KEG 99

“Hmm, well… Anyway… Head toward the center of the village…”

The guide refused to offer any further assistance and simply pointed toward the center of the village with their finger.

They were more narrow-minded than I expected.

“Thank you.”

I gave a brief, polite bow and walked into the village.

Everything was black, so it felt a bit strange at first, but once I got used to it, I could tell which parts were walls and which were the floor.

The villagers I passed were all wearing flower wreaths. Some had two, others three.

“You’re already wearing three flower wreaths~! That’s amazing!”

“All you have to do is swear eternal loyalty to the Master~”

From what I heard, the more flower wreaths you have, the more respect you receive.

It was not like putting one more decoration on your head actually changed who you are. What a strange village.

“Oh!”

Just then, someone called out to me. I looked at the person who spoke, but I couldn’t quite place them.

“Do you know me?”

I asked first. But when I actually spoke to them, they tilted their head in confusion.

“That’s strange. I thought I recognized you.”

“…I know.”

And I also felt an odd sense of familiarity with them. How could I feel this way when I don’t even know who they are? Who could this person be to give me such a feeling?

“I guess we must have known each other in a past life.”

I accepted their explanation. They looked familiar because we probably knew each other.

The way I felt a heaviness in the pit of my stomach made me think we must have had a long-standing connection.

“You’re only wearing half a flower wreath.”

“Oh, this? I hear most people have a complete one on their head from the moment they wake up, but I only have half. Isn’t that strange?”

I looked at the half-finished flower wreath on the other person’s head and replied, “I see.”

Wondering if I might have one on my head too if everyone had one from the moment they woke up, I ran my fingers over the top of my head. My fingertips didn’t catch on anything.

“Yours doesn’t even look like a wreath. I’ve never seen anyone like this before.”

The other person pointed to my earlobe. When I touched it, I found a single small flower tucked there.

Everyone else is wearing full wreaths, so why do I only have this one tiny flower?

“This is fate, so let’s go to the Master together. It’s on my way anyway.”

I followed the person to the center of the village.

In the center of the village was a wide plaza and a black flower that looked like a 500-year-old sacred tree. People were passing in front of the flower, each of them holding their hands together in prayer.

“Come on, let’s pray. Hands together~”

The person who had led me to the center prayed first. I followed suit and clasped my hands together.

And I felt that this gesture was familiar.

Did I have some kind of religion in a past life? I don’t really feel very devout, though.

Even now, while praying, my mind wandered. I thought I must have been used to think about other things while appearing devout.

“Wow! Look over there!”

Half-Wreath tugged on my sleeve. Then they pointed somewhere with their hand.

Following the direction of their finger, I saw a person whose head was covered in flowers.

“They must have worked to have so many flower wreaths~”

Upon closer inspection, I realized their head wasn’t actually made of flowers. They had simply worn so many wreaths that they completely covered their head.

They were wearing flower wreaths all the way down to their chin.

If it were just one or two, it might be different, but wearing dozens like that was bizarre.

“So beautiful~”

“So cool~”

“Ah, you’re an inspiration to us all!”

Everyone in the square shouted in awe.

The person with their head covered in wreaths raised their hand into the air and made a motion as if they were grasping something. Then, they twisted it and brought it to their mouth.

Although their mouth was hidden by the wreaths, it was clear they were consuming something.

“Wow!”

The crowd gasped in awe. Additional wreaths had grown on the person who was already wearing more than enough.

Since their head was already overflowing, this time the wreaths sprouted from their neck. It looked like about eight had appeared at once.

“At this rate, flowers will start blooming from their body on their own.” said Half-Wreath.

As if having wreaths sprout from one’s head wasn’t enough, now flowers were blooming on their bodies too. It wasn’t exactly a welcome thought.

“Once they start blooming on your body, it gets hard to walk.”

Half-Wreath cast a glance at the flower field I had just passed through. I followed their gaze and looked at the field as well.

“So when it becomes too much to move, they lie down like those people over there.”

Half-Wreath clasped their hands and muttered. I frowned at the sight.

The vast plain I’d thought was a flower field was actually a field of people. Only then did I realize why the first guide had been walking so cautiously.

They’d known from the start that people were lying there.

“Did they all take some kind of drug or something?”

I murmured my honest impression. Half-Wreath looked slightly startled.

“Oh no! You shouldn’t say things like that!”

“Why not?”

