3. Afterlife

Cold,

So cold...

Park Tae-hyun didn't know why it was so cold here.

He was walking on a secluded path.

Both sides of the path were lined with flowers, but there wasn't the slightest hint of romance or beauty.

The flowers were so beautiful they seemed mocking, like onlookers.

*Flowers bloom on the other side, people go to the afterlife*

Park Tae-hyun remembered his last memory—fire, a raging inferno.

The terrifying flames would devour him completely, the scorching heat reducing him to ashes.

But in the blink of an eye,

he found himself here.

The path was crowded with people.

Elders,

children,

youths and middle-aged individuals,

men and women,

all dressed in varied attire.

Some wore simple clothes, while others donned bright red outfits with excessive blush on their faces.

Everyone walked on tiptoe.

No one spoke.

No sound existed except for the occasional *rustle, rustle* of shoes against the ground.

Park Tae-hyun moved forward numbly with the crowd.

He glanced around, looking back from time to time.

He vaguely realized where he was.

He was dead, and this place was the Afterlife.

The final resting ground for the deceased.

His own,

He had died after all.

He didn't know what to do or what choices to make.

He didn't want to die.

No one does.

But here, he was at a loss.

Confused and helpless.

"Aaaaaaa..."

A chilling tune drifted from afar,

Park Tae-hyun turned his head and saw bright red flowers approaching, while the others around him ignored them, continuing to shuffle forward numbly.

As they drew closer, Park Tae-hyun could see clearly that those red flowers were actually peach-blossom paper umbrellas.

In the distance, a line of women walked gracefully toward them, holding the umbrellas.

They were tall, with elegant figures, all wearing purple chima-jeogori (Korean traditional dresses).

Their hair was neatly coiled into buns, their steps perfectly synchronized as if they were the world's finest dance troupe, rehearsed for over a century.

They walked,

they marched.

From one end of the path to the other,

coincidentally,

passing before Park Tae-hyun.

Their exquisite makeup, porcelain skin, and the eerie tune they hummed created an atmosphere reminiscent of old Shanghai, shrouded in mist and rain.

Each woman wore a bracelet on her wrist, varying in color and size, accentuating their pale wrists and making them even more striking.

Pity,

They were not walking through the commercial district of Namdaemun Market,

nor through a lavishly decorated club.

They tread on the road to the underworld,

passing by a sea of otherworldly flowers,

their gazes fixed ahead, the latter staring at the former,

the former,

Their eyes were empty.

As the last woman passed Park Tae-hyun,

she suddenly turned her head and looked at him.

Originally, the world was the most beautiful,

Now,

It plunged to the other extreme.

Fear?

Of course, it was terrifying!

Disgust?

Of course, it was revolting!

But Park Tae-hyun was already dead.

Humans could be scared to death, but what of ghosts?

The woman looked at Park Tae-hyun.

Park Tae-hyun looked back.

Their eyes met briefly, and then the woman continued forward, her figure swaying, her back graceful.

"Where are you... going?"

Park Tae-hyun subconsciously followed the line of women, leaving his original group behind.

The man shuffling along the path,

no one glanced his way.

They seemed devoid of thought or perception, and Park Tae-hyun appeared to be an outlier among them.

A procession of women, smoke rising with every step, kept moving forward, humming and murmuring, as desolate as ice;

the already oppressive atmosphere grew even more desolate because of them.

Park Tae-hyun continued to follow.

Then, he watched as they walked into a pool one by one.

The pond was not large.

Like a mirror,

their entry seemed to break its calm, creating ripples.

The women at the front submerged their heads underwater, while those behind continued to follow.

Park Tae-hyun approached the pool's edge but did not join them.

He simply stood and watched.

Everything here was utterly unfamiliar to him.

This was a place no one visits more than once in a lifetime, and once entered, there was no return.

Something floated to the surface in the middle of the pond.

