Chapter 5

Breathless, I pushed open the old wooden door.

Inside, the sound of sweeping could be heard.

The monk had neatly placed his worn-out straw sandals and was quietly sweeping the yard.

“Monk…”

As I barely managed to speak, the monk, as if familiar with this, stopped sweeping and looked up.

The monk’s deep and calm gaze was as serene as the dawn twilight.

“The cat… it’s dead.”

Remembering the cat’s body lying in the yard made me feel nauseous.

I placed both hands on my chest, trying to calm my uneasy heart.

“Second Brother saw it.

And… he was terrified when he saw Sister.

I told Father, but he scolded Second Brother instead.

When I asked about Fox Valley, he just coldly told me to leave…”

As I spoke, anxiety weighed heavily on my entire body.

Father’s stubbornness, the ominous events happening one after another,

and even the monk’s warning…

Everything felt like a huge whirlpool.

The monk silently listened to my story.

As the sunlight illuminated the monk’s face, the deep wrinkles became more pronounced.

The monk, who had already put down the broom, sighed and spoke in a low voice.

“We must hurry.”

The monk’s voice was much heavier and firmer than before.

“Pack your things immediately.

Within three days… you must leave that house by any means necessary.”

The monk’s words felt like they were piercing my heart.

With a trembling voice, I asked.

“Where should I go… with my young sister…?”

At my words, the monk’s face hardened.

The deepened wrinkles and shadows on the monk’s face felt even sharper.

The monk spoke firmly, as if driving a nail.

“Absolutely… you must not take your sister with you.”

For a moment, I felt suffocated.

“But…! How…!”

I tried to protest, but I couldn’t continue under the monk’s gaze.

The gaze seemed to pierce through everything.

The monk slowly and firmly said.

“Your only way is to escape alone.

If you take your sister with you, not only your life but also a greater tragedy will follow.”

The monk’s firm words were impossible to understand, and I left in a fluster.

On the way back, my mind was filled with the monk’s last words.

Leaving my sister behind was something I couldn’t even imagine.

When I returned home, it was already dusk.

As I opened the creaky gate and entered,

my sister, who was in front of the gate, ran towards me with a bright smile.

Her orange hair swaying,

she looked exactly like a lovable child.

“Older Sister, welcome back!”

My sister spread her arms wide and hugged me.

Her small, soft body hugged me tightly, and for some reason, my heart ached.

The monk’s firm voice felt strangely unfamiliar.

How could I leave such a bright child behind?

Without realizing it, I hugged my sister even tighter.

“Did you wait long?”

I gently stroked my sister’s cheek.

My sister, ticklish, laughed and hugged my waist.

“I waited without eating until Older Sister came back!”

My sister’s bright laughter seemed to momentarily dispel the thick shadow of anxiety.

Holding my sister’s hand, I went inside and sat at the dining table.

My sister sat close to me, chattering non-stop.

Like a child, she moved restlessly, telling me this and that.

When I fed her a spoonful of rice as she whined,

my sister opened her mouth wide and smiled brightly.

Though she looked like an innocent child, my heart was complicated as I looked at her.

‘Is there really something wrong with my sister?’

When night fell and I lay down again, my anxious heart wouldn’t sleep.

Turning to the side, my sister was sound asleep, oblivious to the world.

Her small, peaceful breathing tickled my ear.

As I looked at my sister’s face,

my eyelids began to feel heavy.

How long had I slept? I woke up from a shallow sleep without any loud noise.

The cool night air wrapped around me, giving me a chilling feeling.

Feeling the urge to urinate, I carefully opened the door and went out to the yard.

Walking slowly in the darkness towards the outhouse, I sensed a presence.

“Si-Sister…?”

Startled by the sudden voice, I turned around.

Third Brother was standing in the darkness.

My eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dark, so I couldn’t see his face properly,

but his fumbling voice clearly showed signs of panic.

“What are you doing here at this hour?”

Third Brother awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of his head.

