"Remember to lock the door!"
As I walked out the house, my grandma's voice trailed behind me. Apparently, my mother never remembered to lock the door as a teenager and so it's become a habit for her to yell whenever someone leaves. The old woman was kind of annoying, but sometimes she let her caring side show more than usual.
As soon as I reached the main road in my small neighbourhood, I ran and jumped onto my skateboard. The only time I could ride freely was during the night or early in morning, otherwise the neighborhood housewives would complain that I was either too noisy or that they were afraid of getting hit by me.
Pssshhh, what stupid complaints.
While riding, the refreshing night breeze blew onto my face. The small neighbourhood, usually crowded with kids in the day, was silent and dark, except for the streetlights. If you looked up towards the city, you could see the night lights of Seoul.
I picked up my skateboard and prepared to cross the street. On the other side was a convenience store that I regularly went to. The selection of spicy ramen was seriously better than the local supermarket. Just as I was bending down to grab my board, an ear wrenching static noise erupted somewhere. The sound pierced my ears and instinctively my hands raised to cover them, letting go of my skateboard. It began to roll towards the road.
The board itself wasn't that important to me, but replacing it would be a hassle. The part-time job I worked at didn't pay nearly enough for me to replace it. So I ran onto the road.
As I ran, the board stopped rolling right in the middle of the road. A sigh of relief escaped me. I reached my hand out to grab it, but instead I was blinded by car lights. I turned and saw a black minivan coming towards me. Expecting to not be in this world anymore, I surprisingly didn't feel anything. Rather nothing happened. Until I saw him.
Instantly, I was no longer out on the road but in the convenience store across it. Standing right in front of the cash, I saw the college student that worked night shifts on the weekend. I had come to know his face since I always came when there was no school the next day. He was busy doing something behind the counter, so immersed in it I guess he didn't notice me.
"Hello?"
No response. Maybe he just didn't hear. I turned towards the instant noodle aisle, when suddenly the door burst open.
Ding Ding Ding
The person who came inside was someone young. He was wearing all black, and had both hands in his pocket. Apparently the cashier knew him because he turned and greeted him in a friendly way.
Maybe their classmates?
Returning to shopping, I began to ignore them. I noticed that my favourite ramen, which was sold out last week, was now in stock. But before I could grab it, the cashier screamed.
I ran towards him, but stopped right before the counter. There was the person who had just come in was right beside the cashier. One hand was still in his pocket. In the other was a knife. A knife that he was now using to stab the cashier. With each time the knife made contact with his flesh, red liquid gushed out. Blood began splattering onto the counter, each individual drop of blood falling as if in slow motion. The man didn't stop at three stabs, but kept going. The cashier was already too in shock from pain to do anything, his eyes remaining wide open.
My hands reached out to try and stop him, but before I could, he turned his face to me. Something about his eyes just weren't normal. They were bright and happy, in a way indistinguishable from a child eating candy, but not quite. It was…sinister looking. A type of happiness derived from what he was doing.
And then I was back at the crosswalk. Only my skateboard was in my hands. I looked both ways on the road and there were no cars near. The black minivan I saw seconds ago was nowhere in sight.
Odd, was all of that just a dream? But it was so realistic. What about the cashier?
At the thought of what I had just witnessed, a wave of panic rode over me. I dashed across the road towards the convenience store and pushed open the doors. Out of breath, the cashier was looking at me with a puzzled look. But he was in one piece, and no traces of blood could be seen.
Awkwardly, I walked towards the instant noodles aisle. Was what I had witnessed just a wacky dream I conjured from not sleeping and drinking too much coffee? No way, even that was a stretch. Yet I knew what I saw.
Quickly, I paid for my ramen and left to go home.
"Grandma, dad, I'm home!"
My grandma suddenly appeared from the kitchen.
"Grandma, why are you still up it's already—"
"You have visitors. They are in the kitchen."
I stood there puzzled. Visitors? I walked over to the kitchen to see for myself and there at the dining table were four people seated. They looked to be different ages, two girls and two boys.
"Grandma, did they say what they were here for?"
She shook her head.
One of them suddenly glanced up and made direct eye contact with me.
Ah shit.
"Dae-mi! Why are you hiding there? Come and greet us, we haven't seen each other since middle school."
His face told me to follow along with what he was saying.
"Uh, yeah, it's been a long time no see. Grandma, we're just going to do a bit of catching up. Don't let us keep you awake. I'll see them out."
"Okay, don't stay up too late, the neighbours will complain. I'm off to bed."
As I saw her back disappear up the stairs, I ran into the kitchen.
"Who the hell are you and how do you know me? We are certainly not old classmates. If you don't speak, I am calling the police."
"Wait a second. We are just here to talk." I glanced at the speaker. A young girl, maybe older by a couple of years. She was wearing a bright neon beanie.
"Ok then. Talk."
The guy sitting in the back turned towards me. "We know who you are: Kang Dae-mi. We also know that just now, you witnessed someone's death. We want to know whose."