The lively sound of the festival filled the night air, the sounds of laughter, folk music, and the booming of fireworks coloring the sky. Colored lights hung along the street, swaying gently in the wind.
"Joo Hyun! Over here, let's take a picture together!" called the mother in a soft yet loud tone, waving towards her eldest son.
"Alright, Mom!" Joo Hyun smiled, then turned towards his two younger siblings who were still busy playing by the artificial pond.
"Hyun Jin! Hurry up! Mom and Dad are waiting!"
But Hyun Jin did not answer. He was busy letting out small shrieks, not of joy, but because his wrist was being bitten by an angry Hae Rin.
"Arghhh! Let go, Hae Rin! That hurts!" shouted Hyun Jin as he tried to push the little girl's head away.
Hae Rin bit down harder, her eyes red, holding back tears, as if consumed by rage.
Joo Hyun, realizing the situation, quickly stepped forward, kneeling in front of them and gently pulling Hae Rin away.
His left hand held Hae Rin's shoulder, and his right hand touched Hyun Jin's head.
"That's enough... stop." His voice was calm yet deep, like an older brother who knew how to soothe two small souls.
He lifted Hae Rin slightly, moving the bite away from Hyun Jin's hand.
"Hae Rin, look at Oppa." Joo Hyun lowered his head, staring into Hae Rin's eyes which were starting to water.
"Oppa isn't angry. But don't hurt people who love you, understand?"
Hae Rin remained silent, then averted her gaze. "Hmph." She turned her face away with a sour expression.
Joo Hyun smiled faintly. "So cute when you're sulking." He gently pinched Hae Rin's cheek, making the little girl turn slightly while stifling a laugh.
Hyun Jin, who was still holding his hand, only chuckled softly. "You spoil her too much, Oppa."
"Let her be."
Joo Hyun's voice sounded serene.
From afar, the mother called out again, "Hurry up!"
Joo Hyun patted his two younger siblings' shoulders. "Let's go. If we're late, the fireworks won't be in the background of our picture."
The three of them walked towards their parents, tracing the light of the festival lamps.
"Geez, Hae Rin... give me some space. Why are you standing so close, like you want to suck up my oxygen?" Hyun Jin lightly scolded, gently pushing his sister away.
"Hmph, I don't want to be your friend!" Hae Rin said, pouting her lips in a sulk.
Joo Hyun, standing nearby, just shook his head slowly, smiling faintly. "Hyun Jin, we're about to take a family picture. Don't fight anymore..."
He bent down slightly, offering his hand to Hae Rin.
"Come here, let Oppa carry you. Tonight you get VVIP treatment, because Oppa is feeling generous."
Hae Rin looked at her brother for a moment, hesitant, before slowly taking his hand. As soon as Joo Hyun picked her up, a broad smile instantly appeared on Hae Rin's face. Her eyes shone proudly as she looked up at the sky, and she even stuck out her tongue to tease Hyun Jin.
Hyun Jin, standing beside them, glared at Hae Rin with a look of displeasure, before crossing his arms and saying in a teasing tone,
"Oppa... don't you want to carry me too?"
A mischievous smile formed on his face.
Joo Hyun turned slowly, his expression casual as usual.
"You're ten years old, Hyun Jin. If I carry you too, my bones will break."
Hyun Jin chuckled softly. "Come on, there's only a two-year difference between me and Hae Rin. It's not that big..."
"A two-year difference doesn't look big... until we weigh your actual mass," Joo Hyun replied with a light laugh.
Hyun Jin pouted, half-embarrassed, half-displeased.
At that moment, their mother approached, shaking her head gently, her face clearly struggling to hold back laughter at the antics of the three siblings.
"That's enough teasing your brother. Hurry, the fireworks are about to start. I want to take beautiful pictures tonight."
The three of them began to move towards their mother. Laughter still lingered, mixing with the sound of exploding fireworks that started to color the night sky. The atmosphere was filled with light, affection, and the playful teasing that tightly bonded the three of them.
Hyun Jin's father chuckled softly, his voice almost lost in the hustle and bustle of the night festival.
"Hahaha..."
The mother, standing beside him, turned with a gentle smile. "Why are you smiling to yourself like that?"
The father slowly took a breath, his eyes still focused on their three children in front, Joo Hyun, 15 years old, Hyun Jin, 10 years old, and Hae Rin, 8 years old.
