Chapter 5 – I Am – Part 2

Chapter 5 – I Am – Part 2

Bomi shook her head.

“Huh? Suddenly? I don’t think Mom and Dad would like that… Oh? Brother, it’s raining. Let’s go inside quickly.”

Woojin, who had been looking at the masked man’s back, was led by his sister’s hand toward the villa.

Woojin did not forget to turn his head and look at him once more.

“Mom, it’s raining outside.”

“They said it would pour from tonight… Huh? Bomi, isn’t there any ice cream for your brother?”

“Brother ate it all on the way.”

Mom and Dad smiled helplessly and shook their heads.

Woojin went into his room, opened the window, and listened to the sound of the rain.

Shwaaaaaa.

“Rain…”

Even though he was wearing disposable earplugs, he could hear it clearly.

Woojin usually welcomed the sounds of the world, but not this time.

Rain is a gift to all things, but it is also suitable for concealing a person’s presence and traces.

Woojin pictured the masked man in his mind.

He had observed the villa yesterday and today, gradually moving up floors and looking at the third floor.

And when he came out of the convenience store, he saw it clearly.

The masked man looked at the woman entering the villa three times, dividing his gaze.

Legs, waist, face.

And the gesture of his right hand, moving as if fiddling with something.

When the woman disappeared into the villa, he looked at his younger sister at Bomi’s voice.

Legs, waist, face.

Woojin quietly stared at the black sky where the rain was pouring down.

He had memorized the path while reading his book today.

However, there were no CCTVs anywhere the masked man stood.

Since when had he been loitering around the villa?

-The masked man knows the geography around the villa inside and out.

-He walks long distances.

-He has targeted the villa.

-The man’s goal is…

Knock, knock. Knock.

Woojin turned his head at the sudden sound of knocking.

“Brother, Mom said to eat some fruit.”

“Okay.”

Woojin closed the window and moved to the living room.

***

Midnight.

Woojin, who had turned off the lights and fallen asleep, or so he thought, got up and walked to the window.

Whoosh.

As rain poured down, Woojin opened his mouth as if speaking to someone, despite no one else being there.

“Come out.”

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.

-I’ll protect my family. You stay out of it.

Woojin shook his head.

“It’s my family.”

[Is telling that guy, ‘Mister, I’m going to call the police,’ protecting them? Huh? Is that protecting your family?]

“The room rule is mana. You are a monster who cannot adapt to the world…”

[I was the one who said to live. If you were a softie like that, you’d be dead by now. And I’m a monster? Then what are you? Is there anything you’re better at than me?]

“My body, I am the owner of my body… You are another self I created.”

[Our thoughts are completely opposite. Hehehe.]

Before, whenever his head was complicated and even a little bit of anxiety arose, that guy would pop out like this.

Since meeting him in the warehouse, he tried not to lose.

Knowledge, the environment he was in, he absorbed everything into his mind without missing a single thing.

Worry and anxiety were his food.

Worry and anxiety come from a state where one cannot fundamentally solve the problem at hand.

A long time ago, he was consumed by him several times because he couldn’t resolve his worries and anxieties, but for several years now, that had never happened once.

Now he was in control and, most importantly, he knew how to use him.

The one that exists in the Unconscious, not in normal consciousness, can bring out my knowledge to its maximum potential.

A fierce beast with sharp teeth.

Woojin closed his eyes and mumbled.

Today.

“Come out.”

Suddenly, Woojin’s vision ‘clicked’ like a fluorescent light, darkening and then brightening.

Woojin opened the window and took a deep breath.

Then he moved as if to loosen his neck.

Crack.

With the sound of his joints, Woojin grinned.

“The sound of the rain is nice.”

And he took out his disposable Earplugs, sharpening his hearing.

“My pretty little sister Bomi isn’t asleep yet. If she sleeps late, she won’t grow tall. Mom and Dad seem to be asleep.”

His pronunciation was very clear.

Woojin waited, looking out the window for another 30 minutes.

And the moment he judged that Bomi had fallen asleep.

He quietly left the house.

Woojin, who left the Villa without an umbrella, walked with heavy steps down the Alley, where there was only one streetlamp.

There, a Masked Man stood holding an umbrella.

As Woojin walked straight towards him, he moved aside, clearing the way.

Woojin, who seemed to be passing him by, suddenly stopped.

“What? You’re being friendly, mister?”

When the man gave him a look that asked what he meant, Woojin brushed back his hair, which was soaked by the rain.

“Don’t you know me? I saw you near the Convenience Store earlier too.”

“I don’t know who you are at all…”

Woojin smirked and said,

“Oh really? I know you well, old man. You’re the stray dog who crosses Small Hill every day, circling our Villa. Did you have Jajangmyeon for dinner? Did you feed your dog before you came? It seems like you were recently fired from your delivery job. Did you have a lot of trouble with the President?”

He looked flustered by Woojin’s accurate deduction.

“You, who are you?”

“Me?”

Woojin ripped his white T-shirt.

“This kind of person.”

The scars etched on Woojin’s body were clearly reflected in his pupils.

His eyes widened sharply, and his movements froze.

It was a freeze response, appearing when one is surprised, frightened, or shocked.

It was no different from stories of people freezing when they see a ghost, or their body not responding to a car suddenly speeding towards them.

One corner of Woojin’s mouth turned up sharply.

“This is my territory. Where do you get off marking your territory in someone else’s space, you stray dog? Don’t let me see you again. If I do, I’ll carve these scars into your body too, old man.”

His steps faltered backward.

Woojin approached him step by step.

Wet from the rain, his white skin became even paler, and his lips were red.

Woojin blurted out, as if to startle him,

“Boo!”

“Gasp!”

He landed on his bottom, then got up like a madman and started running frantically without looking back.

Woojin raised a finger and scratched his head.

“He’s more boring than I thought, isn’t he?”

As he disappeared from sight, Woojin looked up at the sky and closed his eyes.

Raindrops fell lightly on Woojin’s face.

“The sound of the rain is nice.”

Muttering to himself, Woojin walked quietly into the house.

And when the next day dawned, Woojin’s Mom tilted her head.

Woojin had been sleeping without his top on, and no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find his clothes.

At Woojin’s innocent ‘I don’t know,’ Mom didn’t ask any more questions.

And after eating his breakfast with surprising relish, Woojin spoke in front of his family.

It might have seemed like a natural progression to others, but to Woojin, it was a major announcement.