After running for a long while, Cha Eui-jae slowed down to catch his breath. The white desert stretched endlessly before him, and the heavy snow still hadn't stopped.
A land with no end in sight. Would he really be able to find Lee Sa-young there?
He bit down hard on his lower lip, then started running again, faster this time. Beneath his feet, countless fragments of people's memories flickered past like shattered glass. Then, a thought crossed his mind.
'If this place gathered the memories of everyone who had died in the apocalypse… then aunt's memories must be here too.'
His pace faltered. The memories of the hunters who'd died in the West Sea Rift would also be there.
Eui-jae came to a halt. His aunt's memories…
He knew it was impossible. In such an endless expanse, how could he ever find their memories? But his body refused to move.
He dropped to his knees and began digging into the white sand with both hands. Unknown memories brushed past him like fine dust. Still, he didn't stop. He dug, and dug, and dug relentlessly.
His fingertips burned, his arms ached. He didn't know how long he'd been at it. No matter how deep he dug, there was no bottom, no pit, no end. Only Cha Eui-jae, covered in white powder, remained.
"…Ha!"
He tilted his head back and laughed, hollow and breathless. What had he been expecting? He just… He just wanted to see his aunt's face one more time. And the faces of those who had entered the Rift with him.
From the sky, white light and snow poured down endlessly. For a fleeting moment, he thought, 'maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just sink here, like this.'
It was only a passing thought.
Then, he felt his knees begin to sink. He looked down slowly. It wasn't his imagination. The white dust was swallowing him whole, like a living swamp.
"…What the hell!"
Eui-jae scrambled to his feet, brushing at his legs frantically. What was happening? Before he could even think, the ground beneath him gave way.
"…Damn it!"
He started running again. Each step sank deep into the snow-like sand. A chilling realization struck him.
'No way. You're trying to devour me just because of that one thought? You insane desert?'
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
He gritted his teeth and ran harder. His ash-gray hair whipped wildly behind him.
'Fine! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have thought that! I have to find Lee Sa-young, not sink into this damn place!'
"Lee Sa-yoooung!"
He screamed until his throat burned.
Then, all at once, he glimpsed something beside him, the face of a little boy clutching a teddy bear in an airplane seat. Curly black hair. Dark eyes. A pretty face, but full of sullen discontent. And a small mole beneath his lower lip.
"…Huh?"
Eui-jae stopped dead. He didn't recognize this scene, but he knew instantly.
That was Lee Sa-young, probably around kindergarten age.
Before he could take a closer look, the ground tried to swallow his feet again.
"Damn it!"
He ran again. As he did, more versions of Sa-young appeared before him, a parade of childhood memories.
The little Sa-young wore white shirts with suspender shorts, like a young nobleman. In every scene, his expression was crumpled into a perpetual frown.
Eui-jae couldn't help but snort with laughter.
"So you had that temper even back then, huh?"
He couldn't stop chuckling as he ran. In memory after memory, Sa-young grew older, but that scowl never faded.
Sa-young on a swing, alone.
Sa-young riding a bike, alone.
Sa-young on a plane, alone.
Sa-young forcing an awkward peace sign.
Sa-young hitting a bigger kid with his backpack.
Sa-young beating up that kid after knocking him down, until he got dragged away.
"…"
Even as he was being hauled off, little Sa-young kept kicking furiously.
'You really couldn't change that temper, could you?'
Eui-jae looked away with a faint smile.
More Sa-youngs appeared, different ages, different places. The backgrounds shifted again and again. America, Vietnam, Italy, Thailand, Taiwan, France, again Taiwan, China, Japan, and finally Korea.
'How many countries had he lived in?'
At Incheon Airport, Sa-young looked like a middle schooler, wearing a plain sweatshirt and cotton pants. Ordinary clothes that looked strangely out of place on him.
"…"
'Maybe when we get back… I'll make him wear something like that.'
The moment that thought crossed his mind, the pull of the ground on his feet grew weaker.
He took another step forward and suddenly, a new scene filled his vision.
Through blurred, toxin-clouded eyes, Sa-young looked up at a narrow space between piles of rubble. He was being held in his parents' arms. His lips moved.
"Save us."
And in response, a strong hand reached toward him. Cha Eui-jae's hand. The face beyond it was hidden by light.
