The flickering of lights, then the whirring sound of electricity surging through the gargantuan wires that spanned from building to building; it wasn't anything strange in the windy port of Jeokjo, but James Wright groaned nonetheless.
"Hells…not the hair. Damn it." He swore as he patted at the frizzy mess the surge made of his slicked back hair. He quickly hid his scowl in a classic vanishing act as the rather beautiful ash-haired heiress he'd been speaking with glanced his way.
"Are you alright, Mr. Wright?" Her laugh, to him, was mocking, ridiculing his frayed composure while her long and luscious hair remained perfect and neatly tied back.
"...I'll excuse myself for just a moment, Ms. Veincliff." James said in a hurry, his eyes twitching until he was alone in the halls, at which they narrowed in a mixed bag of fury and embarrassment.
"Damn her, all she has is that damn name..! She's not even from the main family…who does she think she is to laugh at me..?" His words grew louder and more spiteful as he opened the door to privacy, entering a washroom that not many visited at this time of day.
He shivered at the sudden cold he stepped into, worsening his mood proportionately.
"Why do I have to suck up to a bitch like her..?! Hell…with a mouth like that, she really must be the spawn of a street bitch..!" James ran a wet hand through his hair, letting the tap run as he smoothened out his appearance, sneering at his own reflection as he nodded an agreement to his own words.
"One of those Veincliffs would have been crazy enough to do it, shacking up with one of those creatures." He laughed to himself, smoothing back his murky brown hair as he checked himself in the mirror.
"Heh, nice." His words were greeted with a flicker of the lights above, and he paused to look up, cursing at the lights that sputtered and caused his hair to pop out like a jack-in-the-box.
James felt around, searching for the comb he'd dropped on the counter, but paused as something warm and wet slid under his fingertips.
"What…? Damn janitor didn't do his job, the lazy Riotbanker—" He raised his hand from the counter to rinse it under the tap, but froze as he saw the red that stained his palm.
"Blood..?"
"An astute observation." A smile flickered into view as the lights did the same, reflected as distorted, bloody, and wrong in the mirror that fogged in front of his eyes. All he could make out then was the flicker of silver, and the pair of eyes that met his own through the mirror.
When a hand grabbed the back of his head, there was nothing James could have done before his face smashed into the glass he had been staring at. The crunch of glass, and the blinding pain of his hair being ripped from his scalp, he wasn't conscious enough to protest it as a low growling laugh wormed into his ear.
"…But it took you far too long, don't you think? Hm? Mr…Wright, was it?" The laughing man flexed his hand, then dropped the clump of bloodied brown hair onto the floor.
"Is this what he wanted to do? Make you…bald, as he calls it?" He frowned for a moment, then sighed, grabbing the man who was slumped and twitching against the counter by his hair and dragging him up to his feet.
"Well then, let's get acquainted, you and I."
***
The first snow of the year had dropped from the sky without notice, blanketing the streets in a layer of white as Hajoon waited for his ride back to the slums to arrive. The old rust bucket was late by two hours–but that wasn't out of the ordinary; not when the weather was as fickle as upper management and their tendencies to hire and fire on a whim. Similar to a whimsical manager, the bus system was unpredictable, and blaming its incompetence would be heresy.
It was more reasonable to assume that the older bus engines had frozen with the sudden drop in temperature–and like a domino effect, brought the entire system grinding to a halt. Jeokjo was never designed for cold winters, what with the perpetual rain and wind that came as a product of proximity to the stormy Busan Dungeon; so the buses that had run its public transport lines since its conception suffered for it.
It didn't help that funding had been whittled away at by leeches in both government and military, until only drivers from the Riotbanks accepted the measly pay handed out in return for a nearly 24 hour service.
Hajoon could make the educated guess that the drivers who were stuck heating those engines in the cold would be inclined to take as many 'tea' breaks as possible. It was good business for tea houses, it wouldn't be surprising if the home brewed rice wine stocks would be drunk dry by the end of the night.
By the bias of experience, Hajoon would consider it a miracle if the buses showed up at all.
He was tired, of waiting, of the pain that thrummed underneath his skin even as he stood there, forcing good posture and a smile all the while others launched their words at him. He didn't care for what they said, nor did he care for them.
