Chapter 9 (1/2)

Episode 9.

“Hey, does anyone know why there’s so much noise coming from the rooftop every night?”

“Oh my, you can even hear it from the 3rd floor? My husband and kids couldn’t sleep because the screaming continued for at least two to three hours this morning. Jeez! It’s infuriating!”

“Hey! At least you’re living on the 4th floor. We live on the 5th floor, and we’re literally dying up here. I don’t know what the hell he’s doing these days, but day and night, all we hear is pounding from above. It’s driving me crazy!”

“My husband is more curious than angry about it though. He asked me, ‘Is anyone even living up there?’”

“Really?”

“Why?”

“Well, it is pretty weird, isn’t it? None of us have actually seen the owner, right? You said you’ve rented on the 5th floor for over two years now? Have you ever seen the landlord?”

“You’re right. I don’t know if the landlord is male or female, or what their age is. I should have at least seen something.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

The tenants from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors gossiped in front of the stairs leading up to the rooftop. In front of them, the rooftop door was secured with an automatic locking system and auxiliary lock. As if that were not enough, two chains were wound tightly around the iron door, preventing them from rushing onto the roof.

Since the door was blocked, and no one could check on the owner inside, the police should have been notified at the time of the person’s scream – claimed the woman from the 5th floor, who was one of the building’s oldest and longest-lasting tenants.

However, the women on the 3rd and 4th floors, who belonged to the young generation, argued against intervening despite their complaints and worries.

After all, when they all first arrived as tenants, the real estate agent had warned them not to interfere with the rooftop room for any reason, pressuring them into stifling their curiosity. After a series of bitter arguments, the tenants came up with a way to pass their grievances on to a third party.

“Hello. Ah, yes. This is Se-young Villa. Well, in the last few days, I’ve been hearing thumping all day and night from the rooftop room. —Yes? Yes. I think it’s been about a week.”

The oldest woman tenant from the 5th floor spoke with a real estate agent designated to Se-young Villa. As she spoke, the women from the 3rd and 4th floors whispered at her, mouthing and miming the word “scream.”

“Because I heard screams! We were so shocked! Shouldn’t that warrant a police call? When? Today! Yes! I’m sure! Yes? No, not just today. Yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, I heard screaming…… Yes.”

The 5th-floor tenant’s passionate tone suddenly dimmed.

“Yes. Yes. I see. Yes, yes. Then I will.”

“What did they say, Ma’am?”

“What’s going on over there?”

As soon as the call was over, the woman from the 5th floor was bombarded with heated questions.

“Well……..”

Her expression trembled as she repeated the agent’s response.

“Whether you heard screams or loud noises, as long as the person himself doesn’t have any problems, there’s no need to make a fuss. It could be screaming, or it could be something else……”

“…What?”

“Well, did you respond back to that? Did you tell them you can hear someone screaming?”

“He said he was outside at the moment and would call the landlord to check on him later. We’re supposed to wait till then to see.”

As the sun rose, the women who had vowed to band together quickly lost their train of thought and returned to their houses.

*****

“Aargh!?”

Se-young woke up screaming.

The memory of the pain from before he fainted remained imprinted in his brain, causing him to cry out involuntarily.

Se-young’s breath leaked out of his mouth, like vapor from a dumpling steamer. On top of that, steam was pouring out of his entire body, forming hazy curls in the air. In fact, even though Se-young had been lying on the cold rooftop floor, on a cold day, in the winter, for several hours, his entire body overflowed with heat, as if he had been submerged in a hot bath.

However, Se-young didn’t seem to be even the least bit concerned with what was happening to his body. The events that took place right before he passed out were of little importance.

In his mind, as he rationally sorted through the day’s events, what happened to his body didn’t even hold a candle to the torrent of information that had just filled his head.

No, not just the head…

Seyoung gently grasped his chest.

Did I experience the life of the sword’s first master while I dreamt?

It was a sudden thought.