Dystopia Of Night - Chapter 4 Part 1

4. ??topia

A giant figure held a gleaming magnifying glass and gathered sunlight. Sehan and Yuju, who were running, were scorched by the blazing sun. Sehan pushed Yuju away. He alone remained under the scorching sun.

Yuju tried to go back to him, but the giant grabbed Sehan’s arm and lifted him up. No matter how much Yuju struggled to reach him, Sehan’s body rose to a high altitude.

Tear. Tear. Thud.

The giant, curious like a child tearing the wings off a dragonfly, nonchalantly severed Sehan’s arms and legs. The sound of blood splattering and bones breaking echoed eerily, yet Yuju couldn’t do anything.

‘No! Don’t do it!’

She screamed as if she were mute. His screams echoed endlessly in her ears like an eternal echo.

“Aaaah!”

Finally, her voice burst out as she woke up from her sleep. Yuju knew that it had all been a dream, but she couldn’t stop screaming. She had cried like this in her dreams so many times. But she still couldn’t reach him. She cried with her whole body, as she couldn’t at that moment.

“Shh.”

At that moment, a warm body temperature enveloped Yuju. Sehan, who had embraced her with his whole body, lowered his lips gently to her ear and whispered.

“It’s all just a dream.”

The captivating voice that shattered the soul-stealing dream brought Yuju’s focus back to her pupils. She gasped for breath like a person pulled out of water and cleared her throat.

“I-I’m sorry. I did it again…”

Yuju had been having nightmares like a sick person. She had been screaming, often waking Sehan, and she couldn’t fall asleep alone.

Sehan was gradually adapting to this world, while she still struggled with nightmares. It felt like she was losing her mind all by herself.

“I always say this, but you’re normal, Yuju.”

“But Sehan, you’re the one who’s perfectly sane.”

“Not perfectly sane. It’s just not obvious on the surface.”

For reasons different from Yuju, Sehan also had his concerns. He could see that Yuju’s body and mind were becoming emaciated, as if she were slowly getting poisoned. At this rate, she wouldn’t last long. But even for him, he could not find a way back.

“Don’t think of it as a burden. Your problems are my problems, and my problems are yours. We’re in this together.”

Hiding his anxious feelings, Sehan gently wiped away the tears that hadn’t dried from Yuju’s eyes.

“This makes us a real married couple. Waking up together every day and going to bed together.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, which held a warm light. Like an angel in filthy mud, it was a light she would not lose until the very end. But it was also a light that was easily devoured by darkness.

Sehan swallowed the bitter anguish that rose in his throat as he looked at her pale face.

She wouldn’t know. How much those words pained him.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about a married life with Yuju. In fact, he had considered it too early. It was only delayed because she was young and she didn’t fully realize her feelings.

But this situation did not exist in the future he had dreamed of.

The past him was a person with many possessions. He was overflowing with wealth and arrogance. He found it funny how he had been so self-assured, never even imagining such a future as this.

“When we go home… should we get married?”

He didn’t think he would make such a lame proposal. But he felt like if he didn’t do something, even something as crude as this, she would leave. He felt like he would have to let her go, with nothing in his hand and empty-handed.

Sehan had considered that. He imagined a future without him in her life. But he had never imagined a future without her in his life.

Regrettably, due to his arrogance, he believed that her future without him would be worse than his future without her.

But no matter what, in this moment, the admiration in his eyes was genuine.

Yuju’s face, startled by the sudden words, lit up brightly.

“Really? And have a baby too?”

“Yes… The baby would resemble you, Yuju…”

Crash! The loud noise from outside interrupted Sehan’s words. Yuju held his hand tightly with an anxious expression.

‘You and me, our home… our family… our future…’

He stammered like a voiceless mermaid, producing only bubbles.

Screams and shouts erupted, like a violent whirlpool, erasing his bubbles of words.

***

Droplets of scathing sunlight splashed onto the exposed shoulders. Yeonji, drenched from head to toe after stumbling at the water’s edge, struggled awkwardly to retreat further into the shallow water.

“Get lost! Leave me alone!”

The water rose to the tip of Yeonji’s chin, as she sat deeper in the water, but she didn’t realize this fact as she glared at Hansol, who was standing there cluelessly.

Yeonji, her attention focused on Hansol, thrashed about before tumbling backward.

“Aaah! Oomph! Omph!”

The overflowing water surged over Yeonji’s face, entering her mouth and nose. Sehan was the one who pulled Yeonji out of the water, where she was struggling to get out on her own.

He grabbed Yeonji’s arm and lifted her up. Like a fish just pulled from the water, Yeonji flailed about and tried to push away Sehan, who was pulling her out of the water.

Sehan was getting frustrated with these daily antics. Nevertheless, he kept stepping in because if he didn’t, Yuju would try to do it.

“Yeonji-ssi, are you okay? Wake up! Are you alright?”

Yuju gently examined Yeonji’s face, which had become gaunt over the past week from not properly washing or eating. In the meantime, Yeonji had collapsed onto the floor, motionless, as if she had fainted.

“Ha… That crazy woman is at it again.”

Hansol was also exhausted from the repetitive events of the past week. Initially, he had felt bewildered by Yeonji’s seizures whenever she saw him, but now all that remained was anger and irritation.

Hansol began pouring harsh curses at the lifeless Yeonji. Yuju’s face, as she listened, contorted with displeasure.

But strictly speaking, in this situation, Hansol was the victim. Without any provocation, Yeonji had unilaterally feared and attacked Hansol.

“What’s this…”

As Yuju let out a sigh, she noticed something dark and seaweed-like stuck to Yeonji’s ankle. She reached out to grab and remove it.

“Crazy woman…?”

Eyes that had been tightly closed suddenly flickered open. Yeonji forcefully pushed Yuju away and stood up.

“Ahh!”

Sehan, who had been on high alert since Yuju started checking on Yeonji, caught Yuju as she was falling backwards. There was a large rock behind her, and Yuju was just inches away from a potentially serious head injury.

Sehan, who silently held and supported Yuju, stared at Yeonji with a cold gaze. Unaware of Sehan’s gaze, Yeonji turned away and rushed towards Hansol.

“Did you call me a crazy woman?”

Thwack! Hansol’s head jerked to the side. A red mark was left on his cheek from her jagged and broken fingernail. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Yeonji.

The air around the four of them felt chilly, as if the tension and anger were contagious.