The shadow took the shape of a crumbling person.
At first glance, it resembled a human, yet it shifted like a distorted mirage, constantly changing form, like a sculpture melting and solidifying, fluctuating from tall to short.
The man couldn’t help but rub his eyes in disbelief at the peculiarity of the sight before him.
He questioned whether he was simply seeing illusions due to his exhaustion.
After rubbing his eyes once more, he finally caught a clearer glimpse of the shadow’s shape.
To be precise, he could discern the rough outline of that figure buried in the darkness.
‘A hunchback?’
The shadow was hunched over.
Standing with a stoop reminiscent of Quasimodo from Notre-Dame, its protruding back resembled a weight it had to bear. It almost seemed like a person mimicking a camel’s stance.
“Who are you? Come out, please.”
The man grumbled inwardly about crossing paths with such a thing at night. Yet, contrary to his grumbling thoughts, his voice trembled slightly at the invitation for whatever lurked in the darkness to step forward, caught a bit off-guard by the potential surprises hidden within the dark.
“Cr-rrh. Understood.”
The shadow willingly obliged to the man’s request.
It swayed side to side, tottering as it slowly emerged from the darkness.
“Ugh.”
The man swallowed a scream as the shadow’s form became clearer.
It was too bizarre of a sight.
‘A monster?’
While within the shadow, it appeared to be merely a common hunchback.
But the entity that had actually emerged was much closer to being a monster than a person.
With skin that seemed to resemble fish scales or grotesque insects clinging to it, and wearing a golden mask, it looked like something straight out of a B-grade horror film.
‘What a horrifyingly fearsome appearance. Damn it.’
The man swallowed hard, staring at the unidentified figure stepping closer to him, its posture bent, moving one step at a time, while donning a bug-like golden mask and staring directly at him.
Even as its body moved, the golden mask remained still, leading to the unsettling sensation that it was floating in mid-air and gradually approaching him.
A strange atmosphere enveloped him.
Caught in that eerie atmosphere, he found himself unable to think of running away, only able to swallow hard while accepting the figure’s approach.
Was it the curious tension that held him in place?
Or was it the fear?
Perhaps it was the curiosity that kept him rooted to the spot.
He stood like a statue, fixated on the figure, watching as the golden mask drew nearer, his gaze locked on it.
The eyes behind the golden mask gleamed as they met his, and he also gazed back at the mask with eyes full of trepidation.
He couldn’t bring himself to meet its gaze.
The glittering eyes seemed to swirl with a bizarre madness.
Avoiding eye contact, he focused on the area near the mask’s upper lip or the bridge of its nose, evading direct interaction.
If asked whether he was scared…
Yes.
The man was filled with dread before the unknown figure right in front of him.
It was only understandable.
‘What a frightening thing to look at, damn it!’
He was facing somebody dressed like a serial killer from a B-grade horror movie.
Whether that person was a real killer or not, just the fact that they approached him dressed that way at this hour indicated a complete lack of normalcy.
Moreover, the atmosphere was unsettling.
It was far too chilling to dismiss as just a costume for filming.
How could one not feel fear?
He had no idea what that figure might do!
On top of that, the man often attracted trouble as an article, leading to him unknowingly garnering enmity from various people.
Given the weight of his past, he had all the more reason to be intimidated.
There was even a possibility that the person before him was the kind of thug or killer someone had sent to take care of him, like, “Please deal with that bastard!”
“Hey there, young man.”
The figure in the golden mask spoke to the shivering man, rattling like metal.
“I’ll ask you one question—can you answer?”
The assailant’s voice was bizarre.
Each tone was a weird mix of noises, sharp enough to seem like needles piercing his ears, making it feel as though the words were being forcefully hammered into his brain.
It was an absurdity.
Logically, he shouldn’t have understood it at all, yet he found it strangely clear.
Thus, the man found himself more terrified than ever.
The person in front of him could be just as, if not more, extraordinary and bizarre than the costume they wore.
“What do you want?”
The unknown figure questioned while sounding as though it was scraping metal.
“What do you desire?”
It was an utterly surreal yet eerie question.
What do you want?
It was something one could hear from friends or strangers alike, but never expected to hear in a situation like this.
“Excuse me?”
The man couldn’t help but return a question to the figure.
