Daldal: Main story

Chapter 13

Hic, Hic.

Eun-oh, who was soaking in the bathtub, continued to sob uncontrollably. It felt like he had done it hundreds of times, yet it showed no sign of stopping. The trembling in his entire body was similar. The water surrounding him was genuinely warm, but the bone-chilling cold seemed reluctant to disappear, penetrating to the core.

It kept replaying in his mind-the recent tragedy. The man who casually wielded a knife on another person's body. What he did was an act of violence and murder. A person wielding a knife against another, a person killing another. Eun-oh witnessed that scene up so close, and the shock was inevitable.

In reality, death itself wasn't unfamiliar to
Eun-oh. Having lost his mother at an early age, living in the mountains exposed him to various forms of corpses. He had seen bodies contorted from accidental falls, bodies twisted from dehydration, and even corpses torn apart by animals, with internal organs exposed.

Compared to that, Mr. Cho's injuries and
Gak-sae lifeless body seemed relatively mild.

The source of the shaking impact for Eun-oh wasn't death itself but the act of murder. And the form that murder took.

It was a first. Someone causing harm to a person's body so nonchalantly. Someone ending a life so effortlessly. Eun-oh had never encountered someone like Chae Yoon-sa before.

How was he when he harmed Mr. Cho and Gak-sae? He seemed without any hesitation or contemplation. It was as easy as cutting down insignificant roadside grass. The problem lay ahead. The recent tragedy could happen to him as well. His body could be maimed like Mr. Cho's, or he could slowly die like Gak-sae. Such was his fate.

Knowing well that his situation wasn't any better than theirs didn't make it any less grim. Hence, this unsettling prediction held a certain realism. In fact, he had narrowly escaped such a fate twice already, pleading for his life through begging and barely escaping death.

In fact, when I urinated earlier, I was scared that my dick would be cut off.

"Huuk, fool. This poor guy!"

Thunk! Eun-oh blamed himself, hitting his head with his fist. He cursed the person who, driven by hunger, had robbed the belongings of that man. He cursed himself for not recognizing the man, for innocently asking the way forward. He cursed himself for not being able to hold back and urinating in front of him.
It was all his own foolishness, and there was no one else to blame. So, what could he do? Face the consequences.

Thunk, Thunk! It was when Eun-oh had his head gripped several times.

The door to the bathing area opened as someone entered. Startled, Eun-oh lowered himself further into the water.

"Are you okay?"

The person entering was the servant who had brought Eun-oh to this bathing area. Smiling gently at Eun-oh, who didn't respond, the servant approached and set down what he had been holding near the bath - clothes to change into.

"You seemed quite surprised earlier. How about now? Are you feeling a bit calmer?"

From the voice to the tone and even the expression, the servant exuded an overall warm impression. Unlike the men in the outer courtyard who appeared rough and big, this servant was noticeably different. His clothes and appearance were neat and tidy, and he had a softness about him. Eun-oh found the amiable and well-groomed servant likable.

Eun-oh, with half of his face submerged in the water, timidly responded, "Oh, um... not yet."

"You were quite startled."