All he wanted was to get back to his bed, to read through his bookshelf until his mind grew numb and the sun came up. If the beer in his fridge hadn't expired, he wanted to indulge in that as well.
There was nothing better than a cold drink overlooking the cliffside.
I hope no one's there this time.
"Are you alright Hajoon-ssi?" A tap came from his right, and he was ripped from his thoughts for a moment to glance down at the hazel eyes of the culprit.
"...Yea." He shifted away from Lee Hyejin, adjusting his grip on his umbrella as a fresh flurry blew into his face.
"But you're shaking..?"
"It's cold." He said, gritting his teeth to force his body to still, his gaze focusing on the silhouettes of people across the way. They were warm, comfortable in a café that Hajoon couldn't so much as afford a coffee from.
He was sure the memory of coffee was why his mouth tasted bitter at the thought.
"Oh…It would be nice to have a coffee huh..?" She murmured as she watched the warmth from where they were stuck, huddling together by the overcrowded bus stop.
Hah. It'll only get stolen again…
"Aw man..! W-why'd it have to be the only one by here that's s-still open..!" Ando whined, his clattering teeth making him nearly incoherent.
Ha…he'd be the culprit, no doubt. Bastard thinks he's doing me a favour, drinking my coffee for me.
Who said I didn't like coffee? I drink it. Just not from her.
Hajoon knew that Ando expected a response from him, but he was tired. Hajoon's fingers flexed on the umbrella hilt, feeling the cold burn into his skin through his flea market trenchcoat. His shirt was still damp underneath it, and the poor quality fabric wasn't drying any time soon.
Even still, he wasn't doing as terribly as Hyejin suggested with her pitying eyes. In fact, he was doing far better than the jittering Ando, who was walking in place and rubbing his hands in a dance Hajoon could only describe as reminiscent of a spooked chicken.
He realized only then that he must have laughed at some point, because the brown haired man he was staring at offered a chuckle of his own.
"Hey, Jun! Y-you should try it t-too! I swear i-it works..!" Ando Natsuki grinned, giving a demonstration of his dance as if he expected Hajoon to copy it.
In a turn of events he was almost grateful for, one of the luxury cars that were more looks than substance lost control and swerved. It saved him from embarrassment, but as compensation, sent a wave of sludge, browned and oil stained, surging towards them.
"Hk-" Hajoon yelped as he strumpled forward.
In a moment of scrambling instinct, he managed to shield the sludge with his umbrella. He then wrinkled his nose at Lee Hyejin, who had hid behind him.
"...Ugh. That…wow..! You saved me!" She clasped her hands together, trying to salvage the fact that she'd just used him as a meat shield.
"Thank you, Mr. Park!"
Shut your trap-
"Ghk– Why d-didn't you save me too..??" Ando's yelp interrupted that thought, and Hajoon squinted as he watched the man try to pat down the sludge that clung to his pants.
"Haha…sorry. Get behind me too next time..?" Hajoon felt his lip twitch as he smiled and tilted his umbrella to stop more snow from piling onto the man's shoulders.
Yeah, sacrifice me, like this piece of work. I'm just the best meat shield aren't I?
"Eh..? N-no..! You're sick so I…s-should tank the hit instead..! Next t-time..!"
I'm not sick.
Who asked for your help huh?
"Haha…that's okay. Really. I'm the one with the 'shield', anyway." Hajoon shook the umbrella from side to side, then instantly regretted it as clumps of snow slid onto his shoulder and down his shirt.
He was too busy biting down his curses to know what Ando said after that.
"Hajoon-ssi…hey, sorry."
He glanced down at those pitying eyes, and the owner who always expected forgiveness, no matter what she did.
Can't you be specific? Do you even know-
Do you even care to know what you're apologizing for?
It was always the same, the lukewarm apologies, the empty words. Because of people like that, because of people like her, he always suffered.
Over and over. Again and again.
Sorry Jun. Sorry June. Sorry John.
Ha..!
At least say my name right before throwing me under the bus.
Hajoon shifted the umbrella to and brought his hands to his mouth, blowing warm air into the long fingers that had lost circulation at the tips. He watched shadows in the distance flit about under the faint streetlights that speckled the streets. From a certain angle, it almost resembled fireflies, lighting the way for a city in disarray.
