At first, I thought I was seeing things because the empty socket of his other eye looked dark. But upon closer inspection, his eyeballs were truly gone. The closer the distance between them, the clearer the man’s festering eye sockets became. Could the self-harm he mentioned… have reached his eyes?
“Come… closer…”
Rigai moved his wrist, which looked like it would break, making a creaking sound. As the rosary on his wrist came into clear view, he suddenly brought his face closer. Perhaps because he was sitting, I couldn’t tell, but Rigai was surprisingly tall despite his hunched posture. Seoryeong reflexively took a step back, but couldn’t completely avoid him. His gaunt body leaned towards her, as if looking down from above. One of his eyes was completely empty, while the other couldn’t open due to eyelids full of puncture wounds. Even so, Rigai buried his face in Seoryeong’s hair.
“Black hair…”
After confirming the color of her hair, the man sat back down and bowed his head. His dismissive attitude hadn’t changed from before, but for some reason, Seoryeong felt as if she had just passed through an important gateway. ―…You said, his eyes are gone? From the ear-in that had been silent until now, a cold voice suddenly sounded. She knew very well that she had to respond immediately to calm Lee Wooshin, who had been easily agitated lately, but her mind was completely diverted by Rigai in front of her.
“Diaspora… Diaspora…”
Seoryeong moved a little closer to hear his mumbling. What exactly was Chairman Kang Taegon gathering? What kind of information caused so many security personnel to die? With a tense face, she gripped the armrest.
“Forgive me, Prime Minister… Forgive me, Madam… Forgive me for not being able to save you… Forgive me, Sir… Forgive me, Madam… should not have gotten involved with the Diaspora… your grandchild… Madam, forgive me…”
He kept repeating words that were unclear whether they were regret or apology. Seoryeong had often seen such patients in nursing homes—who kept repeating one sentence, as if trapped in a single moment, unable to get out. Similar to the symptoms of dementia. But what exactly was the Diaspora…? Seoryeong muttered the word she had heard for the first time, without a sound. Suddenly, somehow, Rigai, as if hearing the murmur, immediately raised his head and grabbed Seoryeong’s wrist.
“Child…!”
His grip was so strong that Seoryeong winced.
“Actually… I have found the truth…”
His face without eyeballs looked strangely and eerily shiny. Was the information Chairman Kang wanted related to the “truth” he meant? Seoryeong tensed at the whisper.
“I… have finally found the true truth…”
But then, his empty eyelids, which had seemed to be searching for something in the air, suddenly lowered, as if about to smile.
“The world doesn’t care about the weak.”
Rigai then placed his rosary on Seoryeong’s hand. The creaking sound like iron continued, along with his small laugh.
“Even morality… is just a luxury created by the strong.”
“……”
“But I must keep believing that I saved them… I am still protecting them even now… Even if it’s a lie, I must believe… because otherwise, I won’t be able to endure… Hic… hic… Prime Minister, forgive me… Madam, forgive me…”
Seoryeong looked at the rosary now hanging on her wrist with a tense expression. She didn’t know the story behind this man, but her mind was already completely confused. He looked like someone broken because he couldn’t bear something.
“Uuhh…”
The man rested his forehead on his wrinkled hand, groaning. Then suddenly, as if seized by a spasm, he screamed, “Aaaah!”
Seoryeong tried to calm him by holding his arm, but instead was hit on the head.
“My eyes… Please bring my eyes… My eyes… My eyes! Quickly bring my eyes here!”
He fell to the ground and could only watch Rigai, who kept pointing to one side of his eye. Then, he got up and ran out of the room. He shouted at the foreign man who stood silently outside.
“глаз!”
Eyes…! The foreign man immediately understood his meaning and took out a key from his waist. From inside the room, Rigai’s screams could still be heard. Unable to leave the place, Seoryeong immediately ran towards the rectory where Rigai had once lived. His pain-filled screams seemed to keep pushing her back. As soon as she got outside, she pressed the ear-in tightly.
“Instructor, what is the Diaspora?”
―Han Seoryeong…! A loud, piercing shout came from the communication device. ―If you’re going to do whatever you want, why even bother wearing the ear-in!
“The situation earlier didn’t allow it.”
―You don’t care at all about the person waiting outside, do you!
“That’s why I’m contacting you now, right?”
―Why can you be so nonchalant… haah… Please don’t raise my blood pressure!
“More importantly, have you ever heard the word ‘Diaspora’?”
She ignored Lee Wooshin’s anger, and the breath that followed sounded cold. …You really are… His voice, cut off between his teeth, sounded full of suppressed emotion. The distance he maintained made him sound very cold when he finally answered. ―Diaspora is a term that refers to people who leave their homeland and live in other countries. Meanwhile, Seoryeong had already arrived at the rectory and began searching the room. She immediately saw an artificial eyeball in a transparent tube.
