Chapter 8 : When the screams return

An hour had passed since they’d reached the unfinished construction site. Now, they hid in a dimly lit room on the top floor, surrounded by half-finished walls and scaffolding. The layout resembled that of a shop house—bare concrete floors, exposed wiring, and not a single sign of comfort or essential supplies. Park Seo-yeon lay unconscious, her face smeared with dried blood from the earlier crash. Her breathing was shallow, but steady. "In-Ji, she’s bleeding," Manager Sang-woo muttered, kneeling beside her. Without hesitation, he ripped the sleeve from his shirt to make a crude bandage. "Yes. Yes..." I muttered, forcing my hands to steady. I cleaned the blood off Seo-yeon’s face as carefully as I could, brushing strands of her hair away, trying to find the wound. "You always leave early." That was the first thing she ever said to me—back when we were fourteen and awkward strangers in acting class. I used to slip out before warmups, thinking no one noticed. But she did. And now here I was, staying... even when everything told me to run. I found the cut on her scalp—thankfully shallow—and pressed the makeshift bandage against it. "You’re okay," I whispered, more to myself than her. Sang-Woo leaned his back against the wall, chest heaving. "You handled that well," he said, glancing at me. "Didn’t think you’d hold it together." I exhaled slowly. "I didn’t either." The silence between us lasted only a few seconds—filled with the soft, shallow breaths of Seo-Yeon. Her face was pale. Too pale. "I thought she was dead..." I muttered. Sang-Woo ran a hand down his face. "You and me both. I’ve seen some ugly scenes in my time, but—this?" He gestured vaguely to the broken world around us. "This is something else." I hesitated. Then: "Do you think this is real?" He chuckled dryly, the sound bitter. "Hell, I don’t know. Reality’s been punching me in the face since that thing knocked us off a cliff." I looked down at my hands—still faintly red with her blood. "She doesn’t deserve this." "No one does." "I didn’t know you two were that close." Sang-Woo hesitated. His eyes rested on Seo-Yeon’s unconscious form. "She’s more than just a celebrity to me. I’ve known her since she was a teenager. I worked with her father even before that." "You mean—" "I couldn’t have children of my own. and when I started working with her, it wasn’t just business anymore. She became family.No wonder her father calls her a miracle." In-Ji swallowed. Somehow, that made all of this feel heavier. Deadlier. "I always thought you were just being overprotective." "I was," Sang-Woo admitted. "Because I promised him I’d keep her safe." After silence, he continued, She’s a rising star, and I was her manager. This whole trip was just supposed to be a promotional shoot with a YouTuber." "Yeah... it was going to be my debut," I muttered. "You know, I never liked you hanging out with Seo-yeon. The fans can get possessive. I was always worried." "You’ve already told me that." "I know, I know... Just trying to lighten the mood." Just when the world outside seemed to settle into silence, the screams returned — but this time, they were different. "What the hell is going on?" I asked, glancing at Sang-woo. "I don’t know," he replied. "But... did you hear that announcement? The voice? It sounded like some kind of message." "I barely remember," I admitted. "It said something about a window... I think?" No sooner had the words left my mouth than a screen materialized in front of me—floating in the air like something straight out of a game. Name:Seong In-Ji Race: Human | Age:21 Nature:Scavenger Class: Gunner Sub-Class:(Unlocks after Mission 5) Title:(Unlocks after Sub-Class) Level:001 Strength:015 | HP: 005 Agility: 020 | Mana: 003 Stamina: 007 Nature: Scavenger Grants an increased chance of finding high-value items when opening chests. Class: Gunner Enhanced understanding and accuracy with firearms. Increased firearm efficiency. Note: Choose your weapon. (Not Selected) I stared at the glowing panel, my brain failing to catch up. "This looks like one of those RPG stat sheets," Sang-woo murmured, peering over my shoulder. "You said something about a status window?" he asked. The moment he repeated it, a new screen popped up in front of him. Name: Sang-woo Race: Human | Age:48 Nature: Stalker Class: Shield-Bearer Sub-Class: (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title: (Unlocks after Sub-Class) Level: 001 Strength: 015 | HP: 011 Agility: 003 | Mana: 001 Stamina: 020 Nature: Stalker Temporarily erase your presence and the presence of anything you touch for 15 seconds. Class: Shield-Bearer Increased shield knowledge and defense by 50% when wielding a shield. Weapon: Choose your weapon (Not Selected) Before either of us could make sense of it, another golden screen flashed into existence. Mission 001: Survive the Golden Hell Description: Earth’s current population: approximately 7 billion. This is a mass elimination protocol. For the next 7 days, monsters from the First Floor of Hell—*The Forsaken Wastes*—will roam freely across the planet. On the seventh day, a Boss Monster will appear. Failure to defeat the Boss will result in the complete elimination of the region. Penalty:Instant Death Tips for Players • Hunt to Grow Stronger • Team Up for Efficiency • Synergize with Your New Class • Weaponize the Forsaken • Adapt & Evolve "This is insane," I whispered, my throat dry. I turned to Sang-woo, who was now visibly sweating. "What are we supposed to do?" "We wait," he said after a pause. "We stay quiet, stay safe. The government or someone has to come. Just breathe, okay? I won’t let anything happen to you or Seo-yeon. Not on my watch." I nodded, forcing myself to breathe. We still had those floating windows hovering in front of us. Unsure what else to do, I reached out and tapped the "Choose Weapon" option. Grey cards materialized from thin air, hovering in front of me. Just like the ones we saw earlier in the car. "Choose your card." This time, I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed one. The other cards vanished instantly, and in their place appeared a handgun—solid, heavy, real. Weapon Selected: Hammer-Fired M1911 (D) A small-caliber pistol, effective against monsters. • Capacity: 7 rounds Note: Bullets are rare. You must craft them yourself. • Ingredients: Monster bones + Iron • The type of monster bone determines bullet strength. "Oh wow. That’s a hammer-fired M1911," Sang-woo said, surprised. "Single-action. You have to cock the hammer manually before each shot—but the trigger pull is clean." "I’ve never even held a real gun before," I admitted. "I used to shoot at gun ranges whenever Seo-yeon had gigs in the US," offered the pistol to him. "You should take it, sir. You know how to use it." But just as I reached out, a new message appeared. You cannot give your designated weapon to others. Tip: You can kill other players to steal their weapons. "What kind of twisted game is this?" I muttered. "It’s alright," he replied. "I’ll summon mine too. Sang-woo tapped his own card selection. A moment later, a large rectangular shield appeared in his hands. Weapon Selected:Scutum (E+) A Roman-style shield made of layered wood and reinforced steel. Curved to wrap around the body, it offers exceptional frontal defense. "This is actually pretty nice," he said, raising an eyebrow. We didn’t get to talk more. The muffled chaos outside had begun to rise again—this time louder, wilder. Screams. But these weren’t like before. These screams were layered — human wails twisted with something unnatural. Something inhuman. Wet, guttural shrieks tore through the night air, followed by the gnashing sound of bone and steel colliding. A baby cried. A man screamed for his mother. Then silence. Sharp and immediate. Seo-yeon stirred weakly in her sleep, groaning. I pulled her closer. My hands were trembling. I clasped my ears, panic creeping in again. Then— "Heighhhhhh..." A metallic hoofstep. Closer. Rhythmic. Heavy. Accompanied by the whirring noise of chainsaws revving in short bursts, as if it breathed through machines. "Th–That’s the thing..." Sang-woo whispered. His voice had no strength left. "The one that crashed our car." "But we’re on the third floor!" I hissed, eyes wide. He didn’t respond. His face was pale, drained of color. A thin sheen of sweat formed on his forehead. I couldn’t stop myself from peeking toward the stairwell, just beyond the hallway outside our room. The sound grew louder — claws scraping against metal rails, that horrifying clink of steel dragging against concrete. And then it stopped. Right. In. Front. Of. Our. Door. I couldn’t breathe. We had nothing to barricade it with. Nothing at all. Seo-yeon was unconscious. I was unarmed. And Sang-woo—he stepped forward. Quiet, slow. He put himself between the door and us, holding the shield in both trembling hands. Then I saw him close his eyes. His lips moved but made no sound. The air around us twitched, like static electricity just before lightning strikes. Then— darknes It was as if someone had pressed mute on the world. I couldn’t hear my own breathing. The light from the hallway faded, as if a veil had been dropped between reality and us. For a terrifying moment, it felt like we didn’t exist. I felt Sang-woo’s hand brush against my ankle, barely. Seo-yeon’s leg was under his other hand. That’s when I realized—he was touching both of us. His Nature Ability. Stalker. [Nature Activated – Stalker] "You and anything you touch vanish from all senses for 15 seconds." The door creaked. Slowly. Not kicked open, not broken. Just... pushed. Gently. As if the thing was toying with us. Its tail reached in first. A long, snake-like appendage of steel cords and hooked barbs slithered across the floor. Then its head emerged — elongated, misshapen, wrapped in a leathery hide. No eyes. Just a twitching snout and breathing vents lined with sharp metallic rings. Its legs clicked with every step — hooves fused with mechanical claws. It didn’t roar. It *sniffed*. Loudly. Mechanical vents hissing with steam as it paced inside the room. I was right there. Less than a meter away. I could see my own breath fogging. I could smell it — like burnt meat and rusted chains. My heart hammered, but it didn’t react. It couldn’t see us. It tilted its head, then turned abruptly. Something in the distance — another scream. A living one. The monster bolted. Out of the room, down the stairs, gone in a matter of seconds. As soon as it left, Sang-woo collapsed to his knees, his shield clattering to the floor. I barely caught him before he fell fully forward. "Sang-woo!" I checked his pulse. Weak, but still there. He was drenched in sweat. Breathing shallow. His eyes fluttered but didn’t open. His ability... it had drained him completely. Outside the room, the sounds grew distant again. But the memory didn’t fade. I exhaled shakily and leaned my head against the cold wall, letting my heartbeat slow. Seo-Yeon was still breathing. Sang-Woo hadn’t moved. The world, for one brief moment, felt still. But somewhere above — tucked into the splintered shadows of the ceiling — a small, inhuman eye glinted through a crack. It didn’t blink. It watched. And then, it was gone. No sound. No warning. Just a brief shift in the shadows, like a breath being held — and released. In-Ji never noticed. But the ceiling watched him.