The ear grating orchestra of honking, frustrated drivers, and spinning tires; it was almost comforting. Maybe it was wrong, but seeing the haughty city dwellers struggle was gratifying.
He looked up, closing his eyes as the flakes of snow landed on his glasses, then melted away.
He had seen snow just once before. His brother had thrown it at his face, and he'd thrown it right back, until the whole village was throwing snow around and laughing.
He couldn't find it in himself to be excited like back then.
When did things go wrong?
For mum? Probably when I was born.
Something like me…
"It's dark…" He murmured as an inhale brought icy particles into his lungs, causing a cough that turned his hand crimson.
He stared at it, watching the red drip down and stain his damp sleeve. It was familiar, the feeling.
In the washroom…what happened? I was there…I started to hallucinate…then?
I woke up at my desk. My shirt was clean, but damp.
That's…all I remember.
He wiped his hand on a handkerchief from his coat pocket, then stuffed his hand in there with it.
The sky was diluted, starless and bleak through the lenses of his glasses. He could have see everything in that darkness, if he took them off.
But he didn't.
There were too many people here. Too many people to see him, to notice what was wrong with him.
Being questioned by others, it was one of the things he hated the most.
They always said I was cursed, and mum told me they're crazy, lunatics, even.
Hypocritical, when she spent so much time and money that we didn't have on shamans and miracle cures to my…condition.
I really…can't afford a psychiatrist. Maybe it's time to consult a supernaturally gifted scammer like mum said?
What would they even say? That I'm cursed, that some ghost is stealing my life energy, and that I need to pay 50pax for a lucky talisman? What if I tell them I hear a voice in my head, what then? They would tell me I'm possessed right?
Haha…but it's possible isn't it? Evil spirits do latch onto weak willed people…
There was a story circulating on the forums lately, an urban legend of sorts that overworked salary workers would inevitably get possessed and end up wandering aimlessly in the night. By dawn, they would be found in the river after having killed a person or two themselves.
The legend of Mulgwi Wharf, where a drowned spirit haunted the waters and led others to the same fate. Hajoon had first started visiting that cliff because of the rumors, to see for himself if a ghost would drag him under.
They hadn't. So it had turned into a space to chat and drink during the witching hour.
I wonder if he's there again…
Does he drink?
"I should bring two…" Hajoon muttered to himself, shuffling to the side as the bus stop became cramped, people rushing across the street as a bus chugged along in the distance, its headlights casting a stark spotlight through the falling snow. As it screeched to a stop in front of the impatient crowd, the blast of air emitted from the iron beast was welcomed by those at the forefront, as the hot air brought relief to their frozen limbs.
"Oh..! Tram 23's here, finally..!" Ando exclaimed, looking poised to sprint inside before pausing, hovering around Hajoon as if leaving his side would cause him to fall over and die.
Don't worry I'm not that weak.
Hajoon gave a smile that he painted as reassuring, gesturing for Ando to join the line, which had already grown long. When Ando opened his mouth to respond, a cacophony of whining drowned him out.
"Bloody trams are always late...those drivers from the Riotbanks are bloody lazy...!"
"–It never snowed like this back in my youth-"
"I can't believe I have to wait even more–you're always wasting time shopping..!"
"Wha- how is a date a waste of time?? If you want a divorce just say it–" A lover's quarrel broke out in the snow, and Hajoon proceeded to tune them out.
"–My heels will get soggy at this rate…!"An asinine complaint caught his attention for a moment, and he glanced towards two women who stood by the side of the tram.
"Where is that Wright…?? I agreed to his offer to chauffeur, and this is what it gets me? Forcing me to take public transport of all things…" She scoffed, as if the thought of stepping foot onto a bus for a common citizen was sickening.
"Oh my..! Mr. Wright seemed a reliable fellow, but even appearances can deceive..!"A honeyed agreement came from Mrs. Baek, the rude old hag with the gaudy butterfly hairpin.
"If only my chauffeur didn't crash on the way…damn fool went and died…no matter, I will see you home myself, Ms. Veincliff!" She continued, holding an umbrella up for the young Viencliff, who was preoccupied with trying to save her red gilded shoes from the piling snow.
…I hope she gets frostbite.