In his wife's embrace, the youngest, Lee Tae Rin, only 5 years old, was sound asleep resting on her mother's shoulder, her breathing steady, her face as peaceful as the night sky.
"Nothing much... I just feel grateful," he answered quietly. "This is the family we always dreamed of, isn't it?"
The mother smiled, but there was a slight tremor at the corner of her lips. "Gosh... saying that makes me want to cry, you know?"
She laughed softly, adjusted Tae Rin's position on her shoulder, then affectionately stroked the little child's hair.
The father only responded with a smile. Without a word, he reached out his hand and tightly gripped his wife's fingers, a clasp full of meaning.
The light of the fireworks began to illuminate the sky. The reflection of orange and blue hues adorned their faces, like a living painting full of peace.
From the front, the photographer's voice echoed, "Okay! Is everyone ready?"
"Ready!!" Joo Hyun shouted cheerfully, lifting Hae Rin high into the air. His little sister's laughter echoed amidst the booming fireworks.
Beside them stood Hyun Jin with a wide smile gracing his face.
"Three... two... one."
Click!
The light from the final firework explosion illuminated the night sky.
And for a moment, the world felt as if it had stopped, embracing a fragment of priceless happiness.
But slowly... the atmosphere around her began to fade.
The bustling sound of the festival, which was lively and joyful moments ago, gradually sunk away, replaced by a deep, oppressive silence.
The festival lights dimmed one by one, as if consumed by the dark night.
And one by one...
The faces of her loved ones began to vanish.
Hyun Jin, her husband, Joo Hyun, Hae Rin, Tae Rin...
They all disappeared like smoke blown away by the wind.
Until eventually, only she remained, smiling... but alone.
No hand to clasp, no voice to answer.
And that was when she realized,
It was all just a dream.
The dream of a mother... missing the past.
Tear by tear, water streamed down her aging cheeks. Although her body still lay on the bed, her heart was already lost in memories.
Slowly, Hyun Jin's mother opened her eyes.
Her empty gaze stared at the ceiling before she turned her face to the side, towards the small table next to the bed.
With a slightly trembling hand, she wiped away the lingering tears on her cheeks.
Her eyes fell upon a picture frame,
Their family photo from the summer festival.
They were smiling, standing close, surrounded by the beautiful light of the fireworks and the colors of the night.
In the bottom corner of the picture was written a long-past date.
[August 23, Year 2000 Summer]
Seven years had passed since that day...
Yet every moment was still alive in her heart and soul.
Suddenly, from the silence of the night, a faint light flickered on from the direction of the bathroom outside her room.
She didn't need to guess.
Only one person was always awake this late at night, Hyun Jin.
She took a long breath, then pulled the blanket up to her shoulders, trying to resume her sleep.
As she turned to the left side of the bed, her gaze fell upon her youngest child, Tae Rin, who was sleeping soundly.
Silently, she moved closer and hugged the small body, adjusting the blanket so it wouldn't slip off.
In the dark and cold of the night... she tightly embraced the only reality that remained.
The others only lived in memory,
But a mother's love... endures until the end of time.
***
Hyun Jin took a deep breath and slowly opened his house's bathroom door. However, in the blink of an eye, the world around him changed, it wasn't his house he saw, but a strange room.
"Ehh!?" Hyun Jin shrieked, his voice full of confusion and panic. He looked around, trying to find signs of his house, but everything was unfamiliar, even the smell was different.
In one of the small stalls in that strange room, a woman sat on the toilet, calmly smoking. The woman's presence added to his confusion and fear.
"WHY AM I...? WHERE IS MY HOUSE?!" Hyun Jin whispered frantically in his heart, his heart pounding rapidly.
The woman, who had previously been looking down, slowly lifted her head. Her eyes stared at Hyun Jin, cold and full of mystery, as if awaiting a reaction from him.
The situation became tense. Hyun Jin stared at the woman, and the woman also stared at him. Both were silent for a moment, as if the world had stopped. After a few long seconds, Hyun Jin finally broke the silence.
"Uhh... excuse me," he stammered. "I don't know what's going on right now. I just wanted to leave my house bathroom... but when I opened the door, everything... uhhh, the surroundings changed!" He scratched his head, feeling guilty, even though it clearly wasn't his fault, and he didn't understand what was happening either.
Hyun Jin slowly backed away, trying to approach the bathroom door again. "Maybe if I open this door one more time... I'll go back to my home bathroom... heh heh." He gave an awkward smile, trying to convince himself.