“What do you mean by what I want…?”
He asked back with an incredulous tone.
However, the figure did not answer his query.
It merely stared at him, waiting as if to urge him to respond.
“Uh, well….”
Under the pressure of those piercing eyes, the man finally separated his lips.
But perhaps due to being too tense?
His mind felt bleached white, unable to process a coherent thought.
What should have been a simple question to answer became one he could barely respond to, and he started sweating profusely.
“Cr-rrh. Yes, desire is like that….”
The figure chuckled at the man’s state.
The eyes behind the mask squinted in a grin, and the pasty glow of emotion flickered momentarily within the eyes before disappearing entirely.
As if moonlight shimmering on water shattered into pieces.
“Desire,” he said, “it swirls, shatters, builds, crashes, collapses, fragments, and mends over and over…. Like mixing and grinding, it’s something hard to face directly.”
The figure spoke in riddles, slowly raising its right hand.
Then, it poked the man’s body with its index finger.
At that moment, the tension that had stiffened the man’s body dissipated, and his blanked mind jolted back to awareness, as if awakening from a dream.
“Uh, ugh.”
The man exhaled harshly, like someone waking from a nightmare, and jumped up as if he had just received an electric shock. He took a couple of steps back, as if trying to move away from the figure.
However, even with a step back, he didn’t think of fleeing.
He feared that if he turned his back, the figure, this unknown entity, might chase after him.
They say you should never turn your back on a predator.
Though the man felt the impulse to run, the fear of possibly encountering a horrific fate paralyzed him, keeping him facing the figure.
Continuously.
Continuously.
“See, you don’t know what you want—can’t answer…. That’s understandable. Cr-rrh. That’s perfectly fine….”
The figure laughed at the sight before it.
Though hiding its expression behind the mask, it was evident the figure was indeed enjoying itself.
“Desire is like fat, you see. Growing endlessly. Yes, endlessly expanding fat…. As it keeps piling on and growing, in the end, you forget what even sparked it, and desire itself becomes the thing you maintain. Yes, that’s how it works….”
The figure pointed at the man’s pocket slowly, its golden mask glimmering in the streetlight.
“Young man. I will test your desire.”
“Eh?”
The figure tightened its fist and then slowly opened its hand.
Suddenly, something appeared in its palm as if by magic.
It was a notebook.
A cheap and flimsy notebook that one could get for a thousand won at a stationery store.
Not to mention, it looked tattered, filthy, and as though it had been picked up from a trash heap.
“Here you go.”
The man tentatively accepted the notebook being offered to him.
“Ew.”
He had no desire to accept a dirty and stinky notebook.
But refusal was not an option.
Who knew what this strange person might do if he declined?
With a grimace, he accepted the notebook, and after the figure gave him a look, he cautiously tucked it into his pocket.
“That notebook is a gift. But if you want another gift—yes…. You must come to this place, at this time.”
The figure nodded, as if satisfied, and turned away.
It melted into the darkness as if its shadow was blending in.
Even after seeing the figure vanish, the man remained frozen in place for a considerable time. Once he felt it was safe to move, he finally slumped down as if the tension had drained from him.
“Hah…”
Is this what it felt like to barely escape a serial killer?
“What a terrifying experience. Damn it.”
The strange skin was grotesque, and the golden mask was bizarre.
Yet what truly unnerved the man was the figure’s overall vibe.
Those eyes seemed to regard him not as a person but as prey.
That menacing aura wrapped around him like a shroud.
The atmosphere resembled that of an evil spirit captivating its victim.
All of these elicited a fear that defied description.
‘Guess I’ll be walking down this path from now on. Damn it.’
The man cursed inwardly as he slowly rose to his feet.
He turned around and retraced his steps back to the cafe.
He wanted to be among people.
With a haggard expression, he walked back into the cafe and settled himself at a suitable table.
Then, he stared blankly at the people passing by outside and the cars moving down the street, attempting to calm his racing heart.
After a while, the terror buried deep in his heart began to fade.
So much so that he felt compelled to check the notebook the figure had given him.
With trembling hands, the man opened the notebook.
“Rule 1: Offer a sacrifice to gain information.”
From the moment he opened the first page, a chilling line sent a shiver down his spine.