Hajoon looked back at the tram car in front of him, staring at the intricate phoenix reminiscent designs that were ingrained into its metal exterior along with the number 23. They were a sign of artisan crafts from the North, with both Nawia and Buxiu historically feuding for the trademark over Phoenix imagery. Recently, Amarca propped up their own claim, causing a stir of political bullshit that Hajoon had looked into for work purposes. The publicity team had to be careful not to upset the many fragile ego's of Forts when selling medication for the low cost of an arm and leg.
"Hey…a-are you going to be okay, Jun?" Ando suddenly asked, and Hajoon almost flinched as he found his hand on his shoulder. "You take tram 13 right? It looks like you'll have to wait for a while..."
"Yes...are you alright? You look a bit pale..." Lee Hyejin said, joining the pity party.
What about me is pale?
Hajoon could have almost laughed at that, but he didn't.
"Ah...no, I'm fine. Haha, it's nothing serious, don't worry!" His voice stretched a bit thin to manage that tone, but he couldn't afford better at the moment.
"Oh...then we'll be going ahead..." Hyejin murmured as she gripped her work bag to her chest and stepped in line.
"Get home safe, yeah?" Ando patted Hajoon's shoulder, his voice strangely steady in comparison.
"Ah…yeah, you too, Mr. Ando."
Hajoon waved them off as they joined the que, ignoring the cold that set into place as the crowd around him depleted.
The long he stood there, the more that the heated interior of the tram started to look rather inviting. But this type of tram would never-so-much-as step foot in Nagwon.
So Hajoon stood there, shivering as he watched strangers and coworkers file into the warmth of the tram, chatting with the oddly friendly driver as they went. Mrs.Baek, being the prissy old hag she was, looked less than amused at the driver's cheery greeting, glaring at the poor man who simply smiled at her.
"You were late...and not so much as an apology for your customers? If this is how the workers are, then it was no wonder they cut your funding."
"Oh I got here as fast as I could…you don't see no other bus round ere ya? That means you can rely on me ma'am! So don't you fret, you'll be right where you belong soon!" The driver with the greying hair and a raccoon-like smile to him chuckled with a nonchalant air, earning a scowl from the old hag.
"This is a tram, Driver. Not a bus. And a tram does not arrive late, no matter the circumstance." The ash haired Veincliff huffed, looking down her nose at him.
"Apologies missy! It won't happen again! But please don't hold up the line, the poor lad is freezing!" The driver ushered her forward as she grumbled in distaste, but he ignored her, instead looking over at Hajoon who could have been mistaken as a part of the street light that he was leaning against in the darkness.
Hajoon's eyebrows darted upwards in surprise, wishing to vanish into the darkness as unwanted attention fell onto him from both the driver and the passengers aboard the tram.
"Don't just stand there, hop on lad! You'll freeze waiting for that rust bucket, it ain't coming!" The old man called out impatiently.
He knew where Hajoon was headed.
It really only took one glance at him to guess huh?
Hahh...just leave me to freeze. Annoying old man...
"I can get you to Hongno, it's close enough to the wharf right? Sorry if it ain't, can't go any further than Red Street tonight..."
…What in the moons? Now he knows where I live? If that isn't a red flag I don't know what is-
Hajoon could hear the other passengers starting to complain, so he quickly made his way inside, bowing at the driver.
"Sorry...and thank you. Don't worry, Hongno is fine."
Hongno, or Red Street as the foreigners called it, was the name for the belt of entertainment sectors that lay in proximity to the city. It was so that city dwellers could crawl down for the night after their day jobs wrung them dry. Vices, as they call it, left the air of Hongno stinking of alcohol, legally sold illegal narcotics, and the poisonous cosmetics that adorned too many faces.
Hajoon couldn't say he felt comfortable walking those streets at night, but it was close enough to his apartment that he could hypothetically walk home in an hour or two if the weather didn't get any worse.
Well, that was if the driver wasn't out to get him. In that case, he would be staggering home missing another kidney.
"What a polite lad! Tell the missus her tea is the best in town! Us drivers would freeze without her!" The driver laughed, clapping Hajoon on the back before he stumbled into an empty seat.