The woman remained silent, staring at Hyun Jin with sharp eyes, as if assessing the level of his foolishness.
Carefully, Hyun Jin twisted the doorknob and slowly opened the door...
And once again, he was shocked, not only was he still not in his home bathroom, but this time..... Hyun Jin was inside a Ladies' Room.
He froze, his eyes darting around wildly. Several women were standing in front of the mirror, some applying lipstick and tidying their clothes. The sounds of small laughter and running water echoed in the space.
Hyun Jin swallowed hard. He knew that one wrong step, and the entire restroom would scream.
With slow steps, he tried to sneak out, hoping no one would notice a lost man in there.
However, just as his feet were about to clear the exit door,
tap! His shoulder was pulled from behind. Hard.
Hyun Jin turned around, his face frozen. The woman from the stall stood behind him, staring intently.
"Where do you think you're running off to?"
Her tone was firm, half-whispering, half-threatening.
"Let me go... I just want to get out of this restroom,"
Hyun Jin whispered, trying to shrug off the woman's hand, which was still gripping his shoulder.
The woman didn't budge, her gaze growing sharper, as if she knew something about Hyun Jin's presence there that was more than just 'walking into the wrong place'.
The woman's grip on Hyun Jin's shoulder intensified, becoming too strong. A stinging pain spread throughout his arm.
"A-ouchh... let go..."
Hyun Jin tried to free himself, but the woman's fingers were like iron, gripping his shoulder mercilessly. His breathing started to quicken, turning into panic.
He turned slightly, the woman's look was fierce, her eyes wide with anger.
"CATCH THIS MAN! HE ENTERED THE WOMEN'S RESTROOM!"
The scream echoed, breaking the restroom's silence. All heads turned simultaneously.
Hyun Jin froze for a moment. His heart hammered as if it wanted to burst.
In desperation, he bit the woman's hand hard fierce and desperate.
The woman let out a small shriek of pain and released her grip.
Without looking back, Hyun Jin bolted out. His breath hitched, his steps were extremely fast; he only knew one thing: run.
However, as soon as he pushed open the restroom door, everything changed.
Stretching out before him was a train station filled with rushing people, the sound of announcements, and the cold blast of air from the underground rails.
Hyun Jin stopped, his eyes wide.
"What... is this place?"
He turned back, but the restroom door was no longer there.
A sense of dread crept up his neck. But there was no time to think,
the only thing that mattered now was escape.
Hyun Jin kept running, gasping for breath. His eyes scanned wildly, dozens of people in the train station were passing by as usual.
"Help me! Help!!"
he shouted with all his might.
But no one turned. Not a single eye looked his way.
They all walked through his body... as if he didn't exist.
"What is this...? Why can't they see me...?"
he whispered, his voice hoarse and trembling.
Suddenly, BOOM!
A loud impact echoed from behind. The floor vibrated violently.
Hyun Jin turned.
A section of the station wall shattered, bricks flew everywhere, and white dust enveloped the air.
The sounds of the crowd began to disappear... replaced by a terrifying silence.
Hyun Jin froze. His gaze was fixed on the gap in the dust.
There, something was crawling out.
Its body was indistinct, its movements slow and unnatural. Like a human... but not human.
Hyun Jin's heart pounded violently.
Without thinking, he turned and ran as fast as he could.
"DAMN IT! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!? IS THIS... A DREAM!?"
He slapped his cheeks repeatedly while continuing to run.
"OUCH! It hurts! This is real... this is really real!!"
But before he could heave a sigh of relief—
RRRAAARRRGHH!!
A long, hoarse, terrifying roar sounded from behind.
The sound was loud enough to make the station's glass walls vibrate.
Hyun Jin froze. His breath caught in his throat.
Even though he didn't want to... his body still turned. Slowly.
And beyond the fading dust, he began to see the creature's silhouette,
tall, hunched, its eyes glowing red, and both its hands smeared with fresh blood.
Hyun Jin's eyes widened, his breathing erratic.
He kept running, his gaze fixed only on his back, on the creature that was lunging forward like a wild beast.
The sound of its feet pounding the floor, interspersed with the creature's hoarse, heavy panting.
"Don't come near... don't come near!"
Suddenly CRACK!
His foot tripped over something.
"AGHH!"
Hyun Jin fell onto the hard floor, his body sliding several meters before stopping.