“……”
The eyeball floated in antiseptic liquid, looking very real down to the blood vessels. They said artificial eyeballs were now advanced enough to be used for iris recognition. She didn’t want to look any longer, so she immediately put it in her pocket.
“I’ll head back now.”
Even though she reported in, Lee Wooshin didn’t answer. Only the crackling sound of static could be heard, whether due to signal interference or something else. Seoryeong walked back while remaining wary of the workers passing by. Because of that, she completely didn’t expect to collide with a small figure that suddenly appeared from the opposite direction.
“――!”
The little girl, who was thrown back because her head hit Seoryeong’s stomach, was wearing a choir robe. From where she came out, it seemed to be the restroom, and she seemed to be part of today’s event. As Seoryeong hurriedly approached the child who couldn’t stand up properly, communication from the Blast-4 device in her ear suddenly turned on. ―Alpha here. One of the choir members is reported to be out of line. Conduct a search immediately.
“Alpha, this is Bebo. I think I see her.”
―Bebo, Alpha here. Move to the seating area in the worship hall immediately. Over.
“Roger.”
However, the child’s condition, holding her stomach and sweating profusely, didn’t look good. Seoryeong immediately picked her up without saying much.
“Honey, just hold on for a moment…!”
At that moment, there was a strange feeling of vibration in her pocket— the artificial eye she had stored there was shaking. The child, who barely felt heavy, suddenly hugged her neck tightly. The wide, round sleeves rubbed against her nose and lips, and then suddenly her head felt like it was spinning. Before she could understand what was happening, her knees buckled.
“――!”
Seoryeong tried to keep supporting the child’s body until the end as her own body fell forward. She shook her head, trying to stay conscious, but the child instead clung tighter and rubbed her clothes against her. A cold sensation spread, her jaw began to stiffen, and her strength disappeared. Ah… she just realized. It seemed to be a paralyzing poison absorbed through the skin. Crash―! Seoryeong finally fell with the child, her forehead hitting the floor. Perhaps because she considered the child harmless, she had been careless. The unexpected blow made her thoughts even more blurry.
“Uu… uu….”
She tried to speak, but only saliva came out. Her tongue seemed to be the first part to freeze. She wanted to press the earphone connected to Lee Wooshin, but her hands couldn’t lift. Her eyelids felt heavy as bricks. At that moment, a pair of familiar flat shoes slowly approached. Her own shoes. Exactly the same. What in the world…? The size seemed the same, and the brand was the same line. Even her hair was styled in a similar way. Even the shape of her face, eyebrows, everything was exactly like her own. Her eyes met the woman’s.
“Uu, uu…!”
What is all this…? Am I hallucinating? Or did I see wrong? Seoryeong forced her eyes open until the end, looking at ‘Han Seoryeong’ who was now right in front of her.
“The Owl exchange process has begun.”
A voice so familiar echoed in her ears. Who… whose voice was that just now…? That ‘Han Seoryeong’ then supported her and dragged her into a nearby room. It seemed there had recently been a funeral mass there, as a large, thick coffin was visible. ‘Han Seoryeong’ pulled out all the in-ears from both her ears and placed them inside the coffin. After that, she attached a round film around her neck and calmly straightened her collar. Seoryeong could only stare at all of this in confusion. She tried to grip the coffin, but her hands had no strength left.
“Da… dang…―”
With a cracking sound and a numb tongue, she finally saw the eerie face resembling her own.
“Joo… Seol… Heon… Deputy Head…!”
What else… what kind of wicked plan are you carrying out…! Even her respiratory passages began to be affected, her breath grew ragged, her voice choked and wouldn’t come out. Joo Seolheon, now wearing her face, looked deeply at her from above the coffin.
“…Congratulations on your marriage.”
Deputy Head Joo seemed about to say something more, but then without hesitation closed the coffin loudly.
“Ugh…!”
Once trapped in the narrow, dark space, her breath stopped. She had to get out before her whole body was paralyzed, but all she could do was scratch the inside of the coffin. The only thing she could feel was the cold glass tube —the one containing Rigai’s artificial eye. She felt certain that the coldness of the disinfectant fluid was slightly hindering the effects of the poison.
“Uuh…―”
Seoryeong reached for the tube with her entire palm, accepting the coldness. Then slowly, slowly, she extended her hand towards the light at the edge. This time, she couldn’t avoid the dense iris.
“――”
As she stared at the sun-like shape shattered against a black background like outer space, every detail of the iris was imprinted in her mind. Click―. Impossible… but the sound of an old key being turned echoed loudly inside her head. A wave of black water swallowed her entire body. And terrifying memories surged like death.