He was struck silent by embarrassment and confusion as the tram jostled into motion, opting to ignore the unfortunate seating mistake made in his haste, as well as the nosy result of it.
Missus...who..?
"I didn't know you were married...wow, congrats!" Ando said with a sting of jealousy in his voice. He had complained about being single before, so it made sense that he would react like that.
But that wasn't the point..!
"I'm not..?"
"Hajoon-ssi...why didn't you invite us to the wedding...?" Lee Hyejin asked with some faux sadness. It wasn't clear if she was making fun of him or not.
This was ridiculous.
"Because there wasn't one to invite you to...?" Hajoon laughed awkwardly.
He must have meant missus as in…mother..? Or an auntie? But my mother doesn't live here. And I don't have any aunties.
Is it boss he meant? What…does she want with me? There's a new delivery guy, she doesn't need me.
Whatever, that old man just knows someone who knows me, it doesn't matter who. At least then I don't have to worry about organ trafficking.
"If you're sure, but– you should tell us about important things like that, at least, right? We're on the same team..." Hyejin tried to smile sweetly, but it didn't have the desired effect as Hajoon's smile flipped to a frown.
He could tell that it wasn't about the imaginary wedding, her line of questioning. Whatever she was getting at in her roundabout way, he had no obligation to answer.
You have no right to lecture me, Hyejin.
"Of course, but am I at fault when the event you missed was something that never happened?" Hajoon kept his smile as polite as possible, hoping that Hyejin would notice his discomfort and shut her mouth. It was getting hard for him to fake a smile while his head pounded with a migraine that made him want to rip out his brain and stick it in the snow outside for relief.
"Well...yes, sorry. It's just that you keep to yourself, and I didn't want there to be a tense environment at work..! We're a team! Right Ando-ssi?"
"Eh..? Oh, of course!" Ando seemed nervous, his eyes jittering between his coworkers who were smiling at each other threateningly. "Just– er, I'm glad you can go home with us..! Didn't feel right leaving you there–
"When–!" Hyejin spoke over him, and he paused, shifting to fiddle with his scarf. "If…something's wrong, you'll tell us, right?" She was weighing her words, but the result was the same.
Stay in your lane, Hyejin.
"...I apologize for making you feel as though I don't trust the others of the publicity team. That isn't the case." Hajoon relented, if only to shut her up; focusing on the flurry of snow outside of his window, which seemed to grow in intensity as the silence grew.
"Hey…Jun, this driver is a bit…nevermind, er…if you need a place to crash- I mean if you want to, I have a couch..?" Ando spoke up first, earning a squinted expression that was barely there.
"I mean..! I'll take the couch…! Obviously I won't make a guest sleep on the–"
Hajoon had already tuned him out, staring out at the silhouettes of buildings and streets pass on by.
Many of these passengers lived in the residential quarters that encircled the business sector, and no matter how incompetent this driver was, he should have made at least a few stops by now.
This was strange.
"Excuse me driver...you were meant to make a stop at Ashford Square? Was there a change to the route perhaps...? " The polite voice of a blue eyed man was the first to question this peculiar predicament, receiving barely a look back from the old man in question.
"Our stop too...! You missed it, it's-"
"Hey..!! Stop..! I see my stop-" Another voice cut over the last, multiple locations being called out as the tram moved past them all. Many of the faces Hajoon saw were panicked, as one would be during a potential kidnapping. They had the healthy organs and ransoms to merit the risk the driver had taken, unlike him.
What would happen to him then?
He didn't want to think about it, but he did.
This geezer knows me because the Jeoka paid him to screw me over, right?
What're they planning? Why not just beat me up themselves?
The flash of a corpse, bleeding out in an alleyway, went through his mind.
Suddenly he felt nauseous.
"Why aren't you stopping you crazy bastard-!" A yell rang through the cramped space, and Hajoon flinched, then brushed Ando's hand off his shoulder.
He didn't try to decipher the looks on his coworkers faces, and instead looked towards the source of the noise. There was an argument, but it wasn't one that he managed to decipher through the buzzing within his own skull.
One of the middle aged men stood up suddenly, trying to grab the shoulder of the driver who ignored their words. But at that moment, the tram accelerated without warning. The spindly salaryman stumbled back, swearing as he managed to grab onto a handrail and not come crashing down onto the people who sat behind him.