“Well, why? Obviously, if you say bad things…”

Half-Wreath tilted their head as they spoke. It seemed they had forgotten what they were trying to say.

“Hmm… I wonder why… I feel like there was a reason.”

The gaze of my dazed companion momentarily clouded over, then returned to normal in an instant.

“Anyway, yeah~ Ugh… Why won’t my wreath grow?”

“Why don’t you try waving your hand in the air like everyone else does?”

“I can’t really do that. They say if you close your eyes, you can see the Light of Life. They say if you grasp it, your flower wreath grows, but I don’t see anything.”

The Light of Life? What a bunch of cult-like nonsense. If someone shone a flashlight right in front of their eyes, they’d be over the moon.

“Why don’t you give it a try too, Flower by the Ear?”

Half-Wreath called me by that weird nickname, “Flower by the Ear.” I get it, they didn’t have any other name to call me, but it still felt gross.

I didn’t even know why it annoyed me. Maybe it was just cringy.

“Come on, stop frowning and close your eyes~ Fold your hands reverently~ This time, instead of praying, try focusing on the darkness behind your eyelids and see if you can look ahead.”

I was too annoyed, so this time I just closed my eyes while keeping my hands in my pockets. I saw some blurry shapes. I could hear strange sounds too.

Is this what they call the ‘Light of Life’ or something like that? I tried to focus a little more on the sounds and shapes.

“His back… the wound from the vine… because of this….”

“Why… isn’t he… regaining consciousness….”

Strange words.

A wound on my back? I raised my hand and tried to touch my back.

But only my fingers twitched slightly; my arm wouldn’t move. It felt as if someone was holding it.

“Movement… just now…reaction….”

“Ho-hyung… can… you hear me?”

“Get… a healer….”

My hand rose into the air. It was my hand, with my fingernails torn out and blood trickling down.

And the pale head holding that hand.

Our eyes met.

“—-.”

His mouth opened and closed, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. I felt so disoriented that I opened my eyes.

“How about it? Did you see the Light of Life too, Flower by the Ear?”

Half-wreath asked me. I gave an honest answer to that question.

“Forget the Light of Life, the situation was a total mess.”

“Huh?”

“I said it was a total mess. People were going crazy, and I was covered in blood.”

“What?!”

Leaving my startled companion behind, I turned around and looked at the giant black flower.

I was surrounded by a flower garden, and the sweet scent was overwhelming, yet not a single insect was drawn to it.

“I really don’t like it here.”

I didn’t know why, but I suddenly felt like smashing everything to pieces. Closing my eyes and seeing that Light of Life, or whatever it was, only made me feel that way even more.

“Maybe I should just set it all on fire.”

I reached into my empty pocket for a lighter. I must have been a smoker since I just naturally assumed I’d have one.

“Oh! You mustn’t say such things! The mom-to-be can hear you!”

Half-Wreath spoke.

The moment I heard those words, it felt as though I had woken up from a trance, the other person’s face came into focus. No wonder they looked familiar, it was the person I’d met today.

The security guard who had been killed by Lee Yuksam and me.

“Agent Won?”

“Do you know me?”

“Did you just say the ‘mom-to-be?’”

“Huh…? Why did I say that…?”

Agent Won, wearing half a wreath on his head, looked confused.

Agent Won, dressed in black and steeped in strange ideologies.

I had no clue where things had gone wrong.

“Your name is Won Orim.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes, and my name is Ha Seongho.”

Agent Won was genuinely delighted by hearing his name.

“So we really must have been connected in a past life.”

He couldn’t recall who he was even after hearing his name.

“I killed you.”

At my words, Won Orim finally showed a sign of distress.

“That black flower is a monster. It’s a parasitic plant that causes mutations in human bodies. You were infected by that plant and were killed while you were mutating. ”

“Huh…? Wait a minute…. That can’t be…”

There was no time to convince him. If his mind collapsed here, I wouldn’t have the luxury of saving him.

I needed to quickly search the village and get out of here.

“If you don’t believe me, just dismiss it as nonsense.”

I turned my back on Won Orim. I had to investigate that giant flower standing in the center of the village.

It was definitely called graphite flower.

“Ha Seongho-ssi!”

Won Orim grabbed me as I turned to leave.

“I don’t know what’s going on…! But I keep getting the feeling that I can’t just let you go!”

His face was filled with confusion.

Was there a good reason to calm Won Orim down and take him with me?