He stood up woozily, clutching his injured knee. That's when he noticed the people around him were still passing by as usual, not looking at him at all.
Hyun Jin screamed, trying to grab a man's shoulder, but his hand passed through him.
The man's body shimmered momentarily like a visual glitch, then returned to normal.
"What is this...? Like a glitch..."
He whispered, almost crying.
But there was no time to think, the sound of the creature's footsteps was now closer.
Hyun Jin turned, and before he could stand up
BAMMM!
The creature leaped and slammed hard into his back.
"ARGHHHH!! NO!! LET GO OF ME!!"
Hyun Jin screamed as he crawled, but the creature's grip was too strong. Its foul breath was hot on his neck, its jaws wide open, ready to bite Hyun Jin's neck.
With his remaining strength, Hyun Jin held the creature's mouth open using both hands. The monster's sharp teeth were only inches from his face.
Blood streamed from his wrists due to the pressure of the struggle.
"ARHHHH!!! DIE, YOU!!"
Hyun Jin screamed with all his might and shoved the creature aside, before immediately swinging his fists repeatedly.
Every punch was followed by the sound of tearing flesh and bone.
Until finally, the creature went silent.
Its head tilted to the side, its breathing gone.
Hyun Jin collapsed, his body covered in blood and sweat.
His chest heaved rapidly, his hands still trembling.
"What was that thing..."
Hyun Jin remained seated, his breathing heavy. His hands were smeared with the creature's blood.
"Why... why am I the only one who can see all this?"
he questioned softly, his eyes still wildly scanning the surroundings.
But before he could catch his breath, the sound of dragging and roaring echoed from the front.
Hyun Jin lifted his head.
Through the gaps in the dust cloud, dozens of creatures similar to the one he had killed emerged.
Their bodies were contorted, eyes glowing red, and the sound of their joints creaked every time they moved.
"WOAHHHH!!! SO MANY! HE BROUGHT HIS GANG!!"
Hyun Jin spontaneously got up, but his body fell back down.
His leg throbbed intensely; the previous wound still hurt.
"The pain... this is not the time for this!"
He gritted his teeth, trying to stand up again despite shaking.
Suddenly—
"Hyun Jin... Hyun Jin..."
That voice. Deep but clear.
He turned left, then right, no one.
"Who...? Who's calling me?"
"Look up... look up."
Hyun Jin looked up.
Above the platform, a large blue screen was suspended, flickering like an old computer system.
White text appeared in the center.
"GAME WILL END IN 10 SECONDS. PLEASE BOARD THE TRAIN."
"Game? What kind of game is this!?"
Hyun Jin frowned, his voice full of confusion.
But from the far right end of the station, a train pulled up with a loud rumble. Its sliding doors opened wide.
"Maybe that's what the screen meant..."
Without thinking twice, Hyun Jin turned towards the creatures that were rapidly approaching they were now just a few meters away.
"If this is a game, I have to win."
Limping, he ran with all his might towards the train.
The creatures roared fiercely behind him, their footsteps echoing like a storm.
Just as Hyun Jin neared the door,
"3... 2... 1..."
the automated voice from the screen sounded.
He leaped and BAM!
He got in just before the train doors shut tightly behind him.
After Hyun Jin jumped into the train,
his hands were trembling, his knees shaking non-stop. His breathing was still ragged from the run.
He clutched his rapidly heaving chest, trying to calm himself down.
Around him, the train was filled with passengers, sitting, standing, some playing on their phones, some sleeping.
But Hyun Jin knew... none of them could see him.
He was now just a phantom in whatever world this was.
His legs felt heavy and painful; his energy was almost depleted.
His steps faltered, and he finally collapsed onto the floor, his body passing through the legs of a seated passenger as if he were merely a ghost.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
"I'm tired... I feel like I'm going to pass out..."
He lay on the cold floor, looking up at the faintly flickering train ceiling.
Every breath felt agonizing. His vision blurred, and consciousness slowly faded.
Before he closed his eyes, his lips managed to tremble, uttering the names stored deep within his memory.
"Mom... Hae Rin... Doo Ho... Ji Hwan... Tae Rin..."
"I hope... this is all just a dream. When I wake up... please let me be back... in that comfortable bed..."
His voice grew softer, almost drowned out by the constant rumble of the train, which kept moving without stopping.
Finally, his eyes closed tightly.
Silence.
Darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED