Revenant Resonance Ch 6

Chapter 6

 

With his long legs, he closed the distance in just a few strides. The man, bent at the waist, raised his hand. Then he suddenly grabbed Yu Jiha’s face—and instead of tearing it off, he began to grope it.

Yu Jiha, who had been trembling as if his neck might be twisted off at any moment, started to grow suspicious. The man’s hands moved with such ease, as if checking whether the facial features had been sculpted properly. Surely he wasn’t fascinated because it was his first time seeing a human… right?

“So this is what your face looks like… You’ve grown a lot.”

The low murmur only deepened his doubts.

“It would’ve been better if you had more flesh. Are you not eating properly? Or are you a picky eater?”

The man gently pinched his cheek without hurting him. He wasn’t planning to rip it off and dip it in sauce or anything, was he?!

Just as Yu Jiha was preparing to emphasize how bad he must taste, the man let go.

“Well, since fate has brought us together like this, why don’t we start by exchanging names? My name is Je Ilheon.”

“Uh… that, um, it’s the same as what I saw and read earlier…”

Even to his own ears, his mumbling was clumsy and incoherent, but the man understood without difficulty. His eyes, glowing with a serene light, curved slightly.

“That’s a Jeongan (淨眼). When you read characters with a Jeongan, they’re called Jeonganmun (淨眼文).”

“Jeongan?”

“It’s the eye that sees through the true nature of the Guimae. You’ve probably experienced something similar here, haven’t you?”

“Y-Yes! Earlier, I met a savior and an alcoholic. Letters appeared in the air, but I was the only one who could see them.”

Finally, he had met someone who understood this strange phenomenon. Stammering, Yu Jiha explained the situation when he had encountered the patient-Guimae, and the man nodded and listened quietly.

“So earlier, your name, um, your name…”

Yu Jiha trailed off mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he realized something he hadn’t noticed until just now. The man smiled softly.

“You can’t see my name anymore, can you?”

There were no words floating above the man’s body. It was as if he were facing an ordinary person. Now that he thought about it, the man’s voice didn’t carry that jarring, unnatural tone that the Guimae had. On the contrary, it wrapped around his ears with a soft resonance. A pleasant baritone, like a voice actor’s. Which meant…

“Is he a real person?”

Was that whole scene with the eyeball just a hallucination…? His mind tangled into a confusing mess.

“Won’t you tell me your name too?”

“Y-Yes! I’m Yu Jiha!”

“Hmm, I see. Yu Jiha, Yu Jiha…”

The man mumbled his name over and over as if savoring it, then whispered softly.

“It’s a good name, Jiha.”

His annoying sister had never called his name sweetly, and neither had his parents ever pronounced it this tenderly. His heart jolted. Was it really okay to be called so sweetly by this stranger—someone who might be a monster or might not? It was all just too strange.

Trying to shake off the weird feeling, he hurried to change the subject.

“You said those letters see through the essence of a Guimae, but earlier, your name—um, your honorable name…”

He circled around the point, trying to ask, “Even if you’re human now, weren’t you a Guimae just a moment ago?” He sensed a faint smile.

“It’s funny when you call me ‘teacher.’ Don’t be so formal. Just call me ahjussi.”

“Y-Yes, sir…”

“Anyway, my name—hm, honorable name?”

“Ha, haha.”

The man’s laugh grew slightly louder. Yu Jiha didn’t know what was so funny, but he awkwardly laughed along.

“Guess you mistook me for a Guimae after spending too much time with them.”

Playing with Guimae? Even in his fear, that was a ridiculous explanation. Without thinking, Yu Jiha blurted out, “…Do you not have any friends?”

He gasped and clamped his mouth shut, but thankfully, the man didn’t seem offended.

“That’s just my taste.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You saw it too. Tied up tight in restraints and chains.”

“Excuse me?”

“You don’t know BDSM? Ah, maybe it’s too early to be having this kind of talk. I guess our friend here is still young.”

“Ah, I mean, I know about it…”

Yu Jiha felt his mind going numb as he asked again.

“Then when I called your name, and the Guimae disappeared, was that…”

“Hmm, a safe word?”

……

The more he heard, the more convinced he was that this was all nonsense, but he couldn’t ask further. What could he expect from a man he met for the first time in a place where monsters devour people?

“Ahaha… I see… I guess I interrupted your good time…”

He could only force a smile and agree.

“Not at all. I was getting bored anyway, so it was perfect timing. Thanks.”

Despite being interrupted, the man gave him a warm smile. Speaking nonsense in such a kind, trustworthy voice was a talent in and of itself.

“Jiha.”

“Yes.”

“Are you very tired?”

“Uh, no. I haven’t been in this hospital for that long, so…”

“Alright. If you can move, let’s get out of here before we get hungry. We need to escape. It’s not good once hunger sets in inside the Gwaeso.”

“But before I got caught up in all this, I had been drinking…”

“Ah, right, you said you were chased by the alcoholic? He’s got an incredible nose for alcohol.”

After a brief moment of thought, the man asked,

“What floor did you come in from?”

“Third floor.”

“Then you’ll be fine. It would’ve been bad if it were the top or bottom floors, but that guy only moves by elevator, so we can avoid him if we’re careful.”

The man referred to the Guimae that had threatened his life as “that guy” so lightly—it came off either as the composure of someone strong or as someone who found the Guimae beneath notice.

‘…Can I trust him and go with him?’

It was clear the man intended to accompany him, but Yu Jiha found himself hesitating. Still, there weren’t any better options. Running from a possibly monstrous man would only lead him into the hands of real monsters. He let out a heavy sigh. The man seemed to know things not even listed in the hospital’s rulebook—maybe it was better to follow him for now. If the man had intended to eat him, he would’ve done it already.

Whether he understood Yu Jiha’s conflicted mind or not, the man casually turned and opened the door to the hospital room. The alcoholic had vanished, and the lights of the empty corridor lit up his view brightly.

The light didn’t seep into the room, as if Room 404 and the corridor were two separate spaces. But it was enough to reveal the man’s face—taller by a head than him.

His beauty was so striking, Yu Jiha forgot where he was for a moment, and his heart gave a sharp jolt. There was no trace of the instinctive unease he had felt around the other Guimae. On the contrary, just like his voice, he appeared to be a young man. At most, he looked to be in his early to mid-thirties. It felt a bit rude to even call him “ahjussi.”

His somewhat long hair, covering the nape of his neck, didn’t seem intentionally grown out but rather unkempt, as if he had simply forgotten to cut it. The smooth bridge of his nose and the expressionless face with its tight line looked sharply sculpted like a blade. But when he turned his head toward Yu Jiha, the cold, indifferent air changed completely.

His eyes, which had seemed stern and elongated, now softened with warmth. Even the unsettling left pupil had darkened into a normal color. His firm lips curled into a gentle smile. It was as if he were telling Yu Jiha there was no need to fear him anymore.

What reassured him the most was that there were no scars near his eyes. If someone had really gouged out an eyeball, there would’ve been some kind of trace. So it must’ve been a mistake.

“Your legs gave out?”

Je Ilheon bent down and reached out his hand. Yu Jiha tried to grab it and stand, but when he put weight on his twisted ankle, pain shot through him and he collapsed with a short cry. Je Ilheon’s expression changed immediately.

Before he could even explain, the man knelt in front of him and gently touched his aching ankle. His large hands were incredibly careful, but the voice that came from his bowed head was icy cold.

“Jiha, who hurt you?”