"…"
After that, the memories grew hazy. Maybe because Sa-young's vision had been ruined back then. Even so, Eui-jae could see black shadows darting in and out of view, probably himself, as Sa-young had seen him.
'A dark, restless shape… that's what I looked like to him, huh?'
At some point, Sa-young was standing again. In front of him stood Cha Eui-jae, the edge of a black mask lifted slightly, revealing his chin and trembling lips beneath.
'Will you wait for me?'
That fragile voice trembled.
Sa-young removed the hand that had been cupping his cheek. Eui-jae reached for it, then clenched his fist instead.
With a weak hand, Sa-young lifted his pinky toward him.
Eui-jae's mouth opened behind the mask… but no words came out. He bowed his head instead, gripping Sa-young's hand.
Tears fell from beneath the mask, one after another. With shaking fingers, he linked his pinky with Sa-young's.
'…It's a promise.'
"…"
Eui-jae turned his head away. Watching himself from someone else's eyes, it felt unbearably awkward.
'Did I really cry that much back then?'
He scratched his head, embarrassed, and walked on.
After that, the memories began to blur together, lying in bed, waking up, taking medicine, lying down again. Over and over. Until he heard a woman's voice, smooth and venomous, like a snake.
"You know, if you come with me… you might be able to see J."
It was Ga-young's voice. Her words slithered into his ears like poison.
"And not just see him. You could even go save him yourself."
The hand gripping the bedsheet loosened slightly. No. Eui-jae shook his head.
Ga-young's whisper persisted.
"So? Will you come with me?"
Sa-young opened his mouth, but only a breath of air escaped, no words.
Ga-young sighed softly.
"Hm~ You can't talk, so I can't hear your answer. I wonder, what did J do with you? If you want to go, why don't you nod for me?"
Without hesitation, Sa-young nodded.
A low laugh.
"Then you have to listen to what I say, okay?"
"…"
Eui-jae clenched his teeth and kept walking.
After a blur of more fragmented memories, Ga-young's voice echoed again, this time bright and falsely cheerful.
"Let's call this one… hmm, No. 4. You can't tell me your name anyway, right? That's fine."
She clapped her hands together.
"No. 4 here has survived even though he's been poisoned by monster venom! Isn't that amazing? Let's all do our best to help him get better!"
Applause. Deafening. Mocking.
Eui-jae wanted to cover his ears.
A cold hand rested on Sa-young's shoulder. Goosebumps crept down his neck.
Click-click-click.
The skittering of many tiny legs. A spider, maybe.
"Let me show you your room. You'll be staying there from now on."
A rough hand yanked his arm. Sa-young, leaning on crutches, stumbled after her down a long, white hallway.
His breathing grew heavier. He stopped, panting, propping himself up on the crutches.
Ga-young's voice snapped, sharp with irritation.
"Hurry up."
Sa-young gritted his teeth and moved again. Each breath came out ragged. He could taste blood in his throat. Sweat drenched his bangs.
Finally, he reached her.
Click
A door opened.
Ga-young's voice turned sweet again.
"Welcome. This will be your room."
"…"
The room was all white. Even Sa-young, with his ruined vision, could see that much. The floor, the walls, the ceiling, everything white.
A cold, spider-like hand shoved him in the back. Thud! He fell, crutches and all, into the room.
He looked up weakly.
Clack. The door shut.
"…"
Eui-jae didn't run anymore. He only walked.
Because from here on… were the memories he had longed to know, the ones Lee Sa-young had never spoken of. The time he had spent alone.
The next scene was pitch black. He must have been wearing a blindfold. A voice whispered through the darkness.
"You know, they say poison can cure poison."
A vial clinked softly. A sharp pain flared in his arm, he was tied down, unable to move. A thick, viscous liquid was being injected through a needle.
The burning started immediately, his veins aflame, his mouth open in a silent scream. No voice came out, just ragged, breathless gasps.
At last, the needle withdrew. Sa-young twisted violently, but he couldn't break free.
"So I've prepared different kinds of poison."
Her voice was cheerful.
"Let's see… how much you can endure."
A laugh, cold, lilting, venomous.
Eui-jae stared at the memory with bloodshot eyes.