"The story of a gumiho who likes the heart of a beautiful girl."
Even though Min Hyung spoke in a slight whisper, Ian's sense of hearing still caught the speech from the young man Lee. And because of this, Ian choked on the watermelon he was chewing, making all his friends turn to him. Even Yoo Ri who was sitting right next to him, was swiftly banging softly on her best friend's back. Likewise with Min Jee who immediately opened his bottle of mineral water and then gave it to Ian.
"Eat slowly, then swallow!" Su Bin sounded like a mother nagging her son.
"I'm sorry," Ian replied after drinking the mineral water.
"Already feel better?" asked Min Jee. Her tone was especially audible if the girl was worried about Ian.
"I feel better already. Thank you, Min Jee and you too, Yoo Ri."
"You're welcome," Min Jee and Yoo Ri reply compactly.
"Hey Min Hyung, continue what you said about the gumiho story. I'm curious about the story, " Su Bin pleaded.
"Are you sure you want to hear it?" ask Min Hyung to make sure.
"Please tell me the story that you mean it, I'm also very curious," Ian pleaded, making his friends give him a look of wonder. "Why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong if i want to hear a story?"
"No, that's absolutely not wrong. It just sounded like you weren't you when you said that," Min Hyung said approvingly to the others.
"Forget it, maybe Ian is a person who likes stories about mythical creatures. Please continue, Lee Min Hyung-ssi," said Su Bin who looked excited to hear the story.
"Alright, I'll tell you." Min Hyung confirmed his sitting position for a moment, then leaned back slightly. "This story takes place hundreds of years ago, where there lived a female gumiho who had a very beautiful face named Lee Myeong."
Everyone at the table—except Seo Joon, who seems uninterested—turned their ears to hear the story Min Hyung was about to tell. Ian is the only person who is very curious about the story that Min Hyung is referring to.
"Hundreds of years ago, Lee Myeong first set foot in the human world, because the gumiho liked the human world."
***
Ian vomited all the food he had eaten before. His stomach felt very nauseous right now and really made him uncomfortable. Even when he was with his friends, he had difficulty breathing, but he didn't show it because he didn't want to make them panic even more.
"Ian, are you okay?"
Seo Joon's question outside of the toilet cubicle is only answered with a sigh from Ian. The young man then pressed the flush button on the toilet to get rid of everything he had vomited earlier. After that, he came out with a slight stride. His nausea was still there, but he could not vomit anything anymore, it seemed that all the food in his stomach had been removed.
"What's wrong with you? You were so excited to hear the story, but you ran away and vomited," Seo Joon says as he watches his friend wash his hands.
Ian chose not to answer the question. The reason for this was that he could not tell his friends or anyone else. The two young men are silent to each other, Ian is now busy washing his face while Seo Joon remains attentive to Ian.
"There's something strange about you," Seo Joon said suddenly.
Ian turned his head and gave a sharp look that seemed cold when he heard his friend's words earlier. "What do you mean? What strange things are there for me?"
Seo Joon puts on a slanted smile while lifting his shoulders. "Think for yourself, for this body is yours," he answered, patting Ian on the shoulder. "I'm going out."
Ian stared at Seo Joon's departure with his sharp gaze. He is currently thinking about the meaning of Seo Joon's words earlier.
Since you've seen it, I'll give you two options. Do you want to continue living or end your life here?
Suddenly, Ian closed his ears, when one part of the dialogue from the story told by Min Hyung rang again in his ear. But what he heard was not Min Hyung's voice, but a woman's voice that sounded very creepy. The reason behind her running to the toilet and vomiting was because of that sentence.
He had a bad memory of that sentence. Without his permission, an old memory that he didn't want to remember at all suddenly reappeared. The mirror in front of him seemed to be a screen showing his memory.
With a frightened expression, Ian 'watched' the fragment of the terrible incident. Unexpectedly, he threw his fist at the mirror so strongly that it caused a crack in it. Drop by drop of blood began to come out of Ian's fist, which was still attached to the mirror. The young man's breath became a little heavy and hunterlike, as if he had just run away quickly.
"Why? Why is this story the same as my past?" He murmured softly.
***
July 15, 2005
California, United States
The boy struggled to escape the stranglehold of a creepy woman. Tears have even soaked her cute face, which is now very clearly visible if she is scared.
"Let go!" pleaded the boy with difficulty. The boy was really having trouble breathing, and maybe in a few minutes he would die from the strangulation.
The woman apparently actually let go of her stranglehold just like that, making the little boy's body fall and hit the floor hard. The boy coughed after escaping from the woman's stranglehold. His body shook violently. He was terrified.
A smile, which was more like a grin, appeared on the face of the woman, who had squatted down to be the same height as the boy. He touched the child's face slowly with the back of his hand.
"Ian, since you've seen it, I'll give you two options. Do you want to continue living or end your life here?"