"Please stay seated when the tram is moving, it's dangerous!" The driver finally spoke, but the standardized words he trilled out only added fuel to a fire that had begun to burn within the confined space.
"Stop this tram at once..!" Ms. Veincliff snapped, and of course she received nothing but a raised eyebrow. The driver didn't seem to care at all, even whistling a tune that wormed itself into Hajoon's mind as it spiralled.
Haha...so this really is a new human trafficking tactic? Stealing a tram and acting as a driver to kidnap high profile people to get a big ransom?
Haha…that's…
It would be funny, if I wasn't here too.
"Where…are we going..? Wait–are we on a bridge right now..??" Ando yelled out, catching more attention than needed as he pressed his face against the glass. Upon seeing next to nothing in the darkness, he pushed the window open with surprising strength.
The passengers near him yelped as the safety locking mechanism gave way and the freezing winds and snow billowed inside, sucking the comfortable warmth away in a heartbeat.
"What are you doing..??" Hajoon yelled over the howl of the wind, scrambling to grab hold of Ando's arm as the man stuck his torso out of the window to stare at the churning water below.
"Close that..! It's dangerous..!!" Lee Hyejin's shriek was barely audible over the deafening sound of the engine blending with the wind that gushed into the tram.
"There's something in the water..!" Ando yelled back, ignoring the hands that tried to pull him back inside as he stared out at the black water and the waves that crashed against the pillars that stood as the bridge's foundations. It resembled the splashes made by a thrashing school of fish being herded by a predator, but it was too dark to make out anything but the shadow of something that lay beneath the waves.
"It looks damn huge..!! Wait–Do you think it's a monster!? How's a monster out here..?!"
"What..?? Forget that..!! Get back in here– idiot..!! You'll fall..!!" Lee Hyejin had gotten up, stepping on the seat to reach the madman who was dangling halfway out of a speeding tram, especially one that had accelerated to speeds comparable to a train.
Hajoon's grip on Ando slipped as he took his glasses off of his face, trying to get a glimpse of what Ando was so transfixed on. His fingers gripped onto the window ledge as he tried to see through the snow that pelted his face, but Ando's scarf—which flapped like a windmill in the wind—slapped Hajoon in the face.
"Ghk..!" He yelped, shielding his face as he squinted into the greyscale world that his cursed eyes relayed to him. The cement of the bridge's edge, the snowfall that blurred together like a curtain, then the churning water below—he saw it all plain as day.
He saw what Ando could not. A giant fin jutting out of the water. To a human eye, it could have been mistaken for the sail of a sailboat. Hajoon wanted to see it as that too, he could have believed it was a sailboat, until it moved.
The sail rose from the water, becoming miniscule as the body of a serpentine creature blocked out the faint visage of the moon behind its towering mass. Jagged teeth off mass quantities became visible as the monster opened its mouth, then blurred in a moment of scrambled movement as the window slammed shut and Hajoon was pulled along by Hyejin's grip as they all fell to the ground
He was shaking, his breath coming in puffs as he stared at that closed window, seeing nothing but the silver moon and the snow that shrouded it as his own eyes dilated, drinking in the silver light.
"There's nothing there..." He chuckled to himself, blinking away the tingling sensation in his eyes before he searched around for his glasses and put them back on his face.
He staggered to his feet, watching Ando struggle to do the same as the tram lurched forward to leave the bridge and the monster behind. Hyejin, who finally let go of the collar of the snow-covered Ando, had a dark expression on her face, from which the nervous man looked away.
I must have seen wrong. It can't be a monster. Monsters can't leave the perimeter of a dungeon.
Only dead corpses wash up here. A living monster can't be here. It can't.
\\ Now Entering Unnamed Dungeon \\
As if to mock him, those words appeared in front of his face. Solid and without a voice, they stayed, even as a pressure started to squeeze his lungs until he saw red.
What..? What Dungeon..? It hurts...Hahaha...
But this time it wasn't just him; the others around him keeled over when he managed to stay upright, splatters of blood painting the floor of the tram whose engine sputtered, fizzled then cut out, taking the warmth and light with it.
In the cacophony of screams and groans of pain, a single voice rang clear in Hajoon's head.
[The game has begun.]