“Ah, Father told me to keep an eye on the yard tonight…”

Third Brother’s gaze kept drifting downward,

and his fidgeting fingers seemed like he was trying to hide something.

“Alright… nothing unusual, right?”

Third Brother nodded vigorously.

“Yes, nothing at all!”

His answer sounded strangely awkward and exaggerated.

With my anxiety still lingering, I headed to the outhouse.

On my way back after finishing, Third Brother was still there.

The gaze directed at me felt oddly unsettling.

I returned to my room and burrowed under the blankets.

Though the warmth of my younger sister seeped into my body,

my mind remained tangled with anxiety and doubt.

“Why did the third brother act so strangely…?”

The monk’s words telling me to leave my sister behind,

and the situation spiraling in an incomprehensible direction weighed heavily on my mind.

Listening to my sister’s soft breathing beside me,

I drifted back into a shallow sleep.

But deep within, it felt like a massive storm was brewing.

A chaotic noise jolted me awake.

In the darkness, faint murmurs reached my ears.

The growing roar of my father’s angry voice struck my ears.

“Whether it’s the second or the third, what nonsense are you spouting?!”

The sound of the door shaking violently made my heart sink.

I tried to sit up on the bed and steady my breath, but the unease only grew thicker.

Carefully, I opened the door.

A suffocating, fishy smell hit my nose.

As I stepped into the yard, the scene before me took my breath away.

The lifeless bodies of chickens were scattered everywhere.

Red blood stained the dirt of the yard, and feathers were blown into a mess by the wind.

My father, the second brother, and the third brother stood with stiff faces.

The third brother cowered in fear, while the second brother seemed to be mumbling something.

At that moment, a small voice came from behind me.

“Older sister… what’s happening?”

I turned to see my younger sister, still half-asleep, clutching my clothes.

The monk’s words suddenly pierced through my mind.

‘You must never take her with you.’

I hugged my sister and forced a smile.

“It’s okay, little sister. It was just a bit noisy.”

But my voice trembled slightly.

After sending my sister back to the room, I left the house.

Right now, it was hard to face her directly.

I walked alone by the riverside.

The river breeze brushed my cheeks, leaving a chilly sensation.

On the quiet night path, all I could hear was the sound of flowing water.

I thought my father favored my sister because my mother blamed me as she was dying,

but there were too many things that didn’t add up.

As I listened to the sound of the water,

the strange events of the past few days flashed through my mind.

The corpses of rats, the guts of a cat, the blood-stained yard with dead chickens.

The eerie voice of the old man reciting prophecies,

the mad laughter of the ghost,

the whispers of the clown claiming to be cursed,

and even the unfamiliar word ‘Fox Valley.’

It was like scattered puzzle pieces swirling in my head.

Amidst it all, the image of my sister’s bright, innocent smile as she hugged me surfaced.

‘Could it really be…?’

As an absurd thought crossed my mind,

I shook my head vigorously to calm myself.

‘No, that can’t be.’

As the sun began to set, I returned home.

Long shadows stretched across the courtyard as dusk spread.

My mind was still a mess,

but one thing was clear.

I couldn’t figure anything out or solve anything like this.

After steeling my resolve, I slowly stood before my father’s door.

As I looked at the door, the monk’s warning and my sister’s pure smile came to mind simultaneously.

I needed to know the whole truth.

Carefully, I raised my hand and knocked on the door.

“Father, it’s me. I need to talk to you.”

As I gently tapped the doorknob, a low voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

I opened the door and stepped inside.

My father sat reading a book, as usual.

His fingers turning the pages seemed calm,

but beneath the quietness, there was a palpable tension.

After bowing, I cautiously spoke.

“Father, I’ll keep watch over the yard tonight.”

As soon as I spoke, my father’s brow slightly furrowed.

Without looking up from the book, his tightly pressed lips showed displeasure.

But I couldn’t back down.

I needed to see with my own eyes what was happening.

After a brief silence, my father nodded and said shortly.

“Very well.”