"You mutant terrorist!!!" Sin Jeong Hyuk roars behind them, only two arm-lengths away from Chang Seol. His dark eyes turn red with rage. Veins pop up on his forehead. "I am going to cut open your belly and take my chicken out."
Chang Seol flaps her wings to thrust herself forward. No Shi Won is right beside her, barely managing to keep her pace.
"Is he a human?" No Shi Won yells at Chang Seol. "How can he catch up with us?"
"I don't know!" Chang Seol shrieks loudly. She doesn't even have time to catch her breath. Mister has been running after them like a madman. "Where's the exit?"
"Just ahead." No Shi Won replies, "They must have arrived with a truck."
It's a nightmare. Why is Mister here? She doesn't want him to know that she's a chicken… no, a weird shape-shifter bird for real.
As they make a turn, the bright light at the end of the tunnel nearly blinds them. Chang Seol staggers on her feet, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Give me my chicken back!" Sin Jeong-Hyuk takes a leap, landing on her back. He coils his arms around her neck, screaming madly. "My Chicken! Give her back to me!"
"Cluck!!!" Chang Seol lets out a panicked cry. "CLUCK!"
Sin Jeong-Hyuk grabs the crown of her head. "Either you give me my chicken or I will barbecue you today."
"CLUUUUUUCK!" She doesn't want to be barbecued for sure. Chang Seol tries to shake him off. However, the man is holding on to her neck as if she's his lifeline. His grip is so hard that she is choking. Chang Seol raises her beaks toward the ceiling and screeches, "CLUCCCCCCK!"
"Return Chang Seol to me!" Sin Jeong-Hyuk bites the crown on her head hard. "If you don't give her back to me, I am going to --"
"CLUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCK!" Her piercing scream echoes in the tunnel. Though she's touched that he's fighting for her like this, she doesn't appreciate the bites. Chang Seol's eyes brim up with tears. "C-C-CLU-CLUCK."
***
"Darn!" No Shi Won shakes his giant head when he sees Chang Seol's supposed husband try to choke her neck. Though he's a basilisk, he can't help but feel fear. He doesn't want to get bitten by a human.
"SAAAAAVE MEEEEE!" Chang Seol looks at him tearfully. "He's going to kill me at this rate."
"I don't want to go near him." No Shi Won replies with a straightforward voice, "What if he also bites me?"
"Then turn back to human and explain things to him." Chang Seol spreads her wings, flapping miserably as she struggles to get her Mister off her back. "He's going to eat me raw!"
"Why would you marry such a scary human?" No Shi Won stares hard at Sin Jeong-Hyuk who is trying to choke Chang Seol's huge neck with his small hands. "Wait! He looks familiar. Where have I seen him?"
****
"Oh!" Sin Jeong-Hyuk notices the weird hisses and clucking between the bird and the serpent. His murderous gaze turns toward the serpent. "You ate my Chang Seol."
The serpent slithers backwards hesitantly. "Hiss Hiss Hiss Hiss!"
"Cluck Cluck Cluck!" The bird clucks loudly.
"Hiss Hiss Hiss!" The serpent tilts his head. "Hiss!"
"Cluck!"
"Hiss!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Sin Jeong-Hyuk has enough of this hissing and clucking. He climbs off the bird's back -- still holding onto the hen's crown on the bird's head -- and strides toward the serpent without any fear while dragging a five-thousand pounds bird along with him. "You mutants! Should I use my teeth to tear your bellies open?"
The serpent glares at him. "Hiss~!"
"$#%@!" Sin Jeong-Hyuk yells all the verbal abuse that he knew of. "Do you think that you can scare me?"
The bird whimpers meekly. "Cluck."
"Stop clucking!" Sin Jeong-Hyuk snaps at the bird. "Give my Chicken back."
He knows about the story where a darn wolf eats a human girl. There are a giant serpent and a bird. Which one ate his chicken? He glances at the serpent's belly. There's no significant bulge. Then, he turns toward the bird and eyes its stomach.
No noticeable bulge there either.
Sin Jeong-Hyuk gasps when the realization hits him.
"Is she already digested by the two of you?" He looks at the bird with a horrified look in his eyes. "You ate my Chicken and digested her already. You murderer!"
***
No Shi Won blinks his eyes as Sin Jeong-Hyuk breaks down in tears. The man falls on his knees and starts bawling his eyes out. No Shi Won glances at Chang Seol calmly. "Why is your husband so stupid?"
"He's crying." Chang Seol is also crying, quivering weakly. "Do something!"
"I want to swallow him." No Shi Won hisses at her, "He's getting on my nerves. But I don't want to commit cannibalism."
"Just turn back to human and tell him everything." Chang Seol snaps at him, "How long are you going to make him suffer?"
"It's self-inflicted suffering." No Shi Won looks daggers at Sin Jeong-Hyuk and murmurs, "I can't remember where I have seen him."
That's not important. Chang Seol walks toward Sin Jeong-Hyuk. For some reasons, her heart is clenching when she sees him sobbing for her. Mister cares for her so much. She rubs her head against his shoulder to pacify him.
Mister grabs her head and looks into her obsidian black eyes. "If I don't bury you in this tunnel, my Chang Seol's soul will never rest in peace."
"Cluck." Chang Seol sighs. She scrutinizes his face: cheeks covered with tear stains; murky mucous hanging out from his nose; eyes full of hate, rage, and grief; and wet lips asking for a kiss. She opens her beaks partially and elongates her tongue, gliding over his cheeks, eyes, and then, she flicks his tongue. Mister, taken aback by her actions, gapes at her as she keeps running her pointed pale pink tongue on his lips.
"What the…" She hears No Shi Won let out a curse, but she can't bother with him anymore. Right now, she can't stop herself from taking advantage of Mister's stupor.
And all of a sudden, she is holding his face with her hands and running her small tongue over his lips.