up the stairs, the two were flung outward.

Jaeyoung’s body rolled deep into the ship.

The shaking soon stopped, but he couldn’t get up.

Above his head came thunderous footsteps, as if thousands of people were running madly overhead.

Jaeyoung clamped his hands over his ears, his face twisting in pain.

He couldn’t tell whether something had appeared or if it was just noise from far away.

It felt like someone was forcing the sound directly into his head.

‘Did it go away?’

After some time passed, Jaeyoung opened his eyes beneath the arm shielding his head.

Everything was quiet now.

But it felt like the calm before a storm, offering no real comfort.

Squelch, squelch—

Slow footsteps echoed, like soles peeling off and sticking back onto the floor.

‘Is someone hurt?’

Jaeyoung pushed himself upright.

A bar table had appeared in front of him, though he didn’t know when he’d entered the space.

He hid his body behind it, leaving only his eyes exposed as he scanned the surroundings.

A human-shaped figure was wandering around the room.

After aimlessly roaming, it finally drew closer to Jaeyoung.

Jaeyoung held his breath.

The limbs stretched forward were blackened, close to the color of rot.

With dull, lifeless eyes like a dead fish, it walked forward, bumped into something, then turned and continued on.

‘A zombie…?’

Of everything Jaeyoung knew, that was what it resembled most.

One stepped on a glass lying on the floor and stumbled.

Jaeyoung locked eyes with it.

“S-Stay….”

He clamped a hand over his mouth just before a scream escaped.

Its huge eyes trembled endlessly.

With shaking hands, Jaeyoung grabbed the necklace around his neck.

As the soft capsule was pressed, it made a sharp clicking sound.

Haewoon came to his senses in a pitch-black corner.

After checking his surroundings, he realized he was beneath the stairs.

“Kim Jaeyoung! Seo Minta! Go Dongjun!”

Pulling himself up, Haewoon shouted toward the stairs above.

But a rumble of thunder rolled through the sky, swallowing his voice.

“Is it going to rain?”

Frowning, Haewoon looked up at the sky.

It was already stained black, making it impossible to tell whether it was merely cloudy or completely overcast.

Splash, splash.

The sound of water shifting reached him.

Haewoon moved toward the stern and looked down at the sea.

It was pitch-black, like ink poured out, with nothing visible beneath the surface.

Something was floating in the water not far from the ship.

At a glance, it looked like a person.

Seaweed-like hair swayed with the waves.

Submerged in the water, the torso, left arm, right arm, left leg.

It appeared fragmented into pieces.

“Go Layoon?”

Among the people he knew here, only Layoon had hair long enough to trail like that.

There was no response.

As the waves stirred, the thing floating in the water shifted little by little.

Gripping the railing, Haewoon moved sideways to follow it.

Splash!

At that moment, something surged up from beneath the sea and swallowed it whole.

He couldn’t even breathe.

Haewoon squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again.

Compared to this, that horrific resort almost felt preferable.

Watching closely, Jaeyoung realized the zombies were only circling inside the bar.

It was as if there were an invisible wall at the entrance.

Whenever they got near it, they turned back.

Since learning he was a Guide, Jaeyoung had carefully watched broadcast footage.

That was how he knew that dungeon creatures each had their own territory.

‘So this is the zombie’s territory.’

Hadn’t they climbed the stairs earlier without encountering anything?

‘First, I need to get out of here.’

As scared as he was, he couldn’t stay.

Jaeyoung quickly scanned the area for something usable.

The wine glass a zombie had stepped on earlier had rolled to his feet.

Jaeyoung flicked it lightly so it wouldn’t shatter.

The round wine glass rolled away and tapped softly against the wall.

All the zombies wandering inside the bar turned their heads in unison toward the sound.

‘They hear sounds… Then what about sight?’

Jaeyoung looked around again.

An apron, probably worn by a bartender, lay discarded nearby.

Timing it with the dull thuds of zombies bumping into the walls, he tore the apron apart.

He used too much force trying to rip it in one go, leaving deep nail marks in his palm.

But there was no time to rest.

Anything could be happening to his friends.

Jaeyoung tied the strips of cloth together into a long rope.

He then bunched up the remaining fabric and tied it to the end.

‘Aka zombie fishing.’

Steadying his breath, Jaeyoung prepared to throw it.

He tossed it ahead of the zombies’ path, then lifted his eyes to watch them.

The cloth ball made barely any sound when it hit the floor.

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Jaeyoung pulled the rope taut, then swung it side to side to draw their attention.

But there was no reaction.

There was a good chance the zombies weren’t looking at their feet at all.

Boldly, Jaeyoung used it to tap one of their legs.

The zombie stopped.

‘How will it react?’

Clutching his pounding heart, Jaeyoung watched.

The zombie slowly lowered its head in search of the stimulus.

After glancing around, it resumed walking.

‘It can’t see!’

It hadn’t found anything.

A spark lit up in Jaeyoung’s eyes.

As long as he was careful with sound, he could get out.

With hope blooming, strength he didn’t know he had surged through him.