It was a pair of hands. Red nails and pale hands, as delicate as dandelions, the hands danced gracefully, captivating and mesmerizing.

Beauty is alluring, but this kind of beauty was hypnotic.

A look of fascination slowly crept into Park Tae-hyun's eyes, and before he realized it, he began to move forward.

First, his feet.

Then his knees.

His waist next,

until finally,

the water reached his neck.

He was fully submerged.

The water was not cold; it was warm.

The surface was clear, visibility was high.

There was no pain, no suffocation.

Park Tae-hyun saw the women with paper umbrellas.

Even underwater, they remained graceful and charming, continuing to move forward.

Closest to him was a woman in red. She stood underwater, yet her hands danced above the surface.

Park Tae-hyun began to approach the woman in red.

Not for beauty's sake,

nor due to any illusory influence,

but because this woman seemed to possess an inexplicable magic that drew him near, made him feel close, made him lose control.

Finally,

Park Tae-hyun reached her.

Her hands slowly emerged from the water.

The woman's hair was long and thick, swirling in the water, obscuring her face.

"At last... I've waited for someone like you again..."

The woman's voice was clear, sweet, and sticky.

She reached out her delicate hands and placed them on Park Tae-hyun's shoulders.

The gesture was intimate.

"You... come and accompany me..."

The next moment,

her hair began to spread out, strands of black hair billowing toward Park Tae-hyun's face;

The beauty's hair brushing against his face seemed romantic, but then, the woman's hair transformed into the world's strongest steel cable, binding Park Tae-hyun's neck.

"Come... accompany me..."

Her hair loosened, revealing her face.

She had no face.

Her face was smooth, without contours or wrinkles—a perfect, featureless surface that would make thousands of girls envious.

But she had no nose, no mouth, no eyes, no ears.

A faceless... woman?

Park Tae-hyun felt his breath catch, his chest tightening. His body seemed to collapse.

The faceless woman's laughter was clear and ethereal, but to Park Tae-hyun, it sounded like the wail of a demon.

Park Tae-hyun woke up.

He didn't know what it meant to be entangled like this in this place.

But one thing was certain,

it wouldn't end well.

"You're here... stay....with me...!"

The faceless woman continued to laugh, her hair swirling.

Park Tae-hyun instinctively grabbed the hair wrapped around his neck, struggling desperately to break free.

The faceless woman found his futile struggle amusing.

"You can't escape. Stop fighting. Anyone who walks here has a spirit. Once I've devoured enough spirited souls, I'll have a chance to return!

"You are destined to become my SACRIFICE!"

But as the words left her mouth,

the faceless woman gasped: "How is this possible...? Impossible...?"

Park Tae-hyun's fingernails began to grow slowly, their jet-black, transparent color glowing eerily in the water—the same hue as the nails of the old man he'd treated before his death.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle… Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…"

The sound of boiling oil hissed,

the faceless woman's hair that bound Park Tae-hyun melted and snapped upon contact with his nails. His body began to retreat, slowly breaking free from her restraints.

"Impossible... Impossible... This can't be... Why! Why can you leave too?!!"

Why won't you stay with me?

Why!

Why!

This isn't fair!

It's not fair!"

The faceless woman lunged at Park Tae-hyun.

But when he pushed her away, his nails seared her flawless hand, burning a hole through it.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

The faceless woman screamed.

Her grip loosened, and she lost control of Park Tae-hyun.

His body began to float upward.

About to surface.

"You can't escape... you'll be caught!

Here,

This here is the final resting place of the dead!

Even if you leave, you'll be dragged back eventually!"

The faceless woman shrieked and raged below.

She was jealous.

Envious,

Mad!!!

Park Tae-hyun, rising steadily,

Slowly lost consciousness,

The dark path to the underworld...

The dazzling beauty of the otherworldly flowers...

The faceless woman's roars...

The elegance of the women in chima-jeogori...

everything...

seemed to drift away from him...